She sat silently in mandatory
support staring at the wall in front of her. The room was wide but short in
length however tall as if at one point a small ballroom, only suggestive by the
carvings on the ceiling that imitated a kind of ancient Greek look. She could
feel the slight breeze brushing at her ear that her hair had decided to hide
behind. To her left there was a small podium in which the principal would
rarely speak to the rest of the school about whatever he wanted since in
reality no one was listening. She rubs her face roughly reaching to her eyes
next, for sleep was calling to her and she would not listen for she had work to
do. Work, work, work that’s
all she ever did because that’s
all she had time for. In her smoother white tank top showing very little
cleavage with the brim of her boyfriend’s
jacket resting at her fingertips, for his arms were a lot longer than hers
which she had never noticed before she stole his beloved jacket from him. He always wore it and it bothered her since
whenever she herself wore her jacket it was to protect her from the world or to
at least make her feel like it; she never felt comfortable without it. He
wouldn’t take
it off though, which she knew since he loved her so much, like the jacket he
would give it in honor of not having to fight with her, or tell her why he didn’t want her to have it. She knew why but
never confessed that was the reason of it all, that originally her plan wasn’t to steal for recognition of being his
girl but to steal for recognition that he didn’t need to hide. It was complicated;
their relationship for it was hard where the line started and finished with
them; where the friendship started and the relationship began, either way she
loved him too like he loved his jacket and loved her.
He was leaving in a few days to go to
Florida and it killed her to think of him gone. Stuck in this hell hole, she
thought, in dummy support with all these ignorant and selfish people only there
to make her life unbearable. He was supposed to be leaving in 2 days and he
just decided to tell her today the big news of not being there for a month. ‘Oh,
the agony’ she thought over and over again. He was the only person who was
keeping her here and now she would have to deal with the drama, the asshole
staff of SciTech, his lovely friends to bully her, and the wonder and worry of
what he was doing at that very moment without her. He was sitting across the
lengthy room from her. Turned to the wall as she was, he was trying to look as
hard working as possible. Even though everyone knew at the end of the day his
grades would still look the same. According to his grades he wasn’t very smart but she still thought he
was the greatest guy in the world. How wonderful a relationship right? For him
to be leaving it felt as if he would never come back she often thought during
the two days but only for today she would pretend like it was no big deal as if
he was just going to be absent tomorrow, when she knew otherwise.
“Alright everyone, time to clean up for
the day, pick up your belongings, and can a couple of kids help me put the room
back together? I’ll give
you star stamps if you do.”
Her science teacher screamed over the rush of kids darting out of the way of
others to get out of mandatory support even though the next class was just
another place to spend in torment. Nevertheless she waited for him as he was
either nice enough or dumb enough to fall for the star stamps trick to clean up
the room real quick before they headed different ways. She would stand there
for what felt like forever and wait until he got what he wanted or as teachers
saw it deserved for his ‘good behavior’. They walked out into traffic, with her
boyfriend to lead the way. Only to tug him back when they got to the stairs so
she could confront him properly with his full attention.
“uh, so how about that initiative?” she said to him with a gleam in her eye
to think that it might help him make up his mind.
“Yeah, about that….”
His voice trailed out into a smirk that she knew meant he was thinking of her
in a way that she appreciated as always; cute. Not sexy but cute and that was
nice. She looked him in the eye where they seemed to also have a gleam in them
that made him seem precious to her as if nothing in the world could replace
that look. On those days whenever he was upset or sad his eyes would turn a
dull brown and he would look down at his feet as he walked which only made her
want take care of him like a child who she wished to marry someday.
“Yes.” She proclaimed prolonging the word with
hope that this wasn’t
anything bad.
“I don’t know, do you really want me to do it?” he turned his head to the side like a
puppy and that shine again in his eyes shown, always making her giggle a
little.
“yes.” That’s all she replied with because that’s all he needed to know for he knew what
she was talking about.
It was lovely how this world worked
between them and the rest. Running away together as always and finding new hope
for home for the one they had sucked; typical loves like any other.
They then parted their ways to
different classrooms leaving the day to themselves for her to daydream and him
to move on with his life. It was hard for her to imagine him gone but she also
had to realize he wasn’t
leaving forever it was only three weeks. They could contact each other over Facebook,
or he could even call her. That’s
how they usually communicated through Facebook or Gmail another chatting site
except Gmail was also their email accounts too making it risky if anyone had
their passwords. They would talk for hours on end until someone had to leave or
the laptop died. In their conversations always proceeded the same with her
saying “hey
wats up?” and
him replying with “nothing” each and every time. They would begin
talking about how their day was and what it was like good or bad onto subjects
of their relationship expanding in serious questions like the future. It was
going to be hard for her she knew but at the same time she wouldn’t tell him she
was worried for his own sake. They lived
in their own little bubble and she would do anything not to pop it.
The end of her next period class came
as she sat in the classroom intently staring at the clock only to realize what
little time she had left before the day ended and he was gone for good. She was
sitting next to a dark Puerto Rican boy with lopsided wavy hair and a pungent
smell of axe almost sickening to the stomach .He turned to her and furred his
brow only to see her relentless gaze upon the clock as she rubbed tissue
between her fore finger and her thumb shaking her leg rather viscously. He
addressed her cautiously as if she had been ill.
“Uh,
are you okay?” he said staying his distance even though he still sat in the
desk next to her.
“yeah,
I’m uh just waiting’ for something. Do you know when this period ends?” still
shaking her leg she looked at him wide eyed.
“I
think like 1:45. What are you waiting
for?” he paused only to realize she was only anxious to get out of class but it
seemed just a little too anxious.
“Just
it’s a long story.”
She wondered about what to do next
period. Or what were they going to do next period on account of him leaving at
the end of the day. The tissue’s soft gritty particles rolling off on her
fingers as the time was ticking with only two minutes left. She looked away for
a moment only to notice the Puerto Rican boy stuffing five thick rubber bands
in his tight pocket in what he thought was sneakily. The bell rang and her eyes
widened once again at the sudden pounding of her heart. She darted out of the
classroom leaving her book bag and papers still sloppily on her desk. Once she
squeezes through the doorway of people the hallway is filled with bunches more.
Only glimpses of each kid appeared to her as they walked by and the various
colors from each of their shirts. She stood on the tip of her toes stretching
her neck out looking to her right, only to find him slowly walking towards the
steps leading to the gymnasium. Then
spotting him from afar she rushed passed the crowd in her gray athletic jacket
cutting through the air as she did giving much resistance to the quickness she
never had in the first place. Her feet were clumsily hitting the floor, knocking
into many onlookers with her eyes proving how desperate she was to get to him
before he got to class.
Finally catching up to him on the
stairwell she called his name. “Buddy, Wait up for, me!” each pant pressing on
her chest heavily even as she stopped at the top of the stairs to hold one hand
on her hip and the other reaching out to him in a sweaty lack of air, only five
steps away. He turned around from hearing his name.
“Hmm?” he paused for a moment turning around
to see her gasping for breath from her journey to him. She then repeated her
plea for help once more only this time more clearly and a small giggle to end
it. He waited of course as she slowly descended down each step until she got
him. Five steps later they stared at each other and smiled as if they knew each
other well but there was nothing to say at this point in time. Simultaneously
and silently they began to walk down the steps once more. Reaching the last
step to a small platform she stood there however he was still moving to his next
class. Then he stopped to notice she wasn’t behind him turning around once more
at her looking at him with a gloomy sigh signifying her feeling of his leave.
He smiled for a second time at her only to nonverbally say that she shouldn’t
be sad, he wasn’t going to be gone forever.
