by Tania Trozzo
Everyone focused immediately on what they had to do. It didn’t take Clara long, she lived for this stuff but a few of the others were struggling. Class finally ended with everyone turning in their pop quizzes and getting their papers in exchange.
When Clara brought up her pop quiz Mr. Brooks said, “Clara, do you mind waiting a few minutes? I need to ask you about an article for the newspaper.”
“Sure, Mr. Brooks.” As everyone left the room, Clara observed Gabe out of the corner of her eye. He glanced at her, he was tense. Connor was the last one to leave. Before he left the room he glanced at Mr. Brooks and then at Clara, questions in his eyes. She smiled reassuringly.
“I’ll see you later, Clara. Mr. Brooks.”
Mr. Brooks looked at him for a second before looking at Clara. He studied her for a moment and then said, “He’s worried about you.” Clara felt like it was more like a statement so she didn’t answer but shrugged.
“As I guess he should be. I walked into the teacher’s lounge today and they were talking about you. They had heard the rumors going around the school. Are you ok?”
Clara nodded, “Yes, I‘m fine.”
“May I ask how everyone found out?”
“I think someone took my paper. I couldn’t find it when I got home and then found it in the newspaper room the following morning but I didn’t bring it in there.”
Mr. Brooks gaze hardened, “Ok, who?”
“I don’t know,” Clara replied.
“But you have an idea?” She nodded. “Look,” he took a deep breath, “someone invaded your privacy and that is unacceptable. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I have to say I learned about you before you started school. Since you’d be in my class and working closely with me in the newspaper I was brought up to speed by the school psychologist. You are so not what I expected. That paper was written by someone much wiser than their years. But now, you should be living your life like a carefree teenager. Have you told your family about this?”
Clara shook her head, “No, I haven’t.”
“Maybe you should. Whatever is going on, I’m here should you need anything and I know your coach is here for you too.”
“Coach Lawson?” Clara asked.
“Yes. Anyway, relook at your paper, as I mentioned there are a few changes you might want to make in the margins but the truth is, it’s an A and I’ve never given an A on the first draft.”
“Thank you, Mr. Brooks.”
“Go ahead to your next class. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Clara nodded and headed out. As she walked to her next class her cell phone buzzed. It was Gabe.
Gabe: Are you ok?
Clara: Yes, I’m ok.
Gabe: What did Mr. Brooks want?
Clara: He knows about the rumors.
Gabe: And???
Clara let out a breath and responded. He asked questions, offered support. Nothing to tell.
Gabe: Ok, are you going to be ok the rest of the day?
Clara: Yes, I will.
Gabe kept insisting. R u sure?
Clara: Yes, I’m sure. Are you ok? You seem tense.
Gabe: Do you have karate tonight?
Clara: Yes, I do. You didn’t answer my question. This time it was Clara to insist.
Gabe: I’ll see you there.
Ok. She thought to herself. Her phone buzzed one more time Look up. Please. She did and there he was. He looked around and then looked straight at her. They stared at each other and right when he was in front of her he let her see how he felt, plain as day. He was frustrated and concerned, that she could easily see. But she also noticed another emotion mixed in, she just wasn’t sure what it was. It was moments like this that Clara felt this connection between them was getting stronger.
She continued to her next class which dragged more than usual until she proceeded to go to the cafeteria. She didn’t want to go after what happened yesterday but the others had encouraged her to do so. Honestly, she would have preferred to avoid it if she could but she knew it was like hiding and she should face it head on.
She had told herself that this year would be different and so far it was. She had friends ready to stick up for her, so she had to learn to not only accept their support but most importantly she had to learn to stick up for herself and stop avoiding.
She spotted Sonia and Rosie instantly and went over to sit down. A few of Rosie’s friends looked at her a bit skeptically, the others though treated her no differently and immediately included her in the conversation. One in particular, Giada, squeezed her arm to show her support. A few tables looked over and whispered, some noticed that not only did the girls sit separately, which occasionally they did, but they didn’t even go over to say hello to the guys nor look in their direction. Connor stopped to check in, he actually did that all day. Gabe and Alex only said hello. While Sonia and Alex were fine, she did show Gabe the cold shoulder. When Clara asked her about it Sonia claimed she did in solidarity. Everyone knew Sonia wouldn’t go against her brother especially in public, BUT she could show that she didn’t think Gabe was as cool as she thought before. Besides, it showed that the friendship Clara and she had was solid and not to be messed with and that was a point that Sonia felt especially important on driving home. Clara did notice that there were quite a few people snickering about her, others whispering but there were some that showed her admiration, stood up for her when they heard a smart comment in class or smiled at her sympathetically in the hallways and other places. It surprised her. Although she was used to being a loner, she also realized that, without Gabe’s words, or his notes, she felt extremely lonely, she just wondered if he felt the that way too.
26
Gabe
A few days had passed. It seems whoever decided to steal, read and let everyone know about Clara’s past was keeping a tight lip. The guys had already decided that they would wait until the weekend and if they didn’t find out, then they would stop avoiding Clara and Sonia. The entire student body noticed the distance. You could tell they wanted to know what happened. During one particular lunch session, when Clara had left the cafeteria early to go work on the school newspaper, one of the guys called her a bad name.
Alex immediately spoke up, “Not cool prick. Back off.”
The guy answered, “Sorry, you aren’t hanging out with her anymore so I thought it was free rein.”
Connor decided to speak up, “Just because we don’t hang out anymore doesn’t mean we think it’s cool to act like a douche.” The guy didn’t comment.
One of the guys from the team, Giuseppe, also responded, “Stop acting like a bully a-hole. You know they don’t go for that shit no matter who it is.”
At least Gabe knew that most of the guys from the team were decent so he didn’t have to worry about them teasing Clara. In fact, after that day, the whispering died down quite a bit although he could see that Sarah, and a few others still made comments.
Today he was late getting to the cafeteria. He had been assigned a group project with a few others and they had to set up times to meet and ask the teacher a few questions. He hated this shit. The two girls in his group kept giggling every time he spoke and he had a terrible headache. He was extremely tense today, and in all honesty, he just wanted to go home. He was considering skipping afternoon classes. He could come back for soccer practice. Since he was the captain no one would really say anything. He was contemplating it as he walked to the cafeteria. He was almost there when his phone buzzed. He grabbed it out of his pocket and slowed down to read it.
Bobby: Dude, where are you? Where is everyone?
Gabe: On my way to cafeteria why? Gabe had answered.
Bobby: It’s Bruno.
This was turning out to be one of those days. What about him?
Bobby: He’s kind of harassing Sonia. Alex isn’t here and neither is Connor.
Where the fuck is everyone? Gabe thought to himself. Coming in now.
Gabe walked through the doors. All the guys that usually sat at his table all turned their heads towards him and most of them looked relieved. A few were standing, watching intently deciding when to intervene. Bruno was getting up from the table where Sonia had been sitting the past few days. He patted his pocket and winked at Sonia who looked ready to breathe fire. All Gabe could make out from what Bruno was saying was the fact that he had taken Sonia’s cell phone. As Bruno began to walk away from the table Clara arrived and managed to collide with Bruno. Gabe automatically clenched his fists and was about to quicken his pace when something stopped him dead in his tracks. It was almost as if he was watching in slow motion and a sense of déjà vu came over him. It was hard for many others to notice but Gabe seemed to have the best view from where he was standing. Clara maneuvered to her right in a way that she had to push on to Bruno’s jacket with the book she had in her hand, making an effort not to fall. Or so it seemed. But then, with her left hand she pulls out the cell phone from Bruno’s pocket and slips it in her sleeve. Bruno had no idea. He made a comment to Clara who stiffened for a moment, but she immediately backed up and circled back to the table sliding the phone to Sonia.
Sonia’s mouth dropped open and then she smiled at Clara, turning it into a smirk for Bruno who in that exact moment decided to open his mouth saying, “Girl, I am going to say it again, no need to collide with me on purpose. Our bodies can collide all you want, whenever you want.” As he finished that last part of the sentence his eyes darted to the table and he noticed Sonia dangling her cell phone.
He checked his pocket and whipped his gaze to Clara who said to him, “That doesn’t belong to you.” The girls at the table chuckled as did a few guys who noticed the entire exchange.
“Dude, you totally got played!” one of the guys declared while the others kept laughing.
Some others were catching on that they missed something and started asking what had happened, a few people commented, “Bruno totally got played by Clara.”
Bruno glared at Clara and pointed at her, “How did you do that?”
Clara looked at him and shrugged, “Maybe you should pay better attention.” A bunch of other people started laughing as well. He continued to scowl at her for a few more moments until he turned around. As he walked by a few of the guys laughing, he slammed his hand on the table and walked through the back doors that led outside. Clara turned around looking right in Gabe’s direction. Her eyes widened. Gabe narrowed his eyes, glanced at Sonia before he walked towards Clara.
He quietly said, “You and I are going to have a conversation. Weeping willow far end by the tennis courts in 5 minutes.” He looked at her in the eyes, arching his brow. She exhaled and nodded. He turned to Sonia, “You ok?” Sonia nodded, seeing the look on Gabe’s face, she started to stand up when Gabe shook his head. Clara grabbed her stuff and then turned toward Sonia and whispered something in her ear. Sonia grabbed her things as well and walked out with Clara. But Gabe knew that Sonia was pretending they had left together as to not raise any eyebrows. Gabe headed to the table where Bobby was sitting. “Thanks for texting me man,” patting him on the shoulder.
Bobby quickly answered, “You’re welcome, a few of us tried to get involved and told him to knock it off, but without you guys here, we weren’t sure where we stood. He wasn’t exactly listening to us but he was only teasing her until he took her phone of course.” A few of the guys nodded.
Giuseppe commented, “I can’t believe Clara totally lifted the cell phone from his pocket. Totally played him for a fool.”
Another guy mentioned, “I know you don’t hang with her anymore, but it was totally cool. No idea how she did it.”
Gabe ran his fingers through his hair not knowing what to say, “Yeah, well, I gotta get going now. From now on, Bruno gets near either of them, don’t hesitate to call me, Alex or Connor, wherever the fuck they are. I’ll see you guys later.”
He turned around and headed out, taking a totally different direction then where he told Clara to meet him. He knew his way around this school to get where he needed to be with a few twists and turns. Not that he cared if they saw him going to speak to her but he wanted privacy. He pushed through a door heading outside and walked towards the willow tree. As he got closer, he saw Clara was leaning up against it. He stopped right underneath the low branch which hid them pretty much from view. He was surprised that no one was out here. In the spring and early fall you could always find a couple underneath here throughout different parts of the day. Today was a bit chilly and damp and that was probably why no one was under there. She raised her head and held his gaze.
“It was you.” He didn’t state it as a question, the more he thought of it the more he had no doubt. She continued to hold his gaze and nodded. “What the fuck Clara??” He ran his hands through his hair and began pacing in front of her. He didn’t know what to ask or say first. He looked at her and tears were welling up in her eyes. He exhaled a breath stopping in front of her, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She glanced down a second and then looked at him in the eyes, “I was going to, it just never seemed like the right time.”
He shook his head and stood there with his hands on his hips. “Where did you learn to do that?
Clara exhaled a long breath, “Someone taught me during the time I was kidnapped.”
“Who?” Gabe asked.
“Cain” she said quietly.
He nodded and started pacing again trying to think. “You should have found a way to tell me,” he said again.
She was quick to answer, “When was I supposed to tell you? When I told you guys what happened to me? It was difficult enough to get out what I did. When we went out for pizza? ‘Hey, by the way, I’m the one that saved your ass’. I’m sorry, ok? I just, I just didn’t want to answer any more questions. It came naturally to me, when the cop said they might search you, I instantly knew that you would be in trouble and I just didn’t …I didn’t want that. I didn’t want you to get in trouble. I was going to tell you, I just didn’t know how.” She looked at him, and those damn green eyes undid him. Any anger or disbelief he felt melted away as he looked at her. He approached her and took a deep breath, grasping her hands in his.
Clara’s cheeks flushed, looking into her eyes he said, “thank you for trying to protect me.” He could tell that Clara was surprised by his reaction.
“You’re not mad?” Clara asked him.
Gabe let out a deep breath, “I’m not mad. I’m..I don’t know what I am. I have tons of questions for you and we need to talk about this. But you did what you did to protect me and for that I’m thankful. But there are a few things I have to know.”
Clara nodded, “ok.”
“Why did you put the baggie in my locker?”
She responded a bit hesitantly, “I don’t know exactly. I wanted you to know that someone helped you out. I think in my subconscious I wanted you to search for answers and to find out it was me but I didn’t have the courage to straight up tell you.”
He nodded and swallowed, “Ok. What did you do with the weed?”
She responded immediately, “I flushed it down the toilet.” He let out a breath he was holding. He didn’t do drugs and he didn’t think she did either, but he was relieved by her answer.
“How did you manage to get into my locker? Are you…” He hesitated not sure how to ask if she was able to break in places too without offending her.
“No, I don’t know how to pick locks. I actually asked the custodian to help me out telling him it was Sonia’s locker. His wife works as a secretary for my uncle, so he knew that I wouldn’t do anything inappropriate.”
He now had a more important question. “Why did Cain teach you to pickpocket?” She immediately looked down and pulled her hands free. She looked up at him with uncertainness, while Gabe wait
ed patiently. Gabe moved a piece of hair behind her ear and then and cupped her face. He could feel her hesitation again and wanted to calm her. “Clara, there are a lot of things I want to know about you and those two years. And the years after that. I understand it will take time. I’m not going anywhere. What you tell me won’t change that. But let me in. Please.” Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second looking at him in wonder until she nodded. Those last words had probably been her undoing. He pulled his hands away from her face and went back holding both her hands continuing to wait.
She took a deep breath and began, “Cain taught me to pickpocket because Tracey made him. She didn’t want Paul to make me do other things, like he made her do sometimes.” She swallowed, and his eyes widened. He cursed quietly. Clara continued, “they figured that he would be happy if I was bringing in money or anything I could get of value. Tracey argued that if I looked clean and pretty then people wouldn’t suspect me. It worked. They didn’t. That pacified Paul for the most part. So, I made sure to become a pro at it. I could lift almost anything from anyone at almost anytime. I hated every single minute of it. But I did it. If I was able to lift something really good, like a wallet with a lot of cash, Paul was bearable. We could eat something better and sometimes he would take the money and leave for hours. When I did really well he wouldn’t have Tracey do what he made her do. Once I was found I never did it again until the weed at the party and getting Sonia’s cell phone back from Bruno. I swear.”
Gabe shook his head and cursed again. This girl brought him to his knees. Even as a little girl, she was strong. He pulled away, running his hands through his hair and paced. He couldn’t do it anymore. Gabe couldn’t stay away from her anymore even if he tried. He didn’t want to. She opened her mouth and was about to start rambling again. Fuck it. He took two strides to reach her, pulled her in his arms and finally kissed her. He could tell she was taken aback by the kiss. In the beginning she was hesitant, and he was worried he had overstepped some imaginary boundary. He was about to pull away when she surged up on her toes, tentatively gripped his shoulders and, kissed him back. As he kissed her, he knew right then that he would never get enough. Right now, it was difficult for him to slow it down and not freaking devour her.