by Leen Elle
"Let's break up!" She said breathlessly.
"What?" I uttered. I hadn't expected our break up to be like this.
"You and I both know who you like," she poked my chest and grinned. "I can move on and get over you, but I don't think you can stand being without her anymore. You better make a move soon."
With that, she ran off after her brother and I smiled to myself.
She was right.
I had better make my move soon.
Chapter 16
You're The Sun In My Universe
"Marriage is like jogging through a puddle of industrial strength rubber glue. You can work hard and make it through the struggles; however, you usually leave your bobby socks and sneakers behind along the way." – Anonymous
RAYLIN
"Mother…?" I called from the bottom of the stairs. After the last incident with Chris so long ago, I once again returned home to a messy house that appeared to have been torn apart. Looking at the broken vase next to the television cabinet, I sighed. It must have had been a date gone wrong again. "Rayne? Are you still awake?"
I took a look at the clock – it was already 01:49AM. My sister would no doubt be sleeping already. I ran up to my room and took a shower, dressing in an oversized tee and a pair of cotton trackpants as I exited the bathroom. I rubbed a hand across a face that was now free of make-up and clambered down the stairs clumsily, yawning widely. As I bent over to sweep up the broken pieces of the Ming vase from China, I heard footsteps behind me.
"Sis…?" A small voice called out in a tone that perfectly matched the way I had called for my mother half an hour ago. Apprehensive, exasperated, and scared shitless. A figure crouched down next to me and a hand began picking up pieces and putting them into the dustpan. I grabbed Rayne's hand and looked at her sternly.
"Leave this to me, you'll cut yourself. Go put those cushions back on the couch and toss the newspapers into the bin," I turned back to my job at hand as my little sister went off to do as she was told. "Why aren't you asleep?"
"Mum had a big row with her new boyfriend. She came home rip-roaring drunk and thrashed the house, so I locked myself in my room. I couldn't fall asleep, but I didn't dare to leave my room so…" She looked down at the crumpled pile of newspapers in her hands and shrugged. I dumped the remains of the Ming vase into the bin and went over to envelope her in a hug.
"I'm sorry I left you at home alone when Mother went on a date. I should've known better," I told her softly, my voice muffled as I spoke into her shirt. She sniffled slightly and shrugged me off. "Are you angry at me?"
"No, I'm just thinking that we should clean up the living room so that we can both go to sleep in time to wake up for school tomorrow morning." She grinned at me reassuringly.
"Go to sleep, Rayne. I'll do the cleaning up, okay?" She opened her mouth to protest but I clamped my hand over her mouth. "No, don't argue with me. Off you go, and you can toss those papers on the way upstairs."
She nodded obediently as I removed my hand from her mouth and watched her climb the stairs to her room. It irked me to think that my sister was only twelve, and already lacked a proper mother to look after her. Shaking my head, I went about cleaning the house, satisfied only when everything was back in their original positions and the rubbish was bagged and ready to be thrown away. I yawned for the hundredth time in the last hour and made my way back to my room and collapsing on my bed, falling sleep within minutes.
The next morning, I awoke with a jolt, realizing that I had forgotten to set my alarm on last night because I had been so exhausted. I let loose a sigh of relief when I saw that I woke up only two minutes later than usual. I took a quick shower and dressed in a blue shirt and skinny jeans, wrapping a white scarf around my neck. I was ready at my usual time and slicked on a layer of lip gloss before making my way to the kitchen. Unexpectedly, my mother was sitting at the dinner table, with her hands wrapped around a coffee mug. Her hair was falling across her face as she kept her eyes downcast.
"Good morning, mom," I sat down opposite her and reached for an apple from the fruit bowl. "You should get some more sleep if you're feeling tired."
She nodded, still looking down. I tilted my head to the side – there was something fishy going on.
"Mom, look at me!" I demanded, getting up from my seat. "Mom?"
She merely laughed and got up to bring her untouched mug of coffee to the sink. I grabbed hold of her shoulder and spun her around before taking in a sharp intake of breath. "Mother!" There was a purpling bruise around her right eye, spreading towards her cheek. I touched it gently and cringed when she winced and moved away. "Oh, Satan. Did that bastard do this to you?"
I rushed to the refrigerator and took out some ice cubes, wrapping them in a towel. "Here, put this on your eye. Tell me, mother. Did that bastard do this to you?"
She complied and pressed the ice to her eye, ignoring my question.
"MOTHER!" I was beyond exasperation now, persisting again.
She waved me away with a hand.
"I'll be fine, Raylin. Just a quick lie down and a few more minutes of this ice and I'll be as right as rain. Now off you go before you're late for lessons. Look, Rayne is here!" She grabbed both our shoulders and pushed us out of the door before either of us managed to get a word in. A few seconds later, a pair of white pumps and Rayne's pink sneakers came flying out. She looked down at her white jeans and pink shirt and put the sneakers on. How could our mother still notice the way we dressed when she was in such a state? I groaned audibly, slipping my feet into my pumps and guiding Rayne towards the car.
"Are you hungry?"
"Is Mum okay?" We both asked at the same time before we looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"Yeah, she'll be fine. Just morning crankiness," I lied easily, starting the car. "Are you hungry?"
"Nope, not at all. Wasn't planning on eating breakfast today anyway." She replied lazily, flipping through my CD collection. We continued the rest of the ride in silence, this morning's situation pushed far back to the darkest corners of our memories – along with the rest of them. My first lesson passed quickly as I hurried to my locker to get my literature book. When I yanked my locker open, something fell to the ground. I carefully slotted my books into their rightful places and took my literature novel out before squatting down to pick up the thing that had fallen. It was a red rose with a cream card attached.
Meet me after school at the bleachers¸ it read.
I rose an eyebrow before tossing it back into my locker and shutting the door with a slam. Belinda came up to me with a grin, "So, who was that from? Secret admirer?"
"I don't know, there wasn't a name on it. If the person doesn't want me to know who he is then I won't bother finding out," I withdrew my organizer from my bag and flipped to today's date. "Besides, I have to work at the bookhouse today. Alright, I'm going for my lesson now. See you later!"
Belinda waved at me, but not without a mysterious smile as I entered the class and greeted the teacher politely. He smiled at me and allowed me to sit without a single question as to why I was late. Ah, the perks of being a teacher's pet. I looked around the class in search of Viper and frowned when there was no sign of him. Perhaps he was sick again, after yesterday's incident. Yesterday's incident. I had desperately tried to forget about it but here it was, back again, all because I thought about a certain goth. For the rest of the lesson, I was barely able to focus, copying only a third of the notes I would usually take down. Finally, it was time for recess and I walked to my locker again, this time accompanied by Leila. She said nothing as she walked beside me, occasionally whipping out her cellphone to text someone furiously. I ignored her weird antics and yanked open my locker door again. There was yet another card, this time without a rose.
If you don't want to meet me at the bleachers, we can always meet at the bookhouse, this card read. This was definitely weird. Leila peeked over my shoulder at the card and smiled widely. I gave her a suspicious look and asked, "Do you
know something about this that I don't know?" She put on a puzzled look and shook her head.
"Nope, just happy for my best friend for having a secret admirer who's going through so much to ah… prove himself to you." With that, she began walking towards the canteen. Belinda and Calista were sitting at our regular table, our cans of drinks waiting for us. The both of them were beaming at me in a very unnatural way while Leila and Belinda were exchanging glances. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously again. There was definitely something wrong with this scene.
"Look, is there something you girls want to tell me? Leila, are you and Belinda lesbians? You've been making eyes at each other for the past three minutes." I snapped irritably, folding my arms. Just then, someone used his ass to nudge me aside as he squeezed himself onto the bench. I smiled at Jerome, who gave me the same mysterious smile that Belinda had earlier. I snorted in a very unladylike manner.
"Right, please don't tell me that Belinda cheated on Jake and converted Jerome back into a straight guy."
Jacelyn appeared and joined the others in laughing at my wild theory, sitting down next to Leila. Calista leaned forward and looked at me from the side, "Don't you think someone was really concerned about you last night?"
I looked at the five eager faces around me and shook my head tentatively.
"Don't you think Viper was so brave to rush out in front of you and take that slap… for you?" Jacelyn grinned wickedly.
"Don't you remember what he said?" Belinda joined in mercilessly as I buried my face in my hands. So this was what it was all about.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on Raylin." Jerome and Leila intoned in unison before laughing at each other. I stared mutinously at my Diet Coke, wishing I could burn holes in it with my laser glare and let the caramel liquid spill forth into their laps… and my own. I quickly dispelled that idea and looked back up at them.
"So, what do you want me to do? Fall at his feet and thank him profusely?" I said sarcastically, half expecting furious nods of approval from the five mentally unsound people around me.
With that evil smile still painted on her face, Jacelyn hissed, "Oh, you just wait and see, Raylin. Wait and see."
"Wait and see…" The rest chorused, leaning towards me.
"Okay, okay, you guys are seriously creeping me out here. I don't know what the hell you guys are trying to get at, besides the fact that Viper is obviously concerned about me, but I don't find that disconcerting at all because I would be concerned about a friend too and…" I climbed out from my seat and backed away.
Jerome gave me his trademark puppy eyes and asked, "Are you sure you would step in front of me to take a slap to your pretty face?" I opened my mouth to explain that that would have been a completely different situation and scenario but the other four just gave me creepy smiles once more. I shuddered slightly and turned to leave, stalking away quickly before anyone could catch up with me. What was wrong with the whole damn world?
VIPER
I honestly had not meant to wake up late, but I had stayed up the entire of the night planning, and planning. It was not a difficult feat to guess what exactly I was planning for – I was finally going to make a move on Raylin and risk getting my balls kicked after months of tension. Sexual tension. Ha, I kid. It was the nerves that were making me jumpy. I had woken up two minutes before Melvin set off for school and leapt for his bag, pulling him back and thrusting a rose and a card into his hand. He stared at me with wide eyes for a good five seconds before he managed to understand through my sleepy tone that he was to put that in Raylin's locker.
After I had lurched back into my room to sleep, I realized that it would be a wiser idea to inform our mutual friends about my crazy plan before Raylin freaked out. I called Jerome and briefly outlined to him what I was going to do, to which he actually cheered in response. I was vaguely amused by his reaction; it was as though finally being accepted as a gay gave him a free pass to carry out feminine actions.
"Tell the rest of them, will you?" I yawned once more before burrowing back under my covers and tossing my cellphone somewhere on my bed. I was rudely awakened by the violent vibration of my phone as I felt for it blindly amongst my covers. I finally managed to bring it to my ear, deciding that it was time to get out of bed and carry out my marvelously well-crafted plan.
"Viper!" There was a panicked shout from the other end of the line.
"Belinda? What's wrong?" I was startled to hear the fright in her voice. "Did anything happen in school?"
"It's Raylin!" I heard chatter in the background. I strained to recognize the voices and realized that it was Leila and Sierra. It appeared that Leila was telling Sierra about my plan. "Raylin, she…"
"Wait, wait. What about Raylin? What happened to her?" Now it was my turn to panic while I ran into the bathroom to wash up.
"Nothing!"
"What?" I paused trying to squeeze my toothpaste out and talking on the phone at the same time. "Then why are you so… hysterical?"
"It's just that… she refused to go to the bleachers to meet you because she saiditwouldbestupidforhertomeetsomeonewhomshedoesn'tevenknow!" Belinda babbled incoherently.
"What?" I repeated again, not being able to understand head or tail of what she was saying. There was scuffling noises as a different voice came on the line.
"Hey Viper, this is Leila. Just wanted to tell you that it's wonderful that you're finally moving your lazy ass and making a move on my best friend," Leila drawled lazily. "What Belinda was trying to say is that our dearest Raylin doesn't want to meet her secret admirer at the bleachers after school because she thinks it is ridiculous to meet someone who doesn't even want her to know who he is."
"I swear she's so dense!" I heard Sierra cry in the background and Belinda agreeing eagerly.
"But of course, we know about Part B of your plan and…" Leila was cut off when Belinda gasped indignantly.
"What Part B? Why do I not know about it?"
"Because you were too busy squealing in ecstasy to hear the rest of what Jerome was trying to tell us, dimwit," Leila was telling Belinda in an affectionate tone. "Anyway, Viper. Jacelyn and Jerome made another card saying that you would meet her in the bookhouse instead. You think that's a good idea?"
"That's fine. But I think I've something else in mind. Just keep her from leaving the school until I arrive…" I successfully squeezed a substantial amount of toothpaste on my toothbrush and smiled in relief. "Oh, and when I arrive, get her out of the school."
"Aye, aye captain," Leila was still drawling in that lazy tone as the phone was returned to Belinda. There was scuffling again as they began arguing about who to distract Raylin from the school gate, Sierra included. I rolled my eyes. Immature girls.
"Ladies," I began. Nobody seemed to heed my presence, on the phone no less. "Ladies, I'm sure your debate is highly interesting and all but I would like to brush my teeth now so if you please, can we hang up?"
"Alright bye!" The line went dead. I put the phone down and finally managed to get my washing up done. Once dressed appropriately, I grabbed my guitar and made my way down to the bookhouse. Maria was sitting at the counter alone, reading the newspapers when she caught sight of me.
"Hello, young man! Shouldn't you be in school at this moment?" She smiled at me cheerfully. I gave her a sheepish smile and approached the counter cautiously.
"Mrs. Cook…"
"Oh just call me Maria."
"Right, Mrs. C… I mean, Maria. I came here to ask you for a favor today. I know it's a little too much to ask for but you see, er, I… Raylin…" I started to stammer as I tried to explain to her what I wanted. She gave me a knowing smile and reached over to pat my head. I stopped mid-stammer to give her a surprised look.
"Let's see, you want to borrow my bookhouse to give Raylin a lovely surprise, is that it?" I nodded mutely. This old lady was the eighth world wonder. Did she have some psychic power? "Well, let's here you say it without stuttering."
"I…" My mouth went dry as I searched f
or the right words. "Can I borrow your bookhouse and rearrange the tables so that I can surprise Raylin and ask her to be my girlfriend?"
She beamed widely and came out from behind the counter, "Of course you can! That girl works so hard and you're such a fine young man. Oh, what a beautiful love story!" I was about to protest that it was anything but love when she shushed me fiercely. She tottered over to the door and flipped the 'OPEN' sign to 'CLOSED' and glared at me. I stared back warily.
"What are you waiting for? Get to work, boy! I'm not sitting around all day waiting for you to rearrange my furniture and miss out on a day's business for nothing!" I galvanized into action, placing my guitar lovingly against the counter and began moving the small round tables to the side, stacking them up against one another and dragging the armchairs behind shelves to hide them from view. I left two armchairs and a table in the middle of the shop and smiled in satisfaction.
"Good work, dearie. Now come over here and take these curtains. They're rather heavy," Maria didn't even wait for me to walk over before she threw a large amount of cloth at me. I found myself stumbling backwards and crashing into the table. I groaned in pain as I looked down at the pile of cloth. "Hang 'em up on the door. That should give you lovely teenagers some privacy. And stop whining about that blow. You'll need the practice, especially after you sing my dear Raylin a song."
I was wondering when I had even whined about my injury at all when my phone rang. I accidentally hit the loudspeaker button and blanched when Calista's frantic voice came over loud and clear.
"Viper! Quick, Raylin's going to leave school. She says she's going to be late for work at the bookhouse if we keep holding her back!"
"Leave that to me, I'll give her a call and tell her I closed the shop for today," Maria winked at me. She reached over and handed me my guitar. "Good luck, and I hope you get the girl."
I thanked her breathlessly as I yanked the door open and began running for my life to school. The first time I was running willingly to school, and it was all for a girl. What a joke. I finally dashed through the school gate on record time and sprinted up the steps. The students were coming out in groups. I fished out my cellphone and dialed Belinda's number.