Ensnared

by I N Foggarty

  “Anna I’m…I’m really sorry,” Matt said slowly. Of all the overblown ways he had imagined apologising to her that morning none of them had contained even a shred of the sincerity close to matching this one.

  “I know you are.”

  When Anna’s words reached his ears she finally turned around to face him. Over the sunshine reflecting off the polished floor, brown eyes met her green ones and Matt instantly felt worse. It was not so much sorrow he saw but rather sheer disappointment. Closing the distance between them he couldn’t help but notice that her t-shirt seemed slightly baggier than he recalled it being the last time she had worn it. Perhaps it had fallen victim to a bad wash cycle.

  “Is there anything I can do to make up for it?” he asked his expression imploring her to name her demand.

  Slowly he reached out his right hand and took hold of her left. She didn’t resist but neither did she return the gesture. Gently he rubbed his thumb across the indentations that lay over her knuckles. Her once rough palms had softened over the past two years and her pale skin felt cold to the touch.

  “No,” came the response. Blunt and her tone had hardened somewhat. Was this about to turn into a breakup conversation?

  Matt’s heart sank, the sickening thought creeping into his mind. He hadn’t even contemplated that in his morning mopes and muses. “Anna…”

  “What’s done is done,” she cut in. “You can’t just do one thing because you failed to do another and then hope it balances the books. Just like you can’t turn back the clock and correct your mistake.”

  It felt to Matt that Anna’s fierce eyes were piercing through his own like needles. Moments like this always reminded him that, despite how low he felt right now, the outward feature he loved most about Anna were her eyes. The eyes, it was said, often acted as a window into someone’s soul and at the moment it was showing a mixture of torment and pure hard steel.

  “Anna, please… Just… Just kick me in the balls or something.” Yeah, that would help his brain admonished upon hearing his own words. “Just don’t break up with me. Please”

  Anna’s lips twitched slightly and Matt cocked his head. The slight movement had been enough to tell him she was stifling one of her devilish grins. He’d just made an absolute idiot of himself. Hadn’t he?

  “I’d take you up on that offer but I’d be afraid that you’d actually like it. Perhaps I should just cut them off and keep them till you stop acting like a moron.”

  The change in Anna’s tone from soft and sincere to her normal one of confident certainty mixed with a pinch of cocky and a dash of evil signified to Matt that he was not about to be short one girlfriend… at least not today. His moment of elation failed to move the conversation on any so Anna continued.

  “My place. Friday night. Bring Chinese food and Pepsi. And we’ll forget Saturday ever happened.”

  “Ok,” Matt replied without really thinking. “What time?”

  “I’ll be home for just after nine so give me half an hour to freshen up. And make sure the foods hot when you get there otherwise we’ll be eating it cold.”

  There went half his allowance for the week. So much for the new pair of running shoes he had been thinking of buying. Still, an evening alone with Anna would be nice. Not to mention it may prove to be invaluable once his literature report came back later in the week. Over the last six months too few had been the occasions where they were able to have some alone time and only now, having had the fear of losing Anna all together, did he realise just how much he missed it. He had been a complete and utter idiot letting Dylan distract him on Saturday. He would let nothing get in the way this time.

  He felt his chest heave a breath of air he had apparently been holding in. All of his muscles relaxed like a tightly coiled spring coming unwound. He looked at her, full in the face and lost himself in the green of her eyes. After a few moments of silence where they simply looked at each other Anna reached up and pecked him on the cheek. A stupidly happy grin erupted across his face and when she pulled away he felt a warm fuzzy feeling deep within him and the world stabilised….life was good. In a second his newfound sense of euphoria vanished and Anna’s hand locked onto his upper arm with a grip like an iron vice pulling him down to her level. The dash of evil in her tone became a barrel load as she whispered directly into his ear.

  “If you ever stand me up again you had best hope your next girlfriend doesn’t want to have your children.” A short sharp pain in his earlobe followed her words and she let go of his hand.

  “What was that for?” Matt exclaimed, rubbing the spot where she had just bitten him.

  “Let’s just say I’m marking my territory.” Her devilish grin now on full display. “You should be thankful that the pain will only last a few seconds and that I didn’t decide to draw blood. Anyway, you had better go. The bells about to ring and if you hadn’t already noticed this is not the smelly Phys.Ed part of the school. This is the pulse point of the soul, the music hallway. You’re about as far away from the gym as you can get and still be inside the building.” She smiled, sweetly and Matt knew that in part Anna had led him here deliberately. Though she had double music next, he knew that look far too well.

  He smiled in return at her and leant in to give her a quick kiss not wanting to leave her now when he felt he had only just gotten her back. Instantly her lips attached themselves to his own, moments passed their heartbeats intermingling so that he could feel a 4 beat rhythm that seemed to also mimic the clock ticking closer to the bell. Reluctantly he had to force himself to break contact she followed slightly for a second before finally breaking off leaving him again breathless. She really knew how to twist things into a punishment. The only saving grace being that he hadn’t already changed into his gym shorts.

  Freeing himself from his girlfriend’s clutches Matt only had a second to register the pretend pout that formed on her face before the sound of the bell filled his ears and he had to turn and bolt towards the stairs. Yelling, “See you at Lunch!” over his shoulder.

  Well, that had turned out better than he could have hoped for he thought as he began to descend rapidly. Then again, he had not expected to leave only to find himself aching to be back with her. Fate, like Anna, had a funny way of tormenting people he decided, once more finding himself in the midst of the traditional Woodlake trawler net. His last thought before he began forcing his way through to get to the Gym in some semblance of time was again, how rumpled and baggy Anna’s t-shirt had been. Maybe he could use what little would be left of his allowance to buy her a new one.

  ##

  Lunchtime arrived, something for which Matt was most thankful. For the duration of double Phys-Ed the coach had pitted half the class against the other in an intense game of volleyball. Like always Matt had captained one side against Mark’s well-drilled opposition. Out of the gym, the pair were good friends but when pitted against one another they transformed into the fiercest of rivals. Sides had been chosen, the battleground declared and for the next two hours, all-out war had reigned supreme.

  Mark’s team always had the edge when it came to volleyball, his juggernaut-esqu physique giving him a height and strength advantage over everyone else in the class. Not to mention that he had a good tactical mind to go with it. Match after match this year had ended in a pounding for Matt’s team so the fact that they had somehow salvaged a tie made him the much happier of the two, come the bell to signal lunch.

  “So Anna didn’t kill you then?” Mark asked when Matt filled in behind him in the lunch queue.

  Matt laughed. He had to hand it to Mark. Any normal person would have more likely asked something like, ‘so what are you having for lunch’, rather than discuss the lack of homicide.

  “I guess she just tore out your tongue then,” Mark continued when he failed to reply. Only then did Matt realise that he had not spoken a word to his friend, which had not been some sort of volleyball related curse, all morning. “Don’t worry I’m sure Anna’s keeping it safe for yo
u. Right next to Dylan’s balls.”

  He had obviously missed a joke at some point Matt realised, picking up a lunch tray and sliding it along the metal rails that ran in front of the food counters. “I’d rather not have my tongue anywhere near Dylan’s balls,” he replied sharply.

  “I’m sure Dylan would agree. Especially if you’d been kissing Anna beforehand. He’d probably think he’d catch some highly deadly form of cooties.”

  The pair simultaneously burst out laughing as they both stretched out a hand to grab the same dish of pasta. Just like that friendship evaporated and rivalry once more took hold, albeit momentarily. Futilely he tried to wrestle the plastic dish from Mark’s iron like grip. A moment later and the dish had slipped from his grasp and found itself a home on his opponent’s tray.

  “Douche,” Matt exclaimed in annoyance, shrugging his shoulders.

  “Here,” Mark said, shifting the container over onto Matt’s tray, a smirk forming on his stony face. “You need it more than I do. It’s got enough garlic in it to help get the taste of Dylan’s balls off your tongue.”

  Matt had no comeback as he stared up at the other boy his mouth agape. In outrage, he snatched a bottle of water from the drinks chiller and added it to his tray. A red apple soon joined it.

  “That’ll be four dollars twenty,” the irritable voice of an elderly woman said from behind the counter, glaring at him disapprovingly. Clearly, she had not been impressed by the minor fracas only moments prior.

  “Sorry,” Matt said apologetically. He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out some coins. “Here,” he handed the woman the correct change and hastily made his way out of her queue.

  Picking his way across yet another one of Woodlake’s metaphorical minefields Matt made his way towards the back of the hall where the rest of his friends were already sat at their usual table. From behind him Mark appeared and sat down beside kitty, across from whom sat Dylan and Natalie. Both girls were sitting with sandwiches and salad while Dylan had opted for his usual junk option; today a double cheeseburger with fries. On Mark’s other side at the far end of the table sat Anna. Instead of food, she had a pad of paper and pen. As he pulled the empty chair beside Dylan out from underneath the table the other boy turned to look at him.

  “Matgha!” Dylan exclaimed while trying to swallow a fistful of fries “Dude, buddy, you’re alive!”

  Dylan gave him a critical look, similar the one he had received from Mark earlier. Was it normal for all your friends count your limbs after a confrontation with your girlfriend? Then again, other people did not have Anna for a girlfriend. Not that he would accept it as an excuse to stare rudely and pass inappropriate comments in front of her.

  A grin slowly spread across his face. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Putting his lunch tray down on the table Matt sat down and momentarily turned his gaze towards Anna, who did not look up from her notepad. Her literature report for Stevens he surmised. His smile faltered slightly and a crease formed between his eyebrows. Had she only just started it? The assignment had been dished out two weeks ago.

  “Good afternoon, Matt.” Anna’s voice though soft and well-spoken cut through Matt’s thought process like lightning through a cloud. Even when she spoke calmly her voice always seemed to carry some form of edge to it.

  “Hi, Anna,” he replied, his momentary confusion about her report gone. He tore the lid off his somewhat undeserved pasta bowl and dug in.

  For the next five minutes, Matt was oblivious to everything other than his lunch and own internal musings. In retrospect, his day could not have gone any better. He had moved his team significantly closer to a victory over Mark, avoided death by Anna and had landed a nice quiet evening alone with her into the bargain. So, naturally, something had to go wrong. Life didn’t let you be a jerk and then get away with it without consequence. But if it had not been Anna then what…

  “Hey, Hey, folks!” a foreign voice said in perhaps the most upbeat and self-gratifying manner Matt had ever heard. It belonged to Raymond; one of the boys from their year. Clutched at either side by his small hands were two of the school cheerleaders, giggling and smiling away like every word he said were in itself a stand-up punch line. Matt frowned at them in slight disbelief for a second then felt his body relax. Cheerleaders yes, though two of the lesser cheerleaders he noted; certainly not varsity. On seeing he had captured the undivided attention of almost every person at the table (no doubt why the cheerleaders were there to begin with) the boy continued.

  “Soooo…. Big party coming up. How do I know? Cause I’m the one throwing it of course! My place. This Friday. No adults. The only rules are…there are No rules. Except stay off the roses but who wants to trample things of beauty anyway?! And talking of things of beauty!” he turned a huge grin to the females in the group one by one. “For the ladies, a plethora of single gentlemen all screened and checked by yours truly and looking for love long term or just for the night if you get my meaning.” He winked and made a clicking noise. “And for you single gents…” his gaze then travelled between Mark and Dylan. “Plenty of single ladies…” he continued in the same vein as Matt turned him out for a second. Choosing to focus instead on the boy’s hands which were trailing down and squeezing the backsides of the two cheerleaders, causing them to giggle more. “… The long and short folks is there are plenty of things to offer and opportunities for you to show whoever a good time. We also have a pool and hot tub for those of you interested in a little bit of wet fun. Not that it’s gonna be dry for those who keep their clothes on eh girls?” He clicked again, winking at his companions and at the same time causing Matt’s nose to wrinkle

  “You had me at Hey. Sign me up now dude.”

  Matt shook his head at Dylan’s over-eager reply. Regardless of what he said, Raymond had probably managed to buy his attendance before even opening his mouth. From the weasel-faced boy’s side, the cheerleader closest to Dylan blew him a kiss. Why on earth did girls always seem to fall over themselves when it came to Dylan? Not for the first time had this conundrum crossed Matt’s mind. His best friend defied both the laws of the schoolyard and the universe. Dylan was a geek, full stop. No if’s, buts or maybe’s about it. Comic books, computer games, sci-fi, dungeons and dragons, Dylan loved it all. Yet the gods had seen fit to give him good looks, eyesight, average height, a wealthy father and good social skills into the bargain. The only blemish on his perfect state being his athletic ineptitude and the slightly crooked part of his nose that had happened years before. Matt’s eyes trailed to Anna who sat with her notepad looking uninterested.

  “Might be fun,” the dulcet tones of Mark pitched in. The boy received a flutter of eyelashes from the second cheerleader for his lukewarm response Matt noticed. Not that his friend paid them any attention, instead he smiled warmly and looking at Kitty who blushed furiously and turned her head away from his gaze ever so slightly, smiling coyly.

  Apparently, the cheerleaders were not just eye candy and were paying out at different rates depending on the eagerness of the potential male patrons. That only led him to wonder what the girls were getting if they agreed to come. He didn’t have to wonder long, Natalie being next to sell her soul.

  “Sounds good to me. I’m in.”

  Matt watched a sly grin form on Raymond’s lips when he winked at Natalie. Popular, well dressed, good looking and above all else still single the chocolate haired girl was considered quite a catch. However, in Matt’s opinion, well out of Raymond’s league.

  “I might be able to go for a little while,” Kitty then added softly on the back of the other girls’ commitment her eyes looking directly at Mark and her smile now soft. Matt considered the exchange between them for a split second but another interruption, this time from Raymond, drove the thought from his head.

  “All right that’s the two gents and the lovely ladies at this table.”

  Raymond’s over-exuberant tone had become irritating now Matt thought, turning his head to gaze upon a pa
tch of Anna’s bright hair that glistened in a stray beam of sunlight. It felt strangely soothing but as he watched it he considered how Raymond had not included Anna in his sweeping ‘Lovely ladies’ commentary.

  “Now please remember to keep the skirts high and the tops low.”

  Matt heard Natalie make an ‘Urgh’ sound at Raymond’s elongate ‘ow’. However, if the weasel-faced boy heard he took no notice.

  “So, Matt, how about it? Everyone else is going. You don’t wanna be left out do ya?”

  Matt had to tear his eyes away from Anna in order to give Raymond a polite response. Fixing his gaze upon him one of the cheerleaders decided to add words of enticement.

  “Come on Matt. We promise we’ll take good care of you.”

  Matt felt his eyes slowly wander back to Anna. She hadn’t looked up or given any other indication that she was aware of the conversation since it had started. “Sorry, Ray, I’ve got plans with Anna,” he said with all of the politeness he could muster.

  “Hey, we cater for couples also.” He shrugged as if about to make a huge sacrifice. “I suppose you could bring her along if you have to.”

  A flash of anger coursed through Matt upon hearing the grudging resentment in Raymond’s tone. It was no secret to Matt that the general consensus of the student body held Anna to be a weirdo and someone they did not want to associate with. However, Matt also knew that Raymond would be desperate for him to go to his party and felt the other boy could at least have made some sort of effort to hide his displeasure.

  “No, Raymond, I’ve got plans with my girlfriend.” He kept his tone level but firm. In the hopes that Raymond would simply accept this, he added, “alone.”

  The entire table bar Anna stared at him; both Dylan and Natalie with looks of horror on their faces. Raymond was the first to regain composure and tried a different approach.

  “You do know what you’re implying here right?” he said as if Matt had declared himself a rooster. “You know that not showing up to the biggest party of the year is like social suicide?”