by S. L. Naeole
Stacy’s giggling, accompanied by the random snort broke through our argument, causing me to realize just how ridiculous it was. “If you two only knew how hilarious you sound,” she gasped, tears causing her eyelashes to spike. “I mean, it’s probably only funny to me because let’s face it, your mom’s supposed to be this perfect angel and she can’t even make Jello! And Grace actually had to eat some of it!”
Lark groaned as I, too, started to laugh. “Humans have such low standards when it comes to humor.”
“Oh quit complaining,” I said between laughter. “You’re best friends with a human, your brother is dating one, and for all intents and purposes you’re pretending to be one so obviously your standards have lowered, too.”
We continued this way for the next ten minutes while Stacy maneuvered her way through the holiday traffic. “I don’t think I’ve seen so many cars on the road here ever,” she griped as she pulled into the darkening parking lot. “I am so ready to see something unromantic, unfunny, and totally gory. Oh, and something my mother would definitely disapprove of.”
“Here here!” Lark concurred.
“Are we actually going to find something like that on Valentine’s Day?” I asked as I climbed out of the backseat. I stretched my legs and shocked myself by wishing that I had chosen to arrive on the back of Robert’s motorcycle.
So when did your dad start letting Robert pick you up on his bike? Lark wanted to know.
“There’s always at least one horror flick playing on Valentine’s Day, Grace,” Stacy confirmed.
I looked at the two of them, each one staring back awaiting an answer.
“Okay, Stacy. You’re the Zombie expert,” I said quickly. My dad had a change of heart after talking to your mom about Robert’s bike. She told him that he’s very careful, has never had an accident, and feels more comfortable on it than driving the car. My dad said that for short trips, like to school and back, I could ride the bike.
We entered the lobby of the theater, the smell of popcorn and hot dogs hitting our noses like a combination punch. I glanced at the marquee, browsing the different titles in search of the one that Stacy would most like to see.
“See, there it is, just like I told you,” Stacy pointed out. The title definitely jumped out at you. “Black Bouquet. It’s supposed to be the greatest slasher-flick in over a decade. It’s going to spawn some serious sequels, although I’m pretty sure that some of them will go straight to DVD.”
I simply stared as she pointed to the movie poster that hung between two obvious romantic comedies. A bouquet of black roses dripping with the deep burgundy of blood set against a backdrop of pure white velvet stood out among the posters full of beautiful, laughing faces. I shook my head, wondering when it was that I had graduated from Rocky Horror to actual horror.
“Hey, do you think you get a family discount?” Stacy asked Lark as we walked up to the ticket counter. “I don’t get a girlfriend discount so I don’t think Grace would get one either, but maybe you do.”
Lark looked at Stacy with a quirky smile crossing her lips. “I’ve never had to pay for a ticket in my life and I don’t plan on starting.”
She smiled at the lady behind the counter, a brilliant smile that made the woman beam. “I’d like three tickets to see Black Bouquet, please.”
The woman, her eyes still gleaming, her smile broad and full on her face, waited for the tickets to print out and then handed them over to Lark. “Enjoy the show,” she said cheerfully.
Lark thanked her and then turned around, handing Stacy and I each a ticket. “See?”
Stacy’s grin was nearly as wide as the woman’s. “Wow! Why didn’t you say something the last time we were here? Is this okay, though? I mean, you won’t get in trouble, will you?”
“Is this even legal?” I asked worriedly.
Lark turned her back to us and pointed at the star of the most recent hit movie. “See that woman in that poster? She made more money for a ninety minute movie than all of the teachers’ in school do combined. Her latest boy toy is starring in the movie we’re about to see, and he got paid twice as much as she did. I think it’s perfectly okay if we take three tickets worth of money from their bank account.”
Stacy nodded, obviously agreeing with Lark’s contrived argument. I was interested in something else entirely.
“Lark, are you allowed to do this? I mean, if it’s not okay to lie, why would it be okay to steal, because that’s what this amounts to: theft.”
She laughed at my concern. “Oh please spare me the moral lectures, Grace. I may be blind, but I’m not stupid. Just enjoy the perk of having me for a friend and let’s go and get some popcorn.”
“I don’t like popcorn,” I admitted.
“You don’t like popcorn?” the two of them gasped.
“Yeah, she hates the stuff,” came Graham’s voice from behind me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled reassuringly. “Always has. I always say more for me, but some people find it odd.”
Stacy looked away while Lark smiled. “Odd? I’d say you’re the perfect person to have come with you to the movies. You can buy a bag of popcorn for someone who likes it and then they won’t look like a pig to everyone else. You’re a popcorn junkie decoy!”
“O-okay.”
“So, what movie are you guys watching?” Graham asked, looking over my shoulder at the ticket in my hand. “Black Bouquet? A horror movie? Why not one of the rom-coms we have out?”
“Why not? It’s not like any of us feel exceptionally romantic tonight,” Stacy bit out. “A horror movie is just what we need to keep us in the mood.”
I looked at Stacy quizzically. Mood? What mood?
“What mood?” Graham asked, as though he plucked it straight from my thoughts.
“Unromantic.”
“Oh.”
Lark crept up beside me as Stacy and Graham’s conversation quickly escalated into an argument.
“I don’t get why you think it’s perfectly alright to complain about my lack of romance when you’re the one who turned me down when I asked if you wanted to go to the dance tonight! We could be surrounded by stupid flowers and balloons right now, swimming in romance.”
Stacy dismissed his statement. “I didn’t want to go to some stupid dance where everyone’s competing for who has the best dress, who has the best dance moves, who has the best corsage. That’s not romantic. That’s commercial.”
Lark pulled me several steps away from the growing dispute, and I glared at the crowd that had gathered to watch. Did Stacy tell you the real reason she didn’t want to go to the dance tonight? Lark wanted to know, her eyes flitting around, listening to the thoughts of the people surrounding us.
I shook my head. She reveals more things to you than she does to me.
She told Graham no because she thinks he wants to have sex with her and she’s not ready.
I slowly closed my mouth and looked at Stacy and Graham closely, ignoring the redness of anger that disguised their faces from those who truly knew them. Wow. Did you tell her she has nothing to worry about?
Lark gave me an exasperated look, as she shook her head. How would I explain that to her without revealing a thing about Graham? I couldn’t do that to her. It wouldn’t be right.
“Do you two mind telling me what’s going on?”
I turned around to see Robert standing behind us, mild anger crossing his features. “They’re arguing,” I answered, ignoring the obviousness of my statement.
“I see that. Will either of you explain to me why?” he asked as he crept closer to me, his gaze never leaving my face.
“Um…I really don’t know. I think it’s about the fact that they’re not at the dance tonight. And why are you asking? Couldn’t you just…you know.”
His hand rose to gently touch the side of my face. “I could, but it’s much more entertaining to hear other people’s perspectives. Especially yours.”
I couldn’t see it, but I knew that that slight contact bet
ween our skin had left my face bright pink with the blush of remembrance. My lips pursed as I looked at him through the corners of my eyes. You cheated.
He didn’t say anything. He merely winked at me and walked over towards the arguing couple. I nearly leapt after him, some strange feeling of protectiveness washing over me that I had not expected but I didn’t know who it was for. He spoke in a low voice—so low I couldn’t make out what he was saying—to Graham and Stacy before nodding his head and turning around, a stiff smile on his face.
“Everything’s okay. Why don’t you ladies go and enjoy your movie,” he said to us when he returned. “I’m sure that it’s about ready to start.”
I opened my mouth to ask him what he had said but he brought his finger to his mouth, a sign. I didn’t feel ready to leave him yet but he appeared ready for me to be. “But…we don’t even have any popcorn,” I blurted.
“But you don’t like popcorn,” three voices around me announced.
***
I sat through the movie, oblivious to what was on the screen. Beside me, Stacy was laughing at each scene, the imagery apparently amusing to her. Lark, on the other hand, was thoroughly annoyed. So annoyed in fact that she didn’t care that she was supposed to be blind.
“They call that a wound? Look at the skin! Saw blades tear at the skin. That skin is smooth, like a scalpel sliced through it. You’d think with such a big budget, these special effects artists could at least have done some research on the way actual skin looks when damaged. And the blood! Who believes red corn syrup is actually blood?”
As the minutes ticked by, I felt myself sinking deeper and deeper into my seat. People around me were trying to forget about being in love, wanting love, looking for love. They were absorbed in gore and guts, escaping the mad, flower and candy heart laden world just beyond the theater doors.
But for the first time in eleven years, I longed for it. The sounds of screaming and slashing, of bodies piling up were causing my mind to recall images I did not want to see. I looked at Stacy; she was so into the movie I probably wouldn’t have been able to glean a response from her if I set her clothes on fire. I turned to look at Lark. She seemed far too engrossed in the inaccuracies to hear my thoughts. As a precaution I started to jumble my thoughts, filling my mind with them, pulling away at just the right moment and finding a quiet corner to focus on what today had meant for so long.
The excuses I made for disliking Valentine’s day had all been a way to avoid the real reason. My mother’s death, the car accident had been the death of one Grace and the birth of another. The sweet Grace that had been accepted, been welcome died that night along with my mother and in her place, the Grace that survived an exploding car, that couldn’t remember a single thing, the “freak” had been born.
I hated that night because I couldn’t remember what had happened, couldn’t recall anything, not for anyone. Dad had asked me over and over, the police had questioned me, too. Therapists had tried to coax the secrets from me, but nothing worked. Until Robert.
He had shown me, physically taken me there to see, to remember. My thoughts brought to life in front of me and I was finally able to understand what had happened to me. I had accepted it, embraced it because for just a brief moment, I was reunited with my mother and I could now look back on those short, precious minutes and know that I had been blind to the truth not because what people had been saying was true. I had blocked out the truth because I couldn’t accept it until Robert was with me.
I shuddered as I thought of what my life would have become had I succeeded at pushing him away after finding out what he truly was, what his call was. Simply imagining it left me feeling cold and empty.
“The main character should have been dead three scenes ago! How unrealistic are they trying to make this movie be?” Lark complained.
I braced myself for the protest from another member of the audience but none came. I slyly peeked around me and nearly fell out of my seat. We were the only three people in the theater!
“Can you believe her? Like any normal person would go and meet some stranger in the middle of nowhere!”
Seeing my opportunity to leave without being too distracting, I crept out of my seat and slowly ambled towards the aisle. I turned to see if Lark and Stacy had noticed my departure and smiled when I caught Lark’s hand poised to throw some popcorn she had found on the floor at the screen. She might think we had low standards but Lark was every bit as much a human as we were.
I entered the hallway between theaters and headed towards the lobby, my nose following the pungent smell of burnt popcorn. It was fairly empty—most of the movies were currently playing—so I walked over to the door that read “employees only” and stared at it, thinking of his name, picturing his captivating eyes staring down at me.
“You’re going to go cross-eyed if you keep staring at that door, Grace,” Graham called out to me from behind the concession counter.
“Maybe it’ll help me out in the looks department,” I replied. I continued to look at the door, wondering how long it would take before he showed up. “Where is he?”
“Probably ordering us some more popcorn, or something along those lines. He’s always in there. I’d start to wonder about him if I didn’t see the way he looked at you all the time.” Graham frowned as he said that, his forehead wrinkling with the thought that formed in his head. “D-do I look like that?”
I stepped away from the door and walked over to him. “Do you look like what?”
“Do I ever…have you ever seen me have that look on my face?” he questioned.
I watched him, saw the nearly pained look he had in his eyes as he awaited my answer. “Actually, yes, I have.”
It was an honest answer, and it was one that I freely gave. It didn’t matter who he was looking at when he did so, it only mattered that he was capable of doing it.
“Grace, do you think I’m unromantic?”
I held my hands up at that question. “Whoa, just because I told you I was in love with you, that doesn’t mean you get to ask me all these emotional questions,” I kidded, winking at him when it took a bit longer for him to realize that I wasn’t being serious.
“Graham, I know you’re not exactly the romantic type. You’re Mr. Football, not Mr. Flowers and Candy. But I do know that you’ve got a sentimental streak to you, and when you show it, man…it ends up being one of the most romantic things I’ve ever seen.”
The slight smirk on his face told me that I was convincing him, reassuring him that he wasn’t whatever it was that he thought. He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a little white heart. He handed it to me and I examined it in my palm. It had two little words inscribed on it.
“Best Friends.”
“Yes we are,” I agreed, and popped the little heart into my mouth, nearly gagging at the chalky, peppermint sweetness. “But next time, write it out on a post-it or something, okay? I think it’d taste much better than this.”
He laughed as he watched me struggle with the candy and handed me a cup of water. “Sorry. I guess I still get a kick out of watching you eat whatever it is I give you.”
“That’s because you’re a sadist,” I stated, gladly accepting the cup of liquid relief.
“Well, that’s true,” he agreed. “But you’re not exactly an angel yourself, you know.”
I coughed, nearly choking on the water. He whacked my back a few times, slightly amused to be doing so and slightly concerned as to why he needed to in the first place. “None of us are angels, Graham,” I managed to choke out before a fit of coughing took over.
He removed the cup from my hand and thumped my back a few more times until I settled down. “Geez, Grace. You’re too serious tonight. It’s no wonder Stacy likes hanging around you and Lark. The three of you make a fairly frightening trio sometimes.”
“We do not!”
He snickered at my response. “You are! Just think about how intimidating you three are. You stood up to Erica during the so
liloquy, totally destroyed her in under two minutes. Then there’s Stacy, who got knocked out and came back to school the next day like some kind of superwoman. And then there’s Lark, who’s so beautiful everyone forgot about Erica today and gave their gifts to her instead.”
“Even you,” I said softly. I watched his reaction, his expression change from surprised to defiant. I was pleased.
“You know then. She told you.”
I shook my head. “She didn’t tell anyone. I was there when she found it, Graham. I knew who it was from the minute I saw what it was, and I have to say, that was pretty slick, typing the note in Braille. When did you learn how to do that?”
He smirked at the praise. “The girl who cuts my hair has a sister who’s blind. I was telling her my idea, since I know that none of you know who she is, and she mentioned her sister and suggested that she write the note. So…what did she say?”
I wanted to say that she liked it, that she was over the moon, but she hadn’t said anything about it. So that’s what I told him. I almost wished I had kept my mouth shut when I spied the disappointment flash in his eyes and pull his carefree grin down. Almost. Whatever the fate of Graham and Lark, right now Graham was dating Stacy. He shouldn’t have been giving anyone Valentine’s Day gifts if he hadn’t given her any, and so I told him that.
“I know, Grace. It was stupid and dumb, and I suck at being a boyfriend but I didn’t really think about not getting Stacy a present, if that makes any sense to you.”
The conversation paused as Graham helped a kid who went to our school with his drink and popcorn order. The kid looked at the two of us and shook his head. I couldn’t help myself. I winked at him when he looked one last time and laughed when his face distorted with shock and disgust.
“Am I really that frightening?” I asked as the kid left. I looked at my reflection in the chromed frame of the popcorn maker and stuck my tongue out. “Well…am I?”
Shaking his head, Graham replied, “Of course not. You’re just not what a lot of we guys are used to, that’s all. None of you are.”