by KB Benson
And with that she turns and walks out of the room just before the bell rings.
For the eightieth time today, I wish I knew where Iris lived so I could check in on her just to make sure she’s okay. Scenarios play through my mind, and I imagine showing up at her doorstep. Would she fall for the excuse that I wanted to tell her how the presentation went? Someone must know where she lives—the front office, of course; but they won’t give out her personal information. I remember Iris spoke to Quinton on my first day of school. I’m not sure how well he knows her, but it’s a good place to start.
Quickly buying my food from the cafeteria, I scan the hundreds of heads in the lunch room searching for Quinton’s stark white hair. I catch a glimpse of it just as he heads out of the cafeteria and into the main commons. He sits along a wall with the group from Marina State Beach.
“What’s up, guys?” I take a seat next to them.
“Welcome, welcome,” Quinton says.
“I don’t know,” Meghan wipes her palms on her jeans, already in mid-conversation. “I always want to perform, but I get too nervous when it comes to show time. I don’t think I can do it. I’ll make myself sick before going on stage.”
“Meghan plays the cello,” Quinton explains. “We’re trying to convince her to try out for the talent show, but she’s too chicken.”
“Shut up!” Meghan throws a roll at Quinton’s head, missing him by a few centimeters.
“Yeah, don’t pressure her,” Dotty defends. “If she doesn’t want to do it, she shouldn’t have to.”
“But it would be a good way to get your name out there, Megs,” Laney says.
“I just don’t think I’m ready.” Meghan buries her head in her hands.
I jump in, hoping to save Meghan from the debate. “What are the rest of you planning to do for the talent show?”
“Laney and I are going to kill it with a ballroom dance number.” Chase lifts his arm and sways with an invisible partner. “Lisa, Dotty, and Kirk want to do a handstand contest relay race thing. They all have this odd ability to have like supernal balance. It’s wicked awesome.”
“Oh, that’s pretty sweet.”
“Yeah—but not sweet enough to beat out a ballroom show that lights up the stage. I’ve got to make sure I gauge all the competition.” Chase eyes me warily. “Are you doing anything?”
“I haven’t decided yet. If I do, I’ll probably just play the guitar, probably like half of the other acts; so I’m probably not much competition,” I say.
“Hey, as long as you’re better than the rest of the musical acts, you are. I say, if you’ve got musical talent, then you should definitely be sharin’ the love. Would you perform a cover or an original?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’d rather perform an original, but writing my own music is just a hobby. I’m more of a surfer than I am a musician.”
We finish lunch with no more talk about the talent show and, unfortunately, no easy way for me to bring up Iris. Lunch with these guys is its own extreme sport in and of itself. Kirk handed Laney a concoction made up of everyone’s leftovers; I never would’ve thought she’d try it, let alone down the entire thing in under a minute.
The five-minute warning bell rings and everyone starts packing up their stuff. If I don’t ask Quinton now, I’ll be kicking myself all day. I swallow my pride and take a breath. Grabbing Quinton’s shoulder, I say, “Hey, man! I’ve got a question for you.”
“Oh, sure. What’s up?”
“You’re friends with Iris, right? I was wondering—what?”
Quinton shakes his head. “Uhh, no. I’m not really friends with her. The first time I hung out with her was at the beach on Saturday. Before that, she just blew me off for a date. In fact, I think she’s blown off practically every guy in this school for a date.”
“Really?” I guess she tried to blow me off, but I wouldn’t stop pushing.
“Actually, that’s a lie.” A hint of jealousy seeps into Quinton’s voice. “I’ve seen her get to know some guys. She was really tight with this kid a few months back before you moved in. I think his name was Todd Lachloot. He was pretty nice from what I remember. I think he was on the debate team. They started hanging out a lot; they might’ve even been dating. I’m not sure.”
“What happened?” I ask.
“He totally isolated himself from everyone once they started hanging out. After a few months, he disappeared. No one knows what happened, if he ran away, or was kidnapped or what. Iris was pretty messed up about it. She wouldn’t even speak, not that she talks a lot as it is; but she was more silent than usual. You should’ve seen her; it was like her heart was breaking and just by looking at her, I swear you could feel your heart breaking, too.”
“Wow,” I say. “He just vanished without a trace?”
Quinton nods. “Yep.”
“That’s so crazy, poor Iris. I can only imagine how hard that’d be.”
“Yeah, but I kind of think she deserves it.”
“Really?” I ask. “It’s hard to believe anyone would deserve that.”
“Well, you haven’t been blown off by her yet. You hang out with her, though, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do sometimes.”
“Have you noticed that feeling you get around her? Like everything feels so much more intense, more vivid?”
I’m surprised he’d know she makes me feel that way. “Hmm, I guess so.”
“I don’t know how that’s possible, but something’s up with that. Sometimes I think it’s just safer to stay away from her then you don’t get caught up in all the emotional drama that comes from intensity.”
“I guess that makes sense. You probably don’t know where she lives then, huh?”
“Lives? No way. I don’t think anyone knows that. I don’t know if it’s escaped your attention, but she doesn’t really have a lot of friends.”
“Not even any girl friends?” I ask.
“Have you seen her hang out with any girls? My thought is they all hate her because of the way she looks—jealousy, you know. I’m so glad I’m a guy.”
“Yeah… me, too.”
Chapter 11
JACE
The next day, as I head to my first class, I pass by the central bulletin board in the main commons area of the school. Flier after flier stick to its surface, a fluorescent pink signup sheet front and center: “TALENT SHOW SIGNUP…”
I fish through my backpack for a pen; I might as well sign up to at least audition. I scrawl my name at the bottom of the list. The auditions are in a few weeks which should give me plenty of time to come up with a half-decent song.
Throughout the day, each class lecture is more of a struggle to sit through than the last. My mind wanders through optional lyrics and first lines. I can’t stop thinking of how the music should flow or when I should add in harmony.
“Jace,” Mrs. Cravinsky grates in her scratchy, high-pitched voice.
I jolt in my seat, and slam back into reality. Mrs. Cravinsky purses her lips.
“Yeah?” I ask.
“Well, do you have an answer for the class?”
Looking around, I try to remember which class I’m in. The class is bigger than most—Advanced Fiction of the Great Depression. I try to clear my head. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Cravinsky, what was the question again?”
Some girls giggle in a back corner. Mrs. Cravinsky rolls her eyes. “To which city does Romeo go after being exiled from Verona?”
We’ve been studying Romeo and Juliet this semester, and Mrs. Cravinsky had thought it would be fun to have an oral quiz with random questions from the reading once a week. “Um, Mantua?”
I know I’m right, but Mrs. Cravinsky stares at me for a moment. “I suggest you pay attention, Jace. Next time you may not be as lucky to guess correctly.” She turns on her heel and stalks to the front of the classroom again, calling on another victim to answer her next question.
After a few days, Iris is still missing from Mythology. I’m not too worried sh
e didn’t show up to class for our presentation on Monday, except for the fact she now has to make it up; but when she disappears for an entire week, I won’t lie, I start to get nervous. Add to that the realization I have no idea how to reach her, and the possibilities my mind creates are endless. She’s probably just on vacation with her family; although no one seems to know where she lives or anything about her family. Or maybe she’s just ditching. Quinton did say she has the highest detention record in the class.
To control my wandering thoughts, I keep myself busy mostly by eating lunch with Quinton’s group. It turns out both Quinton and Laney are way into surfing, too. I try to stop myself, but despite my efforts, I can’t help but glance behind my shoulder every afternoon and watch for Iris to slip into the commons through the double doors. Every time I search for her, though, my tiny fleck of hope disintegrates when I realize she’s not here.
“So…” Quinton slurs as we all meet up outside the main entrance after the final bell rings.
“So…?” I ask in return.
“C’mon, don’t make us guess,” Quinton says, a touch of annoyance coating his voice.
“Guess what?” Sweat beads on the back of my neck as I silently pray they haven’t noticed how often I’m always looking for someone.
“About your talent. There’s only like a week and a half until the audition. Are you planning to actually audition?”
“Yeah,” I shrug. “I have bits and pieces, but it’s just not coming together like I want it to. It’s not horrible, but I’m not all that proud of it.”
“Well, Laney and I are totally up for a free concert if you need some extra practice.” Chase joins the conversation and slings his arm around Laney. She rolls her eyes at Chase and pushes his arm off her shoulders.
“How are your guys’ talents going?”
“Great.” Laney peeks at Chase from the corner of her eye and smothers a smile. “We aren’t doing a dance anymore, though. Chase and I scrapped the idea after he botched the choreography.”
Chase casually bumps Laney with his hip. I learned a few days ago Laney and Chase are near inseparable. They aren’t officially dating or anything… yet. I brought it up once and Laney’s cheeks flushed pink. She couldn’t make eye contact with anyone for an hour, especially not Chase.
“Instead,” Chase says, interrupting my thoughts, “we’re making a movie—a horror movie. Ooooo.” Chase wiggles his fingers in my face.
“Wow.” When thinking of a talent, I never thought of making a movie. “That actually sounds way fun.”
“Yeah, we’re pretty stoked. Hey, if you can’t finish your song or want to be in two talents, you’re welcome to join ours. At this point we only have two actors.” Chase gestures to himself and to Laney.
“Plus,” Laney chimes in, “we need to have someone to play the vampire or ghost or whatever and I am not doing that part. Besides, I’m the director so I can’t be the main character, too.” Laney holds her head high like we should all be proud of her role as the director.
“Yeah, lucky you, Lanes,” Chase says, mimicking her stance.
“Shut it!” Laney playfully slugs Chase in the arm.
“Well, I’m up for it,” I say. Laney tears her eyes off of Chase’s face. They really should just start dating already. But who am I to talk? “Just let me know what you—” A familiar silhouette catches my eye and slinks around a corner. “Iris?” I whisper.
“What?” Chase asks.
“Huh?”
“What did you say?”
“Oh.” I shake my head, “Yeah, just tell me what you need me to do for the movie.”
“Sweet, dude.”
“Uhh, I gotta go.” I leap to my feet without waiting for Chase’s response. Pushing through the crowded hall, I round the corner where the dark silhouette passed. I dodge through the sea of students rushing to get out of the school. Standing on my toes, I peer over their heads, but I can’t even catch a glimpse through the thick wall of hurried students.
“C’mon,” I mutter, nervous that if who I saw was Iris, I’d lose her again. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!”
“Jace?”
Flipping around, my stress evaporates. The girl who’s driven me insane over the past week walks out of the library. “Iris,” I breathe in relief. “How are you?”
“I’m fine.” Her brow furrows and she looks me over. “Are you okay?”
“Oh. Me? Yeah, of course. I’ve never been better.” This is actually the truth. Now that Iris stands in front of me, a huge weight lifts off my shoulders. I hadn’t even noticed it was there before. I swipe a hand across my brow. Where did this sweat come from? Of course, she comes back and I’m sweaty, red, and clearly losing my mind.
Iris stares at me for a moment and then smiles. “Good. Well, I’ll see you later.” Turning away from me, Iris heads down the hall. The panic swells in my chest again. Without thinking, I run up to her.
“Iris, hang on a sec.”
She stops and faces me. My mind reels for something to say, “Umm, you missed the presentation.”
“I know,” she says matter of fact. “I had family stuff come up I needed to be a part of.”
“Oh.” I nod over and over, still catching my breath. “You’re probably gonna have to make it up, huh?”
“Yeah, we’ll see. I put in a lot of effort on the actual project, so I think I’ll be okay if I just give Mr. Demonas the presentation on my own.”
“I hope that’s all he’ll have you do. Do you need any help prepping for it?”
Iris smiles at me, her face lighting up in an obscuring way. Iris is the only person I know who can lighten and darken a room at the exact same time. “You are so sweet. I should be alright, though.”
“Are you sure?” I ask again. For a minute, she almost seemed like she was going to accept. “I really wouldn’t mind.”
She looks over my head for a minute and then gives one quick nod. “Okay, that would be very helpful. Thank you.”
“Yeah, of course. Do you want to work on it today? I mean, I can meet you at your house if you want?”
Iris looks over her shoulder, a nervous twitch in her neck. “That actually isn’t going to work.” I wait while she pauses. I’ve never seen Iris nervous before. “My parents are pretty strict when it comes to having boys at the house.”
I look at her skeptically. “Oh really? It seems like they’d want all the boys at your house to keep an eye on us,” I say with a wink, sure she’ll break. Iris is too innocent to lie.
Without blinking, she looks me straight in the eye. “Cross my heart. It won’t work.”
“Alright, then. We can do it at my house. It’s small so if my parents get too loud, we can move to study on the beach or something. Does tonight work?”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you there around seven.”
“Cool. It’s good to see you, Iris.”
She smiles and the hallway brightens again. “You too, Jace.”
“Iris,” Mr. Demonas’ even voice interrupts, “are you coming?”
Iris nods and waves to me as she walks down the hall with Demonas.
Chapter 12
JACE
I check the clock for what feels like the hundredth time: eight minutes until Iris should be here. She said seven, right? Actually, she said seven-ish, so maybe I’ve still got a half-hour. I pick up the pillow from the couch again, plump it, and set it back down. I walk to the kitchen, look around for nothing, and then saunter back to the front room. I can’t help but wring my hands together—Iris is coming over here right now. I walk to the bathroom and wash my hands, not that they’re dirty, but just for something to do. I shake my head. Stop it. You are acting like a child. I take a deep breath to regain composure.
“You can do this, be normal,” I counsel myself in the mirror. I have no idea why I’m going so crazy. I’ve hung out with other girls before—heck, I’ve dated dozens—but I’ve never hung out with Iris, just the two of us.
Suddenly
the chime of the doorbell slices through my nervous thoughts and my mind goes blank. I turn off the water, dry my hands on the towel and race to the front door. Before reaching it, I slow my pace and force controlled, natural breaths. I take one final calming breath and open the door.
And there she is: hair long and flowing past her shoulders, her eyes as piercing as ever. She holds a pile of notes in her hands.
“Hey, Jace.” The corners of Iris’ lips curl up into a smile as she says my name.
I blink a few times. It’s like you’d think I was seeing her for the first time. “Hey,” I breathe. Swinging the door wide, I compose myself. “C’mon in.”
She steps in as I open the door. Shrugging off her jacket, she assesses the front room. I wait for her to say something, but she doesn’t.
“Well, hello,” my mom says, sidestepping out of the kitchen. “You are?”
She knows it’s Iris. I couldn’t get her to stop asking questions when I told her Iris was coming over to study.
“Iris.” Iris shakes my mom’s extended hand.
“It’s nice to meet you. Welcome to our home.”
Iris smiles and glances at me when my mom doesn’t leave.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Can I get you anything?”
“Nope, we’re good.” I stare at her as she hovers, hinting to leave us alone.
“Alright.” She slips out of the room with a smile.