by Dean Murray
Chapter 16
My time with Brandon blurred by too quickly. It was like the time between when he picked me up and dropped me off didn't even exist. One moment I'd be blah and mundane, then next I'd be with him and the world was perfect. When I was by myself, it was hard to believe it all hadn't been a dream.
Thursday morning flew by, it was like I blinked and it was already time for Mrs. Campbell's class. A number of the other girls, and even a couple of the guys, stopped by my desk before the bell rang to congratulate me on winning the last ticket to Les Misérables. Britney wasn't one of them. I caught her glaring at me a couple of times out of the corner of my eye.
Under normal circumstances I probably would've felt guilty, or at least wished things had worked out differently. Today, I was fully prepared to acknowledge Britney as the spoiled, self-centered brat she was.
The bell rang and then Mrs. Campbell's lecture was over in record time. I even finished my assignment a good ten minutes before class was scheduled to end. I was absently sketching what I expected the inside of the opera house to look like, when a tap on my shoulder pulled me out of my reverie.
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Campbell. I finished early, but I should have started on one of the catch-up assignments. I just didn't want to get into a whole new subject with only ten minutes left."
Her smile was much more understanding than normal for a classroom situation. It took the sting out of the words that were probably just for the people close enough to overhear.
"Don't you worry, Miss Paige, I'll let you know when I don't think you're keeping up. Seeing as you are done though, would you please run something over to Mrs. North? I'd do it, but I need to go to a special projects meeting today during lunch."
As quickly as that, my books were in my backpack and I was on my way to the second story of the school, which housed music, sketching, and all the other forms of art lesser mortals like me would never master.
The journey would've been completely unremarkable except that I happened to glance into one of the classrooms just before I found Mrs. North's room. Even a brief glance screamed art students. There were at least twenty people sitting in front of contraptions that looked like a cross between an easel and a desk, and most of them had the look of intense concentration I'd come to associate with Mom attempting to frame a picture.
The notable exception was Alec, who I almost didn't recognize. I hadn't expected to see him in an art class, but more than that was the way his face seemed transformed. He'd always been gorgeous. I could dislike, even hate him, and still acknowledge that he made my heart go pitter-patter, but this was something else. He looked so happy, so at peace with the world, that for the brief moment between when I saw him and when I recognized him, I thought I'd seen an angel.
I'd always thought that intense look of concentration was the sign of a true artist. Maybe it still was. Maybe whatever he was drawing was absolute crap. Maybe the masters like Michelangelo and da Vinci had completed their greatest works with expressions very similar to what everyone else in the class was sporting. Still, I couldn't help envy such contentment.
I dropped off my bundle of papers at Mrs. North's class, and started back towards my locker. I couldn't help trying to catch another glimpse of the art class as I walked past. I'd been hoping to see Alec again, but hadn't expected him to look up as I craned my neck to see inside.
I stumbled a little in surprise. He was still gorgeous, but the simple joy was gone. He no longer looked like something that couldn't exist in this world, but even with anger etched on his features my heart still skipped a beat. I ducked around the corner and started down the stairs, my embarrassment at being caught staring giving way to anger. It didn't make any sense. I'd never done anything to him. Did he really hate me so much just because I'd told him off about not protecting Rachel?
Cassie was waiting for me at my locker when I got there. "Brandon wanted me to stop by and let you know he had a few things to take care of, so he won't see you during lunch. You can still come sit with us if you want."
The words were right. If I'd been reading them off of a page in a book, I probably would've believed them, but the way she delivered them left no doubt in my mind. She didn't want me at their table. The only reason she'd stopped by my locker was because Brandon had told her to.
"Thanks, but I have some studying to do. I'd better just find a quiet corner."
The smile I received was sickly sweet, but left me with the impression I'd just failed a test. "Okay, we'll see you another day then?"
I pulled out my Spanish and Biology books, more because they were the two subjects I was doing the worst in than out of any real desire to study them, and wandered the halls until Mr. Whethers took pity on me and asked if I wanted to study in his classroom.
Sitting there all by myself felt so lonely. When you boiled it all down, I had a grand total of two friends in Sanctuary. Rachel and Brandon, both of who seemed to dislike the other, and neither of whom I was really sure I could count on. It was fine to only have two friends, or even just one friend if you knew they would do everything they possibly could to make sure they wouldn't let you down. It was entirely different when you weren't sure you could trust the people around you.
Brandon was too good to be true. I pretty much expected any day now he'd come to his senses and realize he could do a lot better. Right or not, it's hard to really become emotionally invested when you feel like that.
Rachel on the other hand should have been the perfect friend, but I got the feeling she'd always choose her brother over me. I felt guilty for holding that against her, family should be important. Cindi's friends back in Minnesota had probably felt similarly, but I'd always been really careful not to make her choose between me and them. Alec seemed like the type who'd force a decision just because he could.
I felt my heart go crazy at the same time tears started gathering at the corner of my eyes. It was stupid to have risked a panic attack when I was already borderline depressed, but that was what I was looking at now.
I'd picked a seat that wasn't visible from the doorway, so I just put my head down and let the twin traumas run their course. By the time I was feeling steady enough to leave the classroom, I had just enough time to make it to the bathroom and try to clean myself up before lunch ended.
The rest of the day went in starts and stutters. I went from answering a question about the economy of post-Civil War Georgia, to watching Alec start putting together rough plans for our next group project.
I had just enough time to notice he seemed relieved I wasn't trying to get in his way, and then Spanish was finishing up and I was headed to the tutoring lab. Most Friday afternoon sessions were pretty sparsely attended. Today was no different, which was a good thing since I probably wouldn't have done a very good job of explaining anything.
Mrs. Campbell shut everything down before my shift started, and sent me home with a concerned look in her eye. Rachel skipped over to my table while I was still trying to get my books put away.
"Guess what. I'm bringing pizza on the bus so we'll have something to eat on the way to Les Misérables. I can't wait. My first time going to Les Misérables, and my first road trip on a bus."
"You've never actually been on a school bus before, have you?"
Rachel blushed a little bit. "Well, no not really. It should be fun still though, right?"
I found myself returning her smile. You really couldn't spend any time around Rachel and not find yourself smiling. "Well, I've heard about bus trips that were extremely fun, but I've never been on one before. For me it's always been way too much time crammed into a relatively small space with fifty or sixty other people and no bathroom. Still, if any bus trip is going to be fun, it'd be this one."
Rachel handed me my last book, and waved to Isaac, who was just now getting up from his table.
"Hello, Adriana. I assume you'll need a ride home today?"
It was the first time Isaac had actually spoken to me, and I was surprised
at how well-spoken he was. His voice sounded like a superbly-tuned cello. I filed the information away as further evidence he wasn't really our age.
"Yes please, Brandon can only take me home on Tuesdays and Thursdays."
It wasn't my imagination; Isaac flinched slightly, and Rachel's smile momentarily turned plastic. I mentally kicked myself for having once again stepped squarely between the Capulets and Montagues.
Isaac recovered with admirable speed, smiling as he gestured us forward. "Well, then, after you."
It wasn't until Rachel and Isaac were driving away that I realized she'd completely pulled me out of my funk. I still didn't know that I could really depend on her, but at least I knew she'd try her hardest.