All Rubber Duckies Go To Heaven

Chapter Eleven

["Ocean Avenue" by Yellowcard] and ["All That I'm Living For" by Evanescence]

I slid into the rowdy classroom just as Mr. Carson was rushing out. He stopped as his eyes caught onto me and I figured that was it. Off to the office I’d be sent.

“Oh thank God,” he breathed the words absolutely relieved. “January.”

Huh. “Uh, yeah? I mean, yes sir?”

“I’ve got an emergency. Could you keep the class in check for a moment? I just…. My wife is in labor. I promise I’ll get someone but it’ll be a minute. Can you handle that?”

I was a little shocked so I simply nodded.

“Thank you so much! Remind me to exempt you or something!” His voice died off as he continued down the hall.

Honestly I didn’t want to . I was shaking as I slid into my desk, the first one when you walked into the room.

This class wasn’t bad or anything. We weren’t insanely rowdy so there wasn’t much to watch. I did, however, keep my nervous eyes on Jayden.

I stiffened as his gaze fell upon me. My eyes hit the floor and I automatically reached for the security of my iPod in the jacket pocket. I unraveled the earphones and plugged them into my ears, unlocked the screen, and pressed play a moment before his fingers touched down on my desk. My skull went numb with the genius of Yellowcard.

“There’s a place off Ocean Avenue

Where I used to sit and talk with you

We were both sixteen and it felt so right

Sleeping all day, staying up all night

Staying up all—”

I jumped when Jayden tugged the earphones from my ears. My ribs hit the safety bar that connected the desk and the chair, causing me to wince. Really, what was the point of the stupid metal bar?

He stood in front of my desk and leaned on it with his forearms so he was eye level with me. His messy brown hair fell into his eyes so I couldn’t get a clear picture of what he was thinking. Without warning he reached out and slid his icy thumb along the bottom of my black eye. It felt…good but in the worst way.

I jerked my face away.

Jayden’s face fell. I watched as he kneeled down so he was on his knees and his chin was resting on the desk. His arms crossed in front of his mouth and all I saw of his face was the portion above his mouth. Even then that was covered by his bangs. His eyes were solemn and innocent at the time, not tainted with negative emotions.

This reminded me of the Jayden I’d known. He’s used to be like this all the time, playful and solemn and fun. At times he still was but those glimmers were covered in the filth of his new found dark side.

I wasted a few seconds staring to my right. I wasn’t focusing on him at all but I could see him through the corners of my eyes, staring at me. He spoke once the silence had settled uneasily.

“Does it hurt?”

I shook my head, turning to face him. “Not that one. The ones on my back do, though. Just like the ones on my ribs. And this one. “ I touched the base of my jaw with two fingers. “And this.” I rolled up my sleeve to allow him a glimpse of the handprint before hastily tugging the sleeve down and slipping my thumb back through the hole.

Shock registered on his face. Good, he was still human.

“I did that?”

I slumped down in my desk, nodding slightly.