•a Silent Cause•

•4•

Over the weekend, Kailas had spent most of it talking with Demi through the radio. They had spent Saturday morning beating around the bush. They talked more about what went wrong. There was lots of apologizing that afternoon. By Sunday they were all caught up with each other. It felt like Kailas had gotten those three lonely years back. Like Demi had never left.

Monday morning, Kailas was up at five like usual, but he allowed himself time to lie in bed and think. It was nice to wake up and look forward to something.

Kailas walked to school like usual. He started fast, excited to see Demi in person, and not just have him as a muffled voice. Though as he got closer he slowed his pace. His stomach was doing summersaults.

Would Demi and Kailas's new found friendship be the kind where out of school they were close, but the only interaction they had in school be smiles in the hall?

Kailas didn't want to go back to whatever they were before. He tried to find confidence. Trying to trust that what Demi had said over the weekend was true, and not a spur of the moment. The big building came into view over a head of trees. Kailas hadn't realized he stopped walking. What was he doing?

Kailas unplanted himself from the sidewalk. He walked up to the doors, slowing his pace more to walk with the crowd.

He turned the hall. Demi stood with a small group. Kailas slowed down even more, barley walking. He wanted to see Demi, but he also didn't want to interrupt him with his friends. Kailas got a bit closer; just enough to actually see Demi. He wasn't smiling, but his posture was relaxed. He looked up, met Kailas's eyes and his lips pressed together like he didn't know how to smile, but was trying anyway. He said something to the others, and then slid out of the small circle, the whole time keeping eye contact with Kailas.

It was slightly weird seeing him; Kailas probably made a fool of himself at least five times in the time before first period. After class, it got easier. They sat together during yearbook, Demi tried to convince him to sit with him at lunch, but Kailas backed out, his face probably red the entire time. For one, he didn't have a lunch, and two; he didn't feel like sitting with Demi's other friends.

Demi found him in the library. They sat together at one of the tables in the back. Demi gave Kailas a look he hadn't seen in a while, and then pushed the other half of his lunch across the table to him. Kailas felt something he hadn't felt in a while: warm, accepted.

After school, they walked to the library down the block together. They talked on the way there, using loud voices and hand gestures and half the time their conversations were nonsense mixed with laughter. For Kailas, it was the definition of joy. As they entered the building, Demi was trying to explain some argument that had happened between a student and a teacher at school, when he had bumped into a bookrack. His eyes had been on Kailas the entire time, and for some reason, Demi thought it would be fun to walk backwards as they talked. Kailas laughed as Demi tried to catch the books and steady the rack at the same time. The librarian glared at them, saying something under their breath with irritation. Kailas grinned more, not bothered by the judgment, because he wasn't taking it alone.

They found a seat in the back, like at school. Kailas pulled out homework, while Demi claimed he had none and preferred to just draw, every once in a while he would catch Demi looking at him, then he would ask to see what he was drawing, but each time Demi just said "Nothing,".
They sat in silence; every once in awhile making comments about books or stupid questions on tests, or people that passed. Each time one of them got too excited about something, the librarian would glare and shush them. Demi muttered courses under his breath each time, and Kailas only smiled to himself. He felt like a normal teenager, just hanging out with a friend. Content.