10 Things I hate About Her (10 Things #1)

23. Loving Goodbye

Naomi looked at the ceiling. There was nothing but white tiles, fluorescent lights, and a vent that sucked the polluted air from the room. She held onto the tenth letter with a mixture of disbelief and awe. Val had suffered for so long without saying a word to her. She knew Val had been seriously hurt by the events that had taken place. She sensed the pain surrounding every letter and saw the spots on the paper where Val's tears had dried. Her heart ached for Val.

The last letter confused her.

What should she be looking at?

A sudden knock drew Mr. Burns to the door. He opened it and Val entered, wearing a long grey jacket. She took it off and dropped in on Naomi's desk. Beneath it, she wore a black shirt and grey skinny jeans that sagged a bit. Mr. Burns said, "There's no need for you to be here, Ms. Walsh."

Val said, "I have something I want to discuss."

Evidently curious, Mr. Burns tilted his head upward to peer at Val, studying the tall girl as she spoke. Val smiled and led him towards the opposite side of the room, facing away from Naomi. Val cleared her throat and produced her phone. Mr. Burns regarded Val with suspicion but was willing to see what she had planned.

From the phone's speakers, a fast, upbeat song blasted, and a rough voice shouted over the bang of drums, "I like big butts and I can not lie, you other brothers can't deny...." Val pushed Mr. Burns out of the way, placed her phone on an empty desk and lowered herself to the ground. To everyone's amazement, Val began to breakdance. She dropped her torso to the tile, finding a temporary but firm placement for her hands, then her legs windmilled through the air. Her torso twisted and turned, bumping and lurching away from the ground as her legs spun. When the music cut, Val staggered to her feet, dazed and disorientated, her hair falling over her eyes. Panting, she asked Mr. Burns, "Well, what do you think?"

"It was fine. Why did you need to show me that?"

Val said, "I wanted your advice. I was thinking, you know that I might go into dancing, professionally."

Mr. Burns scratched his head. He and Val had their backs to Naomi and subsequently the rest of the classroom. Behind her back, Val made a sign, two fingers moved like they were running across an invisible path. Naomi registered the meaning right away.

The teacher said, "I think you'd be better off as a soccer player. Dancing doesn't pay that well these days and it's a hard industry to get established in. You already have a decent reputation from playing soccer so if I were you, I would work on that."

Val nodded and placed a hand on the midst of Mr. Burns' back. "To be honest, I don't know what I'm doing with my life. I wake up, I eat, I go home and sleep. Nothing's really happening, you know? What's the point to all this? And some day, I may be old like you and instead of going to school, I go to work and it's that same repetitive cycle. It turns me off... Why do we try so hard when we don't really gain anything from living?"

While everyone was distracted by Val, Naomi started to pack her bag. She locked the zipper, swung one handle over her shoulder and picked up Val's jacket. With a great degree of caution, Naomi slipped out of her chair and made her way towards the open entryway.

Spike must have noticed Naomi's movement in her peripheral vision for the goth yelled, "Sir! Naomi's about to ditch. Romeo's only here to distract you."

Naomi's heart jumped, and her palms grew sweaty. Spike grinned and waved at her. Naomi sneered. Val reacted fast, twisting away from the teacher's grasping hand, grabbing her phone and sprinting towards Naomi. The two girls left the class first, barrelling through the empty hallway and taking swift turns right and left through the maze to get to the lesser used exit. Val was by Naomi's side, inching forward. Her expression was bright and lively from the excitement that accompanied a good chase.