The Trap

"Vin...you're so dirty."

Thought I'd add two parts this time ;)

“Vin...you’re so dirty.” Chris shook his head in disbelief, when he heard of my snowy escapade.

I argued back, but all I got was a round of applause from the guys, “A teacher? I see you learned from the master.” Jon added, about himself.

“Not just any teacher – Miss Green! Hot.”

“Very hot.” Jon smirked.

“See I told you you could do it. Am I a great teacher or what?” Nathan folded his arms, triumphantly. He’d been successful in transforming the dateless to the must-date.

“Or what.” I insisted. We all laughed at that.

It would be one of our last group laughs for a few years.

Next year, we were heading in different directions, going off to colleges all over America. Some of us would need planes to reach one another. We’d have to stick to calls and video chat for three years, except for exceptional occasions like birthdays.

We all planned to stay in close contact.

          That Saturday, we went to the mall to shop for Christmas presents and cards, which was actually less than a week away. The year had gone by in a flash – in fact, it seemed like the first day of senior year was just Friday. They’d started putting Christmas decorations up in store windows and around staircases even in school, November the 1st – as soon as the coast was clear to pack away the Halloween decorations and begin earning money off of a different holiday completely.

One celebrated darkness & ghouls, centred evil & villains, and even encouraged children to behave as monsters.

The other celebrated the world’s saviour.

Yes, they were very different indeed.

          Girls all over the mall looked different to me now. Before they’d only been part of the background, blending into the scenery, and they mattered as much as combing my hair in the morning. I brushed by them in a blur and that would be it. But now, they’d become actual objects, actual people – things I noticed and things I could touch. They were real life now and here to stay.

I flirted with the girl behind the donut shop register, while Jon and Nathan went into different stores to get their parents’ gifts. Chris sat on the bench, typing and tapping his phone.

Suddenly, he gasped.

“Oh,” He threw his hand to his mouth, “Shit.”

An upset mother quickly dragged her daughter away, warning her to never use such ‘bad words’.

          “What’s up?” I came to sit with Chris, winking at the girl as I did.

“You – you’re everywhere.” He showed me his home page on Facebook and as I slid down, my mouth did also.

“Oh,” I scrolled down onto the third page, “Shit.” Another mother, this time with a son, warned of the same thing. I thought to myself he’d use them some day, but prayed never in this situation. And then, I thought back to the situation.

“Exactly.”

          When he said I was everywhere, he wasn’t kidding.

Every student had me as their status; the only thing that differed was the variations of my news.

Well done, * Vincent Valentine. 

*Vincent Valentine, my official idol – Miss Green?

*Vincent Valentine & KATE?! Wow.

DUDE! VIN and Kate!

 

          These were just a couple of the statuses he saw. Most others contained much worse language that the moms probably would’ve completely flipped out at.

          Nathan and Chris came back, laughing. Obviously, they’d heard the news.  Everyone else was so calm around me, so I figured I’d have to push it all to the back of my head and just hold on to the panic attack for after I’d arrived home.

I got up from the bench only to hear an awful ripping sound as I stretched out.

          Chris laughed so hard that after a while he started coughing when no more sound could come out. Jon silent laughed from the cold he’d had, and Nathan laughed, eyes shut, hand on sides.

“You know, while we’re at it, we should just buy you a whole new wardrobe. We live in Kingswood. It’s not that cold.” Nathan stressed.

“He’s right, man. This whole jumper shirt thing, it’s not going to work for much longer.” Jon agreed.

So we shopped until I dropped, to which little girls passing by laughed – I guess the joke was always funnier when I was the punch line.

          I got home and tried everything on one more time. Dark jeans, a plain tee-shirt, a jumper over it so that you couldn’t even see the t-shirt and my old Converses, loosely tied,  which Nathan convinced me, looked vintage and cool.

I shook my head, the coils ruffling about at their own pace and then smiled. It was a new me – the new Vincent Valentine.

Call me Vinnie.