The Boy who Broke the Rules

6

When Professor Doom dismissed us, Ruth headed to her next class. I lingered in my seat, just kind of waiting what he would do next.

Would he ever mention what happened in the clearing? Acknowledge it? Did he even remember that it was me?

Of course he did, don't be silly, Parker.

But he didn't say anything. He grabbed his bag and jacket, slung both over his shoulder and left the classroom without a backward glance.

Disappointment swirled in my stomach.

It was lunch break now and the hallways were teeming with students. Pulling out my phone, I texted Ruth to meet me outside so we could sit on the grass and eat our lunches. And so that I could grill her about... Noah.

Noah. Noah. Noah.

"No-ah! No-ah! No-ah!"

I blinked. Was I too obsessed with him that I was hearing his name chanted all over the place?

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

There was a crowd gathered at the end of the hallway, shouting Noah's name. I rushed to see what was happening, pulling back in shock as I watched Noah land a punch in the guy's stomach, followed by an uppercut into the poor guy's chin. The guy fell to the floor, crumpled in pain.

My eyes widened in horror and, without warning, Noah turned his head, looked past the crowd and directly into my eyes. For one electrifying minute, we stared at each other. And just as suddenly, he dropped his gaze and walked away.

***

Ruth might be right, that Noah was bad news, especially after I'd seen him beat up another guy. But I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt before making any assumptions. What did the other guy do or say to make Noah beat the hell out of him?

Why couldn't I get him out of my mind?

Since it was Friday, I was at the school shed with Ruth after classes had ended, helping out Mrs. Garland clean up tools and equipment that the other students didn't bother to put away in Gardening class.

Mrs. Garland was a sweet seventy-year old woman who was a friend of my dad's. She had a habit of ending sentences with, "Understood?" and then waiting for you to say, "Yes, ma'am" before letting you do her errands.

My dad grew up in the small town of Locked Heart Manitoba. When he went to college in Winnipeg, he met my mom, got married right away and had me a year later. Seventeen years after I was born, they decided for us to move to Locked Heart. I thought I was going to hate it, having uprooted from the only home I knew. But, in the end, I ended up loving this town.

My dad and Ruth's dad were childhood best friends, and they'd visit us every summer, so Ruth and I ended up being close as sisters. When I told Ruth we were moving to her hometown, she was ecstatic.

"Ruth, tell me," I pleaded, groaning under the heavy weight of a bag of soil. I had to move them close to the door for the students to use on Monday.

Ruth grabbed the other end of the bag and sighed. "Everyone is talking about the fight earlier. I bet you heard already."

"I saw it," I told her.

We both grunted as we lifted the bag and threw it on top of the others.

"Parks, I don't want you to get hurt."

With the back of my hand, I wiped the sweat off my forehead. "Why are you talking like it was Noah's fault?"

There. I said his name. It felt good saying it out loud.