The Burning of the Palace at Versailles (or, Butterfly) [REWRITING]

Chapter 17 - Autumn in Michigan

The next day at school, Key walked out of his fifth-hour Spanish class and almost ran into Hartley. "Oh, hey," he said.

"Hey," Hartley said, sliding his phone back into his pocket. "Thought I'd wait for you. I'm in French II with Alverez," he said, jerking his thumb to the classroom next door.

"It is easier than biology?"

"Fuck no, I don't speak a word of French. I used Google Translate on all of the homework."

Key laughed, and they started walking to the lunchroom together. They grabbed the same pre-packaged salad. They were eating and talking about lacrosse when David, one of Key's friends, approached them.

"Oh, hey!" Key said, wiping his mouth with the paper napkin. "What's up?"

David had a deep, worried frown on his face. "Hey," he said nervously, then glanced quickly at Hartley. "What are you doing over here?"

Key looked around and realized that not only were Key and Hartley sitting together, but they were sitting on the opposite side of the room where their friends sat. Key saw his usual spot across the room, along with his friends with nervous frowns. Hartley's friends, a few feet away were whispering among themselves and pointing.

"Oh. I'm eating with Hartley today," Key said. "We're in biology class together, and I'm helping tutor him."

David still didn't seem happy.

"I'll sit with you guys tomorrow, okay?" Key said. A tuft of black hair fell into his eyes, and he brushed it away. David nodded and walked away.

"Did you have to tell him you were tutoring me?" Hartley said.

"Oh, fuck off."

A routine slowly formed. Key would eat lunch with his friends one day, then with Hartley the next. Then one day after winter break when the snow was waist-deep, Key found himself sitting next to Hartley. On his other side, were his old friends.

When spring came, all of them tried out for the lacrosse team. Key and three others made it onto the team, not bad for freshmen. As he ran through the field, Key would occasionally glance back at Hartley sitting on the bleachers. He never seemed sad or angry.

"Why not?" Key asked him one day during a break.

Hartley shrugged. "I cheated on a test. I could have been expelled. I can live with this. I'll kick all of your asses next year. What's the matter with you?"

"Huh?" Key said. He sat up and realized he had been rubbing his forehead. "Oh. I just have a headache, is all." Hartley's brow was creased, something he did when he was worried. "It's just a headache, stop looking at me like that."

Hartley yanked a bottle of acetaminophen out of his backpack and handed it to Key. He swallowed two of the pills.

"Do you always get headaches?" Hartley asked.

Key vaguely realized he had been having headaches often, but only since the beginning of the school year.

"They're just headaches," Key said.

"Bedtime, kiddies," Diana said, and both Melody and Key jumped.

"Jesus!" Key said, glaring at Diana. "This is a nuthouse, don't just sneak up on people!"

"How old are you, anyway?" Melody asked Diana. The girl seemed younger without her makeup. She had dark rings under her eyes and a few small spots of acne. Her hair was wet and clinging to her shirt where it soaked through and left blotchy spots.