Must Have Been the Wind - Guy Germaine

Noises

     Guy Germaine was having another one of his infamous sleepless nights. It was the third night this week he hasn't been able to fall asleep. He got up out of bed and decided to take melatonin so he could finally get some rest. As he was walking towards the medicine cabinet, he heard glass shatter and a girl yelp. It became clear that it was coming from the apartment above his.
     He thought he might have imagined it, but there was a little voice in the back of his head that kept telling him that something wasn't right. So he went back to bed without his melatonin, in an attempt to keep an ear out for any more trouble. After another thirty minutes of no loud noises, he finally took melatonin and resolved to figure it out in the morning. 
    "It was probably the wind," he muttered to himself as he laid back down and finally slept.
     The next morning he woke up and got dressed like every other morning. He walked into the kitchen where his mother was making breakfast.
    "Good morning, how did you sleep?" his mother asked as he sat down at the bar.
    "I slept alright once I took melatonin. Did you hear any noises from our upstairs neighbors last night?" he asked inquisitively.
    "No, it must have been the wind you heard. Although it wouldn't surprise me if you did hear something coming from up there," she muttered the last part so low that Guy almost didn't catch it.
    "Why?"
    "Mr. Jackson tends to drink a lot when his wife is not there. He was probably drunk and fell. I guess if you're still worried you can ask Astrid at school. So what are you gonna do now that hockey season is over?" his mother hurried out trying to change the subject.
"I honestly don't know. I mean Connie and I broke up. She said that we were growing apart and that we could still be friends. So hanging out with her and her new boyfriend is a bust. I'll probably just hang out with Adam, Charlie, and the rest of the guys," Guy said shrugging his shoulders.
Soon after he left for school. As soon as he saw Charlie he knew he had to tell him about what happened.
"Last night, I couldn't sleep so I was going to take some melatonin. I heard some glass shatter and a girl yelp so I waited to take some until I didn't hear any more noises. I justified it as the wind  playing tricks on me, but..." Guy explained as he trailed off
"It could have been the wind, but you don't think it is," Charlie finished.
"Hell no. I know what I heard, and a little voice in the back of my mind kept telling me that something wasn't right. I got goosebumps and everything. I asked my mom and she said that our upstairs neighbor drinks a lot when his wife isn't there. Mrs. Jackson is never home, and if she is she isn't there long. So he's drunk most of the time. Mom just said he might have fallen, but I can't get that yelp out of my head."
"Guy are you saying what I think you're saying," Charlie says cautiously.
"It's a possibility. I mean I know the family. They've always seemed fine, but I can't help to wonder. There's Astrid Jackson, my upstairs neighbor. I'm gonna ask her about the noise," Guy says walking towards his locker.
"Hey, Astrid," Guy says trying to sound casual.
"Hey, Guy. What do you want?" the girl answers simply.
"I was just wondering if you heard anything last night. I heard glass break and a girl yelp," Guy says getting straight to the point.
"Nope," the girl says shutting her locker.
"Oh yeah. Well, the bruise on your wrist says something different," Guy accuses.
"Last night, I wanted a late-night snack. So I microwaved some leftovers. As I was walking back to the kitchen to wash my plate, I tripped and drooped the plate trying to catch myself with my hand. My other wrist landed under me. That's why it's bruised. I yelped because I got scared. No big deal," Astrid says walking away. Guy follows quickly behind her.
"I was just making sure. I didn't know if someone had gotten hurt," he replies.
"Why do you care?" Astrid asks looking up at the boy.
"What's that supposed to mean? We're friends Astrid, and I wanted to check on you," the boy
replies looking down at the girl. Astrid snorts in an unladylike manner.
"You've never even had a conversation with me before now. Hell, you didn't even know I existed," Astrid spits.
"That's a lie. I've always known you existed. We have gone to school together since we were five. Your locker is right next to mine. I helped you open it on the first day because it was jammed, and you helped me pick up my books when Riley bumped into me and I dropped them."
"I helped you once Guy. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but we are not friends. Just do both of us a favor and start sleeping at night. I don't want any more interrogations about late-night noises that have nothing to do with you. If you hear something ignore it. I'm quite clumsy and I fall and hurt myself more often than not. I don't want these conversations to keep happening because I'm a clutz. Next time you can't sleep, try counting sheep, Guy," Astrid says as they walk to their desks that were beside each other.
"I tried last night. I counted over 200 sheep. It doesn't work worth a damn," Guy smarts off.
Astrid threw her head back in laughter. The boy grinned at the girl finally enjoying their conversation.
"I'm surprised you can even count that high," she says laughing even harder.
"You're never gonna let that counting test go, are you?" Guy says laughing a little himself.
"You skipped eleven different numbers, Germaine."
"I was five, Jackson," he replies.
"I was too, but I could count to a thousand," Astrid teases lightly.
"Well, good for you Einstien. We can't all be smart. Some of us have to be pretty," Guy says fixing his hair.
"Well, what the fuck happened to you considering every time you look in a mirror it breaks," The girl retorts.
"One time. I dropped the mirror I swear, Astrid."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Astrid replies.
"Nothing but drugs helps me sleep at night," Guy replies.
"Yep, I always knew you were a crackhead," Astrid replies as their teacher enters the room causing their conversation to stop.
The conversation did not go unnoticed by the other Ducks in that class. Connie watched them with a smile. Charlie watched with curiosity. Adam watched laughing at the wit the girl threw at Guy. Dwayne just shook his head at the pair. Soon enough all of them started paying attention to the teacher.
The bell rang loudly and all of the kids shot up out of their seats.
"Bye Guy," Astrid says leaving.
"Bye Astrid. See you in our third period," Guy replies as the girl nods and leaves the room.
"So what did she say?" Charlie questions as soon as they enter the hallway.
"At first, she said that nothing has happened. I noticed a bruise on her wrist. So I pointed it out. She said she fell while carrying a plate. The plate broke, she landed on her wrist, and she yelped because it scared her. She said she is just clumsy and that if I hear another noise to ignore it," Guy says shaking his head.
"That seems like a reasonable explanation. Why do you look like you don't believe her?" Connie asks.
"I filled them in. I figure if something was going on then you were gonna need help," Charlie clarifies.
"I've known that girl since I was five years old. She's a gymnast here. One of the best on the team. I've never seen her fall out of clumsiness. Not once. Something else is going on. I can feel it," Guy explains.
      "Don't you think you could be jumping the gun? I mean just because you've never seen her fall from being clumsy doesn't mean she isn't. I've noticed bruises on her before and she said that it was an injury from gymnastics," Connie says.
      "You've seen more bruises and you didn't say anything about it," Guy bursts out.
      "She said it was gymnastics so I just went with it because it made sense. Just like her falling made sense," Connie retorts.
       "I could see it in her eyes that she was lying. Even when we were younger, her eyes were always so expressive. Her face would be as hard as stone, but her eyes would be filled with unshed tears. I know when she's lying, and she lied right to my face. She got really tense and scared. I could hear her voice change," Guy remarks.
       "He's right. Astrid is my cousin, and everyone in our family knows when she lies because her voice changes and her eyes show the truth. Just like Guy said, " Dwayne replies.
"She's your cousin?" Guy questions.
"Yep. Guy's not lying. She's ain't clumsy by any means. If I'm being honest, it wouldn't surprise me if her daddy does hurt her. He's mean when he's drunk. When he's sober, he would never hurt her, but he's been an alcoholic since he was in a car wreck when Astrid was little. Her momma doesn't let him drink when she's around, but Astrid is just a girl. She can't make him not drink. I've seen someone besides my aunt try to take his liquor away and that guy got hurt bad. Every time I ask her she says the same thing to me that she said to Connie that it was gymnastics," Dwayne clarifies.
"Odds are she probably would have said the same thing to me if I hadn't heard the glass and the yelp, and if I hadn't seen the bruise," Guy says as they walk into their next class and part ways.