Maybe Before Today

Chapter 14

     When we got back to school on Monday, the anticipation and lack of focus of the people in our year group were almost tangible. Every teacher was getting frustrated with my classes, most people were being given their classwork as homework and some people would not shut up for a second, no matter how many teachers told them to. All because of a stupid Halloween party happening in five days.
     Ziggs and Lex were no better. At break I nearly put in my earphones just to escape those two talking relentlessly about how cool it would be to finally go to one of The Twins's parties. It was giving me a headache. Or maybe that was the sleep deprivation. Nobody will ever have a definitive answer.
     But, despite my distinct lack of enthusiasm about the party and the costumes, even I had to admit that Ziggs looked incredible in theirs. I could practically see them replacing Olivia Newton-John during the end of the movie. They really went all out with that costume. But it did get significantly less interesting after I had been shown the same picture twenty times over the space of thirty seconds.
     "I thought you'd want to keep this as a surprise for Saturday," I said.
     "That was the original plan. But it looks too good."
     "It does look great," Lex said. "The same devil horns and red cape I've been wearing to take Hannah trick-or-treating since I was eleven are starting to feel a little inadequate."
     "I'm still happy with my cat ears. I actually found a pair of leopard ears from when I was seven. I think they'll work well."
     "Why are we friends." Ziggs facepalmed.
     "Because you love me."
     "I'm not so sure anymore."
     "Come on." I smiled, tilting my head to the side until they met my eyes. "You know you do."
     "Fine. Maybe I can accept this one thing."
     "If I can accept the cereal thing I'm sure you can accept the costume thing," Lex said.
     "What cereal thing?"
     "Something I told Lex in confidence," I hissed.
     "Sorry. I assumed you'd have told Ziggs."
     "Told me what?"
     "Once, when Alice was a kid-"
     "Wait, guys-" I went to point round the corner of the building.
     "Don't try to change the subject-"
     "No, look over there."
     After a few seconds, Lex said, "Is that Deb?"
     "I think so," I said.
     "Is she ... crying?" Ziggs asked.
     "Looks like it."
     I sat back as the two of them kept watching for a second, then they sat back too.
     "I wonder what happened," Lex said.
     "Maybe her friends are forcing her to go to the Halloween party."
     "No, she'd be celebrating if that were the case. Now, I wanna know what Alice did when she was a kid."
     As Lex explained, I looked down into the table, shaking my head and occasionally glancing over at Deb. I wanted to check if she was okay, but I hardly knew her. I wasn't sure she would appreciate a relative stranger acknowledging that they saw her crying when she thought she was hidden.
     "Alice! How could you keep this from me?"
     My attention was snapped back to Ziggs and the look of betrayal on their face. "I'm sorry!"
     "I'm not sure I can forgive this."
     "Oh, please, you pronounced data as 'dah-ta' until a year ago."
     "Year and a half-"
     "You didn't!" Lex laughed incredulously.
     As Ziggs tried unsuccessfully to defend themself, I looked back over at Deb and she was on the phone. It didn't look like she was crying anymore. I still kind of wanted to check if she was okay, but sometimes it's easier just to deal with things. Sometimes other people complicate matters too much. At least, that's what I told myself.