Leave the light on

5th Candle.

5th Candle.

Joe was trying to avoid attention. He avoided it because he knew, just knew, that people would try to push him. They all knew about Cathrine and him, but he didn’t want to talk to anyone about it. Even thinking of him and Cathrine, mentioned in a sentence he wouldn’t say out loud, his cheeks flamed. He groaned and walked on down the hallway. Everyone knew that getting into the club was like a V.I.P. pass for the good life. Both in the present and in the future, but Joe weren’t giving away free tickets. She would hate him if he did, and he wasn’t about to risk that.

Stopping at his locker in the east hall of the main building, he gazed at it. It was only a few rows away from Cathrine’s and he heard that her locker had been broken up. Feeling ashamed he admitted to himself that if the intent was to intimidate him, he was intimidated.

“I want to join you and Cathrine Day. Today.” A girl with short white curls announced as he shut the lid of his locker. It surprised him, both to hear the words coming from Meena Pallene, the girl who now had pure lust for adventure in her eyes, and that she jumped out from behind his opened locker.

She was a good girl by definition, always making her homework, getting good grades and working a part-time job as a piccoline. Her life seemed simple, yet pleasant, and she’d never complained about it before. Not that he knew of, anyways. Her next words chocked him even further, as she leaned down toward him, talking slightly louder.

“I want rapture and voltage! Please let me join!” Her eyes seemed to get bigger in a way that made her stunning, and irresistible. Contemplating for a few seconds he finally came up with the perfect idea.

“Okay, but its Cathrine’s decision and I’m not even sure if she wants me to join.”

“Oh! So she is only using you?” Meena said, looking at him in disdain. Not for him, but for Cathrine. He shook his head violently, not wanting to think badly of the other girl. “No! She doesn’t know what she is doing and she needs time to learn. I’m kind of like a teacher to her.”

Meena scrunched up her nose in confusion, as she slowly understood what he’d said. “That sounds weird. I thought she was the type denying any help, and take care of her own problems.”

Joe started to walk, and Meena followed him up the stairway.

“She’s not that bad.” He tried to defend Cathrine Day, but felt only half hearted. Meena could be intimidating too.

“Where are we going?” asked Meena completely ignoring his attempt. “I have never been on this floor before. All my classes are downstairs.”Joe sighed and stopped to look at Meena Pallene.“We’re going to meet Cathrine near the clubroom.”

“What is else on this floor?” She cut in, seeming to ignore Joe’s sentence again. 

Joe looked around in the hallway. The sun was totally gone and left the only light to be grey. There were at least fifty different colours of grey. The floor was coloured in grey. Outside, the windows were grey and the walls grey too. Also the floor and ceiling was grey. Darkness and light were the only changing visual effects. Looking like an odd flower and standing out in the sea of dark emotions, Cathrine looked like a sunflower in a field of rotten flowers. Her shining smile faded, however, when she noticed Meena standing slightly behind Joe. He noticed this, but somehow felt safer when Meena was there and she took a step forward, now standing beside him. As much as he admired and even liked Cathrine, he was scared of her too. She was polite, less flustered as she took a step forward to meet them.

“Hello Joe, I see you brought a friend?” She gave a stiff smile and stretched out her hand to Meena. The movement was like slow-motion until Meena grabbed the hand offered and smiled softly, acting nothing like the blunt girl Joe had seen in the hallway.