A Recipe for Evil

Birds Sing After a Storm

''Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?"

Rose Kennedy

When Amy walks through the entrance of St-George High that Monday, she feels happier than she has been in weeks.

Everything at school is the same as usual.

Everything seems the same, but something is different in her. When Amy passes by Myriam talking suggestively to a muscular jock, she does not pay attention to it because, for the first time since Christmas, she does not care about it.

It appears that spending time in Myriam's company after cheerleading practice has almost erased any thoughts of plotting against her. It isn't that Amy likes Myriam- her behaviour is still more than reproachable - it's simply that she does not hate her anymore.

For that reason, her step was lighter and she is starting to believe that maybe, eventually, she could be happy again. She has everything for her. She is popular. She has friend. She is even part of the cheerleading team which means she basically rules St-George High.

She walks through the hallways without a care in the world.

Amy is joyful enough to sing to herself while she circulates through the school, something she hasn't done in a long time. She is almost smiling when she reaches the school's main staircase where she is about to hear a conversation that will shift her mood and erase all of her good resolutions.

"So Saturday night, Myriam invited me over and you know what that means." She overhears David say. The football player seems to be talking from a hidden spot under the stairs.

"Everybody knows what that means." Amy's heart freezes when she recognizes Louis' voice.

"That girl knows what she's doing. I swear it was the best fuck ever. She's so fucking good!" The most recent member of the cheerleading squad sits on the third step, near the wall. She wraps her arms around her legs and brings them towards her chest.

"I-I know," Louis stutters and Amy's body stiffens. "I slept with her once, when I was with Amy."

"Seriously? You banged her?" Jack seems dubious. "I didn't think you were her type."

Amy scoffs. If given the right amount of alcohol, Myriam is probably sleazy enough to make out with a mannequin.

"What makes you think I'm not her type?" Louis shrieks, sounding like an offended child."When I was with Amy she threatened me to tell her about our one night stand because she wanted us to break up. She told me that, if we did so, she'd be happy to date me so, obviously, she's got to be at least a bit into me."

Amy has to cover her mouth with both of her hands not to gasp loudly. Time stops flowing, her lungs stops working, and a loud pounding noise is hammering against her skull. She gets up on her feet. Her vision becomes blurry. She starts running up the stairs and her wobbly legs almost cause her to trip.

Myriam is inconsiderate.

Myriam is vicious.

Myriam is horrible.

Myriam is cruel.

Tears are now streaming down her face. She can hardly orientate herself towards the art class she is supposed to attend. Intense pain is rushing through her body and it makes her feel sick.

The bell rings.

Since she does not want to be seen in such a state, Amy opts to spend her first period hidden in her safe haven, the auditorium. When she gets there, she closes the door and slides against it. Crouching on the floor, she sobs without inhibition as if she were a child.

"So you're skipping class as well?" Melissa's head pop out from behind the curtains. She jumps off the stage. She lands on her feet, graceful as a cat.

Amy bites down on her bottom lip, trying to control her body from trembling.

"Yeah, I guess so." She replies in a shaky voice. "What are you doing?"

"Hiding out from the rest of the world," Melissa answers with a humorous tone, pushing her blond purple-tipped hair over her shoulder with dramatic flair.

"Can I get into your hideout?" Amy walks toward the other girl. Melissa runs towards her, grabs her hand, and pulls her towards the stage. They disappear behind the red curtains. The blonde drags her into a dark spot where a blanket is laid, a few books are spread out over it. They sit down on it and the extroverted teenager snakes her arm around Amy's waist, offering comfort. Amy notes that she smelt like vanilla and baby powder, a smell that reminds her of childhood and happiness.

"You know what?" The blonde girl whispers into her ear. "This reminds me of the first time Myriam and I kissed."

Amy's head snap up.

"What?" She asks.

"Don't pretend as though you don't know. It's insulting." Melissa reaches for a book. She opens it and flips through the page.

"How did it happen?" Amy wonders, realizing that she finally stopped crying. An unhealthy form of curiosity has replaced her sorrow.

"Well, it was on her first year here. Myriam told me to wait at school until her cheerleading practice was over because she wanted to show me something. When her cheer practice was over, she dragged me here." Amy knows she is staring at Melissa with a shocked expression on her face, but she can't help herself.

"Why here?" The blonde smiles at her.

"Let me finish my story! 'they have an auditorium here', she said and she, like, ran to the stage, even though she was exhausted from cheer practice. She climbed up the stage and started singing. She has beautiful voice, you know? she was super excited. She looked so beautiful at that moment. I tried to sing too, but I'm terrible at it. We made so much noise a janitor came to see what was going on. We ran and hid right her, like this. Myriam was holding me from behind and I could feel her breathing down my neck. It made me feel super weird. I don't know it was like thousands of caterpillars were climbing up my body but, like, in a nice way. I think she was feeling the same because she was kind of frozen like me. We stayed like that for a very long time. I got scared that maybe everyone would have left the school, leaving us locked inside. I turned to tell her I was scared and, when I did, she made this funny little noise. I realized she was staring at my lips, like guys do when they want to kiss you." Melissa makes a dramatic pause. "That's when I decided to kiss her because, you know, I knew she wanted it. Then she cupped my cheeks with both of her hands and it became super intense. She started breathing like really, really, hard and I wasn't used to people breathing so hard when I kissed them so I pulled back to see if she was okay. She didn't like it. She jumped like she was scared, hit her head on the wall, and started cursing. It thought it was funny, but I don't think she did because she glared at me and left."

When Melissa finishes her story, Amy exhales a breath she did not know she was holding. Her head is swirling from the lack of oxygen and she lets it fall unto the blonde's shoulder.

The piece of information she was just given is crucial.

She has to find a way to be absolutely sure that they won't talk again. The further apart Myriam will stay from Melissa, the more she will be hurting.