Nao Summers hates drama, but life becomes full of it when he's paired with the school delinquent on a film project. He's also in dire need of a way to break up with his girlfriend who wants to have lots of sex, while Nao would prefer to die. To crow...
Halloween and the event that followed it continued to haunt me throughout the next week. Earning Seth's forgiveness had been easier than I expected, and he hadn't asked a single question when I returned to his side in the middle of the night on November 1st. Seth had been all smiles and pride, and the simple reason was that Best Costume had been his for the taking. Crushing Miriam Reed was the apex of his accomplishments, and recounting the way she'd burst out of the cafeteria was something Seth took great pleasure in. Her disappointment was like a sweet nectar to him, and he drank it with greed, altogether forgetting that I'd run out on him and that he ought to be mad at me.
Halloween was officially over once November knocked on our door, but traces of the festivities remained at December High long after dawn broke on the 1st. Plastic spiders were unearthed in the strangest of places, and a crushed pumpkin in the entry hall left a foul odor for weeks. There had been a meeting on the following Thursday to discuss underage drinking and the consequences connected to smuggling alcohol onto school grounds. No one would own up to the crime, of course, but the school board couldn't get away with not addressing it.
Slowly but surely, the remains of Halloween were collected and discarded, and replaced with a new sort of decoration. Banners and posters, confetti and streamers — the hallways were soon bombarded with December High symbolism, and an unspoken urgency arrived with it. Stress hung upon the students' bodies like the banners on the walls, and everyone sped up their efforts to complete their respective parts in the preparations.
Seth had entered a sort of post-Halloween depression after winning his award, and took to moping around the school with an alarming intensity. I'd tried to shake him out of it on several occasions, but as the first week of November passed, focusing on school and obligations was becoming a challenge.
"Seth, please get up."
"I can't Nao. There's no point."
I sighed, a loud and frustrated burst of air. "Just because you've gone into a creative funk, doesn't mean you can skip your responsibilities."
"But none of this matters..." Seth was a pile of uninspired sadness. He'd been like this for a week, and judging from the exasperated members of his project group, it was becoming a liability.
"Still gotta do it, man. Come on," I said, grabbing hold of his forearms and pulling him towards me. "Up we go."
We were stationed in the hallway outside our classroom, surrounded by December Festival goodies and reminders. I couldn't forget about the project even if I wanted to — the school wouldn't let me. Seth finally agreed to stand up, but his face was as dead and gray as ever. I gave him a playful slap to the cheek.
"Ouch!"
"Don't be a baby. Go help your group."
"But—"
"This is what we're gonna do," I declared, crossing my arms and meeting his eyes. "You go do your part in the project — no complaints, no slacking off — and I do mine. At 7 pm tonight we meet at your place, and then we binge-watch the latest season of ParaNorma." I clapped my hands, making sure I had his attention. "Capisce?"
Seth cracked a tiny smile. "Capisce."
With that, he was off, and I could practically feel the relief from his group mates as he returned to them. Things were speeding up now — no one could afford to slack off, or tolerate a slacker in their ranks, for that matter. The project was nearing its end, pulling everyone down into a maelstrom of responsibilities. It was hard to concentrate on anything else, a fact I embraced with gratitude.
I was the only one left in the hallway now, and a slow tension began to spread through my limbs. It started in my neck and ended in my toes, a silent testament to the anxiety I felt. Wrapping up my own project was becoming a priority, and all that remained was to film Axel's class down in the Specials department. If I had been asked to do this before Halloween, I would have jumped at the opportunity. Now, though...
"I wanted to see you." My words echoed back to me, and I pasted my back to the wall behind me. Fuck. I'd said that, out loud, and to Axel. I hadn't even realized how true it was until it was out of my mouth and hanging between us like a bloated balloon. I found myself in desperate need of an escape. How could I face Axel after blurting out those words?
The thing was, I hadn't. So far — Seven days into November — I'd avoided my project partner like the plague. Seeing him in the hallways led to desperate and creative detours. At one point I'd climbed out the bathroom window after hearing his voice outside the door. Axel hadn't made any effort to get in touch, a detail that made things considerably easier, but avoiding him like this was not a permanent solution.
I sighed, resting my head against the bricked wall. My coping mechanism was as far from a solution as you could get. I was reverting back to old habits, dealing with things by hiding or running away. Lily had pinpointed that issue when we met last week, and the realization dealt continuous blows to my confidence. Seth dealt with things by moping, but when push came to shove, he always owned up to his mistakes and faced things in the end. My modus operandi was to brush things under the rug and hope they'd dematerialize. It hadn't worked when I shirked my chores at eleven, and it didn't work now.
Grabbing my phone, I punched Axel's number in and waited for the ringtone, not giving myself time to back out or work myself into a panic. I would deal with this, and I would deal with it now.
"Hello?"
My heart did a wicked lurch. "Hi," I said through gritted teeth.
"What's up?"
I want to see you. No wait, I really don't. I was beginning to feel sick. "About the project," was all I could manage.
"Ah."
"We need to film your class this month. My teacher wants a report before the 20th."
Axel made a humming sound, and I removed the phone from my ear. God, this was ridiculous. Just the sound of his voice was enough to make my pulse speed up. Hanging around this guy was taking precious years off my lifespan.
"We've got exam prep today and tomorrow, but Thursday should be fine," Axel said. I put the phone back over my ear.
"Okay, yeah, Thursday's good." I sucked in a breath, relieved. I could hang up now. The deed had been done. Things had been dealt with. I was acting like a full-fledged adult. I was almost proud.
"Hey, Nao," Axel's voice came back to me in a husky, low kind of tone, almost like an afterthought. "How have you been?"
The world seemed to shrink until only me, my phone, and Axel were left on the other end of it. I stared blankly at the window on the opposite wall.
"Nao...?" his voice prompted.
I squeezed my eyes shut and opened my mouth. "Good!" I yelled, and then the phone took a journey through the hallway and landed in an alcove on the other end. I stared at it while my chest rose and fell in quick bursts. It would probably be better if I stopped flinging my belongings around as stress relief. Dealing with Axel lately was one big issue.
I hadn't really dealt with things, but what I did have was a definite end for our cooperation. The festival began on December 10th, and all our filming had to be wrapped up before November ended. Once that was over, so was my reason to hang out with Axel. My belly did another jump as the facts of the matter landed.
In just one month, it would be over.
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