They came in, one by one.
Then in pairs and then groups.
Eventually they came in as a hoard of grade nine students with their parents being dragged along in the current of anxious excitement.
Tonight was a huge event considering it was the open house for John. McClair high school. The band played a vast collection of pieces at the end of the foyer as the student council members acted as the front line representatives of their high school. The sounds of various greetings, directions being given and questions being answered could be heard as a distinctive mumble as the band played "Hey Jude" by the Beatles in the background.
All of the student council members could be found in a horseshoe formation in front of the entrance doors that winter night to make sure none of the visitors could escape into the school without being at least greeted once. The doors stood wide open letting the cold breeze seep into the old school brick by brick. Everything was going according to plan, the opening ceremony was due in thirty minutes, the band haven't messed up any of their pieces and of course he wasn't here. Yet.
Kai stood at the middle of the horseshoe. Greeting everyone he saw and especially everyone he knew. He was glad that he saw so many familiar faces in the crowd. Most of them were part of his junior high school when he himself was in grade nine and they were in grade seven. Some were from his elementary, others acquaintances he made over the years. Kai also kept watch of his fellow student council members, making sure none of them were struggling with the bombardment of questions being thrown at them. As he looked around the foyer his eyes froze looking out the open doors, into the parking lot. Even with the bare illumination of the street lights Kai could tell. He was coming. Kai's body froze up like his eyes, his ears tuned out all the white noise that surrounded him and then he walked in.
It was as if Kai couldn't look anywhere else as the boy and his friends walked in. All of them wearing hype brands and black apparel. One of them even had a man bun while the other kept his hair up with a black and white bandana. Their laughs echoed in Kai's ears and then Kai left. Kai left the formation of his fellow members and walked the opposite direction to the opening ceremony. No one dared to question where Kai was going but just let him be. Minutes passed and the hoard of visitors left the opening ceremony for an unguided tour of the school. The school itself, minus the gymnasium, theatre room and cafeteria, was basically two floors of classrooms stacked upon each other in the shape of a half circle. It was the role of the various student council members to offer themselves as guides to the visitors who were lost and to help the faculty members with their demonstrations and advertisements. But Kai decided to disregard his role and walked the halls avoiding the boy and his friends. He did this with great success considering his heart could tell wherever the boy was in the school. It wasn't that hard, the boy was important to him once but then again since when was life ordinary.
Kai was walking down the hall when his friend Abi stopped him and said all the student council members were regrouping in the music room to hand out cleaning jobs. They began their way down to the music room when Kai's heart dropped. He could feel it, the boy was walking towards them. The laughing echoed in the halls and Kai tried his best to move to other side of the hall away from the group of grade nine boys parading their way to the other side of school. But the flow of the visitors in the hallway wouldn't let Kai do as he wished. And then it happened. Bodies collided and eyes met. Mouths turned into O's as the two recognized each other. Both groups stopped in the middle of the hall like a rock. Once again everything froze for Kai. The boy in front of him was his height, his hair spiked in a way that made most wonder how long it took to get it like that. His build was more defined and broad then it once was, his smile seemed to be slipping too and then time unfroze.
"Hey Kai, its been such a long time," one of the boy's friends exclaimed with a genuine smile on his face.
"That it has Adrian, how have you been?" Kai asked confidently, his facade deflecting any previous thoughts of nervousness.
"We've been good, I'm guessing you are student council here then Kai," one of the other boys asked.
"Well of course Rey, I am me," everyone laughed at that. "Its been a while guys."
"Yeah it has," the boy looked right at Kai as if he could see through his facade but that was impossible. It has been too long for the boy to see through him.
"Have you guys seen the art around here? The monkeys are my favourite," Kai stuttered a bit.
"No we haven't actually," the boy responded.
"Oh i'll show you then," and without a glance Kai turned around and proceeded to the arts department. Halfway there Kai turns around to see only the boy behind him. They got top of the stairwell at the art department side of the school to see a white canvas littered with monkeys on top of monkeys. It was a gruesome creation, something about animal abuse and how it looks if it was in reverse.
Kai and the boy looked at it for a moment.
"What the hell. Why would they keep something like this in a school like this," the boy exclaimed.
"I honestly don't know either. It is a really grotesque painting thats why we put it in the stairwell no one would come through," Kai explained.
The two boys made their way down the stairwell with silence surrounding them.
It was in November, the snow was blowing, the sidewalks where buried under a foot of snow and Kai left his grade ten classes early to bus to his junior high.
"So... What have you been up to?" the boy asked as they walked down the stairs. Their eyes meeting again. Kai stopped in the middle of the stairwell.
Kai got off at the bus stop in front of his old junior highschool. The snow was falling harder,more rapidly then it was previously. Kai looked ahead and trudged forward.
"I've been busy. You know grade ten started and everything got harder to manage for me," Kai replied hestiantly.
"I know," the boy replied.
Kai reached the front doors of his old junior high and opened them taking a deep breath. The hot air slammed against his face instantly fogging up his glasses. He stomped his feet on the rug and let the snow fall off his shoes. He should've been more prepared.
"What about you? How was grade eight?" Kai asked half heartedly.
"It was a grade, nothing much happened. " they began their way down the stairwell again.
Kai walked to the middle of the Junior high school. People waved at him, younger friends and his old teachers, he waved back. Nobody questioned why he was there. Kai closed his eyes and let his heart feel. His heart lurched forward and then he knew. The boy was straight ahead.
The two boys ended up in the opening ceremony room. The chairs still littered the area but the lights were not on.
Kai walked into the gym, a few heads turned around. Some waves and head nods were exchanged. Kai's eyes focused onto a boy who was playing basketball passionately.
"Did you ever date that girl? I think her name was Rachel?" the boy asked trying to remember what they once talked about.
"Yeah I dated her in grade ten. I ended up cheating on her," Kai replied.
The ball fell through the net and the boy turned around to see Kai staring at him. Kai walked up, his breath staggering and only one question on his mind.
"Oh... I thought you liked her a lot?"
"I thought so too,"
"Are we still bros? Or what?" Kai asked. His heart hammering against his chest.
"I guess not anymore," the boy replied not meeting kai's eyes.
Without a word or a second glance Kai left the gym. Tears falling.
"I kind of dated another girl afterwards but it didn't work out. What about you? Did you date anyone afterwards. You know after Kim?" Kai asked.
Kai's eyes stung as the cold froze the tears as they fell down his face. He began his walk home letting the snowfall surround him. He thought of Kim, his friend who dated the boy. They were both two grades above him yet he broke both of their hearts.
"No actually. I didn't, partly cause my mom wouldn't let me but mostly cause I couldn't ," the boy replied honestly.
"Oh"
Kai made his way home. Not a single word uttered to his astonished mom. He made his way to the basement fumbled with his phone and found the song.
A phone beep tore the silence and the boy looked down.
"I have to go. My ride is leaving,"
"Its okay, it was nice seeing you again Justin,"
The sound of "fix you" by Coldplay rung throughout the basement. Kai sobbed without care on the couch. And he remembered everything.
Justin stood up from where they were sitting and with a slight nod began his way into the illuminated hallway.
"Justin don't do it. Calm down will you?" Kai asked his bro.
"I can't Kai! He insulted my mom. I can't let him get away from that!"
"And i can't let you do something you will regret bro. Come on,"
Kai watched as he let Justin go again without saying what was in his head.
"So what am I?" Justin asked.
"Well you know Rey right?"
"Yeah he's my friend,"
"He's like my bestfriend for your grade," Kai replied. "but I like spending more time with you."
"So what does that make me?" Justin asked once again.
"I guess that makes you my bro"
Kai watched as his shadow got smaller and smaller and once he couldn't see it, he took a breath.
"Why me? Why did you choose me to be your bro?" Justin asked. "Everyone knows you here, you are smart, sporty, friendly and popular. Yet you chose me. Why?"
"I don't know why okay Justin. I saw you and I knew you needed someone. I thought maybe you'd be better off with Noah or the twins but you chose me too" Kai replied truthfully.
"but you didn't even know me till this year. You've known Rey and Adrian since elementary. So why me? Why am I your bro?"
"because I love you okay? I love talking to you, I can be me around you. You didn't have some preconception of me that I had to live up to. You didn't mind how weird I got, heck you wanted to see how weird I could get. You make me laugh easily and I can't help but smile when you say something idiotic. You're my bro and I love you,"
"I love you too Kai"
As Kai sat alone in the darkness of the opening ceremony room, a tear drop fell down his cheek. He remembered everything once again.