"Have you ever considered writing stories and not just poetry?" Will asked me. I smiled. "Actually, yes. I'm currently working on a book at the moment."
"Am I in it?" Will asked curiously. I blushed. Was I really going to answer him?
It was pretty interesting to think about how writers always managed to put in a piece of themselves in their work. No matter how much they tried to stray off into alternate universes and fantasy worlds, a piece of home always traveled with them. I couldn't deny it- Will was a part of my home too.
"Depends. Would you like to be in it?" I asked, with a teasing grin. He winked. "Only if I'm the knight in shining armor."
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but being a knight requires actual skill. Would Prince Charming do?" I didn't know where this sudden surge of courage came from. I never talked like this. This was something you could expect from fearless Thea, or even Ava, who I didn't know too well, but gave off those vibes.
"Only if you're the princess,"he said.
He did not. No. No way he just said those words. But the smirk he had on his face said it all. I didn't hear wrong.
My valour deserted me at my time of need. I let out a nervous laugh. "Sure,"I muttered, and turned towards the front of the class. Through the corner of my eye I could see Will trying ever so hard to stifle a laugh. He was a reckless charmer. A player. Maybe I was wrong about him.
A little while later, he tried to strike up a conversation again. "Tell me something I don't know about you,"he said. I smiled. Will was full of surprises. One minute he'd be intellectual and answer all the questions asked in class, next he'd swoon me over with all sorts of little compliments and cheesy lines, and then there'd also be this part of him that asked me fascinating questions. He switched on his deeper side and told me things that made me realize he actually cared about me. He said things that made me think hard about my existence and the world we lived in. He was much smarter than he let on.
"I have this antique treasure chest in my room. It has daisies painted all over it. Every time something good happens, I put something inside the box to instigate the memory. I've never opened the box until now. I just slip in little things every now and then, but never see what's already inside. I promised Riley that we'd open the box together right before we part ways for college. Until then, all those beautiful memories are sealed inside."
Will listened to me with a thoughtful look on his face. Finally, he said, "Have you ever had a temptation to look into the box?"
I nodded. "Of course. It's only human nature to be curious. But then I try to look at it as if it's Pandora's box. If I open it early, all the evils in the world will come flying out."
He smiled. "That's an interesting way to look at it." Then, suddenly, he turned to look at me with a curious gleam in his eye. "Am I in your box?"he asked.
I shook my head. "Not yet," I said. His expression turned downcast for a fraction of a second, then suddenly, he asked, "Elody, can I be there when you open the box?"
I tried not to let on how happy that question made me. "Of course, Will."
And that was confirmation that I'd truly found a friend in him.
Slowly, he slid a packet of gum under my desk so that Mrs. Rivers wouldn't catch us.
Mrs. Rivers, unlike our other teachers, was a very distracted woman. She'd be diving deep into a history lesson and then all of a sudden would go to her desk and put her head down. She wouldn't get back up for at least a minute, and then she'd go back into the lesson as if nothing ever happened.
People told me it was because she'd been through a lot in her life and she was yet to get over what happened in the past. Sometimes she had flashbacks that were so strong that she had severe headaches, which required her to take a few minutes of rest from time to time. I often saw her with her twin son and daughter in the neighborhood, but I didn't know where their father was because Mrs. Rivers had kept her maiden name. She seemed much older for her age, but I guess sadness has that effect on people.
Before I knew it, class was over and I found Thea outside by herself. The others were already on their way to the cafeteria and I missed going with them because I was so caught up in a conversation with Will.
"Thea, you alright?" I asked, concerned. Thea was only ever away from the group if something was bothering her and she wanted to talk. She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." But I knew better than to believe her.
"Jigglypuff,"I said, and she groaned. "You're evil,"she said. I gave her a side hug. "Talking about it might make you feel better,"I said quietly.
"I like Ralph,"She blurted out. I wasn't even surprised. I just knew these kind of things with the way people acted and what they said. Thea and Ralph were such good friends that no one else could tell what Thea was going through in her mind, but I knew her well enough to know how she acted around the people she liked.
It took a lot of effort to convince myself not to tell her I knew it and that it was obvious to me. That wouldn't help her at all. In fact, nothing I said would help Thea. All she needed was to tell someone so that the thought wouldn't keep gnawing at her brain and eating her alive. Now that the secret was out, she could take a backseat and relax.
She wasn't the type of girl who needed advice or morale boosters. The best way to be Thea's friend is to give her the space she required.
I gave her another hug and we walked towards the cafeteria in silence. I knew that from that moment onward, all that we'd spoken about was to be kept under lock and key. If Ralph thought something was out of place, we'd surely be put under the truth serum of 'jigglypuff.' that was the last thing Thea wanted.
Upon seeing Will at our table, my face broke into a smile. I took a seat next to him and showed him the gum wrapper he'd given me.
"Welcome to my memory box."
A/N Sorry for the short chapter! I'll make the next ones longer for sure. I've been having major writer's block the past few weeks and things haven't been so easy. I'll try my best to update within the next week. Thank you for putting up with my infrequent updates and for reading my book!
Love,
Via