It was a bleary Friday morning. The heat from the previous day had been washed away with last night's downpour, and sitting at my desk was a depressing affair. 9 am wasn't a good time to exist, especially when faced with my least favorite teacher and his disapproving eyes. I raised my head and met Mr. White's gaze, already fed up with my day.
"How's the project coming along, Summers?"
Mr. White loomed over me. He was a wiry man in his late 40s, with beady eyes and a lumpy looking nose. His hair was thinning in more than one place, and his skin sagged, almost like a wax candle that had melted. In short, Mr. White was not an attractive man.
He gave me his signature look, a look so laced with disdain that it was difficult to endure. The dislike Mr. White displayed was so obvious now, a stark contrast to the mild annoyance he met me with two years ago. It was hard to pinpoint exactly when my media teacher began hating me, but hate me he did, and there were multiple episodes that could have triggered it:
One: That time Seth and I disregarded instructions and shot a documentary on the local drug community.
Two: The evening I accidentally locked Mr. White in the supply closet, and the poor man was stuck there until the janitors found him in the morning.
Three: My infamous freshman prank: the morning I stole the school's mascot - a stuffed animal in the shape of a dragon - dressed it up as Mr. White, and mounted it on the flagpole outside the school.
It was difficult to say if I deserved the hate Mr. White harbored towards me, but one thing was certain - he was not going to make this semester easy for me.
"The project is going fine, thank you," I informed him. "We're working on the script, currently." I made sure I talked in a concise and polite way, as it was the only way to avoid offending him. Mr. White's eagle eyes glared deeply into mine, as if inspecting every inch of my soul, scrutinizing my every act and word. Did this count as harassment? It sure felt like it.
"And?" He drawled, lifting his mouth into a sneer. "What of the filming? I'm sure you're aware that the others have already begun most of their preparations?" He wet his thin lips, eyes glittering dangerously. "Wouldn't want you to miss anything, would we?"
The criticism hung between us, and it was clear that Mr. White wanted nothing more than for me to miss something. Anything that opened me up to attack was fair game, and if you added some public humiliation, sprinkled it with shame and a dash of detention, it would make Mr. White's week. He wanted me to bite, wanted me to take the bait and make this easy for him. All I had to do was disrespect him.
"Our plan is pretty good, Mr. White," I said, smiling sweetly. "Axel and I will begin filming next week." I paused as I considered my next words. I could have just dropped the issue and let the man think he had won. I could, but did I want to?
"Wouldn't want to base our film on rash decisions and questionable advice," my lips curled into a smile, "would we?"
I felt a bead of sweat trickle down my neck. My intestines felt rather like jelly, and I tried to keep a straight face as the hidden insult hung between us. It was my bait this time, and I realized putting it there might have been a mistake. Messing with Mr. White was like walking a tightrope, sometimes you balanced the whole thing and won the audience's favor, while other times you tripped and fell on your face. There was no in between. I swallowed, wondering if Mr. White would take the bait.
He proceeded to smile, a cold flash of yellowing teeth, and it was clear that I'd won. In a manner of seconds, the tension evaporated from the classroom air, and we were just teacher and student again. He gave a curt nod before turning around and slipping out of the room. I slid back into my seat, suddenly cold, exhausted, and a bit weak in the knees.
"Well, shit," Seth breathed. He had kept quiet through the whole exchange, shrinking into an invisible ball on the seat next to mine. That was his modus operandi around Mr. White these days, most likely due to his extended stay in detention last year, which had cost him his internet privileges for a month. ("I missed the most epic seance yesterday, Nao. I can't take this anymore...") He'd been meek around our teacher ever since, and that meant I was the only one challenging his authority these days.
"Talking back to Mr. White, huh?" Seth breathed. I nodded numbly in response. "Guess you're picking up some tricks from your new friend, the delinquent."
The project report William gave me sat on my desk in front of me, glaring accusingly up at me. The letters were a bit blurred and hard to read, but it remained empty. I had yet to fill it out because filling it out entailed meeting up with Axel, and meeting up with Axel meant trouble, exhaustion, and possibly breaking the law. I just did not have the energy to spare.
Seth leaned back in his chair and whistled a short tune. Now that Mr. White had disappeared, he was back to his usual lively self. "Impressive," he intoned and nodded approvingly. His newly acquired earring dangled from his lobe, and he drew his bushy eyebrows into a frown.
"Wait," he said. "Isn't that report due on like... Sunday?" He leaned forward and jabbed a finger at the paper on my desk. I followed it with my eyes.
"Due date: September 9th."
"Shit," I swore, heart rate rising, immediately recalling that today was the 7th.
I would have worked myself into a frenzy if I wasn't interrupted by a violent slap to the back of my head. I yelped in both pain and surprise, before turning around and facing William for the second time that week. The project report was crumpled in my hand as I watched our class representative, curiosity piqued.
William was balancing a pile of books in his arms and seemed to be smelling something very foul if his facial expression was any indication. He clutched one of the classroom dictionaries in his fist - words were his weapon of choice, as per usual - and he was sweating profusely.
"I believe you have a visitor," he spat. William didn't move his head, or any other muscle for that matter, but his eyes flickered nervously. He was watching something behind me, and the subject made sweat trickle down his neck, wetting the collar of his ironed shirt.
He finally moved towards me, leaned in and opened his mouth to hiss: "Get him out of our classroom."
I knew who was standing in the doorway long before I turned around.
"So you're meeting with Axel?"
"Yep."
"Alone?"
"Affirmative."
"To work on the project? With Axel? Alone? In his apartment? Nao, are you insane?"
I let out a groan and slapped Seth across the shoulder.
"Are you stuck on repeat or something? Simmer down!" I righted myself, sending him a flat look. "You told me to keep him away from my home, so I'm going to his place. Problem solved!" I raised my voice when Seth opened his mouth (undoubtedly to spout some more strongly worded protests). "Don't! I can't avoid working with him forever. We're partners, thanks to a certain someone..."
Seth slumped against the window, sulking now. "I told you I had no say in that!" He whined, reciting the tale for the fifth time that week. "I voted that you should be moved to graphics, but everyone shot me down." He picked at a loose thread on the bus seat, and I pushed down the urge to inform him just how filthy public transportation was.
"I don't trust him, Nao. He gives me weird vibes."
"Everything gives you vibes," I remarked dryly. "It's kinda your thing."
Seth grumbled something about me needing more vibes, but his complaints drowned in the drone of the engine.
The 34 line roared on, and I got up as we zoomed across Neon bridge. I usually took the 16 line back to my place, but today's plans had been dramatically altered after Axel showed up in our hallway. I clutched the handrail and grit my teeth as the imposing apartment complex appeared in the distance. It was just a large, gray box, shiny and cold on the surface. Even from here, on a familiar bus and in the presence of my best friend, I felt like a stranger faced with that building. It was the opposite of warm and inviting, and it reminded me of Axel.
Seth waved me off with a worried expression. He would spend the next fifteen minutes on the 34 line, only hopping off when he reached his stop in the suburbs down west. I wished I could have gone with him.
When I exited the bus, I waited until the back of it disappeared into the city, and tried to ignore the weird flips my stomach was doing. I recalled Axel's words as I silently trudged along the city streets.
* * *
"There's a deadline soon, right?" He had said, voice even. He was leaning on the wall outside the classroom, looking tousled and intimidating. His left eye had been sporting a massive bruise, and there was dried blood on his throat. It was difficult to concentrate when it looked like my project partner was fresh out of a brawl.
"Do you want to go to your place and work—" Axel had begun.
"No!" I shouted, a bit too loud. I coughed and stared at my sneakers for a few precious seconds. "Um, my place is pretty cramped, and my mom likes to disturb me, so..." I dared a look into Axel's eyes and realized only one of them was fully open. The bruised one looked painful, but Axel paid it no mind and nodded at me in reply.
"Alright, my place is good," he said. "Today? After school?" He had paused as if to give me time to reply but changed his mind mid-thought. He rolled his shoulders back and turned around, adjusting the grip on his backpack. "I'll text you the address," he said, and then disappeared down the hallway. He had left me to my own devices once again, and I had gripped the unfinished report so hard that it crumpled.
* * *
An old Toyota zoomed by me, splashing rainwater all over my tired jeans. I groaned as the perpetrator swerved out of sight, and my pants stuck wetly to my calves. I stopped, right there on the sidewalk, between a shoe store and an office building. I felt like succumbing to the hopeless feeling that had swirled around in my belly all day. Misfortunes kept piling up on me ever since last week. I was going to be alone with Axel again. The reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks.
I could still see the wounds and his frosty eyes every night before I slept. His silhouette on the rooftop was a haunting sight, and the memory refused to leave me. The last thing I wanted was to step into his humble abode, possibly subjecting myself to his temperament. All I knew about him was from rumors I'd heard - fragments of information, hushed whispers in the hallways. Maybe Seth was right. Maybe I was crazy. Perhaps it would be better to ditch the report and get an F on this project. That would please Mr. White, wouldn't it?
I kept walking. I kept walking until I found myself standing outside the apartment complex Axel lived in. I craned my neck, trying to spot the windows at the top of the building. The lights danced across the metal surface, emphasizing how smooth and impenetrable the place was. I considered bolting one final time before I went through the revolving doors.
A/N:
Hello, and thank you for reading December Boys! Please know that every read and vote means the world to me. If you like this story and my silly boys, please consider giving it a vote as you read on ♥ Stay safe, friends.
- Aries