The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Naomi was a lot heavier than when we were kids. My back was sore. I stretched but it did little. Maybe I should lift heavier weights at the gym. I shook my head. Too much work.
Lately, I didn't feel the need to do much. There was a sense of disappointment I couldn't shake- in what or who, I couldn't be certain. I had lost all my mirth as Hamlet might have said and decided to skip first period. Instead of sitting through another meaningless lecture, I hid under the stairwell. The body of the stairs climbed towards the ceiling but there was a vacant space between the two in which I had wedged myself. This part of school was often patrolled, but if noticed I would come up with something, I usually did.
I pressed the pen to the paper.
At summer's end,
We met again,
Bitter enemies instead of friends,
Oaths sworn against the other,
We brandish spears,
Spiked helmets on our heads,
In our chests, a vengeful fire burns.
How quickly love turns to hate.
When we first fell, I cannot pinpointeth,
But I feel anger churning my insides,
Turning my organs into mush.
I want to be free from this self-made prison,
I want our love to grow once again.
I say, 'Lay your sword and I'll lay mine."
You say, "It's far too late to ever reconcile."
In earnest, I plead, "Why must we fight when
Better men would know to lower their weapons
And embrace? It's better to walk among the living
Than sleep with the dead."
And you reply, "It is your life that will be taken by this dagger,
Not mine. You speak of cowardice, you fear me,
I don't fear you."
You lunge.
Your attack is fierce,
A barrage of powerful blows.
I block all except one that slips under a rib and pierces my heart.
Watching the blood flood my shirt-
The vivid imagery lost itself to the clicking of a woman's heels against the tile, well I suppose it could have been a man as men also wear heels these days, but not in this school. A shadow stretched across the tile between wall and stairs, approaching the sanctity of my shallow cave. I put my notebook into my bag, pulled it close to my chest.
A pigeon-like face peeked down at me. "Valerie Walsh, I should have known."
I grinned sheepishly, knowing I had been caught. "Just Val will do, Ms. Brandi."
She wore a tight-fitting blazer and pencil skirt over a lovely frame. Her olive skin as radiant as when she was young. Her hips sashayed as she moved. A beauty for sure. A rare find in any high school. Her brown hair was pulled into a high bun. Her lips down-turned as if she wanted to be stern, but they twitched as if she were going to laugh.
"Let's get to class, Valerie." She crossed her arms.
She knew I didn't like that name, so I stayed put. She grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me up. In truth, I could have flipped her quite easily, but it was never good to fight a teacher. Many kids ended up suspended, or worse, expelled. It wasn't until I walked alongside her, her hand still gripping my collar that she called me 'Val'.
I said, "You can let go now."
"You'll run."
I would.
"Did you have a good weekend?" I asked.
"Yes, yes I did."
"One of my friends got drunk, like almost blackout drunk," I told her, withholding names and any other important information.
"You should tell them not to do that."
"That's the thing." I frowned. "She usually isn't that type. She's quite responsible; I think she was worried about something."
Her cute eyebrows knitted together as she thought about it. "Did you try talking to her?"
"No, I was upset and ignored her for most of the day until I was finally able to answer her call."
Ms. Brandi shook her head and made a small 'tsk'. After a moment of silence, she said, "Look, Val, I have been alive much longer than you."
I nodded. "I'd say so, yes."
Ms. Brandi tugged my collar and I stumbled backwards, shocked. She carried quite a bit of strength in her dainty arms.
She grinned, but continued, "Serves you right. Anyhow, friendships are very tricky. Sometimes, people say things they don't mean, or say things they mean only in the moment. And the victim of the fight takes offence. Grudges can be held for a very long time. They become a sort of acid that eats away at the core of friendships. Not talking about disagreements weakens the core and soon, the friendship is being held by nothing and the slightest pressure can make it snap. I have lost many friends like this. You see, silence is deadly."
"What if it's someone you've been friends for as long as you remember?"
"If you can't talk things over and reach a satisfying conclusion, then there's no future in your relationship. You'll always be secretly unhappy, and you'll slowly start to hate the other person."
Silence settled between the two of us as we continued to my class in that awkward manner, and she deposited me into the vulture's class. The minute I stepped inside, Ms. Verna pointed a claw at me and said, "Detention." She didn't face me. Her head was buried in a novel, but her sixth sense had awakened to my detriment.
I turned to Ms. Brandi.
Ms. Brandi shrugged. "That's your own fault; I did warn you."
She rustled my hair. "Now go study and learn, and don't give Ms. Verna any trouble." She smiled at the vulture and departed from sight.
Ms. Verna was in the midst of a monologue when I interrupted her to contest the decision. "I'll write an essay on the importance of diligence," I told her, "I'll clean this room from top to bottom."
She glanced sideways. "You can do all those things, but detention remains."
I tried to appeal to her empathy. "Have you no heart? I have a soccer game tonight."
"Not my problem; you can go after detention."
I inched forward and said, "Do you want me to drop to me knees and beg? Please don't do this to me, Ms. Verna. It isn't right." I slowly lowered myself to one knee.
She said, "This is your final chance; do you understand?"
"You won't regret it," I said and gave her a one-arm hug. "You won't regret it. Have I ever told you, 'I love you'? Because I do. You are the most brilliant creature I have ever met."
She looked to the heavens and muttered something. I took my seat next to Naomi's empty one, a hallow feeling in the pit of my stomach as reality began to creep up on me.