monachopsis
-
the subtle but persistent feeling
of being out of place
❀
Adelaide steadily made her way towards the church after leaving Harry Bingham's house. She went to check the job list that Cassandra's minions had posted earlier that day. The prom was a good idea, she thought, a way to gather everyone as a community and act like they would in their normal lives. The jobs, however, Addy was not happy about.
She sighed as she looked at the long list of names and noticed hers next to Harry's. They were on lunch duty at the same time. "Great." she mumbled to herself, rolling her eyes at the over-excited teens looking at the posters.
Noticing Campbell walking over to her, she turned away, hoping he would divert his attention somewhere else. Unfortunately, he stood and leaned against the wall, staring at the girl for a few seconds. Addy broke the silence, "What do you want, Campbell?" she folded her arms. He laughed and looked at her, furrowing his eyebrows, "You and Harry seem to be getting close."
She smirked slightly, narrowing her eyes she continued, "Right. He's a good friend. What's your point." Campbell raised his arms in defence of her snappy remark, "Chill. I wanted to put out an offer." Adelaide sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "What do you mean? An offer." she asked shrugging slightly.
"If you do my work shifts for the next week. I will stop dealing Harry drugs." he stated quickly, slightly whispering so the two couldn't be overheard. Adelaide paused and looked around, she grabbed his arm and dragged him behind the church, worried they would get caught talking about this. "What's in it for you? I mean, there has to be an ulterior motive."
Campbell laughed at her sudden movements and raised his eyebrows, "Believe it or not, I want Harry off the drugs also. He's changed. Plus I don't want to work, so-" before he could continue his plea, Addy cut in, "I'll do it." Campbell nodded his head and rubbed Addy's shoulder. She shifted uncomfortably. "I knew you would, you have feelings for him." he stated and walked away.
❀
After finishing up cleaning the streets and getting rid of the trash that lay on the ground, Adelaide quickly ran towards the cafeteria to begin her second shift of the day. Turning the corner on Main Street, she bumped into a tall figure and fell over. "I'm so sorry!" she begun, standing up and looking at the man. It was Harry Bingham.
He looked at the trash bag in her hands and furrowed his eyebrows, "I thought you only had one shift today?" he asked, a confused look on his face. Addy paused, "They, uh, needed extra help." she lied, feeling guilty. Before she was about to walk away, Harry grabbed her arm. "I know you. You wouldn't do work for the sake of it."
"Well, then, I guess you don't know me very well." she stated bluntly, taking the hair net that he was holding and walking off towards the cafeteria. Harry Bingham stood there silently for a moment, reflecting on their interaction.
Unknown to Adelaide, however, he was starting the put all of the pieces together.
❀
Piling chilli onto people's plates wasn't an ideal way to spend an afternoon, but Adelaide would do anything to help Harry. As long as he didn't figure out the deal she had made, everything would be okay. The teens shortly smiled and thanked Addy for her help once they received their food, most however looked away. They were slightly intimidated by the girl.
"Make sure you give them the right amount." Kelly stated, standing up from her position leaning against the wall. She had been watching Adelaide for a few minuted. "This enough?" Addy sarcastically smiled, piling four spoonfuls onto a boys plate. Before Kelly could protest, the boy had made his way into the crowd.
"We can't waste this food, Adelaide." Kelly snapped, giving the girl a harsh glare as she tried to take the serving spoon away from Addy. Addy kept a tight grip on the spoon, and in the process, a large lump of chilli landed on Kelly's face. "Oops." Adelaide sarcastically laughed, watching as she walked away to get cleaned up.
Having had enough of the shift, Adelaide served herself some food. Taking her hair net off, she sat down at an empty table at the back of the cafeteria. "Hey." Elle smiled and took a seat opposite the girl, she continued speaking trying to ignore the confused look on Addy's face. "Can we start over? I really do apologise for how I've acted towards you." she looked down at her food and nodded to herself, "I guess, I was just jealous. Jealous of- your confidence, and ability to speak to anyone. And your sassy remarks." she laughed.
"You know what-" Adelaide begun, pausing as she finished to taco's that were in her mouth. "Lets get ready for the prom together. As friends, just like we used to be." Elle let out a sigh of relief, thankful Adelaide was nice. The two talked for ages, just like old friends catching up. Adelaide explained to Elle the deal she made with Campbell, Elle warned her to not trust her boyfriend.
This made Addy confused. Why couldn't I trust Campbell, she thought. Even his own girlfriend is wary of him.
❀
After returning home, Adelaide sat in her living room waiting for Elle. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, thinking it was Elle, Addy rushed towards it and opened it smiling. Her smile slowly faded when a large group of about a dozen teens were stood staring at her, holding bags and pillows. "How many bedrooms?" A blonde girl asked, holding a clipboard and pen.
"Is this absolutely necessary?" Adelaide asked, trying to stop people from walking around her house. She was used to her alone time, and didn't want to sacrifice her privacy just for a few extra volts of electricity. "How many bedrooms?" the girl repeated, with more of an angry tone to her question this time.
"Three." Adelaide gave in. Before their conversation could finish, she rushed over to where someone had picked up her moms old plant pot. "Hey!" she ran over to Dewey, who was holding it and throwing it around. "Break it, and I'll stick it up your ass." He smirked and laughed at her remark, "Chill, it's just a stupid flower pot." Addy kneed him in the groin area out of anger. He winced in pain.
"This is my house, not yours."
"It's mine now."
❀
"Hey" Adelaide walked inside Campbell Eliot's home, following Elle upstairs towards the bedroom. Campbell looked up at them as they walked inside, Addy shifting uncomfortably. "I'll go and get ready in the other room." he stated, smirking at Adelaide as he walked across the hall.
"It's weird, right?" Elle begun. "I mean, prom. It almost feels like we're back home." She took a seat in front of the mirror and began to brush through her hair. Addy paused, placing her makeup down. "Do you ever think we'll get out of here? Do you ever think things will go back to normal?" she asked, looking down in defeat.
Elle sighed, "I hope so. I really missed you, these past few days." she added, continuing to get ready. "Me too." Adelaide smiled. "I didn't know what to do with myself." she confessed.
"You had Harry." Elle let out a small laugh, smirking at her friend. Addy sighed, "Yeah, honestly he's the only one that's been there for me." The two sat in a comfortable silence whilst getting ready. Elle making the odd comment about how Harry and Addy are 'meant to be'. Adelaide didn't mention Campbell, she was scared of him. And she could tell Elle was too.
❀
Harry Bingham was dressed in his suit, ready for Adelaide to turn up in his back garden. He was joined by a few of his friends who were holding beer bottles and shooting a golf ball into the pool. "Erica'll be here in a few." Jason stated, readjusting his red waistcoat and pacing around. "You two really going to the prom?" a boy asked in a surprised tone. Jason laughed, obviously he was already drunk, "Yeah, she wants to and I'm a good fucking boyfriend." he stated.
"Damn, I didn't know you were as desperate as the rest of the to pretend that this was totally fucking normal. Are we gonna have graduation next week too?"
Dewey noticed Harry was sitting uncomfortably on a lounger and was constantly checking his phone. "Harry, who are you going with?" Harry looked around at the boys, them all staring at him awaiting his answer. "Adelaide Miller." He stated. The boys burst out laughing, "She's a hoe, I'm pretty sure she's slept with every guy here. Right?" Harry's friend said. They all nodded, confirming his statement.
Harry rose from his seat in anger and walked towards the boy, "Shut the fuck up." On his way over to confront the boy he threw his bottle on the ground, it smashing in the protest. "You do not get to talk about her like that ok?" he turned to everyone else, "Any of you." He sighed and picked up the golf club.
"What about Kelly?" Jason asked calmly. "She doesn't know what the fuck she's doing, she's just copying Cassandra." Harry replied. "She wants to turn the whole world upside down. Cassandra's the problem. She's putting these ideas into people's heads. Now they made her queen out of fear? And we're the enemy, beggars in our own homes." he sighed before continuing, "That's Cassandra. That's always been Cassandra, stuck up bitch."
The boys then trailed off many rude remarks.
"Hey," Adelaide interrupted their conversation and slowly walked into the back garden. She was wearing a fitted, light blue, greyish dress and had her hair pulled back. "are you ready?" Harry rushed over to the girl and grabbed her hand. Looking back at the boys he replied, "Yeah, let's go." he smiled and the two walked towards the hall.
❀
The hall was full of teenagers, drinking, dancing and forgetting about the past two weeks. Adelaide walked in and immediately started dancing to the lively song that was playing, she noticed Harry watching her and standing still uncomfortably. "Come on!" she grabbed his hand and began to help him move with the music. He laughed and took a shot glass from a nearby table, downing the clear liquid that was inside, "Now I'm ready." he smiled and joined in.
After dancing together for what seemed like forever, the music was switched to a slow song. The two stood opposite each other awkwardly. Harry paused and then held out his hand, "May I have this dance?" he asked sarcastically. Addy chuckled and took his hand before putting her arms around his neck, "Yes, you may."
The two bodies swayed in sync to the music, Harry with his hands positioned softly on her waist. "You look... beautiful tonight." he smiled, cringing to himself at his compliment. Adelaide was taken aback at his different mood, "You don't look too bad yourself." she smirked and rested her head on his shoulder.
After a few seconds she looked up at him, their noses millimetres apart. Harry slowly leaned in, closing the gap between their faces. Addy copied, placing her lips on his. They kissed slowly, ignoring the fellow teens dancing around them. The world seemed to stop.
"We should get out of here." Harry stated after finishing their kiss. Adelaide blushed and smiled, "Yeah, let's go." The two walked out towards Harry's house hand in hand.
Lying in Harry's arms, for the first time, Adelaide felt safe. She felt like no one could hurt her.
Holding Adelaide, for the first time, Harry felt comfortable. He felt like he didn't have a care in the world.
Unbeknownst to the two, there was something eerie in the air that night. And although they felt safe. Things were about to change and get a lot different.
End.
2028 words.