by Raathi Chota
“Wow, you guys are getting pretty wasted these past few days,” I said as my brows rose.
“Yep,” Carter said as the corners of his eyes wrinkled up from exhaustion. Benny and I gave each other a wary look as Carter walked past us and into the boys’ locker room. He gave me a tight smile then followed Carter. I walked into the girls’ locker room and got changed. It turned out Melissa was not in the class anymore because she decided to do the training for first aid. At least I still had Miranda with me since I barely had her in any classes.
“All right, slackers, since you’re all still in holiday mode, we’re going in the weights room today. Get rid of all that extra fat that’s inside from Christmas and what not.” Coach waved us off as we joined our group. “Oh, and Aidan! Do not touch the exercise balls! We don’t want what happened the last time to happen again!”
“Message received.” Aidan saluted as we walked to the weights room. Miranda and I were in the back, and I glanced up to see Carter, Blake, and Ethan ahead of us.
“So what’s up with him?” Miranda pointed to Blake.
“We, err…he almost kissed me,” I mumbled, and Miranda gasped. Nearly half of the class including Blake spun around and looked at Miranda. She glared at Blake as they continued to walk.
“And what did you do?” she whispered.
“Backed away, obviously. I have a boyfriend,” I muttered.
“Mm, say it louder for some people to hear!” Miranda hissed as she glared at Blake.
“But he doesn’t care. Carter told me they all went out last night, came back around four a.m.”
“Wow, they must’ve had a lot of fun.”
“Oh, we did,” a stinging voice said. I looked over my shoulder and watched as Kelly forced herself between us. Her hair was platinum no more; it was black.
“Who the hell involved you?” Miranda demanded as she gave Kelly a once over.
“Me, myself and I, bitch,” Kelly answered as she forced a smile.
“What were you doing there?” I asked as we reached the weights room.
“Probably being the go-to girl that she is,” Miranda grumbled.
“Yeah, I taught your boyfriend that thing you like.” Kelly winked at Miranda, who glared at her. “Just joking, Miranda. I had so much fun with someone else,” she added, then licked her bottom lip. “I even heard he took someone’s virginity,” she sang, then walked into the room. My eyes widened as I sent Miranda a look. She looked as if she wanted to rip Kelly’s face off, but her expression changed as we locked eyes.
“You don’t think…” I trailed off, but she shook her head.
“No, it’s impossible, it’s probably Keene.”
Chapter Twenty
Lana
We did as Coach said and did each piece of equipment. I sat on a bench where I was supposed to do chair dips, but I was tired. I looked around and saw Benny on the bench as he lifted weights. Blake was next to him and did bicep curls as he spoke to a girl. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Miranda sit next to me. I turned to see her hair tied up in a high ponytail as she drank from her water bottle. She rolled her eyes, and I followed her gaze to where Blake lifted his singlet so that the girl could touch his chest. I turned back to Miranda, who let out a dry laugh.
“That’s so not like him,” I admitted.
“Don’t you get it? You rejected his kiss, so he’s moving on.”
“Moving on?”
“Yeah, he has always been the mysterious bad boy, but now he is the player and egotistical bad boy,” Miranda said, then rolled her eyes.
“A combination of both,” I whispered to myself as I thought of the day when Blake told me the difference between a player and a bad boy.
“This is just the beginning. I heard he’s having a party on Saturday and only certain people are invited,” she emphasized.
“Wow,” I commented as the girl wrote down her number on his arm. He picked up the hundred pounds and continued his bicep curls. Benny stood up and stretched, and it was a great view that showed his v-line.
“Fuck!” he yelled out as he jumped up and gripped his foot. I blinked, then glanced down to see that Blake had dropped the weight on Benny’s foot. I stood up, then walked over to Benny, who glared at Blake.
“Sorry, man, didn’t see you.” Blake awkwardly scratched behind his neck.
“Why would you drop it, anyway?” I demanded as I wrapped an arm around Benny’s torso. Blake shrugged, and I swore at him. He smirked. Coach came to us and placed his hands on his hips.
“Oh no…is your foot broken?” Coach asked as he lowered his gaze to Benny’s foot.
“I-I don’t know,” Benny mumbled as he put an arm around my shoulder for support.
“Crap, go to the nurse. Willson, you take him, and I hope it’s not broken. We got a game next week, and none of my players should have excuses!” Coach yelled as I helped Benny out of the class. Thankfully, the nurse’s room was on the same floor because I didn’t want to drag Benny down four flights of stairs. I pushed the door open and helped him to the bed. When I placed him on the bed, I noticed the nurse wasn’t in the room.
“I’ll go look fo—” I spun around to face Benny but cut off when he pressed me against the door and kissed me. The door closed behind me, and I placed my hand on his chest. He looked at me with a mischievous grin as I looked down. “Doesn’t it hurt?”
“Only a bit,” he whispered as he kissed up my jaw, then my lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. His hands traveled down to my thighs, and I jumped, then wrapped my legs around his waist. He pressed me against the door, and I moaned as he left a hickey on my neck. I twirled my fingers in his hair as he groaned. He began to pull off my polo shirt, and I immediately stopped him. He looked up and gave me a questioning look. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asked as I got down on my feet.
“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Sorry,” I mumbled as I thought of when Parker did that to me but in a more demanding way. Note to self: never make out in school again.
“Babe, are you okay?” he asked as I walked around him. Before I answered, the door opened, and I spun around. I looked at the nurse, but Benny had his eyes glued to me.
“What’s going on here?” the nurse asked as she looked at Benny and me.
“He injured his foot,” I said. “So I just helped him here.”
“Okay, let’s see,” the nurse said as Benny sat on the bed. She turned to me and motioned to the door with an assured smile. I gave Benny one last look, then walked out of the room. I felt embarrassed in a way to see the look on Benny’s face. He thought it was his fault, but he didn’t know the story.
***
It was lunch, and I leaned against the wall. The cold wind blew in my face, but I tried to ignore it as I smoked a cigarette. It’s my first one in 2017, but I really needed it. With the whole school and James thing, it’s been stressful. I was at the back of the school, the abandoned part where people rarely came because it was winter. In my left ear, I heard footsteps approach me. I pushed myself off the wall and hid the cigarette behind me as I waited for the person. Ethan appeared, and I let out a sigh of relief. He approached me with a confused look.
“There you are. Benny has been looking all over for you.”
“I know. I sent him a text saying I was in the library.”
“This is a nice library. It’s so…open,” he sarcastically said. I rolled my eyes as I raised the cigarette. His mouthed formed into an “O” as I leaned against the wall. “What’s wrong? It’s not every day you find Lana Willson out in the cold smoking a cigarette.”
“Well, when I took Benny to the nurse she wasn’t there, so we…” I trailed off.
“Oh,” he said as the corner of his mouth rose.
“Yeah, and well…I stopped him because I just saw Parker. We were in the same atmosphere, so maybe that’s why I pictured him.” I took a drag.
“That asshole. You’re not the only one, Lana. I’ve heard he does it to other girls,” E
than said as I blew out a smoke ring.
“Then why isn’t he expelled?” I demanded as I pushed myself off the wall again and turned to face Ethan.
“There’s no proof, and you know Principal West is full of shit.”
“I’m proof! Those other girls that he harassed are proof!”
“Does Benny know?”
“No. He doesn’t know a lot of things.” I mumbled the last part and took one last drag. I threw the cigarette on the ground and crushed it with my shoe.
“Parker deserves everything that’s gonna happen to him one day. Don’t worry, Lana. Things will get better,” Ethan said as he playfully nudged me.
“I heard you guys went racing last night,” I said as I put my hands in my pockets and squeezed my fists.
“Yeah, we each did a race and won. It was fun.” He nodded as I smiled.
“Was Keene with you guys?” I asked as I thought of Kelly.
“Yeah, quite a few people were there,” he mumbled, then stared at the ground. I nodded as the bell rang. We walked back, and I mentally thought up an excuse I’d tell Benny if he ever asked.
***
The seniors stayed after school. The class of 2012 started a thing on the top floor when their lockers got repaired. They asked for a row to keep for display. So every graduating class from 2012 on had written their names on the oldest lockers in the school. By the time I reached the top floor, there were already people lined up. I joined the line and didn’t notice that Benny was in front of me. He spun around and gave me a small smile.
“Hi, how’s your foot?”
“Like I said, it only hurts a bit.”
“I’m sorry about earlier. I jus—”
“It’s okay, I understand,” he said, then faced forward. I sighed and folded my arms. I looked over my shoulder to see who was behind me. Jennifer had her hands placed on her hips as she observed the lockers. Every senior class had their locker that had been written on. I followed her gaze to see her look at her brother’s class.
“Noel Brighton was part of the people who started all of this,” she mumbled as her fingers grazed over her brother’s name.
“How is he?” I asked, because from what Melissa told me, he was in rehab.
“He’s okay. He was discharged before winter break because they’ve seen improvement. Now he’s staying in his apartment,” she replied. “Lana, err…thank you for the other day in the cafeteria. It made me feel at ease.”
“No problem, but that was brave of you. Just know that people are supporting you and stuff,” I mumbled, because I didn’t know what to say.
“Thanks.” She awkwardly chuckled as we moved in the line. We watched as Benny wrote his name on the deep blue locker. Jennifer let out a sigh as she shook her head. I followed her gaze to see Miranda’s and Marcus’s names next to each other. I think she shook her head at Kelly, who forced her name between theirs horizontally.
“What’s her problem?” I asked as Benny gave me the white marker.
“I don’t know. Just because her dad is the principal, she thinks she owns the place and gets what she wants,” Jennifer answered as I wrote my name below Benny’s. Once I finished, I gave her the marker, and she held onto it as she stared at me. “Just so you know, she has a thing for soccer players.” She gestured to Marcus. My jaw dropped as I nodded and backed away.
***
Benny took me home, and it seemed like we were back to normal. He said I should come to his house later and I agreed since it was Friday. I got home and changed into comfy clothing that consisted of gray joggers, a red sweater, and my white Converse. Mom came home, so I took her car and drove to Benny’s house. By the time I got there, it was past five, and we chilled in Benny’s room. We laid on his bed and watched a movie, then eventually fell asleep. Although for once, I didn’t have the dream.
I fluttered my eyes open and noticed a blanket was on me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Benny asleep on the other side of the bed. I slowly got up and stretched to see his mother’s back to us as she folded some laundry. I squinted my eyes and watched as she hummed a tune. She spun around and startled but waved it off as she smiled at me.
“Hi, Lana, I’m sorry if I woke you.” She smiled.
“It’s okay, Mrs. Nielson. I, err…” I trailed off as I put my glasses on.
“Aww, it’s so cute that you just came over to sleep,” she cooed and looked at Benny.
“Err…yeah, sleep,” I said as the corner of my mouth raised.
“There’s dinner downstairs if you’re hungry,” she said, then took the laundry basket and walked out of the room.
“Thank you,” I called out. I noticed Benny got up. I turned to him and bit my bottom lip because he looked cuddly. He smiled at me and opened his arms. I laid on his chest and wrapped my arms around him. Benny’s phone rang a few minutes later, and he groaned, then answered it.
“Hey, Nick,” he greeted. “Whoa, yeah she’s here…all right, all right we’ll be there,” Benny said, then ended the call. I sat up and gave him a questioning look as he got up. He put on his shoes as I did the same.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nick’s at Liam’s apartment. They want us there.” Benny shrugged as he put on his jacket.
“Okay, let’s go.” I put on my leather jacket, then walked out of his room. I drove since I’d go home from Liam’s apartment. While we drove close to downtown, I wondered why they wanted us there so urgently. Only one thing popped into my head.
We arrived fifteen minutes later, and Benny led the way because Liam was on the top floor. We stood in front of the door, and I knocked. Nick opened the door. I raised a brow as he escorted us into the apartment. It looked very vivid with its different-colored furniture, yet it somehow matched.
“What’s so urgent?” Benny asked Nick, who opened his mouth to answer but cut off when someone entered the room.
“Oh! More guests. Welcome, welcome. Would you like some tea? I’m Liam’s grandma.” She gave us a kind smile.
“That would be lovely, thank you,” Nick replied.
“All right, come on in. I’m making cookies,” she said, then walked into the kitchen.
“She’s been saying that every five minutes. She has Alzheimer’s,” Nick said as I slowly nodded. We walked into the kitchen, and she took out a tray from the oven. My eyes widened to see that they burned. Nick turned off the oven as she stared at the burned cookies.
“I think they need a bit more time,” she said, then put the tray back in the oven.
“Would you guys like some tea?” she asked, and Nick raised his hand.
“We had some, thank you,” he said as she nodded, then walked out of the kitchen.
“You guys, come on!” Liam yelled throughout the apartment. Nick let out a sigh as he walked down the hall and into Liam’s room. I entered his room, and I gaped at how full it was. His bed was in one corner as he sat opposite by his desk. Next to his desk was an open space but the wall was full of string and papers.
“Liam, what is this?” I looked at the pictures of the industrial area and Jack.
“We’re investigating!” he cheered, then pushed up his glasses.
“Good for you, but why are we here?” Benny asked as he sat on the bed.
“We’re just curious about this Jack August,” Nick said as he licked his lips.
“Yeah, I’ve done research on him, and there’s nothing. No social media and not even on his family. You guys should see how many families there are with the last name of August,” Liam said.
“Well, maybe because he’s a hobo,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but remember the first time he came on the news, and they had this whole background of him? Where he was born, his family, and even where he worked,” Liam said as his forehead creased.
“My dad said the journalists could make up lies and stuff just to make it more dramatic.”
“Yeah, but it says he was born at Provident Hospital of Cook County,” Liam said, then typed on his
computer.
“My mother works there,” I said, then looked at his screen.
“Yeah, and I talked to her, then managed to figure out the password for their files,” Liam mumbled as my eyes widened.
“Why would you do that?” Benny demanded.
“We’re investigators!” Liam cheered, then raised his fist.
“Just tell them what you found.” Nick sighed as he stared at us.
“Nothing. Not a single thing about Jack August was mentioned in the last thirty years or ever.” Liam sighed.
“Yeah, it just shows that the news reports false information,” I said.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Liam mumbled, then stood up as he walked over to the wall. He took a big marker and crossed out Provident Hospital.
“Well, guess what else we found out?” Nick asked as he sat in the chair and typed. “On the news when they showed a picture of Jack August, don’t you think it’s funny that they had a picture of a hobo?”
“Maybe it’s from his family,” Liam suggested.
“Then his family would’ve given a picture of him before he became an alcoholic hobo,” Benny said as we looked at the picture that showed up on the news. Jack August kept a poker face as he stared at the camera. His face was pale yet hard to notice from his ginger hair. He had a strong jawline and a pointy nose with chocolate brown eyes. “Wait, zoom in on his neck,” Benny said as we stared at him. Nick did as told and my eyes widened when I noticed it.
“Is that makeup?” Liam pointed to Jack’s face that was pale, but his neck was tanned. We exchanged looks as we took in the rest of his appearance. In the background was a sign that stated Route 28.
“That looks familiar,” I said.
“Yeah, it does. I’ll look it up,” Nick said, then typed. I straightened my posture and folded my arms as I looked at the wall again. There was so much stuff going on that I lost count of how many strings there were.
“Don’t your parents question this?” I asked as Liam stood next to me.
