by Rute Canhoto
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The classes in the morning had gone well within reason. Ana and Marina were sitting at the school’s door enjoying their remaining free time, as there was half an hour of their lunch time left before the next lesson.
It was with some surprise that Marina saw her mother entering school. Not knowing why she was there, she promptly got up and walked to her. “Is there something wrong, mom?” she asked.
Her mother calmed her down and recalled, “I’m just here to deal with that issue you told me about yesterday. I have a meeting with the Executive Board at two o’clock. I’ll tell you how it went, ok? Now I really must go, I don’t want to be late.”
Her mother was supposed to pass by the school to talk about the canoeing lessons. Marina had forgotten about it, perhaps because she was too distracted with boys’ obstinacies and workshops she hated. She just hoped her mom would be successful in order for her to escape that torture. She sighed. As there was nothing else she could do, she sat again next to her friend.
The bell was about to ring for entrance when mom returned, looking downcast as if she had been slain by a mountain of arguments that she had failed to refute. Marina moaned fearing what she had to tell her. With a trembling voice, she girl, “I’m going to do the class, right?”
Her mother put her hands on her hips. She had struggled at maximum, but the obtuseness of the people she faced was too persistent. With sorrow, mom announced, “Yes, you'll have to take the class. I really tried, but he called the school psychologist and sang me a mantra that it was safe and that it was good for you to stand up against your fears. And they said that, if you didn’t do it, you would have a negative.”
“And you, what did you say?”
“I tried to explain to them that it was too hard for you to do this, but they wouldn’t relent. Then I told them that if something happened to you, like a panic attack, I would sue the school. The Principal hesitated, but then he said that he believed in the assessment of the psychologist, as well as the competences of the Physical Education teacher. After much more discussion, the only agreement I could get was a conditioned lesson.”
Marina didn’t understand what that meant, so she asked, “Conditioned lesson? What’s that?”
“It means that if your colleagues take three or more turns in a canoe, you’ll take only one for the teacher to evaluate you. I’m sorry, dear, this was the best I could get you. If you want to, you can skip that class, that’s fine by me, but I imagine that a negative grade is not a viable option for you.”
Marina was quite dismayed, nonetheless she knew that her mother had given her best shot and she couldn’t ask for more. Trying to resign to the final decision, Marina drew a grimace next of a smile, shrugged and said, “Forget it, mom. I’ll try to figure out how I can handle this later. We’ll talk about it at home, okay?”
Her mother gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder and rushed out of the campus, to return to her job.
Marina looked furiously at the bracelet and growled, “You're doing a fine job, Bracelet! When are you waking up and beginning to work efficiently?”
Upon hearing this comment, Ana answered back, “I don’t think the bracelet is malfunctioning. Think about it: did you have an accident? Did you see sinister figures or feel that you are being followed?”
Marina shook her head, stating no. She was still meeting with setbacks, but she hadn’t suffered any accidents, which in itself was a victory. Maybe the bracelet really worked, although it couldn’t control everything, like the unwillingness of teachers and headmasters. And that jerk of a psychologist? He must have gotten his diploma in the Internet. Trying not to think more about the drama that was reserved for the following day, she got up from the step and invited Ana to go to the locker to get their things for the next class.
The concern and distancing of Marina were so persistent that, both in Geography and English class, the teachers asked her more than once if everything was okay. She just nodded and apologized. She was fine physically, nevertheless she couldn’t help but feel terrified at the prospect of what would happen in the next lesson of Physical Education. The professors just had to have patience, because her behavior wasn’t changing any time soon.
Marina was so distracted that the bell of the last class sounded too remote to assimilate it. Ana had to strive to bring her back to reality. Next, they would have the first class of the Workshops and she was in the same as Lucas, which didn’t contribute to restore her recent and fragile friendship with Joshua. But why did she feel guilty about being in the same workshop as Lucas? He was present in all classes they attended, meaning that was just one more. Maybe Joshua was upset for not being there and thus he couldn’t ‘inspect’ what would happen. Bad luck for him! She was tired of thinking of him. What about her?
Marina said farewell to Ana and headed to the room where the workshop would take place.
If she thought things couldn’t become more vexed, she was wrong: the painting room was right next to the one of the Design workshop. Joshua and Lucas were leaning on each classroom door and they were exchanging flashing glances that seemed to make the air vibrate. Marina observed the scenario presented to her: there were two distinct paths that she could follow. However, by picking one, she knew that she would have to deny the other as they were irreconcilable. Why did she have to choose? She wanted to get closer to Lucas so that he would tell her what was happening, but she also wanted to be friends with Joshua. Was it so hard to get what she wanted? It was great that they could all be friends.
By luck, the Design teacher was the first to arrive and Joshua soon disappeared into the room. Great! She no longer had to deal with his painful looks of disapproval. Soon after came the teacher of Painting and Drawing, and invited students to enter the room they had been assigned. Conformed, Marina crossed the doorway and sat alone at a desk at the bottom of the class. She really didn’t want to be there…
The teacher gave them a warm welcome and explained what the workshop consisted of in basic terms. For what Marina could understand, for over an hour they could draw or paint whatever they wanted, and after they would have to show their work to the teacher for her to assess and give some tips on how to improve. Before they began to draw, the professor asked them to tell their names, from which class they came from, and why they chose that workshop.
Marina’s turn didn’t take long and she tried not to dwell on her speech, “Hello. My name is Marina, I'm from 11thE and I'm here because I chose Photography. As the school decided to cancel that workshop, I was put in Painting and Drawing.”
“And how do you feel about that?” quizzed the teacher as she arched her eyebrows, anticipating potential problems with Marina’s commitment.
The girl thought about it for a while. She felt like saying that she was angry, and that she even preferred to join the vixen Joana at Performing Arts, but she didn’t do it. Instead, she answered, “I was sad to know that they had chosen this option for me, mainly because I can’t draw anything. I’m an absolute zero in this area.”
“You may be as bad as you claim, but the aim of this workshop is precisely to give students the chance to improve and learn some more. See this hour as that, an opportunity to improve.”
Marina blew a sigh. She couldn’t help feeling that she was there against her will, like a prisoner.
After her, the professor jumped to Lucas. Fortuitously, he was so far from her that she could barely see him through the other colleagues. She thanked for the distance, because if she had realized that he was staring at her when she was talking earlier, she would have been too nervous.
His voice made her focus on his words. “Hi! My name is Lucas and I'm also from 11thE. I chose this workshop, because I love to draw and, above all, to paint. I love to pick up a paintbrush, pass it over the canvas and see the shapes come alive. It’s something unique.”
Lucas spoke in a manner so passionate that Marina was impressed. She had never heard him talking with so much love for something. Those
words full of meaning confirmed her that he also had a sensitive side. This was the side that she wanted to know one day.
“Lucas, I think you'll enjoy this class. Okay, let’s proceed then. Here’s a ream of paper for those who want to draw. But if you prefer something more advanced, you can use the easels, the canvas and the color palettes. And you can move around the room freely to ask advice from your friends. Shall we start, now?” suggested the professor, as she finished her speech with two claps to incentive them to get up from their seats and to go get the material.
Only four of them chose to start right away with the canvas, Lucas being one of these. Like most of her classmates, Marina also grabbed a piece of paper, chose one of several charcoal pencils scattered on a table and picked up a white rubber. She returned to her place, threw herself in the seat and stared at the blank sheet in front of her. What would she try to draw? A house? A person? A cat? She had no idea. She didn’t know what to draw, she couldn’t draw and did not feel like drawing. Ah! What frustration, she shouted inside.
Seeing her lost expression, the teacher approached her to give her some support. She pulled out a chair beside her and sat down. “Hello! What did you say your name was?” she asked.
“Marina, madam.”
“Alright, Marina. From what I understood, you’re here because you were forced to. You don’t like drawing and you think you’re no good at it, right?”
“Touché. I even bent a square,” complained Marina, letting her head rest into her hands in defeat.
The teacher laughed and inquired, “Do you know what you’ll draw today?”
“I'm still thinking, but I can’t decide.”
“In that case, I have a suggestion for you. First, you’ll start with the basic shapes, and then you’ll pass to the mixture of colors through painting. You'll see that you'll particularly like the last one.”
Marina questioned herself about what that would mean. Basic shapes and mixing colors? It was worse than Chinese or something old, like Aramaic... Anyway, she had no choice, so she would try to follow the teacher’s plan.
“Let's start with the basics”, the teacher went on. “Do you see the rubber on the table? Try to draw it. When you’re ready, show me your picture and then we’ll decide what to do from there on, okay?” Marina assented and began to wonder how the hell she would scribble that. The professor got up and walked towards another student who seemed as lost she.
Marina lifted the rubber to her eye level and studied it. It shouldn’t be too hard to sketch; in the end, it was practically a parallelepiped. Maybe it would be more difficult to sketch its card, given its complex logo. She bit her tongue and prepared for the struggle. She began by scribbling a rectangle and continued from that point, trying to make it look three-dimensional.
It wasn’t finished yet, nonetheless the draft didn’t look good. It was better to erase what was wrong and redo it little by little. Irritated, she muttered something not nice. She took a moment and examined what was happening around. All her colleagues were engaged in their work. What envy! It seemed that she was the only one who wasn’t able to sketch anything.
A little further along, installed on a small bench with an easel and a canvas in front of him, was Lucas. In one hand, he was holding the brush, and in the other he had a palette with paint in earth tones and black. He seemed quite focused. What was he painting? Curious, Marina got up and walked towards him. She looked at the canvas and saw something that looked like a crouching body; the painting, however, wasn’t very advanced, so she couldn’t tell for sure. What would it represent? Though incomplete, the image stood out and its magnetism drew her.
She observed at a glance the work of her other colleagues who had chosen the canvas and found that, unlike Lucas, they were doing pencil sketches first. Why would he be different? Would it be a matter of confidence in him or just a method that he liked to follow? Absorbed by the allure of the canvas, she took a bench and sat down near Lucas, watching him working. Every stroke was solid and deep, filled with meaning, and he left nothing to chance.
Without thinking if she should do so, Marina asked, “Why are you already painting? I ask only because I noticed that others who choose to work on the canvas are doing drafts, unlike you. You seem to be pretty advanced.”
Lucas shuddered a little upon hearing her, nevertheless he ignored her. He continued to paint and remained silent for a while. Finally, he sighed and, without diverting his view from the white surface, explained, “I prefer free painting. I simply grab a brush, it comes to life and it draws whatever it wants. I never have a specific idea for a painting at the outset. It evolves and decides for itself.”
It was a good justification, but risky, because if he made a bad choice, all would be lost. Even so, his answer supported his way of being – he was bold and that reflected in his work method. Marina fell silent and continued to watch him working. He was so calm and relaxed that he didn’t resemble the intractable crabber he appeared to be.
Seeing him like that, Marina thought that she could try to start a conversation without insults. Without raising her voice to not intimidate him, she commented, “I think it look good. Although you let yourself go with the flow like you said, do you have more or less an idea of what you’ll paint?”
Lucas shrugged, pursed his lips and replied, “A tribal scene representing a field of opportunities and potential.”
Huh, what? Lucas was speaking in an unknown language to Marina. Artists talk, she thought. At fear that he would suddenly demand her to go away, she asked, “Something tribal? You mean, related to the Purepecha?”
“Probably.”
“And where did you get that idea from?” continued Marina to quiz.
Unpredictably, he smiled. It was the first time she saw an innocent and sincere smile on those lips and it made him look pretty charming. Why would he rather prefer a mask of toughness when he seemed to be someone so promising?
To her amazement, the boy replied, “The one responsible for this idea was you. When I was trying to think of a painting theme, I remembered the assignment you did on the tribe. By the way, thanks for writing it.”
Was that real? She should be dreaming, because only in dreams she could picture him being and thanking her for having done the Philosophy work. She blinked hard to make sure she was awaken, as she was astounded and stunned.
The more unexpected his good humor was, Marina didn’t intend to waste it. Keeping the same note of calm, she returned, “You’re welcome. But despite the research I did, I didn’t find much information, therefore the text had no data on rituals, amulets and those spiritual things related to tribes.”
Lucas made the brush slide over the canvas and assured, “It's okay, don’t worry about that. You didn’t even have to do what you did.”
Marina felt that Lucas was running away. He was sticking to the essential and rejecting to give her the facts that she wanted to know. She had to squeeze him a little more, so she insisted, “And you, do you know anything about the rituals?”
Lucas formed a perfect “v” with his eyebrows and his face seemed to harden. He pinned his eyes to the canvas and tried to focus on the image he was painting. When he finished the line he was painting, he replied, “The only thing my parents taught me relating to that culture was how to make wind chimes and necklaces. Can I ask why you’re so interested? I mean, it’s the second time you mention it.”
It did look suspicious; nevertheless, she had to get to the crux of the matter. With a wry smile, she disguised, “I'm just curious. And if I have to approach the subject in some work in the future, I’d like to be prepared, that's all.”
“Okay. I’m sorry, but I have nothing else to tell you,” said Lucas as he moved the brush through the palette.
If he knew nothing about Indian rituals, the theory that seemed to her the most reasonable was brought to the ground. How could he have been present, and at the same time absent, in her two accidents then? Was it all fruit of her imaginati
on?
Defeated, Marina snorted and said in a lower voice, “Never mind. I'll just have to keep on seeking other explanations to the fact that you have been my guardian angel when I needed help.”
“What?” shouted Lucas brusquely.
It seemed that she hadn’t spoken as low as she thought. Or he had excellent hearing. Marina bit her lip and whispered, “I was just rambling. By the way, you healed very well from the fight the other day. I was worried when you didn’t show up at school, but I see that there was no reason for it.” And she passed her finger lightly at his lower lip, that she remembered seeing split.
Caught by surprise, Lucas winced and backed off, looking stunned at her. The girl also jumped and got up, startled - his skin was so cold! He was beyond frozen. How was this possible? Maybe it was because he was wearing a t-shirt; the room was icy.
“Is everything okay, kids?” questioned the teacher finding it strange to suddenly see both of them up.
It was Marina who responded, although in a fumbling way. “Yes, everything’s fine. I was scared by a bug and Lucas took fright with my jump. But it's all good now.”
The teacher narrowed her eyes, trying to uncover some truth in that explanation. Ignoring the lie, she didn’t linger on them and focused again on the student she was helping.
Marina sat. Lucas followed her example with some reluctance, and insisted on seating a little further from her. Despite still holding the brush in hand, he seemed not to have a great desire to continue painting, making her feel guilty. He was so peaceful before she went to him, and now he was upset.
Her eyes swept the floor in search of courage, until she stared at him and said by way of encouragement, “Go on, you’re doing very well. Seriously, I think it will look great when finished. I'm going back to my sketch of a rubber that looks like a rectangle with crooked lines.”
With that, she got up and put the bench back where she had found it. Before heading to her seat, she crouched down next to Lucas and whispered to him, “You should consider bringing a jacket to school. Although outside the weather is nice, the rooms are cold. Trust me and you’ll avoid a couple of sneezes.”
Lucas opened his eyes wide upon hearing her. He knew that she had noticed how frozen his skin was, but he never expect her to say that. Still, he assumed the so familiar expression of scorn, and threw her in an ironic tone, “As if you cared…”
Marina blinked, perplexed. He was back to normal, so it was best to move away fast before he started to deride her. She answered only in a whisper, “I wish you no harm. You should already know that by now.”
Lucas escorted her with his eyes till she sat down. Then he turned to the other side and began to clean the brushes. The teacher went to him and they started talking about what he had painted. Marina looked back to her sheet, feeling down. She would never be as talented as him.
At the bell, the teacher yelled for them to put the sheets and the canvas on her desk. Rucksack on her back, Marina did what the educator asked. Before going out the door, she peered discreetly over her shoulder and stared at Lucas, who was still talking to the teacher. She recalled the window he had opened to her for a moment. There was much more in him besides the outer shell of tough guy. Maybe one day he would show her a little more of who he really was.
She walked with heavy steps to the school gate and, from there on, walked automatically. It was with astonishment that she realized that she was already on the road under the castle. A familiar figure walked a few steps away from her. She focused and managed to identify him as being Joshua. She could walk a little faster to catch him, but she feared that, if she did so, he would ignore her or respond to her with unpleasant words. She already had plenty of concerns, like the canoeing issue. Remembering about that made her shiver from head to toe. She knew that she couldn’t go in the river just like that. It was only a few days ago that she learned to walk along the river’s wall again. Now she had to try something small, but at the same time it would be giant step: she had to try to cross the pedestrian bridge.
Meantime Joshua became aware that someone was walking behind him. He turned to see who it was. As he noted that it was Marina, he quickly turned to the front and hurried his pace.
Learning that Marina was walking behind him, Joshua turned around, looked at her and asked in a rude tone, “Are you following me?”
Marina barely noticed him, since she had more to worry about. She had to find the courage to do what she was about to do, but it was difficult. She tried to deviate from Joshua, nevertheless he gave her no space and put himself in front of her. Forced to awake, Marina fired away, “Stop playing the victim, Joshua. The world doesn’t revolve around you and your bad mood. Get out of my way!”
It was as if someone had punched him in the stomach. What did he expect? That she would fall at his feet and beg him to forgive her for something that was beyond her control? He might forget it.
His hard face soon smoothed when he noticed Marina’s expression. Although he was angry with her, he asked, “Are you alright?”
Marina sighed and focused her eyes on the stones of the side-walk. Who knew if she would find a shred of audacity hidden between the cracks? Small treasures could be discovered in the most unexpected places. Estranged, she replied, “Yes, I'm fine. Leave me alone. I have to try.”
“Try what?”
Marina didn’t even hear the question. She turned away from Joshua and walked to the city hall square.
When she got there, she sat on the railing that surrounded the lake where the statue of Pedro Nunes was, and observed the bridge. Everything was wrapped in stillness: there was no wind, the tide seemed to flow with ease, no one was crossing the bridge and the seats on the dais were empty as well. The panorama ahead reminded her of a scene from the Wild West movies, in which a cowboy comes to town and finds it empty, the only presences the wind and the rolls of dried grass. The comparison made her smile, which meant she had to seize the moment of relaxation and go to the bridge before she lost heart.
Marina got up, crossed the road and stopped one step before the stairs of the bridge. She lifted one foot and gave an insecure step. This one was followed by another two until she climbed the platform completely. She began to march hesitantly towards the top of the bridge. Anxious, she shut her eyes hard and tear slid down. It was better to open her eyes; it wasn’t very clever to move with her eyes closed. She opened them then and exhaled deeply.
She was at the beginning of the bridge, so she could turn back if she wanted. And how much she wanted to! Yet she couldn’t do it, she had to stand firm. Marina launched into a fast stroll, taking shallow breaths, and soon reached the middle of the bridge. There, she clung tight to the central pillar, shaking and eyes closed until they hurt. If she held on tightly, she wouldn’t fall – the pillar was her lifeline. When she dared to look, she found in front of her the landscape that she used to love watching: the river, the rice fields, the bridges that seemed like two indistinct black blotches, and the sun kissing the horizon. That helped her to calm down and, bit by bit, she released the pillar.
Now that she was there, Marina had two alternatives: she could go back or she could finish crossing the bridge. If she continued to cross, however, she would have to go through it again to return to the northern bank. She didn’t think she wasn’t ready for that, as getting to that point had been complicated enough. She would go back. This time, she didn’t linger to look for the boldness she needed: she just let go of the pillar and ran in a mad scramble for the platform.
At the end of the bridge, he was there waiting for her. Joshua had got worried about her gibberish and had followed her. Having him there with her, at that crucial moment, steeled her energies. She felt like jumping onto his lap with satisfaction, but the idea that they were upset ‘clicked’ within her and dissuaded her.
Hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath, Marina cried at the same time she laughed like a crazy. She cried, because she had just done something that terrified h
er, and laughed for having managed to do so. She overflowed with conflicting feelings. Sympathetic, Joshua pulled a tissue from his backpack and passed it to her. Marina accepted it, wiped her face and sat on the steps of the dais. She took lungful of air, exhaled slowly, and regained her composure. The boy sat beside her and stared at her. They stood in silence for several minutes, until he moved and hinted that he would go home. Seeing him about to leave, Marina murmured, "Thanks."
Upon hearing her voice, Joshua looked at her and asked, “Why did you do this?”
Contrary to what he might be thinking, she wasn’t loony, nor had a special pleasure in torturing herself. She just did what had to be done, although she had serious doubts that she could repeat it any time soon. She stood up and straightened her rucksack. If he was walking away, then so would she, but not before answering in short, “I'm going to be forced to do canoeing.”
Joshua was stupefied. It was obvious she had been traumatized by the river accident and, moreover, it was very recent. She had been able to do little, but relevant things, like approaching the river’s wall and now to go halfway up the bridge. He believed that this was how things had to happen, bit by bit. They were pushing her emotional rope and he feared that, if they weren’t careful, this would fray and snap. Everyone had a breaking point.
Feeling that there was nothing else to be said, Marina turned around and started heading home. Joshua followed her example a few seconds later.
When she arrived home, Marina threw the rucksack onto the bed and went to the kitchen to take care of dinner. After eating, she did her homework, prepared the backpack for the next day, went to bed and fell asleep shortly after. If she was asked what she had done after the bridge episode, she wouldn't know what to answer. It was as if she had turned on autopilot to complete the tasks from her mental list.
Her mom woke her up that morning. Upon hearing her voice, Marina jumped from the bed and ran to the living room window. Sadly, Saint Peter didn’t hear her prayers and a bright sun was shining in the sky. She opened the window and, to her amazement, it was hot. It even seemed like a lie, taking into account how much the temperature had dropped in recent times. It was as if Summer had decided to provide a few last warm days before saying goodbye. She loved summer, but if it was raining, the Gym teacher would be forced to give up the idea of canoeing, which would be perfect. As it was a sunny day, the sport in vogue would be canoeing.
Back in the bedroom, she got dressed and looked in the mirror. Her face presented well demarcated dark circles, revealing just how bad her night had been. She tried to have happy thoughts and look on the bright side of things to cheer up, but only dark thoughts occurred to her. She tried to tell herself that things would go well if she believed in that, nevertheless her pale reflection made her doubt. Reluctant, she got the backpack and prepared to leave her room. She took a glimpse at the swimming-suit on the desk; what she would give not to wear it that day.
At school, she found the lobby almost deserted, as usual at that hour. Informatics was her first class, which meant that she would only see Ana in the next hour, as she was part of the other half of the class that had that lesson in a different period. Hesitant, she headed for the room and waited outside. She held the bracelet on her wrist tightly and asked for it to be a good day, since entering the river was the same as asking for trouble. She needed all the possible protection she could get.
Shortly after the bell, her colleagues began to move closer to the room. The teacher arrived and everyone got in. While Marina took the things out of the backpack, Lucas sat down beside her. Since he had missed the last class, she had forgotten he sat beside her, though he shared the computer with another girl.
With no shame, the boy approached her ear and whispered in a seductive and provocative tone, “So, today you’re not dressed all hot? You looked real fit yesterday. You should dress up more often: you would rock.”
Marina blinked her eyes to be sure she was awake. She concluded that she was pretty awake, and he was staring at her with a bold look and a libidinous smile.
She could reply to him in the same tone, nonetheless her concerns were greater than such frivolities, so she replied with a question, “And from insults you pass to compliments?”
“You know how it is. You have to evolve, darling” he replied, while winking his eye.
Things between them were, indeed, evolving. Lucas had begun by ignoring her, later he passed to drive her mad and the day before they had had the first decent conversation. Passing to compliments was one more step, and things would evolve again for sure, like everything in life. Of all the students in the class, she could afford to say that she was the only person who spoke with Lucas. In part, she was satisfied, though she wanted much more. A firm friendship seemed idyllic, yet this didn’t mean that she wouldn’t fight for it.
Forgetting all the troubles for a moment, she responded, “I’m glad that you evolved, little monkey. I'm really happy about that.”
That wasn’t the reaction he expected, so Lucas hurried to look away and open his notebook on the page of the usual doodles. Interested, Marina glanced at the sheet and recognized the crouched body that he had painted in the workshop. It seemed to be involved in water now, which meant that he would have been working on the painting. It was good to see him so interested in something; it showed he wasn’t as slack as he wanted to show.
She watched him concentrating on the sketch for a few seconds. Only then she noticed that he was wearing a coat - he had followed her advice. Finding that, made her feel better about herself. It was nice to know that someone paid attention to her and appreciated her suggestions, even if he wouldn’t admit it.
Taking advantage of the great buzz around the room, Marina approached him and whispered, “I’m glad you heard me. That jacket looks very good on you.”
Lucas put on a scandalous smile and tried to demarcate himself, assuming a typical expression of a rebellious teenager. “I do not hear anyone and I only do what I want,” he retorted.
Yeah, right, she laughed inside. He could argue as much as he wanted; she had won that battle. They were talking with each other sporadically, with no placement of barriers, and he had heard her advice. Things were going better. Happy that a positive point outstood in the midst of so much drama, Marina turned the computer on and focused on the teacher’s instructions.
When the bell rang for exit, Lucas closed his notebook, put it in the back pocket of his pants and hurried away. Marina packed her things and headed to the lobby to look for Ana. She found her at the table they sat at whenever it was empty. Upon seeing her, Ana shook her head, chiding her. Marina pulled a chair to sit down and complained “Good-morning you too, huh? How nice of you to receive me right away with a scowl.”
Ana groaned. “Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean. Yesterday you came to school all dressed-up, making the boys drool, and now you're back to normal.”
“I think that Lucas agrees with you,” Marina let out, blushing immediately. The phrase had escaped her and right in front of Ana, who certainly would want to know all the details. Before Marina said something to try to fix the situation, her friend fired up, “Who? Mister ‘Don’t-Look-At-Me-Because-I’m-Bad’? Tell me all about it.”
“There’s nothing to tell. He just came up to me in Informatics class and said that today I wasn’t hot and that I should dress like that more often. He said that I would rock."
Ana laughed. The term ‘hot’ in itself made her laugh, and knowing that it had been told by the person who said it, was quite funny and interesting. Lucas, who barely opened his mouth, had just come out with that. Nicely played. Ana nodded, agreeing with his position, and replied, “I agree with him. There's only one thing I’d like you to explain me: now he speaks to you?”
Marina straightened in the seat and told her that they had talked a little in the Painting workshop. Well, they had exchanged a few sentences more polite than usual. It wasn’t a serious talk, although it opened the possibility of the
occurrence of one. They had been further off than that.
The bell surprised them. Annoyed, they got into the class room, sat down and pulled out from the bags the necessary material. They didn’t have time to think about anything else, because they had to rush and copy what the French teacher was writing. The blackboard was filled with phrases with blank spaces to complete.
With so much to do, the time seemed to run and it didn’t take long until they got back to the bar. Ana bought a cake, while Marina stuck to the sandwiches she had brought from home. They searched an empty table to sit and found one at the bottom bar.
Marina chewed slowly, while thinking of something about Lucas that puzzled her and that she hadn’t told Ana. It could be a detail without the slightest importance, still it disturbed her. The best was to voice it to her friend, as she always had great theories. Perhaps she could help her with understanding it.
She sat up straight in her chair and confessed, “Ana, there's one thing I didn’t tell you about Lucas.”
“Um... What?” she questioned in a clumsy manner, as she was chewing a huge piece of cake.
Stirring a little in the chair, Marina continued, “It might be nothing, but you know me: when I notice something, it doesn’t get out of my head easily.”
“It must be nothing, but you know me… Well, yesterday, in the workshop, I was watching him painting and I accidentally touched…” she stopped herself and made up, “…his hand. And it was frozen. You know, colder than an ice-cream in winter.”
Ana drew a question mark on her face. Marina thought that information was relevant? She didn’t. There were people who were hot and others, cold, as if they had lizards or crocodiles’ blood. There was nothing abnormal about that. From all that she had told her, the most interesting part was that she had touched him. And where? On the hand. Silly! She could have touched him on the face instead, which would be more intimate and exciting.
Ana devalued the remark and, after nibbling one more piece of cake, she uttered, “I hardly find that interesting. I know a lot of people who’s always cold, Summer or Winter. So what? It's normal.”
“Yeah, and the room was cold too and he was short-sleeved...” repeated Marina in a lower voice, more to herself than to Ana.
Ana was right. Even she had very cold hands, regardless whether the weather was hot or not. Lucas was cold, both the metaphorical and literal way. The insignificant finding could be sent to the pit of oblivion.
Before she shot that information to the ‘never land’, Ana jumped off the seat with excitement, turned to her with a mysterious air and suggested, “Or...” She didn’t continue. Instead, she devoted herself to scratch her chin, engrossed in her thoughts, joining all points until they forcibly made sense.
Marina was curious. What hypothesis would her friend be cogitating? Imagination was abundant in her. Ana’s silence left her in expectation, increasing her anxiety.
At long last, Ana took a predatory expression and hinted, “Or maybe he’s... a VAMPIRE!” She announced her conjecture almost jumping over Marina. That made her throw herself back with a start, hitting her back in the chair with force. Ouch! That had hurt. Ana could be more restrained in announcing her theories. As Marina rubbed her hands on her back to soothe the sting of pain, she leaned on her friend’s unique assumption. Lucas, a vampire? It was ridiculous, even though she herself had woven a hypothesis even more bizarre than that.
Before her rambling dragged on further more in time, Ana cut in, “That's it... fangs! You must check if he has fangs. When he talks to you, do you see any?”
Marina shut her eyes, trying to remember all the times she had talked to Lucas. In none of them she remembered having seen fangs. In fact, he had perfect and super white teeth - he could even make a commercial for toothpaste. But not having seen them didn’t mean that he didn't have them. The vampires on the TV series she used to watch hid their fangs and only showed them when they were excited or in ‘predator mode’. The same could happen to Lucas if he was this kind of being.
She thought aloud, “I never noticed, but I wasn’t looking for them.”
“Wow, how romantic! A Portuguese and real version of ‘Twilight’. Tough I still prefer the original Cullen, the lovely Robert Pattinson.” Ana sighed passionately, as if hit by an invisible arrow of worship.
Marina ignored her, even because she was ‘team Jacob’ – she preferred Taylor Lautner instead. Vampire... Could Lucas be one? Not likely. He could be as cold as a vampire (not that she had ever touched one), but there was one aspect that contradicted that possibility and that they had forgotten about. She would have to disappoint Ana.
Shrugging, Marina informed, “Sorry, but Lucas is not a vampire. I've seen him walking in the sunlight and he didn’t burst into ashes or anything alike.”
“The vampires of the Cullen clan also walked in the sun and there was no ‘poof’. They simply shone when the rays of sun hit them, as if reflecting them. The girl even said that it seemed he had thousands of diamonds embedded in his skin,” opposed Ana.
“Nope! I’m sorry, but I've seen him in the sun and he doesn’t dissolve or shine.”
Ana blew a huge sigh in defeat. “It was worth a try. But hey, I still say that, if I were you, I would try to confirm if he had fangs. Just to be sure, you know?”
Marina laughed. Despite the ridicule, she thought for a bit and concluded that, as nobody had actually ever seen a vampire, it was possible that people knew very little about them, and that little was just myth. It was better to follow the advice of her friend. Moreover, she even wished that Ana was right; that way, she would get over the riddle of Lucas and everything would make sense. It would be a relief to put an end to all ridiculous suspicious.
The bell rang. Marina took a last bite of sandwich and broke into a run along with Ana. They found the teacher inserting the key in the lock to open the door. Trying to regain their breath, they went in quiet and walked to their seats.
The teacher began to make the call, taking notes in the class book once in a while. Taking advantage of the fact that Manelito was distracted, Marina began to stare sneakily at Lucas’ mouth. Would Ana be correct? She had no idea, even because he didn’t separate his lips. She focused a little more and approached her face dangerously to his, nevertheless she still couldn’t see a thing. That mouth was more closed than a tomb.
“What are you doing?” Lucas asked, intrigued.
“Um... do that again”, asked Marina dragging her voice.
“What?” Lucas questioned, without a clue of what she wanted him to do.
Marina shook her head and censured, “Not that fast. You have to take longer or I can’t tell for sure.”
Lucas was confused, so he mirrored his misunderstanding in his face.
Marina rolled her eyes at his reaction and told him what she wanted him to do, as if talking to a child, “Open your mouth and clench your teeth, like this.”
Lucas blinked hard as he saw her exemplifying what she had requested. Her figure was comic, giving him will to laugh, but he didn’t, fearing that she would get him wrong. It was an unusual request, to say the least. Wanting to see how it was going to end, the boy showed his perfect and shiny teeth. Marina closely examined them. After a brief evaluation, she seemed to be disillusioned.
Sensing her frustration, Lucas quizzed, “Did you find what you were looking for? By the way, what were you trying to see? I didn’t understand a thing. I have something in my teeth, is that it?”
Supporting her head with both hands and pouting, Marina replied, “No, you have nothing in your teeth, don’t worry. I was just trying to see if you had fangs and if you were a vampire.”
Oops! It had eluded her by accident. She didn’t want him to know. If he really was a vampire, now he would know that he had been discovered, and if he wasn’t, he would make fun of her for a lifetime. And she was right about the last one: Lucas burst into crystalline and audible laughter, that he tried unsuccessfully to silence, calling atte
ntion to himself, including the teacher’s. The relentless Manelito turned back and gave him a piercing look, as he fired away, “Do you have a joke you want to share with the class, funny boy?”
“No, sir. I'm just anxious for the class to begin.”
This time, the whole class laughed. Who would be eager for that? The giggles didn’t last long, because the teacher rushed to order everyone to shut up, or they would be asked to leave.
