by Leen Elle
RAYLIN
"Well this is simply ridiculous," Leila was snarling, scribbling furiously in her notebook. "Here I was thinking being a teacher's pet was an easy way out of life." I smiled at her lazily and leaned against Kenneth. That's right, Kenneth Kelley, the guy who had been bugging me for a date about a couple of weeks back. After all, it was only a week, what harm could it do? And anyone who was dumb enough to want to date me had to agree to my conditions in the first place.
In case you're wondering what my bestest friend was griping about, let me first announce that I'm an official teachers' pet. Did I mention that before? In any case, due to our top notch grades and charming smiles, the four of us easily became the teachers' pets, right from Grade Eight. Besides, it didn't hurt that we were practically one of the most popular cliques in school.
Now back to the topic. Being favored students, the principal would of course be inclined to task us with the most difficult and most complicated assignments, knowing that we would be able to handle them 'with ease'. In this instance, Valentine's Day was just around the corner and as per tradition, there would be a Valentine's Day dance for Grades 8 and up. Valentine's Day meant absolutely nothing to me. Three guesses why. For the rest of the school though, they were always excited at the prospect of it. Although I hate to admit it, my school was rather good.
"At least we get to decide everything," Belinda piped up, practically sitting in Jake's lap. Although this was labeled a 'private' meeting, our boyfriends had some way or other wriggled their way in. Calista nodded in agreement, her hair brushing against Logan's cheek. Leila didn't seem the least disturbed that all three of us were being cuddled by our current other halves as she scanned through her hastily scribbled words.
"Crap, now I can't even read my own handwriting!" She exclaimed in horror, shoving the notebook at me. "Raylin can write everything for all I care. And I vote we make her the chairperson of the whole Valentine's Day crap." There were murmurs of agreement around the cafeteria table while I shot them icy glares. The girls were used to it, so the glares bounced of them easily. But the guys?
Logan gulped, "Maybe… Maybe we could get Cal to be the chairperson instead…"
"Uh, yeah, why not?" Kenneth was babbling. All Jake did was wince and tighten his grip around Belinda. Yea, like that would help protect him more. Of course, my girlfriends didn't even give their boyfriends a second glance although I gave mine a quick appreciative hug. I stared at the tempting, blank pages of my own organizer. As always, I was tempted to dive into action and begin all the planning but… I just… Oh whatever, Leila grinned in triumph as I finally caved in to the urge.
My felt tip pen printed carefully at the top: VALENTINE'S DAY DANCE 2007.
Under the impressed gazes of the boys and the triumphant ones of the girls, I divided the following pages into sub-committees under FOOD, MUSIC, etc. Less than fifteen minutes of our break later, we had everything mapped out. Placing the organizer back in the bag, I stood up, tossing my diet coke can into the bin, "Gotta go for English Lit, guys. Ta!" Goodbyes floated through the air as we went separate ways to our classes.
I entered the classroom, bowing to the teacher who smiled at me warmly. That's what most teachers did when they saw us, smile as though we've just made their day (which we probably have). Looking around the classroom, I realized that there were only three empty seats. One was beside Cecilia, one of the cheerleaders and she was preening into the mirror. Me and the girls had adverse side effects if we hung out with cheerleaders. Alright, that was an exaggeration. The truth is that all of them want to be us, and they think that by sucking up, it's going to work. I'm not about to spend one entire lesson of my favorite subject listening to her whines and nattering about why we should hang out with them.
Another one was between the window and Trent, a jock who had had his eyes on me since ages ago. If I was to sit next to him, he would soon be trying to persuade me to dump Kenneth and get together with him. Dumping Kenneth was actually already on my To-Do list, because I was getting infinitely irritated with his sloppiness and oh-so-poseur-I-don't-give-a-shit attitude. I just don't do sloppy. The only last seat available was in one corner, next to Viper. Viper. It's almost a fortnight since that incident where he practically saved me from Hell. After that, I had been going out of my way to be nice to him, as a way of repaying him but he doesn't seem to want any repayment. The other girls were almost suspecting me of liking him. Frankly, I had gone out with Kenneth just to clear that fact.
Making up my mind, I walked over to him, knowing full well that Trent's eyes were set on my swaying ass covered with just a short red skirt. Viper looked up at me, his hard eyes softening just a tad. Or maybe it was just my imagination. I took out my copy of 'Macbeth' while the teacher dove straight into the lesson. We sat in silence for half the lesson, him drawing non-stop and me copying a zillion notes.
"I didn't know you took English Literature during this period," he broke the silence, not even sparing me a glance while his pencil sketched the outline of a face. I had to smile at his laidback attitude. He was the type of person who fitted that attitude perfectly, as though just popping the tab on a can of coke would tire him out. Turning back to my notes, I explained how some of my subjects had to switch periods in order to fit in. He gave a non – committal grunt, continuing his sketch. I returned my attention back to the teacher, who was talking about a class group assignment about Macbeth and hell knows what else.
"Alright, class, just turn your chairs and work with your table partner and the people in front of you," she bellowed, trying to make herself heard above the screeching noises of chairs scraping against the ground. "And please try to be productive." That last statement went unheard as everyone launched into discussion. Discussion which most likely didn't consist of Macbeth or his evil plots.
"So," I began, looking at my group members. "We can begin by listing out the points that are prominent in this story." There was a light snore from the table in front of us. I groaned. Trust Alex Protick to be in my group. He was a total pig, sneaking food in class and dozing off every moment he could. What made things worse was the fact that his partner had left halfway through the lesson because of a 'stomach upset', thus leaving just three – make that two of us. Rubbing my forehead in frustration, I transferred my eyes to a still drawing Viper.
"Viper? Viper? What do you think?" I waved the book in front of his face.
VIPER
"Viper? Viper? What do you think?" Suddenly, I found a copy of 'Macbeth' waving in my face. Leaning backwards in shock, I traced the manicured fingers back to a pretty face with tendrils framing it. Raylin. It's been two weeks since that incident and I can tell she's trying to repay me by being nice. But nice is so not going to cut it, and I wasn't as interested as the other boys in getting her attention.
"Think about what?" I asked, a lopsided grin spreading across my face. She looked positively enraged, dusting away imaginary dust on her spotless black top. She placed her book on the table and wrote on her notebook: MACBETH STORY LINE.
"Oh, that. Erm, well. Some old guy meets these women who give him a prophecy or something and he kills someone and goes psycho, thinking there's blood dripping off his hand and well…" I trailed off from my rambling when I caught the quizzical look on her face.
"Just, how much do you know exactly?" She inquired, capping her pen. I shrugged. "Look, it's really easy. I'll explain it to you and will you stop drawing for just one moment?" I forced myself to let go of the pencil and pay full attention to her. She was actually mapping out the entire storyline on paper and making it all so clear and easy. I have to say it, she's really amazing. All at once, the garbled old English became words that I could actually understand. I coughed a muffled thanks and took the piece of paper she handed me.
She shot me one of her rare smiles and returned to her organizer, saying, "Now, can we begin the discussion proper?" I nodded and leaned forwards, watching her write down 'Power', 'Prophecy' and 'Revenge' under a subhead
ing. The teacher walked past, pushing her tortoiseshell glasses further up her nose and beamed at her favorite student, spouting praises for her neatly drawn notes. Raylin beamed right back, although it was clear to me that the smile didn't reach her eyes.
Within one period, Raylin had practically finished everything single-handedly, with me throwing in random comments. I felt slightly guilty as she handed up the paper the teacher provided covered in her immaculate drawings. Still, I shook off the feeling and gave her a nod goodbye as we were dismissed. I sat there for a few more minutes, tucking my sketchbook back into my bag and getting up. Chemistry next, gosh, life was certainly boring.
Yet boring as life was, time flew past so quickly that I was still sitting in a daze when the end of school bell rang long and loud. I was only jolted out of my trance when some punk crashed straight into my table while he left, giving me an apologetic look. I got to my feet slowly, wandering out of the classroom and towards the school gates. When I walked past the book house, I slowed my steps. A quick check yielded the fact that Raylin hadn't reported for work yet and I wasn't too excited at the prospect of going home. Picking out a book from the shelves, I sank into one of the many plush chairs dotting the place after ordering a hot chocolate.
Melvin usually reached home only at a quarter to three, so I had almost half an hour more before I had to leave. Just as I was finishing the first chapter, Raylin came bursting through the door in a flurry, for once looking almost flustered while she whipped on an apron and called out apologies to the owner. Glancing at my cellphone, I got up, replacing the book and slinking out the place before she caught sight of me. I wasn't too sure either, why I was avoiding her like that, but I just wasn't in the mood to really talk to her, or anyone else for that matter.
The house was as usual, quiet and messy. Suddenly, a random question crossed my mind. What would the Ice Queen have done if she had seen this mess? I smirked, side stepping a pile of newspapers to go up the stairs. There was no sight of that man and I assumed that he was passed out in his room again. Abruptly, there was a crash and a shout from Melvin's room. Dropping my things, I ran up the stairs and flung the door open, my blood running cold at the sight before me. Stupid, stupid, stupid, if I had been home just a few minutes earlier, this could have been prevented.
My brother was crouched in a corner, tears streaming down his face. Speaking about his face, it was swollen and bruised in places, his right eyed swelled shut. His arm was hanging limply by his side, as though he had given up trying to protect himself. I could see long, bleeding cuts on his legs. There were shards of broken green glass on the ground, glass that I easily recognized. It was the glass alcohol bottles were made off. And the cause of it all was standing in the middle of the room, holding an unbroken bottle by the neck and breathing heavily.
"Clean up this mess!" He barked, turning his inebriated gaze to me. His pupils were dilated, and he couldn't even stand steady. I heard myself snarling an adamant 'no' while striding across the room towards my brother. He aimed a kick towards Melvin, his foot connecting with the side of his stomach. I stopped, my heart almost breaking in two at the sight of his huddled form. "Take one step towards him, and I'll smash this bottle on his head!"
"Don't you dare! Don't you fucking dare, you asshole!" I heard myself shouting. "If you do that I swear I'll do whatever it takes to get you to jail!"
What he said next was out of my expectations, and not just that, I made my boiling blood run cold once more. "I may go to jail, but you will live with a guilty conscience, knowing that you could have saved him. But you didn't. Because you chose not to protect your brother. Because I will make sure my aim is true." He said all this with a calm air, punctuating the last sentence with a laugh so cold, I wasn't even sure if the person standing before me was my father.
Something took over my body and before I knew it, the flames of rage were licking against my inside again. I raised my fist and felt something snap beneath my knuckles as it connected with his face. He retaliated by smashing the bottle across my back. Even through my shirt, I could feel the beer trickling down my back and something else. Something warm, and most likely red. A kick to his shin resulted in a satisfying 'crunch' and he dropped to the floor, clutching his leg and frantically wiping away the blood flowing relentlessly from his nose. My fingernails were digging so hard into my palm that I left little bleeding crescents in them. Bending down next to Melvin, I picked him up, turning and running out the door.
I ran. I ran as fast as I could, pushing Melvin's hair out of his sweating face. I didn't even bother to look at where I was running, not even stopping at the traffic light. All at once I felt as though I had been transported back to when I was twelve, afraid and alone. Melvin's body felt frail against my chest as my legs pumped non-stop beneath me, adrenaline coursing through my veins. Finally, I forced my legs to slow down, my insides churning and my lungs burning while I tried desperately to draw in air.
My head snapped up when I heard a gasp coming from the shop. My eyes narrowed. Somehow, I had stopped right outside the book house and the person who had gasped was none other than Raylin.
RAYLIN
We were having one of those quiet afternoons at the book house again, and the place was practically empty. Idly, I wondered if my being late (for the first time in three years) this afternoon had anything to do with it. Of course not. My sensible left brain retorted. In order to make up for my lateness, I was giving the countertops and the glass casing a good wipe down.
"Raylin, dear, why don't you take a break? You've been at it for the past one hour!" Maria came out from behind the curtain separating the baking area and the counter. She looked positively flustered as she tried to wrench the cloth out of my grip. I almost laughed at her earnestness. For about as long as I had been cleaning, she had been going at me to take a break.
"Oh but she can't, Maria! There're fingerprints on the glass!" Sandy called from one end where she was sipping a cup of coffee. She grinned mischievously at me and I couldn't help but grin back. Ever since that incident where she burnt her hand, we had been on rather good speaking terms. But in some part of my mind, I knew she was right. I couldn't stand having fingerprints on glass, they irked me immensely. Every time Maria tried to snatch the cloth from me, she would brush against the glass, resulting in more fingerprints and me frantically scrubbing it.
I finally looked up from my work and glanced outside. What I saw gave me the greatest shock of my life as a gasp escaped my lips. Viper was outside, perspiration dripping off him in buckets. He was cradling someone in his arms, someone who was horribly injured with obvious bruises and bleeding cuts. Apparently, Maria and Sandy caught sight of that scene too for all three of us leapt at the door to draw him in. All he managed to do before collapsing to the ground was thrust the boy into my arms and cough, "Help Melvin, please."
Between the two of us and her relentless comments about his looks, Sandy and I managed to lift him into the back room where we laid him down on a couch with Melvin, who was probably his brother, with their slightly similar looks. It was then that we realized that blood was seeping through the back of his shirt. Maria nudged me over to him while she and Sandy tended to his younger brother.
I kneeled down next to the couch, turning him over gently, letting him lean against my abdomen. My hand brushed against his shirt and immediately, it turned red. Biting my lip nervously, I rolled up his shirt. He was losing blood, and fast. Trying to ignore his concealed muscles, I studied the jagged cut intensely. Maria handed me a cotton wool soaked in Dettol and I cleaned it up as best as I could, wrapping the bandage tightly around his wound.
"Now we're even, Goth Boy," I leaned in closer to his ear and muttered. "Maria, do you think it'd be better to call the hospital?" Before she could reply, his eyelids fluttered open, once again startling me with the blue of his eyes. Weakly, he shook his head. Putting an arm around him, I helped him sit up, sitting on the couch next to him. His eyes screwed shut for a moment, probably because
of the pain in his wound. Glancing over to his brother, he looked away almost immediately, turning his head so we wouldn't see his tears. But we saw it anyway, and Maria went forwards to encircle his shoulders with her arm.
"Why don't you tell us what happened?" I almost kissed Maria for her soft grandmotherly voice and gentleness. As expected, Viper succumbed to her subtle persuasion skills and blurted everything that happened. Sandy and I exchanged horrified glances when he reached the part about his father threatening to smash the bottle over his brother's head. He was literally shaking and crying by now. Unwittingly, I placed my arms around him again, holding him tight to offer some sort of comfort. When he ended with finishing outside the shop, I did something I never imagined I would do in my entire life.
"Do you want to bring Melvin over to my house? We have a couple of guest rooms which in actual fact have never been used before and I suppose you can stay there for a couple of days if you want," I ignored Sandy's amazed look. "I'll drive you to Gap so you can get new clothes and well, not dirty my car. Because if you're going to stay, I'm going to have you drive you there."
The moment that left my mouth, I regretted it. For now I had not one, not two, but three disbelieving gazes fixed on me. I raised my hands defensively, "I'm sure you'd do that too right?" They nodded undecidedly, still staring at me.
Groaning, I stood up, yanking Viper along, and resulting in him giving a shout of pain. I gave him a sheepish look then walked out the door, taking off my apron. He trailed after me as I walked over to Gap across the road, pulling out a gray shirt from the rack. He gave me a panicked look when he saw me advancing upon him with the shirt in hand.
Walking past me, he picked a black shirt and a pair of ripped jeans instead. I rolled my eyes. Now, will someone please explain to me why I was not surprised? He let me pay for the clothes, although he insisted that I would let him pay me back soon. I stuffed the bag into his hands, "Take it as a repayment for what you did for me that night."
