by C. S Luis
She smiled as I came forward and shook her hand. The big grin went up, and she just about melted in my hands. I guess some things never change. I was still John Slater.
“A pleasure, Mr. Slater,” she said with difficulty.
Michael walked ahead and we left Ms. Erickson behind; although, I could still sense her eyes following after me as Michael and I walked to the first door and found Mr. Claypool already rising from his seat. Michael tapped at the entrance as we stepped forward into his office.
“Look who’s here,” he offered. Even though I had hardly gotten to know Mr. Claypool and Mr. Vasquez before, I felt a need to know them now. Mr. Claypool came forward and shook my hand.
“So, you’re our new assistant principal? When Michael told us I didn’t believe it,” he offered with a smile. He still looked nervous around me.
“Well, it’s true,” I politely said, spotting Mr. Vasquez entering the office and coming over to shake my hand.
“Welcome back, sir! Oh, you’re joining us. You’re gonna like working with us.”
Mr. Claypool tapped his arm; he wrinkled an eyebrow at him. They were a pair of clowns, that’s all I knew.
“Has Claudia seen you yet?” Mr. Claypool asked me.
I shook my head. “I plan to surprise her. So whatever you do, don’t ruin the surprise,” I offered, wagging a finger at them.
“We won’t do that, we promise,” Mr. Vasquez said with that goofy grin on his face. The thick mustache covered most of his mouth.
“Well, I’d better get going. The buses are just about to arrive,” Michael said, looking at his watch again. “John, I’ll leave you with Mr. Vasquez and Mr. Claypool and they’ll help you get your feet wet. If you need anything, you know where to find me. Oh, and before I go.” Michael motioned me with him out of the office, and I followed as we walked to the last office. He unlocked the door and turned on the lights, and we walked in.
The desk inside was the same desk I had used as principal, and the same chair was there too. On the desk was a nameplate that read ‘John C. Slater 11th grade assistant principal’. I walked inside and picked it up, shaking my head momentarily.
“No matter how many times I see this, I can’t get over it,” I offered, looking around.
“Never pictured yourself back here again, huh?” Michael asked.
“No, not that,” I said. “I never pictured myself working in a school.”
And he laughed. “Well,” Michael said very slowly, coming up to me. “I hope it brings you some peace from whatever you used to do.”
“It does, but I get all the peace in the world from having you guys in my life. You and Claudia…and everyone else here.”
He looked like he was about to cry, and he took a breath and put a hand on my shoulder again.
“By the way,” he said, and he motioned to the shelf by the corner side of the office. I looked back as he walked over and picked up a laptop.
“You left this here the last time you were…” He held out the laptop, my old laptop, the one Bryce had indicated had been compromised when I had left that day. It brought it all back, the flash drive, the whirlpool, and the battle for Claudia.
I took it from his hands with a generous big grin; he didn’t realize it was now a piece of junk that would no longer work. The Company had set off the self-destroy mechanism a long time ago, long after I had abandoned it. And I took it expecting for him to reveal that very thing to me. But he either believed it was my own personal laptop or had never even tried to curiously see what it possessed. I recognized that he was far more trusting than I had realized.
“Thank you. That means a lot,” I politely said in response.
“Well, I know how hard it can be to replace important files or documents.”
“Right,” I said with a smile, putting the laptop on my desk.
“I wasn’t sure if I would ever see you again, but I figured I could hold onto it just in case one day I did.” He smiled; he honestly believed that.
“Nice to see you again, dear friend,” he said and handed me the keys and walked to the door. “Remember,” he added, turning one last time. “Dinner tonight, don’t forget.”
“I doubt Claudia will let me,” I said, and he smiled and was gone.
I came around the desk and took a seat; putting the briefcase on the surface and staring at the old laptop; the scrap of metal was now facing me. I turned it over on its back and noticed the obvious. The bottom was damaged, slightly burned. The battery had sparked just like the iPad had done after Bryce’s message. I carefully opened the desk drawer and stuck it inside. I’d take it back with me this afternoon and trash it.
Now alone, I took out my new laptop and opened it, suddenly realizing the flash drive was still under my desk. Michael had mentioned this was the same desk from my old office, so the drive had to be there. I hadn’t taken it with me.
I slowly reached under the desk and began to feel around, my heart pounding; this was important; it had to be there. I blinked, finding the laptop screen facing me with no sense or view of the door. The thought had occurred that I didn’t want to be caught with my hand under the desk doing God knows what when someone came in, so I reached up and closed the briefcase. I found Ms. Erickson at the entrance of my office looking straight at me. I immediately sat up just as I had felt the flash drive. She nearly startled me as she timidly came in unwelcomed.
“Sorry if I startled you, Mr. Slater, but can I get you anything? Some coffee perhaps?”
I looked up at her and smiled, and she turned slightly red again.
“I’m alright, Ms. Erickson,” I said, trying to avoid her.
I again opened the briefcase when I heard her say, “I usually make coffee early when I come in. I can have a cup ready for you. How do you like your coffee?”
She stood at the entrance, looking into the office and back at me like a shy schoolgirl.
Oh boy, it’s one of those, John. Be nice.
“It’s no trouble,” she offered, noticing I was speechless.
“Black,” I merely said. “Thank you, Ms. Erickson,” I said, hoping she would leave so I could get that damn flash drive.
“You can call me Janet,” she offered with a shy smile.
“Thank you, Janet,” I politely tried to say.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” I again looked up.
“No, that will be all for now.”
Please leave, I thought.
“Okay, don’t hesitate to call me. I’m just right out here.” She gave me a timid grin as she walked out, but now Mr. Claypool appeared at the entrance, smiling, just as I was about to reach under the desk and retrieve the flash drive.
He walked in but a few steps and whispered, “Looks like you’ve made an impression on her.”
He grinned, and I dropped back into my seat. Was I ever going to be alone in this school? I needed to get the flash drive, and I also needed time to think about Claudia and prepare myself for her.
“Well, I didn’t mean to,” I offered, but I could see in his eyes how people regarded me, they did differently from others, like I was some kind of celebrity or something.
“I think she likes you.” He winked.
“Well,” Mr. Claypool started to say. He had a hard time talking to me, but he was trying to be friendly. It was natural for people to react like that with me; it never failed, and he still wasn’t comfortable around me. I made people feel like that all the time. But that was just me. I was the alpha male.
“Mr. Slater, we’re heading into the cafeteria to give out detention slips if you want to come join us.”
I closed the laptop and smiled. “Mr. Claypool, you can call me John,” I offered. He seemed to ease up a bit and smiled. I think he liked that.
“Oh, ok. Well, you too…” He nervously said. “I mean, you can call me James,” he offered.
I tried not to laugh, and instead, smiled with a simple nod of understanding. “Is that how the day usually starts?” I asked, reg
arding giving out detention slips.
Mr. Claypool nodded. I felt he wanted to impress me, even perhaps get my approval. And he seemed to be slowly feeling more comfortable around me.
“Yes, pretty much, John,” Mr. Claypool offered, trying out my name for size.
“Well, I guess we’d better get to it,” I said, and then she entered my office. I just about lost myself, and I could see Mr. Claypool pull away very slowly to allow her a clear view of me.
“I guess we can always start tomorrow,” Mr. Claypool said; the office had suddenly gone silent. “I’ll let you two catch up,” he merely offered and walked out the doorway.
Claudia looked shocked to see me. I thought she was upset by the way she was just standing there staring back at me with nothing much to say. I felt my heart breaking that she wouldn’t move or speak.
I think I just stood there for a long moment after coming around the desk and waiting for some kind of reaction from her first. Even though I was dying to hold her in my arms, I couldn’t move. I didn’t know if she hated me for abandoning her or didn’t want to see me again.
I felt the need to say something, and so I made a motion to speak, but as I did, she nearly tackled me, wrapping her arms around me. I felt her hold tighten, and a sob broke through her tiny lips.
It was nice to be back in her embrace again, to feel her hold me, to hear her voice sobbing for me. God, it felt good that she missed me! I wasn’t the only one in need, in desperation.
She pulled away and gazed at me; tears were rolling down her eyes, and I wiped them away with a gentle brush of my finger.
“I hoped and prayed that someday you’d come back, that I would see you again, that you hadn’t forgotten me,” Claudia softly said, and she fell into my arms again and hugged me so tightly I thought she would never let me go.
She sobbed, and my big grin resurfaced as I held her. God, it felt good to feel her in my arms again. If she had only known how heartbroken I was. If she only knew how much of a mess I was in.
“I couldn't stay away. I missed you both,” I said, referring to her and Michael. “It’s impossible to forget someone like you,” I whispered, wiping at her eyes.
“Did you really miss me?” Claudia asked. God, she wanted to hear it just like I had wanted her to say she cared about me in the same manner.
“Every minute of every day. You’re all I thought of,” I honestly said, revealing just a small part of my true feelings.
Claudia blushed and then smiled at me. She looked unreal to me and seemed enhanced by the lights above that seemed to absorb her form. I felt overwhelmed by her. I was suddenly speechless like a stupid schoolboy in love. No one had ever done that to me before, taken my breath away as she had, taken my soul and heart as she had, made me regret nothing.
“I thought you had forgotten all about me,” Claudia said, lowering her eyes and looking away. “I know you have a lot more going on in your life. And you probably don’t have time to…”
I gently lifted her chin and put a finger on her lip to stop her and then gazed into her glowing brown eyes. They were rich with color and alive, unlike ordinary eyes. I felt like I was looking into the eyes of a phantom. They were beautiful and strange.
“I could never forget you. There’s nothing more important in my life than you. Do you understand that? That is why I’m here…because of you,” I said very clearly.
A smile spread on her face, and she reached and held me tightly again. It felt good to be in her arms. I was now at peace.
"I missed you," Claudia looked up at me as I held her face in my hands and tenderly caressed her cheek.
"I missed you too, sweetheart," I softly said. Her eyes sparkled back at me, and I felt consumed by them. I was home.
2
The Return
Claudia
I was running through the hallways, and he was chasing me. I could sense him getting closer and closer, and just when I feared he would catch me, I was safe and far away. But he never stopped; he always came closer and closer. The darkness was drawing over me, reaching out like two boney hands trying to take me.
“He’s coming,” was all I could hear from his voice, “He's coming, my pet, beware! I am the only one that can protect you; let me in. My pet, let me in! Let me in before it’s too late!”
I stopped. The dark halls were talking like millions of voices whispering all at once, and I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but something was warning me, something was coming for me, and nothing could stop it.
“My pet, run!” His voice warned, but I couldn't move. My feet were pinned, and as I looked down, I could see they were covered in wet tar like the ground beneath had melted away.
At a distance, a figure in a black suit appeared. I couldn’t see his face, only his red tie as it flashed back at me, and then his figure moved forward and—
“Claudia!”
I awoke to Michael drawing the drapes away. In a way, I was relieved to see him, and even though I wanted to tell him about the bad dreams, I didn't; he never took these things very well. He always worried about the slightest thing.
“Michael, do you have to do that?” I scolded, putting a hand out to block the sunlight coming into the room.
He grinned, and I rolled my eyes in return, throwing the sheets over my head.
“Come on! Get dressed! I have to be at work in a few minutes, and I want you to have a good breakfast before you go to school,” he said, pulling the covers off me. I groaned when he did so.
“Michael, I'm not going with you. Remember I'm taking the bus?” I scolded, reaching for the covers again but to no avail.
“Yes, I know,” he sighed, sitting on the side of the bed.
“But that doesn't mean you can't have a good breakfast,” he offered, grinning. He was dressed in his best suit and tie, and I realized I had never seen him in a suit and tie before. He looked really nice and a lot better than Mr. Claypool and Mr. Vasquez at times. I had to cut those guys some slack because I couldn’t give them any tips myself regarding a sense of style. I was horrible at it too.
“Come on. I have to be going pretty soon,” Michael said.
Michael had been principal for a month and perhaps it had started getting to his head. He was way too strict; things were a little different at Milton because of it. But I guess it was for the best. Michael just enjoyed his job a little too much.
And why did I have to be part of that? He had given me lectures about getting social and joining school clubs, attempted to take me to all the boring games and school functions, but I always used homework as an excuse for not going.
He walked out, looking back briefly. “So, have you thought about what I asked you?”
I rolled my eyes and grinned. “Which is?”
“Joining the Art club. Get involved; you’re a great artist. Ms. Jacobs keeps asking about you. Why hasn’t she joined? I keep telling her you’re way too busy with schoolwork, but you should really consider it, Claudia. Get out of the house, sweetheart.”
“I’m fine, Michael,” I merely said because I didn’t want to get into it again. I knew where it was always headed. He pushed me to get out, to join clubs which weren’t my thing. And then he’d bring him up again. I just didn’t want to talk about it anymore. It just depressed me.
“I’ll leave breakfast ready for you,” he said as I looked at him, knowing it was coming. “If you change your mind, I can still have Mr. Claypool or Mr. Vasquez pick you up."
“No,” I firmly said. “The bus is fine.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded.
“They wouldn't mind,” he prompted.
“I know,”
And then he said it, what I didn’t want to hear. “I miss him too you know.”
I glared up at him. I wasn’t in the mood to hear it, not this early in the morning. “If this is some sort of punishment you’re giving yourself…”
“No,” I stubbornly insisted. Why was he saying that?
&nbs
p; “If he cared, he wouldn’t have left,” I darted back. “And he would have answered when you tried to reach him.”
“I don't know; perhaps he can't,” Michael sadly offered.
“Or doesn't want to,” I angrily blurted. “Or care.”
“Claudia, you must not believe that. I know if he could…I believe in my heart he would.” Michael fell quiet for moment and then said, “I know he cares. You must believe it. Now get dressed, and I’ll see you at school."
He walked out, and I sat there hearing his steps in the hall as he went downstairs.
“I’ll leave the house keys by the kitchen table,” he said from downstairs.
I didn't answer and walked up to my dresser, opened it, and picked up a few items. I grabbed some jeans from the second drawer and walked over to the closet to pick out a nice blouse for the day.
You’d think that with all the money my parents and grandfather had left me I could get some decent clothes, but I hated shopping and I had no friends to join me. I just didn’t like the idea of going alone, but the last friends I tried to make had tried to take me to another dimension by force to become the queen of a strange alien being. Or something.
But I couldn’t really see him as an alien. I could see him no other way but as Quentin. It was strange that I missed him now, even after what he tried to do to me. I had never understood why he wanted me in the first place.
Then, there was the only other friend, Alex, who I truly missed and she was gone. I wasn’t sure what had happened to her or if she would ever return.
Sometimes I dreamed of her, but she wasn't alright in those dreams, and that scared me.
She had sacrificed a lot, and I wish I knew if there was a possibility of ever finding her again. I tried to push the thoughts of the past far from my mind. Quentin and even Alex were a part of my past now, and I had to stop thinking about it.
I tried not to give it much thought, grabbing my clothes and setting them on the bed. I heard the front door downstairs closing as I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I turned up the hot water, and it started steaming up the mirror. I cleared it and stared at my reflection as the steam from the hot water clouded my image, and then I climbed into the shower.
