Roads: Chapter 2
Charlie pushed his chair back at exactly 3:15, creating a harsh grating nose that somehow harmonized agreeably with the abrasive blaring of the final school bell. A cacophony of exhalations, aimless chitchat, and backpacks zipping created subtle undertones to help actualize the melody of relief that flooded silently into each student�s mind, the pack of them singing internally the same tune of release. School was blissfully over for the day, for everyone except Charlie.
�Me and frickin� Adrian Woodland,� he thought morosely. He shoved his binder into the bag at his feet with an almost comical overzealousness, zipped it halfway closed, and tore down the drab hallway to meet Kerrie.
They�d planned their schedules so that they�d have exactly the same classes, for once, but picking subjects didn�t mean picking periods, or teachers for that matter. Charlie had art first period with Goncavles, Kerrie with Church. They both had English 4H with Hope, but Kerrie had her second and Charlie fifth. The whole arrangement was aggravating, and the pair took it terribly.
The hallways at Jefferson were tired, having taken on the dull yellow tone that a black and white picture eventually turns. Since it had dried in 1967, the paint on the walls had begun to dissolve to dust and collect in corners with the almost unnoticeable pace of a rock in the ocean turning into sand, and now it was virtually gone. The lockers, though chained to the walls, stood of their own accord, wearing a terrible shade of red like rust and blood, worn thin and chipped away in places over the years. Nothing was new, and hadn�t been since the days when the students had toted psychedelic protest signs and James Brown LP�s. Charlie�s locker on the second story had �Don�t bomb Viet Nam� etched on the inside of the door. The floor was covered in navy blue linoleum tiles, or presumably had been at one point, completing the theme of primary colors. Charlie had noticed this, once, four years previously. Now he simply sped past all of it, catching only a vague impression of brown to which he�d grown accustomed.
Kerrie was waiting in front of her locker on the first floor, and Charlie checked his speed as he approached so as not to catch her attention right away. She was pouting, wearing an expression between boredom and sadness. Charlie took her to look thoughtful. Her hair was naturally blonde, with warm brown lowlights. It fell past her shoulders, but at the moment was caught in a high ponytail so that the tips danced around her face. She held her books with both hands across her chest, and leaned against her locker a little uncomfortably. She wasn�t beautiful, but her features fit together so well that people blurred over what she truly was and made assumptions. She was always a little anxious, but hid it well behind her bleached teeth and layers of makeup.
As Charlie drew closer, she looked up at him with curious worry written across her face.
�So what did he say?�
�Who?� Charlie was smiling, attempting to avoid what he knew was coming.
�You know exactly what I�m talking about. Rogan! Duh?� She responded a little incredulously.
�Rogan?� The smile widened.
�You got called into Rogan�s office today Charlie. Hello?� she laughed a little, �I was there! And everybody knows about it already anyway, so even if I wasn�t I would, but that's not the point at all,� she was exasperated.
�Ok, ok,� Charlie relinquished, and his grin broke into a chuckle. When he sobered, he delivered the verdict. �Two months with Woodland doing detention.�
�Two MONTHS? Don�t try to make that sound small, Mister! EVERY DAY?! For how long after school? Can you get out of it? What about us? What about the newspaper? What about me? There has to be a way to get around this�why did you do it in the first place? God, Charlie I can�t take it!�
�Kerrie! Calm down, ok? I tried to reason with the guy. He told me that he�d give me another month if I complained.� She looked at him reproachfully, doubtful.
�You can be so dumb sometimes,� she spat sulkily.
�Now don�t say that�� Charlie trailed off. He put an arm around her shoulders, but received no response.
This is what he hated most. The girl was gorgeous, and she was always there for him, and they laughed at everything, and if he didn�t know any better he�d say he was in love�but she threw these fits so often! It was a little like dating a five year old, except for the mind-blowing sex. Well, she didn�t exactly blow his mind...his internal crudeness alert system warned against taking that thought any further for the moment. He sighed and brought himself back to the present.
�It�s only an hour, and you�ve got dance three days a week anyway, right? So it�s just the other two you�ll have to find something else to do for a little bit. Ok?� he was coaxing her into approval, and he could see her face changing.
�I gotta go, or I�ll be late. I�ll pick you up at the studio. Ok?� She thought for a moment before nodding, and he pulled her closer to kiss her temple.
�Later babe.�
~
Adrian sat outside of the Administration building in nothing but a tank top and torn jeans, passing his right hand back and forth between his mouth and a bag of virtually frozen jellybeans. The sky had turned darker, and the wind had picked up, but the boy did not seem to notice. Popcorn. Pi�a Colada. Cherry.
�Kin I have some jellybeans?� the voice asked. Adrian was surprised, and looked around for the source of the query. He located it in a squirming brunette sitting on the bench directly to his left. The boy wore a sheepish grin, aware that he was asking something of a stranger.
�How come you�re sitting here?� the boy continued.
�How come you�re bugging me here?� Adrian mimicked. He hoped the yard duty didn�t catch him talking to someone when he was on time out. Recess was stupid anyway, and he didn�t care about the yard duty woman, but his parents might get angry if he got sent to the principal, and he just wanted everything to go right for once. He didn�t need to go on the tire swing, even if that girl HAD been there longer than her turn.
�K, fine. I won�t bug you. I just want a jellybean. Just one little jellybean. And I really, really like �em a whole lot. You got so many, and I don�t got any at all.�
Adrian hesitated, understanding the boy�s logic. He did have many, but he�d also fought with his sister to get the bag in the first place. The guy only wanted one. He removed a black bean he suspected was licorice flavored, which he didn�t like at all, and handed it over. The brunette looked at the candy with concern.
�Can�t I have a green one?� he pleaded.
Adrian turned away. The conversation, as far as he was concerned, had ended.
�I don�t like you anyway.� The brunette responded bitterly to his silence.
�Then gimme back my bean!�
�Fine!�
�Fine!�
The boy licked the sweet, dropped it back in Adrian�s bag, and ran away cackling with glee.
Adrian watched Charlie run up the short flight of stairs to Rogan�s office from the corner of his eye. As Charlie tried the door, he spoke up.
�He�s not in there.�
Charlie turned to notice Adrian on the ground.
�So can we leave?� he asked hopefully.
�Your choice. I personally don�t want a third month of detention, but hell, be Rogan�s guest.�
Charlie sighed and sat down on the steps, dangling his legs over Adrian�s head.
�So now what?�
Adrian gave him silence. Charlie tried again.
�What�re you eating?�
�Jellybeans.�
�Ah.�
More silence. Green Apple. Butterscotch. Lemon Lime.
�Hey, do you��
�Why are you talking to me?� Adrian asked, annoyed. � I don�t like you.�
�Yeah, well, it doesn�t take a detective to see that. I just figured we�re in this together, so��
�You�re the one who physically and verbally threatened me.�
Charlie rolled his eyes.
�Don�t play games like that Woodland. You started this whole thing. I�m just trying to be nice to you, you know, extend a little courtesy like a normal human being.�
�Oh, so now you�re a nice, courteous person. Don�t give me this shit Hunt.�
The door to the main office opened, and the boys turned to see Rogan�s secretary.
�Are you Adrian Woodland and Charlie Hunt?� Charlie�s smile returned full force.
�That�s us!�
�Dr. Rogan wants you two to start by cleaning the in the gym. You have until 4:30, and then you�re free to leave. You�ll find supplies there that the janitor has put out for you. Check in here before you go home.� Her tone did not match his exuberance.
�Alright.� Charlie swung his leg to kick the blue head at foot level, but the strike only connected air. The shorter boy had already gathered his things and taken off, munching in time with his footsteps. Adrian smiled to himself as he heard Charlie�s sneakers pounding pavement to catch up.
The gym was small, considering the amount of people normally squeezed into it on Friday nights. If one thing mattered to Jefferson High�s community, it wasn�t academics; the basketball team took precedence over everything else for the fall semester. Apparently, none of the parents or students had ever learned to clean up after themselves, and to the boys standing alone in the empty space, the task of cleaning spilled sodas and concession stand grease was daunting to say the least. The janitor had given up on the gym after the season ended two years before, claiming that the lost championship had left him mourning, and he could not bear the weight of cleaning an unholy place. The student body, who for the most part had initially felt the same loss, was beginning to suspect that Lou simply didn�t want to deal with the after game messes. He was getting up there, too, and would probably retire soon.
Charlie stared at the bright yellow bucket and dusty gray mop, determined to avoid the damage assessment. Adrian took a sweep of the room, noting the familiar smells of musk and oil. It was going to take them all week just to get through the bleachers, forget waxing the floors and the eventual task of locker rooms.
�No wonder Rogan put us here. Lou is still in grief.� Charlie mused sarcastically.
Adrian was still chewing jellybeans, but was being more careful with his selections. Pineapple. Strawberry. Cream Soda. He looked directly at Charlie for the first time since they�d left Psychology with the security guard that morning. Charlie was a little surprised by the unnerving shallowness of Adrian�s eyes, the indistinguishable pupils somehow focused on him. It had been a long time since he�d noticed them, and he remembered the shock he�d felt at seeing the black irises set in such pale white skin.
�I�m going to start on the left hand bleachers. You do whatever works for you.� Adrian stalked off, not wanting to make any more contact than necessary with Kerrie�s idiot, jellybean-licking boyfriend. Licorice. Licorice. Licorice. He wondered if Charlie even remembered how they�d met.
Charlie followed Adrian to the left of their initial position, toting the rags he�d forgotten he was holding. As Adrian picked up soft drink cups and food wrappers, Charlie instinctively scrubbed at the sticky residue they�d left behind. Adrian made no comment about the semblance of teamwork this caused. He set down the bag of jellybeans once a clean area had been produced, and went back for a handful every few minutes, chewing and contemplating the situation.
The next forty-five minutes passed quietly, with only the sound of Charlie�s rags and occasional grunts to break the silence. Adrian considered the taller boy. He�d not been too bad today, after their exchange in Psych. He�d been trying, in his own way, to be nice to Adrian, which was unexpected. The guy was a stupid asshole, and never paid attention to what he was doing or saying, but he wasn�t really a bad person. If anything, Adrian felt a disgusted pity toward the guy who seemed to have it all, including Kerrie, though Adrian had lost interest since middle school. The issue wasn�t Kerrie at all anymore. So what was it? What was it about this guy that drove him crazy? He stared hard at the buzz-cut brown, trying to find something in the short strands of hair that could explain the simmering anger that always seemed to rise in him. Charlie felt his eyes, any looked up from the bench he was working on. Adrian looked away quickly.
�What?� Charlie asked. There was no trace of malice in his voice. It was just a question.
�Nothing. I was just� nothing.� Adrian shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts. He grabbed a handful of jellybeans.
�Is it time to go? God, I hope so.�
�Just about.� Adrian�s voice was flat, void of emotion. He was glad Charlie had allowed him to change the subject.
Charlie stood up, cracked his back, and threw down the disgusting rag he�d been scrubbing with. He stretched his arms above his head, and grimaced a little before he looked at Adrian, settling on the shorter boy�s face a little hazily, as though he�d just woken up.
�You know, I gotta say. Don�t take this the wrong way or anything, �cause last thing I want is another fight, even though I�d gladly take you down if Rogan weren�t in the picture�but I can�t figure you out. You�re just crazy. I don�t want to sound like an asshole, but I can�t think of any reason why I don�t like you, or why you don�t like me. I mean sure, you�ve got the hots for my girlfriend, or used to, or something, and we�ve never been friends at all, and there�s been fights and shit over the years, but now it�s just like� what happened this morning, you know? I mean like, what�s the point?� He smiled in a way that conveyed both his confusion and his sincerity, and bent to pick up the rag he�d dropped. He looked at Adrian�s vacant eyes and faltered.
�I dunno. Never mind. Forget I said anything.� Charlie turned and walked down the bleachers to where his things were, and threw the dirtied cloth into the pile of supplied they�d been given. Adrian followed him down, clutching his mostly empty sweet bag. He grabbed his backpack and slung it over one shoulder before he spoke.
�I�ll see you tomorrow.�
�You�re not going to talk to the secretary?�
�Why should I? My car is on this side of campus.�
�Um� ok.�
Adrian looked at his bag of jellybeans. There were half a dozen different flavors of bean left: watermelon, apple, lime, jalape�o, something he didn�t recognize; all green except for a single licorice. He threw the bag at Charlie�s feet and walked out.
Chapter 3
Back
Main
Kitsune Fiction