Adapt (I)

TJR Garcia © 2020

SCARLET

I wake up this morning with a smile on my face.

I’m not sure why. Maybe it is because I realize that Boe no longer has a reason to be here, therefore he will be leaving.

So, when I look out the window to find torrential rain, I take a deep breath and let go of my hatred of wet weather.

And when I enter the English room, Caron’s arm threaded through mine, I totally forget that I completely detest this subject.

That is, until, every inch of my body tenses, and my sight lands on Boe sitting in the front row.

Oblivious, Caron leads us to our usual seats.

You have to be kidding me?! I grind my teeth. Why is he still here?

Caron nudges my side and giggles. “Stop staring.”

I don’t realize that I am glaring, but I am. I look back at Caron. “I wasn’t.”

She winks. “I don’t blame you.”

I steal another look at Boe, trying to make him feel the heat of my glare. He has turned to talk to the girl at the desk beside him. I narrow my eyes. Something sparks inside my chest, a different sort of anger.

“Scarlet, are you seriously giving Hannah your I’m-going-to-cut-a-bitch look?”

I draw in a deep breath to suppress the uncalled-for jealousy.

“Oh my God, you like him!”

“Sh.” I look around the room to see if anyone is listening. Not even Boe seems to be concerned. I relax, knowing that no one has heard.

Words dance on the tip of my tongue. I want to tell Caron everything that happened last night. I want to spill all of my secrets to her like a normal teenage girl. But I can’t share anything with her. It isn’t safe for her to know anything about my life.

But I could always just leave the dangerous parts out?

I twist in the seat to face her. “Last night I kind of... ran into Boe.”

“Oh my God!” Caron screams.

“Keep your voice down!” I whisper, noticing that Mrs. Mathers is staring straight at us. And that Boe is smirking.

“All of the guys that I try and set you up with and then you go and...” She can’t even finish before excitement overcomes her. “You and I can go on double dates and talk about our boyfriends together.” Caron whispers so loud that she may as well have yelled.

I try to look focused on the lesson by copying out some of the notes on the board. “It’s not like that.” I say through gritted teeth. “I told you because I thought you would be cool.” Caron should have been able to take this news in her stride.

“Are you kidding? To hell with that! This is the best thing that has happened to me in a long time.” She leans in close. “So, tell me everything. Is he a good kisser?”

Of course that is her first question.

“Are you deaf? Nothing happened, we just hung out.”

“Where did you ‘hang out’?” She mimes the quotations.

Words catch in my throat. I can’t say where we were. “At my house.” I lie.

Caron whacks my arm. “Shut. Up!”

“No, not like that!”

“Girls, if you don’t quiet down, I am going to separate you again.” Mrs. Mathers says, still facing the white board.

I put my head down to work.

Caron squeezes my leg under the table, and I jump. I give her a sharp glare, but she just wiggles her eyebrows at me.

I sigh. Shouldn’t have told her. Then I smile, because I would have anyway, and I actually really like that she knows something about me, even though it is only a blip on the radar of my life.

Once the bell rings, I part ways with Caron and practically run out of the classroom. I make a beeline for the library, hoping that Boe isn’t a library person. I push through the glass door into the heated building. I breathe a sigh of relief. The warm air is amazing considering the grey weather.

I find a private study room and close the door. I wish that the doors locked from the inside. I chew on my lip, thinking about my decision to come here. There is one locked window with anti-shatter glass, so that isn’t an escape route. That left the door, which can’t be locked. I grind my teeth. This is a bad idea.

As if to prove that the door swings open, and none other than Boe is in the doorway. In one hand he holds his phone with a tangle of headphones. The other is relaxed at his side. He is trying to hold back his smile, but he can’t help the glint in his eyes.

I groan.