Chapter 16: Day 15
"Fourteen and still going strong." After closing the card Kyle said, "You make me sound like I'm a geriatric instead of a teenager here."
Sitting down I look at him squarely in the eye as I told him, "Maybe that was the purpose, Grandpa."
Frowning at me, he places the card on the side table. "How is life for Ms. Renata?" he asked me with a sigh. "Whatever happened to you today would make your day better than mine."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," I replied. I didn't want to face the truth of what happened that day.
Kyle, noticing my light and casual voice, sat up ram rod straight in his hospital bed.
"What. Happened."
"It's nothing! I'll get over it; it's just kids being kids..."
"Kids aren't just kids. Most of them are assholes it goes without saying. Now, what did these kids do?" he asked me.
I wrung my hands a little bit as I said, "They left a poem in my locker. It's stupid, really..."
"If it's so stupid Renata, then why are you being so evasive about it?" asked Kyle. "Do you have the poem or did you throw it away?"
"I threw it away," I replied.
Kyle stretches his hand out to me. "Your poker face sucks. Now gimme!"
"No, the message is for me alone," I replied.
"Who did you manage to piss off besides me?" he asked. I looked away from him as he said, "You know, it's okay if you're not a saint. I'm not one of those people who are attracted to saintly people anyway so..."
"If I give you the note, will you shut up?" I snapped as I whipped my head to look at him.
He leaned on his right elbow. "Yes, but I make no such promises after reading the note."
"Then I won't give you the note under those conditions," I replied with what I hoped was a smug smile.
Kyle sighed as he said, "Okay then, don't show me the note. I can just make some educated guesses."
"I've never told you about my school life."
"I know that Renata. Problem with you is you don't care about your appearance to the world."
"Should I be?"
"No, you shouldn't. It's because you have this beat to your own drum attitude though that you make the popular girls feel insecure. My first guess is that it's a girl who knows some dirt from your past and likes to throw it at you to make you doubt yourself."
"I'm not playing this game with you, Kyle," I replied in a sing-song voice.
Kyle looked at me a moment longer before saying, "Okay, so not it. How about a former best friend who has mixed feelings for you."
"Yes; it would make so much sense that theory if my life was a soap opera," I replied drily. "Kyle, just drop--"
"OR!" Kyle exclaimed with a gleam in his eyes. "You received a note from a guy you spurned by rejecting him!" After Kyle said that he laughed. Until he got a good look at my face. "That's what it is?"
"Sort of. I didn't reject him per say more like...refused his physical advances." I shake my head and added, "It doesn't stop him from leaving a note to taunt me."
"So, I guessed right. Gimme the note," replied Kyle.
Shaking my head, Kyle's shoulders slump. "Okay fine, don't give me the note. Clearly this guy won't leave you alone because his fascination in wanting to grab your ass, kiss with tongue, or just flat out rape you knows no bounds." Kyle looked up at the ceiling for a moment, chuckling. "Huh. My day was better than yours."
"Go ahead and gloat while you still draw breath," I replied. When I realized what I said my eyes widened. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, Renata. You should speak without thinking more often." Kyle shook his head as he looked lost for a moment. "I have an idea, but I don't think I should tell you about it."
"Please, don't leave me in suspense. I'm all ears." My reply comes out flat as Kyle pulls out his drawer from the side table and pulls out his phone. As he scrolls through, he starts vigorously texting. He does that for two minutes before looking up at me.
"Who's this guy, anyway?" he asked me.
"None of your business. Whatever or whoever you were just texting better just be a bystander and not a participant of any scheme you cook up. Because there will be no scheming!"
Kyle looked at me like I was nuts. "Okay first of all you're not my mom and secondly you don't dictate my life choices because you're not my ball and chain okay?"
"It's not okay. I can handle this on my own, Kyle."
"I would've believed you if you'd shown me the note earlier, Renata. The fact that you're hiding it from me just tells me you've decided to drown yourself with sorrow." Kyle started texting again as he said, "You can leave me, now."
Getting up I replied, "Oh, I will! Don't think I'm coming back to this room again."
As I closed the door he yelled back, "You will! It's my fifteenth birthday tomorrow!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone