Chapter 6: ...how to get confronted
That day, Max came to pick me up from school. After about thirty minutes of refreshing silence, he asked, "So...how was school today?"
Turning to him, I shrugged. "Oh, you know, it was okay."
He chuckled. "That bad, huh?"
"Of all the first days I've had, this was the worst!"
"Figures. When Angelo Smith refers to something as 'okay', it never is."
A small smile crept onto my face. "Can you blame me? The word itself sounds so...insulting!"
Honestly, haven't you ever thought that when you ask someone about the state of something and they reply, 'Oh, it's okay.' Behind those words you can just hear the person's voice whispering, 'But it could be better!'
He chuckled again. "So, what made it so bad?"
"It's due to some crazy literature teacher who's trying to force me to do some stupid re-enactment of Romeo and Juliet. I think her name is Lois Lane or something like that."
"Oh? Lois Lane?" He briefly glanced at me, revealing dark blue eyes that were shining as he clearly struggled to hold back a smile. "Where was her Superman when this was going on?"
I rolled my eyes. "Oh haha. By the way, you mean Supermen. A batty woman like that would want to taste a variety of men, preferably the ones that resemble Charles Dickens and Shakespeare!"
Shaking his head, he looked back at the road. "You sure do have one crazy mind, Angelo."
"The brightest men are usually thought to be the craziest. That's why such a thing as the term 'mad scientist' exists."
"Whatever you say."
Silence once again took ahold of the vehicle again so my attention was drawn out of the window, into the surroundings around me.
The town of Bloomsby could be described as 'Nature at its finest', with healthy trees and grass decorating the side of almost every road you drive upon. The roads themselves are smooth and usually experience little to no traffic and pollution, thanks to the government's constant advertising of non-polluting vehicles and public transport, coupled with the subsidies that were given to industries that produced such.
As a result of that, Bloomsby is the perfect town for people willing to take a breath of fresh air. The wild variation of flowers and animals in its forest serve as a lure for tourists and their money but are deterred from going there hunters due to the heavy fines imposed on the hunting of animals. Yes, truly, the town of Bloomsby can be described as a paradise on earth.
But most paradises have one thing in common; that secret, downplayed, infected part which the owners wish to burn away, along with any memory of its existence.
For Bloomsby, it's known as The Blister.
But you'd learn more about that later in this story. At that point in the car, I was waiting to deal with a question which I knew was bound to be asked sooner or later.
After a few minutes of silence and driving, we eventually reached the front gate of the house. After security ensured it was us, the automatic gate opened and we drove, past the grassy fields and fountains, into the garage.
Before I could get out of the car, Max cleared his throat and finally asked, "So...can you do the play? I mean, are you going to?"
There it was. The question that I'd been dreading him asking, but at the same time itching to hear him say. Expectancy cushioned the force of its blow against me, so I wasn't thrown off balance by it. Besides, I'd long thought off a response to that and I knew it was nothing like what he was expecting to hear.
I forced a grin onto my face as I let out a laugh. "Are you serious? The woman that I'm supposed to love is played by the craziest girl in my class, a member of the female gender who is truly after Miss Lane's twisted heart. What do you think my answer is?"
His brow furrowed microscopically, hardly noticeable unless you've lived with him for years and learned to read his facial expressions.
Barely a moment later however, he let out a seemingly sheepish laugh, running his hands through his dark hair as he did so. "There's only one answer to that, I guess."
My grin became a bit more authentic as I replied, "Yes, there is. I'm going into the house now."
Without waiting to hear his response, I left the car and walked towards the house.
. . .
Two good things happened that afternoon: One, Max made me some fries so I didn't have to spend money and food in order to avoid the alternative (Annie's cooking).
The second thing was related to food as well. Luckily for me, Annie wasn't around as I eating, so I didn't end up having fries with a side of evil looks for dessert.
Once I was done, I carried my backpack and trudged into my room, immediately stripping down to my boxers and plopping on the bed as soon as I got there. The soft feel of the mattress was a welcome change to my body, albeit the fact that the source of my stress was more mental than physical.
I flipped onto my back and just stared at the plastered ceiling, which was done in the shape of a star.
Star...Star...Starcrossed lovers...Romeo and Juliet...
I let out a groan and slammed my hand on the mattress.
Stupid Miss Lane and her stupid play, crossing into my mind when I don't want them to. Trying to infest it with poisonous thoughts. Well, it won't work!
I rose my head up as I heard a knock on my door. "Yeah, who is it?"
Annie's voice softly replied, "It's me. Mind if I come in?"
"Gimme a moment." Getting off my bed and throwing on a shirt, I headed to the door.
Once upon a time, I used to leave my door open and unlocked for Annie to come in as she pleased. That all changed when I entered my teenage years because Annie had a habit of walking in when I was...well, naked! It turned out she thought that since the...thing she was seeing anytime she did was nothing new (she's lived with me for years), it was alright for her to barge in willy-nilly.
As a result, I began locking my door anytime I entered my room. In response to that, she decided to attempt to break down my door with her fist every time she wanted to enter my room.
I closed the door behind me after she had walked in and sat down on my bed.
Sitting down beside her, I asked, "So, what's wrong?"
"Why would you assume something is wrong?"
"Your softly spoken request for permission to enter and your lack of violent knocks -no- poundings on my door was a dead giveaway."
"Huh." Annie frowned. "You know, I don't know why I'm like that with you. I don't think this is the perfect boy-guardian relationship."
I gave her an incredulous look. "Really? You don't say! You certainly didn't remember that this morning when you threw a fork at my head, just because I didn't want to eat that...that thing you prepared!"
Her eyes widened before she huffed, "Nevermind, I remember why now!"
"Whatever! So, you want to speak to me about something?"
"Oh yeah...your principal called me today to discuss something."
My blood ran hot as I heard those words and my left fist, the one she couldn't see, clenched.
Despite my thoughts, I kept my expression neutral. "Oh? What about?"
Her brow furrowed, then her nose flared. "Oh you know, just to tell me how amazing our date last night was and find out when I'm available again!"
"Really? Well, good to know your stealing husbands no-"
"No, not really! Angelo, you can't go around smashing school property because you're angry!"
"First of all I didn't smash it, the glass fell by itself. Secondly, my parents donated that glass. So, if you look at it that way, it was pretty much my own glass that bro-"
"You know what, forget about that issue!" She shook her head, then fixed a glare on me. "And what's this about me hearing that you don't want to do a play?"
There it is.
I frowned. "Annie, it's Romeo and Juliet."
"I know!" Taking a deep breath, she calmed down, her expression softening. "I know, Angelo, and I completely understand why you might not want to do it-"
"No, you don't. If you did, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."
"We are having this conversation now because although I understand why you don't want to do it, I still think you should."
I didn't reply to her. I simply rose an eyebrow at her, hoping she'll catch my drift and discover the foolishness of her statement.
No such luck.
After probably realizing I had no intention of saying anything, she tried again. "Angelo, you can't keep carrying this problem for years. If you truly want to recover you need closure, you need to do this play-"
I let out a dry chuckle. "Need to do it? No, I don't. What I need is for you to stop disturbing me about this stupid thing, okay? You say you understand why I might not want to do it, but you don't. Nobody does, not unless they go through what happens to me!"
Annie was silent for a few seconds, so I used that opportunity to walk away from the bed.
As I sat down on the leather armchair across the room, she softly said, "Angelo, I can't claim that I completely understand your problem, but I have a general idea of it at least. For Pete's sake, I was there during all the visits to therapists, there during the various medical diagnosis, there when the incident happened-"
"But yet, you still don't get it. We're done talking about this, Annie."
Her eyes widened. "S-seriously? You're not even going to try?"
I sighed. "I said we're done, didn't I?"
"You're just going to...lose half your grade?"
"Literature grade. As long as I do well in other subjects, I'll be fi-"
"For god sake, just stop agonizing over your parents' death! It's been, what, almost six years now? Get over it already!"
The words that were about to come out of my mouth froze, along with the look in my eyes as I stared at her flushed face. She met the look evenly for a moment, then her eyes slowly widened as her words rang inside her head. "Oh my god, Angelo, I'm-"
"Leave."
"But-"
I barked a laugh. "What, do you want me to leave this room for you? Because I gladly will. I'll go anywhere if it'll mean that I don't have to be around you right now!"
"Angelo, I didn't mean-"
"Just go. Please." At that moment, my voice quavered, letting out more vulnerability than I had done in years.
I hated Annie for that. In fact, I hated my parents for that.
Deep down, however, I knew it wasn't any of them I truly blamed for that.
I blamed myself.
Although I didn't let any more emotion out other than that slight quaver, that alone seemed to have been more than enough to clue Annie in to my mental state at the moment. She gazed at me for a few more moments before getting up and walking towards the door.
Prior to leaving the room, she softly said, "I'm sorry for what I said, really. I'm just saying that maybe...hiding away from your problem isn't the answer. Maybe what you need is...closure."
I didn't bother to reply because I didn't need to. Once she had said those words, she left.
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