I was not the only
one surprised, apparently.
The locker hall
was lined with students who had gone completely silent. They were staring at
Shelly as she made her way down the hall. In fact, the clacking of Shelly’s
boots was the only sound I could hear.
Shelly seemed completely
oblivious to the silent stares as she made her way through the crowd toward her
locker. She stopped, quickly twirling out her combination. She opened the door,
grabbed out a book, and slammed it closed again. That was when I noticed Brad
standing on the other side of her, a disbelieving stare of his own on his face.
“What the heck,
Shelly?” he said, giving her the once over. “Are you all right?”
“Whatever could
you possibly be referring to?” Shelly gave him the same arched eyebrow she’d
just given me.
“What’s all—this?”
He gestured toward her hair and clothing with his hand.
The two stood
there, staring at each other for several moments without speaking. Finally,
Shelly broke the silence.
“Just let it go,
Brad, okay? I have better things to deal with than you.”
With that she
shoved past him, knocking him up against the lockers as she went. She didn’t
apologize, or even look back, as she continued down the hall and into one of
the classrooms.
Instantly everyone
was abuzz, students talking and pointing at Brad
,
unable to believe what
they had just witnessed.
Brad turned,
catching my eye, and began weaving through the throng of people toward me.
“Hey, Vance,
Portia,” he said, nodding to each of us.
I hadn’t even
realized Vance was standing behind me until Brad spoke.
“How long have you
been there?” I asked, wondering why I hadn’t felt him before.
“Long enough to
catch the show,” he muttered.
“Yeah,” Brad broke
in. “What’s up with that?”
“I have no idea.” I
shook my head. “She wouldn’t even give me the time of day when I tried to talk
to her outside.”
“Well, I’m
guessing the two of us are through,” Brad replied, looking totally downcast. “She
made it pretty clear I’m not too high on her list of importance.”
“Sorry, guy.” Vance
reached out to clap Brad on the shoulder. “Hopefully it’ll get better.”
Brad shook his
head. “I’m not holding my breath.”
I felt bad as Brad
turned and walked away from us. I wished I could’ve said something that would
have made him feel better, but I was just as stunned as he was.
“Something isn’t
right with Shelly,” Vance said, breaking into my thoughts.
“I thought that
was obvious.”
“No. I mean
something besides the obvious. I’m sensing some sort of weird vibe around her.”
“Weird vibe? You
don’t mean something magical, do you?”
He shrugged his
shoulders slightly. “I’m not sure, maybe.”
“Well, that’d
definitely be a twist that I didn’t see coming,” I said, wondering what was
going on. “Is there a way we can find out for sure?”
“I don’t know. I’d
need to watch her a little bit longer. Maybe even follow her around a bit.”
“Do whatever you
think you should. This is Shelly we’re talking about. You have my complete
support.”
He nodded, leaning
in to give me a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll do what I can.”
The next few weeks
were a total testament to Shelly’s popularity at school. Dozens of girls were
soon sporting her new gothic look, as well as more than a few of the guys too. Of
course, their look was a little more masculine, but still
,
it was unreal
to see.
I watched in
amazement as Shelly routinely dropped each one of her previous friends from her
list of associates. She steadily recruited new friends to replace each of those
she had lost.
These new
“friends” of hers were the kind of people we never really bothered to notice
before—the druggies, partiers, and students who were generally always in
trouble with some type of authority or another, whether it be the school
administration or the local law enforcement.
I watched her
closely, trying to find any resemblance to the girl who’d previously been my
best friend. Occasionally, I noticed Vance shadowing her from a distance also,
observing her actions.
I asked him a lot
of questions about her, but he had few answers. He kept saying something wasn’t
right and he felt compelled to find out what it was. I found I was spending a
lot less time with him as he followed her around. At the same time Vance was
slipping out of my life more and more, Brad became a near-constant figure at my
house.
Basketball season
was drawing nearer and he would come over after practice to hang out. We
watched television together a lot, or sometimes we’d just sit out on the porch
swing wrapped in our coats, since the air was now very chilly. He never really
said much. He seemed to desire being in my company. I hadn’t realized until now
how much he must’ve cared for Shelly. He was taking their break up very hard.
“I’d better get
going,” Brad said when we heard Vance’s motorcycle roar into the driveway one
evening.
“Okay. Have a good
night.” I stood to wrap my arms around him, giving him a hug.
“I don’t even know
what that means anymore,” he said with a small laugh, reaching his arms around
me, holding me tightly. “Thanks for being here for me, Portia.”
“Anytime.” I
stepped out of his embrace just as Vance walked into the courtyard.
“Hey, man,” Vance
said to Brad, and they gave each other some sort of guy fist-bump thing.
“I’m just heading
out,” Brad said, clapping him on the shoulder in a friendly gesture when he
walked by. “Thanks for loaning me your girl. Have fun.”
“Later,” Vance
answered.
Vance waited until
Brad was gone, then he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a big kiss.
“You two shouldn’t
sit out here so long every night. You’re freezing.” He shuttled me back into
the house.
“Sorry,” I said. “Brad
seems to enjoy it though, and I’m just trying to help him out.”
“I know. I just
want you to be careful. Your health is important too.”
“I’m fine.” I led
him up the stairs, into my room. “So how’s Shelly?” I asked, shutting the door
behind us.
Vance shrugged,
sitting on the end of the bed. “More of the same.” He sighed, sounding
exhausted himself.
“Still hanging out
at that bar?”
“Yep. Every single
night this week.” He ran his fingers through his hair, like he always did when
he was frustrated. “The funny thing is no one seems to care. Her parents act
like they don’t even notice anything different. No one at the bar cares she’s
underage. They serve her whatever she wants. Even an officer doing a business
patrol didn’t blink an eye at her. It’s so weird. I haven’t seen any evidence
of anything magical, but my gut keeps telling me something is different.”
“That does seem
strange. By all means keep listening to your instincts, though.” I watched him
shrug out of his jacket. “Would you like to use the shower?” I added, changing
the subject. “You positively reek of cigarette smoke from that place.”
“Sure.” He got up
and grabbed some of his clean clothes out of my dresser. He had started leaving
some of his stuff here after I complained about him not smelling too great
after his little spy outings to the bar. He went into the bathroom, and I heard
him turn the shower on.
I used this time
to change into my pajamas and crawled into bed. I must have fallen asleep
quickly, because the next thing I knew he was lying on the top of the quilt,
and he smelled wonderful.
“I love you,” he
whispered, placing a soft kiss against my cheek.
I didn’t even know
if my answer made it out of my lips before I fell asleep again.
Vance was gone in
the morning when I woke. I hurriedly got ready for school and headed downstairs
to eat breakfast.
“Hey kiddo!” Dad
called out. He stood up from the table to give me a kiss before settling back
down to the morning newspaper.
My mom gave me a
quick peck on the cheek too, before she placed a plate of hot eggs and toast in
front of me.
“Isn’t this nice?”
she said, pouring orange juice. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a family
breakfast together.” She brought three glasses of juice back to the table and
sat down to join us, looking expectantly at my dad.
Dad folded his
paper, and the three of us held each other’s hands while he said grace over the
meal.
When he was done,
Dad asked casually, “What’re everyone’s plans today?”
“Just school and
any homework I have,” I replied and bit into a piece of toast.
“I’m off tonight,”
Mom added.
“Let’s go do
dinner and a movie in Flagstaff tonight then. It’s been a while since we’ve
been able to do anything as a family.”
“That sounds
fun,” I said, really meaning it, but worrying about being away from Vance too.
Dad must have read
my mind. “Vance can come too if you’d like.” He smiled. “It’ll be a double
date.” He winked at me.
“Thanks. I’ll ask
him when he gets here.”
I’d just finished
and was putting my plate in the dishwasher when I heard Vance pull up. I met
him at the door.
“Hey, gorgeous,”
he said softly, bending to give me a kiss on the cheek.
I told him about
the invitation for the evening from my parents, and he consented to go. I
relayed the news to my parents and we left.
When we got to
school, we saw Shelly and her brood hanging out in a secluded part of the parking
lot. I noticed she sent a somewhat scalding look in our direction. I was really
puzzled by this since we’d never done anything to her.
We went inside,
and Vance walked me to my locker. He waited patiently for me to arrange my
things and get what I needed. Then we went to his locker.
I was leaning
against the wall, waiting for him, when Shelly came into the hall with several
of her flunkies following behind her. She stopped to glance around, then seemed
to make a beeline straight for us. She walked up next to me, standing directly
behind Vance.
“Hey, Vance,” she
said in a soft, sultry voice.
Vance turned
around to face her, a somewhat quizzical look on his face.
I was horrified
when she stepped forward, rubbing her body up against him like a cat. She wrapped
her arms around his neck and proceeded to kiss him full on the mouth, moving
her lips back and forth over his for several seconds.
Vance stood still,
in complete shock until she stepped back away from him, her red lipstick
smeared all over his mouth.
“I knew you’d be
hot,” she said, running a black polished nail down the side of her mouth as if
she were wiping something away. She then reached over to trail the same finger
back and forth across his chest, moving lower, down toward his flat stomach.
Vance regained his
senses and reached out to snag her hand.
“What the heck are
you doing, Shelly?” he asked, holding it out far away from his body.
I didn’t wait for
her to answer. I swung back and punched her square in the face.
Chapter 15
Shelly and I sat
in chairs on the opposite sides of the hallway while we waited for the
principal to call us into his office. She was still holding a large handful of
tissue over her nose, pinching it, while the school nurse continued to give her
instructions on how to stop the bleeding.
I didn’t feel a
bit sorry, even when Shelly kept glaring over at me. I knew she was trying to
intimidate me, but I just folded my arms and stared back.
After warning the
two of us to behave, the nurse finally left.
“Nice punch,”
Shelly sneered, her voice sounding muffled by all the tissue. “The nurse thinks
you broke my nose.”
“Good,” I said,
suddenly feeling very satisfied.
“I can’t believe
you hit me over some stupid boy,” she whined.
“I thought I
already explained how I feel about Vance to you.”
“Whatever,” she
said. “He’s not into you the way you think he is.”
“Is that so?” I
wondered what could possibly be running through her head.
“He’s been
following me around for weeks now.” Shelly lowered the tissues so she could
glare at me better. “Everywhere I go, every time I turn around, there he is,
watching me.”
“Duh,” I said
flatly, looking at the raccoon bruises which were already forming under her
eyes. “That’s because we’ve been worried about you.”
“Well, you should
worry. I’ve never felt sparks like that flying off a guy. He was like butter
and honey all rolled together, soft and delicious. I’m definitely going to need
another taste.” She licked her lips for added emphasis.
I was instantly on
my feet ready to pound on her again, when the door to the principal’s office
swung open.
“Miss Mullins!” he
called out loudly, stopping me in my tracks. “Please step inside.”
I gave Shelly one
last glare, clenching my fists at my sides
,
before I turned and headed
into the room.
Mr. Holland
closed the door behind me, motioning for me to have a seat in the chair at the
front of his desk, while he walked around to the other side to seat himself.
“Miss Mullins, I
have to say I’m surprised and frankly a little disappointed also,” he began,
folding his hands together in front of himself.
I did my best to
hold my peace and listen to what he had to say.
“You’ve always
been a model student here, and the teachers have good things to say about you
too.” He paused expectantly, as if waiting for me to say something. When I
didn’t, he gave a big sigh and continued on. “As you know, we have a strict no
fighting policy here at Sedona High School.”
I nodded.