Ruby
734 Words
All the times I’d seen him, he’d looked like life had dealt him a foul hand.
But even with that gloomy look of contemplation, his sweat damp hair, his tanned complexion, and his brown eyes that turned gold whenever he stood in the sun, Octavious Vidar was by far the most attractive man in this town.
At least the most attractive I’d seen.
Not that it mattered.
Attraction was a luxury. Like sleep and love.
I watched him from across the track, his chest still heaving from practice, his head tipped back like he was searching the sky for answers.
I wanted him to look at me like that.
Like if he searched hard enough, stared intensely enough,
He’d find everything he needed and more in me.
Jordan had a hand on his shoulder. Tavi shook his head at whatever Jordan asked, then dropped his face into his palms.
Dramatic, I thought.
But I didn't look away.
"You're staring”
Jane appeared beside me, her lip gloss reflecting the morning light. Anetta flanked her other side, already scrolling through her phone, already bored.
"I'm observing” I corrected.
"Same thing with you” Jane bumped my shoulder. "So? What's the verdict?"
I shrugged. "He's pretty”
"Pretty?" Anetta snorted without looking up. "He's Octavious Vidar. Captain of everything. Could have anyone and with a family like his, anything”
"Then why does he look like someone died?"
That stopped them both. Jane's eyebrows knitted together. Anetta finally lifted her gaze from her screen.
"What do you mean?" Jane asked.
I didn't answer. Just watched as Tavi finally stood, gathered his bag, and walked toward the locker room without looking back. There was something in the set of his shoulders, a weight he carried even when running. Even when surrounded by people.
I recognized that weight.
I lived with it.
"Ruby?" Jane's voice pulled me back. "You okay?"
No.
"Fine” I straightened, smoothed my skirt “We should get to class”
Jane studied my face a moment longer, like she could see the lie. Then she sighed and linked her arm through mine.
“Come on then. If we’re late again Mr. Mew will write another email to my mother about my lack of academic commitment” Jane said with air quotes around academic commitment.
“Your mother loves those emails” Anetta said her face still glued to her phone.
“She does not”
“She prints them”
“So she can torment me with one of her lectures later”
Their voices faded into the background as we walked through the halls. Lockers slammed. Someone shouted about a lost calculator. The usual chaos of first period.
Normal.
Normal was the most convincing disguise a place could wear.
But my attention drifted back to the track behind the school.
To Octavious Vidar.
To that heaviness in his shoulders.
“Isn’t he tired of carrying that weight?” I mumbled to myself.
Jane suddenly stopped walking.
Anetta bumped into her. “What?” She asked hand on her for head.
Jane nodded toward the end of the hallway.
A girl stood near the office door with a counselor beside her.
She wasn’t from here. That much was obvious.
Her skin was a warm bronze tone that almost glowed under the fluorescent lights, and her dark curls were tied loosely behind her head. She wore a simple jacket and jeans.
The counselor handed her a paper.
Transfer forms.
Jane leaned closer to me. “Fresh meat”
“Jane” I sighed
“What? It’s a small town. New people are an event, a rare one” she said matter of factly.
Anetta finally looked up from her phone and studied the girl with quiet interest.
“She’s pretty” she said.
I didn’t respond.
The new girl had turned slightly.
And for a split second her eyes met mine across the hallway.
There was nothing shy about them.
Nothing nervous.
Just tired.
And empty.
The counselor began walking her toward the classrooms.
Jane whispered, “Wonder which class she’s in?”
The bell rang before we could find out.
As everyone rushed past, the new girl stayed strangely calm, moving through the wall of bodies like she had already learned struggling was futile.
I watched her disappear down the hall.
I didn’t like her
She looked defeated, fragile
It annoyed me.
- Writer
