He Was My Ecstasy

CHAPTER 1: THE ROOF Zuri's POV I was late again. I walked fast down the hallway to the library because I was late and I knew Mrs. Ndlovu could be around and give me a look. She didn’t say anything when I entered, only one strange look that said "You could be grounded." I placed my library books on the table and began reading. Sorry, I went into my story without introductions. Well, I am Zuri Moyo, a Grade 12 student and also a library part-time assistant. This day was not like any other winter day. The air smelled of mud and clouds were covering the sky like they belonged there. I took out my diary, not for notes but for poetry, because I liked poetry from observation and I observe especially people’s behavior and write. I wrote "FOOLISHNESS." It went like: Foolishness is refusing advice when you have it, thinking you are great. A foolish person doesn't learn from mistakes, he repeats them. It was break time and I decided to eat. The food looked good, rice and chicken, the kind my mom makes when she’s home early. I took one bite, chewed, swallowed, and it tasted like cardboard. Just as the tasty-looking food was in my mouth, I couldn’t handle it because today I felt weird. Not sad-weird, not sick-weird, just off, like I was sitting in my body but not really in it, like everyone in the cafeteria was laughing and talking at normal volume and I was underwater, muffled and far away. My hands were cold even though it wasn’t that cold and my chest felt full and empty at the same time, like there was a weight sitting on it but also nothing inside to feel. I stared at my lunchbox. Tino waved at me from 2 tables away and I waved back 2 seconds too late because I had to remember to move my hand, because feeling required effort today. That’s when it hit me that I felt numb. Not the "I don’t care" kind of numb, but the "I care so much that my brain turned the volume off" kind, the kind where you know you should taste the food, miss your brother, laugh at Tino’s joke, but you can’t because if you start feeling one thing, you’ll feel all of it and that’s too much. So I pushed the lunchbox away, stood up, and told myself I wasn’t hungry even though I was starving. Just as I stood up to get back to the library, I saw him. I saw a tall lad with tired eyes and he was wearing a crooked smile that said nothing, and he was wearing a hoodie and it suited him like he was born wearing it, and he sat on the rooftop bench. I held out my hand and said hi, not because I didn’t know, I knew he was the school’s bad boy, the one teachers talk about in meetings. I just felt a connection that was unexplainable. Liam's POV I had just climbed to the rooftop and opposite me was a bench and a girl was sitting there. She had soft brown eyes and natural curls she was tying up, and she wore an oversized sweater and I don’t know why, maybe to hide. She was so quiet on the bench with no music and no talks, just her silent self, with her phone in her pocket and a lunchbox with food she did not eat, maybe it was numbness. When she saw me, I went down and we exchanged greetings and she shook my hand. "Your hands are rough but very gentle, I like it," she said and smiled. We entered the library because it was almost time to close. Narration These two met, entered the library and decided to read, and Zuri was quiet, too quiet to even talk. She was observing everything, how the children were reading and their different methods. Liam was in the corner reading an actual book, not his phone. The lights went off and everyone panicked but he didn’t. He just closed his book and calmly said, "Stay here." His voice was low and calm, like the dark did not scare him and like he was used to it. "Why?" Zuri whispered. "Because I don't like people getting hurt," he said, and he sat down next to her in the dark. In the dark, I could hear him breathing steady, like he was holding the dark still for me. Zuri's POV I hide in libraries because it is quiet, because books do not ask why you are alone at lunch, and I was on chapter 4 when the lights died. There were screams and phones out and total chaos, except for one person who didn’t move, and that was Liam. When he sat next to me, we did nothing because I was quiet and because for once, quiet didn’t feel lonely. Closing Closing time arrived and we headed to the hallway with Liam. It began as silence until he noticed and asked about the mark on my wrist that I never explained. "It's nothing," I said, "Just a small bruise from childhood." We had a real talk and I observed him, how he smiled even after a sharp needle pricked him. He was protective and I don’t know, maybe for the better. This talk was everything, like an ecstasy pill I needed, and I felt a connection with him and it meant everything. Liam's POV Yes, I did not scream even when others did, not because of pride but because I wanted to calm others down and one can’t do that if he is not calm. "You cannot fill from an empty cup," something I noticed Zuri writing. I was sitting next to her and she was writing, writing poems about things she seemed to be observing. We went to the hallway after that and she was quiet. She had a mark on her wrist she didn’t explain. I cracked jokes and smiled when I was hurt. Zuri was smiling at me like I was not scary and I could see she felt numb but didn’t tell me. It was cold and this talk seemed perfect for that. Well, sorry I didn’t introduce myself before the story. I am Liam Dube, a Grade 12 student, I am 18 years old and a basketball team captain, I also help at my uncle's car garage and that’s where I had to go, oh I had forgotten because of Zuri. "Sorry, can we exchange numbers, I have to head to the garage." She just gave me a stare that said nothing, strange. We exchanged numbers and I let her walk away, she was walking majestically, like a queen in modern times. My phone buzzed 5 minutes later. Unknown number: "This is Liam. From the roof." And just like that, I wasn’t numb anymore.