Tainted: Listening to the Silence

FIVE

Copyright Credits:

Rain. Copyright 2005. Publishers: Echo Echo Tunes Music Label and Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing. Song written by Benjamin Burnley, William Patrick Corgan, Aaron C Fincke, Jeremy Hummel, and Mark James Klepaski. Interpreted by Breaking Benjamin.

Oliver

Monday afternoon played through my mind as I walked to school. To be honest I’d been going through it nonstop since the moment Salvador walked out the door. I kept turning to the same thing around and around. I didn’t understand. I didn’t know why I had spoken. I’d planned on letting him go. But as watched his retreating back I thought I hadn’t apologized. That wasn’t like me. I’d been angry and frustrated and taken it out on him. He’d interrupted me when I was composing. I’d behaved like an asshole. There was no way around that. It was really impressive that he’d come to fix things.

I watched him leave and I felt so guilty. His cheek was quickly turning dark purple. Plus, instrument care-taking wasn’t cheap, replacing a guitar strings included. Did they sell just the one or the six strings? Did they do that type of thing in town? I realized suddenly that I had been very mean to him. Salvador hadn’t done anything or very little to deserve such rage. It just came out, without my consent. God, that f*****g voice, how I hated it. I felt like I’d die of shame in that instant. I expected him to laugh at me. Everyone else had. He did look surprised at first, but he just took it in stride. I was actually pretty taken aback when he didn’t even mentioned it. But then again everything about this guy surprised me. He was able to understand what I wanted to say just from my face. It reminded me of the- I mean, my parents.

And so, I agreed to take him to the city and buy the guitar string. I had been an asshole to him. It was the least I could do. After all Salvador seemed nice enough. He was very easygoing and maybe too sarcastic, but alright in the end. He was quite nice to look at too. I found myself smiling goofily and scolded myself. No. Not again. Haven’t you gotten your heart stomped on enough already? Have you forgotten how the story ends? They get tired of you not talking. Then they find someone else, usually behind your back. When you find out, what do they say? Nobody wants a freak like you. I pushed the thought away and wiped the smile off my face. Stop wishing for things that won’t ever happen, Oliver.

I arrived to school and, just like every day, went to my locker. I grabbed the books and notebooks I’d need and went to class. I sat in a desk and waited for the teacher to arrive. While I waited, I got out the book we were reading in English. It was a really short book. I had already finished it twice. But I was reading it again because... it was interesting. I often paid more attention to the little details the second or third time I read a book. I noticed new things with each read. The teacher walked into the classroom. He said good morning and asked for silence. I put my book away and got out my notebook.

Class started just like normal. About half an hour after class had started, Salvador arrived. This was normal as well. He handed the teacher a tardy slip. I didn’t really know him all that much. I had only talked to twice. But I could tell he had a relaxed attitude towards everything. He didn’t seem to care if he arrived late or if teachers sent him to detention. I had even seen Brent mocking him. Brent was the school bully, simple as that. Brent shoved, insulted, and teased him. But Salvador didn’t look like he cared. He didn’t care about anyone else in the class. I’d only seen him around two people, no one else.

The teacher asked him why he was late. Salvador just shrugged his shoulders. The teacher, who sounded mad already, looked even angrier. He’s going to get sent to detention again today. Maybe we’d be there together again. Teachers liked me about as much as they liked Salvador. I thought it had to do with us not talking and not answering. They kept trying to force me to talk, threatening me with detention. Assholes. After that first day, I decided it’d be a cold day in hell before I spoke to them. I was being stubborn, I knew it. At some point the principal would tell my mother about my ‘authority issues.’ When he did, well, hell might just break lose. I paused my train of thought. My mother. I smiled internally, happy that I was starting to get used to the title. Anyways, she was small and cute and cheerful. But she could be deadly when she was angry. And she wouldn’t be angry at me, she knew I had no issues with authority.

My mind returned to the present. I heard the teacher tell Salvador to sit down. Salvador rolled his eyes in response. That was something he did when teachers told him that. I had a theory about it. Teacher’s normally said that when Salvador had already begun walking away. In my mind, I heard Salvador thinking he didn’t need their permission to sit. Which was when he rolled his eyes. There was a free desk right in front of me and he took it. His long legs and arms sprawled around him carelessly. He never took out a notebook. Not that I’d seen, anyway. In fact, he actually looked kind of bored in class. Why didn’t he ever take notes? I thought about it for a little. Multiple different explanations popped up. Too many of them. I didn’t know enough about him to infer the reason. So, I decided to ask him myself.

I wrote the question in a little piece of paper and threw it towards him. It landed on his desk. He looked at it for a few seconds, tilting his head to one side. Finally he opened it and read. He took out his note pad and placed it on top of his desk. He wrote on it for some time. I wondered what he was doing. Was he going to answer? Salvador finished writing and moved it to one corner of his desk. Oh. Smart, very smart. I could read the notepad perfectly from my desk. Nice thinking. In the corner he’d written, “I already know what the teachers are teaching, I had too much free time this summer and read this year’s books and did the research.” I analyzed his answer before I nodded. He left his notepad on the desk. In case I passed him another note, probably. But I didn’t think I would. My mind was busy with what he’d said.

He read the all the books and investigated already. He probably got the titles from the supply list they sent at the end of the year. And reading them was easy. But how did he understand them? What did he mean by ‘research’? It was an impressive habit, if a bit weird. You had to like reading far too much in my opinion. And you had to have way too much free time in your hands. The biology text books were huge, for example. A novel, I could understand, but the physics’ mammoth book? Boring.

I left it at that for the rest of the class. I didn’t really want to get caught sending notes during class. I had enough problems as it was. I didn’t want to give them incentive. I should probably ask for his phone. That would be a lot faster and subtler than the notes. It would get me into even worse trouble though. Class ended and I went to my next class. And then to the next. Everything seemed to be going alright, so far. By alright I meant I didn’t have detention for now. When the bell for recess rang, I went to look for Salvador after eating.

I normally ate by myself and then went to the library to study. Nothing terribly interesting. So, why not look for him? Also, I was curious about this morning. Did the teacher give him detention? I couldn’t find him anywhere, though. I went to his locker planning to leave him a little note. As I passed by the stairs, I saw him coming down. He saw me and gave me a lazy smile. The second floor? What was he doing up there? He read the question on my face they way he always did. He took out his notepad and wrote, “I always go to the music classroom during recess, it’s pretty private, no teachers, and no stupid jocks.” Oh. It sounded like a pretty cool room. Plus, it had a piano. I gestured for his notepad and he gave it to me.

“Do you have to stay for detention because of what happened this morning?”

Salvador gave me a side-ways look. He seemed to be telling me that I should know the answer. He looked slightly angry for a millisecond. Then the emotion was gone. He shrugged and nodded, no emotion on his face. Huh. Did he care more than he let on?

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Why was this school like that? Just because he didn’t talk. Major assholes. He shrugged again and I could almost hear him telling me to ignore it. I rolled my eyes at him. He was too laid back. The teachers were bullying us. Right then the bell rang, and I waved bye-bye at him. He smiled and waved back. The last classes of the day went on without incident. Which surprised the hell out of me. Looks like I won’t be staying for detention today. The final bell rang, and everyone left their classrooms. All at the same time. In the space of two seconds the halls became asphyxiating.

“Hey fag!” I heard someone yell. I got up on tiptoes and saw Brent not that far from me.

I felt sorry for the poor soul that held his interest right now. Brent was huge jerk. That was not a figure of speech that referred to how much jerkness resided in him. Massive, uncharted amounts, by the way. No, I was referring to the fact that he was literally huge. He was buff and tall and played in some sport. Probably football. He had at least five inches and quite about sixty pounds on me. Not that I was anything to compare to really. I was tall, around 5 feet 11 inches. But I didn’t practice any sport. I used to run every morning back in the city. Which was the reason I had some muscle on me. However, it was practically nothing compared to Brent.

“Hey, answer me when I’m talking to you faggot!” I heard Brent yell. He sounded angry. I saw someone being pushed into the lockers. Someone with distinctly ripped clothes.

Oh God. It was Salvador. My chest tightened. Not this again. I wished he’d do something to get Brent off his back. Brent knocked his books to the floor. Salvador looked down at them before looking back up at Brent again. Angered flashed by his blue eyes without affecting his face.

“What? Are you pissed? Gonna go tell your mommy about it? Oh, wait. Which one?” Brent sneered. I heard some snickers from the crowd watching the spectacle.

What? Which one? Salvador had more than one mom? I had only ever seen Mina around the house. But now that I thought about it, I had also seen a tall woman sometimes. Could it be…? Salvador had two moms?

“You’re disgusting,” Brent sneered, getting even closer to Salvador. Anger flashed by Salvador’s eyes again. But still nothing showed on his face. Brent looked like the lack of reaction was pissing him off.

When Brent started to get closer, panic entered those blue eyes. Salvador pushed Brent away from him. Or tried to. Brent didn’t move a single inch. But the reaction riled Brent up and made him even angrier. Oh. This is getting dangerous. Salvador get out of there. Now. I noticed I was getting closer to them. When had I begun moving? Didn’t matter. I had to help.

“What?” Brent sneered again. He leaned even more into Salvador’s space. Salvador looked blatantly scared now. “Are you scared fairy?”

I started moving faster. The halls were still packed with people. People that were watching everything. Salvador. I had to get to him. This didn’t look good.

“I said, are you scared fruitcake? Is that it? Are you shitting yourself?” Brent said in a mocking tone and some people snickered again.

Salvador. I pushed people as gently as I could. Brent looked like he was about to do something. I just wanted to be there to stop it.

“You’re such a fairy. Ugh, disgusting. All you are so disgusting I feel like puking just looking at you. Did you hear me? I said you and your mommies make me sick. I mean, having a kid, the nerve on them. Your kind shouldn’t be allowed to have kids. In fact, you shouldn’t be allowed to live,” Brent sneered getting up in Salvador’s face.

For a split second I thought Salvador wouldn’t take the bait. But then for the first time I saw his face begin to contort. He was so angry his whole face became red and he begun to tremble. In the next split second, while Brent was about to rejoice, Salvador slapped him. Right across the face. Four welts in the shape of fingers appeared on Brent’s cheek. They swelled and swelled as Brent raised his hand to touch them. He looked dumbfounded. Everyone did, and I took the chance to advance a bit faster. All was quiet for a few seconds. But then Brent snapped out of it and he looked deadly. At that moment I understood that he would kill Salvador. If given the chance this psychopath would kill him.

I saw his hand turn into a fist. He became even redder and angrier than Salvador. God. God. He’s going to hit him and I’m not there yet. Have to stop him. I started literally shoving people out of my way, but I was still late.

“You motherfucking little piece of s**t!” Brent yelled, hitting Salvador right in the jaw.

The force of the impact threw his head back. The noise it made against the metal lockers. The way Salvador crumpled to the floor. My heart stopped. Oh God. Please. Salvador cradled his head and I could breathe again. He shakily got up, tears starting to roll down his cheek. Jesus. His lip was split and bleeding profusely. His cheek was already swelling and becoming red. The s***h the guitar string had left was bleeding as well. He grimaced, turned to the side and spat out blood. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t know why I was so angry but I was. I shoved the rest of the people out of my way. Brent would’ve seen me but he was too busy high-fiving the people around him. When I saw his smug smile, I punched him square in the nose.

Brent yelled in pain and doubled over. Blood escaped from behind his hands and onto the floor. I literally wished I broke it. Served the asshole right. My hand tingled and I looked at it. The first two knuckles were becoming red, but that was alright.

“What’s going on here?!” I heard a teacher yell but it still sounded far away.

Everyone started to run away from the crime scene before they got involved in it. Brent still lay there squealing and bleeding all over the floor. One of his friends, I guessed, telling him to get up. He said they needed to get away from here before the teacher got here. When Brent didn’t answer, the guy left him there and ran. I thought about dragging Salvador away from here. But I knew running would only make things worse. I turned towards Salvador and he looked shocked. He’d tried to wipe the blood but he’d made a mess of it.

“What happened here?!” The teacher yelled finally arriving to where we were.

“They started it! I didn’t do anything!” Yelled Brent who seemed to be finally well enough to talk.

The teacher looked at me and at Salvador and then looked at Brent again.

“Is that true?” He asked in a low tone that told me he was angry as hell.

I shook my head immediately and pointed at Brent. The teacher turned to look at Brent.

“Liar! You attacked me first! I only defended myself!” Brent started yelling.

“Enough,” the teacher said in a firm tone. “Go to the principal’s office, the three of you.”

I sighed and helped Salvador walk. He was still wobbly. Brent had stopped bleeding, but his nose looked as big as a cabbage. I was pretty sure it was broken. Once inside the principal’s office, the teacher started explaining. He told the principal what he’d seen and heard when he arrived. He left afterwards and left us there. Needless to say, it was a mess. With no witnesses the situation was reduced to what was said.

After what felt like ages we finally came out of the principal’s office. Salvador’s cheek had turned dark purple. The s***h on his cheek had and his lower lip had stopped bleeding. The blood had crusted around the wounds. Brent’s nose was looking worse. Between Salvador’s cheek and Brent’s nose I wasn’t sure which was bigger. However, Brent looked pretty happy. The principal had believed Brent’s story even though it was obviously a lie. Salvador and I were clearly angry and bitter. Which made Brent even happier. When the punishment was decided, they called our parents to come pick us up. Just what I needed. My mom –little internal smile- had picked up and was pissed. I thought the people one street over could hear her screaming. I sighed and turned towards Salvador, who looked miserable. He was still a little unstable on his feet. He seemed dizzy too. I was worried about him. He should probably go to the hospital to check that cheek.

“Oliver!” s**t. Saying she was pissed was an understatement. Her voice was so shrilly I thought she’d break the glass.

I looked toward the gates and there she was. Next to her was Salvador’s mom. When the woman found her son, she gasped. Her eyes filled and she begun to cry. It was the small petite and cheerful woman I had seen around the house.

“Sal. Oh my God, Sal.” She said in a small broken voice. She took a small tentative step towards him.

Salvador looked even more miserable. Seeing her like that seemed to hurt him. I wished I could do something to make it all better. My mom took her eyes off me and turned to Salvador. She gasped too and covered her mouth. Salvador smiled a little bit and his mom snapped out of it. She came running and hugged her son tightly. She was sobbing now. I thought I saw a small solitary tear on Salvador’s cheek. He hugged his mom back, and I had to look away.

“Ollie.” My mom’s voice was now small and a little broken too, coming toward me. I focused on her and she came over as well.

“Ollie what happened? I got a call from the principal, he said you hit someone! Is it true?” My mom continued. Her voice became slightly shrilly at the end.

I shook my head and gestured for her to lean closer. I didn’t really want to talk but I had to explain what had happened. When I had her ear close enough, I whispered, “Brent.” She seemed to get it immediately. Did everyone in town knew about Brent? But then why did they let him get away with it? She looked towards Brent and his parents. Brent’s father turned to look at us. I felt my blood freeze in fear. The man was bigger than his son and about five times more dangerous. My mom’s eyes narrowed, and I got little bad feeling. The glare match continued until Brent’s father turned to his son and wife. He told them something and they all left.

“Sal. Oh my God. Look at you Sal. Look at your face. It’s so swollen. We need to take you to the hospital, but it’s so late already,” Salvador’s mom was saying. She pulled my mind away from Brent’s family. So, she called her son Sal. It was a nice nickname. Much more comfortable than saying Salvador all the time. Sal. I nodded mentally resolving to call him that. At least in my mind. I’d ask him if I could use the nickname later. Her tears had stopped but she looked on the verge of a panic attack now. “God. And your mother’s out for the weekend with the car. We’ll call a cab, yes, we will. We need to get a doctor to check you out now. Look at the size of this bump! It’s huge, and it looks so bad. Did it bleed?”

I looked at them for a few seconds, an idea forming in the back of my head. I looked back at my mother who’d stop glaring and was busy examining me. I stopped her hands and she looked into my eyes. I c****d my head significantly towards Sal and his mother. She frowned and stared me for a second, not getting what I was trying to say. I tried to convey how badly I wanted to help Sal out. She seemed to understand when she heard Sal’s mother talk about hospitals. She looked a little hesitant and I frowned. “But it’s so late,” She mouthed at me. I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. She did not understand how serious I was about this. Finally, my mom sighed and turned towards Sal and his mom, who were getting ready to leave.

“We could take you,” My mother said.

Both Sal and his mom turned to look at us, obviously surprised.

“Sorry?” Sal’s mom asked.

“To the hospital, we could take you Mina. You don’t need to take a cab,” my mother said, gaining confidence and firmness.

Sal looked at me with wild eyes, and I just gave him a small smile. Sal stared at me for a few seconds, taken aback. Then he relaxed and gave me one of his lazy smiles. I could hear him in my mind. Thanks a lot, you’re a nice guy you know. Mina looked at him briefly, as if asking, and he nodded.

“That would be great, thank you so much Ally,” Mina said with her sunniest smile on her face.

My mom gave her an answering smile and we all walked towards our car. We got in the car, mom and Mina in front, and Sal and I on the back. Mom started the car and we made the long drive to the city. The whole thing took hours. My mom and I stayed for the whole thing. Sal’s cheek wasn’t an emergency anymore and the hospital seemed to be packed today. It took a while for Sal’s name to be called. Then it was more waiting. They took x-rays to ensure that neither Sal’s jaw nor his skull were broken or cracked. My knuckles were examined as well, but I knew they were alright. Finally, Sal was sent home with a prescription. They had told him to put ice on it and take it easy for a few days and that’s it. I was gladder than ever that I’d convinced mom to give them a ride. But the taxi fare would’ve been sky-high and not worth it. We did get home pretty late at night and I was tired. But that was nothing. Helping Sal was what mattered.

The next day school was pretty peaceful and boring. Both Sal and Brent stayed home. I tried to stay home too but my mom wouldn’t let me. As soon as I stepped foot on the classroom, I wished I hadn’t come. Everyone was looking at me, talking about me, whispering among themselves, and pointing at me. God I hated this f*****g town. For an entire week Brent, Sal, and I were everything the school could talk about. I hated it. Not only was I the new kid in town. Now I was the kid that punched Brent to defend “that fag, the freaky one with the piercings.” Idiots.

I brought Sal his homework, on the days he stayed home. One of his friends, the blonde one, I didn’t know his name, gave it to me. Normally we talked a bit before I left. Well, we wrote on his notepad. Which was running out of pages. We rescheduled the trip to the city to let his cheek heal. But other than that, we just talked about nothing important. He did come to school on Friday, his cheek purple and still-swollen. Brent was nowhere to be found, though. It wasn’t until the next week that Brent made an appearance. Guess what? He came back with a vengeance.

I got up a bit late on Wednesday and got dressed. I ate breakfast and went to school. I arrived with just a few minutes to spare. I made a quick pit stop at my locker, then went to class. I sat down, and looked around. Sal wasn’t on time today either. Surprise, surprise. I chuckled and smiled to myself as I pulled my notebook out. He was never on time. The day he was the world would seriously end. I suddenly felt a huge hand grab my shoulder and pull me up. It was Brent. s**t that was one ugly nose. It was covered with bandages and tape, still about the size of a cabbage. The area around his eyes was black.

“Hello fag,” he sneered.

I know it was stupid and risky, but I made a little waving motion with the hand. Yes, I liked seeing him like this. Sue me.

“You cocky bastard,” Brent seethed, pushing me. I stumbled a bit and he kept on pushing me, again and again. Then there was a wall behind me and Brent got in my face.

“You think I’m going to let you get away with breaking my nose?!” He said sounding really pissed. I nodded even as I thought, oh God, I’m going to die.

“Well, guess what, I won’t,” he said, fisting his hand and throwing a punch at me.

I didn’t really do it on purpose, I just reacted instinctively. I saw him planning to throw a punch and I ducked. It’s instinct, you see something coming at you and you get out of the way. But behind me was none other than the wall. When I ducked, Brent hit the wall with full force. I heard a sickening crack. Brent let out an ear-splitting scream of pain. Brent doubled over, cradling his hand. Oh s**t. Not this again. I looked around and saw the teacher standing there. He looked taken aback at first but then he got this serious look on his face.

“Oliver, go to the principal’s office immediately and wait for me,” he said in a low menacing tone.

I sighed. What would they accuse me of now? I’d gotten two weeks of detention the last time. I waited for a while before the teacher finally made an appearance. He explained what he had seen to the principal, which was pretty much the part where I ducked and Brent hit the wall instead of me. The principal looked at me and sighed. I could tell I was in deep s**t again. I knew Brent would somehow get off the hook. I would get even more detention time. A girl with red curly hair and pale skin came running into the office. She started yelling that I didn’t do anything. She told him they couldn’t blame me for what happened. She also explained that Brent had started it all.

Her intentions were good but she was talking too fast and her voice shrilly. Finally, the principal interrupted her. He told her to calm down and start from the beginning. After she told her story again, better organized. She was sent out of the principal’s office. Then it was just me and the Spanish inquisition. I really hated talking. Last time I’d nearly had a panic attack thinking I had to talk. In front of Sal. In front of Brent. I didn’t want them to hear my horrible voice. But it turned out I didn’t have to talk. Sal just took out his notepad and explained what had happened. I used that same tactic this time. Just like before it took what felt like years before I came out of the office. But unlike before I wasn’t bitter and angry. Instead I was quite relieved and a little euforic. After I explained what had happened, the principal said he couldn’t make a decision yet. It turned that Brent, who probably on his way to the hospital, needed to be present. I was safe for now at least. When I came out, the girl was waiting for me.

“So? What happened? Did you get detention?” She asked as soon as she saw me.

I shook my head. She started whooping and celebrating and I thought she’d misunderstood. I used the notepad and wrote, “No decision yet. Brent needs to be present.”

“Damn!” The girl said angrily. “Well, let’s hope they remember what I said when Brent starts spewing his lies right and left.”

I gave her a shy little smile, thanking her mentally. I’d been told it was recess already, so I walked towards the cafeteria. She followed me still smiling.

“I’m Emerald, but you can call me Em, by the way,” the girl said. “And you’re Oliver Andel, right?”

I nodded and she smiled at me. What was up with this girl? Why was she following me around? She seemed familiar. Where had I seen her before?

“Oh, almost forgot, I’m Sal’s best friend,” she added.

Oh. Right. He had told me about this girl. They’d been friends all their lives or something.

“I heard what happened last week with Sal. I was pissed when I heard you two got two weeks of detention. Do you know why Brent got off the hook?”

I shook my head. Again, why was she talking to me?

“Well, Brent’s parents are pretty important in this town. Let’s just say people like to be on their good side.”

Oh. That explained why mom knew about them. And that also explained the glaring contest. I wondered, what did pretty important entitle?

“Yeah, that’s the way things in this town,” Em added with clear bitterness.

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just focused on following her to the cafeteria. I blinked. When had it turned from her following me to me following her? We bought our food and paid. I thought she was going to sit at one of the tables. I was prepared to say bye if that happened. But instead she walked back out. I followed her silently, wondering where we were going. Soon I realized we were going to the music classroom. Oh. So that’s why Sal spent the recess in the music classroom. I became confused. Did Sal go to the music classroom to be alone with this girl? I’d been pretty sure he was gay. We entered the room and Sal and blond guy were there. Alright, so no making out then. Maybe they just came here to be away from Brent the asshole? Sal was playing some melody on an acoustic guitar. I realized it was the one that was always in the room. Sal stopped playing once we entered. He gave me one of his lazy smiles when he saw me. I waved at him and gave him a small smile in return. The guy next to sal got up and came towards me.

“Hey, man! I’m Dustin, but everyone calls me Dusty or Dust. You must be Oliver,” he said, offering his hand to me.

I nodded and grabbed his hand, shaking it.

“Well, it’s great to finally meet you. We’ve heard a lot about you, but Sal was adamant on introducing you to us,” Dusty said, looking pointedly at Sal.

I looked at Sal with a raised eyebrow. What was Dusty talking about. Sal just shrugged, going back to his guitar. Clearly, he didn’t want to talk about that. He tried a few notes before he started playing again. I thought it was the first time I’d ever seen him play. He closed his eyes, getting lost in the music. He kind of reminded me to myself. He looked like he could play all day long without complain. He looked so happy, so peaceful when he played. His fingers moved quickly and expertly, like little spiders navigating their web.

“Oh I love this song! Play it from the start, play it from the start.” Em said, interrupting Sal’s melody. I gave her a look and I hoped my face didn’t betray me. What she’d done was rude. If it had been me, I probably would’ve yelled.

Sal threw her a really annoyed look.

“Pretty please with sugar on top.” She said, pouting.

He stared at her for a few seconds before sighing. He complied and started the song again. I actually liked the song as far as he had played it. So I paid better attention the second time around. Sal closed his eyes again and I did too.

“Take a photograph, it'll be the last, not a dollar or a crowd could ever keep me here.”

I startled and almost fell off of my chair. Em had her eyes close too as she sang. She could sing? And beautifully so too. Well, who would’ve thought? Were they all musical one way or another? You’re missing the song Oliver. I paid attention again, but I could only hear Em singing.

“Is it you I want or just the notion of a heart to wrap around so I can find my way around?”

No, no. I wanted to hear Sal’s guitar. Yes, her singing was pretty and all. But my focus was Sal. Yet I couldn’t take them apart. I could highlight one more than the other in my mind. However, there was no silencing either of them. I understood suddenly that they complimented each other. One fed off the other. That was why I couldn’t separate them. It was like an orchestra, the strings complimented the winds, and so on.

Rain, rain go away,

Come again another day,

All the world is waiting for the sun.

The guitar stopped completely and Em made the last note a little longer. It was a beautiful song. Or maybe it was just beautifully interpreted. They should really think about doing something with this talent. Forming a band, studying music, making a career out of it. Dusty applauded softly and Em opened her eyes, smiling widely. Sal opened his eyes more slowly and stared at me. The rest of the world fell away. He was gorgeous. My heart started beating faster and I blushed. Sal gave me a lazy smile and I smiled gave him my full smile. The one made my face muscles feel awkward and out of practice. Only around Sal was I able to really let go. And I smiled because Sal made me feel happy. Even though I’d probably wind up with more detention time. Even though this town was shitty and gossipy. Even though the people in it were far worse. Even though I was having a hard time adapting to this little place. Even though I didn’t talk. Even though I had a horrible past and all that stuff.

Right then the bell rang. The moment ended and the world faded back in. We left the music classroom, each going to their classes. I entered the classroom and sat in a desk. I wasn’t really listening to the class. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Sal. He looked so handsome when he played the guitar. So blissfully lost in pleasure. My heart started beating fast again. You’re setting yourself up for heartbreak. Yes, yes, I am, now shut up and let me fantasize. Would he look like that when… No, Oliver. Think about something else. You’re in class. This is not the place. The song played in my mind and I wondered about it. Who sang it? Did it count as punk rock? Sal’s words played next. Had I ever sat with an open mind and listened to Sal play? Not before today. I hadn’t ever really cared much for any other type of music apart from classical. That made me sad. I’d undervalued Sal and his music. Maybe it was time to listen to something else? I wouldn’t like it if…

“Oliver Andel must go to the principal’s office immediately. Oliver Andel, please go to the principal’s office.” The message forced me out of my mind. Once more the world faded back in but there was only silence.

No snickers, no laughs, no comments. All eyes were on me.

Shit. Time to face the music, I guess.