Symbiotic

Chapter Three

That day at the park had been good. It had been more than good, Eve realised. She had had more fun that day than she remembered from the last year.

She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised that Roxie was ignoring her at school. They had only really known each other beyond ‘that kid in English class’ for two days. They were hardly ‘friends’ – even ‘acquaintances’ was pushing it, if she was totally honest.

So why did her gut feel like she’d drunk an entire carton of rotten milk?

“Hey, you awake?”

She blinked, looking up at Vanessa.

“Oh. Yeah. Hi.”

The girl took a seat next to her. “Sorry for throwing you to the wolves yesterday. I wanted to come, but my parents insisted.”

“Wow, must’ve been bad if your parents wanted you to stay home.”

“It really wasn’t, they were just being overprotective.” She gave Eve an awkward look.

“So. Did anyone tell you about Blair yet?”

“Please, does anyone talk to me? I had to hear it from the school assembly.”

“So I just don’t exist, huh?”

“No one besides you talks to me, then.” Eve felt herself trail off as Mr Latimer passed down the hallway. As much as she tried to remind herself that he was probably completely harmless, part of her couldn’t help but wonder whether it was possible for him to be a killer. Vanessa grimaced again.

“Hey, Eve. Do you need to go home or something?”

“What? Why?”

“You keep spacing out. Like, out of our solar system. I’ve been trying to show you this wicked new tattoo I got.” She shook her arm around, and Eve finally noticed the pentagram inked onto it.

“Oh, that’s cool.”

Vanessa moved closer, giving Eve a concerned look.

“Hey. Is… Is something going on? I always thought you didn’t know Blair all that well.”

“I didn’t,” Eve said, perhaps in a more defensive tone than she would have liked. “I just…” She scrambled for an excuse. “I guess it just hit me a little harder than I expected it to. You know? Not because it was her specifically, just-“

“Because of how it happened,” Vanessa finished for her.

“Yeah. Once again, Ness, you apparently understand me better than I understand myself.”

Vanessa crossed one of her legs in front of the other. “I mean, I understand it. I can’t even remember the last time someone was murdered in this town. It doesn’t happen here, you know?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s pretty weird,” Eve agreed. Vanessa threw her a knowing look.

“It’s ok, you don’t have to do the whole ‘expressing honest feelings’ thing. Don’t give yourself a stroke.”

“Thank god. This is why you’re my friend. I’d call you my best friend, if I had any others.”

Vanessa laughed. “Doesn’t that just mean I automatically qualify? Kinda hard not to be your best friend in that case, huh? I get the feeling there’s a pretty low barrier for entry.”

Eve was about to respond when Vanessa tugged at her and pointed.

“Speaking of not having any friends, why is Renee Ward coming towards us? Even if you did somehow make a friend yesterday, I would not have guessed her.”

Eve looked in the direction Vanessa was pointing. Sure enough, Renee was stalking towards them. The brawny girl had an expression that said she was looking for a fight, which in itself was almost enough to make Eve run for cover. Only five feet tall and with about as much muscle mass as a ninety year old, she knew she had no chance of holding her own if it came to blows.

“I don’t know why she’s coming over. I have literally spoken to her one time in my entire life.”

“Must have been some encounter, to end up on her hit list.”

Eve could only nod as the aggressive girl finally reached them, looming above them. Sighing and standing up straighter, Eve squared up against Renee and fixed her with her best ‘ain’t taking any crap’ expression.

“Can I help you?”

Vanessa squirmed next to her. She took her hand and squeezed it gently. Renee continued to glare at her.

“No, but I’m pretty sure I can help you.”

“Oh? How so?”

“By giving you a warning, bitch.”

“’b***h’? Someone’s feisty. Care to explain what I did to piss you off?”

Renee groaned and put a hand to her face. “Look, just listen up. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay the hell away from Roxie Amor.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Keep well away from that girl, or you’ll regret it. Don’t you say I didn’t warn you.” With that she stormed off, leaving two very confused girls in her wake. Once she was gone, Vanessa turned to Eve with a face that said she was practically dying of curiosity.

“Ok, you have to explain this one. I was kidding about you going off and making new friends – but Eve, did you actually go make a new friend? With Roxie goddamn Amor, of all people?”

“Not really. We talked for a couple of minutes.”

“About what?”

“Blair. She saw me standing by that memorial outside, and we talked. It was maybe five minutes. Apparently that was enough to upset Renee, somehow.”

Vanessa had stars in her eyes. “Whoa, little Evie getting into the drama! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I honestly didn’t think it would cause any drama. This is as much news to me as it is to you, Ness.”

The bell rang, and Eve closed her locker.

“Anyway, we gotta go or Mrs Ambers will kill us. I’ll explain on the way.”

By the time they got to class and took their seats, Vanessa was on the verge of exploding.

“I’m sick for one day. One day. And all this happens? Holy crap, I should get sick more often.”

“It really wasn’t that big of a deal,” Eve insisted somewhat uncomfortably. Vanessa leaned towards her.

“You’re kidding, right? This is more action in one day than we usually get in a month.”

She fell silent as Mrs Ambers floated into the room and addressed the class.

“Good afternoon, students! I apologise for my tardiness, there was a faculty meeting that ran late. Today we’re just going to work on concept sketches for your final art project. Those of you who have already been working on them, as you should have-“ she fixed the class with a steely gaze “ pull them out now. Throughout class, I will come around to each of you and offer some words of advice.”

Eve flipped open her work book to the page with her most recent sketch and placed it at the edge of the desk. Pulling out some blank scrap paper, she started scribbling on it. Next to her, she could hear the frantic pen strokes of a Vanessa who most certainly hadn’t started working on her sketch beforehand.

As Mrs Ambers made her rounds, the beginnings of a mountain top started to form on Eve’s scrap paper. Finally she heard Vanessa muttering a weak apology, and looked up just in time to see Mrs Ambers reach her.

“Eve. Knowing you, you’ll have already thought about this project quite a bit in advance. I’m very interested to see your work so far.” She picked up the book and looked over it.

“Hm.”

The sound hit Eve’s brain like an entire bucket of cold water. What did that mean? She was the art prodigy. Her work was almost never met with anything less than awe and praise, let alone a ‘hm’.

Her head lifted to see Mrs Ambers, where she was sure the teacher could see the unshaded anxiety in her eyes. “Everything ok?”

“Oh, don’t worry yourself too much. Nothing here is bad.”

“But?”

“Well, it’s just that this isn’t quite up to par with your usual work. That’s all.” She bent down at the end of the desk. “Do you have any theories as to why that might be?”

“I guess it’s the subject matter.”

“What about it troubles you?”

“I uh, I’m sure you’ve noticed that I specialise more in fantasy art. I guess having to do a piece about my own life just… doesn’t inspire me?”

She stared at her unfinished mountain, refusing to meet her mentor’s eyes. To her, admitting that she was uninspired as the same as admitting that she had failed as an artist.

“Eve, I know that stepping outside your comfort zone is difficult. But I’m sure there must be many things you can use as inspiration for this piece. What do you do after school? What else are you passionate about? What kind of journey do you feel you’ve taken as you’ve matured?”

“I don’t think I have taken a journey, though. I think that’s my problem.”

Mrs Ambers placed the diary down in front of her. “You’re a highly talented student. If I’m being entirely honest with you, you could easily get good marks with this piece. But I believe you’re capable of more than what you’ve done here. You still have plenty of time, so don’t feel pressured to commit yourself to any particular idea just yet. Alright?”

Eve agreed, and rested her head on her desk as Mrs Ambers moved on to the next student. She just barely registered Vanessa’s “ouch” next to her. Eve ignored her, practically drowning on the bubbling cauldron of feelings that were pulsing through her.

Meanwhile in social studies, Roxie was pointedly ignoring Chase’s best attempts to get a rise out of her. She was still trying to convince herself that if she ignored him long enough, he would stop.

It wasn’t working.

“Hey look, it’s Jill. Isn’t she your new best friend, from what you’ve been telling me? Hey Jill, Hi!”

Jill looked over, seeming half curious and half nervous. Roxie offered her an apologetic glance and a wave, and she seemed satisfied. Turning back to Chase, Roxie growled.

“Are you ready to cut it out yet? What, did you eat one too many pixie sticks before class?”

“Whoa, chill Rox. I’m just messing around.”

“Whatever,” she murmured as she turned away from him. She felt his hand on her shoulder.

“Hey. Everything ok? You’ve been particularly… grouchy today.”

“Yeah, just going through some stuff.”

“You know you can talk to me about it, right?”

In that moment, she very nearly told him everything that was going on with Eve. Then, she pulled herself back.

“I know. And I will if I need to, ok?”

“Ok. I won’t force you if you’re not up to it. And hey, if hanging out with Jill from social studies makes you feel better, then go ahead. Desperate times, am I right?”

A giggle escaped her. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He leaned towards her, and she felt her heart speed up.

“So, you excited for Saturday?”

“Saturday?”

His worried expression was the only reminder she needed.

“Oh snap, yeah! Saturday! The movie. I am, now that I remember. God, I’m sorry for forgetting.”

“Eh, that’s cool. You did say you’re dealing with some stuff right now. If you can’t make it, I’ll understand.”

“No, I’ll be there. Promise.” She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

“Mr Bancroft, Ms Amor. Unless you’d like to share your conversation with the rest of the class, I would appreciate you paying attention to the lesson.”

The two snapped back to attention, or at least pretended to. Roxie tried not to think about the sense of dread that had been steadily building within her.

As the final bell of the day tolled, and the general populace of the school started to filter out, Eve and Roxie passed each other on their way out. Or perhaps more accurately, Eve passed Roxie on her way out. Let it be known for the record that she had in fact tried to stop; she had wanted to talk about their meeting at the quarry and let her know that she too had to stop off at home first. But after trying to get Roxie’s attention several times and failing, she ended up giving up and storming past instead. Fine. Let Roxie stand around wondering where she was, if she couldn’t find the time to talk to her for thirty seconds. It was all the same to Eve, after all; this whole scheme had been Roxie’s idea in the first place.

Too focused on her frustrations to pay attention, Eve managed to trip up Chase on her way past. He called after her.

“Hey art nerd! Slow down and quit pretending you have anywhere to be, will you! Unless you’re already looking for jobs flipping burgers!”

Several members of the group dissolved into giggles. A couple more made incredibly half-hearted attempts to shut him up. Roxie, Eve noticed, said nothing. Instead her eyes flicked furtively between the two, and she looked as if she’d rather be anywhere but here.

Eve flipped Chase off, a sarcastic smile twisting her lips.

“Whatever, asshole. Just a head’s up, your jock scholarship isn’t any more likely to get you a real job than my art one. So when I end up in the fast food industry, you’ll be right there with me.”

“Screw you, Eve! My dad’s a lawyer, in case you haven’t noticed! I ain’t ending up in some fast food joint!”

“Aww, poor Chase needs his daddy to get him a job.” She turned on her heel and walked away, to the sound of several students commenting on the ‘sick burns’ that had been given on both sides. Chase fumed, and Roxie focused her attention on trying to calm him; while at the same time trying to quell the guilt of not having stepped in earlier.

Eve kicked the door shut behind her, making straight for the kitchen. “Sup Mom. Thanks for warning me that dinner was going to be early; I actually have to go out again today, so that really helps me out.”

“Oh! You’re going out again? Where to?”

Eve helped her mother carry plates to the table. “I’ve just got some plans with another kid from school. We’re working on a project together.” She took a seat, and her father walked in from the study. She blinked.

“Oh hey Dad, you’re home early.”

“It’s actually my fault that dinner’s early,” he apologised, “I have to go back in soon. Jerry got canned today, and someone has to sort out the aftermath.”

“Well if you ask me, I think it’s good riddance,” Mrs Verbeck started as Eve inhaled her food. “Let him spend more time with that man he calls a ‘boyfriend’. Maybe now you won’t have to see those disgusting displays at work.”

Eve rolled her eyes, but said nothing. This argument wasn’t worth getting into right now. Mr Verbeck only shrugged and offered a “yes, dear”.

Eve finished the last of her food and started to get up. Mr Verbeck looked questioningly at her.

“She has a school project to work on,” Mrs Verbeck offered in the way of explanation. “Be careful, Evie! Home straight after?”

“Home straight after,” Eve confirmed as she ran up to her room. Throwing her school bag onto her bed, she picked up a handbag and threw a few necessities into it. Her phone buzzed, and she paused to check it.

It was Roxie. ‘Hey, sorry about Chase. He can be an ass sometimes. I’m on my way now; hope you didn’t wait too long’.

She typed a quick response. ‘Don’t worry about it, I can be an ass too. See you soon’. On her way out, she stopped and took a look at the canvas she had standing in her room. It was something she’d been toying around with for her art project. At the time she’d thought there was something there, at least; but now all she could see was a mess. A random kaleidoscope of images that looked pretty, but really didn’t mean anything. Mrs Ambers was right, she could do so much better than this.

Groaning in frustration, she left the house and decided to stop thinking about her project for the time being. It could wait, she had tons of time.

Roxie couldn’t say that she’d found it easy to get out of her apartment, once she had gotten home. Her only intentions had been to change her clothes – she didn’t want her expensive ones to get wrecked while she was climbing around in an abandoned quarry. But of course, it was never that easy.

Once she had found some appropriately cheap and comfortable clothes, she started to head out only to be stopped by her mother.

“Roxanne, can I talk to you for a minute?”

She turned, her shoulders dropping. “Mom…”

“I know you have to go out, I promise this won’t take long.” Roxie sighed, went back down the hall, and faced her tired looking mother.

“What’s up?”

“Roxie, honey, listen. I know you’re not going to like this news, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Ok?”

“Ok,” Roxie prepared herself for the worst.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to give you your normal spending allowance for a while. So you might not be able to get as many new clothes. I’m just warning you now so it doesn’t come as a shock.”

“ But Mom, I’ve already bid on that cute jacket!” Roxie couldn’t hide her disappointment. Her mother’s expression didn’t change. Roxie sighed.

“Is it really that bad?”

“Let me put it this way: would you rather have the cute jacket, or electricity?”

“Fine,” Roxie said in defeat. Her mother stood and hugged her briefly.

“Don’t worry, there will be a lot more cute jackets. This is just until I can get our financial situation under control, ok?”

“Ok. Thanks for telling me.”

“You know if you got a job, as well, that money would be yours. And you could buy as many clothes as you wanted with it.”

“I know, I know.” Roxie stepped back from the hug. “I seriously gotta go though, I’m gonna be late. This girl’s waiting for me.”

“Alright, have fun. And be safe. If you get stopped by a cop-“

“Hands up, tell them I’m unarmed. I know.” She headed towards the door, texting Eve on her way out. She decided to throw in a quick apology about the day’s events as well, knowing perfectly well that her side had been the first to throw punches. Hopefully she wasn’t too late to their meeting, and everything with Eve would work out.

She was so distracted on her phone that she didn’t notice the dark figure watching her on the street outside, or the click that sounded as they took a photo.