When The Heart Heals

Chapter 2-1

CHAPTER 2

By the time the tardy bell rang for English class Monday morning, Drew had about lost his mind waiting to see Alyssa. He knew she'd had no way of contacting him over the weekend, but he didn't like it. He wanted the answer to his question, and he had another one to ask her.

She walked into the room. Drew's heart thumped even as he narrowed his eyes, studying her. She looks different. What is it? Something about her appearance seemed… subdued. It gradually dawned on him that she wasn't wearing any makeup at all. She can certainly pull it off; her natural face is pretty enough, but makeup and high school go hand in hand for most girls. She slipped into the desk next to his.

“Do you have the video?” she asked.

“Yup.”

“Good.”

“Allie, about what we were saying over the weekend…”

“Hello, class,” Mrs. Thompson said, rising from her desk with an audible popping of knees and hips and waddling to the board. “I hope all of you have prepared your projects and presentations for today.”

“Talk to me at lunch,” Alyssa whispered. Drew nodded. There would be no time for further conversations. He passed the video cassette to the teacher and returned to his seat, shifting it subtly to move closer to Alyssa.

Mrs. Thompson squeezed into one of the desks near the front of the room, which left Alyssa and Drew unobserved in the back. He reached over and took her hand in his. She let him, stroking the side of his index finger with her thumb. The presentations began: an assortment of dioramas, skits and posters. Last came Drew and Alyssa's video, which the class found highly amusing. Mrs. Thompson tried to conceal her laughter under a cough, a sneeze, but eventually, a porcine snort erupted from her nose, and she began to chortle along with the rest. Drew grinned and Alyssa seemed to glow from within. We did a good job, he thought. Her expression reflected his sentiment. The bell rang, and the class packed up their materials and prepared to depart.

“Drew, Alyssa, please come here,” Mrs. Thompson said softly. They went, still holding hands.

“Well done, you two. I see you've worked out your differences.” She indicated their interlaced fingers with a nod of her permed black hair.

“Yes, ma'am,” Drew said. “Thank you for making us work together.”

She wrinkled her nose at them. “Of course. See you tomorrow.”

Drew walked Alyssa to choir and then had to hurry to physics. He barely made it before the bell and had the hardest time concentrating, even though he liked the class. The hour crept by.

At last the bell rang. He made his way to his locker, pulled out his lunch and headed to the cafeteria. Taking a seat at a round plastic table in a little-used corner of the expansive, echoing room, through which hundreds of adolescent voices currently roared, he looked around for Alyssa. She stood in the lunch line, but he caught her eye and she waved at him. A little half smile turned her cheek into a crater. That dimple is really cute. I bet she hates it. A few minutes later, she slid onto the bench next to him with a tray of something mysterious and goopy that smelled unpleasant.

“What is that?” he asked, disgusted. There's a reason I bring my lunch each day.

Alyssa shrugged and began eating it. Clearly, it made no difference to her whether it tasted appealing. He pulled out his sandwich, a banana and a bottle of water.

“So, Alyssa,” he said casually, as he peeled back the plastic bag to eat his ham and Swiss, “what do you think? Am I good enough to be your boyfriend, or what?”

She blushed, swallowed, and took a sip of milk. “You're good enough, Drew. More than good enough.”

“Good, because I'd like to take you to prom.”

The endearing pink in her cheeks intensified until it looked almost painful. “I… I don't know what to say. Okay, I wasn't really finished. You're good enough, certainly. You're actually terrific, now you're not acting like a butthead anymore, but I don't have time for a boyfriend. I work a lot, and when I'm not working, I'm doing homework or going to choir practice.”

That argument won't sway me. “Well, I have homework too. Why couldn't we do it together?”

Alyssa's eyebrows drew together. She popped some wrinkled grapes into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed before answering. “We could, but why would you want to?”

He answered honestly, with no joking. “I like you, Allie. I know, it shocks the hell out of me too, but can't we just try it? See how it goes?”

She shook her head. “We'd better not. You'll only break my heart.”

“Hmmm. Sounds like you like me too.” He winked at her.

The faint hint of roses in her cheeks bloomed to full flower. “Well yes. I guess I do. But it's not a good enough reason.”

He chuckled. She's grasping at straws. “What other reason is there? I'm not proposing marriage, just asking you out. It happens all the time. I bet you've been on a few dates before.”

“One.” She shuddered.

“What happened?”

“Icky Sam Watson took me to the movies and tried to grope me. He put his tongue in my mouth. It was disgusting.”

Drew scanned the room until he found the boy in question. Greasy black hair and pimples, with one finger up his nose. “Ugh. Sorry.”

“It's okay. I made such a fuss they asked us to leave. I've never been so glad to walk home in my life.”

Drew's neck shot out in her direction. “What? Walk? You don't live close to the movie theater.” How did I miss so much?

Alyssa shrugged. “At any rate, I can't go to prom. We can study together sometimes, as friends, if you want, but dating just won't work. We're too different.”

I don't agree with that either. “I don't think we're really all that different. We're both smart, we both know what we want in life, and during the project, we found out we're pretty compatible. Okay, so I can see that your family doesn't have a lot of money, but it's not a problem.”

“It is to me,” she retorted. “You're rich, Drew. You can't imagine what it's like to be poor.”

“We're not rich by a long shot, Allie,” he insisted. “Just middle class.”

He noted a hint of despair in her ocean-colored eyes. “You live in a house with a basement. You drive a nice car. I bet all your clothes were new this year. Compared to me, you're like King Midas. I would as soon try to date a movie star.” Despite her firm tone, her eyes looked sad. She does want to go out with me, but she doesn't think it would work. She's giving up the idea before she even gives it a try. Now that just isn't okay.

“Allie,” he said gently, trying to think of how to convince her, “I know what you're saying is true, but money doesn't make people better or worse than each other. You're just as valuable as I am, and it has nothing to do with your family's income or the kind of house you live in. It's you yourself, Alyssa. You're an amazing girl. I like you a lot. Can we please just try to be together?”

He could see the longing in her expression. He glanced around the room, and, having discerned no principals were looking, kissed her quickly on the mouth.

“I really want to, Drew,” she said at last, eyes swimming with moisture.

“Then just do it,” he urged. “Say yes, Allie.”

She closed her eyes. “Yes.”

“Good girl. Now about the prom?”

“That I can't do.” She shook her head vigorously from side to side.

“Why?” he demanded.

“I don't want to go to prom.” She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned.

“Is that true or is the real reason because you don't have anything to wear?” he guessed.

“The latter.” She blushed.

“I'll see what I can do about that.”

“No, Drew.” She pressed her hands to her cheeks. The redness, which had begun to fade, returned full force. “It's too embarrassing.”

“Don't be embarrassed,” he urged. “I want to spoil you a little. You need it. You're under a lot of stress, aren't you?”

“Yes,” she admitted, nibbling her lip.

“Care to tell me what it is?” he asked.

She seemed to withdraw from him. “It's a long story.”

“We have the rest of lunch.”

She considered him for a moment. “Well, fine.” Her hand slid into his, and she took another bite of her mysterious lunch, chewing thoughtfully. Drew ate his banana while he waited. “We've never been very well off, you know, but the last few months have been especially hard. My dad is a mechanic, at this really small family-owned shop. Because they have a tiny number of employees, they can get away with not paying my dad much, and his insurance is piss poor. Mom's a secretary and while her insurance is better, her pay is low, but between the two of them we always did okay, until last October.”

She stopped speaking, her eyes scanning something Drew couldn't see. “What happened in October?” he prompted.

She gulped, sniffled, and forced herself to go on in a voice that wavered on every word. “Well, my dad hadn't been feeling well for a while. He finally went to the doctor and found out that he… has cancer.”

Drew closed his eyes. “Oh jeez, really?”

“Yes. The bad, scary kind. He's been on chemo and radiation since then, but he needs surgery, and his insurance doesn't want to pay for it. They'll only cover this tiny percentage, but if he doesn't have the surgery…” She paused, swallowing hard.

“He'll die?” He pronounced the brutal words in his softest, gentlest voice. Alyssa flinched and then nodded. “I'm so sorry.”

“The thing is, Drew, if he doesn't have the operation, well, there's no doubt what will happen, but even if he does, there are no guarantees. His life expectancy with this condition is five years, even if all their procedures are successful. He isn't sure he wants to bother.”

“Five years makes a big difference. He should do it,” Drew said firmly.

“I know, but it's his decision, not mine. Oh, Drew, what will I do without my daddy?” A tear rolled down Alyssa's cheek. He hugged her fiercely. She stayed in his arms for several long moments. The front of his shirt grew wetter and wetter, but he didn't care.

“Drew, Alyssa, what are you doing?” The assistant principal, Dr. Rhodes, appeared beside them, her expression displeased.

“Sorry, Dr. Rhodes. This isn't really a public display of affection. Allie's going through a hard time. She needed a hug.”

Alyssa lifted her head. The principal looked at her red face and tear-swollen eyes and walked away, shaking her head.

“Come on, sweetheart, let's get out of here and go outside. You could probably use some fresh air.”

Alyssa gulped the last of her milk and grabbed her roll before dumping her tray. He took her free hand and walked her out to the courtyard. She munched the roll as they went along.

Outside, the biting January wind whistled down the walkway and nipped at the couple, finding its way right through Alyssa's thin coat until she started shivering. Drew took off his letterman jacket and draped it over her shoulders. She snuggled into it, turning her face into the wool of the shoulder as though savoring the scent of his cologne. His heart clenched. Marcie wore my jacket more than once. She loved it but seeing her in it never affected me this way. Wow.

Drew walked Alyssa to a part of the courtyard that wasn't visible from either the cafeteria or the hallway. It was a favorite make-out spot, so teachers patrolled it regularly. We might get caught, but I've never seen a girl so in need of a kiss in his life. I'll risk it.