A Red Leaf

Chapter 3

My head was spinning and I couldn't help but feel like it was a good idea to start banging my head against the desk. My fingers gripped the edges of the desk and I let the top of the chair dig into my lower back. I ground my feet into the floor to try to stop the repeated tapping I was doing with my right leg. I glanced over to Mel who was drawing in her sketchbook just barely. One hand was supporting her face while the other was lazily scraping the pencil against the paper. Devone was on the other side of the class thanks to the seating chart and I was pretty sure he was drooling on his desk.

Mr. Reginald, a substitute teacher who was well into his seventies, apparently had a hobby for gold and boring unfortunate high school students with his stories about how his week had been panning out. Except everything he told us was about things he himself hadn't experienced but had read in the local paper. There was a worksheet we were supposed to be doing but it was almost impossible with the way Mr. Reginald fluctuated his pitch between each story and shushed those who tried to talk about the assignment amongst each other. I pulled out my phone and texted in the group chat: 'ROOFTOP?'

Mel looked up and our eyes connected. She nodded and a text popped up on my screen from Devone: 'Thank god'. I looked over and Devone was already walking out the door.

"Where are you going, young man?!" Mr. Reginald looked offended. Mel and I quickly jumped out of our seats and ran to the door too.

"Sorry Mr. Reginald, I think he's going to be sick. I should go help him," Mel said quickly before rushing out.

"Yeah, me too," I said and held the door before saying, "He has a condition." The door shut and I ran down the hall after Mel and Devone who was already around the corner. We made it down the hall with the broken camera and pushed out the door. Devone already had the ladder down and he held it steady at the top as Mel and I ascended.

"Dude, I was about to start snoring, god that man was so uninteresting," Devone groaned as he walked to the wall to grab a box to sit on.

"Same," Mel grumbled, "If you're gonna stop us from doing what we're supposed to be doing, at least be entertaining geez." Devone was about to pick a box when he suddenly dropped it.

"Holy s**t!" Devone jumped. Behind the boxes, there was a girl wearing sunglasses lying down on a yoga mat.

"Woah there," the girl sat up, "I don't look that bad, do I?"

"Teagan?" Mel said confused. She pushed up her sunglasses.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Yeah for real, what are you doing here?" Devone made a face.

"I mean it's free rein for everyone right?" Teagan put up her hands and looked around, "It's not like you guys own the place." I stepped forward.

"No, I mean at school," I clarified, "Aren't you supposed to be in Italy?" Teagan wore a long tank-top and leggings, sporting a nice tan and showing off her muscle tone. Her wavy dark brown hair flowed gracefully off her shoulders and stayed out of her face even without the shades. Her lashes were long and dark and you could see the light blush on her flawless skin. I kinda wanted to punch her in the face.

"Yeah, well I'm back now and I didn't feel like being in class so I came here, found the yoga mat, and decided to relax. You got a problem with that?" She quirked her eyebrow.

"That's my yoga mat," Mel grunted and I looked at the pink mat that Mel uses to kneel on when she's doing one of her chalk masterpieces.

"I know," Teagan smiled, "I'm the one who bought it for you." She patted the foam surface. I sighed.

"Well, s**t dude! It's good to have you back," Devone plopped onto a box.

"Thanks," Teagan smiled.

"A warning would've been nice," I mumbled but Teagan heard me and rolled her eyes.

"Well, I missed you too," She said sweetly and stood up, handing the yoga mat to Mel who took it and immediately set it up to begin sketching.

"So how was Italy?" Devone dove in and I slid my hand across my face as I sat down.

"It was great, but of course, nothing beats being with my best buds," She did a little cutesy shrug.

"So where is your gang? Wouldn't you want to hang with them instead?" I questioned and she looked at me.

"They're not my preferred group of friends," She said with a bite in her tone and I scoffed. Teagan started hanging out with us less and with more 'popular' kids a couple weeks before her Europe trip. To say the least, I was not impressed.

"Did you bring any souvenirs?" Devone said excitedly. He was always the one that said he would travel the world after school but I wished he would dial it in just this once.

"Yeah, a couple magnets and key chain pieces and, oh right, Mel," She called and Mel looked up from her drawing, "I bought some oil paints I saw in an art shop. It was the cutest little thing but I have it at my house, I'll bring them tomorrow." Mel's face lit up and I sunk into my seat. Teagan continued to divulge the abundance of gifts and goodies she brought back with her and Devone continued to lean closer and closer, adamantly listening to the stories of her adventures.

After a good ten minutes, she checked her watch and stood up. "Class just ended, we should go." We all got up and Teagan went down first, then Mel. Before I took my first step, Devone flicked me on the neck.

"Remind me why you two broke up again?" He asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up."

Teagan Richmond and I had dated shortly during the summer of junior year and ending in the middle of junior year. It was as decent as high school relationships could be but it was my longest relationship and at the time, it felt pretty damn good. When we broke up, she told me that it was 'wrong place wrong time' and I never knew how to feel about that. We had sort of started out in the same friend group but she slowly started slipping away to the 'other group' and I guess I always had this feeling that she was a traitor, still cool like us but too popular to hang out with us. Or maybe I was just antagonizing her after we broke up. She had almost made it sound like I was what made the relationship not work. But it's been several months and we're different people than we were back then so no grudges here.

Once lunch came around, Mel, Devone, and I all sat at our usual table outside. We used to eat lunch on the roof but it was a hassle to carry treys up a ladder and also have to walk all the way back to return the plastic treys. Teagan decided to bless us with her presence again.

"Hey guys," She said cheerily, plopping her trey down as if she did this every day.

"Yo," Devone said and Mel waved. Teagan turned to me with eyes that pierced through my soul.

"Hey," I let out and a smile appeared on her face like she was proud of herself. She snappily turned to her lunchbox which she unzipped and neatly brought out the contents.

"Ooh!" Devone pointed at one of the containers, "Can I have your mango slices?"

"Really?" Mel muttered, looking at the pile of food on Devone's tray.

"Hey, I've got to keep up this mass somehow," He quipped and looked at Teagan expectantly.

"Sure," Teagan said and held them out across the table. Her arm stretched in front of me and I looked at her. She winked at me before Devone took the mangos. I began opening my own burrito wrap.

"You sure your friends won't miss you?" I asked as I took a bite. She opened another container that had a sandwich perfectly packed and cut into triangles.

"Oh they'll be fine, don't worry about them," She said confidently and gave Devone a bag of chips that he was reaching for. "Besides, I thought we'd catch up. I have been out of the country after all. So," She leaned forward, "What's new?"

"Mel slept with Parker Mistow," Devone said. Mel looked at him. "Just kidding, haha."

"Why me?" She had a look of disgust on her face, "And why Parker Mistow? He's so gross,"

"Yeah," I agreed, "I'd rather sleep with Janet than Parker." Teagan raised her brow at that.

"Devone's been failing all his classes," Mel spoke and Devone looked at her, "Hey, you started it," she put her hands up.

"Mel got a boyfriend," Devone said. Mel frowned.

"Devone is still single," She huffed. Devone turned to his cousin.

"You failed that microbiology quiz," He fussed.

"Yeah, like a month ago. You failed a test yesterday," She retorted.

"And?" He put his hands up, "Last I checked, time still works, and a month ago or not, you still failed it."

"Are you even passing a single class?"

"Yes! All of them except for like three of them." He exclaimed.

"And I bet that took all of your brain power."

"You can't even make a move on RG! Even I could do something like that! Hell, I'll do it,"

"Don't. You. Dare." She glared.

"I have gonorrhea," I said and three heads turned towards me with three different reactions. Mel: confusion. Devone: disbelief. And Teagan:

"From me?" She asked seriously. I blinked.

". . .what?"

"Did I give you gonorrhea? I don't have gonorrhea," She said, her brows furrowing.

"You didn't give me gonorrhea," I clarified.

"Someone else gave it to you?" Her voice raised in pitch and Devone gasped. Mel punched him in the arm.

". . .No-" I started.

"No?" She raised her brow and I made a face. What is happening here?

". . .I don't have gonorrhea," I said weirdly. At this point, I wasn't even sure I didn't have it. Teagan's face stayed with a concerned expression before it slowly morphed back.

". . .Oh," She paused before she easily went back to her sandwich. Mel continued stuffing her face with baby carrots and I tried to eat my burrito normally like I wasn't afraid it would somehow give me gonorrhea. Devone was still unmoving for a second.

"Wait, you guys f****d?"

"Dude."

I felt the stray twigs scratch at my jacket sleeves and the uncut shrubs tickle the skin above my socks. I saw a few squirrels here and there but I made sure to stay clear of any ducks that were lounging around. I stopped at the overhang where there was a ledge over the water. I sat down and looked out at the lake. It was the same view I had been coming to see on occasion for the past couple of years but it looked different now. I felt a certain sadness that never struck me other than when I came here.

It was as if as soon as I stepped foot on the acorn-ridden patchy grass, I was in a new world and I couldn't help but feel at a loss. I never brought anyone along with me, it had always felt a little too personal for that. Something just for me. And I guess, her. I kicked at some dirt and thought about how foolish it was for me to be stuck over some girl who I barely knew.

"You're an i***t," I muttered to myself. I almost thought I was somehow forcing myself to hold onto that one person, and maybe I was, but it always came so naturally to think about her. The way she was the first person I actually thought was pretty in that way. The first person I ever felt attracted to in that magnetic, irresistible way. I just couldn't seem to let it go. I thought about revealing this to Mel or Devone. I always thought they'd laugh at me even though I knew they wouldn't.

I came right before sunset and the familiar orange and pink hues began to paint my surroundings. I looked at the trees and closed my eyes, imagining they were filled with bright red leaves.