The Tears Devourer

XIV

    Michael parked the Honda diagonally, nearly spanning two spaces in the parking lot. The doors were pushed open so hard that they both scratched the paint on the doors of neighboring cars. They ran, laughing and spouting nonsense along the way. No one was waiting outside anymore, but the door was still open. The goalkeeper was still standing, but curiously, it wasn't the goalkeeper who was occupying that place.

    The man was tall, taller even than Michael, but unlike the boy, a big stomach stood out at any distance. The sweater came that he was wearing over the light blue shirt, it was completely stretched out. He was wearing dress pants made of black silk, and dark brown pointed shoes, so shiny they seemed to be made of plastic. He carried both arms crossed at chest height, imposing authority and spreading fear to anyone who passed.

    "And you guys?" Principal Hudson Williams asked, stopping both young men on the institution's porch. "Why so late?"

    "It was my fault, Principal Williams," Michael confessed. "There was a snag along the way, and... I delayed Rachel and her sister from their regular schedule. Excuse me, sir. It won't happen again."

    The principal stared at them, glancing from one to the other. His arms were in a vee, resting his hands on his waist, with an undaunted expression that didn't reveal any of his intentions. Michael shared a knowing look with Rachel, as they were punished with an uncomfortable silence, both of them feeling intimidated, not only by the position of the person who spoke to them but also by their great size.

    "Ok, boys," replied Hudson, "you can tell me the whole story in my office after school." The director noticed the rebellion on both faces, and before either could object, he added, raising a finger in the air. "There are no excuses for being late in life. Give me your school cards, and then you will pick them up in detention."

    He let them pass with a warning on the score assigned to the behavior, and a penalty of one hour in detention for being late. But Michael knew it, he perfectly understood his bad luck, because while Rachel looked at the ground as she trotted between the cars, Michael watched the principal leaving the school, and carrying a cigarette between the fingers of his left hand. Just when the two boys approached, the giant kept his vice and turned a blind eye. He was grumpy that day, and the boy wondered why, as he walked with Rachel to her next class.

    "Can I see you for lunch?" Michael asked her before Rachel entered the classroom, where the history teacher could already be heard retelling his stories with the fervor of a live sportscaster.

    "Eh... Yes, of course," the brunette agreed. "I have..." 'literature' Michael thought to himself "literature, I think, so it might take a while. It doesn't matter?"

    "Not at all. I'll wait for you in the dining room, no problem."

    They both said goodbye with just a smile. Rachel entered the classroom, staring at the boy the entire time, and closing the door still with her back to her teacher. Michael then turned and went on his way. He went up to the second floor and endured the five hours of class before lunch, without complications or distractions of any kind.

    On the other hand, Rachel was distracted at all times. It had already been a little over a week since she arrived in Dells, and she was attending the local high school. She wasn't very good at making new friends, but still, a boy approached her from day one.

    Thom was only slightly taller than her but definitely heavier. His hair was cut short, highlighting a small pompadour at the front, and his ears were smaller than average. He was very cheerful and fun, in addition to having a peculiar taste for subjects that include numbers, which helped Rachel enormously since where she came from, hadn't yet touched on some of the topics present in the course.

    Another girl also approached her, at first just to offer her a cheerleader position, since Rachel had the athletic build of one, maybe she would need to gain a little more pounds, but she was already thin and had marked legs, thanks to that back at St. Gregory, she was a long-time member of the local track and field team. She left it after her parents' divorce, and completely forgot about it when she moved to Dells. But then by the time Rachel explained this to the desperate cheerleader, she couldn't let it go. She realized that the sudden interest in the surprise invitation was nothing more than an attempt to get the attention of his new friend.

    Melissa was just jealous of the exhaustive interest the newcomer had aroused in Thom. It had stuck to them like gum, listening to almost all their conversations, and intervening whenever she saw fit.

    "I saw you with Michael Patton," Melissa said, with the tip of the pencil at Rachel. "Will he bring you to class since now?" She teased, glancing at Thom, not wanting to show genuine interest.

    "No, I don't think so," said Rachel, still trying to trace the first lines of the scale drawing of the human cell, which Professor Willard Polley had placed in the left-center of the board. "He brought me in today just because. "Shit..." , she broke the tip of the pencil.

    "Use this. So you don't waste time searching." Thom looked at her and held out a pencil sharpener in his left hand. Rachel took the chopper and returned a polite smile. He glanced at the boy's notebook and noticed the masterpiece that lay there.

    "It's beautiful," she commented, walking over to his folder. "Where did you learn to do that?"

    "I like to draw when I have free time..."

    "And do videogames, and read Carl Sagan... Yeah, Thom, we know you're kind of weird." Melissa got in, and she loved that about him. "But what we don't know is what had to happen for Michael Patton to bring Rachel to the classroom door."

    "He hit the dumpster outside my house," Rachel said, probing Melissa's gaze at Thom, like a pendulum without a compass, and giggling, thinking again of her comment.

    "He hit the container?" They both repeated, somewhat stunned by the statement.

    "What you mean? How come he crashed with the garbage outside your house?" Melissa raised an eyebrow, and her mouth opened wide, revealing the recent teeth whitening she underwent a couple of days ago, and the sparkling lipstick she bought the day after the treatment. "I mean... He lives like, on the other side of the city, that's... A totally opposite direction from your house."