Secret Affinity

13

Halloween, according to Crimson, was a different this year at school, and I could guess why. The dance had been stopped, and no one left that night with happy thoughts.

Calculus class was the biggest drag, and it felt like an eternity when we went to our second class. Crimson said she'd go home after lunch unable to bear the dead and unenergetic atmosphere.

“Okay everybody, we’ve hit rock bottom today with class productivity,” Mr. Moore said, adjusting his glasses. “It’s only the last day of October, so this is temporary. Everyone get up with your bags and stand to the side. Let’s get this seating plan started.”

More than half the class groaned, but everyone formed a line when Mr. Moore counted down the seconds. Everyone started moving as he said their names, and I only recognized a few including Crimson. Being the odd one out, Arian stayed where he was. In fact, he didn’t even line up.

Crimson and I were one of the last to sit down. She got a seat right in front of me, but we were unfortunately at the very back. A boy I'd never seen before sat to my right, and the seat to my left was empty. To the farthest left was Arian, and we three were the only students in the back row.

“Jesus, that's much better,” Mr. Moore said, rubbing his forehead. “Now, reviewing from yesterday…”

I took my pencil and books out, listening to the teacher with my homework open in front of me. In a solid minute, I was distracted.

“Hey,” the guy on my right whispered. “How come you didn’t send us the pictures?”

“What?” I said, looking at him. He had faded blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and deep dimples—ideally all the captivating features of a teenage guy I'd read in YA fiction books before.

“The pictures from the dance,” he said, grinning at my confused expression. “You took pictures of me and my friends. I was dressed as Prince Charming.”

“Dressed as…?” I recollected that horrible night, and my eyebrows went up. “Oh, yeah. Sorry, I forgot to send them.”

“No problem. You can send them to me later if you still have them,” he said. I nodded uncertainly, and he gave me his contact again. “Nixon Darren. You are?”

“New,” I said. “I mean, I’m new. To the school.”

He chuckled. “I meant your name.”

After that quiet introduction at the back of the classroom, in the middle of a review, I focused on the teacher again. I thought the conversation was over until he spoke again during work time.

“That review was boring as hell,” Nixon said, and stared at me, expecting me to agree with him. I didn’t. “You actually like this class?” I said I was fine with it. He shook his head and began putting his textbook away.

Crimson peeked behind her, and we made eye contact. She made a ‘what-was-that’ face, and I shrugged. I knew she heard us word for word.

To my left, I saw a motion as Arian stood up and left after having a word with the teacher. He did this almost every class, just leave and come whenever he pleased.

“That guy is a sore loser,” Nixon told me, watching Arian walk out of class. “He acts all cool and scary, but he’s so not. He should just drop out of school. ”

“If he doesn’t scare you, why are you speaking so quietly?” I said. Nixon pressed his lips together, and I surprised myself, too. How did I so subconsciously defend Arian?

“Whatever,” Nixon said. “Anyway, I don't see you around school often. What group do you hang out with?”

“The band—” Crimson coughed in front of me, and I bit my lip, thinking I shouldn't have brought them up. “I don't know many people, so I haven't made that many friends.”

“I can tell,” he said, smiling. “Do you want to sit with me and my buddies at lunch? They’re pretty chill.”

“Um,” I said, peaking at Crimson. “I don’t know.” The bell rang, and everyone crammed their books into their bags and left.

Nixon stood up. “Come if you can. We’ll be in the cafeteria.”

Crimson and I left the class together, and she nudged me with her shoulder. “That jock has his eyes on you,” she told me. “I'd rather you not sit with him at lunch, but that's just my prejudice. I don't want him giving you trouble if he finds out you hang out with us.” I glanced at her, wondering what she'd been through to say that. “Besides, I’m leaving so you’ll be all alone.”

“What’s so bad about him?” I asked. “He was nice to me in class.”

Crimson opened a bag of sugared gummy spiders. “That’s how all they all are. Nice at first to get what they want. I’m telling you to be careful. You seem easy to deal with, so don’t let them play with you.”

“Um, okay,” I said.

Crimson took the music room hallway, and I headed towards the cafeteria. It was next to the commons and was packed. My steps slowed when I went inside, not finding one face I knew.

“Arial!” I heard a shout. I looked over and saw Nixon waving a hand. He was at a table near the glass window with five others.

I nervously walked to where he saved me a seat and sat down. He introduced me to his friends, Tyler, Sean, Kylie, Safire, and Kathie. They were all at the dance and the ones I took pictures of.

“Girl, I was waiting for those pictures,” Kathie said. I apologized, and Tyler laughed.

“This girl,” he snorted. “You say sorry for everything.”

“It’s cute,” Nixon said, and I tried not to look embarrassed. “The girls are drama queens, so don’t be afraid of them. Send all the pictures to me and save yourself stress.”

“Your costume was so adorbs,” Kylie told me. “I loved those mouse ears.”

“Mickey Mouse ears. I was supposed to be Minnie,” I corrected.

“That was my s**t when I was younger,” Sean said, nodding. “So, did Mickey Mouse also come with you that day or just you?”

“Just me,” I said.

A group of people walked by the table, and one of them stopped when he saw me. We were both equally surprised.

“Ari?” Rowen said. “You go to the same school as…?” I didn’t know he went to the same school as me either. I’d never seen him here before.

“Are you leaving early?” I asked.

“Yeah, almost every lunch,” he said. So, just like Arian. “I have some things to do out of school, but I’ll see you around.” I nodded, and he left.

Well, that was quick. It was too quick, and I didn’t have time to process it before Nixon leaned a little too close to me.

“You’re friends with Rowen?” he asked. I leaned away and said I knew him, but there was no official friendship or anything. “Thank God. I swear he’s socially inept.”

“He's been a geeky nerd since elementary,” Kathie added, shaking her head. “He's even got a baby face. I swear that kid still hasn't hit puberty.”

The group burst into laughter, but an ugly feeling coiled in my stomach. Suddenly, I wanted lunch to just end. Crimson would probably ask me about it at work, but I didn't want to say anything that'd worry her.

I went to Bakery Town right after school, so I could leave work earlier to take Andy and Liara trick-or-treating with Elise.

Crimson was already there when I came, and she didn't pop the question until a while later.

“How’d it go with hot jock boy?” she asked me as I cleaned the store display cases.

“He and his friends were nice,” I said. “There wasn’t anything too special.”

“Ah, that's an underwhelming response,” Crimson said and smirked. “Although, you were probably too oblivious to get the big picture.” I had no clue what she was talking about, but I at least knew the true nature of those people.

There were a lot of customers today since more people were out on the streets for Halloween. We worked until six, and Crimson said her mom would come to pick her up for trick-or-treating.

A car rolled in front of the shop, and Fabian waved at us from the driver’s seat. A surprised Crimson didn’t take it well.

“What are you doing here?!” she blasted. Fabian told Crimson that her mom was busy, so he volunteered to pick her up instead. “Get back to work, you i***t. I’ll just go on the bus!”

“Come on, Crimson,” he said. “We’ll buy candy boxes on the way.” Fabian and I both knew he got her.

“You, i***t,” she grumbled all the way to the car. “Make it quick. Bye, Ari.” I saw them drive away and prepared to leave, as well.

“See you on Monday, Michelle!” I said. She said goodbye, and I buttoned my coat while wearing my shoulder bag.

I left the bakery and began to walk across the street. If I kept walking forward, I knew I’d probably see those homeless kids again, and I knew it'd put me in a bad mood. I didn’t realize the thought had slowed me down, and I was standing in the middle of the road.

White flakes of snow began to float above me, and I stared at the sky. The snow melted on my coat. It was only a little, but it was beautiful to watch. It left me in a thoughtless trance, a moment of silence I was grateful for amid my deepest worries.

A loud disruptive beep went off, and I looked at the vehicle heading towards me. Before I could react, it stopped exactly a foot away from me.

“i***t, what the—” It was Arian on his bike. “What’re you doing here?” he said when he realized it was me.

“I-I should be asking you,” I said, putting a palm over my chest. My heart beat fast with anxiety, the post-fear of almost getting hit. “I work here.”

“Here?” Arian said.

“Yeah.” I pointed towards the direction I came from. “Right there. I work at Bakery Town.” The snow wet my cheeks, and I rubbed my fingers over them. “Um, where are, why are you here?”

“I work here,” he said monotonously.

“You work?” I said as a broader question. I didn’t think he worked a job and everything. He seemed more…reserved.

“Where do you think I go everyday after school?” he said. No answer. “It’s not the kind of work you’re thinking about.”

“Okay.” I put on my hood. “Sorry for standing in your way. It started snowing and I thought of these homeless…” Arian probably had no clue what I was talking about. “Nevermind.”

He was silent, looking at me like I was crazy. Then he drove his bike around me and zoomed away.

By the time I reached home, some of the roads were covered in a thin layer of snow. I completed my homework before heading to the McCoys’ house.

Liara opened the door, and I saw her in the cutest ladybug dress. She told me Elise was getting Andy ready and insisted on showing me her candy basket. It was a plastic pumpkin that was almost half her size.

When Andy came downstairs, he had his ninja costume on. His eyes were the only thing I saw, and his voice was muffled when he talked.

“Look, Ari!” he said, stopping in front of me. “Do you wike my costume?” I smiled and nodded.

“It might be a bit chilly tonight,” Elise told me. “You need a hat, dear?” I said I was fine, and we locked the doors before heading onto the sidewalk.

Around this time, we could see other children out with their families. I was holding Liara’s hand as Elise held Andy’s. Liara was overly energetic to go to her friend's neighbourhood, so we split up.

“You have to tell me where we’re going, okay?” I said to Liara. She nodded and pulled on my hand. I took note of the directions we were taking.

We ended up on George’s street and asked for candy there. I could hear barking near the brown-garage house, and it pulled me towards it. I didn't know I'd grown that fond of Butterscotch.

“Aye, if ain’t ma girls Liara and Ari,” George said when he opened the door. “How you doin’? Here for candy?”

“Trick-or-treat!” Liara said. George gave her a bunch of candy. “Thank you!” Butterscotch appeared beside George’s feet and barked at us. Well, he barked at me in particular since it was circling my legs. I took a good minute petting him. “Bye! Bye, Butterscotch!”

Liara was excited when we went up to the next house and rang the doorbell. A girl, similar to Liara’s age, opened the door.

“Hi, Hanna!” Liara said. “Do you want to go trick-or-treating with me?” Hanna was dressed as a purple princess, and I frowned at the way she looked at Liara’s costume.

“I’m going with the others,” Hanna told Liara. “Your costume sucks.” My mouth fell open, but Liara wasn’t offended.

“It’s okay,” she said. “Can I have candy?”

“Not from my house,” Hanna said in disgust. Liara lost her cheeriness at that moment. Hanna’s mother, or so I thought, stepped out and apologized for her child’s misbehaviour.

“I’ll get the candy,” she said. “Hanna, get in here.”

“Go away. We don’t want to give you our candy,” Hanna said to Liara. Liara was frozen, and it worried me out.

“Liara, we should go,” I said shaking her.

“Okay,” she mumbled. “Can I get candy?” Hanna shouted ‘No!’ and Liara was terrified. “But I came to your birthday party.”

“So? I don’t like your costume,” Hanna said, flipping her hair. “And neither will Ruby, Shannon, and Rai.” My heart broke.

“But I thought—” Liara started with a wavering voice, but I grabbed her arm.

“Let’s go Liara,” I said and pulled her away from the house. She walked emptily, like she didn’t have a purpose on the streets anymore. “Liara, are you okay?”

“Little Mermaid, can we go home?” Liara said, her bottom lip jutting out. I took her basket and led her out of the neighbourhood.

I didn’t have keys to the McCoys’ house, so I tried to get through the sliding door. I struggled to help Liara over the gate, and I got myself over. Thank God the sliding door was open.

Liara wanted to stay on the floor, and she held me tight for a while. We still had an hour left of trick-or-treating, but she refused to go back out. I wanted her to talk to me and tell me about all her worries and feelings.

“Liara,” I said, pulling her back. “I’m your friend. I’m your real, true friend. Tell me what happened. Are you okay?”

Liara burst into tears, and that really got to me. I didn’t expect this to happen, and the moment it did, I felt like crying with her. She cried for pretty long and said jumbled words I couldn’t understand.

“I tried to be nice,” she sniffled, “and be good, and share, and…but no one likes me!”

“Hey, it’s alright,” I said, bringing her close. “You’re not alone. You have nothing to cry about. They’re missing out on you.”

"I never make new friends,” Liara said, tears dripping down her chin and onto my coat. “I try to be happy but…but…”

“Liara, you are amazing,” I told her, tightening my arms around her. “You’re easily one of the best kids I’ve ever met.”

She lifted her head. “Really?” I nodded. “I think you’re the best babysitter, too!” I smiled sadly and smoothed her hair. “But they always wanted my stuff and my food. I thought they wanted to be my, my friends.”

“Real friends not only ask you for your stuff and belongings,” I told her. “Real friends are there for you when you need them. Real friends don’t leave you out.”

“She said my costume was ugly,” Liara whimpered.

“And real friends accept you for who you are,” I added. “I think your costume is adorable.”

“Really?” Liara said. I nodded reassuringly. “Thanks!”

The main door unlocked, and I expected Andy and Elise to be home. Liara didn’t entirely stop crying, but she was feeling better. I sat against the couch leg, tightly holding onto her.

My eyes lifted to see Arian walk into the living room, and he stopped when he saw us. Ah, so it wasn't Andy and Elise. It took Arian about a millisecond to figure out the situation.

“Did you do something?” Arian said to me.

“No. I was taking her trick-or-treating. When we went to her friend’s house—”

“She’s not my friend,” Liara mumbled into my shoulder.

“Her former-friend said she didn’t like Liara’s costume,” I continued. Liara sighed heavily.

“I told her to not hang out with Ruby’s friends,” Arian said. He let out a big breath and began to leave. “She’s fine now.”

“Wait,” I said. “You’re her brother, so can’t you say something comforting?” Liara mumbled something, but I couldn’t understand.

“You’ve already done that,” Arian said.

“I’m different,” I said. “She seems like she has so much still hidden. I want to understand her but, I mean, you’re much closer…”

“Biologically,” Arian said. Boy, he was shameless. “She’ll probably listen better to strangers.”

“Don’t be mean to her,” Liara said after lifting her head. “I like her better than you.” Arian was emotionless as he looked at her.

“Is it because I live in that house?” I asked, and I knew I got his attention. “Because I live right in that house?”

“What does that have to do with Liara?” Arian asked me, voice sending chills down my spine.

Why was he so reticent on this specific topic? Whenever I mentioned my house, he seemed to turn to ice.

“It has to do with me, not Liara,” I said.

“Then I don’t care,” Arian said, leaving the room. I called him and got Liara out of my lap. When I caught up with him he made a sharp 180-degree turn. “What do you want?”

“Is it because Archie used to live there?” I could see the immediate change in his expression. “Because, um, you were his friend maybe?” Arian gave me one, dead look in the eye that made me want to run away.

“Don't f*****g talk to me ever again.”