The Catalyst

Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

I woke up the next morning with sore eyes and a pounding head. I managed to drag myself out of bed- not without difficulty though. When I looked in my mirror I recoiled. My hair was a mess, my eyes were red and puffy, and I looked like a general mess. I ignored my horrid appearance and instead attempted to start to fix it. I brushed out all my hair and braided it over my shoulder. I pulled on some comfier clothes than I usually wore to school- my favorite, most worn out jeans, a loose fitting t-shirt and hoodie. I rolled my shoulders and pulled on my shoes before slinging my bag over my shoulder. I didn’t need breakfast that morning. Michael would already be back at school since Nolan had called and asked the parents of the friend that he had a sleepover with if he could spend an extra couple nights.

I took a deep breath before opening my door and walking out. I walked through the kitchen and to the entry way. I was about to leave when something stopped me. It was the silence. I had expected Nolan to come, to ask me to wait, to stop me, for any reason, for any sort of contact. All I heard was the silence and it was deafening. I bit back tears and stood straighter.

“So, this is your answer, huh?” I whispered myself before slamming the door behind me and walking to my car. I slammed that door to my car shut, too, and leaned my forehead against my steering wheel, a fresh flood of tears pouring down my cheeks. I shook my head and wiped away my tears with the back of my hands and pressed the heels of them into my eyes to stop the outpour. I took a deep, shaky breath and started up the car, finally feeling the chill settling into the car and into my bones. I turned up the heat and drove to school.

The rest of the week seemed to go by in a blur, the morning and school day the same pattern until Friday right before my last period- the passing period that Maroonsin had made his duty to walk with me to class every day. He waited as I opened my locker with a flick of my wrist, something he was used to know.

“You gotta teach me how to do that one of these days,” he said with a grin. I gave him a grim smile back. It didn’t come anywhere reaching my eyes and he noticed. He stopped and smoothed a hand over my arm. He made me feel comfortable, like I was at home. It wasn’t the same fluttering I got from Nolan, but it was nice, I nearly doubled over in pain, a grimace crossing my face as thoughts of Nolan- something I had trying avoid all week and failed miserably every day, not in the physical aspect of course-, and then Tuesday, flitted through my mind. “Hey, what’s wrong?” His voice was soft, and concerned. I shook my head and stuttered out an answer.

“N-nothing, it’s just- just some stuff happening at home,” I mumbled with a feeble shrug, trying not to cry again. I would not cry in front of Maroonsin. He stood in front of me and gently rubbing my upper arms. A nice coat of peace seemed to settle over me.

“Hey, it’s okay, you can tell me,” he said in a whisper. He almost already felt like my boyfriend. He kind of was now. We had postponed our date because he said I looked tired and I told him I was just feeling a little under the weather. We had rescheduled it to that night and I was determined to go through with it.

I gave the best fake smile I could muster. “Really, it’s okay, it’ll work itself out in no time. I’m really excited for our date tonight,” I said, changing the subject quickly. His entire face lit up.

“Oh, yeah, me too! It’s gonna be great!” he beamed. He kissed my cheek and entwined our fingers, leading me to our last period. MOAD as they had abbreviated it to- Mygek Offense and Defense- had been difficult. I had lost my will to really fight and participate in practically all of my classes. MOAD was just the worse.

I wiped my sweaty forehead, exhausted and depleted. With a turned flick of my hand my swords disappeared. I took a quick shower before throwing my clothes back on and heading back out of the changing room to meet Maroonsin outside the door. Mr. Lunn tapping and swiping at a tablet, a pair of very weirdly placed but very suited glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. I was about to walk from the huge room when he called out, looking up from his tablet.