Riley's Box

Part 9

As Jason had gone to his own class, it only made sense for me to go to mine, too. I couldn't help but feel a little bad, when I was on my way to class. After all, I had lied to him.

 I had told him that the reason behind my concern was my grandmother. Alright, so it wasn't as if it was a total lie. I could admit to being more than a little concerned for the fact that my grandmother was now about to start driving again, but that was beside the point. 

Stop being so sensitive, Riley, I thought to myself. I knew that my inner voice was right. I had no proof, no actual evidence that I had anything to fear just yet. 

As I tried not to think about it, I made my way into art class and spotted my other friend, Susie, working on a  peace nearby. 

When I had entered the class, she turned around to greet me with a pleasant smile. 

I made my way over to her and observed the painting she was working on- one of a mermaid- with some awe. 

"Susie! That's incredible and I really do mean it. It's beautiful," I said, speaking from the heart and though I knew that my own painting was fairly stunning, I couldn't help feeling a little envious of her. I mean her painting, not her, of course. That would be silly. 

Alright, so Susie was really good friends with most of the boys in the school and she was exceptionally beautiful, too, but it didn't make sense for me to envy her. She had always been really kind to me. 

"You're beautiful," I blurted then, before I could prevent myself from being a dumbass. "I mean- that shirt is beautiful on you. Where did you get it?" I asked. 

This was my main issue. For the most part, I simply could not hide my inner thoughts. 

I had a feeling that Susie didn't seem to mind, though. 

She smiled amicably. 

The two of us had been friends for a while, now, and I wasn't going to ruin our friendship by some silly thought in my head. I liked to think that I had matured past the trivialities of our earlier years of high school. 

Besides, my late grandfather had always told me that I was an old soul, and I didn't want to let him down where that was concerned. 

"Do you really think so?" she asked, with a little surprise in her tone. 

"Yeah. Duh," I said. I then grinned so she knew that I only meant the 'duh' part in a playful sense. 

I liked to think that I was a balanced person- that I kept a calm mind. 

So, why did I feel a little envious, even now, after I had explicitly told myself to not feel that way? 

Could it be due to the fact that I had seen Eric, the head boy, speaking to Susie in front of her locker this morning? 

No. That could not be. That was not who I, Riley Ruby, was. I didn't get envious. 

 Did I? 

Why did I even care if she had been talking to him, anyway? 

Now was not the time for this triviality! 

I had a mystery to solve. It was my duty to uncover the mystery of the shadow people! 

If I didn't get started on it, then who exactly would? 

"It's a really nice picture," I said coolly, before I went to take my seat in front of my own canvas. 

The little brown stalls in our art room were not strictly comfortable by any means, but it was either that or I would have to stand the whole time (no thank you, back ache), or I would have to sit on the floor, and with my short arms I doubted I would be able to reach the canvas any sense from all the way down there. 

So, I sat on the mildly uncomfortable, backless seat, and listened to what my art teacher, Ms. Gomez, had to say. 

I managed to calm my racing head down a little more over the course of the art lesson, as I focused all of my energy on creating the best painting that I possibly could. 

After all, I had always been a creative person, and I wanted to get an A+ in that class! Nothing was going to hold me back from accomplishing such a grade. Not even some silly thoughts relating to one Susie Caern...

While I tried to keep up the pretence of a reasonably calm individual, I couldn't help but feel a storm grow internally. 

For one thing, this storm was being caused by those weird shadows I had seen over the past few days. 

For another, it was caused by a sensation to beat Eric Reos into the ground, as soon as this school council voting week came around. 

"Hey Riley. I think I'm going to go for head girl. What do you think?" she asked me. 

What? 

The one position on the student council, that I wanted more than anything, just so happened to be the one that Susie wanted, too? 

No. That could not be. 

However, judging by the serious expression on Susie's face, I had to assume that it actually could be. 

I remained perfectly calm, as I stood up from my seat at the end of the lesson and smiled at the picture on the easel. 

"Really? What do I think? I don't think you should go for it," I said, "I've heard things...apparently they have already got someone lined up for it and you wouldn't want to let yourself be disappointed now, would you?" 

Alright, I admit it. It was a harsh thing to say. 

Remember what I said about always sharing my inner most thoughts, though? 

Well, that was simply my method of sharing them in the most tactful way that I could muster. 

"Oh. Okay," Susie said. 

"Yeah. I'm really just looking out for you," I told her and she nodded. 

Nevertheless, I didn't actually believe myself.