Riley's Box

Part 63

When I got to the cafeteria at lunch time, Jason's table seemed to be surrounded by people. He was about as popular as I was, if not more so. 

"So yeah, I think I'm going to take a baking class next semester," he said. 

The girls around him nodded, as though fascinated by such a notion. I was sure that they were actually just fascinated by him. 

They would have to wait in line indefinitely because Jason was now my boyfriend. 

I walked over to him with a smile on my face and gave him a hug from behind. His body relaxed as he inhaled my perfume, cluing him in on who had embraced him. 

Then, I took the seat beside him. 

The other girls dispersed to different tables.  

Jason's eyes shone with amusement. 

Oh, the power that I held. 

"So, how was woodworking class today?" I asked him. 

"Oh, you know," he said. 

I raised an eyebrow at him. Did I know? 

"I made a candle holder for you," he said. "It's in my bag," he whispered. 

"No," I said in mock-disbelief. "A candle holder? You shouldn't have." 

I honestly was only teasing. I really did appreciate it. 

"Thank you, Jase," I told him with a sweet smile. 

"You're welcome, Riles," he replied. 

A few moments of silence passed before he spoke again. Jason could be so reserved sometimes, but he tended to find the confidence to say what he was thinking or feeling, when he was around me. 

"It was actually pretty fun to make it," he said. 

I felt myself smile again. 

The sides of his face turned a little pinker. He could be so cute at times, too. No wonder so many of the girls had flocked to him earlier. 

"It was kind of you to make it for me," I said. "As opposed to one of your many admirers."

"Don't get envious," Invidia said in a sing-song tone, as she sat on the table and swung her legs back and forth a little. 

Jason turned to me with interest. 

"Are you jealous?" he asked me. 

"No," I said. It was the truth. 

"Good. You know how I feel about you," he said. He then reached out to take my hand in his again and gave it a little squeeze. "You're my best friend- my girlfriend, Riley. You matter the most to me. Your attention is the one that I crave the most." 

Well, believe me, he had it. 

He smiled again. 

He probably knew it, too. 

"You're a very creative person, Jason. Just know that I'll always gratefully accept anything that you make for me," I said. "And also that was cute," I whispered, in response to his previous comment. 

Invidia glanced between the two of us with a knowing smile on her lips. 

Jason's gaze warmed. 

When I had first met him, he hadn't seemed as warm. He was sort of like an ice cube at first, actually. It had taken him a little while to open up to me but, once he had, he had never stopped talking, really. It wasn't as though I minded, of course. 

For the first time in a while, as I sat there in the cafeteria beside him, I realised that I felt calm. 

So many of the things that I had been worried about weeks ago were beginning to feel like a distant memory. 

Jason was my boyfriend. 

The shadow spirits were almost gone. 

I was now an assistant head girl! 

Life around the school and everywhere else had changed, but it had changed for the better. 

I was even almost friends with Eric Reos. I wasn't sure how that had happened, exactly, but I was grateful for it. Perhaps it really had only taken a few conversations with him to break down those walls he always seemed to put up. 

"Hey, I'm going to go and draw for a little while. Do you want to come with me?" I asked him. 

"I actually have to go and get some extra studying done- Miss Richardson is insisting upon it. I'll see you soon," he promised. 

"I'll see you soon," I said, managing to curve my lips upwards, even though I knew I was really going to miss him. 

Hell, I really wanted to kiss him. 

Not the time, I reminded myself. 

Jason and I left the cafeteria and went our separate ways. 

I walked towards the art room, so that I could get started on my next masterpiece, of course. 

"You're so talented, Riley!" Ms. Gomez told me, as she entered the room and glanced over my sketch. "I can just tell that you have a really good eye for design and art." 

"Hey, I'm not the only one. Look at Susie's painting," I said, nodding in Susie's direction. 

Susie's eyes grew a little larger in her surprise, but her expression soon became one of gratitude. 

"Thank you, Riley," she said. 

"No problem. I mean it. You'll have to teach me some time," I said. 

She grinned. 

"I'd like that," she agreed. 

~*~**~*~

The end of the school day soon came around and I returned home, via the bus, to find my mom and dad watching television together. 

There was so much that I wanted to talk to my dad about regarding the Sins and shadow spirits situation, but I knew that it was going to have to wait. 

My family, well, my mother was pretty religious. She probably wouldn't have responded very well if she knew what was really in the box in her daughter's room. 

Fortunately, I wasn't planning on her finding out any time soon. 

It was just as Avidicci had said before, though, some truth could be found in all of the religions. 

I believed that the universe was a lot more complex than we gave it credit for being. There was so much out there that was a complete mystery and maybe I would never have all the answers, but that was alright. There was always a thrill to be found in the unknown.