Masked

Entry Five

Hey, future me. After that first day of October, Danielle wouldn't stop pestering me about Gray. She had known me since I was little and she knew how isolated I was from people. Danielle wanted me to get out into the world and meet someone, someone who would be good for me, respectable, intelligent, and even handsome. So naturally, when I snuck into our English class about seven minutes late, Danielle raised her eyebrows suggestively at me, smirking while jabbing me with her elbow. She'd seen the two of us strolling down the halls, and she'd seen me grab for his wrist, and was trying her very best to encourage a relationship with the new guy.

"Psst! Brookie!" I turned to my left, pulled out my novel and flipped to the current chapter, ignoring Danielle's whispers, pretending the droning of Mr. Dell drowned her words.

"Brook! Is that going to be your new boyfriend? Did he ask you out? Did you say YES?" I turned to her sharply, an unimpressed grimace and lowered eyelids staring back at her. I studied her excited, no, hopeful face, then turned curtly and faced the front again.

"No, I am not dating him, and no, he didn't ask me out. He needed help finding Mathematics 12, and I happened to be the one to do it. Now, shut the hell up before Mr. Dell throws us out." She sighed, then pulled out her own novel, but she had a glimmer in her blue eyes that let me know that this wasn't the last I'd hear of the new kid, Gray.

I was right, that wasn't the last I'd hear of it. Come last period that day, Danielle and I sat in our Socials class, two rows from the back like usual. We weren't in the front, so we were under the radar a bit, but we were far enough from the 'bad' kids or the 'quiet' kids to avoid getting teased. We were also close enough to the board to see what was written or projected, and were easily able to snag participation points, as well.

I didn't hate Socials, but I didn't like it either. Now that I think about it, I didn't hate or like any subjects back then. Another quality I lost after the accident, buried by my hatred for myself. I used to favour math and science. I liked having the logical answers, the ones you could solve for, or could easily comprehend. They made sense. They answered questions or solved problems and were generally very useful in future careers I had in mind, like engineering or chemistry. Over time, though, I lost interest in the things I used to like, my only focus being Danielle's happiness and high school graduation day. I didn't have a plan for the future and didn't see any point in making one whatsoever, but I at least wanted to finish high school. The rest of my life would figure itself out. Hopefully.

Danielle nudged me, breaking my concentration so she could point at Mrs. Jean. I looked up, zoning back in and breaking my train of thought. I tuned back into her conversation with the class. She had put up a seating arrangement on the board.

Mrs. Jean had always been one of the nicer teachers, placing friends next to each other. She always gave us the first month to choose our seats but would swap out the arrangement based on behaviour. Those who chatted too frequently would be split up, and those who didn't work would be moved to the front.

Danielle and I always sat next to each other, and after being separated from each other in the second month of eighth grade, we've been very careful about our verbal communication, at least for the first month. Eighth grade's Socials class was a long one, with over twenty incidents of confiscated phones between the two of us, caused by our texting of messages back and forth relentlessly.

This year, we'd only been asked to be silent once, and Mrs. Jean had given us a look a mere four times. It was close, but we were still within the safe-realm as far we were concerned. Being seated next to another student was nearly out of the question, so when Mrs. Jean displayed the seating arrangement on the overhead and began moving students, I paid little attention to her. Instead, I listened to Danielle as she chatted happily about her favourite movie, The Outsiders and her love for the character Pony Boy.