Magic Lives Here

Hallway Confrontations

"It's weird, right?" Alisha asked Tamela as she shut her locker.

"Him disappearing at that moment? Hell yeah it is." Tamela spoke as she put her thumbs through the loops of her backpack.

Alisha stared at the tennis bracelet that Sean had gotten for her as a present.

"I mean it's so unlike him. He usually insists on driving me home after parties." She continued.

"I agree, girl. Him ditching like that was a major jerk move." Tamela spoke as she adjusted her high ponytail.

"Maybe he was scared?" Alisha suggested. "I mean, he was drunk and the cops -"

"Hadn't even shown up by then. Stop trying to defend his actions and allow yourself to be mad for once, Ali." Her friend spoke. "You know if Mike had done that to me, he would have been in the dog house for sure."

"Then you would have forgiven him anyway because you two are obsessed with each other." Alisha teased.

Tamela couldn't help but smile. "Well of course."

Alisha felt nervous all of a sudden.

"His been acting super weird lately and I'm getting kind of worried." She admitted.

"Weird how?" Tamela asked.

"Weird, kind of distant." Alisha explained. "I don't know, maybe it's all in my head but ever since school opened, it's like his head has been somewhere else."

"My Halmoni(grandmother) always tells me that a woman's instinct is stronger than anyone else's. If you feel this way, you should talk to Sean. Get things into perspective."

"But maybe you could spare a few minutes for me first?"

Alisha turned around and looked at Jeremy in shock. She hadn't even heard him come up behind her.

"Uh-hey." Alisha greeted uncertainly.

***

A few minutes later, Jeremy and Alisha were seated outside on the bench under Sabrina's favourite tree.

Alisha had always felt at ease around Jeremy so the fact that she kept fiddling with her thumbs and shifting uncomfortably proved how much she had forgotten how to act around him.

After all that had happened, him seeking an audience with her seemed strange.

But overall she was grateful.

"So um," he finally started talking.

Alisha could tell that she wasn't the only nervous one by the way he leaned forward and kept his eyes on his hands.

"I'm sorry for being a jerk to you lately."

An apology? So straight forward. So direct.

Alisha didn't say anything.

"I just -" Jeremy sighed. "I have been going through a lot since my parents died and I just didn't know -still don't know how to handle everything."

Alisha heard his voice get small.

She placed a hand on his back. "It's okay." She reassured him.

"It's just so different being in that house and not seeing my mum or my dad. I don't know how to get used to that. I just kept telling myself that maybe they had just gone on a trip. That maybe, they'd be back - "

His voice cracked.

"I lost them just like that." He spoke in a whisper.

"And then I saw what happened to Vicki yesterday and I was afraid that I would lose her in the same way."