Say The Word

Chapter 18- Just Me Being Dumb For The Rest Of This Chapter

  They acted as if nothing had happened when we went back, as if they did not just show most vulnerable part of themself, as if they did not just tell me they were getting abused by the people who were supposed to provide and acre for them and their brother. I could not help but fixate my gaze on them every few seconds, realising that I, along with literally everyone in that very room, had been oblivious to what they were hiding under that thick jacket, behind all those scars. Should I be keeping quiet? Yes was the only option I saw I could go with. It must have been hard for them to just tell me, going as far as begging me not to tell anyone, I could not just... ignore that, could I?

As the loud bell rang one last time for the day, I was pulled out of my conflicting thoughts. Ceb slowly crawled up from the desk; yawns were followed by some lazy stretches.

Before I knew it, they had already appeared in front of me. "Hey, I'm gonna go to work now, see you tomorrow."

"Wait." I uttered.

They halted dead in their tracks. I was the one who was stopping them, grabbing the denim sleeve in fear of if I were to directly grab onto their arm, they would be in pain once more.

"What is it?" they sighed, eyes glistening with endearment.

"You...you, uh, you did not call me geep..." GOD DAMN IT, VASTEL, YOU HAD ONE JOB! All you had to do was to ask them to take you to work, or at least say something less stupid.

They let out a small giggle, "Okay, alright, I'll see you tomorrow, geep."

My grip loosened, not wanting to hold him back for any longer. "B...bye..."

They vanished out of my sight as they closed the classroom door still waving to me. I slumped forward, resting one side of my face onto the open Biology book. What was I doing? I had no idea either, it seemed like the world was moving so fast and I was still there, trying to process everything.

My eyes turned onto the page we were on. 'Maybe I should just study and not think about anything' floated across my mind. It seemed like a good idea, all I had to do was just revise the things that were already familiar to me, that required no other thinking skill other than minute details about glucose.

The door squeaked open, I was too tired to even look at who did that, it was probably just Elly, Sumi left early today. I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep, not wanting to talk to anyone for as long as possible. Watching the back of my eyelids was fun for a second. I understood why Ceb does it all the time; it was easy, I just blocked everything out so swiftly.

"Vastel, get up, it's time to go home." Wait...That was not right...It did not sound like Elly. "Vastel, boy, it's time to get up."

I know this voice. As my eyes peeled open, I caught the hazy outline and facial features of my Chemistry teacher, my eyes still adjusting to the light. She said, "Good, you're awake, you probably shouldn't be sleeping here. You alright? You look like you're going to lose your mind any second now. Is Biology that hard?"

Sitting up, I shook my head slightly, and started to pack up my books. She laughed, "Alright, buddy, you can always ask the teachers for any help if you need it."

The conversation was one-sided, with Elaine talking and me quietly shoving everything into my bag at the speed of light. Apparently she was there for some materials from the class cabinet, or something, I had no idea what she was saying after that. My mind decided it was a better idea to tune her out.

"So, what are you going to do when you get out of school?" she asked. It was a causal question, and I have thought about it a few times. Never had I answered the question properly though.

I shrugged, "Going into psychology, I think." I did not actually know what to do; I figured if my papa was treating people physically, I might as well go for the mind stuff. Plus, it was a good answer, right?

"That's not a bad choice. What are your parents working as?"

I quailed.

"Sorry, parent, huh? Stop me if I asked too much alright?"

I nodded, "Mi- Elaine, I am going to go now."

She wriggled her fingers in place of waving. I gave her a half smile, not knowing how to react.

The second I closed the classroom door, air rushed into my lungs, I could breathe again.

"I guess it's a good thing I didn't go in there, don't you think?" Elly emerged somewhere from the wall like a chameleon (Yes, even with her bright neon sportswear. It was like she was everywhere.), catching me completely off guard. "I think we should get out of here, no?"

So I followed her, without a word, along the corridor and down the stairs. It was a gut feeling that she would know more about Ceb's situation than I did. Clearing my throat, I said, "Hey, Elly? Can I ask you something?"

"I'll try to answer it, sure."

"Did Ceb ever mention about a brother to you?"

Her cheerful bouncing steps came to a halt, legs twisting her to my direction. "I thought you would know about his brother? I'm pretty sure everyone knows about this, I never thought you'd be asking me about this."

Was I...the exception to this information? Why was this never brought up between us? "Well, we did briefly talk about it today, so I got curious."

"I see, well, he loves his brother a lot, that's basically a fact. I also know that his brother doesn't study in our school because his parents wanted no competition between them or something along the lines of that."

"Is this all you know?" My heart raced, this could not be the only things she knew, right?

"I don't know anything else anymore because, while he used to brag about how wonderful his brother is, we don't know much anymore, because who would talk too much about their brother when they are, you know..."

Ah, I see. Elly had nothing too. Nodding my head understandingly, I said, "Thank you, Elly."

"I need to go now, you wanna come over tomorrow?"

I shook my head, I had something else planned. Well, sort of.

She took off with a small sprint towards the open gate, her backpack managed to somehow not bounce. I was left standing there for a few seconds, before deciding to just head back home and lie down for a bit; my mind was too much of a mess to be thinking about anything.

Tomorrow, I tell myself, I'll try to patch them up tomorrow. But for now...