The Art of being Strangers

viii.

Marigold and I walked in silence for a short amount of time before curiosity got the best of her. She started asking me about the fight – if you can even call getting slapped a fight – and I answered her as simply as I could.

"What caused it?" she asked, head tilted to the side.

"Basil," I simply reply.

She remained still for a second, then she sighed, turning her glare towards me.

"You didn't say anything about him, did you? Marigold says.

"How come you think I started it?" I reply annoyed.

Mari's face shifted as she tried to apologize for assuming I started. I kept trying to tell her it was normal for her to assume that, but she still felt bad.

"Don't worry about it. And no, I didn't say anything about Basil. She was the one who started randomly talking about him, you know. I was quite surprised hearing her talk about Basil, but I figured she must've gotten emotional after drinking," I scratch the back of my neck nervously.

"Oh? Well, that was unexpected. Me and Esther talk sometimes, I could say we're pretty close, but she never mentioned Basil before. At all." Mari acknowledges. She paused for a while before asking another question. "What did she say?"

"Let me ask you something first. I know you didn't know Basil but, did you notice something different about him in his last months?"

"Hmm... No, I don't think so. If there was anything weird about him, Ansel would've surely told me. We tell each other pretty much everything, so there wouldn't be any reason for him to hide something like that."

So I was right. Esther was full of lies. "Knew it. Esther kept insisting the last months she spent with Basil were horrible. She said he was acting all depressed and stuff."

Marigold's brow rose. "That's weird. Ansel never mentioned anything like that. If you want, we can ask him about it. But every time I saw Basil, he had a smile on his face."

"She insisted Basil killed himself."

Marigold's eyes widened. "What?"

"Esther kept telling me how she was mad at Basil because he killed himself. She kept calling him ignorant and stuff."

"But that can't be right."

"That's what I said. She got defensive when I called her out on it, though."

"That's why she hit you?"

"Mostly, yeah."

"That's literal bullshit. I'm sorry for making you come, Creek. Now you got yourself an injured cheek. I feel bad."

"Don't, it's not your fault. I really enjoyed hanging out with you and Ansel. I missed having so much fun. Thanks to you two, I had an amazing night."

"But then Esther ruined it."

"Not really. I'm actually pretty glad I got to talk to her."

"How come?"

"Found out her perspective about Basil's disappearance," I smiled.

*

The night was still young when I arrived back home. Mari walked with me until I reached the corner of the street. I told her my house was just around the corner and it was alright if I'd walk alone from that point on. She agreed and pulled me into a tight hug. I smiled and hugged her back. She reeked of alcohol, but I found it weirdly comforting.

I entered the house as quietly as possible. Luckily enough, none of my parents were awake. They sometimes had this habit of staying up late, probably to finish some of their work, so I was quite scared I'd find them at the front door, screaming at me for being so late.

I made my way to my room and slowly closed the door behind me. Tonight was wild. I got to find out a bit of Basil's past which made me excited. But at the same time, I regret not talking more to Ansel about him. I didn't know if this was my last chance or not to talk to Ansel. Either way, I had fun talking with him and Mari.

Today was Friday so I assumed I was not going to see Basil until Monday. I never thought I was going to see Basil outside of school. I guess I had this image stuck in my head where he was telling me about the fact that he was not able to leave the school's grounds.