Paradise

Chapter Eighteen

Kendall returned to school the following week. On a Tuesday, actually. She swept through the bus aisle, wearing a billowy tunic top over skinny jeans. Her hair was rolled into an elegant yet casual bun on the top of her head, her makeup perfectly applied.

"Hey, girl, where've you been?" one of her friends, a squat brunette with numerous holes in her ears, chimed.

Kendall lowered herself into the girl's seat. I heard enough to know that they were talking and to grasp a few choice words, but not enough to actually hear their conversation. It struck me as odd that she hadn't come to me first.

The girl singled her out. My mind reassured me. What was she going to do? Completely ignore her?

I was just being silly. It wasn't like I'd said or done something offensive to make her stop talking to me, right? Very quickly, I began to hyper-analyze every last word we'd spoken to each other and every minute gesture Kendall had produced.

Nothing added up.

"Maybe she just didn't see me," I muttered to myself as I rose to file off the bus. That was always a possibility. I was just being overly-sensitive, because it was still early and I was tired.

Outside, I caught up to Kendall. "Hey," I said.

"Hey," Kendall said.

"I called you Thursday," I said, brushing back a strand of hair that blew into my face. "Your mom answered, said you'd been sick...."

"The flu," Kendall said. "Sucked all my energy. Couldn't do anything for days, but sleep."

"Wow," I said. "That sounds so awful. Glad you're feeling better now."

We pushed through the big double doors and walked inside. Kendall looked over toward the cafeteria curiously. I followed her gaze, but couldn't find what had caught her interest. Suddenly Kendall turned to me with a smile that almost looked normal.

"Hey, we gotta catch up soon, okay?" she said. "But, for now, I need to get some food in me. Feels like I haven't eaten in forever."

"Sure," I said.

"Talk to you later, then," she said, flashing a grin, and walking away.

I watched her for a bit, feeling perplexed. It was normal to act a little tired after just getting over a bad cold, but this--- There was definitely something off. First, she certainly didn't look like she'd just recovered from a serious illness. She had a glow to her skin, not an ashy sheen. If anything, she looked like she'd just come back from a relaxing vacation at the beach. Second, she hadn't even so much as glanced at me through the entirety of the bus ride. I wasn't convinced she would have even talked to me had I not initiated the conversation outside.

Something didn't add up. Was she mad at me? Had she found out about my crush on Robert? It just didn't make sense. I couldn't understand what I'd done to her. She'd been perfectly fine the last time we'd seen each other....

Maybe it has nothing to do with you.

I wasn't being fair. Actually, I was acting like some spoiled brat. She probably had a lot on her mind. For all I knew, her glow had come from a bottle to cover up the ashy-sheen. Maybe she really was sick, and still felt tired. It wasn't fair to judge her so harshly. I just needed to give her some space, and she'd eventually come around.

The warning bell rang and I jumped. Taking a deep breath, and laughing slightly at my reaction, I made my way through the student-clogged hallway and found myself in my seat right before the tardy bell rang.

* * *

Third block came quickly.

I could hear a bunch of girls gushing over Kendall's hair before I even reached the doorway. I came in to find several classmates surrounding Kendall as she talked pleasantly about some unfathomable topic that sounded foreign to my ears. I couldn't even begin to comprehend what she was saying; it struck me as odd. Usually the only topics to come out of Kendall's talkative mouth were about fashion, boyfriends and things in current media.