The Stake of Us

Ch 9: Let's Talk

Suzy packs her things into her backpack as more students begin to leave their seats.

"This suck, I hate homework." One of Suzy's neighboring classmates said as she put her last book away.

Suzy gives her a sympathetic smile, and the girl slings her backpack over her shoulders "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you, Kelly," Suzy responds before sliding her backpack's strap over her shoulders.

Suzy makes her way toward the exit; she smiles at the boy standing with his back pressed against the wall beside her classroom's door.

But he didn't return the smile, instead, he had a tight expression on his face with a thousand-yard stare.

She leans in closer to him "You're alright, Tristan?"

"Yeah." He responds quietly under his breath, finally meeting her eyes.

He says nothing else, but his eyes remain on her "ok...You're acting weird." Suzy comments.

"Hmm" was all the response she got from the boy in front of her.

Not sure of what else to say, she ignores his strange behavior and begins walking to her next class.

He follows right beside her, a gloomy shadow.

They walk in silence. Feeling uneasy, she glances up at him again.

"How was class?" She asks, trying to break the tension. It's so palpable she can feel it sticking onto her skin.

Tristan looks ahead before his eyes slowly come back down to hers.

A sense of light static creeps up her skin, leaving traces of goosebumps in its wake.

She can't explain it, but sometimes she swears she can sense his mood on her skin when he looks at her. They would leave her feeling these tiny sensations and sometimes it feels like she knows in her gut what he was feeling.

Like when you can smell the air and know it's about to rain.

She never told him of this, it sounds so ridiculous that she's afraid he'll think she's crazy.

But this sensation feels new, it feels so strange that it's making her feel uneasy with worry for her best friend.

They reach the end of the hall where two double doors with a red exit sign face them, instead of turning right to her next class. Suzy decides to pull her best friend's arm and go left toward a much quieter hallway, Tristan lets her lead him down the hallway.

She continues dragging him along until they reach a stairway, but instead of going up. She pulls him to the side and underneath the stairs.

With his back against the wall and both hidden from prying eyes, she looks up at him.

"What's going on, Tristan?" Suzy asks, squeezing her backpack's strap unsure of what to do with her hands during times like this.

"Why are we underneath the stairs?" Tristan asks.

"Because you attract too much attention, but that's beside the point. You're acting weird and I need to know why."

"Not now Suz. This is a bad time." Tristan tries side-stepping around her, but Suzy quickly blocks him from leaving.

"No. We're doing this now."

"I don't want to talk about this." He turns in the other direction avoiding her gaze and tries to sidestep around her. She blocks him again.

"Something is bothering you. And it's bad. We promised we'll talk to each other. If you start this now, I won't talk to you about anything in the future." Suzy said