Always Be Forever

Chapter 7: Michael

2090, BCE, September

"Sorry I'm late"

I hear Mrs. Broke exclaim, entering the classroom close to the end of the block. Alex was well into finishing the test, and I was nowhere near close. There were 30 questions in total, and I was on question 15. I have this weird thing for taking too much of my time at the beginning of the test, and then not having enough time at the end to finish it. Alex is right beside me, so I glance over very subtly, and I write down the answers that he has for questions 16 to 20. "Michael, eyes on your own test," I hear Mrs. Broke say out-loud from the front of the classroom. Alex had now covered his test with his other hand, and I couldn't look. "You have 5 minutes left before the bell rings," Mrs. Broke had told us. Watching the clock hand tick, my leg was shaking, and my hand wasn't moving. I was just watching the clock. Tick tock, tick tock. "4 minutes left," Mrs. Broke says from the front. Continuously looking back and forth between the clock and my test, my body starts shaking more. "Dude, are you okay?" Alex whispers. "I didn't study last night," I whispered back.

"1 minute left," Mrs. Broke says from her desk. Flipping through the pages, I start circling random answers. The bell rings, and I grab my bags from underneath my desk. Going up to the front with Alex, we hand in our tests and leave the classroom. I just hope that I'll be able to get some of the answers to the questions correct. "Were you looking at my test?" Alex asks me as we head out the classroom. "I'm sorry Alex, I didn't study last night, and I already got enough drama going on in my life," I tell him as we go up to his locker. "What drama?" He asks me, as he opens his locker and grabs his lunch. I already have mine with me. "My girlfriend, or was my girlfriend had broken up with me over the summer and I miss her like crazy," I had started. Jacquelyn had come up to us by now. "You don't like me? How could you?" She had asked Alex before hitting him.

"Come on, let's go!" Alex had exclaimed, before he grabbed my hand and we started running down the hall. "No running in the hall!" we hear Mr. Hudson tell us as we run by him. We were faster than Jacquelyn, so we were able to hide behind a corner where she wouldn't be able to get to us. "Do you have your lunch with you?" Alex had asked me once we had stopped to catch our breath. I had shaked my head yes as Jacob and Rain had walked down the hall. "Jacob! Did you tell Jacquelyn what I told you this morning?" Alex had asked Jacob, with his face going red, and about to hit him. "You didn't tell me that you had got a message from Rain, so I paid back the favor," Jacob had told rather rudely. I had to hold Alex back from hitting Jacob; he wanted to hurt him. "Let's focus on a more important matter, getting out of here," I assure Alex. "Right, the bleachers," Alex had reminded himself. We had headed for the field in the back, and we hid ourselves behind the bleachers so no one saw us. I sat down while Alex stood up.

"You know, I have to admit, this is a good place to hide," I tell Alex, taking a bite into my sandwich. "Yeah it is. I hide here from Jacquelyn," Alex had told me. "You're kidding," I tell him, almost choking on my sandwich. "I'm not. So, tell me about this ex of yours," Alex had told me. "It's best I don't go into it, she's the one who broke up with me," I tell him. Thinking of Cashmere brings back memories. "Why did she break up with you?" Alex had asked me. "Apparently she didn't see the spark there between us anymore. I still do, but she doesn't. That's why it didn't work out. Well, that and the fact that I had and still do have a hard time accepting that she's bisexual. I knew I shouldn't have trusted her with going on that trip," I tell him, sighing, looking down at the ground. "What trip?" Alex had asked. I completely forgot to mention that. "It was a trip to her school. She goes to a different school, St. Christina's. We met four summers back at an acting camp. We were together for four years, until she left me for the singer," I tell him, grabbing a stone and throwing it across in anger.

"She had cheated on me with this other girl from her school. I wish I could've told her not to go, but I don't have the authority over her to do that. She's two years younger than me, but it's not enough. I just really want to see her again," I tell him in desperation. "St. Christina's is the school she goes to?" Alex had asked, sitting down beside me. "Yeah she does," I tell him. "Why do you ask?" I ask him. "Well, Big Band night is tonight and the jazz band is playing there. If you want you can come and see her," he tells me. "That's a nice thought, but I don't know if I should. It's best I stay away," I tell him. I don't want Cashmere thinking that I'm stalking her. "Well there's that, or if I come across her I'll let her know that you want to see her," Alex had told. I'm not taking my chances with that one. "You know what? I think I'll come. I never mentioned her name or what she looks like. The only thing that I do know is that I've met her friends, so I kind of have an advantage there," I tell him, remembering how I had met Amy in the second year of dating Cashmere.

"So, tell me about Jacquelyn," I tell Alex, hoping that we can change the conversation before I cry my eyes out because of thinking about Cashmere. "How did that start?" I ask him out of curiosity. "It was the beginning of the year, and on the first day of school, during English, she kept on looking over at me. I didn't know what she wanted at first, until the second week of school when I had found chocolates that were snuck into my locker," he had started. "She snuck chocolates into your locker?" I asked him, laughing at it. I remember when he had told me about it. Alex and I have known each other for a while now. We like to call each other brothers. "Yeah she did. But it did not stop. Every day, I would find something new. Chocolates, sweets, candies, flowers," he had continued. "Flowers?" I had asked. I couldn't stop laughing. "Yes, flowers," Alex had told. "Oh my gosh!" I exclaim out laughing, covering my face. "That's too funny!" I say out-loud, rolling onto the ground. "What else happened?" I had asked. I couldn't stop laughing now; I just wanted an excuse to be laughing more. "Did I ever mention about what happened when I had told her that I didn't want the chocolates and the flowers?" Alex had asked. I don't remember him mentioning it. "I don't think so," I had told him. "I had found her in the library, working on a project with Josephine. Finally getting the courage to say something, I had told: Thank you for the chocolates and the flowers, but I don't need them. I had put the flowers on the table with one of the boxes of chocolate full. The others I ate because I didn't know what I was getting myself into," Alex had told. "That must've hurt her," I had commented, trying not to laugh anymore, while sitting up properly. My sweater now had dirt on it, and I wanted to clean it right away. "Don't worry, it'll clean itself," Alex had assured me. The bell had now rung, and we needed to get to class. "Shit, we're going to be late," Alex had complained before getting up and running to the school.

Later that night, I saw Alex in the classroom at St. Christina's were he had his instrument with him. He plays the French horn in the jazz band. We both play the instrument in concert band, but I'm the only one who doesn't play it in jazz. It's way too complicated for me. "Good luck out there," I tell Alex, giving him a pat on the back. "You too," Alex had told. "Go get her," he had told me before I headed out there. Cashmere's band was already playing, and I had headed out to the dance floor.

I noticed Eleanor, one of Cashmere's friends, with the other dancers from dance class. "Michael! It's good to see you!" Eleanor exclaimed once she saw me. "It's nice to see you too. How has life been?" I had asked her. "It's been pretty good," she told me in a cheery voice. "I don't think you've met the others." Eleanor had told me. "I'm Nicole," the first person had said. "I'm Michael," I had introduced myself. "I'm Nancy," another one of them had said. "And I'm Barbra," the final one had said. "Lovely to meet you all," I had told them. "I feel like I recognize you," Nancy had said, confused. "He's Cashmere's boyfriend," Eleanor had told them. "Oooooh," Nancy, Nicole, and Barbra exclaimed. "Well, actually she broke up with me. But I'm here to win her back, if I find her," I tell them. "Then what are you doing? Go find her!" Eleanor exclaimed, trying to get me off the dance floor.

"I wish I had a boyfriend like that," Nancy had exclaimed once I had left, and went to find Cashmere.