Connection

Chapter Twelve: Cliff

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Chapter Twelve: Cliff

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"'E said what?" Adam asked, a tone of shock ringing through his voice. Cliff sighed, fully aware he had to explain again. He began to pick at the grass beneath him as he spoke once more.

"I'm not fully sure to be quite honest. It was very scattered . . . seemed like he was talking circles. In fact, at the beginning it seemed as if he didn't plan on talking to me at all. He was apologizing for what happened about the assessment, then he kept complimenting me . . . it was weird. After he sort of explained that some people think whatever happened during the assessment was made up, others think there's something wrong and he said he'd look into it. Said it never happened before."

Jean sat silently, her face scrunched in concentration. Adam was next to her, staring at the ground dumbstruck. Cliff, who had spent the class following his conversation pondering what had just happened.

"Part of the thing that doesn't make sense to me is why he's trying so hard to be nice," Cliff said after a moment of silence. "He's never spoken to me-or any students for that matter-and suddenly he's acting like I'm his son. And have you ever seen him look at kids without exasperation? The only times I've ever seen him it seems like he thinks we're a waste of time."

"Yeah, it sure is weird," Adam agreed. "But ya shoulda heard what 'e was sayin' to those kids we saw 'im with earlier. We went and talked to 'em and they said 'e was bein' all nice and told 'em 'e just wanted to talk and 'improve their relationship.' It sounds like a load of-"

"There's one thing we know," Jean interrupted, shooting a vicious glare toward the kids who had settled next to them, laughing and speaking loudly. The perk of the cold is students rarely spent their free time outside, though there were always some who did. "Something about what happened in the assessment piqued his interest. It seems like that was his true purpose of talking to you."

"That's true," Cliff said, watching the kids as they joked with one another. The bare tree which they sat under swayed creakily as a gust of wind blew over Raven Eye's grounds, ruffling Cliff's hair as he fell deep in thought once more.

Could that be all? Was the mayor truly just interested in what happened with the assessment?

"What do you think he'd do if he wanted to find out more about what happened?" Cliff asked, looking to the other two and pulling his heavy coat closer around him.

"It seems like 'e was pretty set on you understandin' his circumstances," Cliff responded immediately. "Like 'e wanted to make sure ya knew he was tryin' but also had a lot goin' on."

"It does sound like he was really trying to build his image in your head and make himself look not only hard working but cared about you and what was happening," Jean concurred. Cliff shook his head slightly.

"Why now, though?" he muttered, but Jean and Adam, now entangled in one another's arms and joking, didn't hear him. Within seconds, their lips met.

Rolling his eyes, he pulled his essay on limits to the Vanishing Spell and began inspecting it for errors, seeing as they had Limits of Magic next.

After only a paragraph of revising, though, he felt a heavy tap on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Riley staring down at him, a petite girl stood behind her.

"I see they're going at it again," Riley commented, pointing her finger behind Cliff and raising an eyebrow. Pulling apart, Adam and Jean waved and smiled, then were interlocked once more.

He laughed as Riley and her friend sat down across from Cliff, pulling off her heavy jacket, though he couldn't fathom why seeing as it was colder than it had been all year. With a large breath, Riley revealed the reason she was here to speak to him.