Being Shot

P h o t o #35 - This Damn Dopey Grin Of Mine

P h o t o #35 - This Damn Dopey Grin Of Mine

A long, exaggerated sigh escaped my slightly chapped lips. I reached into my pocket and grabbed my lip balm, once again applying another thin coat.

The air had significantly dried this past week, and my skin was particularly sensitive to this seasonal change. I had already begun the yearly routine of lathering my pale body every night in moisturizing lotion so my skin stayed hydrated.

A chill ran up my arms as I, once again since the day it had happened two weeks before, thought of what Elliot had said to me.

"Are you sure you should be so nonchalant with a guy with you alone in your home like this?"

I ruffled my messy hair, exasperated. My response was as delayed as it could be, a simple, "Why do you ask...?". It was all I could muster as I tried wrapping my head around his motives, never considering what he had said to me before.

"No reason." He replied, and we continued eating in silence until he excused himself, saying that his father must've cooled down by that time. A thank you, a slight trip on the brown rug in front of the front door, and he was gone.

I blinked lazily at the front board, barely looking downward as my hand scribbled away, copying the history notes I was viewing. The sound of my purple ball-point pen against my spiral notebook's paper was almost comforting to me in the semi-silent classroom. Of course a few kids took advantage of our teacher's old age and decided that whispering wouldn't reach his aged ears.

Every movement seemed to be lethargic. The slip of my thick dark blue cardigan off my right shoulder, the bouncing of my dirty shoe laces as I tapped my feet to the rhythm of my writing, the twitch of my left hand, an involuntary action.

Somehow, such a small question had me utterly rewired. I quickly realized on the first day of school after that incident, once I was forced to face Elliot in Honors Trigonometry/Calculous my eyes seemed to be unable to meet his. Also, when I recalled memories of our embrace, my entire body suddenly overheated. I couldn't yank my coat off fast enough, which was definitely something, since my frail body always kept me grasping for the nearest source of heat.

Innocent eyes stared at me from my left, causing me to peek through the long tufts of hair shielding most of my face. Cooper looked at me with concern, "Are you okay?" He mouthed, his cheeks slightly rosy.

A smile twitched at the corners of my lips, his interest in my wellbeing yanking me out of my slump a bit. I nodded, mouthing back a thank you. His eyes were only moderately doubtful.

I turned back to the board, only this time my hands fell short once I realized how quickly Thanksgiving break was approaching. How my grandmother had invited Elliot to our home. How I would have to spend a night of board games, Family Feud, and food bingeing with him, a tradition my grandmother and I would try (and fail miserably, considering I never obliged to her whims most of these years) to fulfill each year.

Immediately, I threw back my hands, sharply tightening my long ponytail. I had acquired this habit quickly once I realized it helped me clear my thoughts a bit. Heat flushed my body at the image of Elliot and I, alone, together in my home.

'Wait, no, grandmother will be there so...' I thought, only to close my eyes in silent defeat, 'Unless she gets the bright idea to leave me alone with my...friend. That or she'll eat too many sweet potatoes again and fall asleep on the couch before the 5 p.m. sun can even set.'

My old silver flip phone buzzed against my upper left thigh, reminding me that I had completely forgotten about slipping it into my legging's waistband during last period lunch when I had almost gotten caught texting Kayla by one of the roaming teachers. Maybe it was the fact that they would take away the device from me, or the thought of the lecture I'd be given by my grandmother if she had found out I had my phone out in a non-emergency situation during school hours. Either way it was enough to have me slipping it in there to hide without a second thought.