A Cold Day in December

A Cold Day in December Chapter Sixteen

A Cold Day in December

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THAT SOMEONE WHO COULD

"Mayfair!" Someone yelled from behind me as I traversed the crowded corridor. I stopped and turned, my eyes searching for the one who called me amidst the sea of faces hurrying to get home. "Here!" The voice resounded somewhere to the right, making me and a few others to turn towards that direction. My eyes instantly zeroed in at a girl pushing past some students to get to where I was standing, not recognizing her at all.

After a minute of humbling excuse me's, she finally arrived in front of me, looking as if she had given birth to a turkey. "Hey," I croaked, my mind working overtime to haul anything that would help me pick up hints of her possible agenda.

She tucked strands of her black hair behind her ear before answering, noticing the slightest shaking of her hand. "Um, hi, I'm Carol," she said, uncertain. I tilted my head to the side, eyebrows faintly rising. Once again, she lifted her hand to tuck the hair she just tucked, barely aware of her actions as she stared at me with wide glossy eyes. I tried to wait for her to snap out of her trance until someone bumped me on the shoulder, my fingers losing grip on the books I was holding, dropping them at the space between us on the floor. "Oh my God," she exclaimed, both of us going down on our knees at the same time, our foreheads colliding with each other painfully.

"Ouch!" I groaned, my palm automatically went to rub at my forehead. Tragedy had a way of following me anywhere, I realized, as I sat on the cold tiled floor with my eyes squished shut.

"Uh, I'm so sorry, are you all right?" Carol asked worriedly. I opened my eyes a bit and probably saw a mirror image of my position and wincing face. I nodded, then shook my head to clear my blurry vision. Before I knew it, Carol was on her knees gathering my scattered stuff, modestly apologizing over and over in whispers.

"I'm fine," I sighed, "how 'bout you?" I helped her with the task at hand, grabbing pieces of papers that fell off the books, a few people kindly handing me some that got blown by the wind.

"Don't worry about me," she replied, both of us standing up. "Here are your books anyway." I accepted the books with a polite smile flashing on my face, still ignorant of why she had called me in the first place.

"So, is there anything you want from me?"

Her pupils, which weren't directed at my eyes seconds ago focused on me immediately. "Oh!" She exclaimed, her two hands covering her lips. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to take so much of your time." I just smiled, preventing her from further casting her already down eyes. "Um, well, I actually have a favor to ask you."

In all honesty, I was anything at that moment except surprised. Being asked for favors of all sorts was only a portion of my hefty serving each day. I should've figured from the start.

"All right, tell," I muttered, my frozen smile bleakly right in place.

"Well, I've heard that you and Seth are friends," she started while rummaging inside her bag, obviously looking for something. "And that you two are neighbors. I'm wondering if you could give him this." I stared at the cellphone cradled in her hand, curious and confused.

I cleared my throat, stalling to collect my thoughts. "You're right, Seth and I are…" I mused, her words bringing me to savor the emotions that came to life as I imagined going back in time, journey through what seemed to be an era of pursuance and avoidance gravitating around each other's orbit. Passing each other, but not quite touching, masking one another's existence for perfect harmony. "Seth and I are… neighbors." I finished, washing the feeling away with a little shrug.

A sheepish grin contorted her otherwise pleasant face, relieved and totally dense enough for a girl. "Right!" She thrust the phone nearer me but I didn't as much as made a move to reach for it. She frowned, the nervousness apparently coming back.

"I don't wanna stick my nose into your business with Seth, but I do think you should be the one to personally give that to him."

"That's exactly what I'm doing!" She blurted out, suddenly going on the defensive. "I don't wanna be involved that's why I'm asking you."

I was caught off- guard. "Involved with what?" I inquired a little too frantically than necessary. By then, the thick crowd of people had thinned without us noticing, providing us a safe haven for discussion.

Carol's eyes grew wide as my heart skipped a beat the second the question left my mouth, realizing she had said too much. After repeating the process of tucking her imaginary hair behind her ear a couple of times, she took in a huge gulp of breath then sighed a huge sigh. I knew we were frustratingly on the same page, only she was a few sentences ahead.

"Look, I am in no position to say anything really. Just give this to him, please?" She begged, grabbing my hand and placing the phone on my palm before closing it. "And don't tell him that I gave it to you, okay?" Before I could open my mouth to protest, she twirled and walked away, continuously fidgeting with her hair.

I sighed, looking down at the device. How was I supposed to return it to Seth when we wouldn't even look at each other in first period? No greetings. No waves. Nothing. I was quite impressed at how good he was pretending that I didn't exist, and I couldn't care less at how settled everything was. Seth was definitely a complication I was grateful to get rid of. There was no mistaking it that I did the right thing at telling him a part of my past.

Not even an ounce of regret at indirectly rejecting him.

Rejection. It bothered me for a while with guilt. But more so was my nagging curiosity at the fact that Risto started ignoring me too the exact same day Seth did. It was the morning after I saw Risto coming out of the Goldfine's house; and I couldn't help but imagine some weird connection. Of course the situation we were in now worked for my benefit, but still, it got me all riddled up. Not that I was planning on finding the answer. Whatever it was anyway. I couldn't let it get to me. Hopefully the nagging feeling would cease in no time. Hopefully.

As I trudged to my locker, Seth's phone safely stored in my pocket, I remembered, against my will, that Risto and I haven't talked since his epic ditching of me at the club: of how it changed, somehow, the both of us. He was left physically scarred. I was turned to give my mom a chance to redeem herself. Completely different endings. And now we found ourselves treating each other like strangers. It amazed me how I still became fascinated by the same trivial things as much as the complicated facets of this colossal force we call life. If I'd be given an opportunity to describe it in one word, I'd say life sucks.

Two words? Life sucks, sucks.

Halfway through organizing my stuff inside my locker, my mind carefully skimming through my checklist, the phone inside my pocket started to ring and vibrate. I instantly dropped everything and fished the device out. Chelsea's name was flashing on the screen, making me scowl. Stupid girl should've just surrendered it in the lost and found. Relenting miserably, I pressed the accept button and placed it in my ear, purposefully staying quiet.

"Who are you?" Seth said, making it obvious that he was pissed. I sighed, already in the throes of annoyance at being put under such responsibility. I'd gut Carol like a blow fish if she as much as look at me in the face again. "Eriol?!" Seth exclaimed in a loud voice.

"Yea," I agreed, "it's me." He recognized my sigh.

"Where are you?!"

I gritted my teeth at that. The way he asked me in an accusing tone as if I stole his phone, disgusted me. "By my locker," I responded icily, gripping the device so hard unconsciously.


"I'll be there in a minute," he declared before hanging up. I instantly knew that I was in trouble. Seth was never impolite. Not since I knew him. But I guess it’s true that one can never be certain when uncertainty is the only certainty in life.

It didn't take a full minute before I heard footsteps rushing towards me. I looked up and what I saw made my muscles tense up. He didn't look mad, not by a long shot. He looked furious. Seth Goldfine was mad. I pulled back from the locker I was leaning on and crossed my arms on my chest protectively. As he came closer, his facial expression was that of from a long time ago. Something I had no desire to recount. I stayed silent, eyes darkening and hardening when he halted in front of me, sweat dripping from his forehead despite the cold afternoon weather.

Seconds went by, neither of us speaking, just staring intensely at each other. I sighed once again, a habit I knew he recognized so well. I extended my arm, presenting him his phone. "This is yours, I believe," I mouthed sarcastically, wanting to get everything over with at once for a few people had begun to give us some stares.