J - A Special Handshake
Kara completely ignored me the next day. I was used to it. She does it almost everyday. She stared down into her bowl of cereal as we ate at the long dining table. My family made sure that we would always eat together except for lunch since everybody's out for work or school or for other things. We all ate quietly, the clanking of our spoons and forks were the only noise in the room.
"You two better hurry up." my father ordered. I swallowed the last bite of egg as Kara finished her cereal. She kissed our parents goodbye and dashed out. I followed her after I kissed my mom goodbye. She was already in the driver's seat of her car. Yes, she has her own car. She had one before I do. She drives me to school which is embarrassing on my part. I should be the one driving her but no. She always insists because it's her car. I got in and placed my bag at my feet.
"What took you so long?" she remarked and stepped on the gas pedal, hard. We zoomed through and out of the subdivision. Kara is a decent driver but this particular morning, it seemed that she wanted to die. Well, to kill me.
"Kara, slow down." I ordered her.
"No." She replied coldly, her eyes focused on the road. She swerved in and out of traffic.
"Kara, we're going to get caught. Seriously." I warned her. She still didn't slow down.
"No." She said then briefly looked at me. At that moment, a car was coming towards us. Kara saw it just in time and swerved. We both held our breaths until we stopped at the right side of the road.
"Jeff, are you alright?" she asked me, her breathing hard and slow.
"Yeah. You?"
"Yeah." We stayed there until we were able to catch our breaths. This time, Kara drove in a normal speed. I still gripped the door handle. I glanced at her hands and saw them holding the steering wheel tightly.
"Do you want me to drive?" I offered. Her hands relaxed.
"No. You can drive when you get your own car." She answered. I smiled. Good, we're back.
We were able to stay out of trouble for the next twenty minutes. She dropped me off happily. Once I stepped out and closed the car door, she sped away, leaving a cloud of dust and smoke from her car. I shook my head and went in. The school guard greeted me and I walked directly to the faculty room. It was empty. I placed my bag on my chair and walked outside. I walked around again but not in circles. It's odd that I hardly ever encountered a student until Czerina came. She was arm in arm with her friend Natalie. And they were laughing. I stepped in front of them. Their laughing fit stopped instantly. They quickly shared knowing glances then Natalie proceeded to the stairs and left Czerina and I alone.
"Good morning." I greeted her.
"Good morning, sir." She greeted back. She stared down at her feet.
"Is there something wrong with your feet?" I asked her, quite upset that she's not looking at me.
"Nothing, sir." She replied, still staring at her feet.
"Then look at me." I saw her right hand grip the handle of her bag tightly as she looked at me. Her eyes looked directly at mine. She gave me a piercing stare.
"Ms. Jackson, why can't you look at me directly? Do I really have to tell you to look at me every time I talk to you?" I asked her, my mind on the edge of irritation.
"I'm sorry, sir." She said. She's staring at her damn feet again.
"Czerina, please look at me." I pleaded. She stared into my eyes again but this time, her eyes were soft.
