Into the Realm

Chapter Four: The Windy Lunch// Under the Oak Tree

Robin stared at her with a slack jaw. "Puh-lease tell me you didn't actually say that in front of Keene!"

She stole a French fry from Tessa and dipped it in ketchup, a look of shock still in her eyes. It was lunch time, a few hours after the encounter with Brown, and Tessa had just told Robin about what happened. They sat in the courtyard under the giant oak tree and she noticed that Brown's jerk friends decided to sit outside today as well. Robin stole another fry and took a sip from her drink, a soda bought from the vending machine. Tessa had a bottle of water that sat next to her unopened and she hadn't touched her food yet. She glanced at the group of boys less than one hundred feet away from them and scowled.

"I did," Tessa said. She nonchalantly twirled a piece of hair around her finger and turned back to face her friend. "Is it bad that I don't think I can apologize to him?" She opened her bottle of water and took a long sip from it.

Robin nodded her head. "Uh, yeah? Listen, I know that since whatever he said to you when June passed, you two have hated each other. Maybe it'd be good to just move on. We're going to be seniors next year; isn't it time to give up a childish grudge?"

Tessa pondered her words for a second. She looked over at the group of boys again. They were rowdy, yelling at each other as how boys do, and they threw bits of food at each other. Brown, however, sat at the edge of the table with his friend Archie. Their heads were close together as they discussed something that looked important. They both glanced up in Tessa's direction, as though they felt her gaze, and Tessa quickly turned back to Robin.

"I don't know," she said, looking down at the ground. She pulled at the grass next to her. "We have so much history... it would be hard to forget everything and try to be friends."

"You two don't even have to be friends. Just start with apologizing to him and then work from there. You could just be acquaintances for now. Save the potential friendship for later." She stole another fry and winked. "Besides, his friend over there is cute. It'd be awesome if we could all go on a double date one day."

Tessa made a face. "I'd rather eat the school's mystery meat then date that pig. And Archie? Really? You're way too smart for someone like him." She shivered in the sudden gust of wind. "Hey, do you want to go inside? I'm freezing." She put the cap back on her water bottle and stood. "When did it get so cold? It didn't feel like this earlier today."

"Hey, I like them dumb. What can I say?" she winked. "His red hair is to die for. And the weather is definitely weird." Robin stood as well. She picked up the half empty tray and slung her bag around her. "It's like something made it cold over here on purpose. But that doesn't mean you can't go and say something to Brown."

Tessa frowned and turned to go back into the school. "I'm not going to say anything to him," she said, "Because he'll take it too far and rub something in my face. I can't just go up to Brown without him expecting an attack." She knew that she had gotten a 95% on the Chemistry test; he got a 98%. He was bound to say something to her about it at some point today. Robin shook her head and started towards the school.

"See? This is a perfect opportunity to start apologizing. If you say sorry now, he won't verbally stick you with a sword the next time you two talk."

    The real problem Tessa was facing was the fact that she didn't actually think she could ever ever get along with Brown. He was too much of an indifferent brat to ever change his ways. And the thing about him— besides his undying need to be a nuisance— was that they did used to be friends. The best of friends; inseparable and always giggling about some inside joke. The two of them had a sort of spark that was unusual for a pair so young. They could always tell what the other was thinking and could finish each other's sentences. Then her mother died and everything changed, and now they were enemies.