Playing His Little Game

28 - Conversing

Hey, getting this update didn't take hardly as long as the others! :) Enjoy your week, and thanks for reading, guys! 

___________________________

“Are you sure you want to go today?” I asked, while putting on my seatbelt.

               “I need to go eventually,” Noah shrugged. “Why shouldn’t it be now?”

               I looked for any sign of distress or anxiety on his face and saw nothing but indifference. Huffing, I slumped in my seat while he continued driving. “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone, Noah. If you can’t do it, then don’t.”

               “I’m going and it’s final.”

               “Funny that you say that because it is finals,” I scoffed.

               Of course we were arguing about school. Noah was persistent about going despite not being in attendance for weeks. I, on the other hand, thought he should have a few more days off to finish up all his work and get his mind more relaxed about everything. It’s only been a few days since Holly’s funeral, which means that it’s been little time since he has come to terms with her death. Since then, he’s been frantically trying to catch up on his work but I know he’s still completely behind despite how much I try to help him.

               “And I’m going to ace them,” he replies to my comment about finals cockily. “Just calm down, Mel.”

               “I will once you stop being stupid.”

               “I’m not being stupid. I’m trying to get my life back in order and by taking this all ‘too fast’ as you like to call it, then fine. That’s how it is going to happen in order for it to be normal again.”

               We didn’t talk the rest of the car ride and when we pulled into the school’s parking lot, I watched him take a deep breath and get out. That split second just confirmed my beliefs that he is not ready for today or for the questions that he’s sure to get about why he was gone for so long. I just didn’t want him to relapse into the solemn, depressed Noah who I have known since Holly passed on.

               I grabbed my backpack and began following him to the school. We didn’t hold hands. We didn’t even touch. We had to go back to the just-friends Noah and Melody like everyone knew us to be. When we got inside, it was like everything stopped as questions were thrown at him left and right.

               “Hey, Noah! Where you’ve been, man?”

               “I missed you! Where did you go?”

               “I heard you were on vacation. How was it?”

               Noah plastered on a fake smile and talked as we walked. “Went on a trip to the tropics for my senior trip,” he lied easily. “Didn’t get tan though, which sucks.”

               I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes at his lies when I caught the look of a certain boy. Sam was staring at the two of us and I remembered back to when I saw him at his mother’s grave during Holly’s burial. He knew that Noah was lying and if he even said one thing, it could put Noah right back to where he was before coming to terms with it. He didn’t need the whole school knowing that Holly was his sister and she had left this world. He didn’t need any more reminders, especially in a place where his family life was practically unknown.

               I immediately left Noah’s side and headed over to Sam to where he stared at me with a knowing look. “We need to talk,” I murmured under my breath.