Heart Condition

Chapter Seven: Studying

Joy found me for lunch, and her eager eyes trailed me until I reached our usual spot.

            Our school was in the middle of the city, but they were all about the green living; there was this huge knoll behind the cafeteria where kids sat and ate when the weather was tolerable. But apparently, some of the herds over the years decided they were too cool for fresh air, so we were the primary occupants of the (sometimes) forgiving weather. It started with Joy and I, and then I met Zeda, who was dating Hudson during our freshman year. They broke up not long after Christmas that year, and there was a solid month where Hudson sat in the art room, not talking to us. Eventually, they realized they were better off friends, and we were all reunited. Which was a relief to us, because between the three of us, it got a little difficult to hold conversations. Not that we didn’t like each other; we just didn’t gel quite the same without a boy to mellow out some of our neurotic tendencies.

            When I sat down, Hudson shot me a knowing smile, “Sherlock’s about to ask the big questions. Hide any evidence.”

            “Good eyes, Watson.” I winked, and reached into my bag, “Mom and Daniel brought leftover Zachary’s from Berkley. Want?”

            He shook his head, “Can’t risk it with these railroad tracks in my mouth.” He grimaced, and I nodded; he was so close to getting his braces off, his oral hygiene and awareness could rival the most practiced dentists.

            I sighed, “One day, you’ll get those things off and you’ll feel like a new man.”

            “I promise I won’t forget you when this smile’s winning awards.” He acknowledged, biting into his sandwich, “I do miss the melted cheese, though.”

            Zeda lifted up a stray leaf, burnt red from the autumn weather. She held it up to her bleached white hair, “How about this one?” She shifted her eyes between the contrasting colors, “Too red?”

            “No way.” I chewed, “It’ll make your eyes pop.”

            Hudson smiled, “…Out of your head, like a zombie!”

            “Ha ha.” She mocked, putting the leaf down “I’m scared I’ll stick out too much.”

            Joy plopped down, “What if there’s a massacre and we have to flag you down? ‘POLICE! HELP US FIND ZEDA! SHE’S GOT HAIR LIKE A FIRE! NO, NOT HER HAIR IS ON FIRE!’”

            Hudson laughed, “Zeda is not on fire! Alexis was, but you know, fizzled out a little when they stopped releasing music.” We laughed; I opened up the container, letting the cold pizza fill our circle with the sweet smell of garlic.

            Zeda reached out, “I’ll take that.” She stole a bite of my lunch, and Joy cleared her throat.

            “Alright, since you fools are all about beating around the bush,” She adjusted, sitting cross-legged in front of me, “What were you doing on the back of Sasha Malone’s motorcycle this morning?” My heart started to race, and I wondered how many people saw. It wasn’t supposed to bother me, and it really didn’t when it came to everyone else, but these were my friends; their opinions mattered.

            Hudson choked on his orange, “I’m sorry, what?”

            “Abbie got a ride to school from Sasha.” Zeda ogled, smiling “They hung out by the chain-link next to the junior high.”

            Hudson raised his eyebrows, “The fence? Oh, that’s not so bad. At least you weren’t sneaking into the tech room.”

            Ah, the tech room. The place our school kept all the wiring for rallies and assemblies, where the upperclassman snuck off during their electives to make out. Joy said that her freshman year, when she was the tech intern, she caught Noah once with Jillian Becker when she still wearing a training bra.