Soul Search

The Mysterious Friendship of Julia and Greg

    It's been a while since I've had a good morning. This morning was worse because it was chilly. I didn't really like the cold at all, so Minnesota wasn't the best place for me weatherwise, or New York for that matter. I could suck it up and deal, so today I wore a thick jacket. I half expected it to snow, even though it was March. I survived though, and even manage to make early like I always do.

    Turns out someone else had the same idea.

    I saw Greg coming from a few meters away and silently prayed that it wasn't me he was coming for. Turns out I was destined to have a miserable morning that day.

    "I have detention for the whole week now Halabi." He sneered. "I heard someone snitched, and I know it was you."

    "I don't know what you're talking about." I replied stiffly, I hadn't actually told anyone besides Abby.

    He sneered at me, the freckles on his face squishing together, and suddenly pushed me up against the wall. I gasped, not expecting that, and leaned away as he insisted on getting his face right up in mine.

    "I would prefer if you stayed out of my business." He growled, his voice cracked.

    I wasn't freaking out. I wasn't freaking out. I felt strangely calm and tepid, what the heck? I actually had the audacity to push his face away from mine.

    "I would prefer if you stayed away from mine." I snapped back.

    Whoa. That actually just came from my mouth. My mouth, me, nervous jittery Micah who couldn't talk to people without stuttering. What in the world compelled me to say that?

    "Why you-" Greg hooked back his fist, probably to punch me, when all of a sudden he was ripped off of me.

    I slid to the ground, the alive buzzing feeling suddenly evaporated. Abby was in front of me.

    "Get away from him you creep!" She said angrily, putting up her fists.

    I know for a fact, that everyone knows Abby can through a mean punch. Greg glanced at her suspiciously, then spit at her feet before running off. I was still breathing heavily when Abby helped me to my feet,

    "Are you okay?" She asked, brushing me off.

    "Yeah." Then I grinned like a mad man and she gave me a weird look.

    "Did you hear what I said?" I asked her, almost jumping up and down.

    She shook her head, looking confused.

    "Well Greg was all like 'get out of my business' and I pushed his head, then I was like 'you get out of mine!' It's was the coolest thing I've been done." I grinned again. "Wow, I feel great."

    She smiled at me. "Wow, that's actually pretty brave for you."

    "I know!" I replied happily.

    She shook her head. "You are full of energy this morning. Anyway, do you wan to hear what I found out?"

    I blinked. "You found out stuff already?"

    She shrugged. "I made some calls, to a few old friends who had friends who were old friends of Julia. Get this, do you remember Greg in freshman year?"

    I thought about for a bit. "No, I don't."

    Her eyes glinted. "Well apparently, Julia started hanging out with him at the end of the year, because nobody else seemed to remember him either. That's when he started becoming more of a bully, or at least intolerant of other humans."

    "What changed?"

    "I don't know. I'm pretty sure only Greg knows the answer to that one. Now we know that Greg and Julia have been friends for years." Abby asserted.

    "They sure don't act like it." I said, somewhat bitterly, then a thought suddenly struck me. "Abby, you don't think they're...soulmates do you?"

    Abby stopped in her tracks. "Holy guacamole, what if they are?"

    We both stared at each other for a second.

    "I guess all we can do is watch them." Abby concluded.

    That's all I could think about for the rest of the day. I stared at Julia in history, more than I usually did, and wondered if she really was in love with Gregory Smith.

    That afternoon in play practice Alex was telling everyone how he got beat up by Greg. He had a large crowd and was enjoying the attention, he didn't mention me however. I figured he must have mentioned me to a teacher. I was more focused on learning my part of Friar Lawrence. Abe, as cool and quiet as he usually was, seemed to stare at me. I wondered what his problem was. It was and interesting day. I went home and finished my homework, then decided to sleep off the stress with an early bedtime.