The Contract

VIII - Apologia

-

The next day, before classes started, I went searching for Amanda. Last night I had relentlessly thought about Amanda and how I could not afford to lose her, especially over some stupid boy named Matt, who I still hated despite his lame apology. I wanted nothing to do with Matt, and I only wished Amanda could see that.

With my hands occupied with my Algebra binder, I couldn't quite shove people out of my way, so at times I had to impatiently tap my feet against the floor while I waited for some obnoxious boys to quit hogging the halls. I hated when people stood dead center in the middle of a crowded hall and simply conversed. Could you say "annoying" and "unnecessary"?

Finally, one of the boys noticed me and moved aside so I could continue on my way to Amanda's locker. I decided to give him a thankful smile as I walked past him. Finally, I reached Amanda's locker and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw her pulling out a binder.

"Amanda!" I called. She looked up, startled, and upon seeing me, she immediately locked up her locker and practically dashed down the hall, away from me.

I stopped walking and stared after her, feeling something odd tug in the pit of my stomach. An empty feeling of remorse rotted within me while I watched her bouncy hair vanish from my view as she whipped around a corner. I looked down at my shoes, disheartened, then turned to head to class.

-

During Chemicals, I walked into the girl's washroom to get a hold of myself. Amanda was ignoring me, and Matt was beginning to act extremely overly-helpful. I turned on the tap of one of the sinks and gently splashed some water over my eyes to knock myself out of this self-pity parade I had going on. I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror and heaved a sigh. Amanda wouldn't even talk to me.

"Liking it?" Lure's voice purred next to my ear. I looked at him while he leaned away, smiling vividly at my dark expression. I narrowed my eyes at him, resisting the urge to lash out at him only because I held him responsible for this mess. . . even though it was basically my fault. I had gotten myself into this. I had gotten Amanda angry at me.

But, still. Without Lure's wishes, I would have been alright.

Still being bullied, but alright.

I hesitated. Maybe not.

Lure stepped up beside me, resting his hands on the counter, near the middle sink. I took a few steps away from him, but he advanced towards me, letting his hands slide from the counter top. "So," he breathed out, cornering me against the wall behind me, "how's your first real wish going?" he questioned, tilting his head almost mockingly.

"Truthfully," I dryly began, "it's terrible."

"And why, little Kitten, is it going terrible?" he asked, his voice oddly soft. Despite his soft tone, his features darkened slightly; he was obviously displeased that I wasn't happy about the wish. He looked slightly. . . dangerous. I pressed myself against the wall when he took another unnecessary step towards me, making it so hardly any space was between us.

"Amanda is angry at me because she thinks that Matt likes me and she thinks that we have some secret relationship or something stupid like that," I explained in one breath.

Lure smirked and relaxed slightly. "Tell her to suck it up. These wishes affect others, too—"

"—and," I cut in sharply, "Matt's acting like my slave. During English, he kept asking me if I needed to borrow a pencil even though I was holding one. He kept asking if I needed his eraser, or if I needed some extra paper. . ." I paused to glower at Lure's growing grin. "Between every class, he kept insisting that he could carry my books, so when I told him no, he's snatch them from me and would go flying down the hall with them to my next class." I paused to put my hands on my hips expectantly. "You turned him into my slave, Lure."

"Oh, can't you see?" Lure said lightly, batting his eyelashes mockingly at me, "He's infatuated by you, you sexy little thing."

"Oh, please," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "I'm about as sexy as a toad."

Lure only grinned. I gave him a dark look—he was unbelievable. He suddenly took another step towards me so there was basically no distance at all between us. If we could have touched each other, we would have been touching right now, I assumed. His playful expression suddenly turned serious. . . so serious, that he looked almost menacing. "Little Kitten," he murmured, "it's time for your second real wish."

"Already?" I blinked at him, feeling slightly intimidated. Perhaps it was because of his intense gaze; how he refused to look away while he proceeded to imprint his gaze into me, or maybe it was because of his closeness. He was making me feel claustrophobic.

Lure nodded. "Already."

Anxiously, I asked, "Would you mind. . . stepping away?" Lure only shook his head and shrugged. Irritated, I pushed myself away from the wall and walked right through him, then I whirled around with a glare.

"You know, I really don't know why you decided to make Amanda upset," I said breathlessly.

Lure carefully turned around to face me as he spoke: "You made the wish."

"But you made it like it is!" I countered, my voice going shrill.

Lure scoffed and raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, but I'm not perfect, little Kitten. I don't control everything everyone does. If Amanda is a stupid bitch who jumps to conclusions, good for her. It's not my problem, I didn't make her like that."

I narrowed my eyes at him and folded my arms over my chest. "She is not!" I insisted angrily.

"Uh-huh," Lure smirked. "It's human to shift the blame. Why don't you just admit that it's your fault that Amanda is pissed at you?" He only smiled when I gave him a feral scowl. "Now, let's get's to business," he said calmly, stepping towards me. "Make your second wish."

"Okay," I said, jutting my chin up, "make Amanda not mad at me."

Lure looked at the ceiling and mumbled something under his breath. Something about a stupid wish, I'd imagine.

Before I could say another word, he was gone.

-

Chemicals just ended, but thoughts refused to register in my mind. The students around me got up, a dull murmur beginning amongst them, while I stared ahead at the wall, mymind not quite grasping anything. I felt unfocused and confused; a dull throbbing in my stomach.

Butterflies.

Why would I have butterflies?

"Class is over, Katlyn," I heard someone teasingly say. I gave a nod in the direction of the voice and heard them laugh a little and leave. "You're so weird, girl!" the girl called just before she disappeared into the hall. I mechanically stood up, my gaze still trained on the wall, and picked up my binder. At last, as I turned, I peeled my gaze from the uninteresting wall, and left the room. I stopped just a little ways into the hall when I saw Matt and the blond boy he had been bullying earlier.

He was at it again.

The blond boy's binder was laying on the floor, empty, while the papers that had once occupied it were sprawled out across the hall. Matt was currently kicking at the papers as he fired insults directed towards the blond boy who currently looked mortified.

At that moment, Matt glanced up and caught a glimpse of me. He smiled slightly and waved. I turned and walked away, disgusted at both him and myself.