Eternal.

Chapter Three

The next morning at school a decided to go see April since I haven’t seen her since that last meet on Thursday. “Hey” I gave her a smile as I walked up. Sayre and Winslow were already sitting next to her on the hallway floor. “Hey” her voice was quiet as she scratched her head. “What’s up?” I sat down next to her. She leans her head back against the brick wall of the science wing. “I’m so tired Bridge” she closed her eyes. “Go to bed early” I told her with more of a commanding voice. “I can’t” she whined “I’ve got a problem, Bridge” April spent her nights watching anime until three AM. I’ve seen a few, but I couldn’t be into it like April and her trio. “April look!” Sayre punched April’s arm and shoved her pink cell phone in April’s tan face. I thought about seeing Alexavier who was probably in the library on the computer; that’s where he turned when I said I was going to go see April. April shot my attention back to her. “Do we have track tonight?” that’s when I remembered too. “Yes.” I said. And she whined. I understand, I would rather just go home after school instead of staying here an extra two hours on a Monday. I looked at my clock wishing school would start sooner. 7:25. Ten minutes.

I sat there in silence almost the entire time. April was my best friend, but I got little attention from her when her other friends are around. Sad to think about really, it’s just her, Alex, and Lynn. Alex pays a lot of attention to me, so I don’t complain. I wish I paid as much attention to him as he does to me, but instead I get lost in myself, lost in thought, lost in what I want to do and where I want to go.

The bell rang, finally. I hurried to first class. In second class, Global studies, while everyone was finishing up their work, I sat back in my desk because I was done. I looked out the window, the sky looked a bit grey, odd weather for spring, it’s still a bit colder than it should be. I thought I saw the boy outside the window. Just for a few seconds, I thought I saw the boy from Monkey’s, and from the track, floating outside the classroom window. Was he looking at me? I couldn’t quite tell. His hands were cupped over his face being squished against the glass. In an instant he was there, and another instant he wasn’t. Strange because the Social Studies wing is on the second floor.

The rest of the day flashes of the boy ran through my head. I tried as best I could to ignore it. He’s nothing. He’s no one. If he is, he’d be a figment of someone else. Someone I couldn’t care about. I had forgotten his smell, but I remember it was strange. I had forgotten the color of his eyes, but I know they were burning with old and new.

I had some free time in class. I had just finished a quiz and could get started on tonight’s homework. But then I got a rhyme in my head. One I made up. I haven’t exactly written anything in a long time, especially not poems, but here I go. I couldn’t find any blank paper, so I grabbed an old worksheet from my binder and was happy to find a blank white backside. I wrote:

Eyes of new and old,

As deep as the sea,

Golden eyes as cold,

As eyes that watch over me.

I stopped and read it over in my head about five times. I wrote that so fast I didn’t know what came over me. I still felt it though, that old rush of getting feelings out on a page. I sat there and thought for a minute.

Meet me there.

Run across the track.

I never watch you leave,

Please, come back.

I looked out the window, the sun shined so warmly in. Then I remembered him in the window of my Global studies class on the second floor. How could he have been there?  He couldn’t have been an angel, I don’t see them anymore. I did, when I was little, I was sure of it, but now I try to undermine the strange things. I felt like an alien, so I stopped talking to the angels and started being ‘normal’ that only helped a bit, I still feel like I’m from another time or planet most of the time.

After school I went into the locker room to change for track. Girls were changing bras and shorts and putting on deodorant and perfume that made me sneeze. I got to my locker and used the combination; once it opened I quickly grabbed my track uniform and hid in a corner where I thought none of the girls could see me. They were all laughing; I didn’t see April here yet. I slid off my T-shirt and slipped into my blue and gold VALLEY REGIONAL tank top. I almost tripped getting out of my jeans; I didn’t take my shoes off while changing like everyone else did. I pulled the rim of the uniform top over the rim of my shorts. There are about seventeen girls on my track team. By the time I was finished there were about eleven left in the locker room. I put my regular clothes back into my locker. When I closed it April came up to me in her uniform. She sagged against the locker next to mine. “Ready for hell?” she asked with a disappointed voice.  I chuckled, “Yes.” I said. I don’t necessarily like practice after school all that much, but running on the track makes it worth it. April joined the team the same time I did. I told her one day that I was going to go for it and she said she’d been thinking about it too. We joined as an activity we can do together. I don’t think her passion is at all in to running. She told me that she joined because she knew she was a fast runner, and she was. But to me it was the same thing as being an artist. You can paint and have people say your paintings are good until they’re blue in the face, but if your heart’s not in it, don’t do it. We walked out to see girls stretching and our coach still wasn’t here. April and I stood right next to the shady bleachers and started stretching off of each other. “So, how are you?” she asked pulling one arm to her left by the other. “I’m good, how are you?”

“Tired.” she said. I smiled, “You’re always tired.”

“I’m always cold, too’ she rubbed her hands together as if she was trying to makes a fire. e walked oiu

Suddenly we heard the buzz of coach’s whistle, it startled me. He held up a clipboard and called “Katarina, Ivy, you’re up. Run around the track twice and come back.” the girls line up on the track starting line. Coach’s eyes were not visible under his UCONN hat. Coach blew his whistle and the girls jetted off. “I hope I don’t get paired with Heather over there again” April mumbled and crossed her arms over her chest. A couple weeks ago Heather and April were assigned to run the track together, April says Heather tripped her on purpose so she’d fall behind. “You won’t be” I told her so she wouldn’t be mad, but I was never certain. I feel sad I can’t share April’s anger with her. I never get tripped on purpose, I don’t have a dad to sit around and eat all the food, and I don’t have teachers on me at school all the time about work. I am left alone.

“Brigitte and April.” Coach called. He looked at each other with relief and we stood on the starting line. Coach blew his whistle, and off April and I ran. I didn’t see the other girls by the bleachers, I didn’t see coach, I didn’t see the tar in front of me, all I saw was April’s competitive look. And I was determined to beat it.

I ran with more space in between my legs than normal, April saw me and did the same. We raced each other beyond the limit coach wanted. Coach blew his whistle telling us to come back. We ran back to the team and almost ran into the bleachers.We both laugh at each other but coach’s face didn’t look as amused as ours were. Understanding his fiery eyes we sat down on the bleachers in a bit of shame, yet no shame at all. Another pair of girls stand at the starting line. April and I sat on the bleachers as our unspoken punishment from going too far out. I looked left and right on the fields. Looking for something I didn’t know. I looked at the gravel parking lot; none of the cars there was that old car that came up when I was running on Sunday morning. “You okay?” April asked, and she scrunched up her face looking at mine. I looked at her. “Fine, why?” I unconsciously fiddled with the small collar of my V-neck uniform. “Oh nothing. You just look—“ I cut her off, “Tired” and she gave a look of understanding.

It was 4:00. Practice was almost over. I was tired, I couldn’t wait to go home and fall asleep. Coach blew his whistle “Alright see you all Thursday!” he threw his hands up like he gives up. I’m sure we’re all tired. Just one more meet we have to suffer though. April and I walk back to the locker room. “Do you need a ride?” April asked walking limply. “No” I said, although I wasn’t sure if I had a ride myself, if I didn’t I’d walk home. “Okay” And she walked away to her locker, I walked away to mine. After I changed I put my uniform back in my locker, grabbed my phone and waited for April. Girls threw their sports bras all over the floor and threw their shorts all over the benches. I couldn’t wait to get home.