STATIC (LGBT)

Chapter 53

“Alright.” I heard that Patrick said as he stretched the red exercise band back between their bodies, “Level your feet so they are at the same width as your shoulders... Yes, like that. Now pull your hand slowly to touch your shoulder, hold for five seconds, let go slowly and at ninety degrees hold again for five more and stretch your arm. We're going to do that five times twice. Okay, Zoë?”

“Yeap.” Zoë huffed as she tried to do what her dad had just instructed. “Got it.”

I looked down at my iPod which laid on my legs. The earphones where hanging in my hand as I played with them during my resting time. It was 3pm. Wednesday. In the last couple of weeks of school where we were allowed to leave early. We used it to our advantage, at least Zoë did. Her dad would come from work an hour earlier since he changed his schedule. Now he starts at 6.30am rather than 7.30am, and leaves at 2.30pm.

“Good.” He said. “Now...”

I put one my earphones back on and flipped through the pages inside my folder. I had to go there today because if not it would be too late and we wouldn't have enough time to prepare...

I glanced back up at her and stared at her concentrated eyes. She looked like usual: focused on the task even if she didn't want to be doing it. It's in her nature being able to put her mind into something and block everything else out... yet if you knew her you'd understand that it takes all of her energy to do it continuously if she has to fight herself for it. Likewise is the case lately....

On my side I found myself feeling a little lonely as well. Lonely in the sense that there was something missing for me, someone. Seeing Jessica's phone number in my Contacts list was really a shocking moment. I wasn't really doing anything, just going through the list to check who's numbers I had. It had increased throughout these last few months... and the people I had called the most were Zoë and Jessica. Actually, the one at the top of the list was Jessica.

It's hard to admit it to myself but I had, typically, not realized how much closer we had become. At first it had just seemed like an occasional friendship but eventually our calls and conversations became much more than just updating on my relationship with Zoë. She'd give me advice, we'd start joking around, she'd call me instead of Zoë sometimes to invite us over to her place, I'd text her to say that we were coming... and we would talk together about Heather, Matt, Simone and Zoë. Of course, it was the same thing she did with Zoë but, somehow, it was different.

She could help me understand what to do with Zoë right now. Or, maybe, we'd help each other.

And she's not here. Not like always because this is not an always.

“Thought you would call soon enough.” I heard Heather sigh when I called her yesterday. “Want to talk about it?”

“I don't think so. You probably talked enough about it with Simone.” I said as I clicked down a list on an Excel document in my laptop. I remembered what Heather said. That Simone lost her mom in a crash as well.

“Yeah...” Heather said pausing a few seconds before continuing. “How is she doing?”

Now it was my turn to pause. “Not so good.”

“She's probably the worst off.” Heather said and that's why I had to comment.

“You too.”

“Not really...Yeah.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“You probably did too much with Zoë already.” Saying

And that's how we ended up deciding to meet up today. She was probably heading out of school by now. It'd take me around ten to twenty minutes to get there so I should probably start leaving right now.