Requisites Of Life

Chapter 24

Amelia

People are interesting, to say the least. One moment they can be the last person you would expect to show you affection and compassion, and the next, they're hugging you in a time of brokenness and vulnerability. When I opened up to Cooper about what Zeke did to me, his kind words, caring demeanor, and compassionate acts of support didn't come as a surprise. Cooper's the laid-back, there for you in your pain kind of guy. Daniel, on the other hand, is more apathetic, and typically shows his care through distant acts. One thing that we had in common was our temper. If you put our fuses in the right conditions, pouring enough gasoline over them and setting a spark that really gets us going, we could burn stubbornly for hours. 

So when Dan's anger suddenly evaporated into the lithosphere, and his arms were wrapped around me, I thought the world had stopped spinning for a fleeting second just as my mind did. It took me a moment to react, to process the fact that Dan was trying to give me comfort and affection, and decide how to respond to it. Eventually, I let my muscles relax and carefully leaned into the embrace. 

He wasn't hugging me tightly, but it felt secure, like a reminder of some sense of safety I had forgotten existed. A childlike feeling of protection. It was a feeling that stuck with me long after he drew away from me and gave me a small lecture on how I shouldn't avoid the things that bother me. (At least emotionally. If someone was annoying me in any other way, or messing with someone I loved for that matter, my short fuse just might come in to the picture.) The feeling lasted well after I went home that night, the events of the day still standing fresh in my mind. 

I was so distracted by that moment and the moments thereafter that I almost forgot I'd gotten into a fight the day before. Of course, we live in a world full of mirrors and reflective glass, so even if you wanted to ignore your mess ups--whether that be smeared lipstick, untamed hair, or a black eye--it's hard to not be reminded of them. 

It was just a cut lip and a black eye, and they were fading pretty quickly, too. In fact, the bruise was hardly noticeable by the time the weekend was coming to a close. 

I wondered if people looked at me at thought I won a fight, or lost one. 

I knew for sure by the look on Holly's face Monday morning that she thought I was the sore loser--literally. If she did assume so, she wasn't wrong. Didn't have much hope in one of her best friends, but for good reasons, I guess. "My God, Amelia, what happened?" she exclaimed. 

I quickly shushed her, people around the room already landing eyes on me. I wasn't in the mood to explain to dozens of people that I got into a fight. "I got into a fight." 

Her eyes widened. As soon as the words left my mouth, she forgot that I was trying to keep us quiet. "With who?" she squealed. 

I shot her a look and said, "Some kids who were picking on Cooper." 

"Aw! It really is true love," she cooed, hand pressed to her heart. 

My cheeks heated up. "Don't tell anyone." 

"Don't worry about it," she winked. "Your secret's safe with me." 

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After PE, when everyone was scattered around the locker room and changing out of their sweaty clothes, a couple girls that stood a few lockers down said "Yeah, that's her. She's in my third and fourth period." I glanced over to see them looking my way. They aren't talking about me, are they?

My question was answered when they approached me after shutting my locker. One was a Hispanic girl with jet black hair, and the other, a short girl with crimpy hair and a lopsided grin. 

"Hey, Amelia," the Hispanic girl greeted. I think her name was Maria, if I remembered correctly, and I think I've heard someone call her petite friend Becca. 

"Hi," I smiled. 

"So how did you get that bruise?" Becca asked. 

I mentally debated whether or not it would be worth it to tell the truth. What if one of them saw the fight the other day? I decided to go with my morals, and to stay on the safe side, told the truth. "I got into a small fight. It was my fault." 

"Is it true that you were sticking up for someone?" 

My expression fell flat. "What do you mean?" 

"Well, we heard that you were sticking up for a boy who was getting picked on," Maria said, "and we wanted to know if that was true. It just sounded pretty sweet of you to do." 

"Where did you hear this?" 

"We heard it from a friend who was next to Sarah when Holly told her." 

It took a second for me to process what she was saying, but when I did, the blood that had drained from my face rushed back with anger. "Holly told her?" 

"Well, Holly told Sarah," Becca explained. "But Raine was standing nearby, and you know Holly, she can get a little loud when excited." 

Why did she have to tell it to anyone in the first place? 

"Are you okay?" Maria asked, the soft look in her eyes examining my face. 

I forced a smile and nodded. 

Becca had already started to walk away when Maria brought her voice down and said, "We don't have to spread it around if you don't want. I can even talk to Raine if you'd like and ask that she doesn't tell anyone else." 

This time my smile wasn't so forced. 

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"I said I'm sorry!" 

I let out a deep sigh, my temper flaring. "What part of don't tell anyone do you not understand?" 

"Oh come on, it's common knowledge that that doesn't include your best friend!" Holly pleaded. "And I only told her!" 

"You shouldn't have told anyone!" I said, walking away from her. She refused to let me have the last word and leave it at that. 

"People were bound to find out you got into a fight, anyway! Didn't you say there were some people around when it happened?" 

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned on my heel, facing her with a renewed look of annoyance. It was hard to imagine the look with a bruised eye and cut lip adding to the edge of it.  "It's not the fight I care about," I said, lowering my voice. "It's rumors about Cooper I don't want going around. He had no part in it, and he shouldn't have to deal with people talking about him for something I did." 

"He really is all you care about, isn't he?" she scoffed. "Why don't you spend the little bit of time you spend hanging out with me with him, then? It's not like it's much time, anyway." 

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Are you jealous or something?" 

She crossed her arms in from of her chest, looked me right in the eye, and said, "What should I be jealous of?" 

In the end, we ended the argument by storming off from one another. Me being pissed off, and her convinced I was overreacting, we didn't want to waste time bickering and shooting variations of the same points at one another. Points like me talking about Cooper more than she liked, and her spending most of her time with Sarah anyway. Points that kept us going in the same circle until we both stomped in opposite directions of the hall, and maybe, in opposite directions of our lives.

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Hey! Thanks for reading once again. I got my wisdom teeth out the other day, and my phone is broken, so now, since I haven't been able to play the violin or get on my phone, I've been spending more time writing and thinking. What are the things you spend most of your time doing? 

Thoughts on the chapter? 

On the book so far?