Masks

Chapter 23

And with the sky as the road ahead,
It left its past behind.

~~~

The break felt short for almost all the students at school. Almost.

Quinn, who had decided to finish all his remaining homework on the first day of break, had the rest of the two weeks to rest. Each year, his parents gave him mercy only during the school year, which means they never gave him extra homework when he was in school. Most of his break was spent in his room, or occasionally running errands for his mother.

On the contrary, Violet was busy. Mrs. Waters' controlling attitude returned in full flow once Violet arrived from school on her last day before the break. Her shift returned, and took up almost her entire afternoon. She would have wanted to finish all her homework on the first day like Quinn did, but she was made to clean the upstairs rooms once she got back.

As much as she enjoyed breaks, she was relieved to return to school once it was over. Mrs. Waters excused her on the last day, the only day she decided to sleep early the entire week.

That day was almost like any other day in the small town. The school environment had a—just a bit more—gloomier atmosphere, as students walked into the high school in the uniforms they didn't have to wear in the past two weeks. Most students spaced out once they arrived at their home room, sometimes chatting to their peers about their—mostly uneventful—holidays.

Like every school day, Violet and Quinn walked to school the first Monday back. Both would have wanted to spend some time during the break together, but due to Violet balancing chores and doing her homework, they weren't able to find any time for it. So, in a way, they were both glad school had begun again.

  But that was a while back. Now begins the second week of February.

~~~

  "Everyone seems quite excited about something." Violet mused as the two walked through the school gates that Wednesday morning.

  "Easy. They're all excited for Valentine's Day." Quinn replied. "Same thing every year. Do you not celebrate it back home?"

  "You really think that I, a resident of Paris, also known as the "City of Love," wouldn't celebrate Valentine's Day?" She reminded him. "But I guess I'm really the one to talk. It's taken quite seriously in France, and is a holiday only for lovers. So of course, there was never anyone for me to celebrate with."

  "It's taken that seriously?" He remarked. "Luckily for you, Valentine's is also celebrated amongst family and friends here, so feel free to even give Mrs. Waters a gift for housing you while you're here."

  "Yeah. No."

  ~~~

  The question had never struck them so hard before: confess, or hold back?

  They both figured that they could hide their true intentions by simply giving the other a gift as friends, but both considered it a cowardly action. Then again, they would both admit to be cowards anyway, as they were too scared to face the reaction of the other.

  Violet wanted to take advantage of the fact that Valentine's Day was also celebrated among friends. She would have probably made him a card and dismiss it as an act of friendship, but she figured that she was too unfamiliar with the traditions in a new place and might end in a misunderstanding. With her inexistent experience with romantic feelings, she found no way she could possibly confess to her only friend discreetly.

  Quinn on the other hand wanted to take advantage of the fact that Violet never really celebrated Valentine's Day before, and concluded that she wouldn't be familiar with any of the holiday's traditions, especially in Scarlettview. It was common for his fellow classmates to make handmade pastries for their love interests, but he had almost no experience in baking. He'd also contemplated taking her to another cafe, but since it was Valentine's Day, he'd be more nervous to do so and was afraid she'd figure out his intentions before he could tell her himself.

  If only they truly knew each other's feelings.

  ~~~

  "Seeing people confess on Valentine's Day makes me question their standards." Quinn chuckled as the two walked home from one of the only days the school ever felt lively. "I swear, everyone here's either gloomy or just completely done with the world."

  "I'm sure you'd be able to see their more likable traits if you went ahead and talked to them." Violet sighed. "But you're Quinn."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" He raised an eyebrow. "Then again, you're technically not wrong. I'm just as antisocial as ever. After all, you're my only friend here."

  "Is there a problem with that?"

  "N-No..." He trailed off, not meeting her eyes which probably glared at him. "It's the norm here though. A lot of people at school seem pretty much just as boring as I am."

  "Come on, you're not lame!" She smiled. "Let's see, you're really good at school, you like to write, you're actually quite good at sports..."

  "Sounds like I'm just a typical nerd."

  She frowned. "Quinn's a good listener and would do anything to help a friend in need. He does what he can to make his friends happy, to name some traits people don't typically see unless they get to know you."

  "You sure you're not talking about yourself now?" He grinned. "In my eyes, Violet is thoughtful of others and the world around her. She does her best to raise the spirits of those who are feeling down."

  "Let's just say that we both aren't lame." She concluded.

  "Whatever we just did right there seemed pretty lame to me." He remarked. "I'm sure friends don't spend a good five minutes trying to compliment each other."

  "All relationships are different." She said. "Everyone does their own thing. This aspect is unique to ours."

  ~~~

  "I'll see you tomorrow morning." Violet waved as she approached the front door of the Waters' house.

  "W-Wait, I have something for you." Quinn called to her before she could enter, trying to grab something from his bag.

  "Here." He handed her a long pink box. "For Valentine's Day. As friends."

  "Oh right!" She pulled out a red pouch out of her own bag. "Same here, I got something for you too."

  "I'll open it in my house, won't want my mom getting mad at me or Mrs. Waters angry at you." He smiled. "See you in the morning."

  She waved back, walking back to the Waters' house. Smiling to herself, she looked down at the pink box.

  "Quillon Hayes!"

  She immediately turned to look at her friend's house, finding Mrs. Hayes on their front porch, yelling angrily at her son.

  "Was that a Valentine's gift you just gave her? You're falling for her, aren't you? I told you that you could be her friend, but I absolutely will not allow you to date her!"

  "Wh-What? No! You've got it—"

  "Well, how many bad grades have you been hiding? She's been influencing you to rebel, hasn't she? You only have one job, and that is to focus on your studies. I knew it, she was a distraction after all!"

  Before he could defend himself, Mrs. Hayes slapped his cheek and kicked his leg. He fell to the ground, and she began kicking his limbs.

  He didn't move, defend himself nor fight back. His arms and legs were folded into his chest as his mother continued beating him, purple bruises appearing all over them.

  Violet could only watch in horror from the Waters' doorstep. She stood there for a few seconds, before running into the house and locking herself in her room, too scared to do anything else.