Sandcastles

Chapter Twenty-Four

Who would have known that near the ending of our school year, my only friend in our grade would be my brother? Well, many people probably would have said that. But for a while, I actually had a stable group of friends. I even had a boyfriend for a little while. How about that?

Now, the only person I can even tolerate being around at school is Ben. And I can barely tolerate him. But things between Troy and I are unsurprisingly awkward, and Madeline is always sitting with John Tyler at his table. Helen drifts between tables at lunch, only sometimes sitting with us. And Alexander, well, anybody could guess where he's been lately.

Today I find myself sitting alone on the stone bench during our break. I stare straight in front of me to keep myself from scowling at the sight of Alexander with Tiffany. I know he's throwing the football as usual and she's off to the side gawking at him and squealing when he fakes to throw the ball at her.

Every once in a while, the guy that Alexander is throwing with will make a terrible throw and it will hit the peach tree in the middle of the courtyard. The unripened, green peaches will fall from their branch and topple onto the ground. There's a neat little pile of green peaches under the tree now.

I can see someone sit on the end of the bench from the corner of my eye. I can't tell who it is. How do I politely let everyone know that I'm not in the mood to talk today?

"Hi." They say quietly. I sigh and turn to face them. Apparently I can't get away with avoiding people for today.

Oh, it's just Kate. I think that's her name. The girl from the play. Her name was Kate, right? Anyways, she never bothered me. She seemed really nice, I just don't really know her.

"Hey." I say. She smiles awkwardly and her eyes flutter towards the ground.

"So you and Alex actually broke up?" she asks after several moments.

The expression on my face must be priceless, because she frowns a little and acts like she wants to hide away in a corner. I just point in the direction where I know he's standing. She looks past my shoulder and nods her head, probably noticing Tiffany hanging all over him by now.

"Must be-"

"Yeah." I cut her off. I have no idea what she was going to say. I don't want to know. I don't care. If she wants to sit here and discuss the breakup, she should join the club.

She exhales shakily and looks down at the muddy ground. Her foot taps nervously against the dirt and her fingers make terrible scraping sounds against the stone bench.

"I'm sorry. I was just starting conversation. I don't talk to a lot of people so-"

"I can't tell." I say without even thinking it through. Now she just looks hurt and takes her books before walking off to talk to some other people.

I almost feel bad for sounding like I did, but honestly, how clueless can people be? I'm not just going to get over the breakup in a week or however long it's been.

The bell rings and I get my stuff for the next class. All of my classes today have been long and monotonous, and I've almost caught myself falling asleep many times. By the time lunch comes around, I sit with Ben and Helen and keep silent while the two of them talk. Then I walk to gym, grateful that this day is almost over.

I change quickly and walk through the gym to go out to the track. Since I changed before everyone else, I'm the only person walking through the empty gym. The lights are dimmed down since no one is in here, giving it an almost eerie feeling. I keep walking in the direction of the door. I guess I wasn't looking where I was going, because I suddenly impact against someone. They were strong enough knock me on the ground and I fall roughy against the slick floors.