The Walk Towards Sunshine

Chapter 18

I went out of the house with my mini thermos filled with coffee. Since this week will be filled with tests starting today, I'm going to get my arse to the library to study. I am ninety percent sure that my eyes will start to flutter, so I brought coffee. I hate tests but I cannot do something about it, so this week could not get any worse. The rising sun and verdant plants on our neighbor's gardens doesn't match what I'm feeling right now. At this point, all I'm thinking is that I hadn't really done anything with the problem. Dean and his gang are still out there, Anastacia is still kind of getting away with it, Corrie is still Corrie, Althea still secretly goes to our home, and Deanna's secret is still a secret. Well, hers and Noelle's for all she knows. And surely these things can't wait 'till the end of the school year so at least they don't compete with my academic problems. I don't even know where to start anymore. Seeing Bryan leaning against the tree near the school doesn't help me where to start either. When he caught me looking at him, he motioned me to come to him. So I did.

"Good morning." I said casually.

He leaned forward. "I want you to be completely honest with me. Did you and Althea really stayed in school that particular Saturday?" His voice is starting to freak me out.

"Yes. Yes we did. You probably saw that she was bringing our project, right?" Before Althea went home that day, we made a quick, project- looking garbage. I retrieved the old shoebox I threw and painted it brown, poked holes in it, and inserted sticks I got from mum's garden. I made the "project" so it's up to Al to explain what it is if Ana gets curious.

He scoffed. I don't really know if he believed. It doesn't matter though. "It better be true."

"What do you want? I need to get to class. I didn't wake so bloody early for you to waste my time."

He knows I'm getting frustrated. "Hey, watch your tone. Need I remind you that I'm not the enemy here? I'm trying to make Althea and you safe."

"Are you kidding me, Bryan? What you're doing doesn't get us anywhere. It's like you're throwing us some Harry Potter invisible shit blanket. But guess what, the problems are still there. Nothing is happening."

"We'll think of something, okay?" He rubs his mouth and raked his messy hair. "Ana tells me that Dean is doing this because he loves her that much, not because of anger and hatred." Bryan said all of a sudden. "I don't believe it. A provocation happened before that made Dean that way. And as I said, I don't remember much about Ana." He stood straight like he's about to leave.

"I have to go." I said, pretending not to care.

"Don't do anything stupid. I wouldn't hone Dean's emotions if I were you."

Start an awful week with an awful Monday morning? Sure, why not. I sort of expected it. I wasn't mad at Bryan or anything. It's just that his face isn't what I want to see on a Monday morning. Suddenly he tells me that maybe Dean's anger started way before I was born and I have to figure it out because maybe he's the bad guy but his also a victim and those other bullsh.........sigh. If I did figure out what it is, am I going to pity him like I felt for Corrie? Today is another unbearably sunny Tuesday. What sort of disaster awaits me?

I pass down the hall to get inside Lit class and finish the test. Before I sat down, I caught Noelle looking at me and continued talking to her friend. Whatever that means. Henry laughs with his other friends and paused when he saw me sitting beside him. He slaps me on the back and introduced me to his friends: Ryan, Ginnie, Fred, and Clyde. I said hi and pretended to listen to their conversation about this new scary movie. When they returned to their seats, Henry sits sideways to face me.

"Hey, what's going with Deanna?"

Damn it. What now? "What? What do you mean?"

"Oh, you don't know? Before you were here, the principal's assistant took her to the office?"