The Chronicles of Us

нαуєѕ

I was
pretty
pissed
when
Lena
told me
about Ariannah.
Before I left,
I went to Lena's school.
I knew Ariannah.
I didn't tell Lena,
though.
I was
sitting
on Lena's
front porch
when she arrived
from the
bus stop.
I was
full of questions
and she was
full of answers.
She told me of her day,
of Ariannah.
When her mom
came home,
she shoved me
into her closet
and told me to hush.
So I did,
I sat there
for what seemed
like hours
as she
repeated
the story of
Ariannah.
"Honey,"
I could see through the slits in the closet door as her mother grabbed her chin with her fingertips.
"We can transfer you to another school."
"Mom."
Lena
brushed
her mother
away.
"Mom, it's inevitable to have one shitty teenage girl at school. They're shitty teenage girls everywhere. This is something I can deal with."
"Getting beat up is not something to just brush aside, Adalena."
Her mother
was bold.
"We need to make a big deal of this."
"But it's not a big deal, mom. It's just stupid decisions from a stupid girl. I will be fine."
"I don't care how stupid she is or how stupid her decisions are. Do you realize that this girl could get in the way of a scholarship or some big opportunity? Who would want to accept a girl with a reputation of fighting?"
"But I didn't do anything!"
I could hear
the strain
in her voice.
"We understand, that, Lena. But other people may not. This girl could make it look like you did something to her and you could get into trouble. People who don't know you will misunderstand you."
"Mom."
Lena said it
so softly
I was surprised
her mother
could hear her.
"I will stay away from Ariannah Schultz. Just let me go back."
I could
see her mother
ponder the thought.
"Okay,"
Her mother began, "but if anything goes on, I swear to you Adalena Hallin Carlisle, I will transfer you the day it happens. Do you understand me?"
She nodded.
"Thank you."
She hugged her,
and as
she did,
she smiled
at me
through the door.
"Dinner will be ready in half an hour, Len."
Her mom said.

"Adalena Hallin, huh? Never heard that before."
I was
sprawled out
on her bed,
and she was
on the floor
doing homework.
"Yeah, my mom and dad believe in original names. Ada was my mom's grandma. My mom's great aunt's name was LeAnna, so they merged their names together. My middle name is my mom's maiden name."
"What about your sister?" I asked, "What was her name?"
"Shailene Cecile. She was named after my dad's dead sister, whom apparently cursed that name."
She bit
the eraser
of her pencil.
"I would ask you for help with my calculus homework, but you did sort of---"
"I could probably try."
I kneeled down
on the floor
next to her.
"Oh, this one is easy. You're just overthinking it. All you have to do is divide 127 by the number there. Then your answer would be---"
I did the mental math.
"17."
"Wow."
Lena said.
"I don't know why you dropped out. You're actually pretty good at this. You seem to have everything going for you, I don't know you won't come back.
"Lena!"
It was
her mother
calling from
downstairs.
"Dinner is ready!"
"Do you want to stay here until I get back, or do you want to descend from the back porch?"
"I want to stay here,"
I said,
"if you wouldn't mind."
"Aren't your aunt and uncle waiting for you?"
"No. They don't mind where I go."
"Well, stay here while I go eat."
I agreed,
and I did.
I just
aimlessly
walked around
her room,
scanned her bookshelf,
checked a few
of the books out,
then returned them.
I spun around
in her swivel chair
and when
I got dizzy,
I stopped.
Then I spread myself out
on her bed again.
It was weird
to think that
Lena slept here.
It was weird
to think
she was even here at all.
I'd never given much thought
to my dream girl,
but she pretty much
summed it all up.
A long time ago,
in another life entirely,
I was one of those boys
who fell in
and out of love
as sporadically as
the weather.
I'd kiss the girl
and
dream of another,
claim to love her
as I thought
of some other girl,
and believe
I was in love
with her
in my head,
but my heart
disagreed.
But again,
that was
in another
life.
"So you stayed."
Lena
shut the door
behind her
with a
beautiful
smile
upon
her
face.