"Memorable"

Part Five

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Music played in the Delahoussaye residence all throughout the sunny Saturday afternoon. Lots of Nat King Cole and Van Morrison were spun on the turntable stereo in the living room, and it helped the day feel more peaceful. It was almost as if it were intended to distract from the stress of the event that evening.

Salem had gotten a text from Isabelle earlier in the morning, saying she'd forgotten to ask him about photo ops. She said they didn't have to do them, and pictures could just be taken at the country club where the prom was being held. Salem told her he would've rather done pictures then, and she said it was perfectly fine. He let her know he'd pick her up at 6:20 that evening, and she responded saying she was counting down the hours.

At 5:10, Salem decided it was time to prepare for the long night he had ahead of him.

While he showered, he found himself deep in thought. He thought about what he'd said to Ben the previous weekend at his grave, and he thought about all that had happened with Isabelle that week. He realized how truly different his life had become without Ben being around; had Ben still been with him, he wouldn't have let a girl get in the way. Now, Salem realized he was thinking about a girl for the first time in his life.

Everything that had happened that week was unlike anything he'd experienced before. Ben was still on his mind, but Isabelle had started invading a thought or two of his. She was almost becoming more mysterious to him than ever before. Salem wondered about her true feelings, which, he couldn't believe hadn't come to him sooner. Did Isabelle truly have a crush on him? Was that why she asked him to the prom? Did she take pity on him for being more on the outside of things? What was her interest in him? It kept his mind busy for long periods of time.

He thought about her final comment from Thursday afternoon. She wasn't most people, and neither was he. Yet, she liked that about him. She liked him...?

He saw her green eyes in his head. They were like Ben's.

It was difficult to figure out whether or not his thoughts making way for someone new was good or bad. A change was happening in his life once again, and he still wasn't all too sure how to handle it.

When Salem turned the shower off, his hair rung itself out like usual. He stepped out, wrapping his towel around himself, and he looked in the mirror. He then realized he still didn't have the answer to the question of what he was doing with his hair for the night.

He stared at his curls, trying to come up with an idea. Not thinking of anything, he sighed. "What do you think?" He spoke. In an instant, his hair took over.

It floated in the air around his head, and he watched it get slightly longer. It then drifted over his right shoulder, and it separated itself into three strands. Salem watched as it braided itself, falling down to his chest. His hair was loose around the back of his head, and the braid was styled thick. He smiled.

"I like it," he said. His hair then undid itself, returning to its resting style. He made his way to his room to begin dressing himself shortly after.

He heard a Nat King Cole song he knew well playing in the living room, and he found himself singing along as he buttoned up his shirt.

Salem loved to sing, but he was extremely discreet about it. Even Ben didn't know until one night when Salem had started singing along to a song they were listening to in Salem's room, and that was in eighth grade. Ben said from the start that his voice was amazing, but Salem still hesitated ever singing in front of anyone. In the comfort of his room at the Delahoussaye's, though, he wasn't afraid to sing along to the jazz he knew so well.