It's Monday, 7.00 am. The water is tickling his skin while his desperate thinking tries to help him in the shower. Today. Monday, the first day after we met in that Saturday morning in the library. They're going to be there again, and what I'm going to do? Brian said that he won't ignore them, but what about him? Claire was right; he doesn't have the same friends as we have. But it was okay? Okay to ignore them?
He put on his lucky Nike shirt; that shirt has been with him for the worst moments, so maybe this shirt will help again. He look at himself in the mirror—he was the same as every morning, but instead of seeing a future sport star he sees a blonde-haired jerk with no personality. He can't think for himself. Damn it.
His father was staring at him while Andy was eating his toast.
'What?', Andy asked, with mouth full of bread. I hate when he looks at me that way.
'Nothing, son' but it was something. 'I was just wondering. I didn't want to ask you because you would like privacy and all that stuff, but I guess you can tell it to your old man.'
'What is, dad?' Why isn't he going straight to the point?
'Hmm… The girl that you was looking at when I picked you, who was she? I mean, the brown-haired one.'
Some girl really weird that understood me and I understood her. 'She is just a classmate.' Not a friend or a girlfriend. Classmate.
'Just a classmate? You don't usually look at your classmates that way, Andy.' His father was never a smart one, but he could read his son like glass.
Andy finished eating and drank a huge glass of juice. He stood up, willing to go away from his father.
'It was Saturday at school, dad, and I was really bored.'
His mother had to take him to school. They didn't talk too much, as the close parent was always his father. She was just… well, there. The silent trip will gain him some time to think.
I the only one I can talk without being judge is Claire, but the truth is that I can't stand her. Bender is okay, but he may not be in school today, doing whatever. Great, one less to worry about. Brian, for sure he is going to be there. I guess I could wave at him or something. Maybe he is busy with his Math and all that academic stuff. The last person is the one that Andy tried to avoid thinking all the time. Allison. Damn her. She will be there too, and he doesn't know what to do with her. I guess I could… Nothing brings up to his mind. He can't think for himself.
He waves distantly to his mom and shut the car door. He hears the sound of the wheels running while his friends are waiting at him to come in the building. Getting back to old life. With my friends, my real friends.
Tommy was kidding with Rick about some sad little nerd was passing by. That could be Brian, and I could be them, mocking at his orthopaedic shoes and huge thick glasses.
'Hey', Andy says in his macho tone.
'How was Saturday?' Rick asks. 'Do you had to punch yourself to death because of the freaks that were in there?'
'Ah, yeah. Andy, how's school at weekends? It looks more fucking boring that it is today?' Tommy is the dumb one. Also he's the strongest and good-looking of the group.
'School was shitty as always. With Mr. Vernon watching us with his gay ass', he said with no excitement. 'They were freaks with me too, but it wasn't bad at all. At even punched one.' Well, it wasn't really a punch, but Bender won't be around there correcting what happened.
'Who you was with anyway?' Rick was the friendly one. Always there for you. 'Was it all freaks, or some hottie was with the group too?'
If you mean popular, it was the empty-headed daddy's girl. 'Nothing special to talk about. John Bender was there and Claire'. The guys gave him a surprised look. 'She was shopping instead of going to class.'
'Well, that sucks, being only Claire Standish and you', Rick answered, thinking that he wouldn't stand it being at his place. 'Did you make out with her?.'
'Nah, the chance was there, but we never did it'. Instead I kissed some invisible girl who later took my jacket. 'I didn't do much that day, as you can see'. I hope that this questioning is over now. And it was. Something drew the attention to stupid Tommy.
'Who's that?' Tommy couldn't stop looking and Andy turned to see what is the surprise. Oh no. Not her.
With a padded blue jacket, a white blouse wrapped in her waist with a big black belt and high-waisted skinny jeans, a pretty girl appeared. She looks like Claire did her again. Wild short hair was behind her face, looking as a messed-up diva. But it was the face that matters. Fair skin was glowing as snow and her eyes were dark and seductive. She's smiling. In a hot way.
'I've seen her somewhere', Rick swore to himself.
Her walking wasn't irregular, was… sured. As if she already knew how beautiful she looked. I'm not the only one who noticed. She was getting closer, and by the entrance door, she walked a bit slower than before and was around his group, without stopping. She was looking at him, smiling.
'Hey', she said, and went into the building.
She was looking at me. Tommy and Rick are going to suspect. But his friends weren't that clever.
'Man, that girl was looking at me.' Tommy put his hands in his pants pockets casually, trying to be cool. 'She wants something'.
'I remember now!' Rick was proud of himself for such a smart deduction. 'She is my French class. Amy, Abbie or something.'
'And why didn't you present her to me, hey my dear friend Ricky?' Tommy was also the tallest one, being a bit over six feet. He rounded Rick with his big arm in a false friendly way.
'Because normally she is… Invisible. I can barely notice her.' Rick was confused; how he would ignore such a chick?
'Well, now she is pretty invisible' Tommy smirked. 'Whatcha think, Clark? You haven't said anything yet. Do you think Amy would be enough for your friend Tommy?'
It's Allison, you assholes. And she is not going to mess with you, he wanted to say. But as always, all he could mouth is: 'Yeah dude, she's fine. Go and get her'. What's wrong with me?
The day was monotonous for Andy. He hadn't seen Bender and surprisedly Brian either; they have less in common than Andy thought. He saluted Claire along the breaks and tried to avoid looking for Allison. She was a brief thing. You don't even know her. She's weird. Pretty and smart, but weird. What if she was a psychopath? Andy was fighting anytime he though about going to her and touch that perfect doll-like skin. And Tommy wants her. You can't separate you from Tommy because of a girl. That the bro's code. But was Tommy really his pal?
The thought of Tommy and Allison being close, together, him stroking with caress her hair and Allison looking at him with that intense eyes that read you in a second, makes Andy sick. She can't be with him. She doesn't even know his name. And she likes me. She kissed me and looked only to me this morning. Andy made a choice.
In a small paper he wrote it with his best fast handwriting: See you at the front door when school finishes. We can hang out after together. Sporto. Good. He feels like he's in middle school again, with secret little messages. In the break between English and History, he slips through the corridor and put the paper in her locker. I hope that is her locker.
At lunch time, he had seen everybody he wish he hadn't. Brian, Claire, Allison, even Bender cared to go there. I guess this isn't a school thing, this is social life. Each group in its place. Brian was submerged in a pile of books with other nerds around him, eating quietly. He's the leader of the group. The popular one. Andy had to laugh.
Bender was sitting in the table with other foul-looking guys, making noise and drawing attention to everybody, as they were the show and the rest the public. Claire was surrounded by queen-bees, probably talking about shoes or hair and all that shit that stupid girls think about, but Claire wasn't Claire. She was absent, looking in other direction, letting words and comment flow through the air, but never picking them to hear them. Andy thought she was looking at nowhere and thinking of everything, but he followed her stare. She was looking at Allison.
And there she was. Pretty Allison, eating her lunch alone. No matter how hot she looks, she's still sitting with nobody. Should he go with her? Did she read the note? If she did, it would be the right thing to go around her and talk with her. But he knew that it wasn't the right thing for him. He glimpsed again at Claire. She's thinking the same thing.
'Hey, Clark.' Rick took him again into real life. 'What are you thinking? You don't look good.'
'Because, for the first time, our Andy is thinking!' Tommy had the stupid thing of saying all the time 'our' as his father does too. Tommy reminds me of dad. 'It's hard for him, so that's why the face.'
'Go to hell', Andy said with a dry smile.
Allison finished her lunch quickly and was heading to the exit when a voice called her. Claire.
They talked for a couple of minutes and after that, both were smiling. Later Claire was walking towards her table and Allison was following her. She sat with the popular girls. Like that. She doesn't know that she's heading to the lion's den.
Of course she's with the popular girls. She was nothing and now she's pretty. And she has Claire, not quite a friend, but something close as a nice female classmate. That's going to help her to be in the same social group as Claire and me. Maybe if she's popular, it won't be bad for me to go out with her. People wouldn't look weird at me. But Allison won't hold on that much. She hates phony people. And the phony people won't hold Allison, having too much personality and being weird. You should go with her, a little voice said, save her from those hungry hyenas and make her smile. That beautiful smile.
The bell rang. It's over. Other infernal day of school. Time to go home and be yourself again. Training is everyday but Monday and Thursday, so he can go early to his house. He was in the main corridor, heading to freedom, always with his friends.
'And later Ashley came to me, drunk, of course, and she just leaned over me and…' Tommy was telling another sex story of him and some unlucky easy girl. Rick and the rest were hearing. Tony, Ben and Charlie, all thinking of the boobs of the drunk girl. Andy grew tired of it after Tommy was telling one every week. I bet that half of the stories aren't really his, they're from some porn video he saw that weekend.
Allison was waiting at the door. Her tight pants showed her skinny but toned legs. He didn't noticed them on Saturday. She was wearing black tights and a long skirt, of course you didn't notice. She must be doing jogging or something. It was strange to imagine her doing exercise. When she saw them going to the main door, she waited patiently, smiling at him. Not seductively, like this morning, it was a truly happy smile. I can't. I just… can't.
And he didn't stop for her. He kept walking, and her smiley face turned into a confused frown. I felt on Saturday that we could think the same in many senses.
In a second, all happened. The time slowed, and when she was almost as the same height as him, her eyes talked. 'What's going on? Why you keep walking?' her stare begged. Andy turned his head to the right and then to the left, only Allison noticing it. 'It's not happening, Allison. Sorry.' She understood. Her stare turned into a fiery look. 'I hate you' he swear she mouthed. He and his crew passed her, but he kept looking at her.
'What's happening, Clark?' Rick could sense the tension. He looked back. 'What are you looking at? There's nothing back there.'
Andy looked back once more. It was true. Nothingness was in the air. She disappeared, as if I never met her. Maybe it could be that way. Maybe that Saturday never happened. He saw his father's car and said good-bye to his friends. He looked at the school for last time before getting in the big Ford car. Sorry, Allison.