What They Are Trained To Do
--
Could this be out of line?
To say you're the only one breaking me down like this
You're the only one I would take a shot on
Keep me hanging on so contagiously
--
You crumple your sweaty, post practice uniform in your gym bag and throw open the door to the locker room. As you are making your way down the hall to your locker to grab your schoolbooks, you see a flash of pink and black in your peripheral vision. Alicia. She's wearing the hat you gave her over a year ago. That girl can't seem to take a hint. You haven't taken her calls for at least seven months, and you avoid her in halls and classes. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to notice and she still goes around proudly wearing the pink Yankee cap that you originally bought for your sister but she didn't like.
As Alicia closes the distance between you with her weird semi-run waddle, you glance at your watch and pretend like you are late for something. Then you do what you always do. You run.
You spring past a group of gossiping seventh graders who leap back in reverence as you go by. A quick glance behind you confirms that Alicia is indeed attempting to follow you. What is wrong with that girl? You sprint forward and turn the corner. The door to the janitor's closet seems to call to you. You rush over and fiddle with handle. After jimmying with it for a second it clicks open and you jump inside before closing it tightly behind you. You breathe a sigh of relief, before a tiny cough alerts you to the other person currently in the janitor's closet.
Massie Block. She looks out of place with her perfect hair and pretty dress, among the bottles of Windex and the mops. She gives you a small smile. You realize your staring at her with a look of befuddlement on your face, so you quickly grin back.
"Hey." You whisper. "What are you doing in here?"
"Hiding. I was sick of Claire constantly whining about Cam, so I took it upon myself to fix their relationship." Massie smiles again. "So, I locked them in a empty classroom. My plan would have worked if Cam and Claire weren't so crazy and didn't want to get out of there so bad. Cam broke the lock and they are looking for me."
"Whoa." You feel that look of befuddlement creeping back onto your face, so you restrain it. "So you came here."
She nods. Her nose crinkles the slightest bit for a second and she turns to you. "So why are you here? Running away from someone, or just looking to spend some quality time with the overflow toilet rolls?"
You laugh. She's funnier than people give her credit for. You decide to tell her the truth. There is something about her face right now that makes you trust her. "I was running from Alicia. She doesn't get that I don't like her anymore."
She suppresses a giggle. "So that's over, huh? I never really got it. You guys really had nothing in common, except RL."
"God. My frickin mom buys my clothes. I don't even understand what Ralph Lauren is!" You clench your fists. Alicia was the one who told everyone you were perfect for each other because you both wore Ralph Lauren.
"Ralph Lauren is a designer that Alicia is obsessed with." Massie explains. "But that makes sense that you don't buy your clothes I guess. It's kind of weird to imagine you guys shopping."
"Exactly. Why shop when my mom will buy all my clothes?" You grin at her. "But its so annoying that Alicia still thinks I like her."
"I know what you mean. Dempsey thinks I like him, and I totally don't." Massie rolls her eyes. "I did for like a second at the beginning of the year, but then I realized how weird he is."
"Oh yeah. Derrick was kind of pissed that you liked that kid." You recall. The beginning of the year is beginning to feel like a long time ago.
She sighs. "Sometimes the people in our grade are super-lame."
You agree completely. "They're lame most of the time. Well, present company excluded."
She looks over at your and your dark brown eyes connect with her golden amber. You stand, frozen. Her gaze is intoxicating, sobering and overwhelming all at once.
"Thanks." Her voice is barely a whisper.
You feel yourself closing the few feet of space between you. You aren't in control of your body anymore. It has a mind of its own. Then there is no space left to conquer.
Then your lips find hers. She kisses you back and your lips tingle. Your breaths are sporadic, ragged. You can't remember what you where doing earlier, or who you talked to today. All you can think about is how Derrick was wrong. She doesn't taste like cinnamon. She taste slightly pepperminty. Your kissing her like you have never kissed anyone before. There is something about her you just have to have.
The door creaks open and you disentangle yourself from her and leap to the other side of the closet. The janitor appears, with a confused look all over his face.
Massie groans. "I'm sorry, Harold! It was a matter of life and death. Cam and Claire were after me."
The janitor raises his eyebrows. Massie crosses her arms. "Seriously! And Josh was running away from Alicia. You know how crazy she can be."
"Hm." The janitor scratches his head. "Well can you kids scoot? I need to put my cart in here."
You jump from the closet, Massie at your heels. You turn to her. "Do you figure we're safe now?"
"I guess. I need to go to my locker. Where are you headed?" She asks you, eyes wide.
"My locker." You tell her and the two of you set off down the hall.
Halfway down the empty hallway, you feel her hand slide into yours. You give it a small squeeze and grin at her.
"So how do you know the janitor?" You find yourself asking her.
"We go way back. In sixth grade, I hid in the janitor's closet for the first time because I didn't get the part in the school play and I didn't want anyone to see me cry." She explains. "Harold came in and talked to me, and we've been friends ever since!"
You find the words spilling out of your mouth, like clichéd word vomit. "What are we doing here, Massie?"
She stops walking and looks at you. "We're doing what we are trained to do. We indulge ourselves, and lie to our friends to protect them."
"What we are trained to do." You repeat.
"Exactly. Everyone does it. We all have our secrets." She reiterates.
"So now I'm your secret?" You ask. She doesn't answer, she merely squeezes your hand and starts walking.
You reach her locker and she delicately lets go of your hand. You go down a few lockers to where yours is and try to remember the combo. You draw a blank. All you can think about is that surreal experience you just had. You need to open you locker. What is the combo? 04-27-12? 15-30-5? 6-34-12? That's is. You twist the lock and it clicks open.
Massie comes over to your locker, books in hand. "My friends are waiting."
"Okay." You stop pulling books out of your locker and look at her.
She lightly kisses your cheek and starts to walk away. She turns over her shoulder and gives you one of those maddening half-smiles she's been throwing around all day.
You watch her, transfixed as she throws open the double doors and walks out into the sunshine. You finish gathering your books and throw them in your backpack. You start towards the double doors that she exited through merely seconds ago when your phone vibrates in your pocket.
Derrick: Dude. Been w8ing 4ever. Hurry we r leaving!
You tuck your phone back into the pocket of your well-worn jeans and stride towards the door, and you throw it open. You can see her, walking towards her friends. Alicia is standing, and flipping through a magazine. Kristen is to her right and is doing a crossword. Dylan is eating a Powerbar and talking to Claire. They all turn and pause what they are doing when Massie comes up.
You look a little to the left of their little clump and see your friends. They are all pretending they aren't staring at the girls when they really are. You advance towards them, and plop down on the grass next to Plovert. He greets you and you mumble something back. You rummage through your backpack, while watching Massie out of the corner of your eye. You pull out your Black classic iPod and see Massie giving you a small wave. You grin back at her, but realize that Derrick thinks she is waving to him. He wiggles his butt a little and waves back at her. She looks perplexed and looks from you to him, but manages to give him a half-smile.
Derrick sits down next to you. "Man. Massie looks so hot. Did you see her waving at me?"
You nod, hands clutched tight around your iPod.
Derrick continues. "I think I might get back together with her."
You nod again, it's becoming yourModus Operandi. You put your earphones in your ears and put the volume up high before Derrick can say anything else. Derrick finally realizes you aren't listening anymore and gets up to talk to Cam.
A black Range Rover pulls up, and the five girls get in. Massie get in last, and she casts a quick look in your direction right before she does. A minute later, you phone vibrates. You pull it out and read the message.
Massie: Tonight. The park by st. michaels. 7.
You close your phone and put it away before anyone can see it, but its harder to disguise the grin that is spreading over your face. You bob your head to the thumping bass line of the current song your listening to, unable to concentrate. Your head is reeling. Normally you tell your friends what goes on in your life, but now, you are keeping a major development from them. All because of Massie Block. The most enigmatic person you have ever met. But then again, you would probably do anything for that girl.
A/N: Hm. Not sure how I'm feeling. I got this idea randomly last night but was too tired to type it up. I vaguely despise the ending, so don't hate me for it. I'm sorry if Derrick came across as an idiot, it just had to be that way. Review please!