CHAPTER 5: January—Claudia
It was the last Friday in January. As I passed by the bulletin board, I saw the audition notices for the all-school and senior-class plays, Inherit the Wind and Bus Stop, respectively.
When I saw the audition notices, I got an idea. (I swear, Kristy's good influence must be rubbing off on all of us.) I decided to talk to Mrs. Howe after school.
After school, just as I'd planned, I stopped by the art room, and found Mrs. Howe putting her art supplies in her canvas bag. "Mrs. Howe?" I asked.
She looked up. "Hi, Claudia," she said. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, I just saw the audition notices for both plays," I told her.
"Yes, the auditions are going to be on Monday after school. Why?"
"Well," I continued, "I've never had the guts to do this before, but I want to help with the set for Inherit the Wind. I've had set-building and set-decorating experience."
"I see."
"When SMS did Peter Pan and Carnival, I helped with the sets," I explained.
"Oh?" she asked. "You mean, you'd be wanting to help with the set for Inherit the Wind? What about Bus Stop?"
"I can only help with one play," I told her.
"I understand," she said.
"Thanks. See you Monday."
As I left Mrs. Howe's classroom, I felt a surge of excitement go through me. I was about to help out with my first high school play.
The house was empty when I got home. That was a good thing, because I'd just finished my cigarette, and was putting it out. Besides loving junk food, dressing outrageously, and getting mediocre grades, I'm also the only one in my family who smokes. (I'd started over the summer after we'd returned from the memorial service for Dawn's friend's mom in California.) I still remember the time Kristy told me that she thinks I do have the Kishi genius genes, but they took a wrong turn, tripping over the junk food loving DNA and landing in the art part of the brain, which explains why I'm such a good artist. And just like I do with the junk food hidden all over my room, I stuffed the cigarettes—filtered menthols, by the way—under the driver's seat, and just to be on the safe side, I took the little can of air freshener out of my bag and sprayed it all over the inside of my car. I wasn't about to let my parents or Janine find out I was polluting my lungs like this, and I could only imagine the five-hour lecture I'd get from Dawn if she ever found out.
After making sure my car was safe, I went into the house and upstairs to my room. I laid my bag beside my desk, unzipped my gray parka, then opened the desk drawer and took out a package of grape Twizzlers. I took one from the package and held it in my teeth while I took my parka off and hung it on the back of the chair, and put the others back. When I closed the desk drawer, I saw the portrait of Mimi in its usual place.
"Hi, Mimi," I said as I took a bite of my Twizzler. "How have you been? I've been doing all right. I just asked Mrs. Howe if I could help with the set for Inherit the Wind. Remember when we saw that play in Stamford on my tenth birthday? It's based on the Scopes Monkey Trial. Anyway, Mrs. Howe said I could help."
I swallowed as I finished the last bite of my treat, then started taking my shoes off. "Also, I think my relationship with Jason isn't what it used to be. Oh, we still get along, but we're not as close as we used to be, you know? I think I may be falling out of love with him, and I'm not too sure, but I think he might be feeling the same way. I just hope that when, or if, I tell him we should call it off, it shouldn't be too much for him to handle. Either way, I think I'd better tell him."
That's when the phone rang. Gee, that's funny, I thought. I know there's a meeting today, but it isn't even 4:30 yet.
"Well, I should answer the phone now," I told Mimi. "Thanks for listening to me...I love you."
Then I reached over and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Hi, Claud," Jason answered.
"Hi, Jason," I answered as I settled back in the chair and propped my leg up on the bed. You're probably wondering why I'm doing this. Well, about three years ago, I broke my leg while I was baby-sitting for a practical joker named Betsy Sobak, who had convinced me to use this old swing, and when it gave out, I fell and broke my leg. She swore up and down that she didn't know the swing was broken, but I thought baby-sitting was too dangerous, and I almost quit the BSC because of it. My leg still hurts when it's going to rain, and if you ask me, it's better at predicting weather than any weatherperson.
Okay, back to the phone call. "Coming to the meeting?" I asked.
"I might, if I'm not too tired. Listen, the reason I'm calling is because I have something to tell you."
As soon as he said that, all those old feelings came back, but this time, they weren't the same as before. I knew what was coming, but I wasn't ready for it yet. On the other hand, I'd been feeling the same way, so maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be.
"Really?" I asked.
"Uh-huh," Jason answered solemnly. "I'm sorry, Claud, but you were the first girl I ever really loved. I just wanted you to know that I'll always cherish the times we had together, and I never expected anything in return, but I honestly feel that this relationship has run its course...Claud? Claud, are you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here," I said as I snapped myself back to reality. "It's just that—well, I kind of saw this coming, but I wasn't ready for it, you know?"
"I know," Jason agreed. "I don't think anyone really is."
"So, are you all right?"
"Aye. You?"
"I'll be okay. So, we're still friends, right?"
"Oh, absolutely. Nothing will change that," he reassured me. "Well, like the song says, thanks for the memories."
"You, too. So, I'll see you at the meeting?"
"Sure, why not? Well—uh, 'bye."
"'Bye." And we hung up.
Call me crazy, but instead of crying like a baby over this, I was only a little sad. Like Jason had said, no one's ever really prepared for a break-up, but I think we handled it pretty well, and we'll always be friends. It just goes to show that just because something ends, that doesn't necessarily mean that your life is over.
And as long as I had the BSC, I knew my life wouldn't be over.
