Wife
P.E., the last subject of the day, was finally over, meaning that the whole school day was too. My whole body was covered in greasy sweat and I felt very hot. All of us rushed out of the gym door, like the gates out of hell were finally open and we were finally free to go after an eternity of damnation. Everyone was too excited to leave that all of us were in one clump, making our sticky skin press against each other's, and it felt gross. It was hard to breath, and the air smelled pungently of sweat and body odour.
I finally stepped out of the gym's door, and it was easy to breath again. For some strange reason, I suddenly had this urge to eat a banana split and gulp a whole tumbler of bubblegum slurpie, which were only sold in The Ice Cream Shack.
It only takes five minutes to walk from Quileute High to The Ice Cream Shack, but when you're exhausted, thirsty and famished, five minutes seem like five long years. I finally reached the place, and I gave all the energy that's left in me to push the heavy glass door open.
A gust of cold air from the air-conditioner blew right through me, cooling my body temperature several degrees down. It was only my second time to visit this igloo themed ice cream parlour, although it was the most popular place among teens in all of La Push and although my father owns it.
Thankfully, I fled from school early that all the furry white couches-- every two of them were set face to face with each other with a table that looked like a big ice cube in between them-- were vacant, except for the set at the extreme right side of the shop. My poor eyesight could only see vague figures perched on that seat, and it looked like the figures were three boys.
"Hey, Leah!" A really familiar voice shouted from that table. It was too familiar yet I still couldn't figure out who it was, and it annoyed me a lot.
"Sit with us!" To stop the metal torture, I walked to that table to figure it out myself. Each step closer to the table made the figures clearer. It was Embry, Quil sharing a couch, and Jacob seated on the other couch all by himself.
"What are you doing here? You're still supposed to be in school by now."
"We cut Social Studies because we forgot our homework, and it was worth a hundred points. If we're absent, we're excused." Quil answered for the other two.
"Cool. I did that before." I smiled as I remembered that day. I looked at them again, and I wondered why there was not a single bowl of ice cream on their table.
"You didn't order yet?"
"We're waiting for Embry's date to come, then we'll order." I stopped myself from laughing at what Quil said. I took a good look at Embry. He was too young and he still had baby fat on his cheeks, but the way he acts like he's old enough for a date made him look adorable.
"Do you mind if we leave you and Jacob alone for a while? We have to go to the bathroom." Embry asked. Jacob's eyes widened and Quil let a low laugh out of his mouth.
"Not at all." The two boys stood up and ran to the bathroom, and I settled beside Jacob who had the other couch all to himself.
I watched him warily. He didn't withdraw his eyes from the thick book with tiny words ever since I sat down. I tried reading a part of the page and I soon learned that he was reading "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
"I may sound like a nerd, but I like that story." I told him to break the silence. He tore his eyes from the book and looked at me sheepishly.
"Really? Me too."
"It's a little stupid, don't you think?"
"What's stupid?"
"The whole magic thing. I mean, if they really love each other, then magic shouldn't be able to thwart them and make them fall in love with someone else. I don't know. It's just stupid."
"I know, but I think it's kinda cool if there's something like that in real life. You know, you love someone and he likes you back, but when magic comes, he falls in love with the next person he sees or something like that then you get heart broken. It's dramatic. I like tragedies." He finally loosened up.
"Me too, but I don't want to be a victim of that kind of magic." I told him. My mind started to drift off, wondering and thinking about how life could be like if magic existed. What if Sam and I loved each other, then magic dust suddenly comes pouring down from the heavens then lands on him. He'll fall in love with another girl, say, maybe Emily, and he'll leave me all alone, hurt, broken. A picture of Sam and Emily dancing happily in the middle of a meadow entered my head, and I was just behind staring at them forlornly.
"Hello?" Jacob's voice called me back to the real world, a world where magic didn't exist. I took a deep breath. Don't worry. It won't happen. There's no such thing as magic.
"Sorry, I just remembered something."
"Why? Did you ever get your heart broken?" I opened my mouth to answer him, but he interrupted.
"I'm sorry if the question's too personal. You don't have to answer." He told me with shiny, apologetic black eyes.
"It's okay. I never got my heart broken, really. I was just wondering if I did."
"So you're in love?"
"Maybe almost. I hope not." I waited for his next question, but there was not a sound from him for a while. He continued to silently read the book, but his face had a trace of sadness. I wondered why, and then remorsed washed over me as I suddenly remembered that he had feelings for me.
"O, Jacob! I'm sorry!" I threw my arms around his neck, forgetting the fact that we barely knew each other. I swayed his body from left to right as my eyes were shut with guilt.
"No, it's okay. I knew that it wasn't a good idea to hope. I just had to learn the lesson the hard way."
"If you were my age, I'd surely like you, I swear."
"Unfortunately, I'm two years younger." He said in a hurt, sarcastic tone.
"I like you, Jacob. I really do, but as a friend, as a little brother. We could still be friends, you know." I sounded pathetic. I was talking to him like we had something in the past.
"Of course." He croaked. I unwrapped my arms and got a firm hold of his shoulders. I looked intently at his face. He was so young, and maybe I had an ounce of romantic feelings for him, but it was too microscopic. Maybe if he really was older, I'd have liked him. I was sure he would look very good, maybe more handsome than Sam. Whoever would get to look at Jacob's face for the rest of her life was very lucky.
"Cheer-up, Jake!" I grabbed his chin and tilted it up. I realized that I'd rather call him Jake for the rest of my life. "There's someone for you out there. Maybe it isn't me, but I'm sure she's going to be way better. And I tell you, she's damn lucky, whoever she is."
"Thanks, sister." He beamed. Maybe this was the beginning of a brother-sister relationship.
The Ice Cream Shack door swung open, and a large group of customers barged in, filling the formerly quiet place with their noise.
"Thanks for letting me sit here, by the way. I could have ran out of seats."
"Anything for my sister." He laughed. There was suddenly a loud, wailing sound that stood out from all the noise, and it was slowly getting louder and louder.
"What the hell is that?" Jacob looked over his shoulder.
"Some crying chick."
I twisted my head and saw a girl with puffy orange hair that was covering her face, and there was a brown haired girl that looked like a fox patting her back. They took the couch that was directly behind ours.
"I don't understand, Haley! I just don't!" Jacob and I eavesdropped.
"No offence, Kate, but you're over reacting. I like him too, but see? I'm not crying."
"Because you don't love him! I do! And it hurts!"
"He doesn't even know you." The other girl said bluntly.
"I know, and that's why it hurts! I think about him all fucking day and he doesn't even know me! He's the reason why I want to live. He's just so perfect! When I see his face, my hands get all sweaty and I want to cry because he'll never be mine!"
Jacob held a laugh back. "Gee, that's pathetic. A girl crying over a guy who doesn't know her. I think she needs to see the shrinker." He muttered under his breath.
"I'd kill anyone, Haley. I'd do anything to make Sam Uley mine." The crying girl said in a quivering voice. Call me selfish or what, but instead of feeling unworthy, I felt like the queen of the world. Who knows how many girls turn crazy because of how he was impossibly perfect? At least I was the one he liked. Suddenly, I valued him much more. I remembered how he looked like again. It was a face that was the incarnation of Adonis, and it was mine. My heart throbbed rapidly as my head reeled.
"That lucky bastard." Jacob said in a rather happy tone. "I'd also do anything to be him. Actually, I look up to him more than anyone else. I wanted to befriend him at that party your dad threw but I was intimidated."
"You wasted your chance. He's really kind, you know. Kinder than how you expect him to be."
"You know him personally?"
"Yeah." I thought of telling Jake what was going on between us or not, but there was just something about him that made me feel like he could be trusted.
"We actually have a date later."
"Really? You better tell me what happened."
"Sure I will." I ruffled his hair.
"Wait, I don't want to be your brother anymore. I want to be your kid, and he's gonna be my father."
"Cool. I'm sure he's gonna be proud that he's your son."
"Maybe. Aren't you hungry yet, mom? The line's thickening."
"Okay, I'll order. What do you want, son?"
"A sundae."
"Wait here. Don't talk to strangers." I told him in a funny, motherly tone and I proceeded to the back of the line. I was shocked at how the line moved so fast, and it was already my turn.
"Leah! You're back!" Kim greeted me. The sky-blue and white stripes from her apron looked good on her oriental skin. She was also two years younger than I was, and she was really nice. Her Chinese face was radiant with happiness.
"Hi, Kim!"
She cleared her throat. "Welcome to The Ice Cream Shack! I'm Kim. What would you like to order?" She asked me in a professional tone, stripping of the fact that we knew each other.
"Just one banana split, a bubblegum slurpie and a sundae." She bent down to get a slurpie tumbler.
"Name, please?" She asked as soon as she stood up again. Without thinking, I told her, "Mrs. Sam Uley."
"Okay, Mrs. Sam Uley. Please claim your order at the claiming counter once your name is called. Thank you and please come again!" She giggled as soon as she cut out the whole professional handling thing.
"See ya 'round, Kim." I told her blithely and went back to my seat. Quil and Embry were back, and from how their mouths moved, I bet they were ambushing Jake with questions.
"So, you call him Jake now?" Embry asked me with a stupid looking smug on his face.
"Yeah, anything wrong with that?" I playfully raised an eyebrow at him.
"Nope." He shook his head and turned to Jake. "So, Jake, are you done reading that?"
"Almost."
"So, Jake, how are going to move on now?" Jake slammed his book shut and hit it against Quil's back. I was glad he wasn't shy anymore. I liked the real Jake.
"Hey, stop it, boys!"
"Banana split, bubblegum slurpie and a sundae for Mrs. Sam Uley. Banana split, bubblegum slurpie and a sundae for Mrs. Sam Uley." The choppy speakers announced my order, losing a little volume when the word 'Mrs.' was said.
"Sam Uley's here?" Jake gasped.
"No, it's just me. Didn't you hear the word 'Mrs.'?"
"No."
"I didn't either." Quil said, looking around for Sam.
"I did. Sit down, Quil. It's just Leah." Embry tugged Quil's shirt down. I stood up, and everyone else were in their seats, either laughing or giving me glares as they realized that I was the self-proclaimed Mrs. Sam Uley. Nothing could be more embarrassing than this. I bent my head down, letting my hair fall in front of my face to hide it, and made my way to the counter with a heavy heart.
"Are you Mrs. Sam Uley?" A voice asked.
"Yeah." My cheeks burned with humiliation.
"I think the name Leah is so far from the name Sam." The way the voice mentioned my name was so familiar that I stopped looking at the floor and swept my hair away to see who it was.
At the second that my eyes rested on his face, the entire world collapsed at my feet. I wanted to scream, run away, kill myself. It was more embarrassing than being looked at by the other customers.
Parts of his lips were curved up in a crooked, cocky smile, and his taunting eyes were burning into mine.
"Banana split, bubblegum slurpie and a sundae for my wife."