Airel - Aaron Patterson [4]
“Aw, man!” My face looked like I just had my first kiss and then sat under a heat lamp for the fun of it. I didn’t hear Kim come in but I could feel her stare as she stood by the door with her foot jammed at the bottom of the door to prevent anyone from coming in.
“So… you see the new guy?” She was trying to keep from laughing and her voice squeaked as she hugged herself.
I shook my head and rubbed the back of my neck. “Whatever! I was hot! That classroom… it’s always so muggy!” I pulled my hair into a ponytail and splashed more cold water on the back of my neck. I was relieved to see that I was returning to my normal, somewhat pale complexion.
Kim just grunted and smirked as she looked down at her nails, inspecting them, and looked up at me in little snatches of concern. “Well I think he’s ugly. Besides, what kind of a name is Michael Alexander?” she said in a mocking tone. “It’s like he has two first names.” She was pushing it now and her face was calm. Much too calm. She was totally messing with me.
I smiled and his face filled my mind for a split second. I could feel the heat rising again. I thought of all the dumb 80’s song lyrics that my parents continually tortured me with. “Hey! You and I both know he’s gorgeous. I don’t know what came over me. The room was spinning and I lost track of time. It was weird.”
I couldn’t make my mind stop. It was racing, replaying every second of our first meeting. The coffee, his hand, his smile. He looked at me, looked me right in the eyes and I could feel him searching, as if he knew me. My heart fluttered and I had this insane desire to cry and laugh all at the same time.
Kim made a kissing sound and ran to grab me, but I brushed her off and locked myself in an empty stall. “Love, Airel! You so just went all googly-eyed over him.”
I felt a pain shoot through my side, then a wave of warmth washed over me and I was instantly depressed. Hello, rollercoaster! Wow, what’s your name? Could it be Michael Alexander? Ugh. Or maybe it’s just barf. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Loooove sick!” Kim was enjoying my discomfort, but I turned and instantly threw up, barely making it into the toilet. Oh, dear God. This is fun. I was totally heaving in the high school bathroom—not the best place to be sick. Kim snapped out of her taunting and rushed in to help me. After all, she was my best friend.
As I lost my dinner and yesterday’s lunch and started to wonder if maybe I should have had breakfast after all—was that why I was all of a sudden so sick? Skipping breakfast? Kim held my hair and rubbed my back. I didn’t know I was crying until I saw a stream of tears escape and fall to the floor. I’m crying! Why am I crying?
My stomach felt like a knife was plunged into it and my whole body convulsed as I stood up on shaking legs. Kim helped me to the nurse’s station and I was soon on my way home, but this time in the passenger seat. Trusty Kim was driving my trusty Civic. Good thing Mom was at work and Dad was, too. I hoped I would be feeling better by the time they came home. They had a tendency to go overboard when I got sick. I think it’s a parent thing.
Kim was in the kitchen making some chicken noodle soup for me. My arms tingled and I was cold. I needed to get some sleep. Even though it was the middle of the day I went up to my room and laid down.
Chapter III
I woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and dried tears on my face. I couldn’t remember what had happened the rest of the previous day. I had a vague recollection of Kim putting me to bed, and Mom and Dad coming in at some point with that worried look passing between them.
I remembered parts of a nightmare with a black figure, a horrible cloaked presence, walking toward me slowly, trailing black tar like some enormous, evil snail. I had to admit, that scared the crap out of me. Dreams could be weird, that much I knew