Chapter 3 of Memories
-MAVEN-
I stare at her sitting there. Her hair was covering her gorgeous clear eyes. Her hand was hovering over a rainbow of bruises.
I was stunned into silence. Every previous thought spaced my mind as I stared at the broken angel in front of me. I could feel my mouth moving in response to Calli’s soft-spoken words, but no sounds were coming out.
“What are you doing, Maven?” she repeated harshly, all cautiousness gone from her silky smooth voice.
I tried to swallow, but my body seemed to have shut down. What do you do in a situation like this? “I-I don’t know,” I whisper hoarsely. Why was I hoarse? I’d barely talked at all today.
Calli lifted her head a little, her ebony hair falling away from her right eye. It was filled with shock, hate, fear, and other emotions I couldn’t quite place. I didn’t really know why I had followed her in. It was honestly a little embarrassing. I guess I just knew something was off. But I could have been wrong. She could have been going to the bathroom for reals. Suddenly feeling brave, I took another step towards her.
“What happened to you?” I inquired.
“What do you think happened to me, Maven? Use that useless head of yours to actually think for once.”
Closing the distance, I pulled her sleeve down even further. Not only were there bruises of all colors, but there were scabs covering almost every inch of her shoulder. Frowning, I grabbed the hem of her hoodie and lifted it up so I could see her back. It was in the same condition. Red, blues, yellows, purples, and greys clashed against each other.
We were both silent as I let go of her. She was watching me out of the corner of her eye, waiting for my reaction.
My first impulse was to yell at her. Tell her that she needed to tell an adult about it. However, my second impulse won over. I hugged her against me. Calli let out a little squeal of surprise, hands spreading out to her sides, unsure what to do with them.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered in her ear.
“Maven,” she grumbled.
“Hm?”
“My back…”
“Oh right!” I exclaimed, releasing her from my hold. I felt heat rise into my cheeks as I blushed. I’d just hugged Calli. I didn’t know whether to pump my fist, or feel bad for causing her pain. I rubbed at the back of my neck, unsure of what to do with myself now that I’d turned into a fool.
“We should head back to class,” she told me brazenly. Hopping off the counter, she shouldered past me. I stayed where I was, but watched her walk away from me. “And Maven?”
“Yes?” I asked nervously.
“We don’t talk about this to anyone.” And then she was gone.
I couldn’t stop watching her for the rest of the day. Now that I knew there was more of a story behind her face then she let on, I couldn’t take my mind off her wounds. What had caused them? It certainly wasn’t the fall yesterday.
I frown at the new memory. I knew something was up when all the blood came gushing out of her seemingly broken body. The way she snarled when I asked what to do would stick with me forever. I’d felt angry when I returned with the nurse. Angry that she took off while she was obviously injured. It felt like a metal ball was rolling around in the pit of my stomach.
Calli didn’t once look over at me. She wouldn’t glance at me in the hallways either. We were now in the last class of the day. I’d consider myself lucky to have her in my classes. It’s not every day you meet a wonder like her.
Mr. Kendal tapped the board with his ruler. “This is partner work!” he said, animated to the point that he sounded fake as heck. I glance up. I hadn’t been paying any attention to the assignment. I had never been good at History anyway. Didn’t make much of a difference. It was my chance to talk to Calli, however, and I was not going to miss the opportunity. “But if you and your partner can’t cooperate with each other, I’ll be assigning you a permanent one for the rest of the year,” he said sternly. He ran his hand under his bulbous red nose. “Now. Get to work. Due Friday!”
I immediately look over to where Calli is sitting. But she’s blocked by the thin frame of Brenda. She had a small smile on her narrow face. “Hello,” she said cheerfully. “You want to be partners?”
I smiled back at her. “Sorry, but Calli and I are already partners.”
Brenda draws her brows together, looking back at Calli. “That’s a first. She never works with anyone. She talks to us every now and then, but refuses to interact.”
Calli is watching us with shrewd eyes. She knew what I was doing. She wanted no part of it. “Guess I’m just a lucky guy then,” I say. Brenda glances between us for another moment before finding Nolan.
I slid my desk so it was butt-up against Calli’s. “Howdy partner!” I holler.
Calli’s frosty blue eyes narrow. “I work alone, Maven.”
“Not today you don’t,” I tell her gleefully. “I need some answers.”
She stands. Not in a normal sort of way, but in an ominous kind of way. It’s silent and smooth. All in one motion. I gawk at her gracefulness even as she struggles with the pain inside her. She looms over me. Though she’s small, her aura alone is mysteriously shrouded in the shadows of lies. Her black hair falls over her eyes once again, concealing her behind a mask of secrets. “I work alone, Maven,” she repeats. I was starting to realize that she liked to repeat herself.
“I could tell…” I say loudly. A few look back at us but return to their work when they find Calli’s cold glare.
“Maven Verascue!” she yells at me. “If you want to keep your body intact, I suggest you don’t try to blackmail me.” Now everyone is looking at us.
“What is going on Ms. Jaspers!” Mr. Kendal yells at us. He’s only met with Calli’s severe glare. I didn’t know what he expected her to do. After all, wasn’t it obvious that she was not content?
“We’re just having a friendly argument, Sir,” I tell him, waving a hand dismissively. “She doesn’t agree with how we should go about this.”
She scowls at me but seems grateful that she didn’t have to talk. After all, she’d most likely regret her words later. Mr. Kendal strides over, big hands rubbing at his beady eyes. “How do you think you should go about it?”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. We’re doing it her way.”
Mr. Kendal was a little suspicious. Actually, he was really suspicious. However, he got distracted when Nolan cursed. With the teacher’s attention finally the other direction, I returned my attention to Calli. “Looks like we’re officially partners!’ I say cheerfully.
Calli doesn’t even try to fake enthusiasm. Her reply was dry as the Sahara Desert. “Yay,” she mutters. I grin at her. This would be by far the most interesting group project I had ever worked on. I didn’t even know what the project was about.
“So my place? Or yours?” I asked her.
She once again let her black curtain of hair fall over her eyes. “How about the park?”
I didn’t mean to, but I reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. Those icy blue eyes of hers met mine. I forgot to breathe for a second. What was happening to me? Every emotion I experienced around her was a jumbled mess. “Whatever you feel would be best for you,” I told her, still a little breathless. I pull my hand back like it had caught on fire; a quick, sharp motion.
Calli stared at me quizzically for a moment before sighing. “Being in a warm house would be better I suppose. I just don’t want to intrude on your family’s time together,” she relented.
I shook my head.. Sighing, I rub my temples. Mom and Dad were a little nuts sometimes. I loved my parents. Even if they couldn’t figure out their lives, I was glad they were a part of mine. “Does tonight work for you?”
Her frown lines only deepened. “I have to run home first…”
“I’ll go with you!” I said animatedly.
Calli immediately rejects the idea. She throws her hands above her head, almost hitting Nolan who is toying with Brenda’s scissors. “No. You know what goes on at home. I’m not taking you into that whole mess.”
“I technically didn’t know it happened at home. Seems like people give you the cold shoulder here. You could have been bullied for all I knew, but thank you for the clarification.”
Her cheeks flushed with a pinkish color. I felt the corner of my mouth twitch up in a sly smile. It was cute. She was cute. I need to get myself together. She’s a hot mess I don’t want to involve myself in.
Oh, but I so badly did.
“Let me walk you home so that I know you’ll come back to mine with me. After all, if he takes advantage of you, you wouldn’t want to show up. Plus, I’ll be there to prevent it from-”
“Ew! No!” She yelled. Nolan and Brenda looked at her.
“Did you seriously just yell, Calli sweety?” Nolan asked in a sweet voice. He was now toying with the poor girl. Calli’s cheeks grew even brighter.
“Shut it Nol.”
“Oh, but why would I? My little girl finally came out of her turtle shell.”
“Zip your lips Nolan before you regret the next words out of your mouth.”
Nolan smiles. I compare him next to the cheshire cat, but even the creepiest cat in the world could not beat the look on Nolan’s face. “Why though? I have a pet name now. Nol. I quite like it. Don’t you Brenda honey?”
Calli looked like smoke was coming out of her ears. Her face turned a dark shade of red, and her fists clenched at her sides. Brenda looked a little pink, and a little flustered. I roll my eyes and stand up. I’m taller than Nol. I’m tall and broad shouldered. He was short and thin. From what rumors I’d heard from people in the halls, he was a delinquent. Lived on the streets, and hardly ever went home.
“I would also think of myself as muscled and handsome.”
Nolan burst out laughing next to me. Poop. Did I say that out loud? “I may be a couple inches shorter than you, but I sure as heck would beat you in a fight,” he told me confidently.
Brenda was hiding her face in her hands. “Good to know, Maven. Good to know. Next time, I’ll call you up when I need a boost in confidence.”
Calli just stared at me, eyes of ice unnerving. “I said Ew. No. He doesn’t do anything like that.”
“Who?” Nolan asks.
“No one!” She and I say simultaneously. She looks surprised. I actually didn’t say anything. I smile at her, trying to keep it knowing. She didn’t trust anyone. Least of all me, I would presume. After all, I held information that she didn’t want shared.
“That’s suspicious man,” Nolan told us, glancing between us like he was trying to solve an impossible puzzle.
“Just don’t think about it dude.”
“How can I not?!” he said, pointing at me. “You had the same answer, and said it quickly. You’re horrible liars.”
Calli slammed her palm on the desk. “We were talking about the project dang it!” she told him. “Stop putting your pig nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“The project is a person now?” Nolan asked.
Calli growled beside me. “We were talking about where we were doing our projects. Then we got talking about our parents. And-”
“Say no more!” Nolan said, holding up a finger. His brown eyes are alarmed. “I don’t do parents,” he told me. His eyes were huge. “My Dad is a murderer, and Mom is a drug-lord.”
I felt my eyes widen. I swear it felt like there were no eyelids left after that. “Does everyone have issues here?”
“Mostly just the gang. Well, the big issues at least. Still tryna get dear ol’ Cal to join us though,” he said with another smile that sent shivers down my spine.
“You know she doesn’t do that kind of crap Nolan,” Brenda said, monotone. “At least I have one sane friend.”
Calli tensed at the word. It was like she’d never used it before. Or never been called that before. I could be wrong on both instances. But I was willing to bet.
The bell rang at that exact moment. “Speaking of perfect timing,” I say, turning to Calli. “I’ll see you at the doors.”