Woot, now I'm caught up!

     “You look like hell,” said Gali, warily scanning Anthony’s face.  They were walking through the hallways of High Glen, heading towards the cafeteria.
     “Good,” he said, “I feel like hell.  I stayed awake all night, playing X-Box.  I even did some homework.  And then I just took a shower and came to class.  No sleeping.  No lying down.”  Gali furrowed her brow.
     “Why didn’t you sleep?  We didn’t have any exams today…no big projects or papers, either.”
     “Yeah.  It’s not my grades that I’m worried about.  It’s the sleeping.  Ever since that night…in the cemetery….I can’t sleep a whole night without thinking about it, reliving it.  And then I wake up sweating.  It’s disgusting, and I can’t do it any more.”
     “You’re going to have to sleep eventually, Anthony,” said Gali.
     “I know.  I’m kind of hoping that if I go to bed totally exhausted, I’ll be too tired to dream.”  Gali smiled, hoping that her expression came off as regretful.
     “I don’t think it works that way, Anthony.  Sorry.”
     “Yeah.  Stupid ghosts….  What the hell is going on?”  He stepped away from her, dodging other passersby, making his way to the library entrance.  “I’m going to sleep for half an hour!  Food is for the weak.  Sleep is definitely not.”  
     Gali waved and then readjusted her backpack on her shoulder.  She felt her expression turn to disgust as she entered the cafeteria and found an empty table to sit at and eat her lunch.  Anthony really was her only friend at High Glen, at least before creating the Paranormal Research Team.  Everyone else was snobby, mostly bratty children of rich parents who felt that it was necessary for their children to go to boarding school.  The girls especially all thought that they were better than Gali.  She knew that she had absolutely nothing in common with any of them.  
     In fact, when Samantha had joined her ghost hunting club, she had been very afraid that she would be snobby and ditzy.  Her blonde hair, careful but not extreme makeup, and fashionable clothing certainly gave off the impression that she was a popular snob.
     She still didn’t know what to make of Perry, who similarly looked well-kept and fashionable, and for the most part used his sarcasm to make sure everybody was aware of his confidence.  Except, of course, when the sarcasm was dropped so that he could make biting remarks in front of everybody….Damn it.  
     “Hey, Gali,” said Perry, walking up to her with a big grin on his face.  A mascara-laden girl toting a Louis Vuitton purse walked over to Gali’s table with him.  Gali fought the urge to roll her eyes.  “Lindsey, this Gali,” said Perry, gesturing warmly to Gali, who was picking a bit of tuna out from between her teeth.  “Gali, this is Lindsey.  She’s in my grade.  We had a test today in math class, so we get to have lunch with the sophomores.  Where’s Anthony?”
     “Sleeping in the library.”
     Suddenly, the name ‘Lindsey’ clicked in Gali’s mind, and she remembered her name being the one that Perry had been excitedly talking to during the middle of their Halloween ghost hunt.
     “Hi!” said Lindsey, scooting a chair in under the table as Perry did likewise.
     “Hi,” said Gali, frostily.
     “Wow, so Perry tells me that you’re the leader of the Paranormal Research Team.  That’s so cool!  So what do you guys do?  Have you seen any ghosts yet?  What night of the week do you meet on?  I’ve been looking to join another club – Choir takes up a lot of time, but I need to meet new people too, you know what I mean?”  She smiled, revealing two rows of brilliantly white teeth.  There was no way in hell that this girl didn’t use whitening strips.  Gali hesitated, considering what the best reaction would be.  She opted for dripping sarcasm.
     “Like, wow, it is totally cool.  We like, look for ghosts?  With flashlights?  On Friday nights, or on Halloween?  When other people are having fun little parties?”  She paused, wondering where else she could go with her high-pitched, mocking tangent, but Lindsey made things easy for her.  She got out of her seat and smiled at Perry, as though his friend hadn’t just made her look like a complete airhead.
     “Um, I have to get to class – I wanted to talk to my teacher about the paper we have due next week.  I’ll see you later, Perry!”  She turned to Gali and opened her mouth.  Like Gali, she too hesitated for a moment, and then said, “It was nice meeting you, Gali.  I’ll see you around!”  She walked away, keeping an iron grip on her purse handles.
     Perry was staring at Gali hard, heaping tension between them.
     “Well,” said Gali airily, taking a sip of milk, “she was everything I thought she would be.  Very preppy.”
     “What, exactly, does that mean?” said Perry, tracing circles on the table with his forefinger, but not taking his eyes off of hers.  His mouth was twisted into a smile – a bitter, disgusted smile.
     “That she was exactly how I envisioned her – blonde and bubbly.”
     “So what?” said Perry.  “You know, you are the most judgmental person I’ve ever met.  I know you think that the popular kids are the ones judging you, but did you notice that she was making a huge effort to connect with you?  She was being nice.  It’s like you have a personal vendetta against anybody who doesn’t have a hobby they wear on their sleeve like you do.  If you and I had passed randomly in the hallway or on a street, would you ever have guessed that we could be friends?”
     “…That’s not the point.”
     “Actually, that’s exactly the point, Gali.  If you want to miss out on people who actually do have things in common with you because you’re too afraid to talk about anything except your stupid hobby – ghost hunting, for Christ’s sake – even with us, your friends – then that’s your own loss.  It means you get fewer friends.  It means you get fewer fun experiences.  It means you miss out.  That’s your loss, and I can’t really do much about it.  But, seriously?  My friends?  Are my friends for a reason.  Maybe I don’t talk to Lindsey every day.  We don’t know every minute detail of each other’s lives.  But she’s still my friend.  Lay off.”  He picked up his almost-empty soda can and tilted his head back to drain it as he walked away.
     Gali wasn’t entirely sure how to react at first.  She was stunned for a few moments, and then grew angry.  Perry had absolutely no right to speak to her like that.  She had her reasons for knowing how people were.  She could always tell by looking whether or not she had anything in common with another person.
     She sat at the table and opened her Biology notebook, preparing to look over her notes before class.  Something was nagging at her, though.  She thought about Perry, who never went anywhere without his Puma sneakers.  His dirty blonde hair with highlights.  His acid-wash jeans.  Even Samantha – if she wasn’t so damn shy, she was exactly like the Lindseys in Gali’s school.  Blonde, immaculately groomed, nice jewelry, fashionably clothed.
     She could feel a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.  Perry was right; she was irrationally judgmental when she had absolutely no right to be anything but open-minded.  In fact, just that moment, hadn’t Lindsey just tried to establish a connection with her by forging a common interest?  Gali had given her a clipped answer, assuming that Lindsey was only asking so that she could make fun of her later.  
How could she be so stupid?  Lindsey had never been anything but nice to her, but she hadn’t focused on that.  Instead, she had focused on what?  Appearances?  What could that possibly tell?  If she were to judge herself on her appearance alone, what would she be forced to conclude?  Probably that I’m an unhappy, spiteful girl, she thought to herself.  For a moment, she felt disgusted with herself for the self-pity, but she realized that it really was true.  The reason she felt so angry with Perry both last night and right now was because everything he said was true.
     Knowing that she wouldn’t start to feel better until she could talk to someone else, she packed her things into her backpack and set off for the library to find Anthony before Biology started.

     Three days later, it was Saturday, and four days had passed since Halloween.  Adrian Rhodes was walking from his car to the school.  He had just spent the morning grading papers, and now it was time to meet the kids of the Paranormal Research Team.  He and Gali had decided that meeting again on Friday would have been too soon since their Halloween meeting.  Adrian hoped that by Saturday, things would have cooled down a bit between Perry and Gali.  Yet, there wasn’t much he could do about it.  Both of them were headstrong teenagers, and silly fights were just something that happened in high school.
     It was cold outside – the coldest it had been thus far that year, anyway.  In addition to his scarf, Mr. Rhodes had donned an ear wrap, gloves, and a knit cap.  Woolen socks warmed his feet underneath his boots.  He had finally accepted the fact that his black woolen coat was no longer warm enough, and had brought out his winter jacket that actually protected his body from the wind.
     Nearly all of the leaves had fallen off the trees.  The biting wind pushed them along sidewalks, lawns, and dirt.  It was an invisible force, controlling the soulless leaves’ every twitch.  They crunched underneath his feet with every step he took.  He finally reached the door of the school and let himself inside.  After taking a moment to allow the warmth of the air in the building to seep over his entire body, he started removing his scarf and other articles of winter clothing as he walked to his classroom.
     Upon opening the door, he was surprised to find Samantha already in the room, sitting at a desk, working out math problems.  Mr. Rhodes had come early himself, hoping to be in the room before any of the kids got there.
     “Hi, Sam!” he said brightly, setting down his small pile of clothing, still warm from his body.
     “Hi, Mr. Rhodes,” she said, putting down her pencil.
     “Having trouble concentrating in the dormitory?” he asked, setting his coat on the back of his desk chair.
     “Yeah,” she said, making eye contact with him as he sat down.  “I guess most people don’t do their homework on Saturdays, but I like to try and get it done as soon as I can, so I can go over it again before class and make sure it’s right.”  Mr. Rhodes smiled.
     “You kids – it’s no surprise you had to get out of public school and come to boarding school!  I don’t know how you survived until now!”  Samantha smiled bashfully.
     “Yeah…I guess I’m a little too intense for my own good.  I didn’t go to public school before High Glen, though; I went to Catholic school.”  She fingered the gold cross that hung from a chain around her neck.
     “Ah, I see.”  He bent over and picked up his bag.  After rifling through it, he pulled out a sandwich.  “I haven’t eaten dinner yet – I’m guessing you already did, since it’s almost 7:00.”  Sam laughed.
     “Yeah, I ate in the dining hall earlier.”
     “I thought so,” said Mr. Rhodes.  He spun around in his chair and opened up the small refrigerator behind him.  “You’re welcome to some apple cider, though.  I don’t know about you, but I prefer it cold.  I have mugs in the cupboard over here.”  He had already risen from his chair and crossed the distance between his desk and the small cupboard mounted on the wall.
     “Um, yeah!  I’d like some,” said Sam.  Mr. Rhodes smiled as he poured some into a glass for her.
     “My mom always had apple cider for me on the weekends during the fall.  I could never break the habit, even in college.”  Samantha felt intrigued by this; it had never occurred to her that she might still miss her mother when she was as old as Mr. Rhodes – out of graduate school and holding a steady job, living on her own.
     “Really?  I guess my mom usually made hot chocolate more often than we had apple cider.”  There was noise in the hallway – sarcastic banter was being exchanged between Anthony and Gali.
     “Hello,” said Anthony as they entered the room, pausing to remove their mittens and coats.  Mr. Rhodes and Sam responded in turn, as Sam mentally kicked herself for not thinking to ask Gali if she wanted to walk over to Mr. Rhodes’ classroom with her.
     “Ooooh, is that apple cider?” asked Gali, pointing at the contents of Sam’s Mickey Mouse mug.
     “Yes, let me pour you some,” said Mr. Rhodes.
     “Hey guys,” said Perry, entering the room while still rubbing his hands together, using the friction to warm them.  Mr. Rhodes poured a mug of cider for him without asking whether or not he wanted any.
     “Hey, man,” said Anthony, not wanting to wait and give Gali the chance to be the first to speak to Perry.  Perry offered him a half-wave, half-salute as he slid into the desk in front of Samantha’s, sitting in it backwards with his legs on either side so he could look at her papers.
     “What are we working on, here?  Math?”
     “Yeah,” she said, flustered, fumbling for her folder and quickly shoving the papers inside.  “I was just finishing.”
     “Ah, okay,” said Perry.  He sipped some cider, and then lifted his head and met Gali’s eyes.  “So, what’s up for tonight?”


Music Used Whilst Writing This Post: Tool - 10,000 Days Album