I want to do something that means something to someone, anyone, she said to herself. Cadence Harris looked at herself in the mirror. She had shoulder length golden brown hair that she always pushed back into a ponytail. She didn’t wear any makeup. It wasn’t really a statement as much as it was the fact that she didn’t want to pay for it. There were more important things to spend money on than simply manufactured beauty. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she felt content with her look for the first time that day. She was in no way stunning, but she wasn’t ugly either. She had an essence of purity and innocence about her, something that could never be manufactured.
Her textbooks were stacked neatly on her desk inside her room. She was taking all advance classes, which always made her mom smile. Her Geometry homework sat unfinished. Looking at the clock, Cadence felt she had enough time to get to school early enough so she could meet up with Ms. Flinch, her geometry teacher, and attempt to get some one-on-one time before her geometry class started at 7:20 sharp. The clock read 6:03. She placed her books and her homework in her book bag. Slipping her book bag around her shoulder, she decided it was time to leave her bedroom and begin the day.
Her mother sat at the dining room table sipping a cup of tea. Her mother had a pixie cut. Seeing Cadence step in, her mother held up her cup.
“Nah, just water, Ma,” she said.
Her mother started to get up, but Cadence stopped her saying she would get a glass for herself.
“Is it today?” her mother asked.
“What?” Cadence asked even though she had heard her the first time. Sometimes Cadence just started talking before she gave her brain time to process what had just been said. By the time she had said the word ‘what’ she had already processed what was said. She carried her glass of water over to the table, placed her book bag at the foot of the door, and started sitting down while her mother repeated her question.
“Yeah, actually,” Cadence said with a smile. As much as she attempted to suppress her excitement, the happier, the more excited she became.
Her mother returned the smile. “Don’t try to hold it back! You should be very proud of yourself. It’s a great idea and I’m certain a lot of people will go for it.”
“Thanks, Ma,” Cadence whispered her response back.
They continued to sit in silence as the time slipped away. The clock now read 6:20. Cadence grabbed her book bag and walked out of the door. Her mother stepped in the doorframe beckoning her back in. Cadence kissed her cheek.
“I love you, Cadence,” her mother said as Cadence began to walk away.
Cadence turned around and with a smile said, “Yeah, I love you too.” She walked away as the bus pulled up on the end of the street. She felt the urge to run even though the bus was only a house over. The bus was 5 minutes earlier than usual, or she was 5 minutes later, she couldn’t tell.
Stepping on, she knew it was just going to be another normal day. She saw him again. Sitting in the very back of the bus sleeping in his letterman jacket as usual was the most athletic boy in her class. Athletics were big at Oak Stream High. Kerass Coscarelli was only a freshman, but his strength and size brought people in droves to see freshman football games. More people watched the freshmen games than the varsity games. He bore a crew cut, which only increased his intimidation factor on the field. He seemed a million miles away from Cadence.
The bus pulled into Oak Stream’s parking lot. Cadence immediately began walking from point A, the bus, to point C, the geometry classroom. There was no time for point B. Point B did not exist. Point B was reserved for talking to friends, but after transferring to Oak Stream midway through her freshman year, she had yet to gain any. A month and a half had gone by since she had transferred and she felt like she had barely been noticed. No one stopped her in the hall as she made her way to the geometry room and sat down at 7:00. Oak Stream felt like another world entirely, one she had yet to learn the societal rules of.
Jay Meyer jumped as his locker was closed in front of him. Kerass laughed at Jay while he held his hand over his heart trying to calm himself down. Jay smiled back at him. “You’re such a jerk, you know that?”
“Oh yeah, then why you smiling?” Kerass responded.
Jay then joined in with the laughter. Jay had gelled jet black hair. The spikes in his hair only made him stand out more in a sea of people that just went with the flow. Jay wore a red shirt. In black letters ‘The Crucible – See it March 12-14’ was written on the center of the shirt.
“How’s rehearsals going?” Kerass asked.
Jay paused looking guilty. “They could always be better, I guess.”
Kerass could sense that something was wrong. He asked Jay about it and Jay responded that he had yet to memorize his lines. The yelling from his fellow cast mates and the show’s director shook him up pretty badly. “I’m sorry,” Kerass offered. Jay accepted it with a smile on his face.
“It’ll be fine. I play the evil judge. I get to wear a wig. At least I don’t have to change my hair this time,” Jay said with a smirk.
Kerass yawned attempting to stay awake. Jay play punched him in the stomach knocking the wind out of Kerass. Kerass smiled right back at Jay.
“How are your stats coming, football stud?” Jay asked.
“For one thing I’m not a stud. You know I don’t pay attention to that sorta stuff,” Kerass said.
Jay smiled. “Yeah, I know.”
Kerass sighed, finally awake. “Are you coming to the game Friday afternoon?”
The smile immediately left Jay’s face. Jay explained that he would love to, but he had rehearsal during that time. He then began to promise that he would come to every game he possibly could, but he would have to skip this one. “Go score a basket for me, ok?”
“They’re called touchdowns…” Kerass said agitated.
“You can’t blame me, I don’t understand anything about this sports stuff.”
Kerass’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, I know. That’s why we’re friends.” Kerass pulled out his geometry homework. “Hey, do you have Ms. Flinch?”
“Nah, I have Mr. Martin. You know, that whole weird two first names thing?”
Kerass said that he had best go to her room to try to figure out the answer to the problem. “Maybe I could get some one-on-one tutoring time or something.” Jay told him to snap it. They slid their right hands over each other and snapped in unison. That was their ritual to end every conversation. It beat saying goodbye by a long shot, plus to them it looked cool. It was all just another day between the two of them.
Kerass sprinted up the stairs two at a time to reach the math hallway. By the time he made it to room M25, it was only 7:05. Someone was already in the room. He felt like he recognized her outside of the classroom for some reason, but he couldn’t quite place it. She was the new girl, of that he was certain.
“I bet we have the same question. Do you mind if I join in?” She shook her head. He sat down right beside her. He glanced over at her sheet of paper making sure of her name before he said anything else. “You’re new here, right, Cadence?”
“Yeah,” she said with a nod.
“Hey, are you that girl?” He asked. “That girl they’ve talked about on the announcements?”
She smiled back at him. A few more questions were asked to no avail before they both became solely focused on finding the obtuse angle. The problem was actually quite simple once the teacher explained it.
The announcements came on over an intercom full of static. The usual things were announced. The freshmen football game was Friday at 3:30. Kerass’s stats began to be read. He immediately covered his ears trying to block out all sound until the announcement was over. Cadence mouthed to him that it was over which instantly relieved him. He looked back up just in time to hear that play rehearsals were Thursday and Friday from 2:30-5:00.
“And lastly, the peer support group meets up for their first meeting ever after school at 2:30 today in the English hallway at room D60. Ask Mr. Hendricks or Cadence Harris for more details. Now, let us pause for a minute of silence.”
The intercom went silent. Eyes shifted over to Cadence who remained silent staring at the white board.
The end of the day seemed like it took forever to get to, but finally the final bell rang. Cadence made her way down to room D60 and made it at 2:14 sharp. Mr. Hendricks said he had a meeting to go to, but he would return once it was over at 3:00. Cadence smiled at him as he walked out the door.
Her excitement was boiling over. She couldn’t wait for people to walk inside the door. The time kept ticking on. 2:20…2:30…2:40…she was getting anxious. Nobody had shown up. She was about to leave, but decided instead to stay behind until Mr. Hendricks had returned. She walked over to the window and stared at the barren trees outside.
There was a knock at the door. Her first thought was to look at the clock. It was 2:45. Her eyes fell down on the person who stood in the doorway. She couldn’t believe her eyes. It was Kerass. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” he said stepping inside the door.
She continued to stare at him. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be happening. Nobody was happier in the freshmen class than Kerass. No one had gotten more support than Kerass. Everybody liked Kerass. Why was he the only one to show up for the peer support group?
“Is the meeting over?” he asked.
“No,” she replied back, surprised that her voice actually worked. She looked into his eyes. They were filled with such sorrow. They seemed so empty. She had to say something. She had to ask. “Why are you here, Kerass?”
“I need help.”
She sighed, trying to muster the courage to keep talking. Nothing was helping. She was still in shock that he was the only one who had shown up.
“Please.”
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