The Art of Life (61 page)

               
Eric frowns, “Are you sure you
are okay?”

               
“Yeah,” I answer quietly.
 
“It’s just been a long seven days.
 
I am not feeling completely social right
now.”

               
“Why don’t you and I do lunch
then?
 
We can go into one of the science
rooms,” he offers.

               
I arch my eyebrow.
 
“You want to eat lunch with me?”

               
“Sure,” he replies.
 
“You don’t need to eat alone, if you don’t
want to be around a group of people.”

               
“That would be nice.
 
Thanks.”
 
I bashfully look away.
 
“Well, I
should get to class,” I say.
 
“I will see
you at lunch?”

               
“Yeah,” he retorts.
 
“I will meet you here.”

               
I smile.
 
“Okay, see you then.”
 
With that I turn and go to class.
 
Even with being scared to be here, I can’t
help but smile.
 
I did miss a week’s
worth of school, but I am thankfully not that far behind.

               
When lunch comes, Eric is
leaning against our lockers.
 
He
smiles.
 
“You ready?”

               
“Yeah, let me grab my lunch,” I
say.
 
He steps away from our
lockers.
 
I open mine up and grab my
bag.
 
“What room do you want to eat in?”

               
“Mr.
Berd
lets people eat in the biology rooms.
 
So, we can go there.”
 
Eric nudges
his head down the hall and we start to walk.
 
“So, may I ask what your emergency was?
 
You don’t talk about your private life much.
 
Did something happen to Jeremy?”

               
Shaking my head, I reply, “No,
he is fine.
 
If it wasn’t for him, I
don’t know where I would be right now.”

               
There is silence as we walk into
the science room.
 
No one else is in
there, which is nice.
 
We take a seat at
one of the tables.
 
“I am glad to hear
that Jeremy is okay.”

               
A pain starts to form in my
chest.
 
I clench my hands tightly.
 
“Me too,” I whisper.

               
“So, anyway,” Eric starts.
 
“What can you talk about?
 
What did you do this past week?”

               
The tightness in my chest grows
and tears start to well up in my eyes.
 
No, no, no, this can’t happen!
 
Grabbing my stuff, I stand up.
 
“I
am sorry Eric, I can’t do this.
 
I have
to go home.”

               
“Isabelle,” he says, grabbing my
arm, forcing me to stop.
 
“Wait, stay, I
won’t push you.
 
Whatever happened, it’s
alright.
 
We don’t have to talk about
it.”

               
Tears trickle down my face and I
wipe them away.
 
“I shouldn’t be around
anyone right now,” I murmur.

               
“Hey, relax and sit down.
 
We are the only ones in here.
 
I will even go shut the door.
 
Just sit and eat lunch.”

               
I turn to him and he gives me a
gentle look.
 
“Okay,” I whisper.
 
Awkwardly, I sit back down.

               
Eric stands up and does as he
said he would, he shuts the door.
 
When
he comes back, Eric says, “See, there, no one else around.”

               
“Thanks.”
 
We sit there silently for a while.
 
I twiddle with my lunch bag.
 
“Something bad happened,” I whisper.
 
“Something really bad.”

               
“Okay,” Eric replies.
 
“You can tell me if you want.
 
No judgment.”

               
My eyes drift to the side.
 
“I don’t know.
 
We barely know each other.
 
I mean, I don’t know if I can….trust
you.
 
No offense.”

               
“None taken,” Eric says.
 
“I am here if you want to talk.
 
Otherwise we can eat lunch.
 
Would you like a cheese puff?”
 
He hands the bag over.

               
That makes me laugh.
 
“Yes, thank you.”
 
I reach in and take one.
 
“You know we would probably be really
disgusted if we found out what this powdered cheese stuff was.”

               
“What!?”
Eric gasps.
 
“It’s not real cheese!?
 
Say it
ain’t
so.”

               
Snorting, I say, “Yes, elves
make magic cheese dust.”

               
“They do, my mommy said so,”
Eric grins biting one.

               
I just shake my head.
 
“I will have to find out what’s in that stuff
and let you know.”

               
Eric turns the bag and looks at
the side.
 
“Well, in the first twenty
things that are labeled, none of them are cheese.”

               
“
Eww
,”
I whine.
 
“That’s nasty!”

               
He pops another one in their
mouth and moans, “But they are
soooo
good.”
 
Thrusting the bag over, Eric smiles, “You
know you want to indulge.”

               
Smirking, I reach in and take
one.
 
“Thank you.”

               
“You’re welcome.”

               
I pull out my lunch.
 
“Jeremy demanded that I eat healthy, so I
have nothing fun like cheese puffs.
 
He
wanted to get nothing but chips and cookies for food for the apartment.
 
I told him we couldn’t survive on that, so
now he is on a health kick.
 
No junk food
for my lunches.”

               
“Wait, what?
 
He lives with you?” Eric asks skeptically.

               
“Oh,” I whisper.
 
“Umm, no…..actually…..I live with him.
 
I just moved in there last week.”

               
With a dumbfounded expression,
Eric says, “So, you live with him?
 
Like
without your parents?”

               
“Yeah, please
Eric,
you can’t say anything to anyone.
 
Please, please, don’t say anything,” I plead.

               
Shaking his head, he assures,
“No, I promise I won’t say anything, but Isabelle, do you think that’s a good
idea.
 
I mean how long have you been
going out with this guy?
 
I mean, you are
only a senior.”

               
“We aren’t going out, per
say.
 
We are roommates,” I state.

               
“Why would you move in with a
guy you aren’t dating?
 
I am so
confused.”

               
Slowly, I put down my
lunch.
 
“Okay, I will explain, but I
am trusting
you not to say anything.
 
It would ruin me if you did.”

               
“Okay, I am not going to repeat
anything,” Eric replies, setting his stuff down.
 
“Now, tell me.”

               
“Well, the reason I am so shy
about my home life is because my mom is an alcoholic.
 
She really isn’t even a mother; she just gave
birth to me.
 
Anyway, the other night her
boyfriend was over…….and something happened.”
 
I pause and look at Eric.

               
He furrows his eyebrows, “Did he
do something to your mom?”
 
I take a deep
breath and shake my head.
 
That’s when I
single tear falls down my cheek.
 
I wipe
it away.
 
Eric looks at me and then gets
a look of horror.
 
“Did he do something
to you!?”

               
Choking back my words, I
respond, “Yes.”
 
Carefully, I take off
the scarf around my neck.
 
Eric’s hand
quickly goes over his mouth.
 
“He held me
down and tried…..but didn’t succeed.
 
Jeremy wouldn’t let me go back.
 
I
don’t want to go back.
 
So, that is why I
moved in with him.”
 
Quickly, I wrap the
scarf back around my neck.

               
“I am so sorry Isabelle,” Eric
softly says.
 
“Are you okay?”

               
“I have been better,” I
nervously laugh.
 
“Jeremy is taking good
care of me, and I felt like I could possibly make it through a day of school.”

               
Eric reaches across the table
and puts his hand on top of mine.
 
“I
won’t say a word to anyone, I promise.
 
The kids around here can be ruthless.
 
I can understand why you are so scared.
 
You did nothing wrong, Isabelle.”

               
“It’s hard to think that way,” I
sigh.
 
“Sometimes, it’s like it didn’t
happen, like it’s so unreal, that it couldn’t possibly have happened.”

               
“I am glad Jeremy was, well, is
there for you.
 
If you need anything, you
can ask me.
 
I realize I am only 18 and
still live with my parents, but I am here, if you need me.”

               
That makes me smile.
 
“Thanks.
 
I wouldn’t mind having a cheese puff.”

               
Smiling, Eric says, “I can do
that.”

               
We sit through the rest of lunch
just quietly talking.
 
He doesn’t bring
up what I told him again.
 
It’s nice to
not having someone pry about it.
 
There
is actually a few times where I laugh.
 
As we walk out of the room, I say, “Thanks Eric.
 
This was nice.”

               
“Hey, I am going to sneak you
your own bag of cheese puffs tomorrow.
 
Just don’t tell Jeremy.
 
I have a
feeling he wouldn’t be too happy with me.
 
I am being a bad influence, trying to get you hooked on a fake cheese
carb snack.”

               
With a giggle I retort, “Are you
going to be my cheese poof dealer.”

               
“Yeah, I am going to get you
hooked on them and then charge you double.
 
A buck ninety nine versus ninety nine cents.”

               
“I don’t know if I can handle
such a steep mark up,” I sigh sarcastically.
 
“Jeremy may wonder where all the money is going.”

               
Eric laughs.
 
“Oh
my gosh
, I
bringing you a bag every day now, just because it’s funny.”

               
“Awesome,” I retort.
 
“Well, my class is the other way.
 
So, I will see you later.
 
Thanks for hanging out with me.”

               
“No problem young lady.
 
Have fun in your classes, or at least, try
to.
 
I know mine are pretty boring.”

               
Shrugging, I say, “I actually
like my last classes.”

               
“Well, now I am jealous,” Eric
sighs.
 
“Well, then you can have
fun.
 
See you later.”
 
He waves and turns to leave.