When I'm Gone (6 page)

Chapter 10-August 30, 2001 (Claire)

It was time to paint my classroom. I glanced around the room, noticing the bare walls and empty desks. I had asked the principal beforehand before I went to buy the paint. He agreed
under
one condition; that it was school appropriate.
“Ready Alex?”
I smiled at him. Alex had just carried in the last can of paint. He eased into one of the desks and held up a finger.
“Give me a minute. Those paint cans are heavy. And I had to carry them across the school,” he breathed. I laughed and ruffled his hair. He pulled away, a grimace on his face.
“Let’s do this,” I said and pulled him to his feet. Together, we laid out tarps along the wall and set two cans of paint beside each one.
“What are you going to paint them like?” Alex rested an arm on my shoulder. I pulled on the hem of my painting shirt and smiled.
“You’ll see,” I told him and handed him a paint brush.
“Ugh,” he groaned. I let out a laugh.
“Now, let’s get to work.”
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A few hours later, we had painted the bases of the walls. They were all pitch black and a little menacing-looking.
“Are you going to do anything else to them?” Alex asked with a pained look on his face.
“Of course,” I replied. “But, that is for Sunday. Let’s just finish painting the backgrounds.”
“But, what about that wall?” he asked, pointing to the far wall beside my art easel. It was still the pale yellow the other walls were before we painted them.
“That wall?” I repeated. He nodded. “Come on.”
I led him to the wall and picked the top off the can of paint. Inside, the paint looked like the same black the other walls were
.
“It’s just black,” Alex commented and looked at me. Smiling, I poured the paint out into a pan.
“It may look like ‘just black’, but actually, it is chalkboard paint,” I explained. I laughed at his blank look.
“Chalkboard paint?”
He looked doubtful.
“Yes,
chalkboard paint
. After it dries onto the wall, you can write on it with chalk and then erase it when needed. I thought it would be cool for my students to write on the walls.” Excitement lit up his face and he grinned.
“Cool!” he shouted and grabbed his paint roller. He dipped it into the paint and rolled it onto the wall. Soon enough, we were both going at it on the wall and on each other. Black was everywhere, even on us. Laughing, I placed a streak of paint on Alex’s chest.
“Excuse me?” A loud voice interrupted our laughter and I turned towards the door.
A petite girl around my age leaned against the door frame with a smirk on her face. Her fiery red hair was in curls around her heart-shaped face. She had bright blue eyes and very pale skin that sparkled in the
flourescent
lights.
I placed my roller on the pan and wiped my hands on my jeans. I walked over to her and stuck out my hand. She returned the gesture and we shook hands.
“Hi, I’m-”
“Claire Barnes. You teach art for the seniors,” she finished for me. When she saw my expression, she just laughed. “I saw your forms on the principal’s desk. She never files her stuff.”
“Oh,” I murmured.
“Who’s behind you?” She sounded too curious.
“Oh, that’s my brother Alex,” I stated and Alex nodded at her. Her grin flickered but only for a second
.
“I’m Lauren Elizabeth,” she introduced herself. “I teach theater.”
“Oh yeah,” I said. “I just recalled that this is a school for the arts.”
“Yeah,” Lauren laughed.
“What?”
“Oh, I’m just waiting to see how you do on your first day of class. These students are serious about their work. And I mean serious.” She put a lot of emphasis on the last word. I shrugged.
“So am I, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have fun with it,” I said. Lauren shook her head and laughed at my comment. Underneath my skin, I felt my blood start to boil.
“Honey, you must not know a thing about rich teenagers,” she teased me. The blood drained from my face and my eyes narrowed into slits.
“Well, I’m sorry that I grew up by myself, poor and alone. I’m sorry that I wasn’t rich like all of these other teenagers,” I retaliated. Lauren’s eyes widened and she took a small step back.
“I-I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t know,” she stammered. I rolled my eyes
.
“Of course you didn’t know. Who cares to ask about somebody’s past?” I raised my voice an inch. She took another small step back and lowered her eyes.
“Claire,” she started.
“Don’t even worry about it,” I cut her off. She looked back up at me and frowned. Even I knew that there was still fire in my eyes.
“Lauren?” A deep voice called out.
“In here, Jeff,” she shouted back and turned to me, an apologetic smile gracing her lips. A few seconds later a tall man came into view and placed an arm around Lauren’s shoulders.
He had dark wavy hair and molten brown eyes. The smile on his face lit up the room and made the corners of his eyes crinkle, making him look younger than he really was. He was well built and about a half of a foot taller that Lauren. She smiled up at him, with a look of adoration.
Behind me, Alex cleared his throat. Startled, she looked back at me. She placed her left hand on his chest and I noticed a slight sparkle on one of the fingers. Looking closer, I realized a small three carat diamond rested on her ring finger.
“Um, Claire, this is my
fiance
, Jeff,” she said. “Jeff, this is the new senior art teacher, Claire Barnes.”
“Nice to meet you,” he greeted me and we shook hands.
“Same to you,” I told him through clenched teeth. He smiled tightly and turned back to Lauren
.
“Honey, we have to go. We have an appointment at the church in half an hour,” he murmured and gave her a kiss on her forehead.
I turned away and looked at Alex. I stuck my finger down my throat and made a gagging noise. He shot me a look and shook his head. I quickly spun around to find out that Lauren was now alone and staring at me.
“Sorry,” she said, trying to catch my eye. I knew there would be hurt in them, so I kept looking at my Vans. “But, I have to go. The wedding is in a month and we have to do last minute details.”
“You don’t have to explain to me,” I replied, trying to get her to leave.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she repeated
.
“You don’t have to apologize all the time either. It’s really annoying,” I shot at her.
All of a sudden, her stance hardened and she tensed up. I glanced at her and she glared back at me. I raised my eyebrows and watched her carefully.
“What?” I asked. She let out a long breath and kept staring at me.
“People can call me many things, Claire. They can call me ugly or weird or even a slut.
But, when people start trying to judge me right after I meet them, gets on my last nerve.
You don’t know me, Claire, and yet, you are judging me completely. You know what? I can do the same thing.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked with a blank look on my face.
“I can judge you the same way you are judging me. Honestly, the first time I saw you painting your walls, I thought that you were a freak. That you weren’t mature and that you acted like a kid. I thought that there was no way you could be a teacher to seniors and yet the principal hired you.”
I felt my cheeks get hot and I glared at her. She let out a haughty laugh.
“See, Claire? I can be just like you. And when I am, you don’t like it so much. So stop being so freaking cynical and distant and act like an adult.”
With that being said, she stormed off. I looked back at Alex who just shrugged and looked away. Then, I noticed the wall which was done.
“I finished it while you two were talking,” Alex said with nonchalance. I laughed and pulled him into a hug.
“I love you, you know that?” I exclaimed.
“I think you’ve told me that a few times before,” he teased and pushed me away.
“Now, we have to clean up,” I groaned and Alex chuckled.
“We can do it.” He flexed his arms. “We’re strong people.”
I did the same and said in a low voice, “We are, aren’t we?”
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Somehow, in only an hour Alex and I were able to throw away the paint pans, the rollers and the paint brushes. We had picked up, folded the tarps, and put them in the supply closet. And we were also able to put up the paint cans for future use.
“Let’s go sis,” Alex said, tugging on my arm. I laughed and let him lead me out of the school and into the blinding sunlight.

Chapter 11-September 1, 2001 (Michael)

I couldn’t get my mind off of her. She consumed my every thought, overpowering me. I found myself remembering even the little details of her; like how whenever she was annoyed, she twisted a lock of her short cinnamon hair around her finger.
I wanted to see her again, but she wanted nothing to do with me. I thought I had gotten through a little bit that Wednesday night. However, she was avoiding me more than ever. Whenever I saw her in the lobby or in the hallway, she would look away and hurry off.
“Herring, where are you?” Somebody snapped their fingers in front of my face and I snapped out of my trance. I looked over at Andrew who was lowering his hand. His eyes detected a hint of confusion, but it may have been sadness too.
“Sorry, my mind has been going in a million directions,” I confessed. Andrew laughed and slapped a hand on my back.
“We all know that, Michael,” he said, gesturing to the rest of the men there. They all nodded and some chuckled.
“Oh,” I paused, trying to come up with an excuse.
“Claire on your mind?”
Andrew guessed. I was about to lie, until I saw his expression. I cast my eyes downwards and looked at my socked feet.
“A little,” I complied and Andrew let out another laugh.
“A little?”
He repeated with doubt in his voice. Rolling my eyes, I groaned.
“Okay, a lot,” I admitted. Andrew nodded.
“See? Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” he asked.
“No,” I replied. I eased into a seat and faced Andrew. He gave me a sad smile and sighed.
“What’s up, bro?” he inquired sincerely. I shrugged
.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” I started. All of a sudden the bell started ringing. I let out a moan and stood up.
“We’ll finish this conversation later, okay?” Andrew asked as we ran to the truck. I jumped into my pants and nodded
.
“Okay,” I said and pulled on my coat. We jumped into the
firetruck
and sped off into the night.
-----------------------------------------------------
“That was a bad fire,” I commented as we walked upstairs to the bedroom. Andrew and Seth grunted in agreement behind me. After finally reaching the top, I
flopped
onto my bed. Andrew and Seth did the same and we sat in silence for a few minutes.
“Ugh, I smell like smoke and fire,” Seth groaned sniffing his shirt.
“Don’t we all?” I muttered. I heard Andrew stand up and I looked over at him. He grinned and motioned towards the locker room
.
“I’m going to take a shower.
Anyone with me?”
He laughed and Seth jumped up
.
“I’ll go too,” he agreed and they turned to look at me. I shook my head and shrugged.
“I like the smell of smoke,” I said and they laughed.
“Peace out,” Seth shot back and they walked off. I smiled and leaned back on my pillow.
“I’m glad they are gone,” I
mutered
to myself. “Now, I can get some peace and quiet, even if it is just for a little while.”
I closed my eyes and drifted off.
I was running. At first, I didn’t know where I was. It wasn’t until I noticed the trees blurring beside me, that I realized that I was in a forest.
The greens and browns all blurred into one disgusting color as I ran past them.
“Michael,” someone called out behind me. I let out a shout and picked up my pace. There was the sound of footsteps coming up behind me. I felt a hitch in my ankle as I almost tripped over a branch.
I had to run faster. I didn’t know why, but I knew I was in danger. I could see a bright light ahead and I ran towards it. As I got closer, I could see grass and a bright blue sky.
“Michael,” the voice called again; it was high-pitched and playful, a girl’s voice. I shuddered violently as I ran.
“Leave me alone,” I yelled over my shoulder. A soft laugh drifted towards me and I willed myself not to stop, to see who it was.
I burst
throught
the light and stopped suddenly. The light had led me to a cliff that hung above a dark abyss. I swallowed loudly and heard the soft crunch of leaves behind me.
“Michael?” she inquired. I spun around to face her when she attacked me, knocking both of us off the cliff. I screamed for help as we tumbled into the darkness, her hand wrapped around my wrist.
I could feel a pair of lips at the base of my neck.
“Michael.” A loud voice yelled into my ear. I sat up quickly, knocking my head against someone else’s.
“Good God,” I yelped and opened my eyes. I saw Seth rubbing a hand against his forehead, his sandy blonde hair still wet from the shower. I squinted and saw Andrew behind him, smothering his laughter with his hand.
“Told you not to yell at him while he’s sleeping,” Andrew warned him. Seth shot him a look and sat on the bed next to mine.
“Yeah, usually Andrew just throws something at me,” I explained. Suddenly, a pillow hit me on the side of the head. I flicked my eyes to Andrew who stood with his hands behind his back, whistling. “Just like that.”
“What?” Andrew looked back at me, a glint in his eye. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, you don’t” I muttered sarcastically. Andrew laughed and sat at the foot of my bed. I sat up and ran a fist over my eyes, making any sleep disappear.
“So,” Seth started, making the room get a little awkward.
“So,” I repeated.
“So, about Claire,” Andrew finished for us.
“What about her?” I asked a little over-protectively.
“Michael, you have been thinking about her for days on end, now. You get distracted easily and you are heard in your sleep, mumbling her name,” Andrew said softly.
“I do not!” I exclaimed, looking at Seth for reassurance. He shrugged and gave me an apologetic smile.
“Actually, you do,” he
reavealed
.
I sighed and put my head in my hands.
“Oh, that is fantastic,” I mumbled.
“Could he be...you know?” Seth asked. I glanced at him; he was looking at Andrew. Andrew shrugged and
comtemplated
Seth’s question. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers.
“You know, I think he is,” he said and smiled. Seth’s face lit up in a grin and Andrew laughed.
“I’m what?” I interrupted them. Their laughter subsided and they studied me. “I’m what?”
“Do you want to tell him?” Andrew gestured to Seth.
“I might as well, since that is the way I felt too,” he replied and turned to me.
“What?” I raised my voice, getting aggravated.
“I think that you’re in love,” Seth whispered. I stared at him with a confused expression on my face.
“You think I’m what?” I asked, not believing him.
“We think you are in love with Claire,” Andrew restated. I shook my head.
“That can’t be possible. I’ve only known her for a week and a half,” I stated.
“Michael, how do you feel about Claire?” Seth asked. I felt my cheeks heat up and I looked down. I started to fiddle with my leather bracelet.
“Well, when I think about her, my stomach flips upside down, my mouth turns dry, and my palms get sweaty. And when I see her, all I want to do is wrap my arms around her waist and press my lips against the base of her throat. Her eyes always leave me breathless and when she speaks, it’s like I’ve gone to heaven.”
“Michael, face it. You’re in love with her,” Andrew said. I sighed and watched him. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Seth nod.
“So what if I am?” I shot back. “I know she doesn’t like me.”
“You are in love,” Seth said, raising his voice.
“So what?”
I yelled back
.
“So, go do something about it!” Seth and Andrew shouted at me and walked out of the room.