Subconsciously, my eyes passed over his now-crooked nose, two small scars that marred his left cheek, and his old scar on his temple. Not even these anomalies could spoil the beauty that entranced me each time I looked at him.
Our lips met, and I melted in his arms as our tongues flirted with each other. The kiss started out slow, but then it turned more desperate, and it didn’t matter that there were so many pairs of eyes on us. I’d been so close to losing him again, and the agony had been unbearable. So, I returned his kiss with everything I had. Each new day with him felt like a gift, and I wanted to make the most of it, cherishing each moment more than ever.
Slowly, we pulled away, but we stayed transfixed on each other in a tight embrace. I didn’t need to look to know phones were aimed at us, and I could already imagine a new meme that would refer to what some people called us these days: Romeo and Juliet as high school sweethearts. East Willow High students were overdramatic, no doubt.
“Thank you, Hayden.” I cupped his face and kissed his lips a couple more times, beside myself. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re full of surprises today.”
“Everything for my girl. Here.” Hayden opened his jacket and pulled me inside of it, wrapping it around me. “I don’t want you to get sick just because you forgot to wear your jacket. Again.”
“Thank you. But won’t you get in trouble with the principal?”
He’d skipped midterm exams and spent many days out of school, but luckily he’d managed to take makeup midterms and apply to the computer science major at Gateway Community College in New Haven. Additional setbacks that could hinder his chances of college admission were the last thing he needed right now.
He tapped my nose. “Don’t worry about it. He’s supposed to procure another donation from Carmen, so he won’t be a problem.”
I opened my mouth to comment on how terribly corrupt Anders was, when Steven entered my field of vision.
“Smile for the camera, lovebirds,” he said in a high-pitched voice, imitating a girl. “Say cheese with macaroni!”
The shutter clicked, and I cringed at how awkward the moment was. Masen, who stood next to him, burst into a fit of chuckles, holding his own phone as if to film us.
“Hey, don’t do that!” I told them with red cheeks. “Don’t ruin this.”
“This is going to be my birthday gift for you, Sar,” Masen answered and took a step closer to us to film us at a different angle. “I’ll even edit it if you want and make it a little steamier, if you know what I mean.” He winked at us, and I looked at Hayden. He was smirking.
“And there he is,” Mel said in a bored voice. “Sex freak. I wonder how any girl can jump in bed with you when your brain and dick, I’m sure, are the size of a seed.”
“Why don’t you check it out, since you can’t stop thinking about the size of my dick?” His eyebrows scrunched together. “Actually, don’t do that. I wouldn’t want your satanic face anywhere near my dick. Preferably at least a mile away.”
“Mr. Black!” Principal Anders bellowed, and the horde of students stepped aside to let him and a few teachers come through. “What is the meaning of this?!” He pointed at the letters on the wall.
“See,” Masen started. “We usually say ‘happy birthday’ when it’s someone’s birthday.” A short round of unanimous laughter prevented Anders from responding to Masen’s mocking. “And ‘I heart you’ means ‘I love you.’ We say that when we—”
“I know what the words mean, Mr. Brown! You have the audacity to ridicule your principal?”
“That’s what you get when you’re a stupid, crooked, ugly swine,” Mel muttered under her breath.
Masen raised his hands in the air. “You asked for the meaning, Mr. Anders. I just wanted to help you.”
“Silence! This has gone too far! Black! I don’t allow students to vandalize school property, and you’ve crossed the line!”
Mel looked like she was having a hard time keeping her amusement in check, her hand pressed over her mouth as if she was going to explode into laughter any moment. Anders sliced her with his eyes, his black mustache twitching in anger that built up in him fast.
“You have something to say, Miss Brooks?”
Melissa was completely unfazed. She returned his gaze with a condescending smile. “Just that you should be an actor. You would be great! Not an A-list one, of course, because not even a child would fall for your theatrics, but it would definitely suit you better than this job.”
Anders’s pudgy cheeks inflated and reddened, his chest rising and falling in an erratic tempo that bordered on comic. “That’s it! To my office, Brooks!”
“Now you’ve done it, sis,” Steven said and shook his head at her. “Your big mouth will get you snuffed one day.”
“Do you have to do this now, of all times?” Hayden asked Anders with a bored expression. “It’s her birthday, and you’re exaggerating.”
“Mr. Black! I don’t want to repeat myself. To my office.” He looked at me, and for a confusing moment, I thought he was going to actually wish me happy birthday, but he only nodded at me and turned to leave. “All of you! Enough of this circus! Back to the cafeteria!”
Melissa and I looked at each other, both of us trying our hardest to suppress our laugh. Some things never changed.
“Will he ever get tired of repeating himself?” Hayden asked me, his face deadpan.
“I don’t think so.” I cupped his cheeks. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
“Yeah. I’ve visited his office so many times it got old ages ago. I’ll be okay.”
A shiver raced through me as the cold seeped deeper into me. I placed a soft kiss on his mouth.
“Thank you for the gift,” I whispered into his lips. “I love it.”
“It’s nothing, baby. But I’ll give you the real gift tonight.” Redness crept up my cheeks at the double entendre in his words.
“There’s more? But you’ve already done so many things for me today.”
“It’s never enough. Now, come on. Let’s go inside before you freeze your ass off.”
I LOOKED AROUND MY almost bare room. Its empty walls brought me a bittersweet mix of sadness and joy, confirmation of a huge step I’d made in my life. I turned eighteen today, so I was able to leave the place I called home for the past three and a half years and design my future the way I wanted. The first step toward brighter days was to move to the Blacks’ house.
The drawings I’d created over the years and plastered on my walls were now in a big box I carried, about to be put in the room that was ready for me. I’d already moved my art supplies, along with my desk, chair, graphic tablet, laptop, and a few more items that had given this room life.
Nostalgia rushed through my veins, whispering about those moments of happiness I’d experienced in a room that was my buffer against the cruel world. The playful irony of life never ceased to amaze me. I lost the security I’d had here, but I gained a person who offered me so much more, despite the conflicting past we shared, and it colored my world with brighter shades of hope, joy, and love.