Wyatt Bloom was standing downstairs, leaning against the rail, picking at his tie as their babysitter, Gracie, stood beside him. He sighed and let go of his tie before looking at Gracie.
"What do you think of this tie?" he asked, "Does this say 'casual' or 'competitive'? I wanna come across as friendly, approachable, not intimidating." "Please, like you've ever been intimidating," Scarlett shouted down from the bathroom, making Wyatt and Gracie laugh. "I think it's nice," Gracie said, shrugging, "It's very colorful. I don't think it says approachable or intimidating, I think it just says....fun." "I'll take fun, people like fun," Wyatt said, running his hand up his neck into his scruffy short dirty blonde hair; he checked his watch and snapped his fingers, "Come on woman, we're gonna be late! I realize we're going back to highschool, but that doesn't mean you have to put as much effort into your appearance as you used to!" "Screw you!" Scarlett shouted down again. "Did you and Mrs. Bloom meet in high school?" Gracie asked, and Wyatt nodded. "Oh yeah, we've been together for a long time," Wyatt said, "I remember the first time I saw her face." *** In fact, the first time Wyatt Bloom saw Scarlett Demure's face, it was in the nurses office. Wyatt was on the baseball team and had pulled his shoulder, while Scarlett, being a cheerleader, had fallen off the top of the pyramid and onto her nose on the ground. As Wyatt entered, he was instantly taken aback by the beautiful blonde sitting in a chair, holding an ice pack to her nose. He took a seat beside her, groaning as he shifted to relieve tension in his muscle. "What happened to you?" he asked, making her shake her head. "Carla Mikoni can't hold anything over her head, that's what," Scarlett said. "Not surprised, she's so thin she makes anorexia jealous," Wyatt said, making Scarlett laugh and immediately apologize for laughing, which made Wyatt smirk; he added, "That was in poor taste, sorry. Still, something wrong with that girl. She's like a bird." "You should hear her talk," Scarlett said. "No thank you," Wyatt replied. "What about you? What're you in for?" Scarlett asked. "I pulled my shoulder pitching," Wyatt said, "But it'll be fine. I just need to sit a few days out. Let me see your nose." Scarlett hesitated, then reluctantly pulled the ice pack away, showing off her nose, which really looked okay except for the stained blood. Wyatt shrugged and leaned back into his seat. "I think you look fine," he said, "But I'd love to see you with a good nose to really make a proper comparison." And that was all it took to make Scarlett love him. For some people, sometimes it really was that simple. *** Sitting in the car, driving towards the high school, Wyatt tapped his fingers on the steering wheel while Scarlett primped at her hair in the rearview mirror. He scoffed as he turned to see this behavior, laughing a little, which made her grimace. "Don't even judge, buddy. You have no idea how seriously women take these sorts of reunions. It's all about the looks department. Nobody cares how well a woman has done in the business world, alright? If she isn't moderately attractive still, then she's lost all her credibility." "Wait, what...you're telling me you have credibility?" Wyatt asked, "I am shocked! Why wasn't I made aware of this?" She laughed and slapped his arm. "More credibility than you these days," she said. "Can't argue with that," he replied, before adding, "...so who do you think is gonna be at this thing? You think everyone's gonna be there? I can't really imagine there being a lot of people I'm looking forward to seeing that I didn't bother staying in touch with." "I'm sure there's some folks we'll be happy to see, like Robbie," Scarlett said, "Remember Robbie? He was the only male cheerleader in the whole group. I've always wondered what he got up to, and I always regretted never staying in touch with him." "God, I'd forgotten about Robbie, honestly," Wyatt said, "That would be fun." Honestly, Wyatt hadn't really been all that interested in returning to the high school. He'd long since moved on, and had grown somewhat ashamed of who he'd once been, and how he'd treated certain people while he'd been there. He was worried returning might bring some of that person back, and that genuinely frightened him. But Scarlett was excited to go, and she wouldn't go without him, so he did it as a favor to his wife. She was his best friend, after all. He'd do anything to make her happy. *** Rachel Minnow sat in her car in the school parking lot, staring ahead at the auditorium, wanting go turn and run instead of getting out and going inside. She didn't want to be here, but she desperately wanted to see someone, and this was the only way she could do so without feeling like an outright stalker. She checked her lipstick one more time in the mirror before getting out of the car and heading towards the building. The music was already too loud, and she wasn't even inside yet. She was starting to wish she'd brought a pair of earplugs or headphones, but somehow that would seem rude, even though that sort of behavior was totally normal as teenagers when they went here. Go figure. She cleared her throat as she approached the door and pushed it open, the light inside blinding her as she stepped over the threshold and into the room. Just like high school, nobody turned to look when she entered, and she was grateful for that. She walked in, somewhat stumbling in her heels, looking all around for the person she was hoping to see. As she pushed some errant strands of hair out of her face, she suddenly bumped into a tall, lanky man, who turned to look at her. "Oh, I'm so sorry," Rachel said, "I didn't make you spill your drink did I?" "Rachel?" the man asked, smiling, "It's me, Oliver Brighton, remember?" "...I...no, I'm sorry, I don't remember," Rachel said, chewing her lip, "I'm sorry." "Eh, it's fine, it's been a long time," Oliver said, adjusting his small glasses and lifting up his drink, sipping it, "didn't expect to see you, honestly." "Really? Why's that?" "I don't know," Oliver said, shrugging, "You were always sort of a loner, just didn't expect you to show up for a major social function filled with people who treated you poorly. But, then again, I'm here, and I was treated worse than you, so." Rachel nodded, pulling at her hair as she looked around for the one person she was here to see. For all she cared, Oliver could be talking to the wall, because she was barely registering anything coming out of his mouth. She started to move through the crowd again, Oliver keeping up pace with her. "Actually, I remember we were in home ec together, and we were teamed up once to make a set of curtains," Oliver said, "Do you...do you remember that?" Rachel stopped, and then turned, looking at him. "Actually I do, yeah," she said, "I still have those. They're hanging over my window in my apartment." "Really? That's awesome to hear!" Oliver said, sounding genuinely thrilled. "Oliver?" Rachel asked, "Do you know if Sun Rai is here? Have you seen her anywhere?" "...no, can't say that I have, sorry," Oliver said, sounding dejected, adding, "but I can help you look for her if you'd like." "That's okay, I'll do fine on my own. It was nice seeing you," Rachel said, now slinking away into the crowd, leaving Oliver to stand alone. As she made her way to one of the many refreshments tables, she bumped elbows with another woman standing there, and immediately recognized the charm bracelet dangling from her wrist. Rachel groaned and mumbled, "oh no" under her breath as the woman turned towards her. "Rachel!" she said, grabbing and hugging her firmly. "Hello Kelly," Rachel managed to say back, trying not to feel embarrassed. *** Calvin Klepper was sitting in on a small stairway right outside of the school near the backdoor of the auditorium, trying to escape the noise and commotion. He sighed and stroked his short beard, wishing he could be home right now. He pulled his wallet out and flipped it open, letting the pictures hang down like an accordian. He smiled faintly, and suddenly felt tears rolling down his face. He wiped them away swiftly with his sleeve, before collapsing his wallet again and stuffing it back into his coat pocket. Just then he saw a pair of headlights pull into the parking lot, and watched as a nice car parked, and two adults stepped out. He instantly recognized Wyatt Bloom's voice, despite not having heard it in so many years. He could hear the woman, whom he recognized just as quickly as being Scarlett, laugh loudly, and watched as the two of them headed for the auditorium. He shook his head and continued to drink from his thermos full of coffee. The last person he'd want to see would be Wyatt Bloom. *** Rachel couldn't stand being squeezed this tightly, and struggled to pull away from Kelly Schuester's grip. After she finally managed to wriggle away, she stepped back and, politely, patted Kelly on the shoulder like an awkward family reunion with someone you hadn't seen since you were a baby. "It's so good to see you!" Kelly said. Kelly, from the looks of things, hadn't changed. She still somehow had braces, and her hair was still in braided pigtails. She looked exactly the same as she had when she and Rachel had been friends in school. Rachel had tried not to be so judgemental but it was hard, because here she was, thinking that Kelly apparently even still had her parents dress her, considering how awful her outfit was. "Gee, you look exactly the same!" Kelly said, looking embarrassed now for having been so clingy. "Uh, same to you," Rachel replied, trying to make her response not sound as harsh as she meant it to. "I'm sorry, I was just...I was really hoping you'd show up, and until I saw you, I was doubting myself for even coming," Kelly said, "I mean, it's not like anyone else here is interested in seeing me, but I knew if you at least showed up, then it would've been worth it." Okay, now Rachel felt bad. She actually hadn't even really not expected Kelly to be here, it was more that she'd completely forgotten about her altogether. Rachel quickly looked around for a way to escape from this torturous experience, only to spot the backdoor. She bit her lip and then looked back at Kelly, who was digging into her purse. "You need to see this!" she said, "I brought it with just to show you!" "Kelly, that's great, get it ready and I will be right back, okay?" Rachel said, quickly excusing herself towards the backdoor. As she pushed on the metal bar across the door, it lunged forward, letting her stumble out onto the small landing near the stone stair steps, only to find herself now next to Calvin, who was looking at her in surprise. "It's hell in there, isn't it?" Calvin asked. "It's weird," Rachel managed to say as she seated herself beside him and tossed her hair back, adding, "god, I didn't expect myself to get overwhelmed like this, but it's so painful to come back to such an awful place, full of such awful people who made awful memories for you but don't remember them themself. Somehow those formative moments for you were just another average day for them." "Ran into an old friend?" Calvin asked, making her smirk. "Yeah," she said, "and it's like, I feel bad, but...that's what high school is, right? You're friends because of the proximity, because nobody else will be friends with you, right? It's friendship based on survival and necessity, not genuine interest." "Sure," Calvin said, "That's a fair assessment." "Are you waiting for someone?" Rachel asked. "Nah, I just don't wanna be in there," Calvin said, "You?" "I came for the very same reason others came. To see someone. But I haven't seen her yet, so, I don't know if she even showed up," Rachel said, sighing, tugging at her hair, playing with it absentmindedly, continuing, "besides, she wouldn't even know me, so really I'm no better than the awkward weirdos I'm trying to avoid." "I've seen everyone arrive, I could tell you if she's here or not," Calvin said. "Sun Rai? Do you remember Sun Rai? She was the Vietnamese girl who was, like, the only foreign student who attended here? She was mostly in honors classes, but she and I shared gym class, and she got to sit out cause her parents paid the gym teacher off, and I got to sit out cause of my asthma, so we talked a bit, but only during those classes." "I think I do remember her, yeah," Calvin said, "I don't think she showed up. I would've seen her, being the only foreign person to attend here. Sorry." "It's fine. It's my fault for being dumb enough to expect her to come back," Rachel said, sighing sadly, "I guess that's what I get for getting my hopes up." "That's the spirit," Calvin said, patting her back, "never expect anything good, cause reality will come and snatch it away." Calvin's attitude at least made Rachel feel a bit better, being rather cynical herself. Rachel didn't want to go back inside to Kelly, so she opted instead to stay out here with Calvin and just talk shit about their former classmates, because as she'd learned during her friendship with Kelly, misery loves company. *** "What?" Scarlett asked, mouth agape, eyes wide at this news Oliver had just told them. "Yeah," Oliver said, "Robbie died in a car accident a few weeks ago, I'm surprised you guys didn't see the news." "Jesus," Wyatt said, pinching his forehead, "that's...that's tragic. I feel so bad. I was hoping he'd be here. I need a minute." Wyatt walked off, trying to process this. He hadn't expected people his age to already be dead, especially not people he'd known. He'd known it was always a possibility, but he'd always just pushed the possibility out of his head. He walked calmly through the crowd, finally reaching a table where an African American woman was seated, rubbing her feet. Wyatt said at the same table, and casually glanced over at her. "You okay?" she asked, "You need aspirin?" "No, I'll...I'll be okay. You?" he asked, pointing at her feet. "These shoes are killing me. I never get out, so I never wear any nice shoes," she said, "bad enough to have to pay for a babysitter, but now I gotta walk for hours in these stupid spiked death traps." Wyatt chuckled and looked at the nametag sticker she had on her jacket. "Celia Moss," he read, "Celia Moss...why's that name sound so familiar?" "Because I'm responsible for shutting down BigDrip last year," Celia said. "Riiiight! They dumped excess oil in nearby lakes to write it off as stolen, so not only defrauding the government but also endangering the environment, that was a big damn deal," Wyatt said, "Well good for you, those guys were scum." "Thanks," Celia said, smiling faintly, "and yes, they really were." "So you're a lawyer or something?" Wyatt asked. "An environmental lawyer, yeah," Celia said. "That's really cool." The two of them looked back out at the crowd, dancing, chatting, enjoying themselves as if they were still in high school. Wyatt loosened his tie and leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs. Celia looked over at him and nodded. "I like your tie," she said, "it's very fun, makes you very approachable." Wyatt smiled again, almost blushing now. "...I just learned a friend of mine died a few weeks ago," he said, "and it only reinforced the truth that I didn't wanna come back here. Most of these people were horrible when we were teenagers, and really they're no different as adults. They just aren't as open about it. Everyone has secrets. But...the fact that they're not as transparent is almost worse. At least when you're a teenager you almost take pride in your sleaze. You knew where everyone stood. Now I don't know who to trust, and frankly I don't feel like I'm that person anymore." "I know what you mean," Celia said, strapping her shoes back on, "I don't feel like I relate to any of these people anymore either. I feel like just an ordinary, boring adult. Just another aging skeleton on a dying planet, clawing against the ever oncoming inevitable darkness." "Jeez, Kafka," Wyatt said, "Save some edge for the rest of us." Celia laughed loudly, throwing her head back, "I just...you know what I mean!" she said, "It's like...I feel like I matured, and these people didn't. I do what has to be done now because it's the right thing to do, not because it's what I want to do. I don't do it for my own selfish needs." "Right. I wanna be a better person than I was in high school, otherwise what's the point of aging? I wanna be, just...you know, like...someone who grows, someone who learns and changes. I wanna be normal and boring and ordinary. Just one of the everyday people." Celia nodded, feeling herself warm up to him. Wyatt smiled at her, feeling shy now about conversing this freely with a stranger. He adjusted his tie, smoothing it out, looking down at his dress shoes. "Anyway, sorry to get so philosophical," he said. "It's fine. Probably the most enlightening conversation I'll have all night, so thank you," Celia said softly. And then Scarlett appeared at the table. She and Celia greeted one another politely before Celia excused herself, and Scarlett dragged Wyatt back to the crowd, to listen to more inane banter about people he'd rather have forgotten. *** On the drive home later, he looked over at his wife, half asleep in the passenger seat, somewhat tipsy from having drank most of the night, and he smiled. He reached over with his free hand and squeezed one of her hands. When they pulled into the driveway, he carried her inside and, after putting her to bed, he drove the babysitter home. When he got home, he pulled out the senior yearbook and turned to his graduating class, running his index finger along the page until he came across Celia's picture, and he smiled. That was a friendship he'd like to have. Rachel, on the other hand, had arrived home in worst shape than she'd been in when she'd left. She cried all the way home, so when she got back to her dingy studio apartment over the coffee shop she worked at, she wiped all her now running makeup off her face and then took a quick shower. She laid on the couch and turned the television on, but put it on mute. She pulled out a photo of Sun Rai she'd clipped from the school paper back in the day - Sun in a beautiful suit at a debate tournament - and felt like she wanted to throw up. She'd tried so hard to forget Sun Rai, but she never could. She loved her just as much now as she had back then. Calvin also returned home to less than stellar feelings. His folks weren't up when he got in, which he was grateful for, but he did find his mom had left him some dinner. He reheated it and ate before heading out to the shed in the backyard and locking the door behind him after entering. Once inside, he pulled out his tools and started back to work on his project, occasionally glancing up at the photo pinned on a corkboard on the wall, featuring a beautiful woman and two cute little girls. He was doing this for them, and he wouldn't them down. And Celia arrived back home to her son happy to see her, and she wasn't even annoyed he was still awake. If anything, she was grateful. She cherished any time she got to spend with him. She relieved her babysitter, and then the two of them ate ice cream in her large bed, watching cartoons until he finally fell asleep against her, and she would then carry him to his bed, tucking him in. She'd stroke his hair and kiss his forehead. At least something good had come from that marriage. And Kelly got home, only to curl up with her dog on her couch, and eat popcorn most of the evening as she watched nature documentaries. All she'd wanted to do was reconnect with her best friend, and Rachel had spent most of her time outside with Calvin. Kelly tried not to take it too personally, but it was hard not to, especially when the last thing Rachel had said to Kelly in high school had been to leave her alone because she was so lame. Stuff like that still stung so many years later. But while everyone else arrived home with quiet and uneventful feelings, Oliver's arrival at the house was anything but. His daughters were looking out their bedroom window when they saw him pull into the driveway, and they quickly rushed and piled stuffed animals under their blankets in their beds, before hiding in the closet, just like most nights. He never came in and checked to see if it was really them, which they were thankful for. They just knew that most of the time, unless it was time for them to work again, he would leave them alone. As Oliver climbed into bed, clicking his bedside lamp off, his wife, lying on her side, asked a question in the meekest voice. "Did you have a good time?" she asked. "It was fine," he said, removing his glasses and putting them on the nightstand. "That's good," she mumbled, waiting for him to drift off so she could get back up and continue coming up with a plan on how to get away from this house. Away from this man. Because truth was, the men who seemed the worst like Wyatt often grew to be the best, and the men who went out of their way to appear the best, like Oliver, were actually the monsters. Passing themselves off as your average neighbor, citizen, upstanding friend and family member. Someone you'd never expect. They didn't look like monsters. They just looked like everyday people.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
About
A group of former high school classmates reunite at their 10 year reunion, and discover they each want something different, many with someone else there. What ensues is a labyrinthian relationship amongst them involving crime, murder, romance and, in one particular case, terrorism. Archives
May 2024
Categories |