Heart in A Cage

The bell over the door jingled lightly as the three of us shuffled through the door. The smell of brewing coffee and baked goods wafted to our noses, and, behind me, I heard Sam dreamily mumble, “Muffins.” The café was a small, rather cramped place, lined with wooden chairs and round tables. Aside from us and an elderly couple who started whispering back and forth as soon as we stepped inside, the café was empty. Diamond glared at the old duo for a moment before I pushed her along, rolling my eyes.

“How can I help you kids?” The middle-aged man behind the counter wore a black shirt with some sort of fishing logo on it, and had a stained apron hanging over his shoulder.

After we ordered, we went and sat down at a table near the window, putting down our stuff beside us on the floor.

Sam rubbed at his eyes and ran his hands through his hair, making it stand up in the front. “I don’t think we’re going to get this project done for tomorrow,” he stated matter-of-factly, sounding very much like Diamond.

I gave him a mock-sympathetic look. “So? We can hand it in a bit late, it’s no big deal.” Drumming my fingers on the tabletop, I glanced out of the window to see a few people rushing by, probably to catch the bus. The weather was decent: warm enough so that we didn’t have to wear jackets, but with a slight wind to even out the humidity.

Diamond snapped her fingers in front of my face, getting my attention. “Connor,” she started, looking irritated. “We’ve had all of last week to do this, and it counts as a big portion of our final mark – there’s no way we’re just going to abandon it!”

The day after I’d “officially” met Diamond and Sam, our English teacher, Mrs. Mylar, had assigned us a huge creative writing project. Naturally, because we were allowed to have a maximum of two partners each, the three of us had decided to work together. It had started out with awkward small talk, but – somewhere along the line – I’d gotten comfortable enough around the other two so that I provided them with answers that were longer than two syllables. Maybe we’d gotten along a little too well over the week, though, because we’d spent little to no time researching the project.

Now, here we were, fussing about what to do next.

The very first time I’d lay eyes on my new two “friends,” I’d known that I wasn’t anything like them – at least not academically. Whereas I didn’t really give a shit about my grades (as long as I passed), Diamond and Sam were serious about how they did.

Diamond was the kind of smart, artsy-type girl you might see in the library occasionally, chewing on her nails and pushing her glasses up her nose. She had long, brown hair that she kept open most of the time, and was a little on the chubby side. She wasn’t fat, no – but she had a little meat on her bones to give her a nice, healthy glow. She was a total movie fanatic, and she was always carrying a book. (When I asked her why, she called it “light reading to keep the gears turning.” I had no idea what that meant, and she wasn’t keen on explaining it either, so that was that.) Although she could be a little intimidating, she had a gentle, sweet side to her, too. I hadn’t known her long enough to know everything about her, but I was definitely getting there.

Sam, on the other hand, was the type who was smart but didn’t like to flaunt it. In class, he always sat still and quiet when the teachers asked questions, and only answered if the teacher pointed specifically to him. He was the sort of guy who could get away with not studying, and yet still pass with a decent grade. In all honesty, though, Sam had the heart of a musician. He loved everything to do about music, and could go on about his favorite artists for long hours on end. He even had a slightly beat-up acoustic guitar hidden away somewhere in his room that he dreamed of playing professionally. Just like Diamond, he had his own secrets, and though I wasn’t close to figuring them out myself, I knew that if we remained friends, I would find out soon enough.

After Diamond’s small outburst, we all quieted down. The elder couple who’d been staring at us finally got up, and slowly walked out of the door, giving us a last evil look through the smudged glass window.

Sam took a sip of his coffee, and after nibbling on the blueberry muffin in his hand, he mumbled, “This isn’t doing us any good.”

Diamond huffed. “What isn’t?”

“This! Sitting here and getting all depressed about the whole thing.”

“Do I look depressed?” I asked sarcastically.

Diamond ignored me and took a sip of her own drink. “Why don’t we divide up the work?” she finally suggested, pulling some sheets of paper out of her bag. “I’ve already done quite a bit of research on my own. All we have to do now is put it into words, and ta-da. We’ll be finished in no time.”

Sam and I shared a look, and, under his breath, he mumbled, “Couldn’t you have said that before?”

*

Nelson was the one to open the door when I finally showed up around seven in the evening. He blinked at me for a few moments, adjusted his glasses, and then went back into the house. “Mom was wondering where you were,” he called over his shoulder carelessly. “You might want to let her know.”

Taking off my shoes, I placed my stuff by the stairs and went into the kitchen. Uncle Jeff sat at the dinner table, reading a book and finishing what was left of the food on his plate. Kelvin sat beside him, eyebrows furrowed, concentrating on what looked to be his homework. When I came in, Uncle Jeff gave me a smile, while Kelvin gave me an annoyed look, probably wishing he wasn’t stuck doing work.

“Where’s Aunt Karen?” I asked casually, going to the fridge and pouring myself some Diet Coke. Taking a gulp, I turned to look out of the window, only to find the backyard empty.

“Oh, she’s just in the shower,” Uncle Jeff answered, chewing dismissively. “You missed dinner.”

“Yeah, I was working on my English project,” I told him, finishing the drink and discarding the glass in the sink.

“Oh,” he mumbled, nodding. “Well, there’s food for you in the microwave. It’s still pretty warm, I think.”

I carried the dish full of pasta and meatballs out into the hallway, and, after getting my bag, climbed the stairs to the guest room. I’d only just settled onto the bed with a magazine and the food when my phone rang. Wondering who it could possibly be, I quickly checked the I.D.

Tyler Darwin.

Setting the plate on the bedside table, I turned on the phone. “Hello?”

“Connor?” He sounded tired.

It took a moment for me to get my thoughts together. I couldn’t believe Tyler was finally calling. Ever since that time I’d called him on the day I’d moved in with the Walters, I hadn’t heard from him. “Oh, Tyler, hi,” I mumbled, feigning surprise.

“Hey yourself,” he said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t call earlier… The work load has been shit.”

“Nah, it’s okay,” I mumbled, scratching at the cover of the magazine that sat in front of me. “Uh, so how are you?”

He chuckled before telling me everything was fine. He’d only just gotten off from an extra long shift at Mo’s and was now driving home. (This was one of Tyler’s bad habits – not going home, of course, but driving while he was on the phone. I’d told him many times that either he’d crash, or he’d be caught, but he always laughed it off.)

After a moment’s silence, he asked, “Are you doing okay?”

I was a little taken aback by the question. What was I supposed to say to that? Gulping, I picked at my jeans and sighed. “Yeah,” I said finally. I told him about Creston High, and how I’d finally managed to find some new friends. He laughed at that and pretended to be hurt. I felt like I should somehow sneak Lukas into the conversation, although I had no idea why. Tyler probably wouldn’t like Lukas anyway; he’d always thought the sporty, outgoing type were stuck-up assholes who were only nice so they could get their way. Harsh, but then again, it was Tyler: honest, raw, and to the point.

Trying to steer the conversation away from myself, I quietly asked, “How is your mom doing?”

Tyler was quiet for a few minutes. I was almost starting to regret the fact that I’d brought her up when he started talking again. “She’s okay. She was even talking about going back to work the other day, but I told her it wasn’t time just yet.” He sucked in a huge breath, and let it out in a whoosh. “She misses you.”

I felt my heart clench. “I miss her too. I miss everything.” After a moment’s pause, I mumbled, “I’d rather be home.”

“Well, you know, you might come back one day… But until then, just be grateful, Connor.”

“Yeah,” I sighed.

“Well, I gotta go,” he said hurriedly. I could hear the engine of his car shutting off in the background, meaning he was finally home. “I’m thinking of coming down and seeing you soon.”

My lips curled into a smile. “Yeah, that’d be great.”

“Alright,” he said, laughing a little for no particular reason. “I’ll call and let you know.”

“Bye, Tyler.”

Throwing the phone onto the bed, I picked up my plate of food, and started eating. The pasta was a little too cold for my liking, but I still couldn’t help the grin that was plastered on my face throughout the whole meal.