Gasoline

“I thought I was a fool for no one, but oh baby I’m a fool for you.” - Muse

Cody sat perfectly still for half an hour before she began to fidget, but at that point Jude had almost finished his drawing. “Tell me about yourself,” he said, setting down the charcoal closing his sketchpad.

“I’m not very interesting,” she replied, standing up. “Are you done?”

“Yeah,” Jude replied, even though he thought the drawing was far from finished. Cody’s eyes were not the same as the ones on the page, and her smile was impossible for Jude to capture on paper, though he had tried.

“Can I see it?” Cody asked.

“I, well, um…” he began, but Cody smiled.

“Some things are better left a mystery,” she said. “I’ll see you later, Jude.” She crossed the room, opened the door, and left. A few seconds later, he heard the front door open and then swing closed. Jude slowly opened his sketchpad and turned to his drawing of Cody. She looked the same, for the most part, but she was missing something. Her eyes were missing the spark of life, and Jude knew he would never be able to capture that in his sketchpad.

As Cody crossed the street, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her contacts. As she passed the letter ‘D’ a frown flickered across her face and memories flooded her conscious thought.

* * *

It was February of Cody’s junior year at Martinez Senior High School in California. School had just ended, and she was walking down the hallway towards room 124, the chemistry lab. The room was her favorite in the school, where she felt most comfortable.

“Hey, Cody!” She turned to see one of her friends, Maria, walking towards her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “I’m just staying to help Mr. Graff clean up the chem lab.”

Maria raised her eyebrows slightly. “Okay. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye,” Cody said over her shoulder, opening the door and walking into the familiar room. She closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her long blond hair, leaning against the wall. She didn’t understand what everyone was talking about – she had an idea what people might be thinking, but they were wrong. She couldn’t believe her closest friends believed the gossip, too.

“Good afternoon, Cody,” Mr. Graff said. He was sitting at his desk, grading papers. She left her hands on the back of her neck, tangled in her hair, as she raised her gaze to meet his eyes. “Are you okay?”

She was silent for a few seconds. To be honest, Cody didn’t know if she was okay or not. An increasing number of students thought she was having an affair with a teacher, when really he was her best friend at the school. “Yeah,” she answered. “I’m fine. Is there anything I can do?”

Mr. Graff stood up and crossed the room so that he was standing in front of Cody. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Cody shrugged. “My dad just found out his job just got transferred, so we’re moving. To the Chicago area. Over the summer.”

Mr. Graff looked at Cody for a few moments, his gaze concerned. This was only his second year teaching, but Cody was a unique student. She was quiet, but she had an obvious desire to learn and an interest in fire bordering on pyromania. He supposed that was partially his fault, especially her newfound fascination with pyrotechnics. Cody had been staying after school to help him clean up the lab and sort papers – a bit like a teacher’s assistant – since mid-autumn. A few weeks ago they’d had a conversation about ways to make pyrotechnics – the necessary components, the chemicals that caused different colors, the composition to create different effects. Damien Graff cared about Cody; this afternoon, her gray eyes were clouded, hiding something from outsiders.

He walked back to his desk, tore off a scrap of paper from his notebook, and wrote down his phone number. “I’m sorry you’re moving,” he said. “If you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to call me.” A smile crossed his young face. “Even if it’s at four in the morning, though I’d really prefer if you didn’t.”

“Thank you,” Cody said, smiling. She pocketed the slip of paper and pulled her hair into a ponytail. “I’ll go wash the beakers now.”

Mr. Graff laughed. “Thank you, Cody.” He gently put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her before she walked back to the lab tables. “Really – if you ever need to talk to someone, if anything’s wrong, you can talk to me. I’ll listen to you.”

“I know,” she replied, looking up into his bright blue eyes. “And it really means a lot, that I know I have someone who will listen to me. So, thank you, Mr. Graff.”

He smiled as Cody walked to the back of the classroom, picking up a tray of beakers on the way. “Cody,” he said. She turned to look at him. “You can call me Damien, if you want.”

She leaned against the counter, watching him as he sat at his desk. He met her gaze from across the room and she wondered if this would affect the rumors. “Okay… Damien.”

He smiled and let his focus return to the papers on his desk. Cody turned around and turned on the faucet, wishing she didn’t have to leave at the end of the semester.

* * *

Cody reached the name she had been looking for and pressed ‘send.’ On the fourth ring, Will answered his phone. “Hello?”

“Hey,” she said. “It’s Cody.”

“Hey,” he replied, stretching the word out so that it had several syllables. “What are you up to?”

“Absolutely nothing,” she responded. “And I don’t want to be stuck at home – or at least not alone.”

“Really?” Will said. “I was feeling the exact same way.” He paused. “I’ll come pick you up. Be there in ten minutes.”

“Great,” Cody said. She ended the call, smiling brightly. She glanced at the time – 8:43 p.m. Her parents wouldn’t mind her leaving, as long as she was back by midnight or so. She ran inside and told them she was going to a friend’s house and sat on the porch. Ten minutes later, Will’s car pulled into her driveway. Cody jumped in the passenger’s seat and Will drove away.

In the house on the other side of the street, Jude looked away from the window and threw his sketchbook across the room.