Dance With the Devil

As the bell to last period rang, I quickly finished taking down the notes that my teacher had scribbled nearly illegibly on the board. Everyone around me hurried to get out and board their busses and cars, and just generally go home. However, I was in no such rush, since I wouldn’t be going home anyway.

I gathered my books and put them in my bag a bit slower than usual. I wasn’t really dreading going and seeing Andrew, though I wasn’t excited for it either. As I walked through the halls, I was a salmon swimming among tuna, fighting the rush of students hurrying their ways out the door. I was pushed a shoved a few times, though the mundane hits barely faze me anymore. I think at some point, every high schooler becomes numb in the arms from the endless pushing.

Once the halls had mostly emptied out, I strolled down the hall and turn into a room that I didn’t go into much during the day. I hardly ever went to study hall, I was too busy filling the rest of my schedule with credits, enough so I could pass. Last year, I didn’t have enough credits by the end of the year, meaning that I had to take many more hard classes this year.

I entered the room and found that there were about five people already in there, sitting by themselves in a suffocating silence. I sighed, knowing that I would be the one to speak where there are none spoken. I suddenly turned my head when I felt a hand on my shoulder, though as soon as I saw the hand I could guess who it belonged to. I faced the other way to see Andrew smiling at me, brown eyes blazing the in the afternoon light streaking in through the windows.

“Hey there,” He said with a bright smile. I was waiting for him to move his hand.

“Hi.” I spoke in a very small voice again. He gestured forward with his free hand.

“Well, shall we?” I nodded slightly, still waiting for his hand to move, and when I started to walk forward he finally let go. I found my way to a small table in the back, made for two. He sat himself down across from me. I put my bag on the table and began to rifle through it for my biology book.

“So, what do you want to work on first?” I pulled the book out and replaced my bag on the floor beside my foot.

“Hey Kar, can I ask you for some girl advice?” Everything in me stopped. My hands and arms froze where they were opening the book, my eyes stopped and stared at the page, and the train of thought running through my head just spontaneously combusted into smithereens. Though, this all happened within about two seconds. I quickly regained myself and continued flipping through the book. I didn’t look at him.

“Uh, sure.” I said quietly.

“So I like this girl, right, but I don’t think she likes me. Like we’ve hardly ever talked before. But I really want to impress her, make her see I’m a good guy. What should I do?” I was mentally scratching my head so hard I think I might have broken through to my skull; not from his question though, from the quandary of why he was asking this to me. I finally looked up at him, he looked genuinely interested in what I was about to say.

“Well, the best thing to do is to just be yourself.”

“But what if she won’t notice me as myself?”

“Then she’s not worth your time.” He looked taken back, or maybe just surprised. Maybe he didn’t expect me to actually know what I was talking about. Andrew was quiet for a moment, like he was trying to think of what to say.

“Well, how do I show her myself?” I tapped my pencil on the book and shrugged.

“I don’t know, just talk to her I guess. Get to know her interests; try to strike up a conversation.” I thought back to how Nick first got my attention. It was two years ago in English class. We didn’t know each other very well then, we hardly talked. It had been a boring day, most of us had finished the essay we were assigned to write, but we weren’t permitted to talk once we were done. I had simply taken out a book and began to read, but unbeknownst to me, Nick, who was sitting only a few desks away, was crafting himself a fine paper airplane. He had told me that he had aimed for his friend who wasn’t far from me, but as all paper airplanes, this one didn’t follow its course, and ended up hitting me in the back of the head. Startled and unaware of what hit me, I turned around to see the airplane on the ground. I looked up to try and see who had thrown it, when Nick caught my eye. He mouthed the word ‘sorry’ and gave an apologetic smile. Once class had been dismissed, he came up to me in the hall and audibly apologized, and we simply began talking from there. I sighed to myself, then brought myself back to the present, unaware of the fact that Andrew had been speaking.

“…if I can’t make conversation? I’m pretty horrible at small talk, and she makes me so nervous.” I smiled slightly, trying to act as if I had been paying attention the whole time.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine. Now really, let’s get down to tutoring.” He smiled and nodded.

Before I had realized it, the study hall teacher was telling us that it was time for us to leave. We had only covered two chapters, but I think that was enough for today. I didn’t want to overwhelm him. I began to pack up my books, and shockingly, Andrew helped me put them away. We walked over to the door talking about what I was trying to teach him. Eventually we smiled and said goodbye, walking our separate ways.

I pushed the double doors at the front of the school open as a chilling blast of air swept right through me. I put my arms around myself trying to keep some of my heat in. I began to walk to my car when I heard the doors behind me open and close again. I knew it couldn’t have been Andrew, as to his car was parked in the other lot, behind the school. It then didn’t occur to me; I figured it was just a teacher or something finally being able to leave just the same as the rest of us.

“So, Andrew Nelson?” I knew the voice, and part of me was wondering why he was here right now of all places, and the other was debating whether I should turn around and acknowledge him or not. I ended up turning.

And there he was, stapled to the voice. Axel was a few steps behind me, and slowly closed that gap as he walked up. I could see his breath in the frigid air. He cocked and eyebrow at me once he was close. I furrowed my brows.

“What are you doing here?” I put his hands into his jacket pocket.

“Don’t worry, I’m not following you. I had to take a test I missed.” His lips were in between a smirk and a grimace. “Now your turn, you answer my question. I saw you and Andrew talking in the doorway. I didn’t think you belonged in his crowd.” Every word his lips curved into sound made a visible cloud of hot air whirl my way. Then his eyes caught me, as they always do.

“I’m tutoring him.” Axel chuckled.

“Are you?” His snakelike smile rested on his face, as I grew unamused with his jokes.

“I’m actually tutoring him, Axel. He told me today he needs help with biology.” Axel began to walk past me, most likely going towards his car. I followed shortly behind, but I wasn’t exactly sure why.

“Kind of funny how he picks you out of all the kids in our school huh?” I couldn’t see his face, but I could imagine he was wearing that stupid little smirk. “I mean hey, I think we all know there are people smarter than you that could help him. I just find it funny, is all.”

“You have a weird sense of humor.” He shrugged.

“Hey, whatever. I really don’t care. I’m more shocked you accepted. I just didn’t imagine a girl like you running with a guy like him.” I squinted at him for a moment, trying to process his words.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He stopped walking and turned around to face me, though he had turned around so quickly that I bumped into him gently. I blushed slightly and quickly backed myself up, and looked back up at him.

“Haven’t you heard the things that people say about him?” His smile evaporated into the air coming from his breath. “That he just uses people, that he’s stupid and immature, that life is just one big game to him?” I had heard all those things.

“You can’t judge someone from what people say about them. They could all be lying.” He stared at me hard for a minute; his green eyes digging a hole into my brown ones, like a tree, green and full, digging its roots into the soil below.

“But if everyone says it, can it really be a lie?” He then turned again, and headed for his car once more. I didn’t follow this time. “But hey, you're the tutor. I’m sure you can figure this out,” he called as he walked. He unlocked his little black car and got inside. Without thinking, I ran up next to the driver’s side window. He rolled it down only slightly so he could hear me.

“Why are you so mean to me all the time?” There was no reaction from him, no crease in his face. His eyes stared at me. From the small crack in his window I could feel the heat radiating from his car. Everything outside suddenly felt ten times colder. He looked forward, like he was trying to think of a comeback, like he was deep in thought about something. It was then that I heard something in the car change, and realized that he had changed gears. He finally looked over at me.

“If I wasn’t, you wouldn’t be reconsidering tutoring Andrew right now.” He then began to back up out of the parking spot, and then drove away. I was left alone in his empty parking space.

I hated when he was right.