Rose Petal Kisses

The rest of the day I keep fingering the note in my back pocket; to make sure that it’s still there, and just wanting to be able to feel the paper between my fingertips. My breath catches in my throat when someone grabs my butt. Panic clouds my thoughts until I whirl around and am inches away from Sarah, who is smiling slyly.

“‘Ey, handsome,” she purrs, I feel myself cringing on the inside; on the outside I replicate a smile and embrace her tightly.

“‘Ello!”

Quickly I search my pocket, relief floods me when I feel the edge of the note poke my finger. I turn back to locker 33 and cram books that I don’t need into it, and pull out a red notebook and shove it into my backpack. Sarah waits patiently, popping gum and twirling a long, blonde lock. Turning back to face her, I let out a nervous giggle and wriggle passed her; Sarah follows close behind and reaches for my hand, I grab it with a hint of reluctance and lead the way.

Matt and Charlie are standing out on the sidewalk, talking heatedly with each other, puffs of their breath curling away into the frigid air. I tug on my black jacket, and Sarah mimics me, as we approach the cross couple. Matt turns and glares at me, “come on, man, lets get outta ‘ere.”

I bite my tongue; all I want to do is go home, hide in my room and read Stormy’s note. Now I’m going to be expected to hang with Matt, and listen to him bitch for two hours about his girlfriend. I give Sarah a weak smile and a quick kiss before dispatching with my best friend.

The whole walk to his house encompasses him ranting loudly about how Charlie takes him for granted, and that if he really wanted to break up with her, than he would have by now. I nod and agree when appropriate so he doesn’t feel ignored.

My thoughts wander back to Stormy, with her cherry red lips from chewing on them all the time to her large, vacant eyes that stare into the depths of souls. She always seems lost when she trails behind Lisa Gooden and her group; Stormy never did appear to belong, in all the years I’ve grown up with them, and I never understood what tied her to that pack of dogs.

“Oli…” Matt waves his hand in front of my face, and I stare at him in modest confusion. I hadn’t realized how much I’d blanked out, “you okay? Yeh’ve been acting weird all day today.”

“Yeah… yeah m’fine. I think I might be coming down with a cold or something.” It’s a half-hearted excuse, but I’m faintly hoping that Matt will let me go back home. His smile falters a tad, his face screws up and I’m wondering what the fuck is wrong with him when-

“BLERGH!”
Chunks of digested noodles and chicken slop at my feet; flowing juices of pee-colored broth swirl around the toes of my shoes. Matt wipes at his mouth before letting out another heave with the sickening sound of more broth whooshing out. Never again would I find chicken noodle soup appetizing.

“Um, I think, maybe yeh should get inside, Matt,” I say, gingerly stepping over the mess on the ground and leading him up to his house. He doesn’t protest in the slightest and walks inside, silently.

We depart with waves, I begin to casually walk away until I know I am out of seeing range from Matt’s house, and bolt back to mine, slipping on ice and leaping over piles of snow on the sidewalk. Plumes of hot breath escape me as I sprint through icy wind. Finally, I reach my house and rest both my hands on my knees, leaning on the porch railing, as I gulp air into my burning lungs.

I wipe at the sweat running down my face and open the door into my house. All of the lights are off, and I consider myself alone, much to my relief, until I hear the squeaking of the hallway floorboards. Twisting around from tossing my jacket on the couch, I am face to face with a boy who’s bright, blue eyes are staring up at me.

“’Ey, Tom,” I say offhandedly, turning away from my younger brother. I didn’t want to deal with him right now, I wanted to be alone, and read Stormy’s note.

“Oli, mum an’ dad were arguing again,” he says, his voice cracks in the middle of speaking, “they both left. Idunno when they’ll be back.”

I sigh. Our parents argued a lot recently, and neither one of us had any clear idea as to why.

“If yeh promise to be quiet, yeh can stay in me room,” I reply, quietly. “But yeh can’t bother me… unless- unless it’s an emergency. Yeh understand?”

Tom bites his bottom lip and nods enthusiastically, his eyes lighting up.

Shuffling by him, I trudge into my room; the bed lets out a lumbering groan when I flop on to it. Tom silently follows, closing the door behind him and sits down on the floor. He starts doodling in a sketch pad, listening to his Walkman.

I roll over onto my back and pull out the long anticipated note.

My palms start to perspire, I quickly glance over at Tom, he’s still happily drawing. Unfurling the neatly folded paper, a piece of orange ribbon flutters onto my forehead, I pick it up in confusion. Clutching the ribbon, I stare at a single image drawn on the lined notebook paper. A small bird with a black-capped head, and black under its chin, is perched on a thin branch. I’m not an expert on birds, and I don’t understand how this can be remotely useful. I stare at the image for a particularly prolonged length of time.

Maybe the bird and the ribbon stand for something? But, what?

An idea surfaces as I maul these questions over, tomorrow after school, I planned on doling out the beginning my plan.



The next day, there is a resolute disgust built-up within Charlie, toward me. She won’t look at me and sneers when ever I come over to talk to Sarah, her butt wiggling away as she prowled off.

“What’s up with ‘er?” I ask, in the most genuinely concerned voice that I can produce.

Sarah shrugs, “I think it’s her an’ Matt. She probably figures yeh hate ‘er because they’re arguing.”

Rolling my eyes, I give Sarah a quick peck on the cheek and head to Art Class. All day, I have been looking forward to this, I’m so excited that I forget to hide myself from Lisa Gooden and her pack of wolves. Someone’s hands press into my back, and shove me forward, so I stumble into a girl with thick-rimmed glasses, and a mouth full of braces. She looks at me in fear and quickly scampers off, clutching her books close to her chest.

I glance behind me, Lisa is purposefully sniggering loudly, while some of her cronies point with their thumbs over their shoulders, letting out belches of laughter. If only they knew that one of the members of their group has broken down a part of their wall. Chuckling to myself, I rush to class and locate my seat.

Stormy McClellan is staring dreamily out the window, the corners of her mouth tilted up in a lazy smile. She’s wearing her signature navy-blue, pull-over hoodie that says in dripping white letters on the front: ‘Stormy’. For most of the school year she is usually wearing a sweater; always pulling the sleeves over her pale hands when she isn’t writing, drawing or painting.

Sadly, for the entire hour, she doesn’t toss a single glance in my direction. She didn’t at lunch, either. By the end of the day, I feel completely crest-fallen.

Tugging my backpack onto my shoulder, I slip out of school before Sarah realizes I’m gone. My destination clawed at my thoughts and reaching the floral shop couldn’t be any slower. The bell chimes overhead as I open the door, a waft of perfume-like smell swallows any oxygen I had been breathing outside.

“Good evening!” A perky sales-girl says, her blonde pony-tail bobbing with her excitement.

“Yeh, too.” I say with a brief smile, before turning tail, and searching for the flowers I needed.

Silky rivulets of blood, their water-dotted petals tremble under the florescent lighting. The center of the flower a dark, crimson eye staring up at me. Small, green thorns stick out of the stem menacingly, like pointed teeth ready to dig in and tear. I grab three of the roses and walk up to the check-out counter, the sales-girl is smiling giddily at me and she pulls out some paper. She wraps the flowers up, types in some numbers on the register, rattles off the price, and I give her the exact amount.

I trek out the door into the frosty air.

Step one of my plan is completed.