Hold Fast

I froze. Where had I heard this voice before? I ventured a peek up and felt my breath hitch in my throat. Was I dreaming? He looked so familiar, but I was unsure. “It’s nice to meet all of you.” Then he smiled. It was him. I would know that smile anywhere; it was constantly in my mind. Standing at the front of my classroom was the girl that I had pulled off the ledge two years ago. He looked almost the same, bright blue eyes, medium length black hair, only this time he was wearing blue, skinny jeans and a maroon v-neck, and a snap-back perched on top of his head, although she was still wearing a pair of old Toms.
“Alright Kellin, why not take the open desk next to Vic.” I took a breath inward, getting a weird look from Jaime in the process. Of course he would think it was weird. I hadn’t told anyone about what had happened that day. I quickly looked down at my book as he walked by and took his seat.
“Alright now let’s go over the syllabus…” the voice of my teacher was drowned out by my thoughts. Had he recognized me? No, most likely not, I had changed a lot in two years. And by a lot, I mean I grew two inches and grew out my hair. Should I talk to him? No, that would creep him out.
I was having a mental battle with myself, causing my friends to look back and forth between me and each other. Tony threw an eraser at my desk. There were two words on it. You okay? I turned to him and nodded, jotting down a quick reply and handing it back to him. He read it before giving me the “I don’t believe you look.” He may be quiet, but he wasn’t stupid. I mouthed that I would tell him later and tried to focus on the class. ‘
I couldn’t help peeking over at Kellin, the constant flow of questions circling in my mind. Was he okay now? Did he remember that day? Should I do something? Before I knew it, the class was over and I heard none of it. Well good thing it was just a review.
I packed up my bag as the guys gathered around my desk. “Dude, you okay? You were seriously spacing out.” Tony asked.
“Yeah Vic, that’s unusual even for you.” Mike added. I just shrugged.
“Yeah,” I glanced at Kellin, “I just need to talk to you guys about something at lunch.” They all looked at each other before letting it go. We were split up for the next two periods, and Kellin wasn’t in either of my other classes that morning, which made it a little easier to concentrate. As soon as the bell rang for lunch, I headed out to the usual spot and waited for the others to join me. They all walked up a few minutes later and we settled in for what I guessed was a normal lunch break. That is, until Tony remembered that I had information to share.
“Alright Vic, spill.” He turned to me, a determined look apparent on his face. I swallowed the food that was in my mouth and took a deep breath.
“Okay, but you guess can’t judge me.” They all nodded, slightly confused. I took a deep breath. “It happened two years ago,” I told them everything that happened that day. All three of them paid close attention to me, not even eating, just listening to my memory. I finished after what felt like forever and looked between them, waiting for a response.
“Wow, that’s pretty intense.” Tony commented.
“That explains where that rose in your room came from.” Mike added.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Jaime looked a little confused. “I mean, that’s a huge thing for you to just not tell anyone.” He had a point. I really should have told someone sooner, but then again, what would it have accomplished. Until today, I thought that I would never meet him again. And it wasn’t like anyone would have known what I was talking about anyway.
“So are you going to talk to him?” Mike asked, poking his mashed potatoes with his fork.
“I’m not even sure he remembers me.” I stared at my water bottle that I was holding. “I mean, he looked at me for like two seconds that day. Plus…I’m not that impressive.”
“Impressive?” Jaime scoffed. “Dude, you saved his life. Of course he would remember that.” Jaime gave me a stern look. “You should go talk to him.”
“He’s right Vic. He’s going to find out eventually. Besides, it’s not like you’re being some creep stalker or something.” Tony looked across the quad, searching for something. “Look, he’s over by the statue by himself. Now’s the perfect time.” I looked over, seeing him sitting against the base of the statue, a book propped in his lap. I gathered whatever courage I could before standing and walking away from my friends. I was still unsure of whether or not this was a good idea, but I knew that there wasn’t really another option. I had to tell him, had to know what had happened after he left that day.
He didn’t look up as I walked up to him. I decided to be a little daring and sit next to him on the ground. He closed his book and looked at me. “I was wondering when I’d see you again.” I was so thrown off that the words I was about to say disappeared and my mouth hung open for a second. His voice was slightly different than from two years ago. It was almost angelic, which scared me for some reason. He chuckled. “What? Did you think that I wouldn’t recognize you?”
“Well yeah, a little.” I could feel heat rising to my cheeks. Why was I getting all embarrassed over a guy for? I’m straight…at least I think I am…“You didn’t say anything in English so I was unsure.” I leaned against the statue and pulled my knees close to my chest, resting my hands on them.
“I didn’t want to make a scene.” He turned to look at me. “I have enough trouble making friends as it is. I don’t want to scare people off on my first day but jumping and hugging some guy they think I don’t know.” He had a really good point.
“That makes sense.” I smiled back to him. “So wait. The teacher said you’re from Oregon, why were you here two years ago?” I hadn’t really ever thought about this fact until now. He dropped his head a little, a sad look appearing in his eyes, the same one from that day. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.
“I was at a funeral the day that you saved me.” Yeah…I really felt bad now. He went to continue, “My grandmother had passed away, and she was the only person that understood me.” He took a deep breath. “My parents try, but not like she did. She never judged me for being different, for being...” He trailed off, apparently unsure of whether to share that information. “She always told me to be myself and be proud of whom I was. So, when she died, I felt that the only good thing in my life did too.” He turned to me. “Then, as I was about to make a really stupid choice, someone pulled me off of a ledge and back onto solid ground.” I didn’t know what to say to him exactly, but I had to say something.
“I was just lucky enough to be in the right place.” What? That didn’t sound like it did in my head. He just chuckled.
“No Vic. You saved me in more ways than one on that day.” Before I could ask him what he meant, the warning bell rang. “Well, we better get going. I don’t want to be late for Strickland’s math lecture.”
“Strickland?” I gave him an apologetic look. “Good luck…he’s pretty tough.” I helped him up.
“Yeah, but I doubt he’s worse than some of the teacher’s I’ve had before.” He leaned over and grabbed his bag. “I’ll see you around, Vic.”
“Yeah see you.” I left to go meet back up with my friends. Mike handed me my backpack when we met up.
“So, how did it go?” He asked.
“Better than I thought.”
“See,” Tony punched my arm lightly, “I told you.” We all laughed lightly as we prepared for the rest of the day.
School ended way sooner than I thought it would. The guys and I all walked together until we came to the spot where Mike and I separated from the other two and said our goodbye. We were all unlucky enough to have gotten some type of homework in at least one class that day, and none of us was keen on the idea of falling behind the first week of school. By the time we made it home, my mom was back from work. She had a sandwich sitting out for me on the desk in my room. I set my stuff down and sat at my desk. She came by a few seconds later.
“How was your first day dear?” She asked, leaning against my doorframe.
“Interesting.” I said in between bites of my food.
“That’s good. Anything exciting happen?”
“I met the new guy.” I answered. “His name’s Kellin.”
“Oh yeah, Mrs. Perry said something about a new family moving in the other day. I think he lives a few houses down from us where Ms. Bostwick lived.” Somehow, this comment made perfect sense to me. Ms. Bostwick’s house had been vacant since she had passed away…two years ago. I put two and two together. She must have been Kellin’s grandmother. I guess I could understand what he had meant by how sad he was after her passing. Ms. Bostwick was probably the most accepting woman that lived in the world. She even liked my friends and me.
“Oh, that’s cool.” My mom smiled at me before moving on her way. I turned back to my desk. Today really was turning out to be an unusual day.