She Said, She Said

There are some days that I wish would never end. And then there are some days that I wish I could get done and over with. This was definitely one of those. Caleb’s attitude and annoying remarks were finally getting to me. If he said one more thing about my hair, or my face, or how slow I was, I was going to smack him.

Caleb wasn’t too happy with me, either, it seemed. His glare was getting meaner and meaner to the point where I thought he would make my head explode. When Ava said he had anger issues, she was right.

“Caleb, that’s not where it goes! That’s the grass, and you’re putting it on the tree,” I exclaimed, watching as he tried to fit the puzzle piece into the wrong place.

“Shut up!” he yelled, standing up. Some people turned around to look, but when they saw Caleb, they turned back to what they were doing, acting as if this happened everyday. “Nag, nag, nag! Can’t you just shut up for once? I’ll do what I want!”

“S - Sorry, I was just trying to help-,” I started to explain, getting more scared by the second.

“Well, don’t, alright?” He was still yelling, his face red, his hands clenched into fists. The guards must’ve heard the yelling because they were right behind Caleb by now.

“C’mon, buddy,” one of the guards said, grabbing Caleb’s arm. He was a bulky, short man with his muscles practically bulging out of his shirt sleeves. The other guard, a tall, lanky man, who could clearly knock me out at once, grabbed Caleb’s other arm. They tried to drag him off, but Caleb started shaking his arms about. After a minute of struggling, and failing, he let them drag him out of the room. I watched, shocked, and amazed, at Caleb’s temper. Was he actually going to hit me? I’m glad I didn’t get to find out.

“Wow, what a temper!” Valerie giggled, suddenly by my side, watching the now closed door. I grunted, not really in the mood for laughing.

“I hate this place,” I sighed, sliding down in my seat.

“You’ll get used to it,” Valerie shrugged, looking at her nails with interest.

“Whatever.”

According to the clock, Lunch was in about ten minutes, give or take a second. I wondered if I could just go to my room, and sleep for a bit instead of going to lunch. I smiled at the idea.

*

“No.”

“No? Why not?” I asked, throwing my arms up in the air.

“Just because,” Clara sighed, looking down at her clipboard.

“What? That’s not fair!” I pouted.

“It is. You’re not sick, and you’re definitely not sleeping,” she snorted, writing something down.

“No, no! I am sick. I have this terrible headache, and it’s killing me,” I said, grabbing my forehead.

Clara rolled her eyes, and sighed once again. “Valerie, it’s lunchtime, so go to the cafeteria, please.”

I scowled at her, even if her eyes were fixed on her clipboard. I wheeled myself down, and then turned around, smiling bitterly, “If I die, it’ll be your fault!”

Clara rolled her eyes, and waved her fingers at me.

*

As I entered the cafeteria, my eyes immediately started searching for Sylvia. The cafeteria seemed to be even crowded than it had been yesterday, but I finally spotted her. She was sitting on the same table we had been sitting on yesterday, except the table contained more people than it had before. Sylvia, Noel, and Lacey sat on one side, while Nathan and Samuel were sitting on the remaining side.

After getting my food, I approached the table. None of them noticed I was there yet, and, for some reason, I felt like I was invading someone’s privacy. Sure, Sylvia had invited me to sit with them, but how would I be able to tell if she was just being nice? Maybe being friendly to new people was some kind of tradition that I didn’t know about. Before any of them noticed me, I quickly turned away from them, and tried to find another table.

“Valerie!” Shit.

I turned around, and managed a smile. “H – Hi.”

Sylvia rolled her eyes at me, while gesturing to the seat beside Nathan. Having no other choice or excuse, I took my place beside him. He gave me a quick smile, as everyone else greeted me with ‘Hi’s'. I answered politely, and then turned to my food. I wasn’t really in the mood for eating, even if I was starving. Grabbing the box of juice, I managed to zone out, while everyone else talked.

I didn’t know why I was suddenly being distant towards Sylvia, and the others. Even when I thought they were talking to me just to be nice, they proved me wrong, and didn’t tell me to leave when I joined them for lunch. Maybe it was because they reminded me so much of my old friends, if you could even call them that, that made me uncomfortable.

I stopped myself before I could get into thinking about my ‘past’ and tried to catch up on what everyone was talking about. I only understood bits of their conversation, so I decided to just finish lunch. Just as I was finishing the cookie I’d been nibbling on, the sounds of wheels, and foots approaching caused me to look up.

“Hello.” A middle-aged woman stood before us, dressed in a nurse’s outfit, her hands resting on the handlebars of a wheelchair. But what caught my eye was who was sitting on the wheelchair.

The boy, who was slightly hunched over, and stared at us with kind eyes, looked to be about eighteen. Not that I was the kind of person that ever put someone in a certain category just by looking at them, but I had to admit he was the kind of guy you’d expect to be in a football field instead of a Rehabilitation Centre. He had a thin, muscular body, curly brown hair, and chocolate colored eyes. I noticed there was a blanket covering the lower part of his body, but didn’t question it. Apart from the appearance, he had a childish look about him. The way he looked at us in wonder and curiosity, the way he fidgeted with his hands reminded me of how Sabrina sometimes acted when she was shy.

“Hey, Rex!”

“Rex! Hi!”

A chorus of greetings erupted from all around me, and some people from other tables even turned around to say 'Hi' to the boy. He waved at them shyly or simply smiled his childish smile.

“Hey, Rex?” Lacey said, trying to get his attention. “This is Valerie. She’s new here.”

Rex waved at me, and I managed to mumble a ‘Hi’ before looking down at my empty plate. A sudden silence settled over the table. And then Rex made a sound; something between a gurgle and a choke. He looked at us with wide eyes. The nurse looked at him, alarmed and then giving us an apologetic smile, wheeled him away. I was curious as to what happened to him, but didn’t feel like breaking the silence.

“So.” Apparently Sylvia did. Everyone, once again, burst into talking, though I had no idea what they were saying. I looked around, not sure what I was trying to find. My eyes had suddenly taken control and as I scanned the cafeteria, I spotted Caleb. He was hunched over in his seat, and was staring at the plate of food in front of him. Just as I was about to get up, and ask him to join us, Nathan stood up, and stretched.

“C’mon, guys,” he drawled, his hands behind his head, “We should go before Mousey has a fit.”

I giggled, and looked over to the table where Caleb had been sitting at, only to find it empty. I didn’t know why I cared if he was there or not. I guess I was just trying to be friendly. Shrugging it off, I followed the others out of the cafeteria and back to the lounge, where some people had already put on a movie. I wheeled myself to the back of the room, and slumped in one of the couches.

“Hello!” Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway, smiling. She scanned the room with her piercing gaze, and then told us not to be so loud. After a few more minutes of her lecturing us, she left the room, saying she'd be just outside.

"Turn off the lights!" Someone shouted, and before anyone could say anything against it, the lights went off, and the room went dark, except for the light that was coming through the windows, blocked by curtains.

When the movie started, instead of paying attention, I let my thoughts finally take over. And, surprisingly enough, I didn't cry. I didn’t know how I felt about that. In a way, I was happy because now I could think about my parents, Brandon, and Sabrina wherever I wanted, without crying. And in another way, it left me feeling guilty and lonely. What if I wasn’t crying because I didn’t miss them anymore? But that couldn’t be true, could it? I certainly did miss them, but I knew I had to get used to the idea of them not being by my side.

My thoughts then turned towards a completely different person: Caleb. I didn’t know if I liked him or disliked him. He was rude, and always snappy, but I had a feeling he had a different side to him. There had to be a reason explaining his behavior. If he was going to be my partner for more than just a day, I had to somehow make him feel comfortable with me. I didn’t exactly want him to be friends with me, but maybe something of the sort. I wanted him to be able to talk with me, without the constant glaring, and rude comments. I wasn’t exactly sure how, but I was determined to find out exactly what was going on with him.