For the Last Night I Lie, Could I Lie With You?

On Monday, I was very sad because I had to get up and go to school and leave Gerard behind. I needed to go by his unit office and arrange his little home schooling thing so he won’t get behind.

Monday morning I reluctantly woke up when David knocked on the bedroom door very loudly. I got up and opened it.

“Sh! I don’t want you to wake up Gerard.” I whispered to David.

“Too late.” A groggy voice said behind me.

“Sorry, Gerard. Forgot you were in here.” David apologized.

“It’s ok.”

I sighed and turned the light on. David left my room and went downstairs. I picked out some clothes and changed into them in the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and hair and went back into my room. Gerard was obviously still lying there, blinking in the light that was slowly bleeding through my window.

I kneeled on the ground beside him. He turned his head and looked at me, smiling slightly.

“Mum is staying home today to take care of you. I would stay home, but Mum doesn’t want me getting behind too.” I whispered to him.

“It’s ok. I’ll be fine.” Gerard assured me.

I sighed and kissed him on the cheek. I stood up and grabbed my messenger bag. I walked to the doorway and turned around.

“Want the light on or off?” I asked Gerard.

“On.” He answered.

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

I reluctantly waved goodbye to him and went down the stairs. David was waiting for me by the front door. He asked if I was ready to go yet. I nodded and walked out the door with him.

“He’s going to be ok, Bri. You’re only leaving him for a few hours.” David reminded me.

“Yeah, with our mother.” I joked.

“Good point. That’s a little scary in itself.”

David and I laughed and waited for the bus to come. When our driver pulled up, we went to our usual seat and sat down. When we got to school I left David and Ericka to go to Gerard’s unit office on the other side of the school. I arranged his home schooling program and ended up being ten minutes late to physics.

“Sorry, I’m late.” I breathed to Mr. Fennel.

“Do you have a pass?” He inquired.

I nodded and handed him a slip of pink paper the office secretary had given me. He scribbled something down in his grade book and let me sit down next to David. All during the class I looked back at Gerard’s empty table. It made me sad. Hopefully he was feeling ok today.

In choir, Mrs. Snomel noted that the tenors sounded really weak today without Gerard in class. I smiled smugly. I’ll have to ask Gerard to sing to me some day.

“Bridgette, if you’re going to be this depressed without Gerard at school, maybe you should stay home.” Ericka told me at lunch.

“You don’t even have that many classes with him.” Elena added.

“I know, but it’s just knowing that he’s here that makes me happy. I don’t have to physically see him.” I told them, fiddling with my spork.

“Aw, it sounds like someone is in love…” David said quietly.

“I’m not sure that I’m in love, but I’m dam close.”

“Aww…so, I’m wondering.” Ericka started. “Does Gerard snore?”

I smiled a little and giggled. You can always count on Ericka to lighten things up when it seems the conversation is becoming uncomfortable.

“No, he doesn’t actually. He’s a very quiet sleeper.” I informed her. “He’s all around a very quiet person.”

“And you intend to change that?”

“Yes, I do. I mean, I don’t want to turn him into the cheerleader type that can talk to astronauts in space, but at least get him to our level. Then he might talk in front of you guys. It took several days to get him to talk to David let alone two girls.”

Before anyone could say anything else, the bell rang. David and I got up and went back to the German room. Frau was sitting at her desk eating popcorn and grading papers. David casually walked behind her and looked over her shoulder. He pumped his fist and did his happy dance.

“Was?” Frau said, confused.

“Entschuldigung.” David muttered, biting his lip.

He sat down at his desk and faced me.

“I got a 100% on my quiz!” He exclaimed. “Up top!”

He offered his hand for a high five. I slapped it and laughed. Frau walked by his desk and placed his quiz on the tabletop.

“Wilkommen to the ein hundert punkte klub, Gutenberg. Sehr gut, Gerda.” Frau congratulated us.

I picked up my quiz. It was a 110%. David took it and looked over the whole page, comparing it to his own assignment. His mouth hung wide open the whole time.

“There wasn’t even a bonus question and yet you still got ten points extra credit!” He shouted.

The Frau laughed, “She’s my favorite.”

“Well, you should give her extra points to the people who aren’t your favorite. She has a freaking 150% in this class.”

“Ok.”

“Such jealousy, David.” I joked.

David rolled his eyes and shifted in his seat. I plucked my paper out of his fingers and turned to face the front. I put my paper in my German binder.

Music theory was so lonely. I had no one to sit next to and no one to pass notes to. At least I paid attention to the lesson. Now I might do better on my exams.

After class I rushed to Gerard’s unit office again to collect his work and made my way out to the buses. Despite my wishes, there was no dark-haired, shadowy junior waiting in the courtyard to give me a kiss goodbye. I was a little bummed until I remembered the same shadowy junior was probably lying in my bed right now waiting for me.

The bus ride was long and anxious…for me anyway. I hurried down the steps onto the pavement and crossed in front of the bus. David had to run to catch up with my fast walking pace.

“What’s the hurry?” He exclaimed.

“I want to see Gerard. I miss him.” I replied.

David dropped it and followed me down the sidewalk and we entered the house together. I plopped Gerard’s work down on the kitchen counter and dropped my backpack on the floor. I took the stairs two at a time and quietly opened my bedroom door.

Gerard was propped up on my headboard with a sketchpad and pencil in his hands. His head jerked towards me and he shut the pad, throwing it and the pencil on the floor.

“Hi.” He blurted, blushing a little.

“Hi!” I said cheerfully.

“Home so soon?”

“And yet not soon enough. I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

I slowly slid onto the bed and gave Gerard a cautious hug and a peck on the forehead. He smiled and said quietly, “So, tell me about your day.”