This Little Game We Like To Play

I stare at the yellow skin of the banana. I feel my lip pull up in disgust. I’ve always hated bananas. I peel the skin off and crinkle my nose at the smell of it.

Lucia was with me today, she was a substitute guide to me. Jeff’s wife had a baby two days ago. He was taking some time off to enjoy his new role as a father. Lucia is a deadbeat guide in my opinion. I’m just so used to having conversations with Jeff that Lucia’s constant flipping through nutritional magazines makes me want to stab a fork in her eye.

I focus back to the task on hand, consuming a banana. Lucia wasn’t asking me to eat it. Hell, I could have thrown up my lunch in a garage can and Lucia wouldn’t have even looked up from her magazine. Why I am having the battle with this awkwardly shaped fruit then? It’s the only way I can think to thank Jeff for being better than Lucia.

“Is there a reason why you’re staring down that banana?” Surprised by the deepness of the voice my eyes dart from the banana to the dark hair, dark eyed boy who was now sitting across from me. Nash Morris.

“Still finding it difficult to eat?” Why is he talking to me? Victoria and Natalie are the popular ones around here. Yes, even here there are girls who find themselves soaring in social status. Then there’s me. I talk to my room mate Mary occasionally. That’s it.

“No. Well, yes. But I’ve always found bananas to be fucking disgusting.” I say bluntly getting a strong aroma of banana.

“Then why are you even trying to eat it?” He asks sounding almost amused.

“Jeff asked me to eat one the other day.”

“You pretty much never do what he asks you to do though, so why are you now?”

“I pretty much never talked to you before so how do you know that? I mocked his use of the words “pretty much.”

“I pretty much read your file.”

“Isn’t that pretty much illegal?” I ask with one eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, pretty much.” he said with a smirk.

“Why’d you read it?” I ask curiously.

“You have my mom ready to pull her hair out one strand at a time some days.”

I nod my head up and down. “Pretty sweet.” I say focusing my eyes back to the peeled banana.

“So why are you trying to eat the banana?”

“To thank Jeff for not being her.” I nod my head Lucia’s direction. Nash looks to Lucia and then mouths ‘oh’ upon realizing I got stuck with the worst.

“So this Angel kid...”

“What about him?” I mutter breaking a piece of the banana off.

“Did you hear anything about him since you got here?”

“No.” I answer wondering where this is going to. “Why?”

“Because I was across the street yesterday with my dad, who works with the guys our age who cut themselves and there’s this kid named Angel over there who fits your description.” I laugh while shaking my head no.

“Angel isn’t a cutter.” I put the bit of banana into my mouth. It’s gross and it makes me want to throw up, and not in the eating disorder way. “And it sucks that both of your parents are shrinks.”

“He’s a tall kid, blonde hair, brown eyes?” Nash ignores my comment on his mother and father’s occupations.

“Yeah, but that’s all pretty common.”

“A guy being named Angel isn’t very common.” Nash tells me as I break another piece of banana off.

“It’s not him.” I say more sure than anything. Self mutilation isn’t something Angel would do. Is it?

“Come with me, I want to show you something.” Nash stood up from the table. I followed due to my curiosity.