In My Head

Cheer Up ~ Logan

"Come on." I grab my backpack and get out of the car. Kaden doesn't move. I bend to look through my open door at him. "Are you coming or what?"

Kaden gazes over at me, his face flat and his eyes drooping with exhaustion. His tan almost covers the bruise on his cheek, and his shaggy hair hides most of the rug burn on the right side of his face, but I can still see where it's starting to scab over.

I collapse back into the driver's seat. I'm honestly surprised that Mom let Kaden come to school today. He wanted to come, or he'd be home right now, so why does he look so miserable? I take another look and realize that he's not just tired. He's stalling because he's nervous. I suppose it's time for me to cheer him up then, to get his mind off things. "Hey, you gonna help me find that hot redhead?" I ask.

"You forgot her name." Kaden looks over with the hint of a smile in his eyes.

"She said it once. How'm I s'posed to remember that?"

"I remember," Kaden says.

What? Kaden's memory is pretty much fried from all the seizures. How could he know her name when I can't even remember what letter it starts with? It just doesn't make any sense. "Are you sure?"

"What's that s'posed to mean?" Kaden frowns.

"Uh . . . I'd rather not call her by a name at all, than call her by the wrong one."

"Stephanie," he says, staring forward out the windshield. Stephanie. Yeah, that sounds right.

"So are you gonna help me find Stephanie, or are you gonna make me take you home?" I hold my breath.

". . . Okay." Kaden pushes his door open. Yes! I grab my bag, jump out of the car, and slam the door shut. Kaden shakes his head at how excited I am. We make our way out of the parking lot and across the street toward the closest entrance. This school is so huge. I have this bad feeling we're going to get lost.

Oops, the schedule! . . . Oh, phew, it's in my pocket. I pull it out and unfold it. Advanced Theatre Project - 109 H. I have no idea where to go. This is really going to suck. I turn right and head up the street toward the main entrance.

Kaden stops in front of a side entrance to the school. "Hey, where ya goin?"

I spin around and walk backwards away from him. "We won't get lost if we go in the front again."

"What building are we going to?"

I stand still. "H."

"Dude, let's go this way." Kaden points at the doors. "This is the, uh, the . . ." He closes his eyes and shakes his head. "The jacker gym, the uh, the B Building."

"That's jacket gym. And there isn't a B Building," I say.

"Whatever." He scoffs. "If we go through here, we come out at the courtyard and cut across to the H building."

I check the map. He's right. How does he know that?

"While you were drooling over the redhead, I was paying attention." Kaden grins.

Well, it looks like I managed to cheer him up. I walk back to him, pull the door open, and push him inside ahead of me. "Who says I wasn't paying attention? I just notice more important things."

Kaden laughs. "What, like her measurements?"