Malediction

38 - Good or Bad

No one dared ask me about my brazen move in math class, which was appreciated. I had made my point, and I had made it known. The incident had spread through school like a wildfire and now it was up to the spectators to decide as to what side of the field they would stand. Danny's side or Mathews side.

Unfortunately for me, Danny's side was not on Emilia's side over the whole thing.

"You're causing unnecessary attention, you're going to create more tension" He told me as we sat in history class

"It will die down, it always does" I argued

Instead of continuing the petty disagreement, he annoyingly decided to ignore me for the remainder of class. I tried on numerous occasions to think of something more to say to him, but each time, I thought the better of it. He was clearly frustrated, and I feared that my actions were portraying me in a false sense of light. The last thing I had ever wanted, was for him to begin to resent me or dislike who I was becoming.
Perhaps in a way, my display was beginning to make me resent and dislike who I was becoming. I was never one for attention, nor drama, yet here I was.

Until 3pm, when the final bell for school sounded, all I could think about was what I was doing to myself. Was I creating drama? Was it unnecessary, or was it needed to firmly set down rebellion against Mathew and his beliefs? Who were my actions really defending?

Eventually, I had concluded that Danny had been right. I was placing cement around my own two feet, concreting myself into the middle of a messy sidewalk.
It didn't matter what people knew, what people assumed or what they thought. My friends believed in me, and Danny. My family believed in me, and Danny. I believed in me, and Danny.

"I want to apologise" I began as Danny and I walked out from the school gates, leaving his truck behind

"For?" He mumbled, looking straight ahead

"For what I did in class, for who I turned into. I'm trying to keep a level head, I'm trying to not let what others have suddenly started assuming about my life get to me"

"It's okay. I can understand that it must be difficult" He shrugged it off

"How do you stay so calm?" I scoffed "When you know people are saying things about you behind your back, whispering about you right in front of your face?"

His lips slightly lifted "It's not without great restraint. There are many times I've wanted to shout and react and let my emotions go, but at the end of the day, getting a reaction from me is what they're after, and I won't give in to what they want"

I admired him, for so many different reasons. His tone, his composure and his outlook, it made me that much more attracted to him.

As we reached our second street turn off from school, we spotted Blake's SUV parked alongside the curb.
Hurriedly, we approached the vehicle and climbed in.

"Ready to do this?" Blake asked us from the drivers seat, his hair combed back, his attire professional and neat

"Let's get it done" Danny sighed in the passenger seat as the car entered traffic.

Enclosed in the comfortable space of Blake's car held a much different effect on me than it did when I was trapped inside Danny's car. The air conditioning was turned on, fresh and cool oxygen circulating the margin. The radio was switched on, old school rock playing lightly through the speakers. Even the absence of papaya and coconut was comforting, replaced by the generic scent of leather and plastic.

I leaned back in my seat, remembering the other instances Danny and I had travelled in a vehicle towards an unknown fate. This was the third person we were unknowingly throwing into the mix, with absolutely no idea if it were to backfire in our faces.