Little Spark

51 - Smart Camp

When I see Candis standing outside Mr. Casey's classroom the next morning, all I can think about it how awful I look. My eyes are red-rimmed and bloodshot from hours of crying instead of sleeping, my hair is a mess of tangles plopped on top of my head, and I'm in sweatpants, which are a sure sign of defeat. My first inclination is to go hide in the bathroom until after the bell rings, but she sees me before I can make a run for it.

To my complete shock and dismay, when we lock eyes, she waves and walks toward me. I take a peek over my shoulder, halfway expecting to see one of her various school club buddies standing behind me, but there's no one else in the hallway.

When I turn back around, she's standing right in front of me.

"Hi," she says.

I take an incredulous step backward. "Umm... hi?"

"Can we talk?"

My brows lift in response and she looks down at her hands.

"I have class," I say.

"Oh, your absence is pre-approved. Our reconciliation is M.C. endorsed."

As I look at her green eyes and heart-shaped, freckle-dotted face, the bulge that forms in my throat as I realize just how much I've missed her makes me feel like I'm growing an Adam's apple. I have to swallow really hard and lock my jaw to keep from melting into a sobbing puddle of goo right then and there.

I shift my eyes down the hallway behind her. "Okay. Where should we go?"

"Photo lab's empty this period," she says. "Follow me."

It doesn't take long to get there, and when she switches on the light, I'm surprised to find a room full of tables just like in our chemistry class. "Isn't it supposed to be dark in here?"

She laughs. It's been such a long time since I heard her laugh, something inside me breaks, and I have to sit down. "The dark room is over there," she says, pointing to a closed door in the corner as she pulls up a chair to sit across from me.

A heavy silence clunks onto the table between us, and I feel sweat run down the insides of my upper arms. I stare at a chip in the white polish on my thumb hoping she's not waiting for me to start the conversation.

She roots around in her bag before placing a white envelope on the table and sliding it toward me. It's the one Celia gave her yesterday... which feels like an eternity ago. "I owe you an apology, Bliss," she says.

I'm pretty sure my eyebrows and hairline become one.

"The envelope," she says, more to the table than to me. "Start with the envelope."

After eyeing it warily and halfway expecting it to burst into flames, I pick up the envelope, cautiously open it, and remove the folded sheet of paper. I almost fall off the stool from shock when I see the familiar scrawl of the handwritten note.

Candis,

I'm sorry for hurting you three years ago. I didn't realize how the stuff I do affects people until recently. I cut you off because I found out about what you are, and I didn't want anything bad to happen to you. I'm also sorry I never answered your letter. You were a really good friend, but it was never more than that for me. I thought if I gave the letter back, you'd get the message, but I now see that wasn't the right thing to do.

I hope you can forgive me.

Reign

I read the note over a second time, then set it on the table and look up at Candis.