I'll see you guys on Saturday then!
Goodnight & Goodbye
[The haiku wasn't written by me.]
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“I got detention,” Helen grumbled, walking out of the girls’ changing room to meet me.
“What for?!” I practically yelled.
“Woah, calm down. Jared gave me a detention today for slapping Nielson.”
“Shelby?” I breathed, my eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
“She had it coming. She’s lucky that I didn’t rearrange that face of hers.” Helen growled.
“Uhh… okay, but Nathan is going to freak when he hears this.” I mumbled, my face heating up when I said his name.
“Nathan-schmathan. Sure, he’ll freak out on the outside, but on the inside, he’s probably rejoicing with me for slapping that witch.”
I didn’t reply, not entirely believing her.
“Well, let’s get going then. P.E should be starting soon. I heard we’re playing volleyball today.” Helen enthused. “I remember how I used to play with Nathan, and one time, when I was ten, I got so mad about losing that I pushed him in a puddle of mud.”
I couldn’t help but giggle at that, imagining the two younger versions of them and Nathan’s muddy face.
When we arrived at the Gym, our teacher, Coach Felton was not present. While Helen went to meet up with the triplets, I decided to hang around idly in a corner, afraid at the possibility of having to face Nathan.
Admittedly, I was rather excited about today’s lesson. Our previous three physical education lessons had been focusing on running up and down a field. Today, I would get to observe Nathan up close, who was highly commended for his athleticism.
It was not unusual hear the girls fawning over him or boys praising his athletic ability whenever I walked past students in the hallway. Often, you could catch him opening doors for girls, or holding books for teachers.
He was handsome, studious, talented, chivalrous, caring, sociable and very, very charming. If I had to describe him in one word, it would be ‘perfect’.
Listen to yourself, Melody. You sound like some lovesick fool. Stop it.
“Oh my, the Peytons are simply dee-lish. We’ve got us some eye candy, girls.”
I whipped my head around, trying not to gag at the extreme bimbo-ness of the statement. It was no surprise that those words came out from Ashley’s mouth.
“Yeah, totally. Look at those muscles, so hot.” Ashlee sighed dreamily, a faraway look in her blue eyes.
“Yummy,” Ashley licked her lips, and I fought off the urge to bash her up. “Do you think my pants are short enough?” Tugging at the elastic band of her gym shorts, throwing sideway glances at the triplets every so often, to see if the triplets were paying any attention to her. Fat chance. “What do you think, Ashleigh?”
“Umm… sure, yeah.” Ashleigh mumbled absentmindedly, looking at the floor.
“Shelby says you been acting all weird these days,” Ashlee sniffed, wrinkling her nose and inspecting her nails. “Someone rejected you again?”
“A-again?” Ashleigh spluttered, looking up.
“Whatever. We know you got dumped by Benjamin and Nate totally rejected you. And not very nicely too.” Ashlee muttered impatiently. Ashleigh’s face remained composed, but I looked into those blue eyes and saw such sadness in them.
“God, look at Nathaniel. Do you think he’s been working out?” Ashley gushed, looking at Nathaniel with obvious lust, while murderous thoughts ran through my head.
I dearly wanted to claw the eyes out of those two insufferable idiots, Ashley and Ashlee. Yet, at the same time, I failed to avoid ogling at them myself.
Well, they were seriously good-looking. I couldn’t help it.
It was easier to tell them apart in their normal clothes. Nathan preferred smart and stylish outfits, Nate seemed fond of black and Nathaniel wore just about anything he felt like. But now, with their identical appearances and clothes, they were nearly impossible to differentiate just by looking at them. Except for the fact that Nathaniel had dimples when he smiled, which was pretty much all the time, and Nate was the one with the expressionless face.
“Alright class, you have ten seconds to get into five groups of six, one group of five, or it’s two laps around the gym!” Coach Felton strut in, holding on to a clipboard and barking out orders. All of us jumped in surprise at his sudden appearance but quickly scrambled into our groups before he blew the whistle.
Of course, Helen and the triplets immediately grouped together. I stood in the corner, expecting to be the last one picked again.
“Oy! Over here, Piano!” Nathaniel waved at me frantically, a few more seconds left. I jogged over to join them, before Coach could make me run laps.
“Did you think we’d leave you out?” Helen grinned, wrapping her arm around my shoulder, a warm gesture that left me feeling wanted and immensely happy.
“Your always welcome to join us,” Nathan beamed, and once again, I felt my cheeks redden as I met his green eyes.
“Heck yeah! We’ll even kick Nate out, if we have to!” Nathaniel grinned lopsidedly, hopping on his feet alternately, looking very much as if he were ten years old again..
“I feel so loved,” Nate answered dryly, before lapsing back into his habitual silence.
“Groups one and three pair up! You’re playing the first round.” Coach Felton barked his moustache ruffling with his mouth movements.
“Crap,” Helen muttered as we faced our opponents on the other side of the net. Our unbelievable luck had put us up against the Ashleys, Simon Fuller and his two faithful ‘minions’. Even better, one of classmate, Odelia was down with the flu, leaving our team with five people.
“Relax, we can handle them. They’re just a bunch of narcissists with no real capabilities.” Nathan sighed, but I detected something slight in his voice. Doubt?
“Uhh… yeah, what Nathan said!”
I swallowed my laugh, trying to take on a serious stance, but my mouth twitched. Funny how I used to think Nathaniel my bitter enemy, and now, I wanted to laugh at how cute he was.
We were given the privilege of being the serving team, due to our ‘handicap’. Nate was holding on to the ball, waiting for the whistle to be blown, signaling the start of the game.
It was like watching a tennis match. The ball remained airborne for at ten minutes, before Nathan finally edged it past the net and Simon’s dive was too slow.
I had my moments, saving balls and scoring points. On the whole though, I was just an average player, just aiming to return the ball to the other side. Surprisingly, the Ashleys were better than I gave them credit for. Ashleigh save numerous balls, and she was capable of hitting really far. However, it seemed as if Ashley and Ashlee were targeting Helen and me, as the balls they hit always flew our way. I had expected them to play very little, thinking that they would be too afraid of breaking their nails or something else petty.
It was very amusing to watch the Peyton triplets play volleyball. Nathaniel was like an energizer bunny, extremely hyper, and playing with Nate was a bit like playing with a brick wall. Balls that flew his way would bounce back most of the time, but his face was well… emotionless. Even when he dived, his face stayed impassive. Proving the talk about his athletic prowess, Nathan usually took centre stage. He moved with great agility, jumped real high and reacted astoundingly fast. Heck, all three of the Peytons were skilled players.
Helen was exceptional too. Unfortunately, it seemed as if she was trying very hard to disfigure Simon’s face. Her aiming always sent the ball flying directly at his face, but most of the time it would be deflected by Simon.
With only four minutes left to our match, our team had scored fourteen points against Simon’s eleven. Ashlee had slapped the ball towards the corner of our court on my side. I stretched downwards, diving towards the floor, my hand outstretch as far as I could go. I would make it!
There was a lot of hand flailing and yelps of surprise as my left foot had somehow hooked onto Nathaniel’s calf, dragging him down with me. I felt my breath being knocked out of me, as Nathaniel fell forward onto me. Specifically, his head ended up on my…butt.
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…
Almost instantly, Nathaniel sprang off me like a cat, his face burning so brightly that I would have seen him clearly in the dark. I tried to get up, but I felt a sudden, sharp ache in my thigh. I winced and my team rushed up to me, along with Coach Felton, while everyone else seemed to be snickering at my misfortune.
“Melody, are you all right?!” Helen shrieked, assisting Nate with helping me sit upright.
“Yeah,” I winced, “But I think I may have pulled a muscle.”
“Where is the pain?” Coach Felton bent over, inspecting my lower leg.
“Oh my goodness, Melody, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m so, so sorry, I-“
“Quiet, Peyton!” Coach Felton snapped, abruptly cutting off Nathaniel’s profuse apologies.
“It’s okay, Nathaniel. It’s my fault that we fell. You okay?” I smiled weakly at Nathaniel, who was looking as if he had just committed a capital offence.
“That’s not important,” Nathaniel panicked, “Where are you hurt?”
Now it was my turn to blush deeply. Quickly, I pointed at my inner thigh before swiftly dropping my hand to the side.
“Oh,” Nathaniel’s red face turned ever darker, if that were even possible.
Coach Felton looked at me uncertainly, clearing his throat and pointing to my team mates. “You guys get Miss Keyes to the Nurse’s office. Mrs Brimwell should be there to check your injury.”
I felt a pair of strong arms gingerly scoop me off the floor as I turned to face a pair of brilliant green eyes. Nathan.
At such close proximity, it was a wonder how Nathan didn’t hear the loud and rapid tempo of my heartbeat. The five of us walked out of the gym with Nathaniel and I blushing furiously like two silly idiots.
“Nathan, it was my fault. Let me carry Melody.” Nathaniel protested, prodding Nathan’s shoulder.
“It doesn’t matter who carries Melody, Nathaniel. We shouldn’t be playing a game of ‘Pass the Parcel’.” Nathan sighed.
“Umm, I can walk, Nathan.” I mumbled softly, “It’s just a pulled muscle.”
Nathan grinned at me charmingly, making my heart flutter. “Nah, it’s okay. You’re as light as a feather. Besides, it’s better to rest it than put more strain on it, right?”
Throughout the journey to the Nurse’s Office, Nathan was making small talk with me. Nate, astonishingly, broke his ‘vow of silence’ and permitted himself to join in the conversation. Behind us, Helen was trying to calm Nathaniel down, who was saying something about boiling himself in a pot of hot oil, to my horror.
The lingering students in the hallway stared after us curiously, and some girls I noticed, in jealously.
When we reached the Nurse’s office, Nathaniel and Helen were nowhere to be seen. It was as if they had simply melted into the shadows, because their departure was as silent as the wind that we hadn’t even noticed. Strange.
“We’re really sorry that we-“ Nathan started.
“Can’t accompany you home because-“ Nate added.
“We have a meeting-“
“With our dad’s partner’s daughter-“
“Do you think you’ll be-“
“Okay by yourself? Because if not-“
“We can always cancel the-“
“Meeting. Our dad’ll understand. So-“
“Nate!” I interrupted, touched by their intended kind gesture. At the same time, I was bit freaked out at their triplet telepathy and Nate’s sudden chattiness. “You guys, its okay. It’s just a pulled muscle and I’ll only be limping a little.”
“Okay,” Both of them looked into my eyes, their green ones mirroring each other’s concern, speaking the exact thing. “We’re sorry, but we have to go find Nathaniel now. We’ll see you tomorrow for the project!”
I waved back to them and watched them slowly disappear, massaging my thigh. By the time they had dropped me off at the Nurse’s Office, the sharp pain had subsided, but it left my leg feeling really sore. After giving me some soothing cream which I relieved the pain, Mrs Brimwell sent me on my way just as the final bell rang.
I took a slow walk, limping slightly, to the girl’s changing room which was thankfully deserted. After switching back to my normal clothes, I headed back to class to pick up my books and bag.
The chairs were all empty and the bags all gone, so I could safely assume that everyone had gone off already. I paused outside the door, spotting something.
Tenderly, I picked it up, stroking its velvety, beautiful red petals. Fingering the small card tied to the rose, I read the very brief message.
I’m sorry -With Love, Nathaniel.
My breath got stuck in my throat and for some reason I wanted to cry, remembering how needlessly upset he was with himself, for an accident he did not cause.
I spent the entire walk home cradling the rose to me, thinking about how blessed I was to have a friend like Nathaniel.
***
Bam!
I close the piano lid with more force than necessary, frustrated at the lack of concentration on my playing. At least my left thigh was the one that was sore, allowing me to press on the damper pedal. Till now, I had been thinking a lot about Helen and the triplets and the way they had been treating me.
I couldn’t recall a time in junior high when I was happier, or more afraid. I had always observed, but not experienced, but I could see how easily friends were made, and how easy it was for them to fall apart, even for best friends.
I stomped up to my room and decided not to do any sketching, as I could only do so when I was calm. I still had two hours before lethargy would normally set in, and I had already completed my homework and done my revision before dinner.
Booting up the laptop, I logged onto the Young Writers Society. Besides using the computer for e-mails and using the Microsoft Office programs, this was one of the only things I did whenever I used my laptop.
I checked my inbox and found that I had received not one, but two private messages from TheClosetPoet. I clicked on the older one first.
Hey xMxPxKx!
Just here to inform you, as you have requested, that I have posted another poem. This time, it is a short haiku. I hope you like it
I’ve reviewed your latest poem, entitled “Unwanted”. It was really good, but it sounded like a personal experience. I’m all ears if you want to talk about it.
~TheClosetPoet
I clicked on the link to the haiku.
For xMxPxKx, to whom this poem sounds like she can relate to.
Beauty is common-
The surface of shallow pools,
Reflecting nothing.
Character is rare-
Its neither hereditary
Nor bought from a shop.
True beauty lies in
That of mind and not body;
Of depth, not surface.
I spent my five minutes reviewing his haiku, but mostly singing the praises of his exceptional work. Clicking on the second message in my inbox, I read it aloud.
Hi again!
I came across this really good poem written by some girl who’s our age. Check it out!
Oh, and I’ve been promoted to a Junior Mod. Did your application to become a Greeter get accepted yet?
~TheClosetPoet
I replied his private message, congratulating him and informing him that I’ve yet to receive news from the Moderators. Following the link again, I was led to a poem titled “The false life of an outcast” by a girl under the username: iloveH3.
From her poem, she sounded like me: insecure.
Flitting from forum to forum, I browsed through the works until my eyelids started to droop. I climbed into my bed and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the exciting Saturday ahead in the Peyton estate.
You learn something new every day. I liked the haiku as well. How ever did you happen upon such a perfect piece for Blind?
