November 13th, 2016

Kinsky, California, USA

Chiaroscuro

It was now the last day of fall break, and all the teens at Kinsky High had to prepare for the inevitable fate of returning to classes. Sadja and Kat were of course among them, and with a history test on the way they had little hope in ignoring it and hoping it disappeared.

“I still can’t believe he’s giving us a test on the day we get back,” Sadja spoke on the very topic. “I mean, how evil can Kosachs get?”

Kat, who at this point was feeling a bit better, smiled at her. “You know how obsessed he is with reading and stuff. He probably doesn’t even see it as a crime.”

“I just… ugh. I don’t get it.”

The two teen girls sat at the steps of Aaron’s downtown apartment. They had all agreed to study together, plus some other friends who needed the help — however Aaron and the others were running late.

“They better get here soon,” Kat spoke while she rubbed her hands between her legs as she sat down. “Or I’m gonna freeze to death.”

Sadja stood across from the girl, gripping the painted guardrail from behind. She wore the same outfit she had on the first day of the cabin trip. 

“I don’t even know what they were doing before this.”

“Didn’t they say they were getting lunch?”

“They said they were getting lunch an hour ago. Don’t tell me it takes guys an hour to eat lunch.”

Kat smiled. “Okay, okay. Fair point.”

The girls passed the time in silence for a few more minutes. Sadja’s eyes moved towards her phone, while Kat’s looked towards the street. It was there that she saw someone approaching.

It was not a person which the girls recognized. It was a man, white and middle aged. He had a black hoodie on with denim jeans, and a slightly balding head of hair. He looked like he might’ve been homeless, but Kat wasn’t able to tell. As he approached the building, his eyes locked with Kat. He stopped and scratched his head.

“Do either of you know how to get to the Seven-Eleven from here?”

Sadja’s eyes left the screen, and towards the man. “Walk two more blocks, and then it should be on the corner across.”

“Alright, then. Thanks.”

The man took two steps. Then he stopped once more. The man turned again to the girls, a fresh smile on his face.

“Hey, you two are pretty-lookin’ gals, you know that?”

Both Kat and Sadja were silent. Sadja went back to scrolling through her messages, and Kat looked down at the ground in front of her.

Realizing a lack of response, the man’s face began to turn: first to confusion, then to anger. He took two more steps, this time in the direction of the stairs which Kat and Sadja were. 

“Hey, I’m talking to you two.”

His tone was forceful. The two girls stuck to their resolve, but the subtle signs of faltering began to appear. Sadja swiped, up and down, not able to actually take in any of the information on the phone screen. Kat began to rub her hands again, but this time it was no longer about the temperature. She moved, just a touch, farther away.

The man, in the end, relented. He gave a dismissive wave, followed by a short groan. “Fine.”

He walked away, back in the direction that he was headed. Just before he got too far, he let out one more word, just loud enough for the two teens to hear. “Cunts!”

Kat and Sadja paid careful attention to the sound of the footsteps, as they moved farther and farther away, until they could be heard no more. A few moments later, Aaron opened the door. He looked at the two, and smiled. 

“Hey, ladies. Sorry we were late, after we went to Koko’s we decided to-”

Before Aaron could finish his thought the two girls pushed past him and walked briskly inside. The boy raised his hands defensively, muttering to himself. “Okay then.”

Inside the apartment, Rodrigo was sitting near the dining table. He wore a pair of sunglasses with a clear frame and rosy lenses, as well as a tight-fitting black short-sleeve shirt. Perhaps more importantly, a small fluffy dog was in his lap. It looked up at him, licking Rodrigo’s hand as he petted it. 

As soon as Sadja walked in and saw the dog, she gave a pronounced gasp and covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh my god, Bonny! Hello!”

Bonny looked towards the speaker as she spoke its name. Rodrigo gently picked Bonny up, and placed her on the ground. “Alright, Bon. Go see Auntie Sadja.”

The dog, wagging its tail excitedly, ran over to the girl. Sadja dropped down on her knees and hugged it right as it approached. Bonny licked at Sadja’s cheek, while Sadja giggled uncontrollably.

Kat placed her bag down on the dining table, and watched the two with a smile. Her attention was temporarily diverted when she heard the sound of the toilet flushing on the other side of the apartment. Bending down under the short passage and rubbing his hands clean Russell approached.

“Hey Rus,” Kat said as she saw him.

“Hey Kat, hey Sadja,” he greeted the two with his deep voice. He sat over near the kitchen, by Aaron.

“Alright, you all ready for hell?” Aaron addressed the group.

Rodrigo shook his head. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

…

“Man, Kamikaze pilots were fucked up.”

It was a few hours later, and papers and books were now strewn across the dining table. After Rodrigo spoke, Aaron looked up at him. The black boy had a Ticonderoga pencil stuck between his right ear, and a tired expression on his face.

“I mean, of course they’re fucked up. They’re like the O.G. suicide bombers.”

“Nah bro, I don’t even mean like that.” Rodrigo put down the paper he was reading, and looked back up towards the group. “I mean, imagine dedicating your entire life — your entire soul — to a single cause. And then, imagine that cause fuckin’ sucks. And you lose anyway, and no one remembers a thing about you. Except that you’re kind of an asshole.”

Sadja, who was half asleep, looked down at her notes as she reached her hand down and gently moved it across the back of the dog at her feet. “I’d really like to know what the people who don’t have to take this test are doing right now.”

Kat turned to look at her. She had taken off both her jacket and her hoodie, and had them hanging off the chair where she sat. All she had now was a plain, sleeveless white t-shirt.

“I heard Lukas and Cole are over at Lukas’ place, spending the whole day playing video games.”

Aaron looked up to the ceiling. “Oh, those bastards!”

Kat slumped down in her chair. “I remember telling them that they were being dumb not to sign up for this class. That this was the easiest college hybrid class there was. And now look where I am.”

“I wish we had Emily here to teach us all this stuff,” Sadja muttered.

Rodrigo shook his head. “She’s busy helping Maurice. Since he’s got the game and everything.”

At this point in the discussion, Russell was already out of his seat. Rodrigo looked up at the boy as he slung his backpack over his shoulder.

“Speaking of which, I gotta head out. We got a team practice pretty soon.”

The others said their goodbyes. As he went to the door, Sadja called out.

“Good luck on the test, Rus!”

Russell waved behind him, and left the apartment. The others went back to their studying.

…

When Russell got to practice, he noticed Maurice sitting near the bleachers. The boy seemed anxious. Russell approached him. 

“Yo, man. It startin’ to set in for you, too?”

Maurice looked up. “Wh-what?”

“That we’re in the championship. With Ravendale, no less. Gotta lot hangin’ on our shoulders. But we’ll handle it.”

In fact, Maurice was thinking of something else. But he nodded along. “Oh, yeah, you’re right.”

Russell placed his backpack down, and sat next to the running back. “You not in your jersey yet?”

“Oh, uh, I… I needed to talk with Coach first.”

Russell shook his head. “Shit, don’t let me keep you, then.”

This, as it turned out, was the push to get Maurice to do what he needed to get done. The reality is that he had gotten to the field roughly 20 minutes before Russell, and sat at that exact spot contemplating what he was about to do. Before this he didn’t have the courage to get up and do it. After this he still didn’t have the courage, but now he had no choice.

Maurice walked inside the door to the locker room. There were a few guys here and there — mostly on the defensive team — but for the most part everyone was already on the field. In the corner office, Maurice could see Coach Haa, his reading glasses on as he looked at a paper in his hands. The boy quietly walked past the other players and into the office.

Haa didn’t turn around when Maurice closed the door behind him. It caused Maurice to instigate the conversation.

“Uh, coach…”

At this point, the coach turned around. He brought his glasses to his forehead.

“What is it, Bryant?”

Maurice took off his backpack and placed it on top of a nearby seat, in case he needed to grab its contents. “I, uh, wanted to tell you something pretty personal, that I think might be important for you to know…”

The boy could feel his heart beginning to race. The coach didn’t say anything, just continued to stare at him with those expecting eyes.

“Well, I… I um, I’m in a relationship with Rodrigo Huerta now, and I…”

“Are you going to miss the game?”

“What? No, of course not.”

“Is it going to affect your running ability?”

“I… I don’t think so, no.”

The coach got up from his chair, keeping eye contact with the boy. “Then it isn’t important for me to know. Now go get your jersey on and get on the field.”

Maurice didn’t even get to respond as Coach Haa walked out the door and left the locker room. At first, the boy was confused. But as the moment lingered, a sense of relief flowed through him. He got done what he needed to do. Now he could rest, if only for a bit.

Isaac came into the locker room not long after. There was a look of concern on his face, as the only other thing he’d seen was Haa leaving the room.

“Hey, everything go okay?” He whispered to Maurice.

Maurice, on the other end, looked content. “Yeah, actually. It went fine.”

Isaac’s face morphed into a smile. “Good to hear. In that case, can I have my jersey back?”

Maurice chuckled, releasing the nervous energy within him. He unzipped the bag, handed Isaac the jersey, and the two of them got ready for practice.