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3
iPod
Monday mornings were the worst, the Perfects had two days to think up new ways to torture me. This Monday, I was still lost in my thoughts of Jack and my weekend on the island. I clung to the thought of going back there after school to help me make it through the day.
I walked into the school and went straight to my locker. I held my breath when I saw Sebastian Dale standing next to it, so close I was not sure I would be able to access my locker without asking him to move. I panicked a little, then with my head down, I continued slowly to my locker.
“Excuse me,” I almost whispered.
“Sorry, am I in your way?” Sebastian asked. His voice stung my ears.
“Just a little,” I replied.
“I wanted to return this to you Delilah.” He knew my name. I loved the way it sounded when he said it.
He handed me my iPod. I was stunned, confused, mine had been crushed, I heard it. Yet he was handing it to me, in tact. How?
“It seems as though it was erased, but I'm sure if you load your playlists again it will work just like new.” He said. He was smiling. Sebastian Dale was smiling while standing and talking to me. Now if I could just manage to say something, anything, in return. Thank you maybe? Come on brain don't fail me now. I pleaded.
“Anyway, I just thought you might want it back.” I stood there, frozen, looking like a total idiot! I smiled, I think. Sebastian smiled at me again and then turned to walk away.
“Thank you!” I think I yelled.
“You’re welcome, Delilah,” he laughed. I had definitely yelled. And unfortunately, Sebastian wasn't the only one that heard.
The Painfully Perfects, Katie, Jess, and Avery all turned to me and burst out laughing.
“Oh my god, you are so pathetic Delilah,” Katie said.
“Give it a rest will you Katie?” Sebastian said in my defence. Katie wasn't happy; she glared at him, then quickly turned my direction. My finger found my hair instantly, I began to twirl it absentmindedly. Katie's eyes seemed to light up with an evil smile. She looked quite terrifying really. I was thankful that Katie and her friends turned and walked away before Sebastian did.
I stood alone at my locker, going over what had just happened in my head. Sebastian had found my iPod, kept it safe, and brought it to me? The fact that I had distinctly heard it being crushed in my pencil case didn't really matter, I had after all, left my pencil case behind, without checking on my iPod. So maybe I was wrong, maybe it hadn’t been my iPod getting crushed. I wondered for a moment, why he had not returned my pencil case. But did it matter? He waited for me at my locker; how did he know which was my locker? I wasn't thinking clearly, my head was foggy, all I could see was his smile. I should have asked him where my pencil case was; my iPod was in the case when it was stepped on. I should have asked him why it took him so long to give it back to me, how he knew which locker was mine, and why he suddenly cared. But I didn't, I thought of nothing but his smile.
I thought of his smile all day, it somehow blocked out anything else, I didn't even notice the Perfects being extra mean, obviously mad from the morning’s events. They name called, pushed and shoved me, and even purposely spilt paint all over my project in class, making me have to start all over again, and loosing marks in the process, but it was not enough to ruin my day.
After school I was surprised to see my parents home so early. My mom was in the kitchen, cooking, while my dad was setting the table.
“Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes,” Mom announced when I walked in the door.
“It’s only 3:30 pm, why are we eating so early?” It must have sounded offensive, my mom simply looked at me.
“It smells great, I'm starving!” I quickly lied.
“Your mom must have known,” my dad joked, or at least attempted to.
“Guilt.” There was the truth, I could always rely on my mom to say it like it is. I found that strangely comforting.
“I read that I should feel guilty for not eating dinner as a family more, so that is what we are doing.”
“Don't you always tell me not to believe everything I read?” The last thing I wanted was for her to read somewhere that we should start spending all our time together, I would go insane!
“That is very true. Excellent point, crisis averted. After all, I doubt you feel guilty for the damage you caused my body while you nestled inside of me for nine months, right?” I smiled slightly, damaged? What damage? The tummy tuck and liposuction had removed all evidence that I was ever there. Not to mention the little procedure she had to prevent any accidental and unwanted siblings.
“Guilt is a choice. Delilah simply chooses not to feel that way, Honey. Quite smart indeed,” my dad said.
“Good choice, feelings cloud our judgment. Think, don't feel,” my mom added.
“Okay. Well I'm just going to run my stuff up to my room, I will be right back.” I left the room quickly, not leaving time for a response.
I plugged my iPod in to my computer, yet my computer didn't recognize it. Was this, possibly a strange side effect of its near death experience? If I didn’t know better, I may have thought that it was a new one, but there was no way.
It took a little while to get it set up again, I only just made it to the table on time.
“Your father and I are working on an extremely important case at the moment. We won't be around very much. I trust you will manage to keep up on your chores and school work?” I knew the routine quite well, and this time I was thrilled; their timing couldn't have been better.
“I will manage just fine, don't worry about me.” I tried not to sound too excited. I didn't want them to be suspicious.
“Good. I will leave money in the jar, if you require more, just leave me a note to tell me how much. This is your clothing allowance for the month, and Delilah, don't be afraid to use it,” my mom said as she gave me an envelope.
My parents were going out after we finished eating; I volunteered to cleanup so they could leave sooner. The faster they left, the faster I could get to the island.
I was rinsing the dishes and loading the dishwasher when I glanced out the window and saw a face. I froze, and the pot I was holding fell into the sink spraying water all over myself. I didn't get a clear look at whom ever it was, I just saw them turn and walk away. But someone was there, that I knew for sure.
“What happened?” My mom asked, making me jump again.
“Nothing, sorry. I just dropped the pan, that's all.” My mom studied me for a moment, looking for signs of a lie.
“Do be careful Delilah, those pans are very expensive.” She turned and was gone. My dad followed her out the door and I was alone.
I was so excited to get back to the island, to Jack, that I forgot about the person in the window. I grabbed my hoodie and my iPod, found my bike and headed for the harbour. Although it had been years since I’d been on my bike, using it would cut my travel time in half.
My arms were getting used to the rowing, they hurt a little less each time. I reached the island slightly faster today, secured the boat, and found my usual spot on the rocks. But today it was a bit different, someone had made a chair out of driftwood. The chair sat right on the ground, the seat curved slightly, making it rather comfortable. The back supported me perfectly; it leaned back just enough to cradle me in the slouched position that I usually sat in. My stomach flipped, and a tingling sensation ran through me, like enjoyable pins and needles, as I thought of Jack.
“What took you so long?” Jack's voice sounded different, but I couldn't quite tell if he was mad or worried.
“I had to eat dinner with my parents, sorry.” Why was I apologizing? Was he upset with me for not being here at the same time I usually was? It wasn't as though we made specific plans to meet.
“Thanks for the chair, it’s great!” I hoped changing the subject would cheer him up.
“How do you know it was me?” he grumbled.
“Well, you and I are the
only ones who come here, and I couldn't make this.”
“Oh,” Jack was definitely in a bad mood, maybe my good news would cheer him up.
“You will never guess what happened to me at school today Jack,” I waited for him to respond, but he didn't, so I continued anyway.
“Sebastian Dale was waiting for me at my locker this morning and...”
“Who is Sebastian Dale?” Jack interrupted.
“Only the hottest guy in my school! And he was waiting at my locker. He saved my iPod the day it was kicked around in class. I thought it was crushed, but it was like brand new when he gave it to me, I just had to put my playlists back on, which didn't take me long.” I paused for a moment, still Jack said nothing.
“Then Katie came over and was being mean to me, and Sebastian stood up for me. Can you believe it?”
“No, not really.” he almost whispered.
“What?” I said, I wasn’t going to let him ruin my day because he was in a bad mood.
“Goodbye Jack!” I said as I stood up to go to my boat.
“I was worried about you.”
“What did you say?” No one ever worried about me.
“You said you would come right after school, and you didn't. I was worried about you.”
“Oh, well, I'm sorry you worried for no reason.” The tingling feeling returned, I wished I could see him.
“I've never worried about anyone before, and I don't like it.” I couldn't help but wonder just how alone Jack actually was. Didn't he have any family or friends at all?
“You don't have to worry about me Jack, I'm tougher than I look.” I hoped I was at least.
“I can't seem to help it,” he said.
We sat in silence for a little while; I watched a bug fly around my foot. I waited for it to rest on a rock, then crushed it with my shoe.
“Why did you ride your bike to the harbour today? Usually you walk. Why not today?” Jack asked.
“So I could get here faster. But how did you know that?”
“I saw you ride to the dock.” How could he have seen that from the island, it wasn't that close?
“Were you still on your boat?” I asked.
“No, I was here. Someone has spotted your bike at the harbour, they are looking at it now,” Jack explained. I squinted, trying to see back to the dock, but it was too far.
“How on earth can you see that far?”
“I have really good eyesight.”
“So do I Jack, but the mainland is too far for the naked eye to see.”
“They took your bike, there is three of them, they are girls your age.” Jack said, ignoring my question.
“How is it possible for you to know that?”
“Shouldn't you be more concerned about your bike?” he asked. How did I explain to him that that kind of thing happened to me all the time without looking like any more of a loser than I already did?
“I never really ride my bike anyway,” It was the truth.
“So what? It’s your bike Delilah, they can't just take it!”
“Well, what should I do about it, row all the way to the other side, chase them down and demand it back?”
“Yes Delilah! That's exactly what you should do!” Jack's indignation was annoying.
“They are probably gone already Jack. I would never be able to catch them, and it’s not like I don't know who it was. Besides, catching them wouldn't do me any good. What would I do once I caught them?” I almost laughed out loud at the thought of me catching the Perfects and demanding my bike back.
“Why do they treat you that way? Do they have special powers or something?”
“Yeah, they do in a way. Popularity!” Weren’t there any popular kids at his school? Or worse yet, was he one of the popular kids?
“I don't think that actually counts as special powers per say.”
“Well it seems as though it does. The popular kids can do whatever they want, no one stops them?”
Jack didn't answer, there was no answer, nobody could stop them.
It seemed like ages past by in silence. I couldn't stand it. I was sure that with every silent second, Jack was figuring out how sad and pathetic my life really was, and whatever popularity he had would surely plummet if word travelled far enough of our... Our what? Friendship? Were we friends or just forced acquaintances? Forced together by guilt, or pity maybe? The bigger question was, did I care? Did it matter why he was talking to me as a friend would? Was I truly that desperate for a friend that I would take an unknown person who hid in the bushes? He was most likely hiding so I wouldn't be able to identify him, so I would never know exactly who this so called 'friend' of mine was.
“Do you not have popular kids at your school?” I couldn't believe I actually asked him that, I'm sure it sounded ridiculous!
“I don't know. What would they look like?” He sounded serious.
“They would look perfect. Their hair, face, clothes, everything. They would be followed around by others, not so perfect, that admire and even worship them. When they speak everyone listens, when they tell a joke everyone laughs, whether it was funny or not. When they decide they don't like you, nobody does.”
“There are such people as those in attendance. I wasn't aware that those who follow them around did so out of admiration. I was under the impression they had some kind of hold on them.”
“I am certainly more than pleased that you are not one of them, Delilah. I would not have met you here on the island if that were so.”
Could Jack have been telling the truth? I was sure that believing him was foolish.
“When will I actually get to meet you Jack, or are you going to hide from me forever?” Words I instantly regretted.
“I'm sorry Jack,” I said weakly. I didn't want to upset him, but I desperately wanted to see him.
I waited for what felt like hours for Jack to speak, but he didn't utter a sound. When, finally, I couldn't wait any longer for fear of missing my curfew, I got up to leave.
“Good bye Jack, I will return after school tomorrow.” I said, sure he was still there even though he did not return my good bye.
That night I wrote a list of all the possible reason for Jack to hide from me.
Jack
1. He doesn’t want me to know who he is so I can't tell anyone he talked to me.
2. He is part of a horrible prank that is being played on me, most likely by the Perfects.
3. He is a 40-year-old man that is going to rape and murder me, once he is finished this game.
4. He is horribly disfigured, like John Merick, The Elephant Man, and he thinks I would never come back if I knew what he looked like.
5. He is a monster, horns on his head, fangs, the whole bit.
I dreamt of Jack that night in each of the scenarios on my list. I hoped more than anything that number four or five was true, but I knew they were the least likely. I wasn't sure if I would ever get to find the answer. Would Jack be there after school? Would he talk to me if he were? I vowed to myself that I would not ask him again when I could see him. I would just wait. I was not patient, but I knew I didn’t want to lose Jack. And for him I could wait; I had the feeling that for Jack, I could do anything.