Chapter 5
The school day had passed quicker than Arianna had imagined it would. Though it had been practically the exact same routine in every school she’d been to and her new school differed little, her first day at Herald Falls High School had been by far the most exciting one yet. Thanks in part to her run-in with Cheryl, and meeting Luke, her experience had been interesting if nothing else. Of course, Cheryl and Luke had been the only departures from the standard first day grind. The rest of her time had been spent meeting with the guidance counselor, finding classrooms and surviving gym class. When the final bell had rung at a little after two thirty, Arianna had needed to look twice at her schedule to confirm that she was free to leave. She had fled the building without a detour to her locker. She had wanted nothing more than to climb onto her motorcycle and feel the wind rushing at her.
As she secured her backpack to the rear of her bike, her insides trilled. Riding would give her opportunity to replay the events of the day. It would free her mind long enough to revisit the better parts of it. The look on Preppyboy’s face when she’d flicked her cigarette at him was going to be her starting place. She intended to follow it up with Cheryl crinkling her upturned nose at her in a huff after she’d made plain that she wasn’t the kind of person who tolerated insult from her or anyone else. Luke’s face had flashed in her mind several times throughout the day. She’d resisted the image, yet it had recurred more times than she wanted to admit. He was good looking. She had seen her share of good-looking guys before, had even dated a few. But there was something else about him. She wasn’t sure what it was. Perhaps it was his smile. She had found his smile to be pleasant enough. She liked the way the corners of his mouth turned up impishly, and how his eyes smiled along with his lips. He was tall and lean, and not pretty at all. She despised pretty boys, the kind that primped like Hollywood starlets and fretted when a hair was out of place. She also wasn’t a fan of jocks. In her experience, athletes were self-appointed royalty. They reigned over their peers. And as royalty, the jocks assumed they were entitled to more than the average student as well as maintaining generally arrogant dispositions. She did not like arrogant people and found an air of entitlement to be loathsome. Luke did not look like a jock. The fact that he smoked also suggested he wasn’t involved in sports. He dressed similarly to her, in darkly colored clothes, and she had noticed tattoos on his forearm that she would have liked to have asked him about. But she doubted she’d get the chance to see him again, much less talk to him. His leggy, blonde girlfriend had sent daggers her way with her heavily lined eyes, and would surely not approve of him smoking with her in the woods again. Arianna placed her helmet on her head and fastened her chin strap and forced Luke, as well as his girlfriend, from her mind. She’d wasted enough time thinking about him already. He was taken. That was it.
She looked into her side view mirror as she slowly backed out of her parking space. As she did so, she glimpsed Cheryl talking to Preppy-boy by a sleek, silver Mercedes. Cheryl was chattering away and Preppy-boy looked disinterested. Arianna got the impression the two were a couple. She contemplated backing up further, lifting her visor and waving at them, but reconsidered. The road called to her. So she drove off the campus and onto the county road. She wanted to test the engine of her bike and feel the world, as well as the wind, rushing at her. But she was unfamiliar with the area. Without the ability to anticipate speed traps and upcoming bumps and bends in the road, speeding would lose its edge. Freedom and a guaranteed adrenaline rush would be replaced by a feeling of recklessness. She did not want to spoil what promised to be a thrilling ride. It would come in time. She would be patient. In the meantime, she obeyed the speed limit and scrutinized every niche she saw in search of patrol cars. She passed the gas station she’d stopped at in the morning and was about to turn onto a stretch of tree-lined road when she noticed a figure emerge from the woods a few hundred feet from where she was.
She squinted and strained to see what it was. The size and shape seemed human. As she got closer, she saw that it was a man. She assumed he was a hitchhiker or that his car had broken down. Either way, he wasn’t her problem and she wanted to steer clear of him, literally. She switched into the left lane to put as much distance between them as possible. Something about the man unsettled her. She looked at him as she passed and saw that he studied her. He did not resemble a hitchhiker. He was dressed impeccably in what looked like designer jeans and a fitted T shirt. Each clung to his fit body. He watched her intently. She felt his eyes on her, even after she’d passed. The fine hairs on the back of her neck rose and quivered. She pulled into the right lane and then off to the shoulder, determined to show she hadn’t been intimidated. Once on the side of the road, she stopped and twisted to look behind her, where he should have been, but saw that he’d vanished. People didn’t simply vanish into thin air, so she scanned the road, looked left, right and all around. He was nowhere to be found. She did not see a car along the road and she hadn’t seen anyone stop either. A feeling of worry washed over her, worry and anticipation. Her heart pounded and she felt beads of cold sweat stipple her forehead. It seemed an odd reaction to have, for her to feel as such after passing a man she did not know on a stretch of county road she was unfamiliar with. He had watched her and she had watched him. Nothing extraordinary had happened. But something seemed oddly familiar about him. She tried to remember each detail of his face, of his build. Everything about him stood out. If she had seen him before, she would not have been likely to forget him. Yet, something felt familiar.
Arianna waited for a few seconds before pulling back on to the road, just to be sure she hadn’t missed him, to see if she glimpsed him behind a tree. When he did not reappear, she chalked her nervousness and odd feeling up as consequences of skipping lunch. She vowed to eat the moment she got home.
After ten minutes of riding, the trailer park she currently called home came in to view. She turned down the dirt lane and followed it to her and her mother’s trailer. She parked her bike on the wooden porch and chained it to one of the banisters. She doubted it would hold if it were ever tested, but reasoned that some security precautions were better than none. As she unfastened her backpack from her motorcycle, she felt eyes on her again. Her head snapped up instinctively and searched the park. She did not see a handsome mystery man in designer clothes, but she did see a dirty face framed by a small window in the trailer across from hers. He watched her with wide, unapologetic eyes then smiled when he saw that she was looking at him. He was missing several of his front teeth and what remained did not hold much promise. He ran his tongue over his lips lewdly. Arianna felt her stomach churn. She found that subtlety was lost on people like the toothless peeper.
“Look elsewhere asshole. You don’t have a shot in hell with me,” she warned him and he disappeared like a mechanical Whack-a-Mole critter.
Satisfied that at least one riddle was solved, she unlocked the front door and strode in. The first thing she noticed was that the fat man still slept on the couch.
“Mom!” she called.
“In here, baby,” her mother answered from her bedroom.
“Um, are you aware that fat man is still asleep on the couch?”
“How could I miss him? The guy’s huge.”
Arianna felt her frustration mounting and measured her words carefully.
“Did you try to wake him?”
“Well of course I did!” her mother snapped. “He didn’t budge.”
“Did you check his pulse and make sure he’s not, I don’t know, dead?”
“Didn’t need to. Last time I checked, dead people don’t snore like a chain saw.”
“So what do you plan on doing, Mom?”
“I don’t know. I figured I’d wait for you to come home and you’d come up with something. Meanwhile, I’ve been trapped in this room like a prisoner! I’ve had to tiptoe to the refrigerator, an
d forget about watching my shows! It’s been a nightmare.”
“If you shook him and he didn’t wake up, why would you tiptoe to the fridge?’
“Oh Arianna! Stop interrogating me! Jesus! First I’m stuck in this room all day then you come home and give me the third degree,” her mother pouted.
“Give it a rest, Mom. I’m not giving you the third degree. I just asked a question. Don’t worry, it won’t happen again,” she said with the slightest hint of sarcasm. She was careful to not overdo it. She did not want to hurt her mother or incite a tantrum. “I have an idea of how to get rid of your chubby loverboy. Follow me.”
Arianna marched down the hallway with her mother in tow and stopped in front of the couch. The man lounged on his side facing her. His belly drooped over the edge of the couch. She reached behind him, behind his generous backside and gripped the removable cushion he slept on. Pulling as hard as she could, she lifted the cushion as high as she could. The man rolled forward and fell to the floor with an unceremonious thud.
“What the hell!” he jerked awake and muttered.
“Hello. I’m Arianna. What is your name?” Arianna asked politely.
“Uh, Artie, my name is Artie Sellers,” he said with breath so foul Arianna suppressed a gag. He rose to his feet and raked a hand through his flimsy hair.
“Well Artie Sellers, it’s almost four o’clock in the afternoon. You’ve been asleep on our couch for more than twelve hours and it’s time for you to leave now,” she said firmly but in the same civil tone.
She and her mother watched as he fumbled awkwardly gathering his shoes and shirt.
“Uh, thanks for your hospitality, uh, uh,” Artie bungled and searched for her mother’s name.
“Cathy. My name’s Cathy,” her mother helped.
“Thanks for a lovely uh, evening,” he blushed and tottered out their front door.
Once he was gone, Arianna’s mother snorted and laughed out loud. Arianna couldn’t help but laugh as well.
“That was an interesting way of waking him, and getting rid of him! Rolling him off the couch like that, I never would have thought of that. I nearly peed my pants,” her mother managed through giggling fits. “And then the way you handled him! ‘Hi, I’m Arianna’ all as pleasant as you please; you’re too much!”
“Well, I try my best,” she said and curtsied.
Her gesture drew another fit of laughter from her mother. Arianna found herself laughing as well, but less about the circumstances and Artie, and more about how when her mother laughed uncontrollably, her mouth would open wide and just low, intermittent yelps would escape. She bobbed her head and clapped her hands, all the while yelping quietly. The overall presentation resembled a circus seal in a silent movie. When the outburst passed and her mother gained her composure, she blotted her eyes. “Here I am, laughing like a loon when Artie could’ve been a serial killer or something,” she said.
“Mom, that’s why you shouldn’t bring strange men home,” Arianna began.
“Please don’t ruin this with a lecture,” her mother protested.
“What do you mean lecture? You’re worried Artie could have been a killer. Any of the guys you pick up could be killers. It’s not a lecture to tell you not to bring them here. It’s common sense.”
“Don’t take that holier-than-thou tone with me. You know I’ve been through a lot, and that Artie was just my way of, of, well, blowing off steam.”
Arianna raised an eyebrow at her mother. “Seriously, Mom?”
“Yes, I’m serious,” her mother said and avoided eye contact. “What did you do today?”
“School, remember, I told you this morning. I started school today. First day in a new school, does it ring a bell?”
Her mother’s eyes swept from side to side as if she were literally looking for the answer. “I was a little fuzzy this morning. I may have had a bit too much to drink last night.”
“Ya think?”
“Anyway, how was it? Were there lots of nice people? I bet there were. God I loved high school. I’d give anything to go back in time and be a teenager again. Of course, I got pregnant before I got to graduate, but that’s beside the point.”
Her mother was rambling. She tapped her foot impatiently and her mother took the hint.
“Oh, sorry,” she said. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“Was it a good day or a bad day?”
“It was the same day I’ve had three times in the last two years. Chirpy student council bitch who thought she was better than me had to be put in her place,” she said and began counting the similarities with her fingers. “Asshole principal, hot guy in the courtyard, boring classes. And the added kicker is there are a bunch of rich kids at this school. I can’t tell you how many BMWs and Mercedes were in the parking lot.”
“Huh, never would have thought that judging from this side of town,” her mother said with a half-smile. “But let’s get back to the hot guy.”
“What hot guy?”
“The one you just mentioned, in the courtyard or something?”
“Oh, yeah, well, he’s not worth mentioning. I don’t even know why I did. We had a smoke together and that’s it.”
“That’s it. He has eyes, this hot guy, right?”
Arianna rolled her eyes at the question before answering, “Yes.”
“And you’re hot too, right?’
“How the hell should I know? And besides, Luke has a girlfriend. She’s a bleach-blonde bombshell with a body like a playmate.”
“His name is Luke, huh? I like that name. Luke.”
“Whatever, I’ll probably never talk to him again, so this discussion is a waste of time. Mentioning him was a waste of time,” she said testily.
“Jeez, don’t go getting all worked up about it. Sorry I said anything.”
She didn’t mean to snap at her mother. It had been a frustrating day. Everything that had happened, from the comment on the steps of her school, to Cheryl, to Luke, to the mysterious man on the side of the road, to the pervert in her trailer park, the entire day had been stressful. And that was without the whole Artie incident. With him factored in, the day could be considered one for the record books.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I’m just…frustrated I guess. Moving again, the new school, you know, it’s hard.”
“Oh, I do know. I’ve been so depressed about Carl and me breaking up and him kicking us out and all. I don’t know where I find the strength to go on some days. I guess I’m just one of those strong, take-charge kind of people.”
Arianna had so many things she wanted to say, so many instances she wanted to hurl at her mother wherein which she had been anything but strong and in charge. Artie would have been a prime starting point. But she did not. What would have been the point? Instead she changed the subject.
“I’m starving. Is there anything to eat?”
“Umm, I went to the store last night I think. I vaguely remember chicken, but I think Artie and I took care of that.”
Arianna’s eyes scanned the small living room and she saw that an empty fast-food bucket sat atop the coffee table. Her mother’s eyes followed hers.
“Ah, there’s the empty bucket. Yep, we finished it,” her mother said peering into the tub. She then lifted an empty pretzel bag from the floor. “And we ate the pretzels too apparently. Let’s look in the fridge. I think there may be some bologna.” She watched as her mother opened the fridge and bent down to look inside. “Hmm, we have jelly. But I don’t see any bologna.”
“That’s fine. We have bread and peanut butter right?”
“Of course we do. What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t have peanut butter and jelly and white bread for my baby?”
Arianna did not answer.
“Let me make it for you,” her mother offered and began searching the drawers for a knife.
She paused and stared at her mother as she
opened drawers and cupboards, unsure of what to say. Cathy Rose was not exactly Susie Homemaker and hadn’t cooked or prepared a meal for her in as long as she could remember. Dinner, if any, usually consisted of whatever either of them picked up in their travels or after work. She would have loved a home cooked meal, couldn’t really remember what one tasted like. But she had to admit, her mother’s offer felt nice.
“Okay. Thanks Mom. Mind if I go have a smoke while you make it?”
“No, you go ahead, baby. I’ll make your dinner and you go smoke.”
Her mother smiled at her warmly and her previous frustration melted away. She almost felt sorry for her.
“Thanks,” she said again then turned and riffled through her backpack until she found her pack of cigarettes and her lighter. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
“Take your time. I’ve got everything under control in here.”
She stepped outside and lit her cigarette. The sun hung low in the sky and the air had cooled. She wrapped an arm around her waist and allowed the elbow of her other to rest against it. She took a long drag from her cigarette and thought about her day. Luke popped into her head again for what felt like the hundredth time since they’d met. But it was immediately followed by his scowling girlfriend. She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head. Instantly, another face appeared in her mind’s eye, one with vaguer features and attached to a larger, sturdier looking body. The man on the side of the road had also plagued her thoughts. She was not sure why, or what it had been about him that had struck her, how his eyes had followed her, and how he had disappeared. It was as though he had vanished. And there had been something oddly familiar about him. She shook her head a second time certain she was finally losing her mind. The reality of the situation was that he likely hadn’t been looking at her at all, but past her, and that he hadn’t disappeared, but had returned to whatever he had been doing in the woods previously. Hunger and sleep-deprivation had probably caught up with her and gave the illusion of a situation that simply hadn’t happened. Regardless, she felt confident she would never see the man again. She would go inside, eat her sandwich, take a hot shower and get some rest. Another day of school awaited her and was just hours away. A feeling deep inside her warned her that she’d need all the rest and strength she could get for the days ahead.