I didn’t know what to feel — relieved that Zoe’s boyfriend had done all this work for me without even trying, or terrified that now I had this information and I had to actually do something with it.
“So I was thinking you might want to wait till the end of the day to spring this on him. I mean, no sense in completely messing with this guy’s head early on, right?” I’m not even sure what look I was throwing at her, but she suddenly became a bit sheepish. “Not that you’d be completely messing with anyone. What I’m trying to say is he ends with biology. Room 312.”
We walked into English class together and sat down. The shrill sound of the bell rang through my eardrums. My stomach felt like two rams were butting their heads together.
“Do you have the letter?” She lowered her voice as Miss Leaks started writing on the board. I nodded to her. “What do you think you’ll say?”
I shook my head and glanced toward the clock. It was eleven-fifteen. That only left me a few hours to think about it. But somehow I didn’t think that was long enough.
As Miss Leaks went on about Slaughterhouse Five, I was busy making a list of bullet points.
* Hi, you don’t know me but I have something that belongs to you.
*Brandon? We need to talk.
*Hi there. This is yours.
*Brandon? My name is Marissa. Maybe we could go somewhere private.
*You’re Brandon Carter, right? I think we have something in common.
*Hey, could I speak to you for a minute?
*This is awkward, but here, this is yours.
*Hey Brandon. I know this might sound crazy, but I have your brother’s letter.
UGH! I spent the entire class coming up with lame openers, none of which would work.
“Maybe you should just do it off the cuff. You know, a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type of deal.” Zoe adjusted her beaded bracelets as we walked through the halls on our way to our fourth-period class.
“Hi, have you met me?” I said.
“Right, Miss Planny-McPlanner-pants. Okay, well good luck. I have to go straight to art class after school, so text me the minute you’re done.”
How could I face the rest of the afternoon without Zoe’s support? It would be so much easier if she were there with me when I did it. Maybe a bit more awkward for Brandon but easier for me. We waved as I watched her walk away toward her trig class. The halls began to empty as the last warning bell rang. I needed to get to chem lab, and fast, but my feet wouldn’t move. As the final bell rang, my body slowly slumped to floor.
Mr. Glidman, the guidance counselor, found me on the floor. “Marissa? Are you all right? Are you hurt? Can you stand up?”
I didn’t move, but I heard him talking. His questions were coming so rapidly that I wasn’t sure what to answer first. “I… I think I’m okay.” After I stood up my head began to feel hazy and I started to wobble, so Mr. Tucker grabbed my arm.
“I’m taking you to the nurse.”
Lying on the nurse’s cot sounded better than chem lab, so I went.
The nurse, Mrs. Flynn, gave me a bottle of orange juice to drink. I told her I hadn’t eaten yet today, so she assumed that my blood sugar levels were too low. Maybe she was right. As I sipped the sweet juice slowly, I hoped that the rest of the day would fade away and somehow the letter would magically get into Brandon’s hands.
“Why don’t you lie down and rest for a bit?” Mrs. Flynn coaxed my head back onto the little pillow, which was about as soft as one-ply toilet paper, and somehow sleep overtook me.
For a moment, I had no idea where I was. When I opened my eyes, I saw a blurry outline of a woman. It took a minute for Mrs. Flynn’s face to come into view.
“Dear, how are you feeling?”
My tongue felt like it had a horrible coating, probably from that juice earlier. “What time is it?” My voice sounded husky, and my head was throbbing.
“It’s about five minutes before the final bell rings. That’s why I wanted to wake you, so you could get your things together. Are you feeling all right? Maybe I should call someone to pick you up?”
As she looked on, I scrambled to my feet and grabbed my purse and backpack off the floor. “No, no, I’m fine, thanks.” My heart started beating out of control. Room 312, 312, must get to Room 312. I started jogging in the halls.
“Slow down!” One of the custodians yelled as I rushed past him. There was no way I could miss seeing Brandon today. My heart couldn’t carry the weight of the letter around with me for another day. It felt like a brick in my backpack. I had to get it back to the family. To the little boy. As I reached the top stair for the third floor the final bell rang. Immediately, students flooded the hallways. With a massive disregard for personal space, I shoved and elbowed my way through. My body crammed its way toward Room 312. When I finally got there, I managed to run into someone’s back.
“Ah, seriously!” I shouted. Then the person I plowed into turned around and I focused on his features: dark, wavy, hair and piercing hazel eyes. Brandon Carter.
“Sorry,” he said.
Every hair on my body stood on end. “No, no, it was my fault.”
He half-smiled and continued on his way. I stood frozen like a huge block of ice. Maybe someone would come and carve me into the shape of a life-like girl. Someone brushed me from my right side, and I snapped back into reality. As I scanned down the hallway, I saw Brandon was heading for the stairs. I rushed through the crowd, hoping to catch up. But a hallway full of teenagers desperate to get out isn’t an easy
