On the table, in the quiet side of the gym, were fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, biscuits, different casseroles and desserts, and of course drinks.
Ella and Mary sat at a table together, conversing. When I stared at Mary, I saw distress in her face. The way her eyes shifted, brows bent, and lips quivered. Something was wrong. I wondered what.
I went in line with Sarah and then sat at the table near the wall. Felix joined us soon, but Tom didn't. Not that I was waiting for him. Or cared. It just so happened that Felix noticed.
"Where's Tom?" Felix asked Sarah.
She turned, gazing around. We spotted him at the same time sitting on the stairs.
"What's he doing there? Isn't he going to eat?" Felix asked.
Sarah stood and walked over.
"Something wrong with Tom," Felix said, whispering.
"Is there?" I asked.
"Yeah. He's not himself. I'm going to talk to him after we're through eating."
I gasped, inwardly. What if Tom spilled how he felt about me? What if he told what he did? What would happen to their friendship? And would Felix be mad at me?
The thoughts swarmed me. I couldn’t even think about eating now. I pushed my plate to the side, shaking.
"You don't like the food?"
"It's really good but I’m full."
He stared at me, probably wondering how I was full when I had barely taken three bites. But dismissing it, he picked up his chicken wing and went back to thinking about Tom.
Just then, Sarah came behind me.
She whispered, "He won't come and eat. He refuses."
I sighed, eyeing his stubborn self. He was staring at the ground.
"Well," Felix said. "Is he okay?"
"Yes, he just has a stomachache. He'll be better though."
Chapter 17
Falling from the Tree
After we finished eating, I escaped to the restroom to find a couple of seconds of peace. I needed to think. I needed to decide what to do. Lying to Felix was wrong. I wanted him to know the truth about Tom. But I was too scared of what would happen if he knew the truth.
I glanced in the mirror. A thought about my hair appeared. I didn't have this problem until Tina came along. I looked closer. Felix seems to like it. I wonder why Tina doesn't.
I left the restroom and to my surprise, she was there. Tina. Right in front of me.
"Hey, wanna go outside?"
"Where outside?"
"To one of those trails that I saw you walk earlier."
"Were you spying?"
"No. I just couldn't help but see you and your friends walk that way – which they're hardly your friends. They barely know you. Now me, they've known me for a while now."
"Then why don't they hang out with you?"
"Well they would but they want to make the new girl feel welcome."
"That's not true," I said firmly. I was irritated. And it was growing into hot anger.
"Whatever you want to think there. Want to go outside now?"
I sighed. "I guess."
We walked out and towards the paths. It was a silent awkward walk. The kind of walk that you wonder why you're actually taking.
She pointed at one of the big trees along the way.
"That's a good climbing tree," she said.
"It is?"
"Sure. Want to have a go at it?"
"I – I don't know. I'm not a good climber. I've never really had any experience with climbing trees."
She laughed. Hard. It was funny to her. "It's easy, LeAnna. I can show you how right now."
"I don't think I want to."
She sighed. "Come on, don't you have an adventurous side?"
"Well yes, but – "
"No buts. Either you do or you don't."
"Okay, fine. Show me how to climb it then." I don't know why I let her win. Maybe I just didn't want to be laughed at anymore.
She smiled. "Great." But there was an impish glow in her eyes. Those dark, empty eyes.
"Alright. So just pull yourself to that limb and stand."
I huffed, pulling my weight. My arms were extra weak and trembly.
"Do the same thing with the limb above you and so on. Then, you can sit and enjoy the scenery. Oh, and if you're afraid of heights don't look down."
I climbed to the next limb and the next. But I began to feel more than shaky. I wanted to faint. My arms were throbbing.
"I'm feeling sort of weird, Tina," I called. But I made the mistake of looking. Far. I was far from the ground.
"Don't worry about it, climb to the next limb."
"No, I'm coming down."
"Fine then, be a baby!" She turned and ran away.
"No, Tina, please don't leave. I – I need your help."
But there was no use. She couldn’t hear me. And I had a strong feeling she wasn’t coming back to help.
I couldn't panic. That was hard. But I knew it would make everything else worse. And I needed to get out of the tree. Slowly, I lowered my wobbly leg to the branch below. It worked. But once I let go and reached for the next branch, my legs gave away and my body banged against the tree. I couldn't breathe. But only for a second. When I could breath, I felt the pain. A lot of it. Circling my abdomen.
I screamed for help, pulling myself to sit on the branch and holding my ribcage. I gauged the distance to the ground. It wasn't too far, maybe ten feet. But there was no way I could make it on my own.
I cried, praying my rib wasn't broken. It felt like minutes had gone by when I heard someone coming. And that someone was quick. They scaled the tree, obviously professional. I was crying so hard my vision was blinded. But when an arm wrapped around my shoulder, I knew who it was.
"LeAnna, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
I didn't care. I needed help. I gazed into Tom's worried eyes.
"I fell from the tree and hit this branch. I think I broke a rib."
"Hold on, this might hurt a little." His voice was steady in contrast to my scared wobbly one.
Tom lifted me gently
