I woke up groggily with no Chanel approaching my headboard.
These days she only ever stayed long enough to keep me company and left once my droopy eyelids showed signs of falling asleep.
Truthfully i wasn't sure what was going on with her and i was worried about us. i had always thought of our friendship as spirit bound, we were sisters who told each other just about anything without judgement or reprieve.
That didn't mean I was about to spill my guts to her because i was feeling abandoned and left out.
And i wasn't about to summon Chanel just to keep tabs on her whereabouts. she knew where to find me in case something of interest happened.
While Chanel did some research i attended school.
My being had a sole purpose and that was to get Chanel through a working portal that could take her straight into heaven where she belonged. No matter how long that took. her faith in me was astounding and i sometimes wondered how dead people felt having me to rely on with there afterlife. no pressure.
and yet despite everything going on i still had class to take and there were people that i couldn't ignore, no matter how badly i wanted to.
as student schedules went Wildlife and Agriculture Education was the most popularly misregarded course i had.
astonishingly i was doing well in mr. baryos' more than expected. and i was never stunned.
-anyone who suddenly saw there dead friend come back to life had sound cause to shit bricks, so that didn't count.
in whatever groove this fast track was pulling me, i had no idea some form of chemistry would be involved for today's project. major suck-o my brains out.
at least I had Toby, a person who knew what he was doing.
in just a few days time i knew more about plants than my grandmother, a metaphysical healer, had taught me. i could possibly even give her a few loaner tips just for gaggles. i bet she would appreciate that.
Mr. Baryo was all tooth and cheek today, wearing a lovely powder blue cotton down shirt that nicely complimented his baby blue eyes with a colorful polka dotted tie for embellishment and churchgoing pants, as he addressed the class.
mr. baryo stood in front of his desk as he spoke.
"Since we are discussing the proper aesthetics of soil i thought it would help if we completed a hands on project to better understand the basic principles of soil pH level." Mr. Baryo says, his plump square hands waving in the air as he spoke.
The teacher was enthusiastic about it all.
we already knew many plants are quite forgiving and will sustain life but there are some particular in regards to the type of soil planted; for example, if the soil was too sweet or too sour the plants wont take up the nutrients needed to thrive and grow properly.
Now we were taking our notes to action. no chapter reading this time. it was just me and Toby and reserved silence and the headache by form of bitterness.
so far toby's muted presence was cultivating into a series of mutual dislike.
today I felt like i could endure what he dished out because for once it proved reassuring to have a smart-ass in my back pocket. he was here so I had to put him to good use.
i was sure that there were equally smart kids in my class but none of them could say they had Toby for a partner.
one thing i did notice was the great lengths the students went to turn a blind eye whenever they were near. they would pass us by and walk a great length of distance around our table each time which i thought of as funny because neither of us had the flu. at least, i didn't.
i couldn't blame them.
Toby was snarky and bound to say something rude. somehow, i got the impression Toby enjoyed his reputation whereas i would get the stank-eye each and any time Toby had something to say. unless it was Mr. Baryo. It seemed to me that Toby knew how to charm the professor.
when mr. baryo passes right by me and puts the paper on my side of the desk i silently offer it over to Toby. "go for it." i mumble not looking him in the eye.
Toby grabs at the paper and snatches it from me and signs his name in perfect cursive. -of course he would put his name at the top.
I sighed. only this time i didn't have to point out that i was also doing the project. toby marked my initials far from his.
"Just like that." he turns his head and grins at me. "What, no distasteful comebacks?" he insinuates.
his blunt attitude made it rather unpleasant to be around him for short periods of time.
why, if i were tall enough, i would smack his smug grin right off. it was a recurring temptation that i fought hard.
Toby waits for me to come up with something snappy like i usually did but my heart just wasn't in it.
to be honest only Toby could make me defensive and on edge. everyone else that i knew of was practically easy going in nature compared to him.
"i'm just tired, okay. and im not really in the mood to figure out why you're talking to me all of a sudden." i tell him truthfully. because there was no reason to lie about what i was feeling with toby. he always somehow...knew.
Toby chuckles dryly.
i couldn't tell if that was his humor or he was mocking me again and that infuriated me.
"so we're being honest about our perception towards each other now?" he contends.
i wanted to say something mean that would get him to leave me alone and interested in the assignment. our grade mattered not the illusionary funny story about our co-association. and by 'co-association' i mean our forced partnership.
instead of being snarky i stay quiet, my thoughts going at the speed of a race horse track. whoosh. bang. thump.
in all fairness i thought we already were regarding one another truthfully.
i sigh tiredly and examine the stacked row of cylindrical tubes that were put there by the teacher just a few minutes earlier.
what would possess mr. baryo to give his students breakable glass objects to handle?
"so, kitchen chemistry, huh?" wasn't the smoothest deflection but it did the job and brought our focus forward.
any zealous person with a basic green thumb would know a thing or two about the subject, especially given their exposure to maintaining the shelf life of plants, which was not nearly a hard feat in comparison to the gigantic wild forest that mr. baryo kept in the back row of the class.
the very same one we hadn't been to since the dreaded find and seek on our first day of school.
on the table in front of us beginning from left to right were three symmetrical tubes that were filled with different types of soil that had been mixed in with a couple drops of fresh tap water from the built in sink on the counters.
apparently the samples came directly from the classrooms greenhouse.
our objective was to figure out the soil pH and write down what kinds of plants would thrive in the environment given.
Toby clears his throat. "right." he instructs, anointing himself leader. pffft. like i needed a babysitter. "we'll split up for the time being. you go get the supplies and i'll start on the worksheet." tobys head never rises from the sheet of paper that he was working on while he spoke to me with a lack of interest.
deciding that it would take longer to fill the blanks i push my chair back and happily carry out tobys orders.
with a defeated sigh at how wrong it was for me to let him take control i get up from my seat and nudge it under the desk just in case anyone came by and needed the extra room.
it was the least i could do since these days i was trying to be less clinical and more giving. "fine, i'll get the stuff, you stay here and be useful."
i cross the room before i had a chance to hear tobys remark because fighting, although a perfect stress reliever, would cause more harm than good with those glass objects around.
stark house may have been built using the money from one percenters of one percenters but im sure the frugal you-break-it-you-bought-it style was still handy.
with slow intent and because Toby wouldn't finish that fast i walked across the room passing half empty black tables and sidestepping away from students that had their back towards me.
No comments:
Post a Comment