“This is Marc and Evan,” Harry introduced. “And that’s Cecilia,” he added with a furtive, reproaching smirk.
Harry and I shared a knowing look.
“I’m Marc’s girlfriend,” said Cecilia, “cool to meet you.”
“You, too.” I smiled and introduced myself.
“Adria!” Julia came up from behind with Tori and Sebastian following hand in hand.
Unsurprisingly, Tori overdressed for this kind of social gathering; the glittering make-up, pigtails and short pink skirt was awkward against the casual colors and jeans.
“Have trouble finding it?” said Julia.
“No, your directions were perfect.” I smiled.
Julia gestured for me to follow. “Let’s go sit down over here,” she said. “It’s far enough away from the racket, but not too far away we look like snobs.”
I assumed she meant the skateboards when she said ‘racket’.
“Unless...” she paused, raising a brow, “you want to sit closer to the skaters.”
I caught on. “No, no, I think your spot will be great.”
“You sure?” she said, pulling me along. “Evan is hot, and so is Layne; he’s the tall one over there in the Fight Club shirt.”
Tori jumped in, “Julia, I thought you hated Layne?”
“I do, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less hot.”
“Why do you hate him?” I asked.
We came to an area with two stone picnic tables situated in an L-shape next to each other. A park grill stood feet away in the center; remnants of charcoal lay scattered about. A bright red and black sign had been nailed to a nearby tree that read: ‘No Camping’.
“Well, I don’t really hate him,” Julia answered.
“No, she used to date him,” Sebastian said with a twinge of laughter. It caught me off-guard since he hardly ever spoke.
“We never dated.” She stared at Sebastian for an infuriated moment longer. “So anyway, Adria” she finally went on, looking over at me again, “was it just you that moved here?”
Really, the question was just her way to distract everyone from the subject of her and the guy, Layne. And it worked. Suddenly, all eyes were on me and I was stuck tiptoeing around the topic of Alex. But how were they supposed to know that the very mention of her made me uneasy and even a little annoyed? Or, that talking about her only made me think about the night she and I were attacked by a wer...well, by a beast, and that they were making it more difficult to put behind me? Making it more difficult for me to convince myself I was a stable member of society.
“No,” I said, “my older sister, Alexandra, came too.”
I was glad they didn’t probe further.
The first hour at the skate park was fun. I laughed a lot; something I realized I hadn’t done in a long time. I even tried to stay up on Harry’s skateboard, which was an unsuccessful mission in so many ways. Everyone laughed when I fell, but no one made fun of me. Well, except maybe for jealous Cecilia. Her laughter was a bit smugger.
Suddenly our circle got quiet and everyone looked up and toward the street.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” growled Tori.
The muddy Jeep with big tires drove slowly into the skate park. The same three guys were with the spiky-haired blond girl from school. Once again, they were looking in our direction and this time it made me uneasy. I glanced at Julia and then Harry, lastly at Tori and Sebastian, but saw that everyone seemed as perplexed as I was. I had hoped that someone from our group might know what attracted their obvious stares.
“Thank god,” said Tori, as the Jeep pulled away from us and went toward a nearby parking lot instead.
I watched across the long stretch of grass and trees that separated us from them. Pulling into a space, the driver killed the engine and only he and the spiky-haired blond girl got out. Bracing her palms against the hood, the girl hopped up and sat atop it letting her legs hang just over the tire. The driver walked around to the passenger’s side and leaned against the back door, crossing his arms over his chest and his legs at the ankles. Vaguely I could see his lips moving as he spoke, apparently to the guys that still sat in the backseat. I got the strangest feeling. I knew they were watching us, even when they appeared not to be. Quietly I glanced once more over at each of my friends, wondering which one of them could be the reason, which of them knew more than they were letting on.
“Maybe they just want to hang out,” said Harry. “We should ask them.”
Tori’s face scrunched up into an ugly grimace. “Definitely not,” she scoffed. “They look like trash.”
Harry frowned. “What does a trash look like exactly?” He and Sebastian glanced at each other privately, agreeing that she had said something that neither favored. “You’re way too judgmental of people, girl.”
“Whatever, Harry,” Tori snapped back.
I liked Tori—or, maybe I just tolerated her—but I probably would never have befriended her on my own if she wasn’t already part of the group I hung out with. We may have all been pretty diverse, but she was least like the rest of us.
“Have any of you ever talked to them?” I said; my first attempt at obtaining some clues.
“I haven’t,” said Harry. “But I see the girl near my Art class every day.”
Sebastian reached up and rubbed his temples in a circular motion with his thumb and index finger as if soothing a headache. Tori laid her head in his lap then. Her petit arm, dressed in jingling bracelets came up where she gently brushed the side of his face with her fingers. “Baby have a headache?” she said.
I think Harry’s eyes almost rolled right out of the sockets.
Sebastian braced his hands upon the picnic tabletop and leaned his head back further. Her fingers fell away.
“I’ve never met the girl,” said Julia. “But I’d like to meet that guy standing against the Jeep.”
Tori and Sebastian left shortly after. Sebastian was the only one among us that didn’t answer my question, so naturally I began zoning in on him. But then again, it was natural for Sebastian to be so apathetic.
“I told Sebastian that Tori was a handful,” said Harry as we sat on the edge of the skate bowl.
The Jeep was still parked across the lot, and by now all four of the passengers were sitting on or leaning against it.
I never really stopped watching them as they watched us.
“Seriously, Harry,” I urged, “what did you really say about her?”
“Huh?”
“Oh, come on,” I said, smirking. “I know guys don’t tell other guys a girl is a ‘handful’. You’re just trying to be polite, which I appreciate, don’t get me wrong.”
Harry nearly blushed. “Ah, okay, you got me on that one,” he said. “I told him she was a soulless bitch.”
His posture changed uncomfortably after the B-word. It was apparent that maybe he had been brought up in a super-strict family with good morals and all that stuff. A bit different than my family where curse words were integrated into everyday conversation. Except with me and Alex. Really, it was just mom’s boyfriends that brought in the bad habits.
“Hey, it’s cool,” I said, “I don’t get offended easily.”
Harry smiled and left it at that.
“Sebastian is my best friend,” he said. “He’s a smart guy; I don’t know what he was thinking when he started dating her.”
“She’s pretty,” I admitted.
Harry’s expression soured. “If you say so,” he disagreed. “But I think Sebastian’s realizing I was right about her.”
“What makes you think that?”
“They’ve been dating for like five months,” Harry said, “but lately he’s not been as into her as much as he used to be.”
I pictured Sebastian and Tori at lunch and around the school, even just minutes ago. “I don’t know how they were before,” I said, “but now that you mention it; their relationship does seem a little one-sided.”
Harry’s sour face brightened then. “You see it too?” he said eagerly. “I hoped it wasn’t just me.”
“No, I think you’re onto something,” I said. “Tori definitely seems more into him than he is into her.”
A skater zipped up the side of the bowl and landed heavily right next to me with a clack. I jumped and squealed; thankful my fingers weren’t crushed. He smiled apologetically and took off again in a wheeled blaze.
I turned to Harry once the shock wore off. “Is he into Julia? Sebastian, I mean.”
“No way,” Harry laughed. “Where’d that come from?”
“They just seem...tense around each other.”
Harry shook his head. “I dunno, but he would’ve told me....” His voice trailed, leaving me to wonder if he really believed that statement himself.
Julia walked up behind us then. “What are you two talking about?”
The guilt made me wonder if she had overheard. But that was just the paranoia at work; there was no way she could have.
“I was giving Adria skating pointers,” Harry said.
Julia plopped down on the other side of me. “She needs more than pointers,” she joked.
I shook my head, smiling, but not at all embarrassed.
“Hey, no argument here,” I said.
Julia reached over and cradled my wrist in her fingers, thumbing one of three Friendship Bracelets I wore.
“I’ve tried to make those,” she said, “but I’m way too impatient.”
“My sister made these,” I said, now fingering each one by one, while reminiscing. I had worn them since March and they were probably going to break and fall off soon. I thought about how ironic that was.
“She used to make all kinds of jewelry,” I went on. “I saw the inside of Hobby Lobby enough to point you in the right direction if you ever need beads or glue.”
“Hmmm,” Julia mumbled absently, “I’ll keep that in mind.” She jumped up then and crossed her arms looking out across the skate bowl. I thought her comment seemed a little off and quickly realized why. Layne, the skater in the Fight Club shirt was standing on the other side getting ready to take his turn.
“Whoohoo!” she yelled with her hands cupped into a cylinder around her mouth. “Let’s see what you’ve got, Layne!” It was completely sarcastic.
Layne’s eyes barely veered in her direction, though it was obvious he heard her. Everyone heard her. Layne rested his board on the edge of the concrete, waited a few seconds and then took off. As he whirred back and forth every which way, I noticed the only spot he didn’t cover was anywhere near where we were sitting.
Julia took hold of my wrist and urged me up. Harry followed.
“Come on,” she said, heading back toward the parking lot.
“Why don’t you just talk to him, Jewels?” Harry suggested.
“No way,” Julia said. “I’m totally over him.”
I tried not to look quietly at Harry because it felt sort of like talking about Julia behind her back again, but I couldn’t help it. Neither could Harry. We shared the same obvious thought about how Julia was still in denial about the whole thing. Whatever it was. It felt like dangerous territory and I refused to probe.