Secret Affinity

9

Crimson’s idea of a costume was unbelievable, honestly. She was showing me a picture on her phone of a gown covered in black roses over the white satin cloth.

“Are you supposed to be a devil bride or something?” I asked as Crimson proudly sat back in her chair.

“No, that’s so overrated,” she said. “I’m being the queen of death. I make up my own titles.” Figures. “So, what did you get?”

“A costume? I don’t have one.”

“What? Why?” Crimson said in utter devastation. “You’re not going trick-or-treating?”

“Aren’t we too old for that?” I asked.

She snorted. “You’re never too old for candy.”

“Miss Hawke!” Mr. Charles shouted. Crimson bickered and faced the class again. I usually got distracted with her sitting beside me, yet it was amusing to listen to her rambling. Sort of like Liara.

When class ended and it was time to go home, Mr. Charles asked me to stay back. I told Crimson I wouldn’t be coming for work until five, so she could leave without me. Once everyone left, Mr. Charles called me forward and I grabbed my backpack and books.

“Miss Cordell, I want to begin with saying you had a great start to this chemistry class,” he told me. “I have to admit, you’re by far one of the most successful students so far.”

“Chemistry is my strong suite,” I said with a grin.

“That's great, but I want you to revise your choices.” My smile dropped when he said, “I feel like Crimson's a distraction to you.”

“You don’t have to worry, Mr. Charles,” I assured. “I get my work done and can easily catch up, so it isn't an issue.”

“I trust you,” he walked to his unmarked quizzes. “but be careful. She’s not the greatest choice of a friend. I suggest you make a final decision on the project you have together.”

While I walked down the hallway, I couldn’t understand why people treated Crimson as someone plain bad. Was it because of her appearance? Her attitude? My experience with her struck out the latter, and I had nothing against her looks.

I decided to pick up Liara on the way home, so I waited an extra ten minutes until the bell rang. She was happy to see me there early, but she was quieter than usual on the bus, either looking out the window or at her lap. It didn’t feel right.

“Hey, is everything okay?” I asked. She nodded. “Are the teachers nice?” She nodded again. “Hm, are your friends nice?”

“Little Mermaid,” she said, “I don’t have any friends.” Oh God, I think my heart just broke. I didn’t know what to say or do to comfort her.

Before it was time for work, I completed my school assignment and raked the lawn swarming with leaves. I was sweating by the time Evin came home from college with Spike tagging along.

“Hey, Ari!” Evin called. Spike followed with a wiggle of his eyebrows. “Not coming over today?” I shook my head.

Spike gave me a grin. “You should come to the party with us, girlie.” Girlie? “Mark Saturday on your calendar.”

“She’s not coming to the Halloween party, Spike,” Evin said, heading to his porch. I told Spike I had my school dance that day, anyway.

“Bummer. Thought we'd have some fun,” he murmured. I went deadpan, and he laughed. "Don’t take it seriously. Later.”

It was a bit past five when I went inside to change out of my dirty clothes and grab a bite while I headed off to work. My stomach was growling, but the sound of a roar from outside instantly masked it.

There was only one source of that sound I knew of, and as expected, I saw Arian’s bike on his driveway. I locked my door as Arian closed the garage. Something was different today. He was leaving the house earlier than usual for…whatever he did. But that wasn’t it.

I stopped in my tracks. “You’re not wearing your helmet,” I said to him. When he looked over, I wished I'd kept quiet and moved on. “I was just saying in case you forgot or…um, nevermind.”

He narrowed his eyes. “If I asked you where you were going, wouldn’t that be personal?”

“Not really,” I said. “I’m going to work at—”

“Look, I’m telling you to mind your own business,” he told me. “I care less where you’re going.”

“I don’t care either,” I said aloud and looked away. “It’s just a safety precaution when driving a bike. Not like I was prying into your business or anything.”

“Why do you argue about the smallest things?” he said.

“Me?” I said in astonishment. “I’m sorry if what I said was too personal.” Arian twisted the bike handle sharply and the motor roared, giving me a surprised jerk.

“I told you before, don’t mess with me,” he warned.

“You’re not scaring me,” I said uncertainly.

He raised an eyebrow. “I’m not?” I opened my mouth but soon closed it. He knew he could scare me, but I'd always forget and talk without thinking.

I adjusted the bag hooked on my shoulder. “I’m going.” I walked off the driveway, and as I headed towards the bus stop, Arian whizzed by on his bike.

I ended up coming late for work and rushed to the employee room to apologize to Michelle. I tied my hair up in relief when she didn’t penalize me. I met Crimson at the front sorting out the bread.

“You’re late,” Crimson said when she saw me. I told her I had a lot of work to do and also rake the lawn. She took an overwhelmed breath. “Boy, you stress yourself a lot.” I went to the cash register and thought, did I really?

The last time I remembered, I never thought I stressed much about anything. Sure, I took just about every responsibility in managing the house after Mom and focused on getting good grades, also babysat, but I’d always kept in mind the good positive things. It really wasn’t stressful that way.

“You’re at the cash register already,” Crimson said, impressed. “Quick learner.”

I smiled just as my first customer of the day walked to the counter. “Can I have a buttered croissant with a coffee, please?”

“Sure,” I said, entering the order number. “Anything else?” He said no, and I gave him the receipt after p*****t.

While I went to get his food, I heard Crimson shout. “You?! Don’t you have work or something?” I listened closely as she talked to the customer.

“There was a shut down today,” he said. “And why is your hair green? I thought we went—”

“It’s fake, i***t,” she said. “And why did your company shut down again?”

He sighed. “It’s either some people are laid-off or some people work their butts off in the city- centre. That's what’s happening now.”

“Why?” Crimson said.

“It’s stuff we shouldn’t talk about,” the man said. “Let it be. There’s nothing we can do.”

“Are you going to look for a new job?” she asked him. I put his order into the bag and walked towards them.

“Yeah. I’ll get one in the blink of an eye,” he replied. Crimson rolled her eyes, and he crossed his arms. “Crimson, should I report the sass levels you have for your customers?”

She huffed. “Okay, I’m sorry.”

“Here’s your order,” I told the man, giving him the bag. Crimson folded her arm on my shoulder and told me to watch out for this customer. The man looked at me and Crimson, back and forth.

“Are you friends?” he asked. Crimson introduced me to him, and him to me as Fabian.

On first proper look, I noticed Fabian had the most ginger-looking hair I’d ever seen. It was curly. and his eyes were a very light hazel, giving him an innocent, kind-hearted look.

“Nice to meet you Arial,” he said, shaking hands with me.

“Okay, now get lost,” Crimson said, and he said goodbye. She shook her head and leaned against the glass display. “By the way, should we go to your house or mine's for the project we have to do?”

“You can come to my house,” I told her. After a moment of silence, I said, “Why were you being so…disrespectful to him?”

“Oh, him?” she said and briefly closed her eyes. “He’s my maybe-will-soon-be stepfather. He’s like the cherry on top of a house of maniacs. A feather in a world of ruins.”

“Your stepfather?” I said.

She sighed. “Yeah. My mom and him are the mushiest couple I’ve ever seen in my life. He can’t even impress a girl, and on top of that, my mom loves his stupid innocence.” I was right about the gentle innocent vibe he had.

“That’s cute, though,” I said, thinking back to my own parents.

“I know but the thing is, my family is completely, totally different,” Crimson said, and all of a sudden, her voice softened. “Everything fell apart after my dad left. Fabian, just by appearing, makes us forget.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” I asked.

She glared at me. “No, it isn’t!” I was confused. “He’s too naïve. He can’t function in our family. He’s just so stupid!”

Crimson, for some reason I still couldn’t understand, got too upset and went into the employee room. I took after for the next thirty minutes before she came back.

At about nine when the sky was dark and calm, both of our shifts ended. Michelle asked us about the shouting that was going on, but we assured her everything was okay.

“See ya,” Crimson said as she went the opposite direction.

As I walked down the empty, quiet streets, I kept my eyes on the glow of the streetlights. Not too far from the bakery was a small shed. It wasn’t even a shed. It was a piece of metal from the wall sheltering three kids underneath.

I stopped in my tracks, as they saw me at the exact moment I saw them. I knew by their tattered clothes and helpless eyes that they were homeless. Why…? In the night, all alone and…

They shared a blanket not too big and stayed in a tight bundle. My hands tightened on my strap, not knowing if I should do something. They weren’t asking for alms, but did they even need to?

I reluctantly pulled my gaze away and began walking. Why hadn’t I seen those children before? Was I not paying much attention?

Mom used to cry when she saw something like that. Especially when she was already feeling down about something. Dad always told me she wanted to adopt a kid, but he never talked about it again.

When I got home, I tried to get some sleep, but so many thoughts ran in my head. I tried to focus on the ticking clock, counting up to a thousand, using whichever way I could find. I grabbed my phone and saw a message light up in the dark. Dad sent it to me a couple hours ago, telling me to have fun taking people’s orders and get home before nine so I could go to bed early.

It was almost eleven, and I couldn’t feel more awake.

When I closed my eyes for about five pleasant minutes, faint barking woke me up. I sat up. Again? Walking to the window that looked to the lawn, I saw a furry body trail between the two houses. After wearing slippers, I lifted my window and quickly climbed down the trellis to meet him.

“Hey, Butterscotch,” I said in a low voice. “Buddy, you have to go back home.” His dark, puppy eyes saw me. Like last time, they seemed puzzled. Like I was someone who shouldn’t be here but came anyway. “Go home, boy. Okay?”

He started barking again, and I desperately smoothed down his fur to calm him down. I didn’t want him to disrupt the neighbourhood.

“Butterscotch,” I said, rubbing his back. When the wind gushed past us, he started running in circles, jumping up and down. “Hey!” I whispered. “Bu-Butterscotch, please…” I came to the conclusion I was no help at all.

I heard thuds amidst the sound of wind, and Butterscotch barked loudly.

“Shh!” I tried to calm him. I heard the gate rattle and someone jump over, stepping right on my hand that I put on the ground to support myself. “Ow!” I squeaked.

Butterscotch stopped barking, gazing and tilting his head at the hand I hurt.

I looked up while saying, “Watch where you’re—” and stopped when I easily saw Arian’s face under the house light.

“Now, we’re even,” he said, but I was speechless as he knelt next to the dog. Butterscotch nuzzled his nose into my injured palm. “You got him under control, right? I’m leaving.”

“What—?” I was about to say but Butterscotch started barking again when Arian stood up. “Butterscotch, come on.”

Arian patted the dog before walking out of the side entrance. I stumbled to follow them.

“Hey, you’re the reason why he always comes here?” I asked Arian. He looked back, surprised to see me following.

“You’re not needed anymore,” he said. “Go home.”

“Tell me,” I said. “If you’re worried about it being too personal, think about why I sat with the dog in the first place.”

“You’re too much to think about,” he said flatly, and I let out a heavy sigh. I watched Butterscotch’s tail wagging as he walked next to Arian’s legs.

“Butterscotch,” I called. He craned his neck to look at me. “Nice. He likes me.”

“Don’t get too fond,” Arian burst my bubble. “He usually hates everyone, and he'll probably hate you sometime later.”

“What about you?” I said. I didn’t decide to get angry over Arian, but to be honest, I got used to his attitude.

He slipped his hands into his pockets. “I want him to hate me, so he won’t come anymore.”

“Isn’t he George’s dog?” I asked. He didn’t say anything, but he wasn't mad. Just normal. Or maybe in thought. “Will he really hate me?” I said to myself.

Butterscotch stopped near some wilting dandelions. He was harmless, an innocent creature that somehow liked Arian. Arian. I had never seen Arian be the least bit affectionate to anyone.

We ended up in an unfamiliar street where Arian went to the only house with a brown garage door. He stopped at the sidewalk and told Butterscotch to go. I watched in silence as the dog waited.

Arian sighed. “Goodnight,” he said. Butterscotch trotted away, and Arian began to leave. I fell behind his footsteps, unable to believe what I saw. “Can you stop following me?” he said.

“Um, I,” I mumbled. “I don’t know the way back.” I took his silence as a good sign.

I watched the back of his head, waves of dark hair blowing slightly in the wind with his face hidden. I didn’t have the courage to walk by his side, when with any other person, I would gladly do so.

“Was Butterscotch…” I said, contemplating a crazy idea. “Was he your dog once?” Arian looked over his shoulder, and I stopped in my tracks. “Sorry. Personal again, huh?”

“He was,” he answered when he turned back around. I wasn’t surprised. I continued walking, my hands hanging at my sides.

We were side by side when we walked through the side entrance of the houses. I began to pull myself up on the trellis as he grabbed the gate.

“Hey,” I said stopping, and he waited. “Next time, I won’t step on you and you won’t step on me. Okay?”

He jumped over the gate and walked off. Before he went into his house, I heard him say something. I climbed into my bedroom and closed the window.

Again, I was not a creep.