All American Boys

Chapter 6: One of the Boys

The boys ended up in a full-on brawl. After slamming into the lockers behind him, Isaac quickly recovered, lunging forward and swinging his fist at Cyril. Fortunately for him, he managed to block Isaac's punch before stepping out of his way.

"Stop it!" I pleaded. "That's enough!"

I reached out to try to restrain Isaac. Turns out that was a huge mistake.

Immediately I felt his elbow ram straight into my cheek. I must have cried out loud, as the both of them stopped to look at me. I brought a few fingers to where my face had been hit, and felt it sting to the touch. Isaac had hit me right in the cheekbone, and it was starting to hurt.

Cyril, looked at me, horrified, and surprisingly Isaac seemed to have been taken aback by this as well. He just looked at me with his green eyes, blinking rapidly like a child.

"Look what you've done!" Cyril said. "I hope you're proud of yourself."

I looked up at Isaac, and for a brief moment, our gazes met. The anger that were in those green eyes of his had all but disappeared as he was faced with what he had done. His lips slightly parted as he looked at me with wide eyes, he seemed like he was about to say something. But whatever he wanted to say seemed to have gotten stuck in his throat. Instead, he just shifted his gaze from me to Cyril, before looking at me one last time.

Without a word, he shoved his hands in his pocket and turned around. Before I knew it, he rushed down the corridor, disappearing into the classroom at the end of the hallway – my English classroom.

I didn't even know we were in the same class. Granted, yesterday I was too preoccupied with the fact that Cyril was beside me to pay any attention to who was or was not in my class.

"Are you okay?" Cyril asked me, his hand gently holding on to my bicep. "That jerk."

"I'm fine," I told him, dusting myself with my palms. "It's just a bruise."

"Do you need to go to the nurse's office?" he said. "I can take you there."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," I replied, shaking my head. "It's nothing big."

"You sure?" he said, letting go of me, but his eyes were still fixated on my cheek.

"Yeah." I reassured him. "We should get to class, wouldn't want to keep Mrs Henderson waiting."

Cyril and I were one of the last to enter, and headed over to our seats.

"Oh shoot," he muttered under his breath. "I forgot to take my book."

He was about to stand up, presumably to ask to be excused to his locker, but I stopped him.

"We can share," I offered, pushing my book to the middle of our pair of tables.

I noticed his face light up ever so slightly.

"Really?" he asked.

"Of course," I replied.

With that, I leaned towards him, and I noticed that he did the same. I tried to ignore him and focus on the lesson, but I couldn't help but notice how the young man kept stealing glances at me. Soon enough, I felt his thighs occasionally bump into mine. As disturbing as I found it, I had to pretend I wasn't disturbed by it.

"So what do you think of this text?" Cyril said, starting off a discussion when we were asked to discuss the excerpt from Julius Caesar in pairs.

"Well," I began. "The foreshadowing here is quite obvious don't you think? The ides of March, the lights in the sky, the lions escaping the colosseum. I mean, to the reader it's pretty much in-your-face, but if we were to put ourselves in Caesar's shoes, we have to understand how his ego got into the way of how he perceived everything."

As I spoke, he leaned forward, his cheek resting on his palm. He kept looking at me, nodding along with every sentence that I said. His eyes locked onto mine, and his lips parted into a smile.

I doubt he even heard a single word that I said.

It was then when the door opened, and everyone looked up. The principal was at the door, in his crisp blue shirt and black tie.

"Forgive me for interrupting Mrs Henderson," he said, acknowledging my English teacher with a slight nod. "I'd like to see Cyril and Isaac in my office please. Now."

A slight murmur broke out in the class.

"Well," Cyril said to me as he stood up. "I'll be back soon."

I watched as Cyril walked out of the room followed by Isaac, but not before I met with the young man's green eyes one more time. He didn't glare at me, instead looking rather apologetic. If that was his version of a non-verbal apology, it was rather pathetic. I broke the eye contact and resumed looking at my text. His words still cut deep. I heard the door shut behind him, and the class returned to the buzz it was earlier. But this time, they were all probably talking about Cyril and Isaac.

"Well," I heard a familiar sweet voice say. "Wonder what that's all about. Those boys never seem to get along."

I turned to look at the pretty girl who had plopped herself on the empty seat beside me. Her partner was absent, so I guess Mrs Henderson allowed it, given that it was pair work after all.

"And to think that they're on the same footba-" she rambled, but she cut herself off with a gasp. "Jesus, what happened to your cheek?"

"Long story," I groaned.

Emily turned to look at the closed door, before looking back at me.

"Suppose it has to do with that doesn't it?" the young woman said. "You know, if you'd fill me in on the deets, I'd greatly appreciate that."

"Isaac stopped me at the hallway, getting mad about how I stood him up yesterday, he insulted me, and Cyril punched him straight in the jaw," I told her. "I tried to break them up, but, well, then this happened."

I pointed to the bruising on my cheek.

"Who did that to you?" Emily asked.

"Good old Isaac," I said, rolling my eyes. "Elbowed me without thinking."

"That boy's a real piece of work," Emily remarked. "He has more issues than Vogue magazine."

I rolled my eyes.

"He's so hot-headed," she continued. "I wonder what he said that Cyril punched him."

"He went on about how I'm not the only one with problems and that I can cry as much as I want and Alicia's still not coming back," I told her.

"He deserves to get decked to be honest," Emily remarked. "See, Cyril may not be that bad after all."

"I see your point," I told her.

"And one more thing," she said, twirling a strand of blonde hair around her index finger. "Have you seen the way he looks at you? The way he smiles when you talk? The faint pink glow on his cheeks?"

"I'm not blind," I said. "He kept trying to get closer earlier. Our thighs kept bumping."

"Aww," Emily teased. "I guess you do notice these little things after all! Congrats girl, someone may be interested in you."

"But you know how I feel about him," I replied, reducing my volume to a whisper. "You know, the whole Alicia thing, if it isn't that obvious."

"Well, but he doesn't seem to know about what his father did," Emily said.

"True," I sighed, letting my shoulders fall.

"And there are just so many boys and girls who'd rather be in your place right now," the young woman replied. "Cyril Crawford giving you time from his precious day? You'd be blind if you're telling me this isn't your golden opportunity."

"Well," I told her. "It's not like I'm not used to pretending."

She inched herself closer to me, and I knew she was going to say something.

"This is a gift from God," she said. "You really ought not to waste it."

"Oh what do you want me to do," I replied, making sure my voice is soft enough that only she could hear me. "Seduce him then kidnap him and hold him hostage?"

"Well, if that's what you want to do then I'm not getting involved," she replied, giggling. "No, I'm just saying that if you get close to him, it'll be much easier to destroy Crawford, if that's what you're after."

"Right," I said. "I'll just see where this whole 'friendship' thing goes."

"Are the two of you done gossiping?" Mrs Henderson said, looking at us, a knowing smile on her face. "Well if you may, Miss Nalbandyan, why don't you answer the first question?"

I couldn't help but snicker, only for my shin to be met with a light kick under the table.

***

I didn't sit at my usual lunch table that afternoon. Some other people had sat there, and the other tables were already occupied. Emily and I were about to head out to have our lunch by the bleachers when I heard a familiar voice call out from behind me.

"Alex, Emily!" I heard his voice booming from the middle of the cafeteria. "Over here!"

Instinctively, I took a step forward, trying to get out of the cafeteria as fast as I could, but Emily' quick slap on my wrist brought me back to my senses. I immediately turned around, and saw Cyril waving at the both of us. He was seated at the central lunch table, right in the middle of the bustling cafeteria. The popular table, as it is. To his left was Aaron Beauchamp, his strawberry blonde hair swept back. A pale blue sweater was tied around his neck, over his pale pink polo tee. On the right of Cyril sat a sweet girl, her blonde hair parted in the centre falling down to her shoulders. She had a navy blue dress on with a flat collar and whit frills. The smile on her cerise lips was sweet, almost saccharine.

"This is Aaron," Cyril said, rather redundantly, to which Emily and I just returned the young man's smile. "And that's Shoshana."

Aaron Beauchamp, I've heard of before. He was on the football team as well, and one of Cyril's closest friends. Loud, obnoxious, and somewhat of a prick. His father was the chief of police of Bethlehem, another man I greatly despised. Another spineless yes-man who let the mayor get away with what he did. Another useless man who helped to silence my sister. After Alicia's case was closed, the Beauchamps moved to a larger, wealthier house down the street from the Crawfords. I wonder where they got the money from? I'm betting it was totally not the Crawfords.

Shoshana however, was someone I had never met before.

"Shoshana Stein," the girl said standing up, extending a dainty arm.

I took it and shook her hand.

"Alex Sawyer," I said.

"It's nice to finally meet you," she replied, before turning to face Emily.

What did she mean, 'finally' I thought as I sat down, while the two girls introduced themselves to each other. Shoshana must have read my mind, as she gave me a knowing glance from across the table.

"So Cyril," she said, her voice soft and sweet. "This must be the Alex you've been talking about yesterday. It's great to be able to put such a pretty face to the name."

I noticed a blush creep up to the young man's cheeks, while I felt Emily flick my thigh under the table. She looked at Cyril, before our gazes met for a brief moment. She had that I-told-you-so look in those grey eyes of hers. By this time, everybody seemed to have known about the fight that happened this morning. Cyril had returned to the class a good half an hour after he was called out, sending Emily back to her seat, but Isaac never did. Heck, it's been half a day and I still haven't seen him. He didn't seem to be in the cafeteria either. Usually he'd sit with the popular kids, but given that there were only five of us here, I wouldn't know where he would be.

"Doesn't Isaac sit here with you most of the time?" Emily asked as she took out her salad. "Usually I see him here with you guys."

"Well not after what happened today," Cyril said as he picked up his sandwich. "Don't think he'll be sitting here for a while. Maybe not at all."

I wanted to take out the brownies to give Emily her self-claimed due, but if I did that, I'd have to share with the other three people. Thus the brownies remained in my bag while I took out my lunch: a turkey ham sandwich with a side of boiled carrots and broccoli.

"I overheard people talking earlier," Aaron said with a sneer as he leaned back into his chair. "That they saw that brat Isaac running out of the principal's office crying. Wish I was there to see it."

I guess it was certainly no secret that most of the football team despised their captain.

"He deserves it I guess," Cyril said after he finished chewing. "That boy doesn't know when to stop sometimes. He'll just run his mouth without thinking."

"Well tell me about it," Aaron groaned, rolling his eyes. "Glad you landed a punch on his face."

"Don't you think that's a bit mean," Shoshana said, the blonde girl placing a gentle hand on Cyril's forearm. "Maybe he's just going through a rough time."

Aaron only scoffed in reply.

"Oh boy Shana," he said. "You don't know him like we do. Officially he won't be playing the season because of a training accident. But guess what? The day where he supposedly got injured, he wasn't even there! I'm willing to bet he fell down on his own ass and like usual, decided to blame everyone but himself for it. Even got his dad to cover up for him."

"I hope he's okay," Shoshana said, her right hand reaching for her locket.

"If you're so concerned about him you could join him sulking at the bleachers," Aaron said. "That's where he usually goes anyway. How tragic."

For a moment, I saw Shoshana shoot him a glare, but her face soon relaxed and she smiled as she looked at Emily and I.

"Sorry about that," she said, gently clasping her hands together. "The boys are fighting. Like they always do."

"Always?" Emily asked, tilting her head to the side, like she usually did when she was interrogating someone. "This is a usual occurrence then? Throwing fists at each other in the hallway. Oh you know, brotherly love I suppose?"

"Well," Cyril replied, shrugging. "I don't know. This time it's different. I just felt like Isaac just went too far."

"Actually," I said, putting my half-eaten sandwich back into my lunchbox. "I just remembered. I was supposed to go meet Mrs Henderson during lunch. It's been lovely talking to you."

I flashed the three of them the sweetest smile I could muster, before picking up my bag.

"Oh yeah, Mrs Henderson!" Emily picked up, playing along with me. "Gosh, we totally forgot!"

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," I said to the group. "I don't think we share any of my afternoon classes."

"O-Of course!" Cyril blurted out. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."

Walking out of the cafeteria, I was ready for Emily's lecture.

"Please tell me you have good reason to walk out of that," Emily said, once we made sure we were out of earshot and out of sight. "First impressions are pretty important you know?"

"I know, I know," I said. "But I jut feel really guilty, you know? It's all my fault that Isaac got into trouble in the first place."

"He insulted you, he got decked," Emily said. "How is it your fault?"

"I stood him up yesterday now didn't I?" I replied. "Of course he'd be mad. I'd be mad too if I got stood up. And I couldn't stand just sitting there listening to them trash him like that."

"Correction," Emily interjected. "Aaron was trashing him. Cyril and Shoshana said nothing."

"Yeah but still," I said, shrugging. "I didn't like that."

Emily narrowed her eyes as she looked at me.

"When did you suddenly get so concerned over Isaac?" she questioned. "Yesterday you thought he was the vilest scumbag in the world."

"Maybe I realised that he deserves better," I sighed. "And if you don't mind, I'm off to the bleachers."

"Wait," she called out to me. "You should drop by the vending machine and get something. You know, a peace offering. I'm pretty sure he'd like that."

"Thanks," I muttered. "You coming along?"

"I think it's best you just approach him alone," she told me. "And if you need anything, just give me a call."

"Oh, it's not like he's going to eat me or anything," I said, rolling my eyes. "But thanks."

"No problem," she said, before sending me on my way.

I thought about what Emily said as I picked up two cans of coffee from the vending machine. Even I was a bit thrown off by my sudden change of heart when it came to Isaac. Why? I don't know. But my heart felt like it was the right thing to do.

There weren't many students around at the bleachers, so I could spot Isaac easily enough. He was seated at the far end of the first row, his feet kicking the grass in front of him. The wind caused his golden brown hair to sway in the breeze, while the sun's rays illuminated his face. As I approached I could see his cheeks were shiny with the faint traces of tears. With every step that I took I could feel my heart thumping ever more loudly in my chest.

"Hey Isaac," I managed to blurt out as a greeting.

The young man looked up at me, and it was then when I realised the answer. Why I suddenly felt the need to come and comfort him. Why I felt the need to come here and find him by the bleachers. Why I felt like he wasn't the douchebag I had thought he was and how the others made hi out to be.

It was in those sad, green eyes that looked at mine. Those eyes that revealed someone so sad and lonely. Those eyes that revealed someone who didn't know what to do anymore.

Those dull, muted eyes that revealed someone so broken inside.