Chapter 8  THE ART OF AVOIDANCE

RIVER

Taylor had ruined my morning already, and I hated how smug he was about it. I had finished up my morning routine and was already taking my cereal when he stepped out of his room, looking very different from all the other days. He had a t-shirt and a black jacket thrown over him, a cool vibe. His jeans were the cool kind, the kind that the athletes and jocks at my high school wore.

"No breakfast for me?" With the expression on his face, I was not even sure if he was teasing me or if he was being serious about it.

"I don't share my..."

"That's fine." He does not let me say what I have to say; I will just make a plate for myself. He opened the cupboards and began to pour from my cereal box. Into a plate. I want to stop him, but it sounds like I am being petty about food, and it was not a good look on me, so let it go.

"To pay you for the cereal, I'll give you a ride to campus," he says as we step outside. At least he has a conscience, but when I see him climb onto his motorcycle, I shake my head as if I had just been asked if I wanted to die.

"No, thank you."

"Are you scared?" He asked as if my fear were visible and I had been holding it above my head.

"No, but there is no way I am going to get on that." I point to the machine underneath him.

"It's fairly safe," he said, tilting his head back and forth swiftly.

"Fairly safe? Do you know how many people die on a motorcycle yearly?" I ask, and he looks as if he is about to laugh his ass off.

"I do not, and I do not need you to tell me the statistics," he responds, stifling his laughter in my face.

"I am not getting on that," I said, walking down the stairs onto the pavement. If it were a car, I would have considered getting a ride from him, but if I sat on the motorcycle, then I would have to hold onto him from here to campus, and I could not even begin to imagine doing that.

"Oh come on, I have helmets, and it is safe; I will drive within the limit," he said, and then, under his breath, with an eye roll, he added under his breath "Like a lunatic."

"I am not getting on that, and you don't have to worry about me."

"Who said I was worried? I just do not like owing anyone, and this is my payment for the cereal this morning."

"You know what, do not worry about it; you can have it for free," I say as I begin to walk towards the school direction and he begins to drive slowly beside me. "I said you don't have to worry about it."

"You do know that there aren't any cabs going this way and the bus is not for another ten minutes," he adds, and I roll my eyes at the fact that he was spitting. "If you get on, I can get you to school in ten minutes."

"In ten minutes? A ride of twenty minutes in ten? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" I scream, shocked at his audacity to own a motorcycle and even drive at high speed without any care.

"Are you worried about me?" I stop abruptly and turn to him, and that stupid smirk is on his face. I try to act as if it does not disturb me.

"I am not worried about you, and I am meeting a friend a few houses ahead, so I expect you can carry both of us on this death trap, and then I suggest you go." I lie, but he does not look like he is buying the lies from me, and I wonder if I was just a terrible liar or if he was good at reading people.

"If you say so," he said, gripping the handle and causing it to roar to life, scaring me even more. "See you later, sweetheart."

"Don't call me that," I say into the air, but I am left alone with smoke and dust in the air and him a long while away from me. I hike up to the bus station and join the next bus up to school. By the time I get there, I am so exhausted that I am almost regretting not taking up Taylor's offer, but I am reminded of the danger of being up there.

I find the department, and as much as I try not to remember Lana, her call comes in as if she had a camera on me.

"Hi." Her voice is too happy. Was she that glad to be there, or maybe she was high? "Are you here now?" she said, and I nodded.

"Are you?"

"Yes, I am," I murmured, wishing she would leave me alone.

"I am at the Alden complex. Come quickly," she said and cut off the call. I look at the wall beside me, and I try to understand the map. After a few attempts, I walk towards the Alden complex, and she sees me before I can and begins to move towards me. I see another girl, Black, thick, with long hair reaching her waist, and a small face following behind her.

"You are late."

"It was a hassle getting here," I say, trying to hide my frustration. Why was it so difficult to get on campus?

"Maybe you'd find someone living in the same neighbourhood that you can hitch a ride with," Lana said, already proffering a solution to my problem.

"Or you can get a bike," the girl with sparkling eyes added.

"River, this is Elise. Elise, this is River," Lana introduced us, putting me on the spot without any thought.

"Oh, hi," I say, waving my hand awkwardly to her. She steps forward and holds my hand excitedly.

"I hope we all get along."