Amber Eyes (4 page)

Then I feared she’d entered the restroom for some other reason. Maybe she only wanted to use the toilet and it was a coincidence we happened to be here at once. Was my mind rushing?

Jenny moved a step forward. Her hands took mine and she embraced me, pushing my arms behind me. We staggered a coupla steps backwards until I leaned on the wall, feeling its cold tiles against my back. My body’s temperature rose fast —I could feel it bloom in my face and ears. My heartbeat skyrocketed.

“Jen… Jenny,” I stammered. “Somebody may come in…”

Her lips curved upwards into an impish smile. “I locked it,
Aaleksss
.”

Aaleksss
. A thrill traveled my body. I couldn’t help yielding to the compelling seduction in her voice. Her face stood an inch away from mine, her arms wrapped me, and our lips brushed each other.

“This… this is not right,” I mumbled, praying she would insist on the contrary. I so very wanted it to happen, whatever it might be despite the disconnection between my heart and my brain. My heart didn’t mind whether it was right or wrong. My brain kept warning me it could be dangerous.

“Is that a problem?”

Neither of us was breathing. Jenny stood frozen, her lips on mine, waiting only for my go-ahead signal. I was frozen too. Inside me, my mind struggled to restrain myself from acting out my wish.

I breathed in and whispered, “No, it isn’t.” Then I leaned forward and pressed my lips hard against Jenny’s.

I can’t tell which of us reacted with more heated passion. We first kissed on the lips, then we bit each other, then our tongues got involved in a tempest. Jenny held my hands behind me, which felt like I was fettered to the wall, a sensation as strange as exciting. Without being able to use my hands, I had to thrust my body forward, embedding my mouth in Jenny’s. I squeezed my lips against hers.

Jenny kept shoving me back toward the wall every time I thrust forward, resulting in an almost painful exchange of wild kisses. My sunglasses fell to the floor. I could hardly breathe, though it didn’t matter. What mattered was Jenny loved me, and that I’d found a good girl to take care of me. The memory of my mom ditching me and the pain it caused faded away. I had Jenny now. Even the fact we were at school and I had a class to attend, faded in the haze that had overtaken my mind.

Jenny liked me and cared about me—no, she really loved me. I was enjoying her like nothing else on Earth, the first time ever somebody was treasuring the real me. Jenny kissed my neck and then bit it—I craned it so it’d be easier for her. I closed my eyes and bit my lips, enjoying the soft tickling.

She unbuttoned my blouse with an ability and speed that made me raise an eyebrow. Down from my neck, she kissed me and bit me, moving downward toward my boobs. In my mind, I prayed she wouldn’t be disappointed once she removed my bra.

Heavy knocking on the door startled us. “Open up!”

Jenny backed off two steps and stared at me. For one second, neither of us talked. Her upper lip was beaded with sweat. All I could concentrate on was on her rosy face and sparkling eyes, so it took me time to realize we’d just been busted.

“Open up!” More banging on the door.

We were doomed. It was some teacher who would report us. I would end up confronted by the school’s social worker and she’d find out Mom had run away. She’d probably send me to a foster home, which scared the hell out of me. Anything would be better than a foster home; even Yago’s place would be a paradise by comparison.

“Your blouse.” Jenny cried in a whisper. “Button up on your blouse. I’m gonna unlock the door.”

Before anything else, I picked up my dark sunglasses and put them on. Then I turned towards the wall and started buttoning up. My fingers were so clumsy I couldn’t do it, not one single button. I felt my fingers numb. I was so nervous!

Jenny unlocked the door and was thrown backwards by three girls storming into the restroom: Clara Benson, Sierra McNamara and Carla Gutierrez.

“Gosh!” Clara exclaimed. “You guys were being naughty, weren’t you? I was sure you were the one locked in here, Zimmerman.” She turned to Jenny and scowled. “You disappoint me, Edwards. I thought you’d have better taste. Everybody suspects you’re into girls, but… Zimmerman? Couldn’t you find anyone better?”

Sierra had cornered me. I cringed between her and the wall, my blouse still open and my bra askew. She was holding her cell phone in one hand. “Clara, I told you we should have waited a bit more. Five more minutes and we’d catch them with their panties down. Now there’s nothing to picture except the smallest boobs on Earth.” She aimed her phone at me and grimaced. “Nobody would believe us. They’d say it’s a photo of a guy wearing a bra.”

“Then let’s find out if Zimmerman wears panties or guy briefs.” Clara seemed amused. “Rip her pants off.”

Jenny reacted immediately. “Don’t you dare.”

Clara confronted her. She was way taller than Jenny. She sneered, “Whose gonna stop us, Edwards? You? Alone? Because this pathetic lesbo you were raping here will chicken out—”

Jenny grabbed Clara by the collar like guys do when they fight and shoved her against the wall. Clara’s head crashed on the tiles with a hard thud and she was stunned for several seconds. Jenny closed her fist and hit Clara’s nose, then she backed off. Her hand was covered in blood same as Clara’s face.

Clara squealed. “Bitch!”

She took both hands to her face and collapsed, crouching on the restroom’s floor. Blood flowed, staining her T-shirt and low-rise jeans. Sierra and Carla flew by her side and pulled her up by the armpits.

“Come on,” Sierra said. “We’ll take you to the infirmary.” She turned to Jenny. “We’ll report you, bitch. You’re a criminal now, did you know?”

Jenny had pulled out her cell phone and was taking pictures of Clara’s bloody face and crocked nose. Bet Jenny had broken it.

“Do it McNamara, and these pictures will be all over Facebook and YouTube. And I mean it.”

Clara left a trace of fat, bloody drops as she exited with her two bully-boys at each side of her. Both of them turned their faces menacingly toward us until the restroom door flung closed.

Then silence. I could only hear the dripping faucet. Everything had happened so fast I thought I’d image it all. It had happened, though. I cringed against the wall, only now being able to button up my blouse.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Jenny snapped.

In three seconds, she washed her hands and made sure no bloody traces remained on the sink. She grabbed my arm and dragged me after her, bolting out of the restroom into the empty, silent hall. Our running steps echoed like thunder. We exited the hall into a patio we crossed in a rush and only stopped until we reached the baseball field gate.

Excitement filled me up. In a scene that had lasted less than two minutes, I’d witnessed Jenny tackling the school’s number one bully just to protect me.
To protect me
. Nobody had ever done that before. It made me feel like the most important person in the world. We had a strong bond no matter what. It took us a minute or two to catch our breath. I hugged her hard. “Jenny, you’re awesome!”

She hugged me too and we stood in each other’s arms for what seemed an eternity. When we parted, she put her hands on my shoulders.

“Listen to me.” She looked straight into my sunglasses. “Today is the last day of school. If Benson reports us, it’s better if they don’t find us here. Whatever happens, it won’t happen until September when we’re back and by then things will have cooled down.”

“I’m not afraid. I’m with you.”

Jenny frowned a bit. “Listen to me. Get the hell out of here, and I mean it—now. Go back to your home and stay there until I come for you. Benson may actually look for you during the next days, even near your home.”

“I’m guessing she doesn’t know where I live. She’s way too posh to wander near my trailer park. Don’t think I’m afraid. I’m with you.”

“You’re not listening, Alex.” Jenny was far more excited than I, still gasping a bit, and her face was red. “We won’t be meeting during the next week. This evening, I’ll be leaving for my aunt’s place in Louisiana.”

Disappointment stabbed me. Our life as girlfriends had just kicked off in the most exciting possible way and now its next chapter had to be postponed. It was not fair. Yago wouldn’t arrive from work until early in the evening. We could well lock ourselves in his trailer while the twins play outside. Was that an option?

“Stop making faces, Alex.” Jenny’s tone sounded like a teacher’s. “It’s not that I want to go. My parents are practically kidnapping me, but we’ll be back on July 5. So, listen to me: go straight to your home now and stay there until I’m back. Don’t call me on the cell phone, you couldn’t. My aunt lives in the middle of a swampy place called the Bayou and the signal is forever weak there. I’ll try to call you if I find a good signal. Check my Facebook posts every day… well, if I can find a decent Wi-Fi signal in that crap of a town.” She caressed my cheek and then passed her thumb over my lips. I tasted again her bittersweet flavor that made me long for the rest of her skin in far more intimate spots. She put her hand back on my shoulder. “Don’t, and I mean it, don’t leave your home until I’m back. I don’t want to find out they waited for you outside your trailer and beat you up. Understood?”

I nodded. Inside, I felt glad. She worried so much about me, she’d just turned into my hero. Her blonde hair shone under the sun, and her loop earrings cast bright reflections like she was some kind of fairy. I couldn’t resist her lips, still somehow crimson and puffy, so I leaned forward and kissed her, softly biting them. Then I pulled back. Jenny blushed.

“We don’t have to rush,
Aaleksss
. There’s plenty of time. Meanwhile, do this for me: stay alive and well.”

July 1

Early on the next day, despite Jenny’s warnings, I rushed with the twins to the nearest K-Mart—without Mom at home, our fridge remained permanently empty. Twice, I checked whether the coast was clear because Jenny could have been right. Luckily, Clara and her gang were nowhere to be seen, so the twins and I climbed into this overcrowded bus. This old woman was sitting in front of us and she must have thought her ticket was for half of the bus, because she’d taken the two seats on either side of her, putting thousands of supermarket bags on them. She scattered even more bags on the floor, making it impossible for the people to stand in the aisle. By people, I mean yours truly, the twins and one zillion riders pushing like hell from behind. To cap it all, I had to grip the pole with both hands because the maniac driver sped like crazy, seeming to hit every pothole and speed bump. Any rider, who didn’t have a good grip on the poles, risked bouncing inside the bus like in a spacecraft in free-fall.

With the twins clasping each of my legs as if their lives depended on it, I doubled the strength of my grip on the pole and stared out the window. Out of the blue, this red convertible flew past our bus, honking like crazy. I bet the guy was practicing to be a NASCAR driver. The bus swerved, I was thrown towards the window, and my sunglasses fell off my face. Another swerve. I was thrown again and the old woman’s nose popped in front of mine.

“Watch out, boy!” she yelled, raising her hands between us.

I hauled myself back into an upright position, squeezing the pole while the twins crushed each of my legs.

“You’re not driving cattle!” somebody shouted at the driver. “It’s people you’ve gotten back here!”

The old woman picked-up my sunglasses and handed them to me.

“Wow! Pretty amber eyes you’ve got, boy,” she exclaimed. A huge grin appeared on her face. She ogled me, not blinking at all and opened her mouth wide.

Oh no! It was happening again. “You shouldn’t hide such pretty eyes behind sunglasses. Are these lovely twins your brothers? Hey kids, tell your older brother what lovely eyes he’s gotten.”

“Thanks ma’am.” Anyway, I hastily put on the specs because I didn’t want the hag to stare, no matter how appealing my eyes seemed to her. She did, despite the sunglasses, without blinking or shutting her mouth. Bet she’d start drooling in no time. It was so freakin’ pathetic! I wanted to tell her to get lost. I raised my nose and tried to ignore her.

“She thinks you’re a boy, Alex, but you ain’t got a peepee,” Louis said in his goody-two-shoes kid voice. Then both twins started to giggle and I sighed.

Yes, I was aware I looked very much like a boy. From Jenny to the bullies, to my missing mom, to this old woman, everybody had volunteered the same observation within the last two weeks. I’d gotten mixed emotions each time somebody pointed it out. All my life I’d thought I enjoyed being a girl, yet this certainty had blurred lately. Being a girl was too complicated. Mom, for example. She kept dating guys and even moving in with them only to be ditched and start all over again with another guy. What for? Could that be called a life?

Makeup, fashion, flirting, boys and dating, the period—all that was way too complicated to deal with. Being a boy was easier. Clothes and fashion orbited far away from them. They only wore blue jeans and a tee, and most of them didn’t even bother to comb their hair. They never worried about girls, they just picked one, asked her for a date, and went back to their friends boasting how basic it’d been. Gossip was unknown to them—they didn’t even know the word ‘gossip’ existed.

I didn’t dislike being taken for a boy. Jenny hadn’t developed a crush on Clara, the hottest cheerleader of them all. Or on Sierra, the provocative, beach volleyball player ever in mini-shorts. No. She’d developed a crush on me, the tomboy.

After a while, the old woman stopped gawking at me and shut her mouth. A melancholic smile appeared on her face. Thank God. It sucked to have her staring at me with her pupils so enlarged. That was why I always wore dark sunglasses.

# # #

The rest of the day sucked. The twins took my dark sunglasses and I couldn’t find them. Being without them made me feel awkward and from time to time, the twins would stare at my eyes in reverie until I told them to get lost. Yago came home pissed from work and fussed all dinner long. He called me a bitch even when he asked me for the salt. It was pretty humiliating, but I silently endured. The twins behaved worse than ever, not willing to eat. They spilled their food, which amused their father rather than making him angry. Unbelievable! And my dark sunglasses remained missing.