The Star Group (3 page)

Love, Daniel

She was taking her time writing in my book, and I wondered if I should have said more. I disliked butting in on other people's business, but I couldn't stand the thought of their breaking up. Or Shena and Jimmy for that matter. I was a hopeless romantic. Teri finally gave me back my book, but when I went to read her inscription she stopped me.

“Not in front of me,” she said. “I get embarrassed.”

“You think so little of me?”

She raised up on her toes and kissed me on the cheek.

“I think more of you than you can imagine,” she whispered in my ear.

She left me then, to chase after our English teacher, Mr. Ramirez. Although not number one in our class, Teri had to give a speech as salutatorian. Mr. Ramirez was probably going to help her with it. She said she had not even begun to write it. Like I believed that. As she walked away, I opened the book and read her note.

Daniel,

I have a recurring dream about you that I've never told you about. We are sailing through outer space in a ship made of light and you are sitting in the captain's chair and the simple fact that you're there comforts me. Because in this dream I'm scared. We are on an adventure that I know is filled with danger, but in this dream, each time I look at you, I know that you are there to help. And each day that I see you at school, I feel that this is true. You are magical, you have to find a way to share that magic with the rest of us.

I love ya. I really do.

Teri

I wasn't given a chance to savor the message, to try to figure out what she was really saying, because Shena was walking toward me then. I couldn't help but stare at her as she did so. Those scars – how deep did they have to cut? If I had a million dollars, I would have given it all to the best plastic surgeon in the world if he could fix her even a little.

It was the left side of Shena's face that was the worst. When the battery had exploded, the acid drenched that side, and there had been no water available to wipe it off. Indeed, Jimmy and Gale had made the mistake, while rushing Shena to the hospital, of keeping the wounds covered with a cloth that was lying in the car. In other words, they had kept the acid on the skin and allowed it to do its worst. I had given Jimmy a bad time about such a stupid move, but he had just mumbled something about how they had been in shock.

The left side of Shena's face was not only seriously scarred, the skin had changed color. On the twisted mass of tissue near her left eye, the skin was dark purple. But around the left side of her mouth it was flame red. Her cheek was orange. I didn't understand why, but had heard Jimmy tell someone that her makeup had melted into her flesh.

Shena was permanently blind in her left eye.

She smiled as she approached; it was a sad smile.

“Did Teri sign your book?” she asked as she gave me a quick hug.

“Yeah. She wrote that I'm better in bed than Sal. Think he'll mind?”

Shena tried to hold on to her smile. “Friends should share everything.”

“Wow. A liberal chick, I like it. Can I sign your book?”

“Not yet, I'm not ready to sign yours. I have to think up something juicy.” She paused. “I heard about what you did this morning.”

“Pretty crazy, huh?”

She looked away and spoke quietly. “I wish I had your guts.”

I was careful. “What would you do?”

She glanced at me. “You don't want to know.”

“Shena...” I began.

She shrugged. “Don't say it, I know you mean well.” Again she paused, “Did Jimmy try to shoot the pier today?”

“No. He's not insane.”

“Sure. He has a lot to live for.” She changed the subject, thank God. “Are you going to ask Gale out today?”

“Going to try.” Big pause. “Do you think she'll say yes.”

“I've been telling you forever that I can scope her out for you. But you don't want me to.”

“I actually do want you to, but I think I'd be a chicken if I did.”

Shena nodded, studied me with her good eye. “I think she likes you. If she doesn't, she's a fool.”

“It's amazing how many pretty girls in this school are fools.”

Shena gave me a real smile, and it was nice to see. She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek – hopefully it was to be a day filled with kisses. Everyone was happy it was the last day of school but sad as well. Shena had three pictures in the yearbook, all of her before her accident. She had been the prettiest girl in the school.

“I love you,” she said with feeling.

I was touched. “You have a lot of love inside you.”

She drew back and shook her head. Shook away the smile.

“There's nothing left inside me,” she said.

That sort of killed the conversation, to put it mildly. We chatted a minute more, but I could tell she had slipped back into that place filled with tall mirrors that never vanished, even when the lights went out. Even in the night, I was sure, she would awaken to feel her face.

First period was calling, the bell was ringing. Surfing never made me late to Mr. Ramirez's English class because I loved it. The subject matter was a mere formality. We read books and stuff, but mainly we explored what mattered to us, whether it was music, painting, studying, or even relationships. Ramirez was totally loose—anything was cool, as long as you did it with passion. Still, he favored books above all else, and of course I did as well. Ramirez had us write daily in a journal, which only he read. I often wrote him excerpts from my stories, which he loved. It was Ramirez who gave me confidence in my writing. He told everyone who would listen that I was going to be on
The New York Times
bestseller list within five years of graduating.

I had also written him about my unrequited love for Gale.

He called me aside ten minutes into class. Nothing was happening anyway, other than our partying. We went outside and sat under a tree. He had his acoustic guitar, I swore it was going to get him fired. The other teachers weren't crazy about his unorthodox teaching style.

He, too, had heard about me shooting the pier. I swear Jimmy must have taken out an ad announcing the fact. Ramirez wanted to know what had possessed me.

“I just did it. It was something I wanted to do since I started surfing.”

“But Sal said the wave was close to twenty feet. That near the pier, you could have got killed.”

“The wave will reach forty feet by the end of the day. Anyway, I don't plan on doing it again soon, if that's what you're worried about.”

Ramirez was short and stocky, with intense dark eyes. I wouldn't say he was handsome, but half the girls in school were in love with him anyway. He was only twenty-eight but seemed older because he appeared so wise. He flashed a rare smile at my remark.

“I was just wondering about your motivation.”

I laughed. “I'm not suicidal.”

He acted relieved, but it was only an act. “Are you going to ask out Gale today?”

I was feeling the pressure. “Everyone keeps asking. I wish she'd ask me.” I paused. “Does she ever mention me in her journals?”

“That's not fair.” He changed the subject. “Some of the teachers are going to Disneyland tonight with you kids. I'm bringing my family. My wife Sally wants to meet you. I've let her read your stories, I hope you don't mind.”

“I don't mind
if
she liked them. That's great. I'd like to meet your family.”

He patted me on the arm and held my eye. “It's been nice having you in my class. You're going to do something important for the world, Daniel, I know it.”

I didn't know what to say. Something important? Important was not always good. Hitler had been important. So was the hydrogen bomb. The compliment disturbed me. Now, looking back, I think it was an omen.

CHAPTER FOUR

GALE WASN'T IN HISTORY AND I FEARED that she had skipped the last day. But I caught sight of her at lunch eating by herself under a tree. Gale often brought her lunch from home and ate in solitude, which I naturally thought was sexy of her. She had many friends, yet no boyfriend.

Gale was a quiet beauty. Her hair was the color of fading sunshine, her lips as sweet as fresh strawberries. Well, in reality she had blondish brown hair and she did in fact have nice lips. I don't know, maybe she wasn't beautiful, I was the wrong one to ask. Her demeanor was gentle, that was for sure, and she had lovely green eyes. Her body I unfortunately didn't know much about, except that it looked nice from a distance. Yet I knew for a fact that she had wonderful skin. I had touched her hand once, when she wasn't looking.

I hyperventilated for five minutes and said a few prayers to the Virgin Mary and a couple of lesser known deities before I walked up to her. She shielded her eyes from the sun as I approached. I liked that, I had my yearbook in hand, an excuse in case all else failed. She had on baggy white shorts and a red top. Her legs were lightly tanned, totally acceptable. My yearbook had developed a case of the jitters; I had to hold it down with both hands.

“I'm sorry, I can't see who you are,” she said in her sweet Gale voice.

“It's Mel Gibson. Daniel, I mean, it's me.”

She patted the grass beside her. “Sit down and get out of the glare. It's giving me a headache.”

I sat beside her; the ground felt firm and unshakable. I forced a casual smile that felt like a painful grimace. She was chewing on an orange and looking at me as if I were a nice guy, a nice,
friendly
guy, but not someone she'd want to take her clothes off with and make passionate love to. It wasn't a smart idea to think of her naked being so close to her. The image did nothing to loosen my tongue. I kept right on smiling as if I had tiny nails drilled into the corners of my brain. Thankfully she was enjoying her orange. She nodded at my yearbook.

“I haven't picked mine up yet,” she said.

“That's terrible,” I said. Perhaps I said it with too much passion, because she raised a quizzical eyebrow.

“I m going to get it in a few minutes,” she said.

“OK.”

“Did you go to class today?”

“History, yeah.”

“What did we do?” she asked.

“Nothing.”

“I didn't miss anything?”

“No.”

“That's good,” she said.

“Yeah.”

She was almost done with her orange, the pressure was intense now. I knew I had to say something witty soon or else risk a lifetime of loneliness. Ordinarily I'm a pretty funny guy, but just looking at her shorted the left hemisphere of my brain. I wasn't sure if I was relieved or not when she smiled – she may have been laughing at me.

“What are you doing, Daniel?” she asked, when I didn't say anything.

I blinked. “Nothing. I'm just tired.”

She nodded. “I heard you were up early surfing.”

Gale had heard something about me and remembered the fact? Had stored the details away in her adorable little head? I was stunned, really, it was almost as if she had told me she loved me. I'm an easy-to-please kind of guy, and her comment gave me a mountain of confidence.

“Sal and Jimmy and I went to Huntington Beach early,” I said. “The surf was up.”

She gave me a serious look. “I heard about your heroics.”

“Who told you?”

“A dozen people.” She paused. “You must have been out of your mind.”

Over you. I shrugged. “Sometimes I feel a little wild.”

She liked that. “How come you never talked to me all year?”

Shrugs are safe. “I don't know, I guess I didn't want to bother you.”

She finished the last of her orange and wiped her hands on the grass.

“I thought you didn't like me,” she said. “I thought you thought I was stuck up.”

I shook my head violently. “Not at all, you're not the least bit stuck up. You're – you're nice.”

“You don't even know me.”

“Well, I heard you're nice, from kids who do know you.”

“Have you been asking about me?”

“No.” I felt brave, the tube was opening, the sun was visible. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I just – well, I just was wondering is all. What you were like.”

She mocked me, for fun. “You never talked to me in four years. How do I know
you're
not stuck up?”

I managed a smile that didn't look like something stitched on.

“Except for you, everyone in our class thinks I'm totally cool. If not for my lousy grades, I would be giving the valedictorian speech today.”

“Your lousy clothes are also a problem,” she said bluntly.

That took me aback. “What's wrong with my clothes?”

“They look secondhand.”

The ones I was wearing were—my family didn't have a lot of money. “I'm not interested in such superficial stuff.”

“Bullshit. You need a new haircut as well. You look like your father cuts your hair.”

I looked her in the eye; it was make it or break it time. “My father does cut my hair. But if you don't like it, you're more than welcome to cut it next time.”

Gale considered, her green eyes large. Her skin was flushed with blood. She looked so alive right then, as if she had just been born.

“I could get into that,” she said, and reached over and ran her hand through my hair. “Where do you live, Danny?”

She could call me Danny if she wanted, there was nothing wrong with the name. My mother's bingo partners called me Danny. Her fingers seemed to caress every erogenous zone in my body with that one quick pass.

“On Lucinda,” I said, “You know where It is?”

“Yeah.” A pause, she took her hand back. “Do you know where I live?”

I did, as a matter of fact, nice place to drive by late at night and dream about.

“No,” I said.

“I live on Birch, near the fire station.”

“Oh. I know where that is. Nice street.”

She dug a sandwich out of her bag. “Do you like tuna fish?”

“Yeah.” I hated it.

“I hate it.” She offered me her sandwich, “Do you want it?”

“I just ate.”

“Lunch just started. When did you eat?”

“In history class. If you had been there, instead of ditching, you would have seen.”