I met Louis after class. He stared me down, and I wondered if Lestat had indeed informed him of
my romantic interest.
“Must you come to baseball practice? It’s weird. It’s like you’re my stalker.”
“I’m the sports journalist for the school paper, my presence is actually required.”
“I don’t think so. You could interview the team, like, literally whenever. You don’t take
pictures.”
“Not for the paper.”
“What?!!?”
“What?”
He blew a bubble with his bubblegum.
“You’re not supposed to chew gum at school.”
“K” He popped his bubble and blew another one.
I turned to leave, to investigate something else. He reappeared in front of me.
“You’re definitely supposed to poof at school.”
“It’s called misting, you’re just jealous.”
I couldn’t breath. He had that affect on me.
“Well?”
I stood stunned.
“I don’t want you to be at practice tonight. It’s weird. You can just stalk me at school. That’s
a reasonable request.”
I kept my mouth shut. I neither agreed or disagreed with his argument.
Later that day, I was watching to baseball team do their warm-up stretches. It was hot, and
the heat and the sun made them glisten with sweat while they did one hundred windmills.
“You were specifically requested not to come.”
I froze, and noticed a large shadow cast all around my person. I peered up behind, and was
peering up the nostrils of Lestat. He blew a bubble with his bubblegum.
“Hello”
“Miss, this isn’t a joke.”
“Why can’t I be here. I think it makes a lot of sense for me to be here. I’m doing journalism,
and its a nice view.”
He lifted me up under my arm pits and carried me off the bleachers. While I dangled in the
air, I clarified his situation for him.
“OK, so I’m sixteen. And I’m guessing your are MUCH MUCH older than that. So this is
definitely aggravated assault of a minor. Furthermore, if I go and tell the principal how you are
treating me, as a student, WITH a press pass, you will no longer be allowed on school property. So,
whenever you decide to kindly set me down, we can talk about how you are going to tell me a story
to report on for the school newspaper, so I don’t press charges. Or I could just call my cousins. No
need to get the police involved.”
He stopped walking. Drew in a deep sigh, and gently set me down.
“What were the requirements for this story?” He started chewing his bubble gum again.
Angrily, no bubbles were being made.
“Something that can go on the record, and when it gets published it makes students want to
buy the paper, so that I can get extra credit, and seal in my A for this class this semester.”
He ran his hand through his hair, knocking off his baseball cap. He gritted his gum between
his front teeth and hissed at me.
“Fine.”
“We can sit here”
“We can go sit on the picnic table over there. I’m not going to sit on the ground.”
“Fine.”We both used our feet to walk to the picnic table and sit down. I got out my pen and
notebook, poised to take notes, while Lestat held his head between his knees.
“Once, a long long time ago. I loved a woman, and she was my world. And she betrayed
me…”
“This is for a high school newspaper, not a bodice ripper harlequin, can we focus? Like, did
you ever eat somebody that put up a good fight?”
Lestat laid back on the picnic table.
“For what crime am I suffering this punishment?”
“You are being very dramatic.”
“I am being appropriately emotive, considering the present company.”
“Thanks.”
“Fine, you wished for a story, and I have to do this because of my own actions.”
“Yep, you assaulted me.”
“One time in Boston, I found a guy, and I was hungry, and he fought me, and I got blood on
the alley walls. I really try to be tidier when I eat, and I left a big mess, and I had to avoid Boston
for like thirty years.”
“Wow.”
“There you go.”
“Thanks. I’ll go flesh this out.”
“You’re welcome. Now you can just follow Louis during school hours, got it?”
“OK. Does he have cool stories too?”
“Tons.”
“OK, bye.”
Comments
Post a Comment