Two

As soon as I took a step into the store, the smell of old book pages filled my nostrils and I inhaled. The smell of old books is probably one of my favorite smells in the entire world. To my right was a wall lined with bookshelves, along with a rolling ladder. I walked farther into the bookstore, passing the smiling girl at the front desk. I glanced at her and smiled back, but then looked back in the direction I was heading. I came to a small hallway, with bookshelves on either side. I peered down the hall and realized all the walls were lined with bookshelves. It was like a bookshelf maze. 

I carefully stepped up onto the creaky, wooden step, and slowly walked further, viewing as many books as I was able to as if it were an art museum. The floor was layered with old rugs, which looked like they had been there forever. As I walked, I noticed lots of classic titles I’d read before: How To Kill a Mockingbird, the Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice, … The classics. 

I saw an old, velvet, red book that didn’t appear to have a title. It looked intriguing, so I slid it out of the shelf and opened the front cover. Hmm. It seemed to be written in Shakespearean. I looked up and noticed a room to my right. I looked back down at the book and turned the corner into the room lined with more bookshelves. I read the first line: 

 

BISHOP OF CANTERBURY  
My lord, I’ll tell you that self-bill is urged 
Which in tph’ eleventh year of the last king’s reign... 

 
Henry V. I recognized the play from when Nick brought it home to read for his AP English class last year. I read some more lines.  

 

...Was like and had indeed against us passed 
But that the scambling and unquiet time 
Did push it out of farther question. 

 

I started walking forward, until my footsteps stopped. I looked up at the person I bumped into. A boy, not much older than me.  

 

“Sorry,” I mumbled.  

The boy was standing on a step leading into another room, which made him look taller than me. His skin was paler than mine and his short, wavy, platinum hair, sat messily on top of his head. He was wearing a grey, long sleeve shirt and he wore a thin chain necklace.  

I looked up at his slim face and sky blue eyes. He looked down at the book I was holding. 

 

Then he said with a British accent, “That’s Shakespeare. Right?” He looked back up at me. “You know Shakespeare was gay?” 

“Actually,” I started as I put the book back in its location. Then I looked back at the boy and stepped up onto the same step he was standing on. I was now taller than him, but not by much. 

“Shakespeare’s homosexuality was only suspected,” I replied. 

He began to reply, but I twisted my body so I could step to the side of him, and walked farther into the room, which led to another hallway. 

 

 

~ 

 

 

On Sunday, we went to mass in a small white church near our house. The same one we passed yesterday on our way into town. I’ve never liked going to church, although this chapel was beautiful. The small choir sung from a rose-gold balcony and the ceiling was pink, and there was a big mural of angels frolicking in clouds painted behind where the bishop stood. The pews also had pink floral cushions that we sat on. 

Finally, Monday arrived. It was the first day at my new high school. I threw on a black sweater and walked outside to sit in the passenger seat of the SUV. My parents made Nick drive us, which was unfortunate because he was a terrible driver. When we arrived at school, we parked in front of a large brick building, just like every other building I’d seen in Arlington Heights. There were many windows at the front of the building, and beneath them, letters that read, Arlington High.  

I got out of the car, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and started walking toward the doors. When I entered, the first thing I noticed was the brick wall to my left, lined with dozens of potted plants, and behind them, a staircase leading up. Students crowded around tables in the cafeteria. I pulled my schedule out of the side pocket of my backpack and searched it like a map for my first class. Then I started up the staircase.  

 

My first four classes flew by in the blink of an eye. Algebra 2, Astronomy, English, and Robotics. It was time for lunch, so I walked downstairs into the cafeteria, searching for anyone who looked like they wouldn’t mind if I sat at their table. Suddenly, I felt someone elbow me. I looked down and saw a girl who I had in one of my classes.  

 

“Hey, we have the same English class. You’re new right?”  

I nodded and she replied, “Sit with us then.” 

I hesitated. I didn’t want to sit with her. She had long fiery red hair and she had open holes in her ears, clearly from gauges. She seemed like the type of person who would be loud and extroverted. Not my kind of people. But I shrugged. After all, I’d told myself I wanted a fresh start.  

I followed her through a maze of tables until we reached the back of the cafeteria. There was another guy sitting at the table, waiting. He had short, dark, kinky hair that sat atop his head. He also had a slight mustache that surprisingly suited him well. He was wearing black jeans and a blood-orange, oversized sweater.  

The girl sat next to him, and they started making out. I hesitantly slid into the bench across from them. She was wearing a plain black tank and pink ripped jeans. They finally stopped kissing, and the boy looked at me.  

 

“Who’s this?” he asked.  

“Sorry,” the girl said. “This is...” 

“Riley,” I replied. She repeated my name, as if deciding whether she liked it. Her dark eyes decorated with perfect winged eyeliner shifted upwards as she smiled again. 

“Nice to meet you Riley,” the boy said. “I’m Adrian, and this is Valerie.” 

Valerie’s face suddenly scrunched up. “No one calls me that. Call me Val.” 

“And this is Gideon,” Adrian continued. Suddenly, I sensed someone standing to the right of me. I looked up, and a boy was looking down at me. The same boy from the bookstore. 

“Hey G, this is Riley.” 

Gideon, which I guess was his name, looked at me, and then at Val. “I know, we’ve met.” Then he looked back at me. “Nice to see you again, Shakespeare.” 

“Don’t call me that,” I replied. 

Today, he was wearing a plain blue shirt and the same chain necklace. He slid into the spot next to me. I realized that on the pendant was a lion, something I hadn’t noticed the other day. 

 

“So,” Val started. “How are you liking Arlington Heights so far?” 

I hesitated. “It’s okay, I guess.”  

“What about Arlington High?” asked Adrian. “Man, I hate this dump.” 

I shrugged and moved my plastic fork around in my mushy lunch.  

Val inched closer to me and lowered her voice. “Okay, we need to let you in on everybody.” She glanced at Adrian, and he grinned. “First; there’s the junkies. Just stay clear of them.”  

 

A tall girl with long brown hair passed our table, her pink heels clicking after her.  

 

“And you gotta be aware of her. Jessica Reed,” Adrian added, leaning in just as Val was. “She’s been passed around. Slept with the whole football team and then some. I mean, if she’s your type, go for it.”  

He backed away from the table and threw up his hands in defeat, before making evil eyes toward Jessica. “But the b***h is no-good, lemme tell you.” 

I noticed Gideon was silent. “What? Did you sleep with her?” I asked.  

He looked at me, and grinned. He glanced at Val and Adrian, who were also grinning at each other. 

He chuckled and then looked back at me. “No, I’m gay.”  

Makes sense. I’d wondered if Gideon was gay when I met him in the bookstore. He seemed a bit too cheery and flamboyant to be straight.