The morning passed in a foggy haze, Beck was there but he wasn’t. His mind was on the morning in the class and by now word had gotten around like wildfire that for the third (and probably final time) Beck and Jade were over. It felt strange, kind of like phantom limb syndrome: the relationship was over but for some reason Beck’s mind wasn’t fully on board with the decision. He sat in class and tossed the words around, over and over, it had startled and kind of amazed him that he was able to say such things and a part of him hated himself for saying them, he had seen her face and it had been more than just shock and awe there. Still, it had to be done. Or so he kept telling himself.
Finally, lunch. Thanks to classroom proximity he was able to get his lunch and an empty table as it started to slowly fill up. The emptiness was gone in just under two minutes. “BECK!” He sighed heavily and braced himself for the tornado that was Trina Vega. The sound of heels across the pavement before she just about crashed into him, straightening up a bit, Beck doing his best to pretend like she wasn’t there. Easier said than done. “So, rumor has it you are single.” Beck stayed quite and slowly worked on his sandwich, still doing his best to ignore her. “Because it just so happens that I am single too-I know, how someone like me is single is truly a crime. And as for you being single…well, talk about a crime of the century” she moved closer and Beck moved further away. “I will wear you down. Someday you will love me!” With that, she sprang up from the table and rushed off, nearly knocking Andre over as he made his way to the table, sitting next to Beck. The two shared a look, a shake of Beck’s head and a nod from Andre was all the communication the two needed.
Andre was quiet, focused on his food, Beck too, thought he paid no attention to what he was eating, it could have been sandpaper and it wouldn’t have mattered. His eyes drifted up wearily when he saw the back of her, all black, naturally, Andre was attempting to speak but Beck brushed it off. “It’s fine, I was done anyways” he said as he carried his tray away, dumping what remained of his food before he walked out of the quad and into the school. He leaned against his locker and sighed. Everything should have been easier, right? He and Jade were over. So why did life seem to still be difficult and close to impossible to deal with?
Fearing for their own wellbeing, students automatically cleared out of her way as Jade stormed down the hall and to the janitor’s closet. Ripping the door open and slamming it shut behind her, she paced back and forth; fuming as the occasional curse word escaped between heavy breaths. Regaining some coolness, she sat down on the floor and pulled out her choice of scissors for the day. Since childhood, Jade had always enjoyed being in dimly lit, small spaces. They calmed her. And thus, the janitor’s closet had become her go-to place for whenever she needed privacy while at school. Going at her first victim, an empty canister of what looked to previously had contained floor cleaner, she violently started cutting away - dissecting Becks words while doing so.
After having gone through two empty canisters, one dust pan and a manual for something she hadn’t bothered looking into, Jade was still no way near having found the answers she so desperately sought. Maybe this really is it, she concluded, but quickly discarded the thought, not feeling ready for what that actually would mean. Biting the inside of her cheek, she checked the time on her phone. It was lunch time. And even though she wasn’t particularly hungry, for obvious reasons, she decided it wise to try and eat something anyway.
The Asphalt Café was painfully crowded when she arrived. And having had quite the day up till now, she did not have the patience to scour for an empty place to sit - so with her salad steadily balancing on her tray, she walked up to a somewhat secluded table surrounded by freshmen. “Beat it!” she barked, causing them all to scatter away instantly. Upon sitting down, she saw him. Or rather the back of him as he walked away. Firm footsteps increasing the distance between them yet again. Jade blinked as uncontrollable tears were starting to form in her eyes.