Chapter Fifteen:
Fujisaki High School:
Thursday, 8.45am:
“All right you guys,” she announces in a loud voice. “Unfurl it and let him
have a look!”
Like trained soldiers on parade, four of the Press club members begin to
unravel the large banner, walking towards the ends of the room as it seems to
go on forever. Finally, they come to a stop and all look at me with expectation
while I try not to gawk in surprise at the white cloth with the dark blue words
‘LET KAMUI STAY!’ blazoned across it. Even a blind man would have been able to
see the sign from miles away. It was that big and loud, if you know what
I mean. I’ve got to give it to Relena though. She really does know how to pull
out all the stops when she puts her mind to it.
“So? So?” she says peering at me with hands clasped. “It took us the entire
evening and early this morning to get enough ink to print it. It’s putting a
dent in our budget but we did a good job, right? There’s plenty of white space
around the letters for students to sign and as you can see, some of us have
even started already. So? What do you think?”
I begin to nod slowly, a small smile coming to my lips as I watch their eyes
light up with pleasure. “You did great, Relena. I couldn’t have envisioned it
any better.” Leaning close to place a soft kiss of gratitude on her cheek, she
laughs and claps her hands together.
“Great job, guys! Anyone else who hasn’t signed yet? Get it done now so we can
pass it around to the others. Eh…just how did you want this to be done,
Heero? This banner’s way too big to be carting it around the school…”
“We’ll put it outside…pavilion area,” I reply, thinking quickly. “That way
students going in and out of the building can sign it.”
“Sweet. I’ll put two of my members on hourly shifts to make sure no one goes
about writing crap on it. All right, you heard the man, let’s do this!”
With another thumbs up sign of appreciation, I make my way out of the room, now
wondering if this hair-brained idea of mine is going to work at all. The
banner’s large enough to put outside the hospital and if I take a few students
with me, I’m sure we’re bound to convince Mr. Teruo to let his son remain in
Fujisaki. I’m going to need as many signatures as I can get by the end of the day
since time is definitely not on our side. If Mr. Teruo decides to take his son
away today, our efforts would have been for naught.
“Just the person I’m looking for,” comes the familiar voice of Quatre, which
has me turning around to face the smiling blond. He looks slightly pale but the
pink tint on his cheeks tell me otherwise. He sounds breathless, but doesn’t
look like he’s run or even jogged to get to me.
“Hey, Quatre. What’s up?” I eye him carefully as he looks around us quickly,
before he places a hand on my arm and leads me towards an empty classroom.
Closing the door behind us, he runs a hand through his flaxen locks and smiles
at me again. There’s a look of nervous anticipation on his features and for a
moment (and with much hope) I assume that things are going well between he and
Trowa again.
“You look like you’re bursting at the seams to tell me something,” I say,
blinking in mild confusion as he walks away from me and begins to pace the
room. “Are you and Trowa back together again?”
He stops and stares at me as if I’ve lost my mind. I guess the answer to that
question would be a big fat no. He shakes his head and then shrugs. “No, Trowa
and I aren’t speaking yet and I doubt we will be anytime soon…”
“I don’t get it, Quatre,” I interrupt, now really needing to know just
why he’s acting this way…and besides this pacing about is getting on my nerves
a little. “What’s going on with you? What the hell are you doing with Hamida
that’s so secret you can’t even tell your own boyfriend?”
He scowls and then asks me almost coldly. “Like you’d tell Duo every little
secret you have…or better yet that Duo would tell you everything he’s doing
behind your back, huh?”
“What…?”
“If I were you,” he continues with a small smile that sends chills up my spine.
“If I were you, I’d keep an eye on your boyfriend and Wufei.”
I feel that heavy sinking sensation in my stomach again, but grit my teeth and
refuse to allow that swell of jealousy to overwhelm me.
“They’ve been acting real chummy lately,” Quatre finishes with a wider smile.
He sits upon a desk and begins to swing his legs back and forth slowly.
“Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something pretty cool.”
“What’s that?” I ask tightly, now unable to stop the images of Wufei and Duo
engaged in something more than just mere conversation to fill my mind.
I watch as he reaches into his pants pocket to pull out a small clear bottle
half-filled with white pills. It looks like any ordinary aspirin but something
about it has me frowning lightly in dawning comprehension. It’s not labeled and
it definitely doesn’t look like a prescription either. He shakes it a little, a
faraway look coming into his eyes.
“This,” he says slowly as if speaking to me from a distance. “This is the big
secret I’ve been hiding. Not that it’s going to remain a secret for too long.”
“Uuum…Quatre…”
“Hamida’s a chemist as well, did you know that?” he continues, not paying any
attention to me. I might as well be invisible right now. “His real calling is
Chemistry but since the positions were already filled in the school, he had to
settle for Biology. Doesn’t that suck?”
I really don’t like the way this conversation is heading.
He gives me another beautiful smile and holds up the bottle. “One day in class,
I was dozing off, because I was like way tired. Between studying, dealing with
music classes, try outs for the symphony and all of that shit…man, I was out of
it…if you know what I mean.”
I know what he means all right. Many seniors over the years have gone through
the same pressures, frustrations and desperation. Everyone’s trying to make
good grades or pass their final exams and make it to the best colleges or get
good jobs once they leave school. It’s really a trying time for us seniors and
I’d be a fool not to know of many of them using other ‘means’ to help them
succeed in either students or on the field. We do have laws against such use of
enhancers, but how is one to know what every single student does behind the
eyes of the law? But although, we have managed to confiscate them from several
students, it’s still virtually impossible to get rid of it completely.
But Quatre?!!
He who’s always pushing us to do our best and is the most encouraging, caring
and admirable individual you could ever meet? He, who I’ve secretly wished I
could be sometimes…succumbing to drugs to help him succeed? It’s too much and
I’m still finding it incredibly hard to believe. I can feel the anger stirring
within me but it’s not directed at my friend, but rather at the older man who
should really know better than to pump his students full of ‘medication’ to
help them succeed. What kind of a teacher is that? And with those innocent
looks, you’d hardly suspect him of doing such a thing! I’m going to kill him
with my bare hands if I have to!
It’s Quatre’s sudden laughter that breaks me out of my reverie and I stare at
him with mild irritation and concern. No wonder he looks so…well…different
lately. That paler tone to his skin…those flushed cheeks… I wonder how long
he’s been taking the stuff.
“You’re so easy to read, Heero,” he says now chuckling and twisting the cap
open. “I know what you’re thinking and that’s not true. See this baby?” He
holds up the cylindrical shaped pill between his thumb and forefinger. “Just
one is enough to keep you awake for hours and the rush…man you feel you can do
anything.”
“Quatre…”
“It’s no different from any of those energy drinks or power bars they sell in
stores, Heero,” he adds quickly, now frowning at me with impatience. “Goodness
you’d think I was actually snorting heroin or something worse.”
“You might as well with the crap you’re taking,” I reply sharply, taking a step
forward with every intention of taking the bottle from him. But he holds out a
hand to ward me off, a dangerous glint now in those aquamarine eyes.
“Don’t do it, Heero,” he warns me quietly. “I’m not doing anything illegal and
Mr. Hamida said the same thing. He wanted me to keep it a secret since he’s
still trying to get it out to the market.”
“Market meaning students?!” I growl angrily. “For fuck’s sake, Quatre, what the
hell are you doing to yourself?! I mean…look at what it’s doing to you!”
I move forward again, but he moves even quicker. He jumps off the desk and
nimbly dodges me, now reversing our positions. His back is now to the door while
I’m stuck against the windows. He cocks his head and laughs again, a low sound
that would have been sexy as hell if I wasn’t angry and frustrated as well as
incredibly sad. To think that one of my friends would resort to something like
this.
“You don’t know what it’s like to be me, Heero,” he says quietly, replacing the
cap and tucking the bottle back into his pocket. “You don’t know what it’s like
having the weight of an entire company resting on your shoulders and you aren’t
even eighteen yet. Or the fact that everyone wants and expects you to be the
best at everything. I worked my ass off to get chosen for the symphony. I
practiced all nights till my hands bled.” For emphasis, he holds up his hands
and for the first time I notice the faint scars on his palms. “Do you think if
I told Trowa about this, he’d understand, huh?”
“Trowa loves you,” I say lamely, not really knowing what else to say. I
mean…that has to mean something, doesn’t it?
Instead, he laughs again and then shrugs, but I can see the brief look of
emptiness that flits across his expression. It’s a hollow look of despondency
that literally wrings my heart.
“Sure he does,” he says quietly. “He wouldn’t understand me though. You see, I
thought you…well, I wanted to tell you so that you’d know what was going on. I
don’t care if you tell him. I don’t care if he breaks up with me. Maybe it’s
time we went our separate ways anyway…argh!”
“Shut up, Quatre! Just shut the fuck up!” I scream into his face, now holding
him prisoner against the wall with my hands clutching fistfuls of his blazer. I
want to choke him, to hug him, to kiss away the despair within him. I have
watched my friend for three years now, never knowing the true depths of his
unhappiness. He always smiles and acts so happy amongst us but all the time…
“…don’t…” I whisper brokenly resting my forehead against his shoulder. I feel
my cheeks getting wet and I don’t even know when I began crying. “Don’t do
this, Quatre,” I plead desperately. “You don’t need that to make you feel
better. Please…don’t do this to you and Trowa.”
He says nothing but I feel him take a deep breath as if fighting back his own
tears. Knowing he’s listening I continue, needing to make him understand.
“Trowa’s hurting as well, Quatre. You’ve got to give him a chance to listen to
you. He’ll always be by your side no matter what happens, you hear me?” I shake
him a little. “Do you hear me, Quatre?! He LOVES you! Goddamn it!”
I release his shirt to wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly to me
as I feel his slender body trembling against mine. For a long time, he says and
does nothing, my soft sobs the only sound in the empty classroom. I won’t let
him get away from me. I’ve seen and heard about students drowning and losing
themselves in this ‘wonder’ pill but I won’t let my friend be taken away from
me. I won’t! Finally, he leans into me and I can feel his wet cheeks against
mine as he clings to me like a lifeline.
His sobs soon overshadow mine and for sometime we remain in each other’s
embrace, allowing our tears to wash away the doubts and uncertainties in our
hearts.
Lunchtime:
It’s not hard to find Trowa during lunchtime. If he’s not hanging out with the
rest of us in either my office or the lawns, it’s more than likely you’d find
him all alone in the music room, practicing on his clarinet. He can play
other musical instruments, case in point, the piano. Whenever Trowa sits down
to play a tune for you on that baby, it feels like you’re being taken to
another time and era when only men in powdered wigs and white hoses ruled the
day. Of course imagining Trowa in that kind of an outfit has occurred on more
than one occasion but I highly doubt he’ll appreciate me thinking like that.
Today’s no different. Once I noticed he wasn’t planning on joining us anytime
soon, I excused myself from the others and made my way here. It’s a rather
large room and one of Fujisaki’s proud accomplishments. The seats (about fifty
in all) are arranged in a large semi-circle while the teacher’s podium/desk
sits in front like a solemn conductor waiting for his musicians to join him in
creating ethereal sounds. Several drum kits – including both Western and
traditional (meaning African or Brazilian) are propped beside the large
windows. Guitars, violins, cellos, trumpets, tambourines and tubas sit like
silent statues waiting for their masters to bring them back to life. The large
green chalkboard is filled with sketches of musical notes, bars and lyrics to
some song which makes no sense to me. Music sheets lie scattered across the two
black grand pianos and sitting behind one of them is the very boy I’m looking
for.
I stand at the doorway and watch him play, his stately posture swaying gently
as his fingers dance fluidly across the black and white keys. I’m not really familiar
with the tune, but it’s haunting to the ears and sends shivers down my spine. I
know it’s going to sound cliché and cheesy, but it definitely feels as if he’s
pouring his soul into the song. It’s as if he’s creating the music solely for
Quatre and it brings another stubborn lump to my throat. Damn if I’m not
getting too emotional these days. It took me almost half an hour to recover
from my crying fest with Quatre earlier.
When the music finally comes to a slow end, I lift my hands and clap politely,
walking into the room as the door closes behind me. He makes no move to face
me, as if accepting my applause as the norm.
“That was pretty good,” I say with a warm smile. “What’s that called?”
“I don’t know yet,” he replies with a shrug, tapping his lean fingers on top of
the piano gently. “I just made it up…well not really. It was supposed to be our
duet.”
‘Our’ huh? I nod softly in understanding and wonder how I should begin with my
tale.
Still not looking at me, he asks softly. “Did he tell you?”
No use lying about it, is there? “Yes, he did.”
He nods as well and takes a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his eyes. It’s a
tired movement and it’s obvious that this is taking its toll on him as well. “I
had a feeling he was doing something like that.”
Silence would be the best for now. Let him have his say.
“But I wasn’t sure, you know?” he continues, his green eyes looking glazed and
slightly empty. “I didn’t want to go about accusing him of that. I mean if it
turned out not to be true…it would have made things worse, right?”
I nod, but he pays no attention again. “Damn, if I had known that Hamida was
the one giving him that crap…” He shakes his head and pounds his fist upon the
piano, sending several sheets jumping slightly. “I’m definitely not letting
this one die so easily, Heero.”
Finally he looks at me and I’m not surprised to see the fierce determination in
his eyes. “What are you going to do?” I ask slowly. “You really have no proof
against Hamida…”
“There’s got to be other students besides Quatre that he gives that stuff to,”
he says tightly. “Didn’t you once say that he was seen hanging around the
basketball and swimming pool lately?”
My eyes widen in understanding. “Duo said that…that he was trying to get a
coaching position. You don’t think…?”
Trowa nods slowly. “Probably already has an established group of students he
gives them to.”
“Shit.” I pace restlessly, running fingers through my hair. “Shit! This is
happening with a fucking teacher!”
“You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do,” Trowa murmurs with a small smile that
doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “So what are you going to do, Heero? I’m not just
going to report him to the authorities and let it go that easily.”
“Bait,” I murmur softly. “We need someone who’s going to catch him in the act
and it’s not going to be Quatre.”
“Someone who can act natural enough in such a situation without raising
suspicion…”
“Someone who’s into sports…has access to him and would need such a thing…”
We both look at each other and smile in understanding. There’s only one person
fit for the job, but it’s going to take some convincing.
“Think he’s going to do it?” he asks and I shrug lightly.
“I don’t know. He might, he might not. He might call me insane and try to talk
me out of it…or he would jump at the chance to be a secret agent…so to speak.”
We both have to laugh at the image of Duo being some top secret spy but
remembering how he had so easily convinced me of being that last year, has me
flushing in embarrassment.
“So what about you and Quatre?” I ask tentatively. He visibly deflates and then
plays a few lone keys.
“I don’t know, Heero. I just don’t think he’d want to talk to me about it. I
mean if he’s so ashamed to see me…”
The door to the music room opens slowly and we both turn around to see who our
guest is. Fully expecting it to be another student, perhaps someone coming in
to pick up a forgotten music sheet or instrument, we are pleasantly (at least I
am) surprised to see Quatre stepping into the room with a small and almost shy
smile on his visage.
The chair scrapes across the floor beside me and I don’t need to look to see
that Trowa’s on his feet now.
“Trowa…”
“Quatre…”
I think it’s time I make myself scarce since I have the feeling that neither of
them is paying much attention to me anymore. Hiding a smile, I clear my throat
and begin to walk out of the room but not before reaching out to squeeze
Quatre’s shoulder gently in reassurance. He manages to throw me a small smile
of gratitude before turning back to the boy who matters more to him. As I close
the door behind me, I hope and pray that they do talk and try to come to an
understanding. Perhaps Trowa will be the finally voice to reach Quatre.
“…sure, no problem,” comes the familiar voice which has my heart skipping a
beat in pleasure. Duo’s nearby and with much eagerness to meet him, I push
myself away from the door and take a step down the hallway only to freeze in
mid-stride as I notice him standing with Wufei…both laughing and still talking
rather animatedly.
Okay, calm down. They’re just talking, that’s all. He’s my best friend and
he won’t dare try anything funny.
But all thoughts of that fly out the window as Wufei leans closer to Duo…so
close that it almost looks like they’re about to…
“Duo!” I call out sharply and as if caught doing something they shouldn’t, they
literally jump at the sound of my voice.
“Jesus, Heero,” Duo says in surprise. “What the hell was that for? The whole
school could have heard you.”
I place a hand on his arm and squeeze it gently, turning to Wufei with a look
of displeasure (which I hope he sees) on my features. “If you don’t mind, I’d
like to speak to Duo.”
His brows furrow for a minute and it looks like he’s got something to say to
me, which I dare him to by the way without opening my mouth to speak.
“Sure,” he finally replies easily, shrugging lightly as if it’s no big deal.
“See you around, Duo. Oh and don’t forget now,” he adds enigmatically as I
bristle before tugging on Duo’s arm and leading him towards my office.
“Squeeze me any harder and you just might snap a bone soon, Sir Heero.”
I ignore him but he continues relentlessly.
“Ouch! Could you like stop dragging me like I’m some booty you hauled in?
Christ, what’s the matter with you?”
“Hey, you almost bumped me against a locker, you asshole. If you don’t stop
pulling me I’m going to…”
I slam the door behind us and pin him against the wall, with my hands on either
side of his head. “You want to tell me what’s going on with you and Wufei?” I
ask tightly.
“What…?” He genuinely looks confused and a part of me feels foolish for asking
this but I’ve got to know. “What the hell are you talking about?” he asks, now
frowning as well.
“Don’t forget?” I say, mimicking Wufei’s voice as best I can. “And what the
fuck was with that flirting in the hallway?”
“Flirting?! Are you out of your goddamn mind?!” he bellows, shoving me
backwards, now scowling at me as if unable to believe I had even entertained
such a thought. “He was just talking about the meeting we’re supposed to attend
on Saturday. I have to meet him after school so we can go register our names
and shit. Man.”
“So when were you planning on telling me about this meeting with him, huh? Why
didn’t you tell me about it since?”
He shakes his head. “I was going to tell you but he said not to worry that he’d
talk to you about it, so I didn’t bother. Besides, what’s the big deal?! You
keep acting like he’s trying to steal me away or something!”
“Isn’t he?!”
“Why should he?! He’s not gay……….is he?”
“Gah, Duo!” I throw my hands up in the air and walk around in circles for a
moment. What exactly is my answer to that? How the hell would I know if Wufei’s
into guys or not? I’ve known him for this long and not once has he ever given
the hint that he might find himself attracted to another boy.
“Look, if he was gay, I’d know,” he says with a firm nod. “He hasn’t put the
moves on me if that’s what you’re worried about…”
“We’ve got to set him up on a date,” I interrupt, turning around to face him
again. He simply raises a brow and allows me to continue with my desperate plan
of action. “I’m not just saying this because I’m afraid he’ll suddenly decide
to date you or anything…”
“Heero…”
“But we’ve got to find him someone else…”
“Yeah, like who? After Nia, there’s no other.”
“How’re about…Dorothy?” I suggest with a snap of my fingers. “I’ve never seen
her with another guy…”
“Or maybe it’s because she’s not into guys?” Duo suggests barely keeping the
sarcasm out of his tone.
“Just because she’s into girls doesn’t mean she can’t like Wufei. I’ve seen the
way she looks at him…”
“Do you have a death wish, Heero? Wufei’s NOT going to date Dorothy. They can’t
stand each other, remember?”
“There’s no harm in trying,” I continue stubbornly, not wishing to back down
any time soon. “So we’re going to set them up. For starters, you can tell him
that you can’t make it to the meeting this Saturday and have Dorothy go…”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I’m serious, Duo.”
“So am I, Heero.”
We glare at each other for a long minute until I finally turn away with a light
snort. “Fine, do whatever the fuck you want.”
“You bet your ass I am,” he retorts and I clench my hands into fists before
taking a deep breath to calm myself down. All this yelling is aggravating my
head wound and I feel a blinding headache coming along.
“You know…I thought he’s your best friend, Heero,” Duo suddenly says. “Why
can’t you trust him…or me?”
Hardly giving me a chance to reply, he lets himself out of the room, closing
the door softly behind him and leaving me feeling like the biggest asshole on
the planet.
Trust…
Such a fickle but powerful word, isn’t it? But of course I trust them! I know I
trust them. It’s just that…
(I worry…a lot.)
2.45pm:
“Wow, we sure got a lot of signatures, didn’t we? And of course half of them
didn’t even know what the hell they were signing for,” Relena says with a soft
laugh.
Sure enough, the once white and blue banner, now has an array of handwritings
and signatures in blue, black, red and all other colors you can possibly think
of. Some had written some rather interesting comments like, ‘Release the
prisoner!’ or ‘He’s got rights and you’re violating them!’ or better yet ‘Down
with Dictatorship and Censorship!’ Goodness, if they only knew who this was
directed to and why this was being done, I doubt they would have written such
crap.
“Good job, Relena,” I say with a warm smile although it feels forced and weary.
I’ve had a pretty long day and all I want to do is sleep and forget about the
tears and arguments. Wufei’s not spoken to me much today and tends to steer
away from me whenever I’m close by. Not that I blame him, I’ve been acting like
(in the words of Duo) a fucktard lately.
“Have them roll it up,” I say to her, as I notice she’s about to ask me if I
was doing okay or not. “I’ll have to use Trowa’s car to take it to the hospital
later.”
“You can use mine,” she says with a nod. “I’m going home with Dorothy and
Hilde. We’ve got some last minute things to take care of for a sleepover this
weekend.”
She reaches into her school bag and tosses me the key to her convertible. “You
do have your license, right?”
“Yes, I do,” I say, trying not to sound too indignant, but she simply laughs
and hugs me gently.
“Just checking. Be careful with it. You scratch it, you die.”
Nodding with a good-natured grumble, I watch her lead the rest of her club
members into the building until they disappear from sight. I close my eyes and
take a deep breath, inhaling the afternoon smells of left over lunches and
flowers from the gardens. The school’s much quieter now since most of the
students have left for the day. I’m sure Duo must have gone home by now. I’m
sure he must have wanted to catch the 3 o’clock shuttle and so left before
letting me know. He’s still upset with me I guess.
(Trust)
(I’ve got to learn to trust…)
Walking past the indoor swimming pool, I can hear splashes and loud calls from
the Swim Team. There’s a swim meet in a week or so, and although our record
hasn’t been that great over the past few years, I have the feeling that this
year is going to be different. They’ve been training really hard and should at
least make the top ten at the Nationals.
Deciding to stop in to have a talk with the captain, I turn the corner and then
quickly dive back behind the wall, my heart pounding rapidly in my chest as my
mind tries to register just what I have seen.
No…it can’t be…he can’t be…no! Oh, God no!
I don’t remember telling him about the plan and I doubt Trowa has mentioned it
to him already but there it is. My eyes cannot be deceiving me at all!
I take another peek from my hiding place and feel my heart literally stuck in
my throat.
It’s Duo and Hamida talking behind the bushes leading to the gym and in my
boyfriend’s hand is a clear bottle filled with tiny white pills.
~End Period Fifteen~