Jealousy

Arriving at school was another reminder: Halloween was a big deal here, and Zariah had been forbidden to partake. It still wasn't 7:30 AM on the 1st of October, and the school was already decorated. As Eliot and Zariah left the shadows of the park, they found themselves approaching the black iron gates that outlined their school. The entire perimeter was guarded this way and there were only two gates to gain entry: A front gate, around to the North, and this Southern park gate.

Zariah had put the strange old building out of her mind by now, too blinded by the spooky Halloween decorations. There were lit Jack-O-Lanterns at the gate and orange-y colour lights strung around the iron poles. She could already see the beginnings of other silly decorations, like fake spiders hanging from some of the trees and paper ghosts swaying in the morning breeze. It was a mystery who had come to school so early and set all of this up.

A mystery which Zariah had no honest interest in solving. The morning was cold and her fingers still felt numb. Even her ears seemed ready to freeze off. She couldn't imagine how Eliot was surviving, given that he had cold hands on a normal day. The pair shuffled along the pathway and up towards the main school building. Zariah would have run into the warm building, if not for how shaky her legs were. So she was a touch annoyed when Eliot not only slowed his walk, but stopped all together.

"One second!" He spoke as abruptly as he stopped, "I need to deliver something."

"Here? In the cold?" Zariah gaped. Regardless, she trusted him enough to follow after him as he left the marked path. Eliot made a beeline to the tennis courts. There were a number of sports' fields at Crossing Fields High, and they were mostly located towards the Southern gate. It was not until they got closer that Zariah realized who and what Eliot was delivering, and she agreed that it was quite important.

Beyond the chainlinked green fences were the members of the tennis club: The girls' tennis club, to be exact. The two of them gathered at the gate and peered through the spaces between the chainlinks.

"I don't see her." Zariah muttered.

"See who? I-I didn't say I was here for someone." Eliot stuttered, embarrassed.

For some reason, his embarrassment annoyed her… No, it wasn't "for some reason." Zariah knew perfectly well that she was jealous. Eliot had come here, as he did every morning that the tennis club practiced, because of a girl. A girl that wasn't Zariah. She knew it was unreasonable to be jealous, too: Claire was their friend. She was a pretty blonde with long legs and a great sense of style. She had known Eliot far longer than Zariah had, too, and she was beyond perfect. Not only was Claire a star player in the tennis club, but she had been elected Class Representative for the Freshmen and served on the Student Council. Her grades were so good that she got paid to tutor others in both math and science. She could even speak three languages.

No, Claire was perfect. And it was perfectly okay for Eliot to be extra good to her.

On this morning in particular, Zariah was certain that he was bringing Claire breakfast. She often complained that she had no time to make her own meals before practice, so this had become a tradition for them. And Zariah wasn't about to rob Claire of a meal over something like… jealousy.

She would, however, be a bit meaner to Eliot.

"Claire. I don't see Claire." Zariah almost snapped at him, "Don't lie to me. I know you're here for her."

"Oh." Eliot's response was both surprised and hesitant.

He turned to face Zariah, and she accidentally made eye contact with him. His worried expression somehow embarrassed her so badly that she looked away quickly.

"Maybe she's already gone ahead to the Student Council." Eliot mumbled, "I mean, it is October 1st."

Zariah found herself grinding her teeth in annoyance. He knew her schedule pretty well.

"Are they the ones who did the decorations this early?" She asked, switching the topic from one annoyance to another.

"Mmhm. The Jack-o-Lanterns are important to have out early." Eliot stepped away from the fence and gestured back to the gate, "They'll have them by every major entranceway in the city by the end of the day."

"Really?" That was honestly interesting. Eliot must have given up on Claire being at tennis practice, because he began to lead them towards the school again. Zariah sped after him, warmed by new curiosity. "Why so? I've never heard of a town so big on Halloween spirit."

"Halloween spirit is exactly the problem."

"Excuse me?"

"Ahh, nothing." Eliot shook his head. "Come on. Let's see if she's on the third floor. Whatever she's doing, Claire probably forgot to eat before she started doing it."

Back to the topic of Claire. Zariah bit down on her lip to prevent herself from scowling.

"Right… Can't have that." She muttered, "Claire, Halloween spirit…"

October 1st was shaping up to be rather miserable.