Because They Care [5]

(Malory)

Adrien Evans.

I mean I knew he was a jerk but what a goddamn sell-out.

He let the cat out of the bag and just left us to deal with the mess ourselves.

When he’s gone, the only real conflict left is to tell Ron and Olivia about what happened.

Kyle reluctantly drags his long, straight black hair out of his face to reveal the healing bruise to them for a second. They gasp and he drops his hair back over his face.

“I can explain,” he says calmly.

“Yea, well you better!” Ron demands.

“It happened while I... wasn’t at school... I... I... well...”

I honestly can’t bear to watch this boy struggle with excuses. I roll my eyes, point my half-eaten burger at them and explain it for myself. “He got into a fight.”

“You didn’t have to say it like that!” Kyle yells at me.

Pick up on the lie, Davidson.

I turn to him to give him the memo. “What? You wanted me to cover it up? Oh, I’m sorry. You were working so hard on hiding the truth I couldn’t see that you were about to lie.”

Play along, Davidson.

“Wait a minute... Mal?” Olivia says taken aback. “You knew about this and you didn’t say anything?”

Ron stares at Kyle blankly. “I’m deeply offended that this information was kept from me –and yet, pleasantly unsurprised.”

“He didn’t want anyone to know about his petty little encounter at the mechanics’,” I say to cover for him. “I told you Ron, I told you when he was sick that even though he should’ve been in bed. All he wanted to do was move around. Apparently being that sick made him mentally deficient and he decided ‘Well, I’ll still go to work and maybe today I’ll be a grumpy, prickish brat and complain to the customers and get caught up in a fight.’”

Kyle scoffs. “Jee, thanks, Malory.”

“You’re welcome.” I say, beaming.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ron asks Kyle, genuinely upset.

“What would you have been able to do?” Kyle asks him, picking a fry off Ron’s plate and shoving it into his mouth.

Ron slams his hand down on the table in frustration. “You could have at least told me. You really can be an inconsiderate asshole, Kyle. It’s no wonder why you don’t have that many friends.”

He stands.

“Whoa... chill, Roomie...” Kyle says. Ron starts walking away. “Ron...” he says again, Ron storms off and flips him the bird, “Dude, seriously?”

Ron drops the rest of his food into the bin and returns his tray, leaving the cafeteria. Kyle sighs in frustration and I stare blankly ahead, unsure of what to do. My mouth is open in shock. I turn to Olivia –who’s sipping the last bit of her coke through her straw- draining the bottle of its contents and deliberately stressing on the sound of the straw against the almost-empty container. She squints at me in suspicion.

“Olive,” I say.

“Cheap. That was cheap, Malory,” she says.

She stands, leaving her food on the table and heading after Ron. Kyle and I watch her leave. We turn to each other.

“Well that went well,” he says, rolling his eyes.

“They’ll get over it, eventually,” I say. “Just give them some time to cool off.”

“I don’t know...” he replies, biting his bottom lip and staring blankly ahead, “I do piss Ron off a lot. I can be pretty inconsiderate. I just hope it wasn’t enough to lose him forever.”

“Just be glad they didn’t find out the truth,” I suggest. “And don’t worry about those two. They’re the kind of people that get mad because they care.”

“Like you?” He asks.

I scoff and turn to find him already staring at me. His eyes move up and down my cheek before finding my eyes and staying fixed there.

“Yea. Like me.”