Escape

Friday had finally arrived. Sineas' favourite day of the week. In fact, he was convinced that it was everyone else's favourite too.

Class with Mr. Regwizini was a lot calmer than it had been with Mr. Sawyer. Trevor had apparently stepped way out of line with his rebellion and he was slapped with a five-day suspension from Principal Stanley. Sineas however had already begun to think that the rugby and basketball teams, mainly Justin's squad, were invincible and could not be reprimanded by the laws of the school.

Clarissa was sitting in her new spot again, right in the centre of the class watching Mr. Regwizini scribbling on the board, explaining Advanced Level trigonometry. The speech she had given him on Thursday had left him completely lost for words. It had made him think. He could not think of anything else after that. He felt guilt and shame but at the same time, he was curious. Was it more logical to believe Aunt Janice's theory, that no one was capable of caring for someone who had been through what he had? His father's death, his mother's incarceration and all the lies he had spun at her to cover it up? Was it possible to even consider a detestable thing such as that? A creature so vile to look upon? If so, then why? Who in their right mind would waste their love and time on someone like that?

Sineas had long shifted his attention from the chalkboard. For the rest of the Math period, it was owned by Clarissa. Questions and questions were hovering and ringing in his head. The chief of the questions: Why?

Time drifted slowly in his absence. His eyes narrowed, his mind racing and his soul aching. Why?Why?Why? Why would she care about me?

At Lunchtime, Clarissa chose to sit at a different table. She carefully unloaded her two apples from her lunch bag, a box of squash and a salad. She got ready to eat. The cool breeze felt gentle upon her cheeks. It was cool and refreshing, enough to make a serial killer on death row grin for days. It was an excellent feeling. But she did not smile. She took a mouthful of her potato salad and just looked ominously ahead. She was oblivious of her surroundings. She suddenly felt a presence creep up from behind her. She slowly turned her head around.

'Mind if I sit?' Sineas asked her, lunchbox in hand.

She ignored him and returned to her salad.

'Should I take that as a yes?'

She looked on ahead, staying true to her strict silence.

'I brought two of my aunt's famous chocolate muffins,' he tried to seduce her. 'Maybe I could trade you for one of those green balls of sugar you have right there.'

She stayed silent. Her mouth quivered a little, slowly. It gathered force.

'Besides,' Sineas continued, 'I think I'd be doing you a favour. The way you eat your apples implies that they fall a little too close to the tree.'

She could not control herself. She began to laugh.

He smiled and sat down right beside her, on her left side. They made the trade- a muffin for an apple- then sat in silence for three minutes, having their lunch.

Finally, Sineas was through. He sealed his lunchbox. He had only consumed half its contents.

Clarissa was now having her apple. She was crunching away slowly. Her gaze had changed from ominous to plain relaxed.

'Claire,' Sin began.

She reduced her eating pace but she did not look at him.

He sighed. 'My life is…what one would call, a mess; a runaway bullet train carrying a cargo of weird. To add on to the deaths in my family, I'm sure you must have already heard on the news about a woman called Priscilla Murphy escaping from a high security asylum.' He was not looking at her but he could tell that she was nodding slowly. He continued, 'I've had a lot of experience with pain, Claire. Lots and lots of pain, but I think pain is what motivates me sometimes. It helps me make the more sensible decisions. I see it as a necessity for everything I do in life.'

'You mean…like a place of escape?' she asked softly, but curiously.

He nodded quickly. 'I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I'm sorry, and thank you. Thank you for giving me a chance to be your friend even though I know in my heart that I don't deserve it. Thank you for willing to see the good in me when no one else would or could. And I'm sorry for pushing you away. I'm sorry for thinking otherwise and I'm sorry for destroying such a great friendship.'

'Sin, I never gave up on you in the first place. Yes, I did get upset when you accused me of trying to take advantage of you but just because you've been through that much pain it doesn't mean you're not worth anyone's time and attention. If anything, that makes you all the way worthy of it. I won't stop loving you because of everything you've been through. That would be nonsense!' She instantly threw her eyes ahead of her.

Sineas could see her cheeks acquire a pinkish colour. He had seen them change into that colour before.

'So…' she cut the tension, '…what's going on from your side? What's Mr. Murphy been up to these days?' she asked him smiling.

'Nothing much, really. I'm sure my aunt already told you that I've been seeing a shrink?'

She answered with a swift nod.

'All the feelings I had bottled up, I just tell him and he gives me advice on how to handle it.'

'That's good, Sin, that's good. But don't just rely on him to carry your burden…or for a shoulder to cry on. I'm here too.' She immediately withdrew her gaze again. That dreadful colour was threatening to return.