Blood Queen

I tried to get some sleep in the hour and a half before I had to go to school, but it was no good. I couldn’t get Andy’s words out of my head. They buzzed around my mind while I lay awake and when I finally dozed off they waltzed around my vision like burdened dancers, graceless and guilty. Don’t thank me. He’d vanished out the window with a look in his eyes that asked for forgiveness. I never wanted to see that look again.

The alarm went off far too early, and I rolled off my bed into a tangled lump on the floor. Who said Fridays were always good? I threw on the same black jeans I wore yesterday, (no one was going to notice,) and I shrugged a gray knit sweater over the shirt that I simply hadn’t taken off to sleep. I brushed my teeth in the bathroom and though my vision was a little bleary from exhaustion I judged that with the addition of the sweater my outfit looked different enough from yesterday that I could pass it off as new. My eyeliner didn’t look too bad either, so I just left that on too. I slung my heavy backpack over one shoulder and paused. I don’t want to go downstairs. It’s okay if he’s passed out, but he could still be awake and very, very drunk. On the other hand, I if I try to climb the trellis outside in my exhausted state, I might fall off and break my neck.

“Hey you! C’mere!” Bellows my father’s slurring voice from the bottom of the stairs. Dread settles in the pit of my stomach. I practically tiptoe my way down. I’m surprised to find he’s dressed for the day. A day in a filthy bar with peanut shells on the floor that cleans it’s glasses with old rags and pushes stolen products, but still. He drops the empty whiskey bottle on the floor and swipes the last of it from his unshaven mouth with the back of his hand.

“hic- I’m gonna be gone for…” He pauses, counting unsteadily on his fingers, “four days. When I come -hic- back, I want this place to -hic- be clean,” He gestures around at the trashed room where his buddies left shards of glass, bits of food and unidentifiable stains on the carpet. “I’m sick of doing -hic- everything around here,” I press my lips together to keep myself from arguing and nod. He saunters out of the room and a few moments later his old beater roars down the street towards god knows where. I kick aside the whiskey bottle and head for the door.

Andy is waiting for me again, he’s grinning like an idiot.

“Did he fall for it?”

“Did who fall for what?”

“Your dad. I sent him an e-vite to the ‘semi-annual meninist bar-hopping rally,” He doubles up with laughter, clutching his sides with both hands. His backpack hits the ground.

“You did WHAT?” I shriek, torn somewhere in between amusement and panic.

“Don’t worry, It’s not a real thing. I told him it was in Buffalo though, so you have a few days to yourself.”

“What happens when he realizes there isn’t a meninist bar hopping rally?”

“There’s a strip club next to the place I sent him. That should give him plenty of time to cool off.” I relax a little. Soon we’re both wiping tears of laughter off our flushed cheeks.

“Thanks,” I throw an arm over his shoulders, (the other one is awkwardly balancing my backpack and sweater,) and he smiles at me.

“About damn time you had a few days off,”

We get to school just before the sun rises and plonk our stuff down at the base of one of the sweeping silver willow trees. The branches brush the ground and so inside the room it creates it’s almost like the rest of the school isn’t out there at all. Almost. I pull out my secondary sketchbook and start trying to draw how the tree boughs look from here, but the delicate lines of charcoal smudge too easily and the result looks more like a mess than a sketch. It’s sort of a pretty mess though, so I keep working. At first, I can feel Andy’s stare at my hands as they move over the paper, but soon I tune that out too. When the first bell rings I don’t hear it. I don’t move until he puts a hand on my arm.

“We’ve got to go to class, Iris,” Says Andy, taking the sketchbook from my hands and nestling it back in my backpack. I groan.

“I don’t want to be here,” I whine as he pulls me to my feet.

“Tell me about it. I’ve been around for longer than some of the teachers. I never thought I would be back,” He still hasn’t released my hands, “You know, you don’t have to go. We could skip today and enjoy not having any responsibilities,” I shove him lightly.

“One always has responsibilities,” I sling my backpack over my shoulder and start walking briskly towards the school building.

“True,” he says following me, “But sometimes they can be ignored. I think you should have a party at your dad’s house tonight.” I freeze in my tracks.

“What? He’d kill me. And I don’t know how to throw a party,” I wrinkle my nose, “I’ve never even been to a party.”

“I’ll handle everything, just be ready at 5:00 tonight ok?” He dashes off before I can answer. Fuck.

Notes

I'm going to upload another chapter in like, fifteen seconds, so see the next notes page. :)