Radiant (7 page)

"No, y
ou don't have to do that," Mom said.

Mary looked at her
. "You need to remember to eat."

"
Yes doctor," Mom chuckled. "But I've got it covered with leftovers. By the way, your eyes look a little red. Did you sleep well last night?"

Mary stirred her cereal.
"I've got a lot on my mind."

"
Want to talk about it?"

"
Not really."

Mom stared at her for a moment.
"Well, if you change your mind, you always know I'm here."

"
I know. Thanks."

Mary hadn
't finished her cereal by the time breakfast was over. After she kissed her mother and said goodbye, she headed for the bus stop. At school, her radar immediately went up for Carter. But she didn't see him in the halls. During Pre-Cal, she kept wondering if he would be waiting outside the door like he did yesterday when class was over. But he wasn't. She didn't see him after Art, nor did she find him when she meandered by the lunchroom and the computer lab. English was hell again. But still no Carter in the hall.

Finally,
Mary arrived in Physics. Carter, wearing that thick black sweater again, sat in his usual seat on the back row. He didn't talk to his friends, and they ignored him as well.

Mary
took her seat and tried to concentrate on the lesson. She stole a couple glances back and saw that Carter had his book, but it wasn't open and he didn't take any notes. Also, his eyes stayed forward.

When the final bell rang, Mary deliberately put her things
away slowly. She watched out the corner of her eye as Carter put the strap of his bag over his shoulder and walked to the front of the room. She waited for him to come say hello.

But h
e didn't. He walked out of the room without even looking her way.

Mary wasn
't disappointed. She was hurt. And she knew that she deserved it for talking to him the way she did yesterday.

She shouldered her bag and left the room. Before she could leave, she needed to swing by David's locker and remind him to return her expensive brush. He had a project to finish during lunch, and he a
sked if he could use her "bling" brush. David did help her before on other things, so Mary was okay with letting him use it. This one time.

She heard the basketball team practicing in the gym as she passed by. As s
he headed up a stairwell, she heard giggling. At the top, she saw a tall, gorgeous girl flirting with a tall and semi-gorgeous guy. Mary didn't know the guy, but she recognized the girl as Carter's girlfriend, Laci. Mary lowered her head as she tried to duck past them.

"Hey, you were in that accident," Laci said. "You okay?"

Mary turned. "Oh. Yeah. I'm fine, thanks."

"Good." Laci turned her attention back to the guy.

Mary started to walk up the stairs again. But then she stopped and turned. "You're Carter's girlfriend, aren't you? How's he doing?"

Laci looked at her. "He's okay, I guess. But I'm not his girlfriend."

Mary wrinkled her brow. "You're not?"

"Nah," Laci said. "Not anymore. He's kind of a freak now."

Freak? "Because he's glitchy?" Mary asked.

"That's part of it," Laci said. "He also said some stupid stuff to me. So, I dumped him."

Wow, Mary thought. That accident happened just last week. High school relationships really did rise and fall at the speed of light.

"I see," Mary said. "Well, thanks."

"No prob."

Mary went upstairs and found
David waiting for her. "Here's your bling brush," he said, handing it to her. "I washed it and everything. Thanks a bunch for letting me borrow it."

"
No problem," she said as she unrolled her brush bag and slipped the long handle into an empty pocket. Mary noticed a slight bruise on the side of his face. "What happened to you?"

He chuckled. "Had a disagreement at our last game."
David wasn't really an artist. He was a hockey player. When he moved from Canada with his parents and started going to Lewis Prep, he switched one of his electives to Art because he had a crush on Sienna. "I don't date white guys," Sienna had told him the first time he asked her out. "But I'm not white," he had said. "I'm clear." Sienna didn't go out with him until he asked her a third time, and it was only so that he would stop asking. They'd been together since.

David looked at Mary.
"Are you all right? You seem kinda down."

"
I didn't sleep well last night," she admitted.

"
Dealing with a lot, I'll bet," he said.

Y
ou have no idea, she thought.

"
Hey there," Sienna said as she walked up to David's side. "Not trying to steal my boyfriend too, are you?"

Mary chuckled. "Of course not. But what do you mean by 'too'?"

Sienna gasped. "You didn't hear?"

"
Come on, Sienna," David said. "Gossip makes you so unsexy."

"
But this isn't gossip. It's concerning Mary," she said.

"
What are you talking about?" Mary asked.

"
I'm talking about Carter and Laci's break up."

"I heard about that," Mary said. "Laci dumped him. But how does that concern me?"

"I heard that Carter dumped
her
," Sienna said. "The point is that they aren't together anymore. Kinda convenient for that to happen after an accident involving you and him."

Mary
was speechless for a moment. Then, she frowned. "You're a moron."

Sienna looked a
t her like a deer in headlights.

David frowned. "T
hat was too far, Mary."

Mary
ignored him as she snapped at Sienna. "You hear this and that and whatever. Who the crap cares? Just leave me alone."

Before they could say more, Mary
darted down the nearest stairwell and left the school. On the bus, she recalled her encounter with Laci. She seemed okay and pretty nice, actually. Not broken up or anything. But then again, she could have been acting because she was flirting with that other guy. Despite who did the dumping, that might've been why Carter was so distant.

H
e was the same way the next day. And the day after that. And every day that week. The only time Mary saw Carter was in Physics, and he sat in the back and didn't make eye contact with anyone.

When the Honor Roll was posted for the quarter, Ma
ry found her name in the usual spot. It would be higher if it weren't for that cursed English class. But at least they were through with the Italian hell book.

She looked at the rest of the list and found
Carter's name, which had never appeared on the Honor Roll before. But there he was at the thirteenth rank. Somehow, in less than a month, he had improved his GPA exponentially.

Another few days passed.
Finally, Mary couldn't stand it anymore. After Physics, she ran out the door to catch Carter in the hall. "Carter! Wait a minute!"

He stopped and turned to her.
"Hello, Mary," he said politely.

"
Hey," she said. "Um, I know it's been a while. But I've wanted to say how sorry I am. About you and Laci."

"
Sorry?" he asked. "Why?"

She shrugged.
"Well, I'm not an expert on relationships or anything. But it couldn't have been easy breaking up."

"
Oh. I see." He paused for a moment. "Relationships are curious things. Don't you agree?"

"
Yeah. Totally. I—hey!" she said. "You just used a contraction!"

"
I did."

Mary
saw that he was still walking a little weird, but not mini-lunging any more. "How long has this been going on?" she asked.

"
I've been practicing." He stopped. "Mary?"

"
Yeah?"

"
Have you completed your painting?" he asked. "The one of Saturn's rings?"

"
Oh yeah," she said, recalling they had talked about it before. "I did."

"
May I see it?"

Well, she had
said he could. And Mary wasn't one to go back on her word. "Um, sure. It's in the Art room. But isn't basketball practice going on now? I don't know if you have enough time to see it."

"
I'm not on the basketball team anymore," he said.

She
stared at him. "You're
not
?"

He shook his head.
Still a little dramatic, but not as much as before. "My coordination is not as it used to be. My doctor and coach agreed that I should not play for the rest of the season."

Mary felt like
ironing her hands again.

"Did I say something offensive?" he asked. "
Why do you look sad now?"

"Oh." She shook
her head, "It's just…I'm…I thought basketball's a big deal to you. And I'm sorry that you can't play anymore because of…well…because of me."

"
I do not blame you for anything," he said.

She shrugged. "I know. But I still feel bad about it."

He stared at her for a moment. Then he said, "I understand. But I hope that soon you will know that there is no need to feel that way."

He was making it hard for
Mary to sufficiently punish herself. "So, what class are you taking in place of basketball?" she asked.

"I'm no
t in another class," he said. "It is too late in the term. So, I will make up for it in the summer."

Crap, she thought. Not only did she take away
his car and basketball, but she set him behind schedule, too.

"You're sad again," he said.

"Sorry," she said. "I just…well, that must be nice, though. To have a free class period to do nothing."

"I help at the library," he said. "If there are
not books to shelve or other things to do, I work on my homework or read."

That could explain how his grades were getting better. "
You like reading?" she asked.

"I like learning about humanity," he said. He paused for a
moment and then added, "So yes. I like reading."

Up until that moment,
Mary had never heard of a boy who liked to read.

"
Your painting?" he asked.

"
Oh. Right," she said.

They headed for the Art room, where they found
Mr. Edwards stacking bottles of paint in a cabinet. "Hey there, Mary. And good afternoon, Carter."

"
Good afternoon, sir. How are you?" Carter greeted.

"
I'm well, thanks. Just tidying up a bit."

"
Would you like any help?" he asked.

Mary noted the curious look on the Art teacher
's face. "I only have this last box of paint to put up. That's all. But thanks for asking."

"
You're welcome."

Mr. Edwards still looked puzzled.
Mary explained, "Carter wanted to see my Saturn rings painting. Is that all right, sir?"

"
Of course," he said. But the wrinkles in his brow didn't go away.

She went to
the drawer with her name on it and took out the canvas. "Well? What do you think?"

Carter
said nothing at first.

"
It's all right if you don't like it," she said.

"
No, that's not it," he said. "Not at all. It's…
magnificent
."

Mary
had never heard that word used to describe her work before. "Really?"

"
Maybe that isn't the right word. I can't think of a better one, though." He looked at her. "You are gifted."

"
That's what I say," Mr. Edwards added. "Let's see if
you
can convince her to enter it into the contest. Or any of her other paintings, for that matter. I've been trying for the past three years."

Mary
smiled. "No thanks."

"
Why not?" Carter asked.

She replaced the canvas in the drawer.
"I don't like competition."

"
With that painting, I don't think there will be any," he said. "You should do it."

She shook her head.

He turned to Mr. Edwards. "I tried."

"
It's all we can do," the teacher chuckled.

When Mary had stored her painting again, t
hey said goodbye to Mr. Edwards and left the school.