Monsters by David Alexander Robertson

Author:David Alexander Robertson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Portage & Main Press

15

MWACH

COLE DEEMED IT SAFE TO RETURN TO SCHOOL after lunch following his outburst, and just kept away from the gym. It appeared as though his altercation with Choch had gone over well with the student body, which was a nice surprise. He noticed more smirks and fewer scowls, and he even heard the odd, “Person-makers!” shouted randomly. By the time Cole had reached his locker, the only thing he had left to worry about was the reception he’d get from Brady, Eva, and Michael. They were there, switching books at their lockers, from Biology to Cree. Cole got his out as well, before saying anything to his friends. The Cree textbook had been the only new one provided by Choch—a spiral-bound Wounded Sky Cree dictionary and phrase book.

All of them with their textbooks now, they stood in a kind of square, each at one corner, exchanging looks and not saying a word. Cole wanted it to end, but he wasn’t sure what to say. Were they mad at him? Had he been that out of line? He started to replay their conversation, (argument?) in his mind. It boiled down to this: he’d not told Eva about hanging out with Pam and, seemingly worse, he had gone off to look for the files without them. Oh, and he survived electrocution. Cole couldn’t think of doing anything other than apologizing. He felt like he was good at two things and two things only, sometimes: saying sorry and breaking locks (or door handles).

“Look,” Cole started into his apology, but Eva suddenly lunged at him and gave him a huge hug.

“Oh, Cole, we love you! We’re sorry for ganging up on you!” she said jokingly, like she was talking to a baby. Cole wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but decided while still in Eva’s arms that maybe he deserved to get talked to like a baby.

“Yeah, friend,” Brady said, without baby talk, and made it a three-person hug.

“Just don’t go off without us again, okay?” Eva said.

“And we know you can’t tell us everything, but when it comes to the Pam thing…” Brady said.

“I know,” Cole said.

“I mean, if we were around, maybe at least you wouldn’t have passed out on the front steps, right?” Eva said.

“Maybe,” Cole said.

They were all huddled, touching foreheads, but Cole looked up because he noticed one person missing from the hug, and he couldn’t believe it but he wanted Michael in there more than Eva right now.

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Michael said, but he didn’t say it like he was mad or like he hated Cole, just that he wasn’t a hugger.

Eventually, they let go of each other, and this coincided with the bell. Lunch was over, and classes were starting.

“How’s your Cree?” Brady asked.

“Ha.” That was all Cole could muster. He felt like he couldn’t even say “Ha” in Cree, or if there was even a word for it. “I haven’t spoken Cree, really, since I left Wounded Sky.”

“It’ll come back,” Eva assured him.

“Say yes and don’t even think about it,” Brady said.

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