Wilted Roses - Ch.07

Chapter 7. Rendezvous in the Nurse’s Office


AUDI:
        “Philip,” I said as I stopped him in the hallway. “Have you seen Adrian?”
        Philip looked over his bony shoulder and blinked twice before answering me. “Uh, um, I-I saw him earlier today near the vending machines but he seemed really irritable. I don’t know where he went, though. S-sorry.”
        I sighed in disappointment. Where could he be? “It’s okay. Thanks, anyway, Philip. I… guess I’ll see you around?” I smiled weakly as I waved him goodbye.
        As I walked away, leaving Philip waving timidly after me, I headed towards my second period class. I was completely unsatisfied. Here I was, ready to hand Adrian his jacket—which has been graciously dry-cleaned to have a nice scent of Febreze—and yet I couldn’t find him anywhere.
        With the success of enduring a long grueling class of Algebra, I found myself in front of the attendance office instead of in the cafeteria for lunch. The woman behind the counter looked apathetic, her hands busily scribbling on a piece of paper. “What is it?” the lady said in a bored drawl. “Hurry it up, because I’m busy here.”
        I frowned, but decided to make this quick for her sake. “I’m looking for a boy named Adrian Carroll. Can you help me?” I held up the jacket. “This is his, and I want to give it to him.”
        The woman made a clicking noise with her tongue and put down her pen. “Just a second,” she said as she slightly turned her chair towards the computer. Her nimble fingers went racing across the keyboard as she checked the student database. “He was present for the first half of first period, but came down to the nurse’s office with an excuse slip. Anything else?” Her eyes flickered up to my face as she waited for a response.
        “Ah, um, is he still there?” I asked, feeling intimidated.
        “He was marked absent for second period and hasn’t been checked out of the school, so I would assume so. You do know where the nurse’s office is, don’t you?” the woman inquired, making me feel like I was stupid.
        “Yes, ma’am. Thank you very much, ma’am,” I said politely as I walked away, my face feeling hot.
        Why hasn’t she been fired yet?
        I opened the door to the nurse’s office and approached the lady at the front counter. Hoping she wouldn’t be as rude as the lady at the attendance office, I asked, “Excuse me, is Adrian Carroll here?”
        The woman smiled and replied, “Why, yes, he is here. He is just around the corner in room three.” With a gesture, she pointed to the room. “But be careful not to wake him up.”
        “Yes, I will. Thank you,” I grinned as I went around the corner.
        I knocked softly on the door to room three and waited a while for a “come in” or a “yes, who is it?” or anything of the like. Then I whispered, “Adrian? Are you in there?” Nothing came, however, so I opened the door a creak and peeked in. The room was dark; the blinds were closed, only letting in small rays of sunlight trickle in. I went inside the room, closing the door quietly behind me.
        There was a white bed in the corner, with a plain white curtain circling around it for privacy. I felt inclined to see who was in it, but didn’t know whether I should or shouldn’t. After a short moment of consideration, I opened the curtain with the carefulness of handling porcelain.
        There he was, having escaped me these past few hours. His eyes were closed and, with his bangs pushed back, he had a wet paper towel on his forehead. I looked at his sleeping face for a while. “Sleep well,” I said under my breath, before letting the curtain fall back into its place. I left his jacket on the table next to him and started towards the door.
        “Audi?” I heard a quiet voice say. “Is that you?”
        I turned on my heels to see Adrian sitting upright on the side of the bed, holding the curtain up. He cradled his head in the palm of his left hand. “Did you need something?” he asked as he brought himself to look at me.
        It might have just been because the room was so poorly lit, but Adrian’s face looked incredibly pale. “Oh, no. I… I just came to give your jacket back to you.” I shifted uneasily on my feet. “Are you alright?”
        The wet paper towel fell off of his head into his hand with a plop. “Never felt better,” he sarcastically remarked. “Thanks for, um, bringing it to me.” He fingered the jacket’s collar.
        “No problem. Thank you for letting me borrow it,” I responded. “Are you sure you’re okay? Do you have a cold?”
        Adrian coughed as if that were my answer. “Yeah, I think I got it yesterday. It was pretty windy and I was soaked in Coca Cola. But I should be okay after a little more sleep.” He rubbed his temples with his forefingers. “Have you eaten lunch already? You should go; don’t waste your time here.”
        I walked back to the bed and kneeled down in front of him. “Don’t worry. I’m not wasting my time. Besides, what about you? Aren’t you hungry? I can get you something to eat, if you’d like,” I offered.
        “No, it’s fine. I’ll get something to eat later,” he said, before his stomach growled.
        I chuckled as his face reddened.
        “On second thought, I think I’d like that. Thanks, Audi.” Adrian coughed some more before I made him lie back down again.
        “I’ll be right back! I won’t take long, I promise,” I said with a smile.
        “Audi!” Adrian called out to me with a cough following after. “Be careful.”
        “Of course! I’ll be back soon.” And with that, I left the room to head towards the cafeteria.
        In the cafeteria, I spotted Leah Truman and her friends sitting at a table in the far-off distance. I steered clear of them as I lined up to get our lunches. Suddenly, I remembered that I hadn’t asked Adrian what he wanted, and immediately felt like an idiot.
        “Uh, maybe I’ll get him some soup. Chicken noodle soup, you can’t go wrong with that when you’re sick,” I muttered to myself. Yes, how very original.
        I got a sandwich for myself and soup and a biscuit for Adrian and was about to head back when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Afraid to look back, I hesitated. Finally, I turned around to see my worst nightmare.
        “Hi, Audi,” Leah greeted in a sugar-coated tone. “Are you going to eat all that? Be careful, you might gain a little weight.” Her friends laughed, covering their sneers with their fingers.
        “I-it’s not for me,” I explained, shivering from her touch. “I’m bringing some food to… one of my friends.”
        Leah threw her head back and laughed. “Friends? Since when did you have any?” Then she smiled wryly. “Are you talking about Adrian?”
        “Um,” I blushed, giving it away.
        “I knew it!” Leah said. “You two make such a cute couple, both being freaks and all! So what—is he sick or something?”
        “I’m just bringing him something to eat. Please leave me alone.”
        Leah grinned and pushed her hair back behind her ear. “Sure, sure. Go and have a little rendezvous with your boyfriend.”
        I left the cafeteria as quickly as I could; I couldn’t stand to be in there with all of them laughing at me like that. My eyes stung, brimming with wetness.
        When I came back to room three, Adrian greeted me with a smile. I tried to blink back my tears and put on a fake cheery demeanor. “Welcome back,” he said. “Care to eat lunch with a sick, old, patient?”
        I smiled halfheartedly and nodded, standing near the door in an awkward manner.
        “Go ahead and turn on the lights,” Adrian said as he pulled a chair up to the table beside him.
        I did as I was told and went to sit in the chair he pulled up for me. As he sat on the side of the bed, his hands upon the tabletop, I set the tray down and picked up my sandwich. “I hope chicken noodle soup and a biscuit is enough for you.”
        “Yep, that’s good. Thanks again,” Adrian said as he took the plastic spoon up into his right hand. He studied my face for a while, making me feel uncomfortable, before asking, “What happened?”
        I twitched and tried to hide my distress. “What do you mean? I’m fine,” I lied through my teeth while I used my sandwich as an excuse to look away from him.
        “If you call being a nervous wreck ‘fine,’ then you and I live in totally different worlds. What happened?” Adrian probed.
        I put down my sandwich and couldn’t bring myself to swallow. It took me a while before I could actually get it down and answer his question. “I… I saw Leah in the cafeteria. Nothing big.”
        Adrian set his spoon back down onto the napkin beside his bowl. We were quiet for a moment before Adrian’s cough broke the silence. “Did they do anything to you?” he wondered.
        “No, just the usual teasing…”
        Adrian’s brow furrowed in resentment. He crossed his arms and glared at the wall next to him. It seemed as though he were thinking of something, but I couldn’t place my finger on what it was.
        Then he spoke again. “I have an idea,” he announced with a slightly scheming look in his expression.
        I paused, anxious to what it might be. I dared to ask him what he was thinking of. “What is it?”
        Adrian smiled like the devil. I wasn’t sure if he was aware of his frightful appearance, but he continued anyway. He stood from the bed and took my hand in his.
        “Will you go to the prom with me?”