11. Apples

Clarissa smiled and sat beside Sineas. She moved her desk even closer. She was wearing a light green jacket and a white dress underneath. Like yesterday, her hair was pinned behind her into a rabbit’s tail. ‘Hey,’ she said beaming at him.

‘H…hey,’ Sineas replied. He was just as bewildered as the rest of the class.

‘Clarissa...’ Justin began, ‘The drugs you’re taking; can you hook me up?’

She ignored him. She was busy opening her book, arranging her stationery on her desk. Everyone just looked on, looking thunderstruck. With all those eyes on them, Sineas felt even more awkward. He turned his eyes to Justin.

‘Keep those eyes somewhere else, kid, not here,’ Justin warned him.

He lowered his eyes into his book.

Mr. Sawyer cleared his throat. ‘Now that we have solved that issue, the numbers are still unbalanced, but nevertheless; Sabrina, you can join Justin’s team.’

She got up in a tsunami. Her eyes were stuck on Clarissa. She did not retract them as she made her way towards Justin and his partner. Clarissa met the coldness of her eyes but for a micro-second. She instinctively turned back to her book.

At lunch, Sineas could feel the glares and stares from the other students. Not just the students in his class but other very unfamiliar faces; Students who did Commercials and Arts. It seemed his fame had spread throughout the school. He sat by a table just beside a small peach tree. It felt cool, a welcome relief from the intense heat. Sabrina and Doreen were sitting two tables to his left. They looked like twins in their matching yellow sweaters. Sineas remembered they were one girl short. Just as soon as this thought appeared, so did Clarissa. She was walking down the steps of the building carrying her lunch bag making her way towards her friends.

‘Uh-uh!’ Sabrina frowned nastily at her. ‘Your boyfriend is over there,’ she pointed a crooked finger at Sineas.

Clarissa was amazed. ‘Really, Sabrina? Really?’

She became quiet and continued to eat.

Doreen imitated her.

Clarissa turned her attention to Doreen, trying to gain sympathy.

She continued to eat too, casting momentary peeks at Sabrina, ready for her next gesture.

Clarissa sighed in frustration, turned and walked away.

Sineas had lost his appetite. The stares from the students did not falter. He took a piece of cloth from his pocket and wiped his mouth, then his hands. He sensed a presence behind him.

‘Do you mind if I sit?’

He turned his head cruelly behind him. He was startled to see Clarissa standing there carrying her lunch bag. She was wearing a nervous smile.

He could refuse. It’s better to refuse. ‘Uh, yeah, sure.’ Why didn’t you refuse?! He screamed in his head. He had no business with her. What did she want from him?

‘Thank you,’ she said before she sat beside him. She was sitting awkwardly close, but not as Sabrina had. ‘Wow, I’m famished,’ she said as she began emptying her lunch bag. She reached in and pulled out a green apple, a see-through lunch box with about two or three of what looked like pickle sandwiches and a tiny box of orange squash. She started with the bread. She spoke no words except for an occasional ‘mmm’ and ‘wow’ of enjoyment and satisfaction. After about seven straight minutes, she had gone through the sandwiches and the squash. The apple was the last survivor. ‘My name’s Clarissa. Clarissa Sherman,’ she said whilst wiping her fingers with a white handkerchief.

‘Sineas. Sineas Murphy,’ he whispered loud enough for her to hear. ‘But…my aunt. My aunt calls me Sin,’ he added.

She narrowed her eyes. ‘Sin? Why? Did you blaspheme your way out of your mom’s womb?’ she made a soft laugh.

He stared at her looking puzzled.

‘That was a joke…I’m sorry,’ she apologized straightening her expression.

‘I was born out of wedlock,’ he explained. ‘My aunt got furious with my mother for it because she was against sleeping with someone before marriage. That’s why I got the name Sineas.’

‘And didn’t she protest? I mean, isn’t the parent supposed to give the child the name?’

‘My mother tried but my father, having the greater voice approved it. He actually thought Sineas is a unique name.’

Clarissa looked greatly confused. ‘But what does it mean?’ she asked him curiously.

‘My aunt says “eas” is the mystery I have to find out for myself,’ he tried to grin but to no avail. ‘I don’t know how far true that is.’

She made a perfect grin. ‘So you’re the mystery…the mystery of sin?’

He shrugged. ‘Something like that.’

She made a sharp sigh and placed her chin in her palm. ‘My mom said she called me Clarissa because it’s a beautiful name. How can it be beautiful when you don’t even know what it means?’ She paused, and then laughed.

‘I heard you fighting your friends,’ he said uneasily.

She looked at him.

‘Not that I was eavesdropping…it was just too loud to ignore.’

She laughed again. Her look turned serious fast. ‘I don’t have friends.’

‘Well…neither do I.’

She smiled.

With massive effort, he returned the favour.

‘I should have known, Claire. But this dude of all people?’ Justin had arrived from God-knows-where. He was with his entourage: boys almost his size standing like goons behind him. Some of them were wearing the identical sports jacket. A few girls were within the group.

‘Is there something you want to say, Justin?’ Clarissa said, sounding intolerant.

‘Yes,’ he said casting his massive arm over one girl’s shoulder. She almost buckled under the weight.

‘Then say it and leave,’ snapped Clarissa.

‘No offence, Claire, but this dude is a joke,’ Justin sneered. ‘I mean, look at him. He’s a social misfit, a weirdo. He could be on the run for killing someone’s cousin in an alley somewhere.’

Clarissa said, ‘Justin, this is why some people see you as a joke. You’re a mega jerk. You don’t value anyone in your life besides yourself.’