The Secret - 2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As the moon made its way down towards the ocean, the sun crept out of the mountains, creating breathtaking scenery. The light glided up through the trees as the clouds scattered themselves across the sky. If looking long enough, I could see a stream of colors dancing before my eyes. The wind calmed down, but still made the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. I could smell the ocean from the balcony off my room. I raised my arms to begin my morning stretch. I let out a yawn and rubbed my eyes.

I stood on the small balcony that perched outside of my room. I had awakened before my alarm clock buzzed six-thirty. I woke every morning before the alarm went off; I was not a heavy sleeper. Even the sound of the waves could keep me up all night, but last night I had closed the windows and doors. This morning I awoke after a disturbing dream. Clark was in it. He was looking at me or so I thought. It was more like he was looking through me; his face was filled with horror, just like the day I found him in the showers.

I stood in the shower for as long as I could. My sister would soon come barging in, hogging the bathroom for more than an hour. I thought about Clark; thinking about him gave me the chills. What if he was standing right behind me? I would feel his arms around my neck and his body against my back allowing me to feel his heartbeat. He would breathe on my neck as I grabbed his hand. I’d look into his eyes like the day we met and come in closer and... Quinn knocked on the door. I climbed out of the shower and reached for the red towel. I shook my head to disperse the wetness from my hair and quickly wrapped the towel around my waist.

“Are you done yet?” she asked annoyed.

“No,” I snapped.

Still, I turned the knob and pulled the door open. I laughed at her presence. Quinn had bed-head and her eyes were half open.

“Shut up!” She snarled.

I marched to my room to dress. After putting on shoes, I ran downstairs and entered the kitchen, my mother was cutting oranges for her lunch.

Mother had brown hair with a streak of gray falling over her face. She looked too young to be forty-five. My mother was born in New York where she lived with my grandfather Alejandro Cortez, an Argentinian born factory worker now living in Queens. She grew up very independent. After high school she got a scholarship to NYU and studied business and art.

My father, Adam Frat met her in a student oriented bar and dragged her with him to Los Angeles, California. They married and lived in a city house. My mother continued to work in her little studio at home, while Dad ran his photography business. But my father, ten years older than my mother, was found dead on the floor having suffered a heart attack at the age of thirty-eight. My mother took over the business and expanded it into an art and photography business. A month after my dad’s death, she found out she was pregnant with twins. I don’t know why she decided to move her business to the San Diego area, but that is why we are growing up in Carlsbad. My mother is not home as much as she says she would like to be, but being the dedicated woman she is to her career, she won’t give up.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked.

I smiled. “Because you’re beautiful.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Well, thank you. Tonight, I’m going to be home late, so cook up something for you and your sister.”

I looked at her suitcase on the counter; in big letters it read her name: Marylena Frat.

“Yeah, okay,” I obeyed.

She kissed my forehead, then shoved her lunch bag into her suitcase, and left running out the front door.

I grabbed a bowl and poured Cheerios into it. Quinn came down minutes later with her hair pulled back, wearing a blue shirt with jeans and carried her bag over her shoulder.

Quinn was one of the smarter students at school. She has been in the academic league for three years now and takes part in the Key Club, French club, Honors Club, Physics Club, etc. She strives to be next year’s valedictorian and part of the top ten students in our county. So when I say my sister is ridiculously studious, I mean she hangs out with studious friends and spends time doing things I would never find entertaining. My sister and I never see each other during school hours. No one assumes we are related. If you see us together, the resemblance is there; like most siblings, we hate to be told we look alike.

“Hurry, we are going to be late, James,” she warned.

“Well I wonder why?”

“Shut up!”

The first bell rang just as I parked the Jeep. Quinn jumped out and ran to her first class. I closed the door and walked to my Spanish class. I caught up with Jimmy and Pete in the hallway.
“Hey dude, wanna go to a party tonight?” Jimmy asked.

“Where?” I asked.

“In La Jolla,” he confirmed.

“He can’t,” Pete objected.

“Why?” He asked.

“He’s gotta date with Katie Pearson.”

I had forgotten all about Katie. Last night she asked if I’d like to go to the mall after our game. I didn’t really like Katie; she was cute, but not for me. Of course, everyone thought she was perfect for me. She was the hottest cheerleader on the squad, with long blonde hair and a winning smile. Her father was one of the richest men in San Diego and she was spoiled rotten. This girl got everything she wanted, except for me. For years now, Katie had been dying to date me. It’s me and my damn Speedo. She only goes after jocks. She’s dated the wide-receiver of the football team and the captain of the soccer team. I don’t see why she doesn’t go after Pete, ; he’s much bulkier than me, and he’s macho like all the other guys she’s dated. He’s pretty good-looking. But according to Quinn, it’s because of my sensitive personality.

“I don’t—”

“James you will like her, promise me,” Pete cut me off.

“James!” I heard her voice call after me.

Shit!

She grabbed my shoulder and spun me around to face her.

“Hi….Kate,” I stuttered.

“Well, are you going to pick me up at seven or seven-thirty?” She asked sincerely. She wore a big bright smile. Her face was powdered with sparkles.

I tried to come up with an excuse. “Uh I can’t use my jeep today my sister needs it to go to…a tutoring session.”

“Oh well that’s okay I’ll drive,” she insisted.

I felt defeated, so I agreed that she could come pick me up.

She walked away flipping her hair off her shoulders and put on a pair of sunglasses.

Jimmy nudged my arm.” Dude, you get that!”

“She’s just your type,” Pete added.

“She is?” I asked confused.

Pete put his arm around my shoulder and patted my shoulder as he dragged me down the hall.

“Just look at it like this,” he waved his hand in the sky, “You will probably get laid tonight.”

“With Katie Pearson!” Jimmy screeched.

They both laughed and did their personal handshake.

Why didn’t I feel excited about any of this? I mean she’s hot and I would be admired around the school. I walked to my class alone, leaving the guys behind me. Katie has good taste in clothing and she’s likeable…and cool—awesome.

Three girls walking toward me gave me big smiles, while giggling and talking as they rushed by.

I was about to enter the door to my classroom when Clark walked into the washroom down the hall. I stopped and decided to go in after him.

I opened the door quietly. Clark had his hands leaning against a nearby sink, staring at himself in the mirror on the wall. He wore a black sweater and faded jeans.

“Hey,” I huffed.

He turned his head around as I stood at the door with a half-smile on my face.

“What do you want?” He asked anxiously.

I raised my eyebrow, confused.

“Hey, why do you constantly push me away? You keep doing that. What did I do?”

He looked away. “Sorry.”

“I understand that something is going terribly wrong right now. I only want to help out,” I admitted.

He picked up the bag on the floor and walked pass me. “You don’t understand anything!”

I stood there gawking at what just happened.

At lunch, I walked to the last table in the corner of the cafeteria where the water polo crew hung out. Some of the cheerleaders sat down with us, complaining about useless things.

“So I hear you have a date with Kate,” Nick mentioned when he came to the table.

“Uh…I guess I do. Does everyone know?” I asked, shoving carrots in my mouth.

“Yeah! She made sure of that,” fired Karen, a cheerleader, who continually grouped with us.

“You should be happy. You’re gonna get laid,” whispered Liam.

“Dude, you’re in luck,” said one of the team-mates.

“Awesome.”

“He’s gonna get some!”

“Yeah, get it!”

“Smooth!”

As the team threw their comments at me I stuck to my seat, with a feeling regret. I was not happy. I didn’t like this girl. I don’t like to think about doing it.

“Shut Up!” I roared. I quickly jumped out of my seat and walked towards the doors that led outside.

The door opened swiftly and in came my nightmare. She had let her thick blonde hair down. She wore an intimidating smile and almost glided as she came towards me with her hair bouncing as if she was a walking Barbie.

“Hi,” she squeaked.

“Oh... Hey… Kay—,” I mumbled.

“What?”

“Hi.”

“I’m so excited for tonight!”

I raised my eyebrows to show that I cared somewhat. I headed towards the door as she stood there confused.

“Pick you up at seven!” She yelled.

When I walked outside someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me with them. It was Quinn, she looked pissed.

“Hey! I can walk myself,” I pulled away.

“Why are you going out with her?” She ignored me.

“You too?”

“James, she’s a bitch! You can’t go out with her!”

“Can’t I decide who I date?”

She sighed. “James, trust me, you can do so much better. The last five guys she went after were all for the sex! You are not like that!”

“How do you know if I don’t want sex?” I asked furiously.

“Because I’m your sister and I know that you haven’t done anything.”

“I’ve had sex!” I lied.

“Liar!” She shot back.

“I don’t see how you know anything about me. We hardly ever talk and see each other. For four years it’s been like that! Give me one reason you know what I have or haven’t done!”

“Because you don’t like girls!”

I paused. She covered her mouth. My heart started racing and I felt a nerve shoot up my spine. We stood there for a while.

“Just don’t go out with her!”

And she walked away into the hall.

How come she somehow assumed I didn’t like girls? I laughed. ‘I like girls. I just haven’t found the right one. I’m not ready, I suppose.’ I told myself, but every word felt like a knife in my throat. I shut it away and walked back into the cafeteria.

I was quiet during practice. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. We did laps and Coach congratulated us on yesterday’s game. I did not hear anything he said. When practice ended, I stayed behind and did some strokes. I lay on the surface of the water, looking up at the dimmed lights. I felt so lost. I didn’t want to get out. I closed my eyes and opened them then looked at the clock on the wall; it was six-fifteen.

I quickly jumped out and ran into the locker room to slip on my shirt and jeans. The jeep was alone in the parking lot.

When I arrived home, I hid the jeep inside the garage so Kate wouldn’t see it. I ran inside to grab my wallet. Quinn wasn’t home. I figured she was with her best friend Lydia, who had the biggest crush on me, ever since middle school.

I found my wallet lying on the floor in the middle of my room. I grabbed it and headed back out the door. When I switched off the lights, I looked back at my dark room and noticed a small square light on the wall. Following the light, my eyes looked out across the neighborhood. I came to the window to get a better look. The light was on top of the hill, coming from the house that stood on it.

I wondered who else lived in the house, besides Clark. The light turned off and a minute later a dark figure walked out the door. It hurried to a white Toyota and drove down the street. I stuck my head out the window to see who was in it but once it passed the house, I couldn’t make out anyone. Then a yellow bug drove into the driveway. Kate was ten minutes early.

The drive to the mall was annoying. Kate talked about the different types of heeled shoes she bought for herself: blue, striped, zebra, cheetah, and every possible shoe that can be made. And every type of designer clothing she ever wore.

“James?” She asked after she finished talking about her dog, Pebbles.

“Yeah,” I answered.

“You’re so quiet.”

“Oh. Sorry. I have a lot of things on my mind.”

“Like what?” She asked curiously.

“Things—”

“Oh,” she breathed and shut her mouth.

At the mall I followed her into all of her favorite stores. She grabbed practically every dress off the racks and tried them on. I sat in the fitting room as she modeled each dress.

She’d ask me if she ‘looked good’ or if she was ‘stunning’. After I said yes, she’d come up with a reason why she didn’t like it.

For three hours we did this. I felt bad for the guys who had dated her before, because she really is something.

After coming out of Charlotte Russe, I was angry with myself. Why did I agree in hanging out with her?

“Hey you want something to drink?” She asked.

“Yes,” I snapped.

“Oh!” she gasped, “How about The Smoothie Hut?”

We walked up to the juice bar. A girl was cleaning the countertop.

“I’ll take the Raspberry Flush,” Katie told the girl.

The girl shot us a horrid look.

“Hey C! We have customers.”

A boy popped out from underneath the counter. It was Clark.

“Hey what can I get—”

He noticed me and froze.

We stared at each other. He wore a blue cap that had the bar’s name imprinted on it and he wore a white shirt with a black apron over it.

“I’ll get a Raspberry Flush,” Kate interrupted.

He punched the cashier box and looked at me.

“James, he’s waiting for your answer,” Kate murmured.

“Oh…yeah, strawberry banana.”

He punched the register again and quickly grabbed two blenders from underneath the counter.

“Do you know him?” Katie wondered.

I shrugged.

“Cause I could have sworn he gave you that look.”

‘What did she mean by that?’

“Well, he does go to our school. He’s really quiet and never talks. But he’s somewhat smart. And a bit of a loner,” she continued talking.

I watched him struggle with the cups. His hands were shaking. I was making him nervous and I knew it, every minute I caught him looking in the corner of his eye.

He gave us our smoothies delicately.

I took them and handed the purple smoothie to Kate. She grabbed it and smiled. I glanced at Clark and his eyes quickly looked the other way.

“So are you ready to go into another store?” She asked.

“Uh…”

“It’s okay we can go have our dinner,” she insisted and walked to a nearby exit. I followed her outside until we met her car. She reached for her keys in her purse.

“Kate, I have to go,” I blurted so she could hear me.

She looked up. “What? Don’t you want to eat?”

“No. I remember I forgot to do something,” I lied.

“What was it?”

“Something.”

She looked confused. “James, get in the car so we can go eat.”

I shook my head. “Kate I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”

Her face went pink. “Fine! Have fun whatever it is your doing.”

She opened her car and turned on the ignition and drove off.

I watched her leave and walked back inside the mall.

Clark was at the bar alone. I wanted to talk to him. He was cleaning the blender, he looked lost.

I stood at the counter and waited for him to look up.

When he did I smiled and said, “Hey.”

“Where’s your girlfriend?” he mumbled.

“Who? You mean Kate? She’s not my girlfriend.”

He nodded.

“She wanted to go out tonight and we did nothing, except shop for clothes. Her clothes.”

“Oh well that sucks,” he chirped.

He finished wiping down the counter.

“So will tell you me what happened that day?” I asked out of the blue.

“Will you drop it already? Leave me alone!” He stormed to the end of the bar and pretended to look busy.

“You can’t expect me to stand here and act like nothing happened!” I shouted.

“Go away!”

“You need to tell someone—”

An older woman came up to the bar and asked for a smoothie.

Clark ignored her and came closer to me, he slammed his fist on the counter between us.

“SHUT UP!”

“I asked for a Straw- Blueberry smoothie,” scoffed the woman, who became annoyed.

“Clark! Please? I can help you!” I offered.

“Excuse me!”barked the woman.

“Go Away!” Clark commanded.

The woman grew agitated and folded her arms. “I want my SMOOTHIE!”

“Fuck!” he cursed.

The woman froze, shocked. I scowled and stepped back. Everyone in the store stopped to see all the commotion we created.

Clark gripped the visor from his hat and pulled it down, covering his face. He grabbed the blender and made the smoothie. After a minute of gathering everything together and dropping them into the blender, he carefully handed the smoothie to the woman, who seemed to have recovered.

“It’s on me,” he added.

She looked at him fiercely from head to toe. “Thank you!” And she walked away, sticking her nose high in the air.

I turned my attention to Clark; his cheeks were covered with pink blotches and his ears were beet red. His head hung low. ‘Why did I humiliate him?’ I asked myself.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

“Forget it,” he breathed.

A few minutes later, the girl from earlier came back and told him he could leave for the night. He took off his hat and apron and put it in the bag he took out from his little safety compartment. He walked out of the juice bar and checked his cell-phone. I glided over and stood next to him. His hair smelled good. I caught him looking at me from the corner of his eye. He probably wondered what I was doing, standing there next to him. My heart began pounding against my chest and I could feel the sweat on my hands. I felt a stream of heat run down my back. I could hear his breathing patterns; they were getting faster. I’d never felt this way before and I was only standing beside him. My body was becoming anxious. I was panting short breaths.

“Wanna go surfing?” He asked me.

Relieved, I nodded and we walked together down the aisle of stores ahead of us. When we finally reached his truck, the same truck I saw earlier from my room, he pulled out his keys and opened the driver’s door. There was a surfboard in the bed of the truck. I didn’t know he was serious about surfing, because he didn’t seem the type.

“Can we stop by my house and grab my board? We can surf in the back,” I requested.

“Oh yeah, It’s ocean-front, nice,” he commented.

We sat in his truck, driving to our neighbourhood in pure silence. He didn’t even turn on the stereo. I gazed at the road. ‘I’m sitting here with some guy, who I find interesting. He’s so mysterious, but I’m enjoying every minute of it. I just wish we would act like guys and talk about something stupid.’

“So you surf?” I slurred.

He looked at me and turned his focus back on the road. “Yeah.”

“How long?”

“A couple of years,” he admitted.

“I’ve never seen you.”

“Because I like to surf in the night.”

“Oh.”

When we came to my house I saw my board leaning against the garage door and took it. We ran to the back of my house and opened the door that led to my small backyard. We could see the ocean by moonlight. We climbed down the hill that led to the sand. I pulled off my shirt and flip flops and threw them to the side. Clark did the same. He raced into the ocean as I followed.

The water was cold but I dunked my entire body into it. I made it fifteen yards out into the water, laying on my board, making scoops into the water with my arms. Clark was much slower, but he managed to catch up. We sat on our boards facing my house and waited patiently for the next wave. I stared up at the moon.

“It’s big. Tonight,” I spoke and looked at him; he looked confused, so I pointed up, “the moon. I was referring to how—”

“I’m not stupid,” He remarked.

I nodded and looked down.

“No…I— I’m sorry,” he confessed and took a deep breath, “I’m a bit…a bit socially retarded and I can b—be stupid at times…sorry. Again.”

It was cute when he stuttered.

“It’s okay.”

“No it’s not. I just don’t have that many friends— actually I don’t have any,” he gave in.

“Not true,” I interrupted.

“Huh?” He lifted his thick eyebrows.

“Me,” I clarified.

He stared at me and smiled the most beautiful smile. He was surprised I said that. Me too.

We heard a wave form behind us and got ready, lying on our boards and paddling forward. Once the wave pushed us, my arms began to scoop faster. A few seconds later I pulled myself up to stand on the board, bending my knees before me. I could feel the wind push through my tangled hair as I glided over the water. I could see Clark standing on his board a few feet away. I closed my eyes and spread my hands out to make the form of a T. My feet stood flat on the board. For three seconds or less, which felt like a minute, I was standing on water. I was like God flying over the water, controlling the water behind me. It felt exciting. The blood rushed through my veins and cool wisp of air caused me to become weightless. Once my euphoria ended, I opened my eyes and jumped into the water, landing in the mud. My board continued toward shore. I glanced behind me, hearing Clark laughing, as he pulled his board with him. He hooked his arm around my neck, pulling me to shore.

“That was awesome!” he chortled.

His body lay on top of mine. I managed to twist myself around to face him. He had a huge grin on his face. His arms framed my upper body. Our faces were only six inches apart. I felt the water from his face dripping on my forehead.

We stared at each other for a minute. His blue eyes were becoming visible. He hesitated. I felt his heart against my chest, beating rapidly, like mine. He dropped his head, our lips now only an inch apart. My hands grabbed his upper arms. He twitched. Our hearts were like rocks pounding against one another. He leaned in some more, flexing his arms, as my hands gripped tightly around them. Our breathing patterns matched. He closed his eyes as did I. I felt his soft wet lips press on mine. His body pressed harder on mine and his left hand came forth so his fingers could run through my hair. Our lips began to move. My hands trailed down his back. His tongue pushed through my lips and entered my mouth. He grabbed my waist and we spun around. On top, I could press down, to try to get even closer. He grunted as my knee forced itself between his legs. I could feel his crotch harden on my thigh. His arms slid down my back and he pressed his palms down on my butt. I yelped. We pulled away. I got up and sat down on the sand beside him.

He broke out laughing. His smile revealed straight, white teeth. A second later I joined in. Nothing was really funny but Clark seemed happy.