Inversion Page 2

  “Careful there, Noble,'' a voice said from behind him. A strong hand caught him just before he could fall.

  “I told you to stop doing that.” Carson turned to see his friend laughing at him, his deep brown eyes nearly shining.

  “It’s not funny,” Carson said annoyed. He readjusted his backpack, eyeing Jacob’s strange fashion choices.

  “What are you wearing?”

  Jacob spun around dramatically as if he were the headliner at a foreign fashion show.

  The combination of dark grey sweatpants, a light blue shirt, and a gold windbreaker made him stand out like a sore thumb. His high top sneakers were a matching shade of gold. He kept his short, black hair spiked with enough gel to keep it in place for days. Jacob had always had a peculiar choice in fashion and he wasn’t afraid to show it off. As long as it was considered a trend it was almost a guarantee that Jacob would be wearing it as well. Carson envied his confidence.

  Jacob’s smile faded. He could see the look on Carson’s face. “What? It just came in yesterday from Japan. They only made like a hundred of these.” He pulled on the edges of his jacket so Carson could see better. “You like it?”

  “Depends. How much did it cost?”

  Jacob’s smile returned. “You don’t want to know.”

  The inside of the school was much more colorful than the dull exterior but not by much. Bright red and deep black lockers lined the hallway as far as Carson could see. As they entered through the main doors they passed by a mural depicting a giant wolf which was the school's mascot. The white and grey paint that made up its fur was already cracking in several places. Fluorescent lights protected by metal cages hung from the ceiling. Only a few of them were working, leaving the students to mostly rely on the sunlight to maneuver through the crowd.

  “You look tired,'' Jacob said over the sea of voices that bombarded their ears. “Rough night?”

  “Night and morning,” Carson replied.

  “Why? Nervous for graduation practice?”

  “No. Its the stupid nightmares again.”

  Jacob pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and looked at the date.

  “I guess it's that time of the year,'' he said sadly. “Are you going to go with your mom after school?”

  “No,'' Carson said quickly. He wondered if he should keep track of how many people were going to ask him. He decided against it. He’d probably lose count before lunch.

  Carson and Jacob pushed through several other students to get to their locker. Carson spun the dial and pulled it open. The metal groaned in defiance. Old graded papers spilled out onto the floor.

  “I can go with you if you want,” Jacob suggested as he bent down to pick up the papers. Carson took them and threw them back into the locker.

  “I said I’m not going,” Carson said.

  “Why not?”

  “Because. I don’t have to if I don’t want to.”

  Jacob patted him on the shoulder. Carson shrugged it off.

  “It's been five years, Cars. Don’t you think it's time to go see your old man?”

  Carson felt his stomach burning. He wanted to say something but bit his tongue. He already had his mom arguing with him. He didn’t need Jacob doing the same. His voice was harsh despite being quiet enough that only they could hear.

  “Please stop asking me if I want to go. If I wanted to go I would go so just drop it. Please”

  “Fine,” Jacob said, holding his hands up in surrender. “Let's get to practice before they start without us.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  |||||

  THE AIR IN THE auditorium was stifling, a stark contrast to the cool breeze that had been blowing across their skin just seconds earlier. Carson and Jacob joined the growing line of students waiting behind the stage. The soft melody of a piano flowed from the stage, just out of sight.

  Carson tapped his foot, quickly losing himself within the sharp, crisp notes. He thought back to the conversation in the car. He replayed everything his mother had said. How could she be fine with invading his privacy like that? Why did she have to make his decisions for him? Would she really throw him out if he didn’t do what she wanted? Carson grabbed the watch on his wrist and twisted the small knobs on its side. His fingers, now slick with sweat, kept slipping from the small pieces of metal. He tried to push the panic that was starting to rise in his stomach back down.

  Graduation is still months away, he told himself. I still have time to figure everything out. There’s no need to worry.

  It was easier said than done.

  Carson came back to reality just as the music reached its final crescendo. A few seconds of silence followed the lingering note before a deep voice cut it off.

  “Once Nick Woods is done playing I will start calling everyone up one by one,'' Mr. Mars said.

  Carson recognized the name. He kicked himself for not realizing who was playing the music sooner. Of course they were having Nick play at the graduation. They would be stupid not to. A flash of guilt passed over Carson, a friendship long forgotten.

  Mr. Mars continued. “Once you get up to the podium you will hand me the index card with your name on it and I will read it out. After that you’ll shake hands with a few people, grab an empty diploma case, and find your seat. You’ll collect your actual diplomas after the ceremony.”

  Mr. Mars continued to drone on about rules and expectations. Carson’s mind wandered again, the principal's voice growing smaller and smaller.

  “Dude, are you ok,” Jacob asked, leaning over his shoulder to whisper into his ear.

  “Yeah,” Carson lied. The panic his earlier thoughts had brought on had still not subsided.

  “Really?”

  “Yes. Why are you so sure that something’s wrong?”

  Jacob pointed ahead of him. “Because we’re waiting for you to go.”

  Everyone’s eyes were on him, Mr. Mars included.

  Carson’s cheeks were red hot with embarrassment.

  With a deep breath Carson shakily made his way up the wooden steps. He grabbed onto the railing for support. Carson walked across the stage in complete silence, coming to a stop in front of the tall man that was glaring down at him. The bright stage lights made his squinty blue eyes look watery.

  Principal Mars looked him over and held out his hand. Carson just stared at it. His skin looked like it was pulled too tightly over his bones, like at any second it would rip.

  “You’re supposed to shake it,'' he said.

  Carson shook it weakly.

  “There’s no need to be nervous,'' Mr. Mars said to him. “This should be an exciting time. There’s no need to work yourself up over it.”

  Carson just nodded. He hurried off the stage as Mr. Mars moved on to the next name.

  “Dude that was awful,'' Jacob said as he rejoined him in the audience.

  “Was I that bad?”

  Jacob nodded. “I could see you sweating from backstage.”

  “It’s those stupid lights,” Carson pointed out.

  “Just the lights?”

  “I’ll do better at the real one,'' Carson said, his expression hardening.

  Jacob elbowed him. “I’ll be sure to bring my camera just in case.”

  Carson ignored him and scrolled through his phone as more and more people crossed the stage. His anxiety slowly melted away with each swipe of his finger.

  “Abigail Clark.”

  Carson glanced up, quickly looking back down at his phone. He paused and looked back up. His eyes fixated on the girl as she made her way to the podium. Carson’s heart fluttered. Anything he was previously worried about was instantly forgotten. He had seen her around school before but they had never spoken to each other. She was simply beautiful. Abigail’s skin shone brilliantly under the spotlights. She had her long brown hair pulled tight into a perfect bun that sat on the back of her head. Loose strands framed both sides of her face. She walked with a confidence that Ca
rson wished he had.

  “Who are you staring at,” Jacob asked him.

  “Her,” Carson said, motioning with his chin.

  “Who? Abigail?”

  “You know her?”

  “Sort of,'' Jacob said. “Why?”

  Carson’s eyes followed her as she went through the actions that he had just done himself. Carson had never seen someone so beautiful before. She was breathtaking.

  “Want me to talk to her for you,” Jacob asked with a smile.

  Carson shook his head, the fantasy fading. “Absolutely not.”

  “Why not? Maybe she’ll like you.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Neither do you,'' Jacob said. “Stop being negative all the time and take a chance for once.”

  “Hey,” a girl’s voice said next to them. Carson nearly jumped out of his seat.

  “Hi Stacey,'' Jacob said to the blonde girl that had suddenly appeared.

  “I was wondering if you’d like-”

  “Hey,” Carson said, interrupting her. Impeccable timing as always.

  “Hi,” she said to him, clearly annoyed.

  His cheeks flushed red when he saw Abigail walk up and stand next to her. Abigail giggled when she saw how red his face was. Her eyes quickly darted away when they met his.

  Stacey started over. “I was wondering if you would like to come to my party tonight.” She held out a piece of paper.

  “Abigail and I are hosting a graduation party of sorts.”

  “Sure,” Jacob said, taking the invitation from her. “I’ll be there.”

  Abigail leaned forward and whispered something into Stacey’s ear.

  “Bring your friend,'' she repeated to Jacob.

  Carson started to decline but Jacob interrupted him, putting a hand over his mouth.

  “We will be there,'' Jacob said.

  With a flashy smile from both of them the girls turned to go back to their seats. Carson and Jacob watched them as they walked down the aisle.

  “Dude, you missed your chance.”

  Carson was oblivious. “My chance for what?”

  “To ask her out.”

  “I can’t just ask her out.”

  “Of course you can,'' Jacob said. He grabbed handfuls of his hair in frustration. “That's how it works. Plus you had the perfect opportunity.”

  “How?”

  “You really are hopeless aren’t you?”

  Jacob laughed and slapped Carson’s back. “She just asked you to come to a party. Go ask her to be your date.”

  Carson just stared at him with wide, innocent eyes.

  “Go. Now.”

  Carson shot up and ran down the aisle after the girls.

  “Abigail, wait,” he said a little too loudly.

  Abigail and Stacey turned and waited for him to catch up. Carson cleared his throat. He knew that he needed to ask before he wimped out. He looked behind him to see Jacob nearly standing in his seat, flashing him a thumbs up.

  “I was wondering if maybe, um, you’d like to go to the party with me. Like a-a date.”

  The smile that parted her lips made Carson’s heart go soft. For a moment he was hopeful until Abigail and Stacey started laughing and whispering to each other.

  “Nevermind,'' Carson said, defeated.

  “Wait,” she said. She reached out and grabbed his arm. Her fingers felt cold through the long sleeves of his shirt.

  “I would love to.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  |||||

  CARSON WAS SO EXCITED for his date that he nearly forgot that his next class was his least favorite. When he entered Mr. Underwood’s classroom his nose automatically scrunched up. No matter how many times he had been there he was never prepared for the barrage of unknown chemicals that poured out of the biology classroom. Jacob followed closely behind him.

  “You have to get over that,'' Jacob said, dropping into the seat next to Carson.

  “Get over what?”

  “Your inability to talk to girls.”

  Carson rolled his eyes. He had hoped Jacob would just let it go. Apparently that wouldn’t be the case.

  “Dude. You have to stop being so scared of everything.”

  Carson reached into his backpack and pulled out a notebook. “I know, I know,” he said.

  Jacob opened his mouth to say something but the shrill ring of the bell cut him off. Mr. Underwood entered the room just as it stopped ringing, carrying his signature blue clipboard under his arm. Being the gym teacher and coach for the most of the schools sports teams, he was never seen without it.

  Most of the teachers in Bishop Bay High taught more than one subject. The newest budget cuts caused almost half of the faculty to be fired. Not even the school was safe from the growing resource crisis.

  Mr. Underwood was a tall athletic man. He was already balding despite being in his early thirties. Patches of smooth skin shone through his short brown hair. Carson had him as a teacher for many classes throughout his years at the high school.

  He was notorious for making people run laps, no matter what class they were in.

  “Alright,” Mr. Underwood said. The class quickly fell silent.

  “Since our museum trip is tomorrow I thought today we can take a break from our genetics unit. Tomorrow we will be seeing the unveiling of something that is supposed to aid us in our growing resource and energy problems so I thought it would be interesting for us to talk about the negative effects of non-renewable energy sources.”

  He shuffled a stack of papers that was sitting on his desk as he spoke.

  “Before I start, if you haven’t turned in your permission slip yet then I will accept them as long as they are on my desk by the end of the day. The busses leave at eight o’clock sharp tomorrow morning so make sure you are here before then.”

  Carson reached into his backpack and pulled out his unsigned permission slip. He lifted his notebook to cover himself as he forged his mother’s signature.

  Jacob eyed him. “You weren’t able to get her to sign it?”

  “I didn’t even ask her,” Carson whispered. “There’s no way she’d let me go.”

  Carson finished the signature and walked it up to the front.

  Just as Carson dropped the paper on the desk, the door opened and a small girl walked into the room. She handed Mr. Underwood a small slip of green paper.

  “Carson,” he said, reading it. “Principal Mars wants you in his office.”

  Carson grabbed his backpack, hushed whispers following him as he left.

  “Carson,” Mr. Mars said as he entered the office. He motioned to the two leather seats that were placed in front of his desk. “Please, have a seat.”

  The office was heavily decorated. He had been the schools principal for over ten years and it showed through the amount of awards and trophies that adorned the walls. He was proud of what the students had achieved and he wasn’t afraid to brag about it.

  Mr. Mars himself sat behind a giant cherry oak desk, a mess of papers strewn across it. A bay window stood behind him, giving Carson an impressive view of the surrounding forest.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt your day,” he said as Carson sat in one of the oversized chairs that faced him.

  “I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing.”

  Carson was filled with a mix of relief and annoyance.

  “I’m fine.” It sounded more like a question than an answer. Mr. Mars leaned back in his chair and brought his hands up to his chest.

  “I’m only asking because of…”

  “Yeah, I know,'' Carson said. He didn’t like where this conversation was going. Carson almost preferred that he had been brought here for doing something wrong.

  “It’s been what, five years now?”

  Carson nodded.

  “It’s good to see you holding yourself together so well. When you first started here this day was always a bad day for
you. You’d shut down and lash out at anyone who tried to talk to you.”

  Carson played with his watch. He remembered those days like they were yesterday. He hated the way he had felt then. The fogginess that would cloud his mind and make him lose control over his actions. He didn’t like talking about it and hated other people talking about it even more. They always pretended to know what it was like but no one really knew.

  “I think you’re making some real progress. I spoke with your mother this morning and--”

  “You talked to my mom?”

  “Yes,” Mr. Mars said, surprised. “She gives me updates on you from time to time.”

  Carson buried his face in his hands. She had her hands in every part of his life.

  “Anyways,” Mr. Mars continued. “She said that your sessions with your therapist are going well. I’m glad to hear that. You know, a lot of people turn their noses up at psychology.”

  Mr. Mars tapped his fingers on a sheet of newspaper on his desk. Carson glanced down at the small piece of newspaper the principal was tapping on. His heart nearly stopped. He had seen that article before. Too many times. He didn’t need to see the covered part to know what the headline said.

  Famed Geologist Dead After Car Accident.

  Carson felt like he was going to be sick. He swallowed the acid that was crawling up the back of his throat. Any hope that the day would go by without its importance being thrown into his face was diminished.

  “You know,” Mr. Mars started, “Your father was a student of mine.”

  “Really?” Carson spoke through gritted teeth. He didn’t care. He didn’t want to talk about his father.

  “Really. When I was just an average science teacher. David took such a liking to science, especially geology. Who knew that class clown would go on to be one of the greatest Geologists in the world?” Mr. Mars’ laugh shook his entire frail body.

  Carson forced himself to laugh along with him.

  The dismissal bell rang. That was all the excuse that Carson needed.

  “Can I go now,'' he asked. “I have somewhere I need to be.”

  “Oh, of course,” Mr. Mars said. He moved around some of the papers that were on his desk.