x
Opuntia did not often remember her dreams. She barely got enough consistent sleep through the night to even have them, and if she did they would just be flashes of something mundane; a blur of ordinary that her subconscious was accustomed to. Yet that seemed to change once those letters had been painted on the floor of Arison. It surely made sense, since her brain became more stimulated, and her anxiety was heightened, but she still was not used to finding herself walking those long twisting scenes of impossible surroundings.
She found herself conscious in a room that seemed to, at least at first, resemble the church house. But instead of that tall lurching mosaic window, she was face to face with what she could only describe as a technological abomination. It was like her mind was trying to assemble a computer, but since she had never actually seen one before, so much of it was wrong.
Rows of dials and wires folded and twisted in on themselves, moving in every direction like a knot of snakes. Fuzzy static peaked out from a checkerboard of screens, and mechanical boxes all connected in a giant, messy array were slowly expanding outward, engulfing her as she stood there, frozen with fear. A hallway full of the analogue being stretched on into the darkness, and no matter what button Opuntia pressed, no matter what wires she pulled, it would never stop. Its mind was its own, and it wanted control. That was the last thing she remembered before her eyes flew open, leaving her staring at the ceiling, reflecting the palest pink horizons from the rising sun.
It was quite easy to reason why Opuntia was having a dream like this, as she lay still in bed, trying to steady her heartbeat. Today was the day that could either give rest to her fears or create new ones entirely. The history club had finally succeeded in coming up with a plausible plan to get to New Versine, seemingly achieving the impossible. Sampson did in fact have a trick up his sleeve in Roger Vorhees. His connections with the other students did come in handy when he remembered that Roger had to be driven to a doctor’s office in Worcester every couple of months for his Diabetes (we stan I’m type one Diabetic too), and they were lucky enough to have this appointment line up. It was a little later than Opuntia had hoped, having to wait 2 weeks since the first student historical society meeting, but in the meantime, they were able to plan in more detail, refining any possible slip-ups.
More luck came with the fact that Roger was taken to the doctor by his 19-year-old brother, so all it took was some bribes to get both of them on board.
232Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxizzF4F1WK
“I gave him 300 dollars, and promised him Wilfred’s notes in any subject for the rest of the year,” Sampson explained to them at the next meeting. Wilfred shrugged, seeming fine with this decision.
“Wow, bribing a religious fanatic like him? I’m surprised you didn’t start another protestant reformation,” Cas pointed out with a sly smile, seeming almost impressed.
“What about the brother, he couldn’t have just been on board, right?” Teddy asked.
“Yeah, he was actually,” Replied Sampson, leaning back in his chair, as if to soak in his brilliance. “He’s a former Arison kid so I guess he doesn’t mind helping his own kind. I offered him a date with Opuntia but he turned it down,” Unlike Wilfred, Opuntia was not fine with this offer, and she crossed her arms sourly.
“I’m just kidding, don’t go ape,” he grinned back.
“You better have been,” she warned him, reminding herself to always be present when Sampson made future bargains.
The date and time were set. The group would leave as soon as the bell rang at the end of the school day, giving them just enough time to get there before New Versine high ended, Opuntia having remembered because of Halle. There was only one minor problem.
“Yeah, we can’t all go,” Sampson winced, making everyone turn to look at him with exasperation.
“What? You’re saying this now?” Said Teddy, throwing his hands up.
“Hey, I just realized this now, ok? I’m just thinking that the very most we can fit in a car, including the trunk would be 8 people, and I mean at most.”
“I don’t really think 2 people in the trunk would—” Wilfred started to say, sounding confused and a tad concerned, but Sampson continued,
“That means one of us will have to stay behind.”
They all were silent. No one really wanted to point fingers at who shouldn’t go, to avoid another row, but Opuntia certainly didn’t want to take herself out, since she was desperate to find answers.
232Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OSTaQ5i00
“I guess I don’t have to go,” professed Eng, seeming shamefaced but trying his best to help. “I haven’t really done much, so it’s only fair if I don’t go,”
“C’mon, don’t say that,” Teddy comforted, “You being here is already doing a lot, right O.P?”
“yeah,” she tried to smile back at Engelbart but wasn’t surprised to not receive one in return.
“Well, I’m the one who doubted and rejected the idea in the first place,” Cas voiced, “So I’m not going. There. Decided.”
“But now that just sounds like you’re trying to get out of it!” Said Wilfred, looking at Cas with an unusually stern expression.
“Yeah, it was you who even brought up New Versine High in the first place,” Teddy pointed out.
“Well, it has to be one of us, and I really can’t afford to get caught, probably more than any of you.” As he said these last words, he looked away from all of them, focusing intently on the Roman map on the wall.
“Fine, suit yourself,” concluded Sampson, not wanting to argue again. “But for the rest of you, you better be there or be square.” He crossed his arms, attempting to come across as a cool, devious mastermind, but none of them were that inspired.
On the day of, Opuntia was not square. She was, as usual, the first one there from the club, but instead of being in Mr. Maguire’s classroom, she was standing outside under the protection of an ivy-covered balcony, as the rain pounded down, ricocheting off of the paved-stone ground. She felt very awkward wondering what to do if Roger’s brother had gotten there before anyone else, but thankfully she didn’t have to wait, as they all came around the path leading to the lacrosse field, their hair all soaking wet from the rainy gym class.
“I’m so glad I didn’t have to take P.E.,” she smiled at them cheekily.
“Yeah, lucky you,” Teddy replied with his teeth chattering. Roger was standing next to them all but seemed very out of place, clasping his hands together, probably a habit from being in prayer so much. They all waited for any sign of their ride to the Holy land of NVHS, and finally, a blue dot in the distance began slowly making its way toward them, growing and growing until it became the widest car Opuntia had ever seen. It looked more like a box than the long and slender cars she was used to seeing, and it reminded her eerily of the computer from her dream, even with its striking azure colour.
“This is him,” Roger called to the group as he hurriedly walked over, trying his best to keep dry. Roger’s brother rolled down the driver’s seat window and smiled coolly, waving his hand with a lit cigarette still in it.
“Well, one last look for anyone watching,” said Opuntia cautiously. The coast was clear, so they took their chances.
Even with the relatively spacious car, it would still be a tight fit. Wilfred immediately started deciding the best places for everyone to sit to maximize safety and comfort.
“2 of the tallest people go on the left and right in the back row,” he ordained, looking around at all of them. “That would be Engelbart and I. Then the smallest can go in the middle of the back row, that would be you, Opuntia,” he pointed at her, though she didn’t need him to tell her that. “And Teddy and Sampson, I suppose, will go on their knees in the trunk.”
“Alright, fantastic, let’s get out of the hurricane weather, please,” said Sampson, and immediately clambered into the trunk, with Teddy right behind him. Sampson was right, there was no way another person could fit back there. Even where she ended up sitting, she was directly squished between 2 people who were almost a foot taller than her. She could practically count every raindrop that was running down Eng’s hair and onto her shoulder.
After everyone was as comfortable as possible in their seats, Roger’s brother revved the engine and quickly sped off with no issues, much to Opuntia’s relief. They puttered down the perfectly straight path at the top of St. Ignatius hill, and slowly began winding their way down.
“Uh, this is my brother, Matteo,” Roger introduced them awkwardly, turning around to look at them all from the passenger seat. Matteo grinned, still smoking his cigarette, the window open a crack to allow the smoke to billow out.
“I graduated two years ago so you might remember me in the upper years,” he explained. “I definitely remember a few of you…” he peered into the rearview mirror at Opuntia, which made her want to roll her eyes and say, “No kidding,” but she decided against arguing with her only ride out of the academy.
“So, why exactly do you folks need a ride again?” Matteo continued, glancing over at his brother, who just shook his head earnestly.
“Oh, you know, just visiting some friends…” Teddy piped up, holding onto the back of Opuntia’s headrest to prevent him from slamming into Sampson at every left turn.
“…right,” Matteo smirked, having more of an idea of what they could be up to, though probably not knowing the real reason at all.
“I hear you’re paying good ol’ Roger here some big bucks to keep his mouth shut, isn’t that right, rosary Rog?” Roger looked ashamed and turned away from his brother, making Opuntia feel a little guilty. She didn’t know how many Hail Marys it would take to be cleansed from that kind of sin.
“I’m not proud of it, but I need the help. I already know I’m gonna do bad in trigonometry this year, and Stanford only takes the best.” Roger replied in a small voice.
The rest of the car ride was uncomfortably silent. The group usually had so much to talk about, but with the presence of 2 unwanted guests, it was hard to say much, and much less talk about what they were about to do. The rain had died down by the time Matteo had pulled up to the New Versine High parking lot, and let the 5 of them free.
“We’ll be back in about an hour and a half” He called to them, taking in one last puff of smoke. “So go do whatever it is you’re doing in that amount of time. Later!”
He sped away, leaving nothing but the smell of cigarettes behind.
“I do not like how he drives,” Wilfred muttered, crossing his arms in disapproval.
“Really? That was the best ride I’ve had in years, I can’t wait until I can cop my own license.” Said Sampson, stretching out his legs. Knowing how rich he was, it was possible for Sampson to never have to drive himself anywhere, but Opuntia was too focused on the matter at hand to say something.
There it was. It was, admittedly much less impressive than the look of Arison with its gothic architecture and delicately carved designs. While the academy looked tall and thin, lurching over its onlookers with an intimidating glare, New Versine High was a box. Simple, a two-story box poked with rectangle windows, some plastered with banners or signs. It was simply there, not judging you for daring to step foot on its soil.
The five of them, without another word, hesitantly made their way in, pushing through the maroon-coloured doors. What greeted them was a long, infinitely stretching hall, lined with pale lockers and classroom doors. A giant mascot-clad poster hung in the centre, displaying “HOME OF THE COYOTES” But what drew Opuntia’s attention immediately was the great big skylight, gazing down from the middle of the main hall, stretching all the way up to the second floor that wrapped around them. Fragmented sunlight, trying desperately to peak through at the unfamiliar figures scattered across the new plane. This was the difference between here and Arison, thought Opuntia, taking it all in: here there was colour; here there was light.
“Wow, lockers,” Sampson pointed out, reaching out to graze the line of locker doors. “I haven’t seen these since 6th grade.”
“Ok, so what’s the plan?” said Teddy, clapping his hands together. He gathered them all in, catching Opuntia from wandering off to travel farther along down the long empty hall. She checked her watch.
“Well, we have 10 minutes until the bell rings for the end of school,” she explained. “I say we position ourselves across the school and, I mean, we could try to talk to some people, right?” It seems like they were so obsessed with coming up with a plan to get there, that they really had no idea what to do once they got had actually arrived.
“We can say we’re doing a survey from our school about interschool relationships, and we can observe their feelings towards Arison,” crafted Wilfred.
“Nah, not believable, let’s just provoke someone,” Sampson opposed “that’ll catch ‘em off guard and get them to spit how they really feel.”
“Provoke?” Teddy said with his eyebrows raised. “I thought we weren’t going to—”
“Look, guys, we’re losing precious time here,” Opuntia cut in, barely listening to them all. “Let’s just split up into pairs or something and all try different approaches. It’s gotta work with someone, right?”
“Good idea,” Wilfred affirmed, looking for his ideal direction to take off in. “But one will be by themselves without Cas here.”
“Ok, I’m going with Wilfred since I do not want to witness any fights,” Teddy concluded, walking over to stand next to Wilfred.
“Boo, no fun,” Sampson smirked. “Well, I’m taking Eng, since I know he won’t argue with me, won’t you, Engy?” He grabbed Engelbart by the arm and dragged him over to him.
“Thanks, I guess?” Said Eng, confused.
“Whatever, it’s settled. I’ll go upstairs, you guys split up down here.” Said Opuntia decisively, worrying that they were running out of time. “We’ll meet up back here. Hopefully with good news.” And with that she took off down the hallway, trying to find a sign of a staircase while also trying to avoid any classroom windows that could expose her to any nosey teacher or staff.
The place almost felt like a glass maze, devoid of all life forms except for the distant drawl of lecturing or scribbling of pens. As she wandered up the stairs and down more winding halls, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of deja vu for something that never was. It was like she was aimlessly walking through another life, a life that should have been hers. A life that would have been hers if it were not for her boldness on that summer night to suggest her place at Arison. Every day, she would have roamed this school. She wondered who she would be friends with, and what kinds of stuff she would achieve. All of the possibilities that never came to fruition, and never would. They followed her around, haunting her in the form of brightly coloured posters, science dioramas and class pictures.
The boys were experiencing vastly different emotions from her as they paced down a floor below, still in discussion amongst themselves.
“Imagine how free they must feel here,” Sampson sighed, running his hands across the red brick walls. “Less homework, less pressure, and way more girls.”
“I’m just thankful I was able to get into Arison,” Wilfred said wisely, “I’m appreciative for what I’ve got,”
“Hey, I’m thankful!” Sampson shot back. “I’m just saying now is the chance where we can finally spread our wings a bit. I bet you guys haven’t even talked to a girl in the past five years.”
“…Isn’t Opuntia a girl?” Engelbart pointed out as if he wasn’t sure of it himself.
“Yeah, yeah, but she doesn’t really count, she doesn’t exactly take kindly to my flirting,”
“Oh, ok,” Eng replied awkwardly.
“I think that might say more about you, Laurier,” Teddy grinned at him.
232Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfEDvCBtQw
“No, you watch me! I’ll be on fire with the ladies!” Said Sampson, crossing his arms defensively.
“Sure, sure, but c’mon, let’s not forget why we’re here, we can’t almost be getting expelled for nothing,” Teddy reminded him, before going their separate ways down the hall.
232Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjsKSKzq9t
