CJ and his crew went in with the rest of the school for general assembly, the school hardly called for it except on special occasions or important school announcements which could mean only one thing. TME.
"What's this TME everyone's talking about" asked Zander.
He was walking with the rest of the group today, he hardly stayed around them and when he did he was usually beside CJ. At first they were worried about him but Skyler assured them that this was just typical Zander, he was never really big on friendships but CJ was glad he was there.
"TME is short for The Main Event" answered Zoey, "it's when the students of the school come together to celebrate the end of the first half of the year, we usually do something different every year".
CJ smiled when Zoey answered, the past few weeks were the best of his life, Zoey was back and though some students still looked down on him, she was always there to protect him like she always had.
"Like last year, there was a dance competition" said Hilda
"And the year before a cook off"said Matthew, thanks to Skyler's influence he'd been his headphones less and started making contributions to their conversations, CJ was starting to like him.
"Never ask for Zoey's signature cookie recipe, it's all seaweed and lettuce mixed in with cookie dough" whispered CJ.
"You said you liked it!" cried Zoey
Everyone burst out laughing.
"It's sounds cool" said Zander
"It is, I wonder what the student council came up with this year" said Zoey
"Well Micheal's on it so it should be something good" said CJ
Finally the last set of students trooped in and Mr Lexton climbed the stage and took the mic. The entire student council stood behind him like bodyguards, Micheal was there and winked when he spotted them.
"Good morning Cornelius Academy, you're welcome to school this fine Friday morning, as you know the middle of the year is drawing closer, meaning the commencement of TME. Now as you all know the students make suggestions and the Student Council decides what to do but things are a little bit different, this year the Student Council has decided to do something Cornelius Academy has never done before, a play"
CJ couldn't believe his ears and Zoey beside him had her mouth open. CJ had been suggesting a play every year since freshman year but all the previous student councils never agreed to it.
CJ' s eyes found their way to Micheal who stood by the side of the stage with the rest of the Student Council, he had a grin on his face and his eyes shone as they settled on CJ's, he winked and CJ knew it was his doing.
"So beautiful students of Cornelius Academy I present to you the play we are to do this year"
Mr Lexton took out a large book with the familiar book cover and the words written in golden script on the front cover, CJ knew the book too well.
"Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte" announced Mr Lexton.
Soon murmurs erupted in the hall, Wuthering Heights was not a play, it was a novel and a very long one at that.
"Now, now hush up, I know what you're all thinking and yes this is quite unexpected, I don't think anyone has done a play using a novel before but Cornelius Academy is well know for doing things that have never been done and Wuthering Heights is a book that we're all familiar with so it shouldn't be too much of a challenge. Now the mid year exams as you all know is supposed to start on Monday but the school management has decided that the TME for this year will reflect what scores you get, every role given and every part played will be rewarded with a grade depending on how well you do the role and play the part"
More murmurs arose in the assembly hall.
"Has this happened before?" asked Zander.
"No, never" said Zoey.
CJ made eye contact with Micheal but he shrugged his shoulders, meaning the student council didn't know about this.
Lexton didn't allow the noise stop him, he continued,
"for those of you that do not have the book there are copies available at the school bookstore, make sure to get one before the end of school today, every student is expected to finish the book before Friday next week, on Monday duties will be assigned and roles will be given, come prepared everyone, assembly dismissed"
Mr Lexton walked down from the stage and the students spilled out of the assembly hall and into the hallways. CJ waited outside for Micheal with everyone else.
"Did you know about this" asked Zoey as soon as Micheal walked out of the hall.
"No, no one on the council did, the school didn't even give us a hint" replied Micheal.
"Why do you think they decided to do this now" asked CJ.
"I don't know but some people think it has to do with Lucas" said Micheal.
"What about Lucas?" asked Zander.
"It's classified, I don't even have access to that kind of information" said Michael.
"It doesn't matter, what's done is done all we can do now is try our best and hope we can pass the test" said Hilda.
"She's right, we should just drop it and get to class" said CJ.
They all agreed and proceeded to go to their various classes.
CJ walked down the hall mad realized how quiet it was, no insults, no whispers, no taunting, he breathed a sigh of relief, finally it had all blown over, he was happy that he could finally go back to the way things were without any drama, just him, his friends and the hope that he could gather enough courage to face his parents.
Classes went on as usual with the teachers constantly reminding the students about how important this year's TME was, CJ personally was excited, he was a good actor and he'd read the book over and over, love that was unacceptable to the rest of society, being told who to love and how to love, it was perfect for him.
After school that day CJ decided to head to the park after school to recap on the book, he texted Zoey telling her where he'd be, he'd lost his car in the accident and was still wary of sitting behind a wheel so he decided to walk, soon he was at the park and settled on the grass leaned against a tree backed the sun in the sky allowing him to see what he was reading, he took out the book and began reading, in a matter of seconds he was lost.
.....
Zander was hoping to talk to CJ after school but was disappointed when he didn't see CJ or Zoey at the parking lot, disappointed he walked home alone.
Zander was also excited about TME, it was a chance to finally do something interesting around here.
He got to the road that led to the park, the sun was slowly setting and Zander suddenly remembered the sunset he'd shared with CJ back at the hospital, he'd thought about painting it then and though all he had was his sketchpad, he felt like he could draw it now.
He took a detour and headed to the park, the grasses were green and the trees gave off the sweet smell of sap, flowers bloomed with beautiful and bright colours showcasing the end of winter and beginning of spring. Zander picked a tree at the very edge of the park that viewed the sun as it set, he was so determined that he didn't notice the person sitting on the other side of the tree directly behind him, and then he began to draw, using colours of red and orange and yellow, he drew the sun as it went under the horizon, he drew the grasses and the trees around him, he drew the people laughing and the children playing. He stopped and looked at his masterpiece and smiled.
"You've done it again Zander" he said to himself.
And then he thought about CJ and how he would've loved this if he were here.
.....
CJ raises his head after finishing the twelfth chapter, he gasped in shock as he saw that the sun was already setting. He scrambled for his book and bag and immediately stood up from his position, he turned and tripped on someone's leg on the other side of the tree.
He fell down in a heap with grass filling his mouth and dirt staining his face.
"Oh my god are you okay"
CJ grunted a reply and got up on his feet with the help of whoever tripped him. Strong arms held him up and when his vision cleared he finally saw who it was.
Zander.
Zander with gray eyes filled with concern and hands holding him up as if he would fall any moment.
"Did you bruise yourself are you hurt anywhere"
"I'm fine Zander"
"Wait how do you....."
CJ cleaned the dirt that basically masked his face and heard Zander gasp in surprise.
"CJ ?, great now I feel even worse"
"Don't sweat it, like I said I'm fine"
"Are you sure ?" asked Zander, this time looking directly into CJ's eyes, CJ's heart beat sped up and he took a deep breath.
"I'm sure Zander"
Zander nodded and let go of CJ.
"I looked for you after school today" he said
"Yeah sorry I just decided to spend the afternoon reading" said CJ picking up the Wuthering Heights book that lay on the floor and dusting the sand off it.
Zander smiled.
"What? " asked CJ.
"It's weird, I was thinking about you and now here you are, standing in front of me with dirt in your hair and on your face"
CJ didn't know what to say.
"Let me get that for you" said Zander.
He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and began to clean the dirt from CJ's face, each stroke was delicate and Zander did it with intense concentration. When he was done the handkerchief came away stained with dirt, Zander smiled and looked in CJ's eyes again.
"There all better" he said.
"Thanks" said CJ.
"Let's get going, it's getting late" said Zander
He put the handkerchief in his pocket and grabbed his bag and his sketchpad. CJ smiled when he saw what he'd been drawing.
The sunset.
They left the park and made their way home, the sun had set and the moon was visible, a white crescent in the dark starless sky. CJ walked beside Zander in silence as they usually did when it was just the two of them.
"Hey I wanted to ask you" started Zander,
"I'm not really a reader and I was wondering if you could"- he put his hand behind his head like he does when he's nervous-"I was wondering if you could you know just explain the story to me, like a summary"
"Yeah sure, what are friends for"
Zander winced as if that statement hurt.
"Is there something wrong ?" asked CJ.
Zander shook his head and smiled.
"No it's cool, I could come to your house"
"No, I'll come to yours"
"Okay then"-he looked up-"looks like we're here"
CJ looked up to see his house, he looked at Zander.
"Thanks for walking me home" he said.
"No problem Andrian"
"What ?"
"Andrian, that's your name right"
"Yeah, but no one calls me that"
"I'm not no one, am I?" said Zander, he furrowed his eyebrows as if he was offended.
"No, no, that's not what I meant"
Zander started laughing, the laugh warmed CJ's heart, it was so genuine and seemed to come from deep inside, it almost sounded musical.
"You are so predictable" said Zander.
CJ glared at him and then smiled.
"Goodbye Zander" he said.
"Goodbye CJ" said Zander, he adjusted his bag and walked down the street.
CJ walked to the front door and took out his key, smiling like he'd won the lottery and then after a while he bolted down the front porch steps and called out.
"Hey Zander"
Zander turned, his black hair fell over his eyes and he swooped it back in a graceful arc.
"Call me Andrian" said CJ.
CJ saw Zander's distant figure shudder in concealed laughter and then he turned and continued walking down the street.
CJ smiled and watched Zander.
"I'm falling in love all over again"