Arcadia Part One Section Six

6

I ended up throwing up after third period. Well, in the middle of third period. All morning I was concentrating on keeping it down and heard nothing during all my classes. I tried to distract myself from thinking about the pictures of Mathew Marx but it was useless. My third period teacher said something about food and the next thing I knew my pop tart was coming up and I was running out of the classroom.

I didn’t bother returning to class. The toilet and I were best friends now. Pretty much inseparable until lunch. When the bell rang I slid out of my stall and rinsed out my mouth. Recovering my books from my third period class was a suicide mission. I would be placing myself in direct fire of her. Lord knows I didn’t want to hear about her obese brother after going through my experience.

I decided I would go to the north wing of the school. It served as a divider between the boy’s side of the school and the girl’s side. Our city didn’t have enough money to build a separate school for the boys so they split the existing high school down the middle. Luckily our school is big enough for such an alteration. And I also benefited from the split. No girl was brave enough to hang out so close to the boys’ side. They were too afraid of catching the STD’s. This was due to another one of Neval’s implications. The opposite sex couldn’t be less than fifty feet away from each other at all times, unless equipped with the Shield. My mother was actually useful when she told me the reasoning behind this. Apparently some odd years ago mankind was fiends for sex. Everywhere people were pleasuring themselves. There were massive orgies, rapes, masturbation in public, and apparently you couldn’t even watch T.V. or a movie without seeing some unnecessary NC-13 scene pop up. The sex craze became so crazy. There was a rise in birth rate with an even greater rise in infant mortality, abandonment, and abortion. People became careless. All they wanted was pleasure without consequence, they didn’t wait for love. It wasn’t until a new type of STD presented itself that people really took notice. Maybe it was because it caused sores in your throat, mouth, and even around your mouth. Apparently the sores would burst and would make an excruciatingly painful experience as they oozed a putrid, greenish-yellow puss. At first I didn’t believe her but when I saw the pictures I didn’t want to be touched nor looked at by the opposite sex. If you wanted children your husband would have to give up his sperm in a sperm bank. If you wanted to live with your husband you had to have a large enough space so he could be on one side and you on the other.

As I approached the dividing hall I heard voices. It sounded like a group of boys.

"Stop it!" I heard someone yell in fear.

"Calm down! Don’t piss your pants. We were just messin’ with you. You know? A joke?" another voice said a little more perturbed.

"Well it wasn’t funny! Someone could get hurt!"

"Get your panties out of a bunch Ren. No one is going to get hurt just from walking down a hall. There are no girls here."

"Whatever. Just state your business with me so I can go."

Suddenly it fell silent. I don’t know how long it took for someone to say anything. For a minute I thought they had gone. Slowly I edged to the corner of the wall and stole a glance. I immediately could identify Ren. Not just by his agitated posture but because I knew him. He was the only one I could tolerate, possibly because we didn’t run into each other as much. Our interactions were brief and quick.

"What is it?" Ren asked, relaxing into concern as he saw the other three boys drop their heads in what seemed to be embarrassment.

"Well…it’s not easy to bring up." said the blonde haired boy. From his voice he was the one who told Ren that the hall was absent of girls. He was a skinny little thing. He had beautiful hair that stopped somewhere behind his neck. It looked gelled to the back but his constant motion of running his fingers through his hair loosened it up. I wouldn’t have known it was a guy if he hadn’t been for him standing among them. He rested against the wall and slowly met eyes with Ren, "Have…have you ever…had a dream or looked at the opposite sex and…had something…happen?"

"Happen?" Ren questioned.

"Yeah. Down there." The blonde haired boy said while hesitantly pointing to his crotch. The other boys by this time had shifted a little closer and were waiting for his response like he was a wise guru about to bestow them with the ultimate truth. I now understand what brought them to this hall. Like me they wanted privacy and just like the girls the boys were afraid to come to this side of the school as well.

Ren blinked as if to remove himself from a trance. I found myself waiting just as eagerly as the other boys. I knew nothing about the opposite sex and what they go through.

"Well…" he began while stuffing his hands nervously into his pockets. I’m not sure but I think he became flush, "From what I’ve been told it’s completely normal."

"Well, what is it? I mean…is it bad that I got it? And how do I keep it from coming back?" the blonde prince asked as he pushed off the wall with anticipation.

"I—I…" Ren stuttered. I could tell that the blonde prince’s response threw him off, "believe it’s called an erection."

"An erection." The boys uttered back in amazement like young school children.

I found myself smirking. The foreign word sounded funny and I was beginning to think Ren had made it up. I gave him too much credit.

"The best way I can explain it is that there’s a kind of chemical reaction that takes place. With…with hormones! That’s what they’re called! And when you get…excited, say from seeing a beautiful girl or imagining sexual intercourse, then that’s when your hormones come to a heightened state and you have an erection."

"So…how do I make it stop? You know, not make it come back?"

"You don’t. It’s natural. Unless you just don’t look at any girls."

"So, what’s sexual intercourse?" another boy in the group curiously questioned. Up until now I completely forgot about the other two boys.

The one that asked the question had short, spiky brown hair. He looked to be more masculine than Ren or the blonde prince, but the way he slumped over made him look more submissive and timid than threatening. The other boy’s hair looked as if he hadn’t taken a comb to it in weeks and its dusty brown color looked dull. He kept his posture straight and had his arms folded as if he was some sort of body guard. His scrawny size said otherwise. They really were an odd group.

"I don’t know exactly. I think it takes place when a boy and a girl touch."

"Does that mean you touched a girl before? What’s it feel like?" the bouncer questioned in excitement, which kind of broke his firm stature.

I waited for Ren’s response. I never met anyone who had sex before. I was eager to hear about it firsthand.

"I’ve never touched a girl! You could get a disease!" Ren shouted. By this point he had turned beet red.

I was pretty disappointed by his response. Of course he had never touched a girl. It was wishful thinking.

"D-don’t you guys go touching girls either!" Ren commanded.

"But you made it seem so awesome! Now I definitely want to touch a girl!" the blonde prince exclaimed with longing.

"I know! I mean, what happens down there feels so awesome. Just imagine what the experience of touching a girl would be like." The timid muscleman said while closing his eyes. From the goofy grin across his face I could tell he was trying to picture the experience in his head.

I couldn’t hold it in any more. The urge to laugh was overwhelming. I covered my mouth and turned to leave but my foot twisted in a weird way and I ended up falling over.

"Did you hear that?" the bouncer questioned in a quivering voice. At least I think it was the bouncer.

"Who’s there?" the blonde prince shouted.

I pushed myself up off the floor. Of all the times to be clumsy I choose for it to be now. I could have run. I knew they weren’t going to chase me. They were too scared and it was against school rules. I just wanted to stay a little longer. It was the most interesting conversation that I’ve heard in a long time. And besides, lunch wasn’t over yet and I didn’t want to risk running into her. I slowly rounded the corner, making sure to stay close to the wall.

"Tessa!" Ren shouted with overwhelming surprise. It caused all of us to step back. I think he noticed because he quickly slumped back into his previous stance and glanced back at the boys.

"It’s a girl." The bouncer pointed out the obvious observation.

"Should we run?" asked the timid muscleman in fear.

Their responses amused me. Not because they were speaking as if I wasn’t there but because I felt the need to run too. I was scared and that made it all the more interesting. I shifted my gaze back to Ren. He had been staring at me for a while now and it was kind of uncomfortable. He hadn’t changed much since the last time I saw him (like…six months ago). His eyes were still that enticing light blue and his hair still black, wavy and short. The only change I could see was that he’d gotten a little taller and his stance more absolute.

"Hey…Ren." I managed to say but somehow it didn’t seem right. "Um, I…was just passing by. I didn’t think people would be here. I was looking for a place to eat…" I trailed off. I don’t know why I was explaining myself.

"By yourself?" he questioned. His voice was harder and firmer than his first response. It surprised me. He never sounded so…cold from when we used to meet. Maybe he changed more than I thought.

Before I could respond the blonde prince turned to me.

"Did you… hear anything?"

"Nope." I said, fighting a smile with all my strength, "Not at all." I wanted to laugh.

"Oh good." The blonde prince said with relief.

"Well, I guess I should be going." I said without thinking. I didn’t want to leave, "I don’t want to disrupt your conversation if it’s that important and that much of a secret."

"Tessa wait!" Ren suddenly shouted. It was a bit unnecessary seeing as how I hadn’t moved an inch. "Um…" he nervously shifted his weight. He normally did this when he was looking for the right thing to say. He could never carry on a normal conversation without monitoring himself, "how’ve you been? It’s been a while since the last time we spoke. Like…"

"Six months." I helped.

"Yeah." He said with wide eyes. He must have realized just how long it had been.

Suddenly the blonde prince caught my eye. He had suddenly taken up the task of quickly darting his gaze back and forth between Ren and I. When he saw I was looking at him he grew a mischievous little grin. I didn’t like it.

"The name’s Claus. Claus Hartington." The blonde prince announced with an air of confidence that clashed completely with his previous uneasy form, "And this here is Spike Miccosukee," he said while pointing to the timid muscleman, "and Erving Rite." He concluded with the bouncer.

The blonde prince’s name fit him perfectly. It added to his air of foreign royal. Spike on the other hand seemed hard enough for the muscleman’s appearance but not his personality. His cowardice was apparent as he continuously rocked back and forth. His crouching stance let me know that with any sudden movement I would make he would take off in a full sprint in the other direction. Then Erving’s name suited him perfectly. By his puffed up chest and folded arms I take it that he would be ready to fight anyone who would pick on him because of his name.

"I didn’t ask." I said with a sigh as I relaxed. I quickly noticed this statement shocked them. I didn’t mean to be rude, I just really didn’t ask, "but thanks for telling me." I quickly added. Hopefully that patched things up.

Claus cleared his throat obnoxiously, "Well, since you’re here we’d like to ask you something."

I waited. He scratched the back of his head and took in a nervous draft of air.

"Have you ever had an erection?!" Spike blurted. I mean literally he hurled the question at me. Everyone turned to look at him and his rocking kind of quickened. I was waiting for him to take off in any minute.

"Don’t ask her that." Ren coldly reprimanded.

"Well, that was my question." Claus admitted, "Well, have you?"

The attention suddenly shifted back to me. Ren tried to avert his glance as if he wanted no part of it but his quick glance at me told me otherwise.

"Um…I’m not sure." I admitted. I really didn’t. There was that one time when Ren and I were ten and he told me he thought I was pretty. My face got really hot and my hands were shaking, maybe that was it, "I think. How would you know if you had one?"

Their attention shifted to Ren, who quickly looked down at his pants and then back at them.

"It…it happens in your pants. A chemical reaction takes place in your pants." Claus explained.

"No, nothing in my pants from what I can recall."

"Oh." Claus said in what seemed to be disappointment.

"Have you ever touched a boy?!" Spike hurdled again.

"No. You could get a disease." I didn’t want to sound like Ren but it was the truth.

"See. No one has had sex. It’s dangerous so drop it." Ren said with a parent’s grace.

"Lame! This sucks! I want to know what it’s like!" Claus whined.

"Too bad! Just leave it alone!" Ren commanded. His agitation seemed more like embarrassment than anything else.

"Okay, well, it was nice meeting you." I said while taking a step to the wall. Spike had taken a quick step back with my movement. I wanted to laugh so badly. I even thought of charging at him just to see him run off screaming like a little girl.

"Tessa!" Ren called while taking a sudden couple of steps toward me.

My heart leapt with fear and I quickly compensated for the lost distance. Claus, Spike, and Erving cautiously stepped back too. It was as if we were waiting for a bomb to detonate. Ren realized his actions and slowly retraced his steps.

"Sorry. I’m so sorry." He almost whispered. The words or maybe his retreat slowed my pounding heart. I didn’t realize how hard it had been pounding until I felt my breath become shallow. "You just…never answered my question about how you were."

"I’m good." I said breathlessly while nodding my head, "You?"

"Yeah. Me too. Good." He too said breathlessly.

"Great." I said.

"Yeah. Great." He said.

Suddenly, Spike took off running. It scared us all so we took off running too. My racing heart fueled my speed. I felt scared and liberated all at the same time. A smile grew across my face and I started to laugh. When I got far enough as I liked from the hall I caught myself against a wall. I collapsed to my knees and began to laugh. My chest began to hurt, my hands were shaking. I was light headed and confused. I couldn’t catch my breath. I was free.