Liam
October 12th, 2016 | 12:00 pm
Liam was eating lunch with Josh and Ryan. The boys were once again fighting over something dumb. Liam thought it was about a girl but now he wasn't sure. He was barely listening, he was thinking about his college applications and the mediocre essay he had written. Liam started to gather his things, maybe he could work on it in the library.
"Where are you going?" Ryan asked.
"I want to go work on my college essay," he replied.
"Come on dude," Josh said grinning. "You know you're set because of basketball."
Liam shrugged, he knew they would say that. "I'll see you guys later."
He made his way to the library and thought more about what he had written. It was so lame, it was about his summer volunteering at the hospital. As if thousands of kids didn't already do that. Liam wanted to make it more interesting but he was so lost. What was so interesting about his life?
Liam looked up and saw Lexi signing out through the office. Where was she going? There were still classes after lunch. He quickly gathered his things and followed her.
"Hey," he called after her.
She glanced back at him and waited for him to catch up.
"What's up?" Lexi asked.
"Where are you going?" he asked as they walked down the hallway together.
"To see my therapist," she answered. "Something happened on Sunday."
"Everything okay?" Liam asked, his eyebrows furrowing.
She shrugged. "Something happened, I felt like getting high, I didn't. I need to see her though, I need some help."
Liam felt embarrassed now. "Oh," he said looking down. "We were supposed to share our proposal for our philosophy project today." It sounded dumb to bring up in comparison but it came out before he could think about it.
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me," she said nodding. She pulled out a crumpled up paper from her backpack and handed it to him. "I wrote down what we talked about and some of the stuff I have been thinking about, you can just read that if you want."
Liam looked it over. "This is really good," he said approvingly.
Lexi blushed. "It's whatever."
"No I really like it," he said, which made her cheeks turn ever redder.
"Thanks," she mumbled. "Let me know how it goes."
Liam wondered if he could use their presentation in his college essay. He loved this topic and it was something he was really interested in.
"Can I meet up with you later?" he asked. "To tell you how it goes?"
"I have work, but maybe around seven."
"Great, I'll pick up a pizza and meet you at your place."
"Okay, see you then," she said, offering a small smile.
"You too."
When Liam got to Philosophy, he found Austin sitting in Lexi's seat. Liam walked over cautiously, he sat down and Austin looked over at him.
"I saw you talking to Lexi at lunch," he began.
"Look dude," Liam said quickly. "We're not dating or anything, I kind of already have a messy relationship with a girl I am trying to hold onto already."
Austin put up a hand to stop him. "I don't care about your relationship with her," he said rather forcefully through clenched teeth.
"Oh," Liam said. He relaxed a bit.
"I just want to know if she told you anything strange about yesterday," he said, leaning closer a bit.
Liam shook his head. "She just said she was leaving for the day."
Austin messed up his black hair and his blue eyes pierced into Liam. He wondered what was bothering Austin so much.
"Did she say where?" Austin asked, glancing over at the door.
Liam wasn't sure if he was supposed to answer that. Should he tell the girl he had just become friends with's ex-boyfriend her whereabouts? It felt wrong. Thankfully, Liam took long enough to contemplate giving an answer and Austin stood up abruptly when he saw Rick walking into the classroom.
"Just forget it," he said, starting to walk toward his own table. "Tell Lexi the same too," he said quietly.
Liam wasn't sure what to make of that. He had other things on his mind too. Rachel was staring at him and making him feel guilty about what he had said at the dance. He so desperately wanted to apologize and go back to the way things were.
On top of that, he also had to present his and Lexi's philosophy topic. People before him went and gave their ideas to the class. They were supposed to give a brief explanation of their topic and propose a direction they wanted to take it in. It was clear who cared and who didn't. For instance, Austin and Rick went and spoke half-heartedly about levels of truth. It was pretty obvious they didn't put much effort into it and didn't really care about it. Rachel and her partner spoke about stages of morality and it seemed like Rachel cared but her friend clearly didn't.
Finally, it was Liam's turn and he stood up clutching Lexi's crumpled up paper. He wasn't nervous about presenting, he was worried everyone would give him a hard time because he and Lexi actually had something deep and meaningful to say. Liam got to the front and with an approving nod from the teacher, he began.
"Lexi and I will be presenting about the varying levels our souls connect on."
Liam looked up, no one was booing him or laughing, so he continued.
"Lexi wrote this but I'll read it for her because she's not here." He smoothed out the paper and began reading. "We see souls as celestial, they're too powerful for this earth. they are trapped in a human body constraining their heavenly status. However, when souls connect with each other, they create a powerful connection that walks a fine line between earthly and heavenly. There are four types of connections: the first is what we have defined as "Wisdom Sharers." They don't necessarily stay in your life forever, but they teach you something. Maybe a teacher or a friend, someone who changes the way you think. The second is "Platonic." This is the relationship you have with someone that lasts a long or meaningful amount of time. This would be family, friends, the people who support you through everything. The third is "Romantic." This one is pretty straightforward, the person you love, the person who makes everyday worth living, the person who understands you without having to try. Furthermore, a soulmate is the culmination of all three. Someone who you learn from, someone who supports you, and someone who loves you."
Liam looked up and the room had gotten really quiet. Everyone had been intently listening to each word he said.
"Wow, Liam that was great," the teacher said with a stunned expression on his face. "Tell Lexi that was extremely well thought out."
Liam nodded, his ears were burning as he walked back to his seat. He wasn't sure why everyone was staring, but it seemed like what he had said made everyone think. Which he supposed was the goal of what Lexi had written. Rachel was staring at him with her big grey eyes. Liam wondered what she was thinking about.
After school, Liam went to basketball practice. When it ended, he quickly showered and changed. He left and picked up some food and then went to Lexi's house. She opened the door for him and he followed her into her room. Lexi looked tired, something had clearly happened.
"Is your dad home?" Liam asked as he placed the pizza down.
She shook her head. "He's at work."
"The presentation went well," Liam informed her. "The teacher really liked it too."
Lexi smiled. "That's nice to hear," she said. "I was worried people would laugh."
"Me too," Liam admitted.
Lexi sat down on the couch and opened the pizza box. They both started to eat. Liam decided he should tell her what Austin said to him. She deserved to know her ex-boyfriend was asking about her.
"Uh, Lexi, you should know that Austin asked me about you today."
Lexi's head shot up. "What did he say?" she asked nervously.
"He asked if you told me anything about yesterday and asked where you were," Liam answered. "He also told me to forget it and you should do the same."
"Damn."
Liam wondered what could have happened but it felt wrong to ask so he kept his mouth shut until Lexi spoke up again.
"Can you keep a secret?" she asked.
Liam had been keeping a lot of secrets recently, he nodded his head.
"Okay, I'll tell you what happened."