Chapter 11: Closure

It has been over a week since he started getting better and Neil couldn’t be any happier when he is finally allowed out of the Dorm. He still has a lingering cough now and then, but according to Athena the pneumonia is no longer a concern. And that is good news indeed.

Today is Monday afternoon, and Neil is strolling down the school hall as he always has. He stops in front of his locker, and after fiddling with the dial, he unlocks the combination. Once again, out of habit, Neil opens the locker door and begins to preen himself in the mirror. He is quite pleased to see his handsome face healthy and wholesome, not as pasty and sick as it was from last week. Yes, indeed, he is still as good-looking as ever! As he brushes his hair back happily with his fingers, the reflection of a familiar figure in the mirror approaching him from behind catches his attention. Surprised, Neil turns around and comes face to face with a very nervous-looking Stacy who instantly freezes as soon as he looks at her.

Stacy gulps audibly. She knew that when this day eventually comes that she will have to see him and talk with him – indeed, she had been planning to speak what she wanted to say to him the moment she sees him. But now that they are actually in presence of each other, she becomes tongue-tied. She just stands there too scared to make a sound. Her fear escalates when her ex-boyfriend closes his locker and turns his full attention on her. It is all becoming too much for her to handle it! She thought she would be able to confront him; now she is too nervous to hear what he has to say. Averting her eyes, Stacy turns and starts walking away without uttering a single word.

Neil looks at her, confused as why she is heading away from him. “Stacy, hold on!” He calls out, “Don’t go now! I want to speak to you!”

Reluctantly, Stacy stops and takes a long breath. After a moment of silence, she swallows a large lump in her throat and finds her voice at last.

“I thought you wouldn’t want to ever speak to me after what had happened.” She says quietly, not daring to look over her shoulder.

Taken back by that comment, Neil ducks his head and scratches the back of his head in a sheepish manner.

“Yeah, well…” he chuckles nervously, trying to think what to say next. He sighs and looks at her. “From what I’ve been told, you were the one that undid the curse and saved my life.”

Slowly Stacy turns her head to face the blond hero teen. Damn his beautiful features. She thought sadly. How can she convince herself that it is never meant to be anything special between them when he keeps looking at her with his gorgeous blue eyes, especially after it was her fault that he got very sick in the first place? She tries to smile at him, but then her smile falters and she turns away, looking down at the floor in shame.

For the next few seconds both stand in awkward silence as the other students, blissfully oblivious, walk blithely past them on their way to the classrooms. The bell goes off, echoing down through the hallway, alerting everyone that their classes are about to commence in five minutes.

Neil sighs. “Well, I guess I should get going…” He says quietly and, slowly, he begins to turn away from her. Stacy can bear it no longer.

“Neil wait…!” She cries, suddenly remembering what she had wanted to say.

Neil turns back and gazes at her curiously with a raised eyebrow.

Stacy reaches into her little purse, fumbles for a few seconds and pulls out a golden framed pocket mirror with a monogrammed ‘N’ on top of it. Shyly she proffers it to him. “I’ve been meaning to give this back to you.” She murmurs softly.

Neil blinks in surprise. “Hey, I’ve been looking for that…” he trails off, accepting the return of his mirror. Then he tilts his head and looks quizzically at her. “Where did you find it?”

Stacy frowns in consternation. “You, um, lent it to me the day before you broke up with me.”

Looking slightly bewildered, Neil tries to remember. “But I…” At once it hits him, and his cheeks turn pink. “Oh…right.” He replies lamely.

Again the two of them stand gazing at each other in awkward silence. Save for a few straggling students, the hallway is pretty much empty. Finally Stacy takes another deep breath and opens her mouth to speak. “Well, I should get to class now.”

“Right, right…me too.” Neil nods in agreement.

Mutely he watches Stacy walks slowly away, her shoulders visibly sagging. A sudden pain hits him in the heart. It feels like a long, hot sharp needle piercing though his chest. He gasps, and realizes that his guilt is stinging him. He didn’t want it to end like this. He must do something, and quick!

“Um, hey, Stacy…?”

The amber-haired teen turns to look at him. Something about the way she is looking at him so expectantly, her eyes seeming almost hopeful. This time it is Neil who freezes, totally at loss what to say. Looking at her, Neil knows there has to be some way to show her how grateful he is. Thinking frantically on what he could do and say, Neil glances down at his hand and sees his precious mirror. At once he smiles. Waving the golden mirror with the monogrammed ‘N’ in the air, he grins brightly at her.

“Thanks!” he calls out.

Stacy stares at him. Is that all Neil can say? Her shoulders droop again in near total disappointment. It seems to her that he is only happy to have his mirror back – and that’s it. Stacy feels like crying. But a moment later, though, she stiffens her back and bravely lifts her chin high. In the past she’d run off in tears, but not this time. No use hoping for something that will never happen. She should have known by now. So, instead, she looks straight at Neil and gives him a crooked smile.

“Bye, Neil.”

With that said Stacy turns her back again toward Neil and walks briskly and resolutely away, not daring to give him a second glance.

Neil is confused. Is it something he said? He worries briefly whether she would still talk to him. Should he run after her? But as he stands there indecisively, he looks down at his prized pocket mirror and smiles. It sure is good to get it back though. He thought happily. Opening the three-paneled mirror, Neil starts admiring at his appearance in all angles as he pivots on his heal to face the opposite direction. His smile fades when he sees a reflection of Stacy’s backside, still walking away. Silently he watches as she turns around the corner and disappears.

With a heavy sigh, Neil feels again the sharp sting of guilt in his chest. Perhaps one day he could get back together with Stacy, but for now it might just be best to let her have some space.

Subdued, Neil closes his mirror, shoves it in his pocket and ambles down the hallway on his way to his class, the only sound of his fancy sneakers on the floor accompanying him.

The End