The air was very heavy. It had been for the past few days, and o and on, the sky poured thunderous showers and remained leadenly silent threatening to resume the downpour. The swollen rivers and creeks poured their whirling yellow-brown burden over the newly-sprung grass and everything was a nasty, hot boring mess.
Johnny shuffled down the hall on the way to sixth period and wondered if school would ever end. He had congratulated himself on staying in school his senior year, but now, on this day, he felt like everything was at a standstill. His teachers were bored and listless, his friends offered nothing bright, and his future was just like the day outside — heavy, threatening, and oppressively still.
Janie met him at the locker, as usual.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
‘How was history?”
“O.K., I guess.”
“You want to go to the mall tonight?”
“Maybe.”
“You want me to call you?”
“Yeh, if you want.”
Slam! She turned and walked toward the exit down the dark hall. Johnny tagged along, saying nothing. They made it through the cattle-like, between - period stir of humanity to Janie’s class.
“I’ll call you tonight.”
“I might go o.”
“Who with?’
“Jan, maybe.”
“Well, do you want me to call, or not?”
“Whatever.”
Johnny turned and shook his head as he made his way down the hall. During the fall, he might have pitched a t with Janie, but not anymore, He just did not really care. And, obviously, she didn’t either.
Then he saw something out of the corner of his eye. At first it wasn’t even noticeable even though he was looking right at it. Something about it was strange, but he had noticed and didn’t know why. Then out of the sea of faces and bodies, the image coalesced. He saw a pair of eyes looking at him. Then, a smile, and then a faint wave, and then, she was gone down the dark hall. He turned to look at her after she was gone, but he simply saw a head of hair indistinguishable from all the other retreating figures.
“Who was that?” He wondered.
He heard very little during English class that day as he wondered who belonged to the phantom smile. It bugged him as he walked through the parking lot, and bugged him as he sat in his car waiting for the trac.
Then, out of his reverie, and right outside the passenger side window, there she was looking in and saying something.
“Huh?”
“I said, can you give me a ride?”
Johnny smiled and raced his motor.