History Lesson

“How are you feeling?”

“I think I settled down, but I now have this annoying headache.”

We were sitting underneath the shade of a tree in the cafeteria courtyard. The fresh air did wonders to improve my mood, but Maple wasn’t content yet. With my tray of food resting on her lap, she attempted to feed me, one spoonful at a time.

“Here comes the airplane… Open wide!”

“Cut it out, I’m not a little kid.”

“Paige, you need to eat to recover. Food makes everything feel better, don’t you agree?” Scooching over, Maple put on another of her smiles.

“There isn’t enough for both of us. You can have it to yourself; I don’t mind.”

“Well, if you aren’t going to eat, then neither will I.”

“Fine, I’ll eat, but I can feed myself. I don’t need you shoving food into my—”

“Plop! There goes one delivery of chicken teriyaki!” Despite my pouting, she continued to smile and even patted my head as she fed me. Was she really still infantilizing me? Even after everything that occurred? Yet, as much as I wanted to criticize her, the savory teriyaki glaze was overriding my thoughts. I wanted nothing more than to fulfill my instinctual desire for food. And so we ate without a word, taking turns to share the utensils.

“I am officially stuffed! That was a good lunch, if I do say so myself!” Maple said while rubbing her stomach.

“How could you be full if we shared everything together? At around 750-850 calories per lunch, surely there’s no way?”

As if there were a question mark floating above her head, Maple tilted her eyes upward, thinking out loud to herself. “Hmm, 750 isn’t a lot… No wonder I’m usually still hungry…”

“Then how can you feel full with half a meal?”

“Because you’re here with me.”

“Come again?”

“Good company, like food, can make anyone happy. That person being you.”

“Oh, I see.” My head was heating up again. From embarrassment? No, it was closer to the mysterious feeling I experienced yesterday.

“Anyhow, I should probably cut to the chase and explain about the others…”

From what I could piece together, Kevin, Nick, and Samantha were former classmates of Maple last year. The three of them were bullied relentlessly, but Maple would always come to their aid. She taught them how to stand up for themselves, but not in the manner that they did today, nor did she ask to be revered. It ultimately came down to a misunderstanding, but one detail in particular bugged me.

“Why did they admire you so much to the point of threatening me with physical violence?”

“Hmm… how do I explain this? For the first three years of high school, I was involved in many clubs. I guess you could say I was a role model student. Excellent grades, perfect attendance, plenty of extracurricular activities, and… track.”

Maple’s smile disappeared from her face.

“Track? Like the track team? Come to think of it, I remember hearing your name on the morning announcements last year. But wait! Are you trying to imply that you quit everything?”

“You’re right, I did.”

“Why? Why would you throw it all away?”

“I didn’t throw it all away; it’s just that some things don’t work out. But now that I’ve told you more about me, why don’t you do the same?”

Was she hiding something? I would have loved to inquire about it, but her privacy was more important than my curiosity. And as far as describing myself, I had nothing more to offer than my love for the paranormal. I could have gone into length about my parents, but I doubted a story about Mom and Dad arguing would be thrilling to hear. There, however, was one topic I suppose I could mention.

“Would you be interested in how I’ve been feeling lately?”

“Sure.”

“Recently, I’ve been experiencing these feelings that I can’t explain. Like when you do certain things, I feel strange, if that makes sense.”

Maple’s eyes opened up upon hearing my words. “Paige, have you heard of the term ‘butterflies in the stomach’?”

“I have, but I’m clueless on the meaning.”

“You really are odd. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It just means you’re unique…” From the corner of her eyes, tears began to streak down her cheeks. She hastily wiped them off with the sleeve of her jacket.

“Are you crying?”

“It’s just from the sun. You know, like how sometimes your nose and eyes will become runny when exposed to bright lights.”

I didn’t believe her excuse in the slightest, but nonetheless, I let her carry on.

“Have you ever previously felt the same feelings? Maybe with someone else before?” Maple asked.

“No, I never have. Everything’s brand new for me.”

Seemingly satisfied, Maple got up from her seat. “Thank you for letting me know, I really appreciate it… By the way, we’re still meeting up today, right?”

I nodded. Thirty seconds later, the bell rang, and we were off to our next classes, which sailed smoothly for the remainder of the day. Once school was dismissed, I made a quick stop at a local hardware store to pick up my respirator before driving straight to the abandoned house. By the time I arrived, Maple’s car was already parked outside.

“Welcome back! Come on in, I made us some turkey sandwiches!” Maple said while peeking her head out the front door. I was relieved to see her cheerful demeanor return.

After strapping on our masks, we delved into the attic using our phones’ flashlights to guide the way. Greeting us was an abundance of dust and other nasty things, such as cobwebs and animal droppings. We had no clue what to search for, so we aimlessly wandered about, hoping to stumble into something.

“It’s so creepy in here! Maybe we should have bought something to cover our shoes!” Maple grumbled. She was quivering from head to toe, an image I never thought I would see.

Our search dragged on for nearly an hour. After another ten minutes or so, we were down to the last object to check. Hidden underneath a pile of clothes was a cardboard box sealed with tape.

“Maple, would you like to have the honors?”

“I—I’ll pass! You can go right ahead!”

With my fingernails, I tore through the tape, only to be met with layers upon layers of packaging material. I proceeded to toss everything out like a machine excavating the earth. It was an arduous job, but at last, I discovered something. Lying at the bottom was a doll, complete with brown pigtails and sewn-on button eyes. Written in marker on its red dress was the name: Emily.

I rubbed my eyes and pinched myself, only to discover that I wasn’t hallucinating. Before I could speak to Maple, the doll’s head swiveled to face me before uttering some words.

“Hello, Paige and Maple!”