CW in the description

Chapter 15- Locker Room Talk

It was way too cold. The wind had picked up on Lee’s walk home and as the day went by the temperatures stayed below freezing. They were used to this happening, living in the northern midwest, but that didn't mean that they liked it. Lee had made it home before their father noticed they had been gone, though when he found the left overs in the fridge Lee admitted to getting an early breakfast with a friend. As punishment their father commandeered half of the remaining waffle. Lee tried to stay in the living room as long as they could but eventually they needed a warm shower and a change of clothes. When they had gone to get a new set of clothing Alice was not in the bedroom. Covertly Lee attempted to do a once over of the apartment but Alice didn't seem to be there. Something felt off about that, they were sure that she would be yelling at them for going off somewhere without her. They didn't expect her to just leave. 

Lee tried to ignore the anxious feeling they had and move on. It wasn't like they wanted to see her anyway. They knew the next time she graced them with her presence the two were going to have to address Lee’s growing suspicion that she was the one who had been pushing people away from Lee. Lee felt a pang of guilt when that went through their mind. They didn't want to think she would have done something like this but… they also knew that they weren't pushing people away. And that there was a pattern between people not talking to Lee anymore and Lee introducing them to Alice.

When Lee did return to the bedroom after looking for Alice, the bedroom felt strange. They couldn't put any words to it and looking around the room nothing was missing or out of place. They decided to brush it off. They struggled for a while, sitting around anxious for 4 pm to draw closer. They hopped from task to task, stuck in a perpetual waiting period. They tried to draw, made an attempt at their course work, eventually they spent an hour trying to find a better shirt because the one they had on just didn't feel right. As they dug through their closet they checked in on the box they had hidden. Everything was still there. They didn't know why they had suspected it but for a moment they had wondered if the reason the room felt off was because Aunt Val had gone inside, maybe looking for the book. When they were in the room they felt this nervous twinge that left them when they ventured to other areas off the home.  Lee tried to push that to the back of their mind for now. 

They had decided to leave for the walk to the school early. Their father had proudly professed his desire for a nap, one of his favorite activities on his days off, and Lee wished him luck quickly reaching for their boots. After writing a quick note for the fridge their feet hit the pavement. It wasn't until then that they noticed how good of a mood they were in. They felt a smile pull at the corners of their mouth. They weren't ecstatic but, whatever they were feeling, there seemed to be a positive undertone to it. It felt strange, they had not slept well the previous night and the morning started off so badly, even the conversion they had with I’Ksha had felt strained and a bit uncomfortable. But Lee felt… relieved? Lighter, Lee settled on. They definitely felt lighter. 

Lee made sure to take the route that stopped at the cemetery. It wasn't where Nick usually hung out but it may be a place that he would search in hopes to find Lee. There were a few patrons, some living and some who seemed to not quite fully reach the ground including Mrs. Johnston, who had found plot F on her own and seemed content sitting by a tree. Lee waved at her as they passed by and she gave a smile in return. 

There was no sign of Nick on the walk to school and Lee hoped that he would be there waiting. Nick was a nosy guy and often used his new found powers of “invisibility” to snoop around places. He enjoyed hanging around the school because in his words, there was always something happening. Lee couldn't imagine how watching teenagers get into petty arguments and fail tests was so entertaining to him. He could haunt anywhere, go to the movie theater, hang around the amusement park, though at this time of year it would be closed. Why the school? Only Nick could answer. 

After what seemed like forever in the cold windy air Lee made it to the school. It was large, being one of two high schools in the area, the other being a private christian school that parents spent far too much money to send their kids to. It had a main building two stories tall and two long hallways that connected it to the older original building, the annex. Sitting on either side of the annex were large out of place blocks, the theater and the gym. Lee found a place where the wind wasn't blowing as hard and sat down on the concrete steps, distracting themself with an app while they waited. 

They had almost finished coloring the pixelated chicken when they heard I’Ksha’s car pull up. Lee’s heart began to jackhammer, excitement and anxiety fluttering into their nervous system. Exiting the car Lee could see that she had gone home before work to put her usual make up and glasses on. Around her neck, above her winter jacket was a library staff lanyard and Lee recognised a couple of the character charms that dangled from it. She waved at Lee and walked over standing in front of them puffing out a trail of vapor. “Hey.” She greeted them.

Lee smiled back and stood up. “Hey.” they shoved their phone and hands back into their jacket, letting out a shaky breath, adding to the pillow of steam forming between the two. “So, how are we getting in?”

Without saying anything I’Ksha smiled and began walking down the sidewalk. When she realized that Lee wasn't beside her she turned around and waved them over. Lee followed. She led them around the corner of the main building to the Auditorium and began climbing the steps that lead to the Auditorium outside entrance. When Lee was at the outer doors of  the auditorium I’Ksha pulled out her phone and quickly typed something. After a moment of silence Lee opened their mouth to ask what she was doing when a short boy with black hair and lots of eyeliner poked his head out of the doors. “Hey Keesh,” the boy mumbled quietly. He pulled the door back far enough for the two to sneak inside. 

The warmth of the building was definitely welcome as they stepped into the entry hall. Lee had only ever seen this hall used as a place to purchase tickets for school plays. Right now it had loads of backpacks inside of it along with a few students sitting in circles talking amongst themselves and eating snacks. The auditorium doors were open and Lee could hear music coming from inside and see people rushing across the stage. The boy closed the door quietly and reappeared next to the two. “Thank you for letting us in, Eddy.” I’Ksha smiled at him. She pulled her bag around to her front and took out a large bottle of mountain dew and some chips, handing them over to the boy. 

The boy, Eddy, grabbed them both and a wide smile spread across his face. “Yeah, no problem. Did you want to stay and watch Teresa jumble up her lines?”

I’Ksha stretched her back and shook her head. “No… maybe in a bit. Lee and I needed to go back into the building. They forgot something for our project in one of the classrooms.” She teased Lee as if they really had left a paper in the room and Lee felt red in their face. It wasn't until I’Ksha pointed at Lee that Eddy seemed to notice that they were there. He turned to them giving a polite smile. “ Hi, sorry.” Lee just smiled and nodded back. They had never seen this kid before, and no one really acknowledged them often so they hadn't minded being thrown to the side. “ Well Mr.Goddard doesn't want any of us to be sneaking into the school. I think I can get you backstage though, when he gets distracted. There is a door in the changing room that leads out into the hallway.” 

I’Ksha gave him a warm smile and the two followed the boy into the auditorium. He set his soda and drink in a theater chair, carefully covering it with a jacket and lead the two further into the auditorium.There were kids sitting in chairs around the large room, closer to the stage a group of teens were painting a large tree onto a backdrop. Several different students were playing different playlists on their phones. All of the talking, music, sounds of movement made the room feel loud and chaotic.  Lee hadn't tried out for theater, being in the spotlight or anywhere near a stage made them nervous, so they had not imagined that a production would need this many students. Eddy and I’Ksha greeted a few groups of students as they walked towards the stage. It seemed nice to Lee, to know so many people. When one of the teachers, Lee assumed it was Mr. Goddard, turned away from the stage to answer a student's questions about the script Eddy rushed them up the side steps onto the stage. He made sure he had safely snuck them in before pulling the large red and black curtains back into place behind him.

Backstage seemed just as busy as the auditorium. Groups of students talked and sang going over lines or laughing together. A large number of them wore the same black shirt and jeans as Eddy. Lee saw now that plastered on the back of the shirts the word “TECH” was largely spelled in all white. The “tech” were playing around with some mic packs, refilling batteries when needed and generally running about taking things from point a to z. Eddy greeted one of the groups and as they looked up Lee recognised some of the faces from their classes. The group acknowledged Eddy, asking him a few questions, while others greeted I’Ksha and Lee. It honestly shocked Lee that the group knew their name. Finally, Eddy led them to a back corner with a green door. “It is around the bend past the stalls.”

I’Ksha thanked him and the two stood there a moment talking about meeting up later the next week. Lee took a look around the backstage trying not to eavesdrop in on their conversation. After what was only moments but felt like a lifetime, Eddy parted ways again saying his goodbyes to both I’Ksha and Lee, waving goodbye to them as he turned around and half jogged to the large group of other techies. Lee turned to their friend. “He seems nice.”

“Yeah, Eddy’s a good kid.” I’Ksha smiled looking back over her shoulder at him. “ Teresa, one of my friends, introduced him to the friend group. It was weird having a freshman with all of us being juniors and seniors but he is a sweet kid. Like a baby brother“ I’Ksha smiled down at Lee. “After you.” She opened the door to the changing room.