Shielding Us From Evil

"Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say," he said.

I liked his humor. It was dry, and it made me laugh. Mr. Adams, the science teacher, brought out the rolling cart with the microscale vacuum apparatus on it to demonstrate the vulnerability of a marshmallow.

"Does anyone have any requests? What should we test?" He asked as he dug through the bag of marshmallows he brought into class. "We have just enough time to do an experiment before the end of class. How many should I put in? What does everyone think?"

No one offered an answer, so he began stacking three in the middle of the base. He reached for the globe, stopped, took the top marshmallow, and drew a freehand emoji on it with a marker. After restacking the marshmallows, he put the globe on.

"Everyone ready? Here we go!" He switched on the power, which started humming as it suctioned the air out. As the marshmallows started growing, the tower was knocked over, and the surprise emoji he drew on the top marshmallow began leaning up against the front of the glass. I let out a chuckle, and he looked up at me. As others started laughing, the bell rang.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked as I put everything in my bookbag. When I didn't get an answer, I turned to see she was asleep.

"Heather, wake up!" I elbowed her, and she snorted awake.

We’ve known each other for as long as I can remember, and we had almost every class together. This happened in seventh grade, too, so it was cool that it happened again in our senior year, our last year before college. We didn't know it at the time, but it was also the year the war became public.

"C’mon, we have to go. Liam is up first today, remember?!" I reminded her.

"Right! I saw him this morning, and he has on his lucky blue shirt, the one that clings to his chest. You can see his nipples right through it," Heather said dreamily, clutching her notebook tightly as we navigated the crowd in the hallway.

Everyone was already there when we walked in, and Liam was signing into the gaming console. The game system is set up for students to play during study hall and downtime.

Since our junior year, Versencion has become one of the most popular games in high schools all across the country. Our school began receiving recognition as one of the top in the country over the winter. The last round of semi-finals began today, and Liam is tied for first with Jax, ahead of the remaining six players. There is just enough time to play one full game during each period, and the buildup has been intense. The energy in the whole room was high. There were plans to make an organized national tournament over the summer.

Heather has had a crush on Liam since the first day of kindergarten when he told another kid to stop pulling her ponytail over and over again. She ended up dating the pigtail puller and learned a lot from the experience. She was just too intimated and in awe of Liam's character to approach him now that she understood who he was: smart, kind, and talented all in one package.

While Heather was drooling over and cheering on Liam near the game server, I had time to be with my man in the back of the room. I knew he was my one and only, and luckily for me, it was mutual.

We were artists, and both found incredible satisfaction from creating. We were discussing our first-ever collaboration and trying to figure out the best use of both of our skills. It shouldn't be this difficult, so why was it? We are both talented, and both want this to be perfect. I may never understand the irony of an artist being a perfectionist. The spirit of the creation is in the unknown.

"Oh, come ON!!" we heard from across the room. We looked over to see Liam standing on his chair, waving the controller above his head, trying to line up the crosshairs.

In walked the principal escorting what looked like some sort of government agent. They stood near the door and were watching the game.

"Gotcha! That was a tough one," said Laim. When Liam sat down after his round, he caught some eye contact from the officer. "Good job, boss!" he said to Liam.

The agent turned to Principal Everett, "It seems like they are enjoying the game. This is the fellow who is currently ranked at number 2 in the state?" he asked quietly.

"Yes sir, the third in the state will be here next period," Principal Everett answered.

I turned to Zander. "I have a brilliant idea! How about we pai…. No! I've got it! We build the fra… no, that won't work, the edge is..." I stammered.

"Lily, look at me," Zander said, gracefully holding my chin to look deep into my eyes.

"Sorry, was I doing it again?" I asked, embarrassed.

"You're perfect. Have I told you that today?" He affirmed.

"Yes, earlier, this morning. I thought it was because I put chocolate chips in the brownies," I said, smiling.

"Well, those are amazing, but no, it's because you are you. Don't force it, and don't worry. We will know the moment we figure it out. Don't we always?"

"You're right. I just want it to be perfect," I said, fidgeting with the corner of the notebook page.

"We are what make it perfect, and it is for us, so there is no way it won’t be perfect. Right?"

"Yes, good call," I agreed.

The cheering on the other side of the room escalated, and we looked up just as Liam gave Heather a hug out of excitement. "This must mean he moved on to the next round. Time for lunch,” I said, watching Zander pick a dried drop of paint off of my jeans.

By the time Zander and I were halfway through our lunch, we had an open notepad and a couple of drawing pads spread out on the table, littered with a broad assortment of writing utensils.

"Lily, Zander!" Heather and Liam pranced in with excitement. Liam split to congratulate Jax for a good game, and Heather came bounding over to our table.

"OMG, tell me everything! Are you going to hyperventilate?" I asked with an excited smile.

"I might! He is so amazing. After winning the round, he hugged me! After you left, he talked to the people in the suits with Mr. Everett. Then he asked me to a movie! How is lunch half-over?" squealed Heather.

"I saw the hug! That's so great," I said, beaming. "What are you going to see?" I asked.

"That new space movie. I could burst. I gotta go. I asked him to give me some playing tips."

"Love you, babe, do what you'll regret not doing," I said. She turned around so fast I could only see a blur of hair.

"Love you too! Byyyyyeeeeee." Heather ran off to join Liam and returned to the lounge.

"Ok, where were we?" I said, turning back to our chaotic pile of notebooks, markers, and unfinished ideas.

"Well, we were talking about how the nature of everything we do together is going to be perfect for us because there is no way it can't be," Zander answered.

"Yes, well, um, yes. That works wonderfully. Please continue," I agreed. "You are so talented. I'm making cookies tonight. You deserve it."