Blue Petals
Blue Petals is a short story about obsession, voyeurism, and the dangerous fantasies we build around the people we desire.
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I saw Jaimie last Friday during lunch at the school library. She had beautiful green almond-shaped eyes and wavy auburn hair. Her casual, sporty clothes did not match the wooden interior of the library. Jaimie slumped there, buried in her books, while she wrote in her spiral notebook. She had a fierce look, with a little innocence on her face. Every day, behind the corner desk, I sneaked out of class just to see her. I got sudden hot flushes whenever her eyes darted in my direction. I could not help getting so infatuated with Jaimie. She was the campus crush.
“Hey, Isaac! What are you doing over there? And since when were you interested in books?” said Marion.
He was my childhood friend. We had been partners in crime ever since. With his freckled face and noodle-curly hair, we had called our group the Outcasts. I carved my initials on his arm as a sign of loyalty.
“Oh! You startled me, Marion. I was just checking out some books to borrow,” I muttered.
“Sshh!” hissed the librarian.
Marion and I bowed our heads and ran to the exit as we burst out laughing in the corridor. Out of the corner of my eye, I peeked through the window, still staring at her. Marion poked me in the back teasingly, a large grin spread across his face.
“Oohh! It’s Jaimie!” he laughed.
Later that evening, I saw Jaimie’s cat, Snowbell, running down the sidewalk. I quickly grabbed her and carried her silently through the back door to my room. My mom was in her room, folding the clean laundry.
“Isaac? Where did you go? Did you finish your homework?” Mom yelled from the other room.
“Yes, Mom!” I answered quickly, pulling up the sheets and hiding Snowbell inside the cabinet. I opened the cabinet door just enough to let air in.
My parents’ house was a shabby bungalow that had previously belonged to my grandparents. The cream paint in the hallway was chipped, and there was a mirror on the patio by the front door. We only had one sofa, full of holes, and an old set of brown curtains. Before going to bed, I let Snowbell out of the cabinet and carried her with me while we both slept.
The next morning, I heard Jaimie calling out for her cat. She was frantic, looking everywhere while holding a freshly opened can of cat food in her right hand.
“Hey, Isaac, have you seen my cat, Snowbell? She has white fur and a gold bell,” she said, her brows furrowing with worry.
“No, I haven’t.” I shook my head. “I gotta go now. Hope you find her.”
“Thanks!” she replied.
On the dirt road, I circled back toward the forest to watch Jaimie continue searching for her missing cat. I pulled out a few biscuits and ate as I walked toward an old tree house where I could easily observe Jaimie’s room. Her curtains were open, but the room was still dark. It seemed like she was still outside.
A few hours passed. I was still holding the binoculars when the light in her bedroom suddenly brightened. Jaimie was changing her clothes. I watched closely as she unclasped her baby-blue lace bra. My chest pounded faster as I stared at the sight. Before she closed the curtains and left, my mom called for me, and I realized my pants were wet. I sprayed alcohol on the garment and prepared to leave the tree house.
Every weekend, I did the same thing. I hung out by the tree house and stared at Jaimie. I never had the courage to talk to her or ask her out. She was way out of my league. I was a class clown and a total loser, though I wasn’t an unfortunate-looking guy. I thought I was average.
The night sky and the sound of the stream beneath an old bridge accompanied me as I walked my bicycle. Suddenly, Jaimie approached me, handing me a flyer with Snowbell’s picture printed on it. She was with her girlfriends, Susie and Jenny. Both were taller than her, wearing the same knitted sweaters and carrying the same snobbish expressions. Their lips shimmered with pink gloss, and they wore light-blue braces. In contrast, Jaimie wore a pink tracksuit, black Converse, and a canvas backpack. She smiled at me before leaving, saying, “Please let us know if you find her. Thanks, Isaac.”
She waved, and her fruity scent mixed with magnolia lingered as she walked past me. I stared at the flyer in my hand before carefully folding it and slipping it into my jacket pocket.
Meanwhile, in my room, Marion and I were playing Diablo. I was interrupted by Snowbell’s cries. I had just fed her a while ago. I immediately closed the game while Marion continued talking. He was yapping about the jocks at school. I had no concern for them. Sure, they annoyed me, but I would not waste my time hating them that much. Sitting on the bed, I called for Snowbell. Her white fur brushed against my arm as I petted her. As I stretched out on the bed beside her, she leaned against my leg and slept peacefully.
Monday arrived, and Jaimie was more downcast than before. She missed her cat. I wanted to take the opportunity to talk to her, but I shook at the thought of having a real conversation with her. Her hair was tied in a messy ponytail, she wore nothing but her pajamas, and her voice sounded nasal. Jaimie must have been sick. She sat on the front porch, still holding an open can of tuna, slouched in her chair with her legs crossed.
“Hi, Jaimie.” I approached her with a smile. “Is this your cat?”
Her eyes widened as she almost lost her balance, dropping the cat food onto the lawn. Mr. Brooks, her father, peeked through the window and waved at me. His expression quickly changed to a gasp. He threw open the green front door and rushed toward Jaimie.
“You found her! Oh, Snowbell, I missed you so much!” she cried.
She laughed through her tears at the reunion while her dad thanked me.
“Have you eaten breakfast?” her dad asked, glancing at his wristwatch.
“Yes, Mr. Brooks. I have to go now,” I said, waving goodbye to Jaimie.
As I walked toward the sidewalk, Jaimie called my name twice. I felt jittery at the sound of her voice. My chest pounded as I slowly turned around to face her. She was closer than before.
I could smell her right there, her breath and everything.
“Isaac, wait for me. I’ll come to school with you,” she offered as she ran back to her house while I waited on the front porch.
I still carried the flower that I was supposed to give her last Valentine’s Day, though she had a boyfriend back then. It was a blue flower. I had dyed it and sprayed cologne on it so she would remember me. After thirty minutes, Jaimie and I were walking down the sidewalk. Her hair was in pigtails, and she wore a blue dress. She had the same smile I had seen back when she was with Brad, her ex. I guessed she was happy with my company.
“Isaac, where did you find Snowbell?” she asked.
Her sudden question felt like a stone lodged in my throat, almost choking me. I coughed.
Clearing my throat, I responded, “I found her in the woods near my old tree house.”
“Thank you for bringing her back. I was so worried,” she said.
“I’m glad to help,” I mumbled, clutching my backpack.
As we reached the school grounds, Brad saw us together. I immediately slowed my pace, falling behind. I lowered my head as he approached.
“What are ya doing hangin’ out with Jaimie?” he scowled. “Jaimie, didn’t ya know this guy smells like piss? Because he’s still pissin’ his bed!”
He laughed while his two minions looked at each other and joined in. The students stared at me, their eyes pinning me to the pavement. I felt cemented beneath their stares, and I quickly ran away from the schoolyard.
“Isaac!” Jaimie shouted.
After the humiliating incident at school, I hid myself inside the tree house. I was crying, bawling my eyes out. I whimpered alone in the dark.
An hour later, I was standing in front of Jaimie’s room. It was the dead of night, and she was reading a book. My pants lay in the bushes while I stood there, touching myself as I watched her. I was still crying, nearly out of my mind, when suddenly the patio lights lit up and a shadow appeared holding a bat.
I did not realize it was Mr. Brooks.
He swung the bat into my hips, forcing me to my knees. My face hit the bushes, and my eyes remained wide open, unblinking, as he dragged me onto the patio.
The last thing I remembered was sitting in front of a uniformed officer answering questions while a woman told me they had already called my mom. There was plenty of yelling in the room, and I saw Jaimie staring at me in shock. Her eyes were puffy. She had been crying for some reason.
But I just smiled at her, silently telling her that it was going to be okay.
Mr. Brooks came back and knocked me out. Everything turned dark.
I did not know what happened next. I could only remember Jaimie and her puffy eyes staring at me.
Image by: Daniil Onischenko