CHAPTER 56

Mr. Salvador leaned back in his chair, his expression never changing from his attentive glance. "Is that the whole story?" He asked me.

I nodded. "That's all I'm going to say, at least." I added with a weak chuckle. "So what do you think?"

"What do I think?" He repeated, looking at me quizzically. He shrugged. "It's not something I would have done, but I'm also not you." He shifted in his seat, thinking to himself. "Although, you never quite told me anything important."

"I never told you anything important? I told you something that could get me expelled!" I replied in a slightly panicked tone.

He chuckled softly. "But not once did you tell me how you felt about Megan. You told me what happened, but not how it affects you. Your story hinges on how you feel after. If you're suddenly happy with Megan, or if you're miserable with Megan, those are two completely different stories."

I took in what he said and shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I don't really know how to feel about it. It's all happening really fast, and I don't even know if I am to blame, if I was an asshole like Nicole said, or if I should feel like it was all a bunch of bad luck."

Salvador leaned back in his chair and smiled slightly. "You guess you don't know how to feel about it…" He repeated slowly, savoring each word. He didn't say anything more, just rotated back and forth in his rotating chair. In the silence, I started thinking about the

words myself, finally linking them back to the weights room and what Nicole said.

Look, I don't know my own feelings right now, okay?

"It's normal to not know your own feelings during a new experience for a teen, isn't it?" I asked him, his point dawning on me.

"For a human." He corrected me with a smile. "You're not an asshole, Adam. You've made some bad decisions, though. Casual sex is the worst one you can make."

"Why? I asked him.

He ignored me. "In time, you'll know how to feel about it. But don't ignore how you feel. That is crucial." He paused, until it became evident that he had nothing left to say. "Did you need to say anything else?"

"Well…" I said, exasperated. "You didn't tell me what to do, or anything…"

"I can't tell you what to do." He said simply. He paused again, before realizing I wouldn't respond. "Will you be alright?"

I sighed. "Yeah." I admitted. "I will."

"Good." He said simply, getting up and walking up to one of his shelves, putting away some paperwork. "Are we done here or is there anything else?"

"Nah, I'm good to go." I answered. "Bye, Mr. Salvador."

Without holding my breath for him to say goodbye back, I left Mr. Salvador's office, not feeling as free as I thought I would, but still feeling strangely satisfied. As I walked down the hallway, something caught my gaze. In the trashcan sat something odd-shaped and green, poking out of the can as if to say hello. It was Paul's mask.

I walked up to the can and picked up the mask. It was of a distorted face, and kind of reminded me of an owl. It had a very straight, vertically long nose, a defined forehead, and was cut off below the nose, presumably so that the actor using it could use their actual mouth to speak.

I wasn't sure if Paul threw it out or not, but it had to be important. I carried it back to Salvador's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Salvador's calm voice greeted me again without looking up to even know who it was.

I walked in. "Sorry to disturb you again-"

"Why would you say that?" Mr. Salvador asked me, looking up.

It caught me off guard. "Huh?"

"Do you have something to say?" He asked me.

Hesitantly, I replied. "Yes…"

"Then don't be sorry. Never be sorry unless you have a good reason. You've just invalidated everything you're about to say."

It was too late in the day to even bother arguing. "Okay." I sighed exasperatedly. "Anyway, I found this mask you gave Paul outside. I think he accidentally dropped it." I actually thought he threw it away in disgust, but I didn't want to taint Salvador's image of him. "Should I leave it with you so you can return it to him?"

"I didn't give Paul that mask." Salvador answered simply. "He made it."

"Really?" I asked, looking at the mask again.

He nodded. "It's one of the units in senior drama. You have to make your own mask, then create a scene using that mask."

Wow. That actually seemed really cool. "That's cool!" I replied truthfully. "Either way, he dropped it, so should I leave it with you so that you can return it to him? He'll need it for his scene, after all."

Salvador shook his head. "He won't need it. The mask unit is over. He just happened to have it on him today because I returned them today." He replied. "Don't give it to me, it's no longer mine. If you want to return it to him, you may want to hurry. He'll be leaving soon."

I wasn't sure if that was a polite request for me to leave. I nodded nonetheless. "Okay, will do." I replied. "Thanks!" I left the room, expecting Salvador not to respond. I was correct.

I ran down the hall, wanting to catch Paul before he left. It turns out my running was in vain – I found him in the main hallway sitting on the bench, looking at his phone, frustration on his face.

"Hey." I loudly declared.

He looked up from his phone. "Hola." He replied flatly.

"You okay?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Unnecessary stuff." he replied, putting away his phone. "Doesn't matter. What's up?"

I held up his mask. "I found this in the garbage can. I think you accidentally dropped it or something…"

He laughed. "We both know it wasn't accidental. Feel free to put it back where you found it."

"But I like it." I protested, looking the mask over. "Why would you throw it out?"

"Keep it then." He ordered, going back to his phone. "Salvador says it's badly made. The edges are sharp, it was hastily painted, and apparently there's no defining feature on the face."

"The forehead." I commented out of reflex.

Paul made a gesture. "That's what I said." He commented. "He gave me a 4 out of 10 on it. So I don't want to see it again."

"Does it have a name?" I asked, looking it over.

Paul gave me a weird look. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked me. "What the heck did Megan do to you?"

I could feel myself blushing. He noticed and mischievously smiled. "Yup, I hadn't forgotten." He added coyly. He glanced at the clock. "You waiting for your parents?"

I looked at the clock too. It was well after six. I hadn't texted her yet, but mom would be off work by now. I nodded at Paul and got ready to take out my phone.

"Well then, text them back and tell them not to worry. I'll give you a lift." He said nonchalantly, getting up and moving towards the parking lot. I put my phone in my pocket and followed him, matching him with silence until we got to his car.