“Um, first, um. Are you okay?” Brandon started. His voice was now wooden. “Kathy told me you were damaged, so I just wanted to know if you were okay. I was actually looking for you today?”
“Looking for me and not practicing?” Jioni grinned.
Brandon rolled his eyes with a smile. “Yes, but are you okay?”
“I’m okay, yes.” She fiddled with her hands. “Thank you.”
He sat on the edge of his bed, and Jioni sat across from him in an old wooden chair. The two remained silent.
“You know, Jioni…” Brandon sat up straight and locked eyes with her.
Jioni looked back and found his eye contact unsettling. Usually, his eyes would nervously be on the floor, to the sky, or to the side. But this time, he stared directly at her. His face filled with concern.
“Yeah?” She asked in a low voice.
“I want to be honest with you. Let me know if I’m talking too much.” He readjusted himself in his seat. “I’m worried. Since you failed your exam, you seem more of a delinquent.”
Jioni’s stomach dropped before she could open her mouth to speak. “I’m not.”
“No, no! I didn’t mean to say you were,” Brandon corrected himself. “That’s just what I’ve heard from others. I think it’s because you hang out with Hippie Girl and Emmitt now. And those two are like real, real delinquents. Or because you don’t attend community lessons anymore.”
Jioni remained quiet and nodded. Now, her eye contact broke, and she looked to the floor.
“I’ve said too much.”
“No. I’m glad you told me. What else are they saying?”
The silence lasted a while. But the silence was too uncharacteristically long. Jioni looked up to see a wide-eyed Brandon.
His stare was now more intense, and his eyebrows creased hard. And he didn’t blink. “Those wounds on your face. They’re fresh. What happened?”
