The Pact - Season 1: Episode 9

I spent the rest of the free period trying to work on my assignment, but I couldn’t concentrate. Tyrone’s behaviour had really left me in a daze. He had seemed so nice at first, and really interested in getting to know me, but when I mentioned my brother’s name and the fact that we had lived in Sherwood, he had looked at me as if he hated me. No, that was not right. He had looked at me as if he was afraid of me. But why? What was so wrong with Sherwood? Everyone seemed comfortable with mentioning it, but terrified of having anything to do with it. I decided to ask Lynn about it. I couldn’t ask David, that was sure – and I couldn’t ask Steve either, because if something had happened between them the previous year, he wouldn’t have liked the fact that I had spent over an hour chatting with Tyrone. But Lynn would know. Lynn had been dating him, and he said that she had been special, therefore he might have confided something in her. So I picked up the cell phone, and texted her to meet me in the grounds after that period. I knew that David had another lecture right after this one, so I could talk to her freely.

We met, and as we sat down on the grass, I said,

“Lynn, guess who I just ran into at the cafeteria during this period?”

“Who?” she asked.

“Tyrone,” was my reply. She looked down.

“Tyrone is history. I don’t even like him anymore. So I don’t really want to hear anything about him.” I reached out, and took her hand.

“Relax. I’m not going to say anything to David about it. David is my boyfriend, but you are my best friend. And you can trust me. I can understand you, believe me.” She looked up, and her eyes were filled with tears.

“I don’t understand. Just because there were some strange going-ons between him and my brother, I don’t understand why he won’t even talk to me anymore. I mean, at the beginning, he said he wanted to keep on seeing me, behind my brother’s back. And so we did for a while. And then all of a sudden, he said he didn’t want to see me anymore, and wouldn’t explain why. And this year, I’ve met him a couple of times in the corridors, but he really makes it too obvious that he is trying to avoid me.” I was surprised at this, but answered,

“Maybe it’s because of what happened between him and David. I didn’t know who he was when I saw him. I just stared at him, because he looked familiar to me. Then we got talking, and I realised who he was. Believe me, when I told him I was dating your brother, he didn’t have any nice words to say about him.”

“But why? He said he hates him, didn’t he? That definitely means that I stand no chance with him.” I nodded my head.

“He did say that he can’t stand him, but the reason is because he broke you two up. He said that you were the only girl he ever cared about. And I think I believe him.” She looked at me with shining eyes.

“Really, he did? Then why doesn’t he speak to me anymore? He’s even changed his cell phone number.”

“I don’t know, but something weird happened while I was talking with him. At first, he was telling me how he would like me to go meet him and his friends – again behind David’s back. But then, when I mentioned my brother’s name, he got kind of scared, and told me not to go, and left.” She looked at me in amazement.

“But why?” I shrugged.

“I don’t know. I was kind of hoping that you would tell me if something happened between him and my brother last year.” She shook her head.

“I don’t know. He never mentioned anything. He does have a friend called Steven, but he’s not your brother, because I’ve known him since we were kids, and I often met him when I used to go with Tyrone to ‘The Shack’?”

“’The Shack’?” I asked.

“It’s this really cool club downtown, where Tyrone and his friends hang out.” At that moment, I made an important decision. I was going to go ‘The Shack’ that night, and try to get Tyrone to tell me the truth.

So that evening, I showered and got dressed, and was ready to go out, when the doorbell rang. I went to answer, and it was David. Luckily, my brother was not home.

“Hi,” he said. “Let’s go somewhere really cool tonight.” I lounged on the sofa, and pretended to look tired.

“I don’t really feel like going out tonight. I was going to go to bed early. I had a really tiring day at school today, and I’m exhausted.”

“What’s the matter with you?” David asked surprised. “There’s this really cool party at my uncle’s resort, and I thought you would love to go there and have fun.”

“I really wish I could make it. But I’m really tired. But you can go, and have fun.” He tried to reason with me, but I would not budge. I really hated lying to David like this, but I wanted to find out the truth at all costs. And I tried to persuade him to go to the party – that way he would not find out where I’ve been. In the end, I managed to persuade him to go, even though he said it won’t be the same without me.

After about 30 minutes, as I was ready to go out, my brother walked in. He asked where I was going, and I said I was going out with David to his uncle’s party, and ran out before he could ask anymore questions. My brother knew me too well, and he would guess I was lying. I called a cab, and told the driver to take me to ‘The Shack’, and I was off, planning to find out whatever had happened between Tyrone and Steve. Little did I know how different things were going to turn out that night - and that that night was going to be the night that was going to change our lives forever.