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Clark used the pencil lightly on the notebook, trying to make as little noise as possible as he filled in the pupil of an eye. He had finished the quiz ahead of time, but they weren’t allowed to leave early. The clock’s ticking was grating on his eardrums. He couldn’t seem to block anything out today. The discordant orchestra of breathing, scratching, and rustling almost made his hair stand on end. He could hear all the way to the cafeteria, where the juniors were taking the SAT. He started drawing another eye.
When the bell rang, he jumped a little. It was all he could do to get out the building without bowling anyone over. His bike was fastened to a rack out front. He pushed it to the sidewalk and waited for Lois, who emerged a few minutes later.
“Hey!” she said.
“Hi. How was it?”
“Fine. To be honest, I prob’ly screwed up the math part.”
She shrugged off her backpack for a moment to pull out a cinnamon roll.
“What’s the matter with you?” she asked before taking a bite.
“Nothing.” He got on the bike. “We still going?”
She sat on the rear rack and held onto him with one arm. As they sped away from the school, he could finally start to hear himself think. She held the roll in front of his mouth until he took a bite. When they reached the bridge, he pulled over, and they trudged downhill through the trees, to their favorite spot by the river. Clark plopped down on a dead tree and picked up a small rock to throw. It skipped a few times. Lois tried it, but it only skipped once before submerging. Unbothered, she turned away to ditch her backpack. She took off her shirt and pants while Clark stared pensively across the bank.
“Jesus, it’s cold!” she said as she stepped into the water.
She waded in to her knees before calling, “Are you coming or not?”
By the time he went in, she was swimming around.
“I swear, some of the problems weren’t even in the prep book. The other sections should balance it out, though. It’s not like I’m applying for a physics program.”
“Yeah.”
She continued her musings on the exam while he treaded water. He looked up to the canopy overhead. The branches were swaying against the backdrop of the blue sky. The hissing of trembling leaves reverberated through the woods. It was serene, and he hated it.
“Hey, you.”
His head snapped down. Lois reached him and hung onto his shoulders.
“Penny for your thoughts, since you’re determined to be grumpy today.”
“Sorry.”
“You can apologize by telling me what your problem is.”
He pressed his lips together before he spoke, “I’m just thinking about how you’re gonna go off and have a great life, and I’ll be stuck here forever.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”
“My dad. He doesn’t want me to do anything. He’s trying to stop me going to college.”
“What does he want, then?”
“For me to run the farm till I die,” he said acridly, “He says it’s about preserving the family legacy, but he just wants to keep me here because he thinks it’s safer.”
His demeanor softened. “I wish I could go with you. Staying in Smallville is the last thing I want. I’ll always be a freak here.”
“You’re not a freak -”
“I am , Lois. Folks might tolerate me, they might keep the secret, but I’m not one of them. I’m always going to be that . Someone people whisper about and act different when he comes in the room...I want to go somewhere no one can judge me. I want to learn something about the world, about myself. I’m not gonna find any answers here.”
She cupped the back of his neck.
“There are people who really care about you besides your parents and me. The ones who don’t just seem louder. As for your dad, did you tell him how you feel?”
“He knows I want to leave. At least Mom thinks I should decide for myself.”
“That’s something. You should ask her to talk to him about it. You still have a couple more years before it’s a real issue.”
“You’re right. I’m just stressing myself out,” he sighed lightly and paused, “Whatever I did, I just wanted him to be proud of me.”
“He will be. His problem is he loves you too much. He wouldn’t disown you for not doing what he said. He’s not my dad,” she chuckled, “...If you really want me to kidnap you, maybe we could stuff you in a briefcase.”
He finally smiled. “I’d actually do that.”
“Yeah?” she laughed.
“Yeah.”
She pulled herself up to kiss his forehead. He ducked his face below the surface and pressed his ear to her sternum. He concentrated on the strong rhythm of her heartbeat. They had another year together. It wasn’t over yet.