Down the Hall

The shattered glass on the floor reflected the light that shone through the dirty window where he sat. He replayed the morning’s events in his mind for the hundredth time.
“Mrs. Springs, I’m sorry to drag you down here so early, but this matter is of some urgency.” Scott sat there, prepared for some random accusation. His mother nodded slightly, the principal continued. “Scott has been suspended several times this year, has had more detentions assigned to him then are worth counting, and has been sent out of class at least once a day since the first day of the year.” He then looked at Scoot, maybe he expected him to say or do something to protest his innocents. Scott stayed silent. “I’m sorry to tell you this Mrs. Springs but Scott is in trouble once again. There has been a chain of vandalizations within the last few weeks. Each getting increasingly worse in damages. We have eye witnesses putting Scott at every one of those crimes that have damaged our beautiful school.” Scott didn’t flinch; he didn’t care if they knew he did it. Probably better that they know, he thought.
His mother didn’t look the least bit surprised, yet at the same time you could see disappointment in her eyes.
“Because of the extensive damage to the school, Mrs. Springs, I am going to have to expel your son.” These were harsh word, but now that they were said they were set in stone. However Scott wasn’t thinking about his situation, he was thinking about how he didn’t like the way that man said his mother’s name. This was yet another sad day for the Springs family, but not a totally unexpected one.
The glass crackled under his sneakers as he stepped out of the empty room. Blue glass trailed along behind him as he walked back down the hallway. How do you feel Scott Springs? You have done the worst, and how you are out of school for good. You’re lucky you didn’t land yourself in jail. He scolded himself.
He felt someones presents in the door. It was his mother, just standing there, looking at her son. Scott laid on his bed silently. What happed to my baby boy? Silvia Spring thought to herself as she stood there. Why can't he just be happy like he use to be? With that final thought she left.
"BYE MOM!" Scott yelled. He looked over at the picture on his desk of a picture of his mom and him when he was little. She looked so young, so full of life... his father had taken that picture. It was a warm summer day out. His parents had taken him to that park for a family outting. He was only five then. A child. What a fool I was to sit on that swing with my mother and pose for that picture. I should have been difficult and ran away.
As he thought about this picture, there came a knock at the front door. He listened for a moment, the knock came a second time. Get the door mom. The knock came for a third time. Scott pulled himself up off his bed and hurried down the stair. Another knock came just as he was opening the door. The door flew open and a women fell into his arms.
"I am so sorry, I was just knocking and the door open to suddenly. The sign says you have a room for rent?" She was beautiful, no, more like perfect. Scott gawked at her, eyes wide, and jaw slack. "There is a room for rent here, right?" He didn't know what to say, he didn't know how to deal with this. She pulled herself out of his arms and smiled warmly. Without a word he went to the kitchen to get his mother. Leaving the strange women standing there in the doorway.
"Mom, there is a women in at the door."
"Did you let her in?" She asked as she was drying off a fork.
"No, I told her to go away because she looked like a hooker."
"What?!" That got her attention.
"She is in the front hallway" then he left. He went out the other door of the kitchen, the led to the other set of stairs. He wanted a better look at this women. Not that he didn't get a pretty good look at her while she was in his arms, but he wanted to study her. Scott snuck to the top of the front stairwell, he lingered there, watching his mother and the stranger talk.
She was breath taking, at least to Scott. Her chestnut brown hair neatly comb, it framed her face nicely, making her look younger then really was. On the floor there sat a black suit case, and in her hand was a red umbrella. He saw a hint of grey in her eyes, or maybe it was a steely blue. Either way, her dress and hat matched the color of her eyes. He liked that. He liked that she matched.
The conversation between his mother and the beautiful stranger ended, and she headed for the stairs where Scott watched from. He fled to his room. Scott felt exhilarated, he wanted to see thing women again. He wanted to see how she moved, how she slept, how she ate, how her skin felt. He sat in his bedroom for hours, thinking about her. He didn't even know her name, but he knew she was special.
That night he crept from his room. He moved silently down the hallway to the room that had been empty that morning. The room he sat in and pondered. The room that had blue glass from the vase he had smashed that after noon. He opened the door to her bed room. There was furniture in there now, a night stand, a lamp, a dresser, and a bed. A bed that held the body of a beautiful stranger.
He took a step toward her, she did not stir. She looked like a doll, a china doll with skin of glass. He took another step. He wanted to touch the glass skinned doll. She looked flawless, no blemishes, no childhood scar, not even a wrinkle. He reached out to touch her face, then recoiled. No, look, don't touch. But he had to touch her, he had to just once, then he would be fine. He had to make it count. Scott leaned into her slowly. Careful, careful. His lips touched her warm cheek. It was for but a brief moment, yet for him it lasted forever. He felt like all the happiness in the whole world was surging from her cheek into his lips.
Then it was over, and he was back in his bed room. His skin was covered in goose bumps, and he was trembling slightly. That was enough, enough for now at least.