Mending/Burning

Dan stood in the corridor opposite what used to be Ms Schafer's office. The name had been scrapped off the door as the faculty had been uncertain if she would ever return. Ms Schaefer had gone on sabbatical a year ago. The rumours were that her twin sister had died in some awful circumstance and she had taken time away to find herself. Dan leaned up against the wall feeling uneasy, he had been there for five minutes trying to gather the courage to knock on the door. He could hear voices inside.

“Fuck it.” He said to himself.

He stepped across the corridor and knocked.

“Enter.” Called a voice he had not heard in over a year.

He opened the door, still uncertain about what he was walking into. Ms Schaefer's office was used as the coaches' office at Middleton High. In Ms Schafer's absence, the office had been taken over by the school's football coach, Landry. The desk that Ms Schafer was sitting behind was decorated with football trophies and family photos. Sat in a chair in the corner was Donna, the head of the swim team. Donna was a tall, light-skinned ebony girl. She had the well-sculpted body of an athlete, with her dark hair kept short but feathered in the back.

Behind the desk was Tabitha Schafer. Tabitha was wearing a flowing purple dress with a floral design and a matching purple headscarf. Her current look had a hippie look to it. Dan noted she had a bemused look on her face.

“Dan, I wasn't expecting you this soon.” Ms Schaefer advised him.

“Why is he here?” Donna asked.

Ms Schaefer took a moment to answer as if she was trying to cushion Donna from what she was about to say.

“I want Dan to rejoin the swim team.” Ms Schafer answered her.

“Really? After he walked out on us before the competition last year.” Donna hissed.

“I was hoping to talk to you alone,” Dan responded, already getting frustrated with the conversation.

“Oh, so you can worm your way back in?” Donna said, sounding really annoyed.

“This wasn't my idea.” Dan retorted.

“Enough. I extended an invitation to Dan. I appreciate there might be some bad blood with my leaving and then his departure from the team. But I was hoping this might be a time for healing.” Ms Schaefer stated.

Ms Schaefer looked directly at Dan. “I know my leaving hurt. But I couldn't stay. For what it's worth, Dan, I apologise.” She said wistfully.

Dan was surprised to hear her say that. He liked Ms Schafer a lot, but she was never one to acknowledge her mistakes.

Dan turned to face Donna. “Look, Donna. I'm sorry I left, but it didn't feel right after Ms Schaefer had left. I should have reached out sooner, but I've had other stuff going on.” He told her.

“In the spirit of things, I accept that, Dan. I don't know how Curtis or Amber are going to take this, but I'll try and smooth things over.” Donna said in a softer tone.

“Can we all be friends again?” Ms Schaefer asked.

“I guess we can try,” Dan stated.

“There's one more thing, Dan. I reached out to Donna about a month ago and told her I was thinking about coming back. But I'll spare you the clichéd swimming in lake you crap, but I did find myself out there. The last place I stayed, I took part in a sweat lodge. Are you familiar with the idea?” She asked.

“Kind of? Is it kind of a sauna in a tent?" Dan replied.

“Well, it's meant to be more than that. It's kind of meant to be a ritual of purification and healing in a way. As I said, I reached out to Donna, who took part in one, and I would like to offer you the same.” Ms Schafer explained.

“I'm guessing this is not on the curriculum? “ Dan joked.

“It's probably for the best if you don't tell anyone else in the school about this. “Ms Schaefer told him.

“I think this is something I need at this point,” Dan answered.

“I wasn't sure you would be on board this quickly. I'm currently living on my parents' farm, and I've got it set up there. If you can meet me and Donna there tonight.” She explained.

“I was going to spend time with Nicole, but I think she'll understand,” Dan told her.

“It's something you want to experience, Dan. I can give you a lift if you need it.” Donna said to him.

“That would be great. I'm kind of late for drama. So I'll see you later, Donna.” Dan told them both.

Dan left the office, still surprised at what he was agreeing to. He headed over to Ms Miller's class. Unlike Cohen, she was lenient when it came to tardiness. He entered the room and found the class was already gathered. He sidled over to Lieke.

“Okay, class. I want to break things up a little today. I know you all have your regular scene partners, but I want to shake things up so you need to mingle and work with someone you don't normally partner with.” Ms Miller advised.

Before Dan could react, everyone else in the room shuffled. He stayed where he was; he wasn't intentionally making someone else come to him, but he was still thinking things over after his conversation with Ms. Schaefer and Donna.

A moment later, he was standing face to face with a short blonde girl. She was barely five foot and was staring at Dan with a look of contempt. She was incredibly slim, if she wasn't wearing a permanent scowl when looking at him, she would be fairly cute. Her brown eyes had a look of scorn in them. Dan was overjoyed at Amy being his scene partner for his lesson today.

“Oh, it's you,” Amy said with clear disdain.

Dan had already mended on bridge today, so why not burn one instead?

“What is your problem?” He asked defiantly.

“I don't like the way you seem to have nothing but a lack of respect for the school's rules. You were late for Cohen's class, and you were late for this lesson. “ She complained.

“You know Cohen's a fucking asshole, right?” Dan told her, hoping to get a rise out of her.

A look of complete venom crossed her face. “He's a great teacher, and your lack of respect just shows what kind of person you are,” Amy replied angrily.

Dan could see Lieke looking over at him. She looked like she was going to intervene. Dan mouthed that he was okay. He saw Lieke back down.

“Maybe we should just do our lines. The scene with Tybalt confronts Romeo. I think you would like that.” Dan told her.

Amy tried to suppress a smile at Dan's suggestion. “Isn't that also the scene where Romeo's friend kills Tybalt?”

“Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford. No better term than this: thou art a villain.” Amy recited her lines at Dan.

“Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee. Doth much excuse the appertaining rage. To such a greeting. Villain am I none. Therefore farewell. I see thou knowest me not.” Dan called back to her.

Despite her initial hostility, Amy appeared to soften slightly or at least enjoyed performing lines from a character that wanted to harm the one that Dan was currently embodying. The class reached its end as it was the end of the school day. Dan found himself and Lieke alone with Ms Miller.

“So I got told today that I needed to find things that I was passionate about and embrace a challenge. If the role is still available, I would like to play Romeo opposite Lieke's Juliet.” Dan advised his teacher.

Dan was almost bowled over by Lieke hugging him. She shouted something he did not understand in Danish.

“Dan, that's wonderful. I never really doubted you would say yes, but I'm glad you took a moment to consider it.” Ms. Miller replied.

The two of them exited the classroom. Lieke had decided to link arms with Dan as they walked. As they left the school, Dan found Nicole waiting for him on the school steps.

“I have stolen your man.” Lieke joked.

“Are the two of you star-crossed lovers now?” Nicole asked.

“Emma kind of twisted my arm,” Dan explained.

“I'm happy for both of you and can't wait to see my boyfriend treading the boards,” Nicole told them.

She walked over to hug and kiss her boyfriend. “How did everything else go?” She questioned

“I might also be back on the swim team. I know we were going to hang out tonight, but something has come up.” Dan told her.

“I'm disappointed, but I understand. But I want you all to myself tomorrow night.” Nicole replied.

“Deal,” Dan answered.

The three of them walked home. Lieke spent most of the walk back talking very excitedly about the school's upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet. She parted ways with Dan & Nicole as they approached Lieke's house. Dan escorted his girlfriend home before quickly hurrying home to grab food quickly, shower and change before Donna picked him up. He met her outside as Donna arrived to drive him over to Ms Schafer's parents' farm. They drove in silence, things still a little uneasy between them. The light was fading as they got there, but Dan could make out the outline of a tent in a grass field.

It was a simple gray fabric tent pulled over wicker poles. In front of the tent was a small fire. On either side of the tent's entrance were small lanterns providing some slight illumination. Dan saw Ms Schaefer walking towards them. The pair of them got out of the car to greet her.

“I'm glad the two of you could make it.” Ms Schafer welcomed them.

“I still don't know what to expect, Ms Schafer,” Dan advised.

“We aren't in school, Dan just call me Tabitha.” She told him.

“So is everything ready?” Donna asked.

“The stones are being heated, and the water is ready,” Tabitha explained.

Tabitha walked the pair of them over to the tent. There was a small fire burning on the ground and near the tent was a small wooden box and a pitcher of water. She poured Dan a glass and grabbed something out of the box. Tabitha handed Dan what looked like a small piece of dried cactus.

“Is this peyote/” Dan asked, slightly surprised.

“Dan, just trust me,” Tabitha told him.

Dan put the cactus piece in his mouth and took a large gulp of water.

“I would also advise being mostly naked for this. It will get hot in there.” Tabitha advised.

Dan wordlessly stripped out of the majority of his clothes apart from his underwear. He watched Donna do the same, leaving herself in a pair of white cotton bra and panties. Dan shivered a little as he was exposed to the cool night air.

“Donna will accompany you and make sure you are safe,” Tabitha explained.

Their teacher opened the doors of the tent, and Dan saw there were two small ground sheets and a bucket which looked to contain cold water, next to it was a small ladle. Dan and Donna took their places on the ground sheets. He watched as Tabitha brought in several hot stones, carrying them with thick, heavy gloves. She arranged them in a rough circle.

“I'm going to stand outside and watch. Embrace whatever journey this takes you on. If anything goes wrong, Donna will shout for me.” Tabitha instructed.

“I'm going to relax and see what happens,” Dan replied.

Tabitha nodded as she closed the tent doors. The tent already felt warm due to the proximity of the stones. He looked over at Donna, who was watching him, and it looked like she was waiting for Dan to say something.

“I don't know how we start with this?” He told her.

“I'm going to pour water over the stones. It will probably get uncomfortably warm, but stick with it.” Donna replied.

She grabbed the ladle and filled it with cold water. She poured it over the stones and the tent started to fill with steam. She repeated this several times. Dan was starting to find it a little hard to breathe but was also beginning to feel drowsy. They sat like that for several moments, enjoying the heat. Dan saw that both of them had started sweating profusely. He was finding it hard to keep his eyes open. The feeling of sleep was getting really welcoming. Slowly, he found himself drifting off into the darkness.

******************************

As he came to, Dan found he had to shield his eyes from the light. He was sitting on the side of the road in what appeared to be an arid desert. He blinked a few times and could see cacti and a mesa in the distance. He looked over to his left and saw what appeared to be a bus stop. He realised he was not alone. Standing a short distance from him was a tall, leggy blonde girl. She was dressed in khaki shorts and a denim shirt tied in a knot above her waist. The biggest surprise was that he knew who this person was.