creative writing A

Maddy 46-50

2010-01-06T04:59:00.000-08:00

12

The next few months went quickly. Kristen was caught up in a whirl of activities. From homework to Christmas shopping, Kristen barely had time to breathe. The only relaxing times she had were the ones spent talking with Skye in their dorm room, and the hours she spent with Sam when he tutored her. Kristen lived for her tutoring sessions. With her newfound love of Sam, they were her perfect excuse for spending long hours with him after school and on the weekends. Thanks to Sam’s tutoring though, Kristen was beginning to average low A’s; she even had a ninety-eight in her English class! Although this was quite an achievement for Kristen, she couldn’t help worrying that Sam would decide she was fine on her own, and didn’t need anymore help. If that happened, then she would lose all of her time with him, and that was something she definitely did not want to happen. The only thing dragging her down was guilt. Guilt because she had made no effort to help Skye with Sam, and guilt because, in spite of the fact that she knew that Skye liked Sam, she continued to flirt with him whenever Skye wasn’t around. At first, Kristen had been able to just forget about the love triangle, but as time progressed, and Skye kept asking, the harder it became. On top of all that Kristen had another storm brewing in her life. Her parents were coming for Christmas.

Up until Christmastime, Kristen had had no connections with her former life. On Christmas Kristen’s parents flew down for a visit. When they arrived, Kristen had no idea what to expect. She hadn’t seen them for months and the last time she had, their relationship had been on thin ice. As soon as she greeted them in the front circle, Kristen realized all of her worries were going to be realized. The atmosphere was tense and her parents barely looked at her.

At first, Kristen made an effort to be friendly, engaging, and to show her parents how much she had changed. After being blown off countless times for conversations with teachers, and Sister Mary-Janice, Kristen gave up. For the rest of their tour Kristen just spoke like she was being forced to, and offered no more information than was needed.

Things finally began to look up though during the parent-student dinner. Kristen’s parents sat with Skye’s grandmother and Sam’s parents. (St. George and St. Claires combined their dinners.) All three gushed about how nice and polite Kristen was, and how she seemed like such a sweet girl. It was only after that, that Kristen’s parents actually began to warm up to her.

Later, when they were saying their goodbyes, Kristen’s parents pulled her aside.

“I think I speak for both your father and myself when I say, we are extremely proud of how you’ve acted.” Said her mother.

“From what your teachers and the other parents had to say about you, it’s clear to both of us that you are a completely different girl than the one that lived in Jacksonville.” Added her father.

“Thanks.” Said Kristen smiling genuinely, as she hugged her parents.

“Oh and sweetie, I’m glad you’ve found some nice friends, Sam and Skye are keepers. Especially Sam.” Said her mother with a wink as they she got into the car.

“Mom!” Yelled Kristen, exasperated. Not only was that comment embarrassing, but Kristen had gone about a half an hour without thinking about the Sam and Skye issue.

“Oh I’m just messing with you honey.” Said her mother with a laugh as she gave Kristen her last goodbye hug. “Love you.”

“I love you too, mom.” Said Kristen.

As she walked back to her room Kristen thought about what her mom had said. She was right, Sam and Skye were keepers. If she wasn’t honest with them then she wasn’t going to keep either of them for very long, she realized.

As she walked back to her room Kristen thought about what her mom had said. She was right, Sam and Skye were keepers. If she wasn’t honest with them, she realized that she wasn’t going to keep either of them for very long.

When Kristen walked down the dark hallway to her room, she noticed something unusual. The door to her little home was ajar, its light spilling into the coal black hallway. As she crept closer she could hear voices coming from inside. Who the heck is in there? Thought Kristen.

When she arrived at her door she peered in. She was met with a most unexpected sight. There, sitting on her pink geometric comforter sat Skye and across from her sat Alison. Why the heck is she in there? Thought Kristen, as she strained to listen to their conversation.

“Come on! I’m telling you the truth!” Said Alison it what seemed to be a frustrated tone.

Telling the truth about what? Thought Kristen

“Alison, I really think you saw someone else, Kristen would never have done that.” Replied Skye calmly.

What would I have never done? Thought Kristen, quite confused at this point.

“And what makes you think that she wouldn’t?” Asked Alison.

“Well, I told her that I liked him, and I think that she would have respected that.” Said Skye.

What did I do!? Thought Kristen exasperated, although she now knew that whatever it was, it had something to do with Sam.

“Psh, Kristen is exactly the type of person who would kiss someone else’s man!” Snapped Alison.

What!? I never kissed Sam! Thought Kristen as she jumped up ready to barge in and defend her good name. What Skye said next though sat her right back down.

“You know I think you’re the one that’s got it all wrong. Kristen would never try to steal Sam from me. In fact she’s been talking to Sam for me for about a month.”

“You honestly believe that? You honestly think Kristen’s been trying to help you?” Said Alison in frustrated disbelief.

“Yes.” Answered Skye simply.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Yelled Alison in frustration, as she stormed out of the room, and right past Kristen, not even noticing her.

After Alison was gone, Kristen stayed in the hallway, as the guilt settled in. She had just witnessed something that was proof of just how good of a friend Skye was. All that time that Kristen had avoided helping her, Skye had never doubted her. Seeing how much Skye trusted her, and seeing how Skye defended her, filled Kristen with an overwhelming sense of guilt. She had been nothing but horrible to Skye. Skye deserved to be treated better than that. So far Kristen had acted just like Alison said she had, minus the kissing part of course. Knowing that sitting there wouldn’t make anything better Kristen picked herself up and walked into her room.

“Hey, where have you been?” Asked Skye, in a cheerful voice as soon as Kristen walked in.

“Oh I’ve just been helping my parents pack up the rental car.” Said Kristen as normally as she could.

“Okay.” Said Skye with a genuine smile, “well I really tired so I gonna’ crash but Merry Christmas!” She added as she flopped down on her bed.

“Merry Christmas to you too.” Replied Kristen with a yawn, realizing how tired she was as well.

Five minutes later as she closed her eyes to go to sleep, Kristen thought of a way to fix everything, it’s like they always say, no matter what you have done, you can always make the next thing you do the right thing. She thought with a smile.

Cheyanne -story end

2010-01-05T05:09:00.000-08:00

“Oh yeah I almost forgot.” Caroline giggled turning on the wireless radio we had brought with us.
“Turn it up Caroline!” I protested playfully. I placed my hand on my stomach. Ugh, I defiantly ate a few too many chips. I guess you could call me an emotional eater. I know, bad.
She turned on the radio. Of course knowing music loving Caroline it was already set to Kiss 123.8. That was the only Caroline acceptable channel. This channel wasn’t full of honkey country tunes like the rest. It was the only channel around that played newer stuff. Usually pop/rock. Thank god this satellite reached us.
“This young singer’s first single is quite impressive.” The radio’s voice said in it’s deep huskiness.
“Ugh, I bet it’s like Eliza.” I moaned, while reaching to shut off the noise I wasn’t prepared to hear.
“Here is Noelle Fields.” The radio voice said. My hand paused in mid air. Caroline jumped up spastically. Every thing was in slow motion until I heard a shriek scream.
‘Ahhh!” Only after it had ended did I realize that it belonged to me.
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” Caroline screamed jumping up and down, after turning the stereo up as loud as it could possibly get.
Still struck with the feeling of surprise my heavy heart lifted up.
“I don’t believe it!” I managed to spit out. How did my song manage to get on the radio? One answer, Kristen. She was such a good friend. Now I realized I didn’t only have to go back for myself, but for the sake of everybody else I’d let down.
“This song is great! Obviously some one in the studio still believes in you.” Noelle reminded me, then continued “Noelle your going back to California whether you like it or not.” She said with force in her tone.
“I am.” I nodded. “I am.” Tears of happiness started to drip down my cheeks.
I guess in the end everything works out, or maybe I’m just one of the lucky fortunate ones. Let me tell Los Angles isn’t as fun as it seems, but it was my new home. No longer was I needed here, and Caroline even promised to keep me out of trouble and on the right track. Sure I let her come along, but I had learned my lesson the hard way. After finishing my album, making up with Jason and Kristen, and officially getting over Kyle you’d think it was the end of a book. Really it was a new chapter of my life.

Renee 46-49

2010-01-04T05:30:00.000-08:00

I pondered Jared’s words. I could feel my anger rising again. I reached over to the stereo and turned it on to something more edgy. Jared immediately turned his head and looked at me, a dirty look on his usual hopeful, green-eyed face.
“What?” I smirked, staring back at him. He didn’t answer.
After he dropped me off, I ran up the stairs and into my bedroom. I breathed in the welcoming, certain scent of home. I ran back downstairs, after finding no reason as to why I went up the stairs in the first place. With confusion still brewing in my brain, I collapsed on the leather sofa, flipping on the television. The news came on. Of course, I mean that’s all my parents ever watch, I thought. I sat there still watching it, my mind in another place. It drifted to the conversation I had earlier with Jared. He couldn’t be right. It didn’t make any sense. Restless, I got up from the sofa after an hour and decided to make myself dinner. My parents wouldn’t be home from the casino until later, and Jack was spending the night with a friend. This was usually how this day of the week went.
The next morning was church morning. I got up, overly excited, and slipped on black dress pants, and then my favorite tan knitted sweater my grandma had made me, over a nice, plain brown shirt. Grandma’s sweater was my favorite, and what better day to wear it then today? I looked over at the clock, curious to see what time it was - it was already ten o’clock! Church started at 10:15! Where was Jared?
I was hit with the realization of what he said yesterday, and immediately my heart fell. I pushed the thoughts away and gathered up my belongings for church, motivated by a new idea.
We had three cars, and my parents each took one on their way to work. They always left the Pinto parked in front, to the side of our two-car garage.
I didn’t exactly have my license yet, but I did pass my permit test. Would I be able to do this without getting caught?
Nervously, I put on my winter coat and fixed my hair so it didn’t interfere with the static from my coat. I slipped on my blue winter gloves that had small white snowflakes on top. I didn’t want to wear a hat today, otherwise my hair would frizz up into something I wouldn’t be able to manage. I threw my bag over my shoulder and rushed downstairs and threw on my furry tan boots. I grabbed the keys from the wooden key cabinet and shifted out the door. I got inside and turned on the ignition. It started unwillingly, making loud roaring noises, puttering to heat up. I got back out and began brushing the snow of the front of the windshield. I bit my lip, my heart beating faster. Guilt was starting to take over.
After brushing it off thoroughly, I got inside, my hands shaking, not in bitter cold, but in nervousness. I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this. I flipped on the windshield wipers, and they slowly brushed the snow apart, and I could see clearly onto the fresh snow-laden driveway.
I put the car in reverse, my hands still shaking, my gut cringing suddenly in bad intuition. I pulled forward and carefully drove down the road, my eyes pacing back and forth. I slowed down at the upcoming stop sign ahead of time, remembering Winter time driving rules. I whipped my head back and forth more than necessary, turning left and pulling up the next road.
Suddenly, as I was moving past a small road to the left of me, I didn’t notice a black vehicle hidden behind a cluster of small, snow-covered bushes. It came out suddenly, pulling out in front of me about ten feet ahead. I gasped, punching on the break and turning my wheel to avoid the oncoming collision. I turned more than necessary and my car slid more than I had bargained for, sending my Pinto into spins. I screamed, trying to maneuver it back into track. I felt the car stop spinning. I breathed out. To end my relief, an unexpected boisterous horn grew louder within seconds, and before I knew it, my world went black.

Mumbles of sound rippled through my mind, what sounded like distant voices speaking. It felt like I was dreaming, but the voices were gradually growing louder. As the sounds became clearer, I could distinguish a lower-pitched voice and a higher one. Some words were clearer than the others.
“...surgery?” One of the voices spoke, anxiously.
“...might not be necessary, there are many more options...special care...” the deeper voice replied, calmly.
“Is she gonna be alright?” Came from what I could tell now as a woman’s close panicky voice. It sounded like she was saying this right into my ear.
“Yes, yes, she will be just fine, don’t worry.” The deeper voice was growing louder, my consciousness recurring.
Bright light seeped penetratingly through my eyelids as I began to open my eyes. A blur of color appeared, and I distinguished figures standing to the right and left of me. I could hear clearly what they were saying now. My vision came into focus, and I recognized my mother standing to the right of me, leaning over my bedside, softly stroking my hair. A tale, blonde-haired doctor stood to the left of me, looking into my face. A slight smirk of approval was spread on his face.
“M-mom?” I studdered, hardly able to get the words out. My lips felt like they were glued together.
“Becca, honey, you’re in the hospital. You were in a bad accident.” She said, carefully placing her hand on mine and stroking my hand with the tip of her thumb. Her face, I noticed, was red from crying and she started to cry again as she spoke those words.
It wasn’t until then that I remembered the spin outs, and the loud horn coming at me after the spinning finally stopped. My heart raced in a mixture of guilt, panic, and fear as I recollected these thoughts.
“Mom, I am so sorry-” I burst out suddenly, but she interrupted me.
“Honey, don’t upset yourself right now. We’ll talk about that later, but for now, I am so thankful that you’re even alive!” My mom’s voice cracked on the word so, making her sound so much more upset than she really was.
I relaxed a little in the hospital bed, slightly relieved. For once, I noticed the light blue walls of the room, and the extremely old-fashioned border wallpaper near the start of the ceiling. I remembered these details from the last time I was in the hospital; I was eight years old, knee split open from playing hide-go-seek with the neighborhood kids. Tripping over a large stone on my sprint to safe, I landed myself right on top of a sharp, edgy rock sticking out of the dirt driveway. The rock came right through my knee on impact. I don’t even remember the trip to the hospital, just the pain that resulted from the stitches pulling in and out of my skin.
“Well, I’ll leave you to rest now, Rebecca, and I’ll check up on you in a little while. Is there anything I can get you?” The doctor looked at me now, with kind eyes. He turned and stalked out of the door, his long legs carrying his weight almost in perfection.
Just then, a soft, but repetitious knocking came on the door from behind the cream-colored hospital curtain which separated my quarters from another person’s. I wasn’t sure if there was anyone stationed to the left of me. There appeared to be two spaces in this room, and I was lying in the farthest one, near the window.
In came Pastor Dennis, looking quite worried. I forgot about him almost entirely, but I stayed still where I was, unsure of how to react. What would he think of me, lying in a hospital bed, here because of some idiotic decision that I had made earlier that morning?

Cheyanne 45-50

2010-01-04T05:29:00.001-08:00

I stuffed a handful of potato chips into my mouth. I chewed them slowly, as I flipped through the TV channels. Nothing on seemed to catch my attention the least bit.
I was back home, sprawled on my bed. I had been home for about two days now. Luckily my family weren’t asking for that many explanations. The only explanation I was giving was “I’m done!”.
Caroline had been over earlier. Her visit was short. Apparently now she works at a local restaurant. Honestly she didn’t seem that excited to see me. Caroline was extremely surprised by how different I looked. She admitted not even recognizing me. Its always a let down when your friend of so many years doesn’t recognize you.
We exchanged about twenty words, and then she said she was going to be late for her shift. So of course I said “good bye”, and went back to moping.
Today was one of those days where I just felt like a complete failure. I mean with so many people geniuses, and celebrities what exactly was I? I had about one friend. One friend who was starting to slip away. I wasn’t attending college. I guess I could still sign up for next semester, but it seemed like I lacked a life.
While most people are having the time of there lives these years I could already see myself sitting here in this room, eating junk food, and watching TV for the rest of my life. I might even turn into one of those crazy old ladies who only has animals as friends. Scratch that thought. At least they had animals as friends. Right now I didn’t really have anything.
“Noelle, do you want some fried chicken?” My yelled calling up to me. I could barely hear her voice through the TV.
Normally I would never pass down some of my favorite food, but tonight I didn’t want to join my family. I felt like being a loner, because that’s exactly what I was, and would be. I didn’t even have a job anymore. My chance at whatever great things I could of achieved had gone out the window.
Redundantly I woke u the next morning remembering what I had to mope about. It was like this was my life now. Day after day was spent feeling sorry for myself.
“Noelle!” My mom shouted opening my door, without knocking.
Startled I looked up at her.
“Wake up. Caroline is here.” She said.
Quickly I got out of bed, and ran downstairs.
“I’m going to help you get out of this dilemma. I would be a terrible friend if I didn’t.” Caroline stated sweetly as I greeted her at the door way.
“Caroline, it’s over. I’m moving on.” I said defensively. Why would she want to help anyways? Basically I’d gone to Los Angles, and ditched her. I wasn’t a good friend.
“Don’t you just give up. Come on.” Caroline said motivationally. Her blonde hair was blowing in the wind, and her face had a sunny glow to it.
“I’m not giving up. I’m moving on.” I corrected her. Then added “Today is a good day to visit the lake.”
The Blue Crest Lake was one of my favorite places to be. Caroline, and I used to walk there frequently. It was just one of those refreshing places where you could relax.
‘Okay. The lake it is. I have today off too.” Caroline added. Although it was getting colder today had seemed to warm up just enough for Caroline and me to sit in the sand, and dip our toes in the water.
“Oh, and don’t worry we won’t have to walk. My mom is letting me borrow her car.” Caroline declared excitingly.
“Awesome.” As lame as it sounds neither of us have cars. “I’ll be right back.” I added racing up the wooden stairs that lead to my bed room.
Quickly I threw my hair in a pony tail. Then I proceeded by replaced my sweats with denim Capri’s, and slipped on a tank top. I grabbed a black cardigan in case the weather decided to get chilly.
“Mom! I’m going with Caroline to the lake!” I shouted following Caroline out the door.
“Be back for dinner.” She demanded.
I felt a little bit of happiness bloom inside me as we reached the lake. No one else seemed to be here. I wasn’t that surprised. Swimming season had been over for a while.
Caroline, and I decided earlier after leaving my house to have a picnic. We had picked up pre made subs, a bag of potato chips, and pepsi at the grocery store. I sure was starving. My appetite had seemed to have returned.
“Of course we will need some music.” Caroline laughed, as she grabbed her wireless radio. We both were music geeks. I hadn’t listened to some good music in a long while.
“Okay. Now all set.” I said; my stomach growled.
After we had walked to the sand area I laid down the towel. It was an old beach towel that I remember Caroline has had for years. I wondered why she decided to bring this one? It was one that she’d gotten long ago when we had been obsessed with Barbie dolls. As you may have guessed this beach towel was covered with Barbie’s face.
Her bouncy blonde hair, and perfectly symmetric face was obnoxiously staring at me. All these characteristics reminded me of Eliza. I frowned.
“So what exactly do you plan on doing with your apartment?” Caroline asked shortly after we had started eating.
I shrugged; my mouth full of food. “Stop paying rent.” I replied after I’d finished chewing. Right now I could care less about bad credit.
“We should move there. Me and you. We could go to college, get jobs, you know?” Caroline suggested. Obviously she’d gotten bored here lately.
“Well, I don’t know. Yeah I like it there, but…” Actually I couldn’t really think of a reason of why I didn’t want to return to Los Angles.
Los Angles defiantly was more amusing than here. This small town was boring to the extreme. Usually the most excitement was when the annual fair was going on.
Of course I wasn’t much of a fair girl. The whole farm animal, country playing music, corn dog eating festivals didn’t amuse me much.
“What? Why not?” Caroline asked her sweet tone seemed to get angrier.
“I’d miss my family.” I lied. Of course I would miss them, but that wasn’t why I didn’t want to go back.
“Yeah, right!” She snapped rolling her eyes. Then quickly added “It was just an idea, but whatever.”
“Well there is plenty to do around here. I mean you have a job, and I can try to get one too. Then of course there is always the Christmas play to look forward to.” I replied, searching inside my head for more lame excuses I was able to grab hold of.
“What is up with you? First of all me, and you both know there is nothing to do around here. You hate Christmas plays, and not to mention you’re a terrible liar.” Caroline said bluntly.
I stared out into the lake. I felt like jumping in, and swimming away. It would be so nice to just leave all my worries behind. It must be nice for fish. They get to spent their lives aimlessly swimming, and exploring the waters.
“It would just…” I sighed then continued “it’s too hard. I can’t go back there. My first love dumped me, and my dream job has been shattered.” I admitted feeling tears build up behind my eyes.
“Get. Over. It. If those are the only reasons then your whole life will be spent running away.” Caroline reasoned.
I guess she had a point. All I really wanted to do was stay here, and hide.

Lorin 26-37

2010-01-04T05:26:00.000-08:00

Chapter 4
Walking into this school made me feel out of place. There was a weird sense that I didn’t belong here. I felt eyes staring at me all the way to the office where I was asked to wait.
I sat down in a blue chair right across from the lady working at the desk. She had dark brown hair that was put up in a bun, and green eyes that I wish I could have. I have ice blue eyes that everyone says are beautiful and they wish they could have them, but I’ve never been a fan of blue. The lady at the desk came over to where I was sitting.
“You’re Cassidy, right? I’m Mrs. Johnson; I’m one of the secretary’s here.” She introduced, “grab your stuff and follow me.”
“Okay,” I said while I nodded and started to follow after.
I followed her to a classroom that had a few students sitting at tables talking. The teacher stood by the chalkboard writing math equations down so, I figured that math would be my first class. Mrs. Johnson knocked on the open door to get the teachers attention.
“Hello, Mrs. Johnson. May I help you?” He asked, and then looked at me. “Oh, do I have a new student in my class now?”
“Yes you do. This is Cassidy Turi; she’s from North Carolina.” She told him as she turned me over to his class.
“You can sit in this seat,” he said as he pointed to a desk that was right in front.
I said ‘okay’ and sat down. I noticed that there was only three other girls in the class and all the rest were guys. I sat next to two guys; one with blonde curly hair and the other had barely any hair at all, but I’m sure it was black.
“Hey, I’m James. Welcome to our school.” The guy with blonde curly hair said before the teacher started talking.
“I’m Mr. Drews, and the only reason I’m saying that is because I wanted to make sure everyone knows that we have a new student in our class.” He told the class as he gestured for me to stand up.
I stood up and turned to the class with a fake smile on my face because I felt awkward standing in front of these kids who I’ve never meet before. I decided to wave and sit back down, but of course I couldn’t get away with that.
“Stand back up and introduce yourself. Then you can sit down again then, we will get started.” He told me as he went to go and sit at his desk.
I stood up at where my seat was and turned to the class so, my back wasn’t toward them. “Hi, I’m Cassidy Turi.” I said then sat back down and looked over at Mr. Drews.
“Okay that works,” he mumbled through his laughing of me introducing myself as quick as possible. “Let’s get started. Get out your homework from last night. Cassidy, you can look on with James’s or Dylan’s homework.”
“You can look on with me Cassidy. Dylan usually doesn’t do his homework or it’s not done very well.” He said as he moved his desk towards mine and put his homework on our desks.
We went over the homework and I knew exactly what we were doing. I did this already in my school in North Carolina. After going over the homework we started to take notes.
I took the notes in my pink spiral notebook. I haven’t done any of the equations before in the notes, but it wasn’t that hard to figure out. The bell rang when I got to the second page of the notes.
“What’s your next class?” James asked hoping we would be in another class together.
I then, looked at my schedule to see what I had. “Uhm, I have English with Mrs. Rodriguez.”
“Oh, I don’t have her yet, but if you want I’ll bring you to her room?” He asked as we walked out of Mr. Drew’s class.
“Yeah, thanks.” I said gratefully at his offer.
We talked all the way to my next class about the school and general things about us like what we like to do, and our best subjects. We waved goodbye and I walked into my next class and over to the teacher who was talking to one of the students.
I looked around the room while I waited for their conversation to be over. There were many posters of authors on the wall and the room was bigger than the other. I then noticed some girls looking at me with weird glares.
“Yes? Oh wait I know who you are. Uhm, you can sit in that seat behind Hannah.” She said with sort of a southern accent while pointing to a girl with blonde, wavy hair and a big smile.
I didn’t like this class because I felt there was anger or hatred towards me. I felt I was being watched and glared at, but whenever I looked there was no one looking at me or even moving their head from me.
That’s how it was the whole class and I couldn’t concentrate. I barely even noticed when the teacher started talking and when she stopped. The bell snapped me out of my zoning out. When I started walking out of the room, a few of the girls from the class came up to me.
“Hi, your name’s Cassidy right?” One of the girls said in a grumpy tone.
“Yeah, nice to meet you.” I replied holding my hand out for a greeting shake.
“I don’t want to touch your hand I don’t know where it’s been and I’m sure no where great because you look horrible. Your fat, your clothes are hideous, and you are super ugly.” She walked away with the other groups after saying that.
I was so upset at what she said that I started to cry. My English teacher didn’t even realize because she never came over to see what was wrong, but James ended up coming over when he was coming down the stairs after his class.
“What happened? Are you okay?” He asked with worry in his eyes.
“It’s nothing; I’m fine. Where’s the bathroom? I need to clean up.” I said through my sobs.
“It’s this way, follow me.” He told me as he started walking down the hall and I trailed behind.
We then stopped and I looked over and there was the bathroom. I walked in and over to the mirrors. When I looked at myself all I could see was an obese, zit faced girl with dirty, cheap clothes.
I couldn’t stand looking at myself anymore so; I just took a few paper towels and dried my face then left. James was there waiting for me and he showed me to the cafeteria and let me sit at his table. I didn’t know how he could be so nice to me when I’m a hideous girl and he doesn’t even know me.
During the rest of school I was so worried about what people were thinking when they saw me. I tried avoiding people as much as I could so no one would have to deal with how hideous I was. Then when the last bell had rung I got out so fast that nobody probably noticed where I went. I hoped to God that my mom would be here waiting for me so I could go home and away from this horrible first day.
I looked out the glass front doors and I didn’t see my mom’s car out there anywhere. I decided to call her to make sure she was on her way, but to my despair she told me I had to walk because she was called into work early and didn’t have time to pick me up not even for a split second.
I started on my walk home that luckily was only half in hour away by walking, but I’m scared I might get lost because I wasn’t really paying attention when I was dropped off this morning on how to get from my house to the school.
It was cold walking home having the big gust of cold winds blowing at me. It was fall time almost winter, but I still was hoping that it could change for the sack of me having to walk home in this.

Chapter 5
I wake up by my alarm beeping telling me it’s time to get ready for school. I didn’t want to go, but I knew I had to no matter what so; I dragged myself out of bed and down the stairs. I walked into the kitchen and picked up a box of Lucky Charms cereal and made myself breakfast. When I sat down at the dinning room table I looked over to the mirror on the wall and saw the same picture I saw in the bathroom. I decided to throw my cereal away and not eat breakfast for a first.
I then started to get ready, but when I finished neither my dad nor mom were up yet. I walked over to their room and peeked in. I saw my dad sleeping, but my mom was no where in there. I decided to wake my dad after a slight pause of thinking of where my mom could be.
“Dad, wake up. I don’t know where mom is and I need to get to school.” I said as I shook his shoulder to wake him up.
“She had to go back into work and didn’t you see note that said to ride the bus?” He seemed angry, and I didn’t know why.
“No, I didn’t. I’m sorry, but are you going to bring me or am I not going today?” I asked hoping I could stay home for the day.
“You’re going to school,” he said as he then started to get louder. “Now shut up, you’re lucky I’m not making you walk there!”
He hurried me out the door cussing and yelling at me the whole time. It was so hard for me to fight back the tears that were building up inside me. The only good thing was that I was going to be seeing James who has been the only nice person to me since I’ve gotten here.
He seems like a good kid, but I don’t know him well enough to tell him how I feel so if anything happens today I will have to call Amanda. She is one of my best friends and she was the hardest to move away from. I went to her for anything especially sense I could never go to my parents about anything.
“Get out and you’re riding the bus or walking. Your bus number will be number 123. Goodbye.” My dad said as I got out of the car.
“Okay, bye dad.” I told him as I shut the door to his silver 2003 Chevy Cavalier.
I walked up the steps and into the school. I first went to my locker which was on the second floor above my first class. When I was taking my jacket off at my locker I saw people looking and pointing at me. I then looked myself up and down and I didn’t see anything wrong.
I went through the rest of school always seeing people staring and pointing and a few laughs at times. I felt self conscious something I’ve never felt before at my old school. I didn’t know what to think anymore nothing was getting better.
The last class of today James came up to me while I was sitting at my desk minding my own business.
“Cassie, I have the feeling your not really liking this school. I don’t want that for you. Could you tell me what’s going on and why you seem so unsocial now and why you didn’t eat anything at lunch?” He asked then waited for me to answer.
I didn’t say anything back. He looked at me more intensely that I turned away and looked at my blue binder on my desk.
“You can tell me, but if you don’t want to its okay I just hope you would talk to someone.” He then said after the silence then started to walk away.
I was going to talk to someone so there shouldn’t be any problems with him; I’m doing what he asked me to do. I just hope that Amanda could help me out with this. Before I thought anything more the bell rang and I went to get ready to get on the bus and go home.
The bus was right in front so it didn’t take long to get too. Although when I got on the bus one of the girls that was from my English class was sitting in the front seat of the bus. I turned away from her so she wouldn’t think I was staring at her. I took a seat in the back by myself and I stared out the window seeing all the students going to their bus in a happy mood.
I then heard the buses starting up and then leave the school. I looked in a glare at the seat in front of me thinking about how I was going to tell Amanda. I wasn’t sure to start with the few good things that have happened or to start with the bad. Then something hit me and I saw it was a crumpled piece of paper. I opened it and read until I couldn’t take anymore of it. I stuffed it in my coat pocket and waited hesitantly for my stop. When it came up I ran up the isle of the bus to get off as soon as I could.
“Hey! Walk, don’t run.” My bus driver scolded at me.
“I’m sorry, I won’t do it again; I promise.” I apologized and got off the bus.
I ran into my house almost tripping over a branch that was lying on the ground. I accidentally slammed the door shut, but I didn’t care and I went straight to my room. I wanted to cry, but I tried not to so I could call Amanda without her knowing that something was wrong right away.

Audrey 46-51

2010-01-03T06:15:00.001-08:00

Chapter 13.
Miranda hadn’t said a word since she arrived at the police station. She wouldn’t answer anyone’s questions, including the police officer’s or her attorney’s.
Taryn wasn’t surprised. Her friend wasn’t one to talk before all this had happened, and the after effect had made it even worse. Taryn needed to see Miranda. She begged her mother to take her to the police station, and it worked when the fake tears started forming in her eyes. They called the station and asked if it was okay for them to go down, they gladly agreed.
When they arrived, Taryn was nervous. She hadn’t personally talked to Miranda since all of this had happened and wasn’t sure how either of them were going to react. They told the short blonde lady at the desk who they were, and she was surprisingly delighted to see them.
“Miranda will not talk to anyone. We tried everything we could. We were hoping you might be able to talk to her, but that’s only if you want to.” She said.
Taryn wasn’t sure if even she could get Miranda to talk. She felt as if Miranda knew it was Taryn’s fault she was forced into such a terrible situation. The guilt alone made her fear the loss of her best friend.
“Sure. I’ll do my best.” Taryn said, unsure of what she was about to do.
She was hoping so much Miranda would talk to her. Taryn needed the forgiveness she was wanting so badly from the person she hurt so much. She couldn’t believe how she could take so much advantage of such an innocent girl; the person she knew was her best friend.
Taryn followed the lady through the crowded police station. There were so many scummy looking people starring up at her from the cold benches they had been subdued to. She couldn’t help think; what if Miranda was being charged like one of these people? Taryn would have to get her to talk; it was the only way to clear everything up and save her from enduring such a tragedy as the reckless people in front of her were.
The hallway Taryn was in was narrow with dirty, seemingly once, white walls constricting her as if trying to keep her contained. She could feel her heart pound a little faster with every step she took, nearing the room where she would either face a new enemy, or relive a once cherished friendship. The lady led them through a door into a very small room. There was what appeared to be a window looking upon a depressing scene.
The girl Taryn saw was definitely Miranda, but only someone who knew her very well would be able to determine that. Her hair was an array of greasy looking strands resting on her shoulders. The clothes she was wearing were beat up and drooping from her body clearly indicating their size was too big for her figure. Her eyelids sagged very low and had the darkest purple bags below them. Her appearance was a disaster and so was the mood she was giving off.
Taryn felt the smallest tear slide down her cheek and onto her lip. She quickly wiped it off with the back of her hand and felt her mother’s hand rubbing her shoulder in a soothing motion. She took a deep breath and nodded to the blonde lady, signaling she was ready to go in.
Taryn walked into the room and could instantly feel the sorrow enter her body. She felt an uneasy breath escape her lungs and fill the air around her. Miranda must have noticed. She lifted up her head in a slow and tiring motion and looked at Taryn’s face. Her eyebrows creased and her face didn’t seem as depressed as it had moments before. There eyes met and Taryn could feel every thought she had ever had slip away. Miranda looked as if something miraculous had just happened, like she wasn’t ever expecting to see Taryn again.
They held each other’s gaze for a minute longer until Taryn managed to squeeze out a word.
“Hi.” She said.
Miranda paused for a minute. Taryn was sure she wasn’t going to answer. She felt as if this was how it was going to end; her best friend stuck in a police station, not wanting anything to do with her or any of the world for that matter… Finally, Miranda put her thumb nail against her bottom lip and looked down at the table in front of her. Her lips spread apart slowly.
“Hi.” Was all that she managed to croak out.

Chapter 14.
The meeting was awkward and Taryn wasn’t sure what to say or do. She looked around the room and noticed the mirror on the wall. She realized it was the window she had been looking through upon previously entering the room she was now in. She felt the blood rush to her face as she realized the people on the other side must be witnessing the reuniting of her and Miranda.
She turned back to Taryn and noticed her also starring at the mirror.
“They’ve been watching me forever,” Miranda said.
Taryn was surprised and felt herself roll up onto the balls of her feet.
“It must be really nerve wracking,” Taryn said, quietly.
Miranda looked at Taryn and the look on her face was a good enough answer.
“Uhm, Miranda?” Taryn said.
Miranda looked up again and caught Taryn’s glance. Taryn accepted that as an invitation to continue her thought.
“I know this isn’t ever going to be enough, but I wanted to let you know how absolutely sorry I am. What I did was so horrible and I never meant for it to happen. I-,” She was cutoff when Miranda began shaking her head.
“I don’t want an apology; I just want all of this to be over with. I want the gaping whole inside of me to go away. I want all of the terrible memories to be erased from my mind. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this Taryn, I really don’t.” Miranda said, her tired eyes filled with pain.
Taryn walked over to the table and pulled out the chair next to Miranda. She sat down apprehensively and contemplated what she should say next, but stopped when Miranda continued.
“Taryn I will tell you everything that happened and I know they’ll be listening in,” she motioned to the double sided mirror, “but now that you’re here, I’ll do anything I have to to get this over with.”
Taryn nodded and prepared herself for the awful scenes Miranda was about to unfold. She looked at Miranda with sympathetic eyes and let her know she was there for her. Miranda took a few deep breathes and closed her eyes for what seemed like forever. She didn’t reopen them for any of the time she told her story, only pressing them closed tighter when she spoke of the worst parts.
Taryn was disgusted with the things she forced herself to imagine as Miranda relived them. She felt her body shaking after everything had been put out for her to absorb. Tears were streaming down her face and she couldn’t take her eyes off of Miranda as she sat completely still, her eyes still closed.
They sat together for an hour or so more. Taryn tried to understand the pain Miranda would now live with forever, but she couldn’t, and even though Miranda wouldn’t admit it, Taryn convinced herself every last detail was her fault.
When they finally left the room, their parents were waiting for the both of them on the other side. They too had wet faces and swollen eyes. Miranda’s father took her by the shoulders and looked his daughter in the eyes. More tears flowed from his eyes as he told Miranda what he thought he would never be able to.
“I’m so sorry.” He said.
Her body fell limp and he caught her. She steadied herself and Taryn saw Miranda’s face contort, like she was forcing back sobs. Then it happened. Miranda fell into her father’s arms and let out all the emotions she was bottling inside. Her body shook with painful sobs and her breathing was erratic. This was the first time Taryn had seen Miranda cry throughout everything that had happened. Taryn was amazed at what a strong person Miranda was.

Audrey 21-46

2010-01-03T06:12:00.000-08:00

Chapter 6.
When Taryn woke up the next morning, she had no idea of where she was. The bed she was in wasn’t familiar to her in any way. The room she had found herself in was a disaster, and she didn’t know who it belonged to. She found herself staring at a blank wall, and couldn’t seem to build up the courage to roll over and look at the person she had stumbled into bed with.
Taryn could hear the snores erupting from the stranger’s mouth and felt as if she could not take another second of lying in the bed. She slowly removed the sheet from her body, and threw her legs off the side of the bed. Taryn eyed the room and finally located the clothes she had been wearing the previous night. She put them on and decided she would have to look at the guy that had brought her to his house.
He had to of been five years older than Taryn, and his scruffy features didn’t seem to satisfy her. She scrunched her nose and started to feel nauseous. Taryn couldn’t believe she had let herself do this, and was even more upset that Miranda hadn’t done anything to prevent it.
Taryn realized she had no way of getting home and decided she should call Miranda. She patted her pockets looking for her cell phone, and was disappointed when she didn’t feel it anywhere. She groaned and quickly threw her hand over her mouth, remembering she hadn’t yet left the house.
She walked through the already half opened door and made her way into the cool, spring air. The street was familiar to her, and she knew she’d be able to walk home in about an hour.
Taryn walked on the side of the road until she got to her house. It took her a little more than an hour and her mother wasn’t very happy.
She quietly pushed open the screen door and tried to jump over the creaky floorboards in the entryway. Taryn’s mom had apparently noticed her arrival and ran into the room.
“Where have you been?!” She shouted.
“Mom calm down,” Taryn said quietly, “I was with Miranda.”
“How is that possible? I just called her house and her parents said she wasn’t there.” Her mother said, clearly upset.
A puzzled look crossed Taryn’s face. She couldn’t understand how Miranda had not been home yet. Taryn knew Miranda way too well, and was sure she wouldn’t have done the same thing she had done the night before.
“What? How? Where could she be?” Taryn questioned, mostly to herself.
“Taryn. Where have you been, and why isn’t Miranda with you?” Her mother questioned once more.
Taryn had no idea of what happened the night before, and she couldn’t think of an excuse fast enough to calm her mother. She decided it would probably be best to tell her the whole story.
When it was over, Taryn’s mother couldn’t believe the kind of person her daughter had become. She was very disappointed and Taryn knew her mother’s feelings would be worse than any punishment she would receive.
At this point, all that filled her head was the thought of what could have happened to Miranda. She ran up the stairs to her room, and picked up the phone. Even though she was still upset about the whole night, she realized it probably wasn’t completely Miranda’s fault. The phone rang four times until Miranda’s father answered. The sound of his voice made Taryn forget the reason she had decided to call one of her least favorite people.
“Hello?” He repeated, obviously annoyed.
“Oh, sorry. Hi, it’s Taryn. Is Miranda there?”
“No, we thought she was on her way home from dropping you off.”
“Oh. Well no I haven’t seen her since last night.” Taryn said quietly.
“What? She was with you, how could you not know where she went?” He questioned, raising his voice.
Taryn hadn’t expected this. He never seemed to care about how Miranda lived her life, but now he was clearly worried about where she was. Taryn meticulously retold every aspect of the night, making sure she hadn’t missed any details herself. Miranda’s father was dumbfounded. He had no idea his daughter was even capable of attending a party. He actually wasn’t really aware of anything his daughter did.
Taryn tried to explain that she didn’t mean to leave his daughter at the party. She was drunk and not in the right state of mind. He was very upset and tried to explain to Taryn that he had been trying to call her cell phone ever since he had realized she hadn’t been home the night before. He questioned Taryn for almost an hour, trying to get any information from her of where Miranda could possibly be. Miranda’s father told Taryn to keep calling her, and that he would too.
Taryn couldn’t believe this was happening. She knew it wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience. Her best friend had never done anything like this, and Taryn was sure some of it had to of been her fault. She had convinced her to go to the party with her even though she could have sworn it wasn’t something she really wanted to do.
When Taryn hung up the phone with Miranda’s father, she immediately dialed Miranda’s phone number. Strangely, it went straight to her voicemail. Taryn left a frantic voice message and continued to do so for the next hour. She sent more than twenty text messages to Miranda’s phone and waited for a replay that never came.
When the sky began to change from light blue to black, Taryn couldn’t seem to calm herself. She had done everything she could think of, and figured she should call Miranda’s dad again. She put the phone against her face, and waited for an answer. Taryn wasn’t surprised when someone’s voice greeted her after the first ring.
“Hello?” Said Miranda’s mother in a hopeful voice.
“Hi. It’s Taryn again,” said Taryn, “I just wanted to let you know I’ve done everything I can think of, and I’m afraid I still don’t know where Miranda is.”
“Oh. This is terrible. I can’t believe I let this happen. I should have made sure I knew what she was doing and where she was going. Why didn’t I pay more attention to what she had said a few nights ago?” Miranda’s mother rambled on.
“It’s not your fault, calm down, she’ll be okay. I’m very sorry I didn’t stay with her for the whole party, and that I wasn’t very responsible.” Taryn apologized.
Taryn knew it had to of been her fault. She went with Miranda to the party, and should have done everything she could have to be a good friend. Now the most important person in her life was no where to be found, and she couldn’t stand the guilt in the back of her mind.
“Well we called the police, and told them what happened. They said they would file a missing persons report, and do what they could to try and locate her. We told them the address of the party and what her car looks like. If they find anything out, they’ll call,” said Taryn’s mother, “and Taryn, even though we are very disappointed in both of you, thank you for helping.”
“Well she’s my best friend and I’ll do anything to help. Call me if the police know anything. I’m sorry again.” Taryn said as she hung up the phone.
Taryn threw the phone on the floor, slammed her door and fell onto her bed. She put her face in her pillow and let out a scream. She couldn’t stop the tears that were pouring from her eyes. Taryn never thought anything like this would happen to Miranda and she couldn’t stop thinking that it was her fault. She was beginning to regret the party. Nothing was worth losing Miranda and she had to do everything she could to help find her.

Chapter 7.
Monday’s newspaper was filled with terror and the cries of Miranda’s parents for any information regarding her disappearance. Miranda’s name seemed to be the only thing noticeable to anyone who dared to absorb the contents of the local news. It had been forty five hours and thirty two minutes since Miranda had been classified as missing and Taryn was more than a wreck.
Taryn knew she wouldn’t be able to drive herself to school. She hadn’t even been able to normally walk down the stairs that morning. Her mother drove her to school and dropped her off with a sympathetic look carved upon her face. Worry lines appeared to be etched on every inch of her pale face. Taryn’s face had to of been a perfect replica of her mother’s, and it didn’t look healthy.
Even though it had only been a couple of days since her best friend had disappeared, Taryn was falling apart faster than anyone would have expected. The feeling consuming her whole being was that of pure guilt and she hadn’t slept since the moment she realized Miranda might not ever come back. Despite all the pain she was living with, she convinced herself she couldn’t give up hope. That would make the return of Miranda merely impossible.
Taryn walked into the school with her head down. She knew all eyes were on her. She could feel them penetrating the shield she forced herself to put up. It wasn’t working and she felt the need to look up. Her eyes met with those of a lot of her fellow classmates. They were filled with fear and sadness. Taryn couldn’t handle it.
She found herself sitting on the floor in the smallest bathroom stall she could find. Her hands were trying to prevent the sobs escaping her body. No one appeared to have been in bathroom, but a small knock on the door of Taryn’s stall proved her assumption wrong.
“Taryn? Are you in there?” said a small voice.
Taryn wiped the tears covering her now swollen, red face. She cleared her throat and tried not to let the fear inside of her be translated into words.
“Yeah. Who’s out there?” Taryn asked nervously.
“It’s Kate. I wanted to see if you were okay.”
Taryn’s face filled with confusion. Why did Kate want to know if she was okay? How did Kate even know who she was? The thoughts filling Taryn’s head prevented her from answering right away.
“Hello?” Kate said.
“Sorry. Yeah I’m fine.” Taryn said with a hint of confusion in every word.
“Okay. Well I just wanted to let you know that if you need anyone to talk to, you can talk to me.” Kate said, almost too confident.
Taryn wasn’t sure she had heard her right. She still couldn’t believe Kate knew who she was, and let alone wanted to help her.
“Oh. Well thanks a lot.” Taryn said.
Kate slipped a folded piece of notebook paper under the stall door. Taryn picked it up and unfolded it quietly. She noticed that numbers were printed neatly across the small paper. It was a phone number. Taryn assumed it was Kate’s number, and small smile spread across her chapped lips. She tried to blurt out a “thanks”, but she heard the bathroom door close before the thought even crossed her mind.
Taryn shoved the phone number into her pocket and wiped her face one last time. She stood up and inhaled deeply, exhaling the same way. She opened the stall and walked to the sink. Taryn looked in the mirror for a long time, trying to recognize the zombie she was looking in the eyes. She splashed her face with cold water and tried to put herself back together, somewhat.
The long walk from the bathroom to her locker was relentless. People couldn’t help starring and whispering, thinking she wouldn’t notice. When she finally got the books she needed from her locker, she took no time at all to get to her first class. It was almost worse than the walk she had just made. The whole day went like this, and Kate seemed to be the only person who really cared, and Taryn couldn’t understand why.
When school was over and Taryn was back home, she couldn’t help but listen to the phone messages. Taryn was surprised when Miranda’s mother had left a message informing Taryn that they had news. Taryn wasted no time. She grabbed the phone and ran for her room, not stopping to tell her mother what the rush was.
The phone rang twice before a distressed voice picked up.
“Hello?” Said Miranda’s mother quickly.
“Hi it’s Taryn. I got your message.”
“Oh, hi Taryn. Well I Just wanted to let you know the police found Miranda’s car on the side of the road. The keys were still in it along with Miranda’s phone and wallet.” Miranda’s mother sounded terrified.
Taryn did not know what to say. Her mouth was open and wouldn’t move. The phone was shaking in her iron grip. She knew it was bad. Why would Miranda leave her car and everything in it on the side of the road?
“I know your scared Taryn, and so are we. I- I have to go. I’ll call if I know anything else.” Miranda’s mother said, Taryn could tell she was now forcing back tears.
The phone fell from Taryn’s hand and crashed to the floor. It didn’t matter. Taryn was in shock and nothing could break her concentration. She knew someone must have taken Miranda, and she didn’t know what to do.
Her head spun and her body went limp. She fell to the floor and lay on her side. She pulled her knees to her chest and tried to hold it together. Crying wasn’t going to bring her friend back and she knew that. Taryn needed time to think. She wanted more than anything to find her friend and whoever had taken Miranda from her.
Taryn didn’t want to waste anymore time. She had to do anything she could to get her friend back. She felt fully responsible for her disappearance now, and the guilt was just too much. Just laying on her floor wasn’t an effective use of time, and she knew it could mean less time to retrieve Miranda.
Death was all that filled Taryn’s head. The thought of Miranda’s body, mutilated and cold, sent spasms through her. What if they were too late and searching was just a waste of time? Taryn couldn’t help questioning herself, and she knew it was a bad idea. She forced herself to hide every bad thought in the back of her mind, never to be heard again.

Chapter 8.
Taryn found herself on the floor the next morning. She hadn’t moved since the news she had acquired from Miranda’s mother. She was upset with herself for not doing anything the night before. She sat up and realized her mother must have put a blanket on her. Taryn took it off and stood up quickly, falling onto her bed almost simultaneously. She hadn’t eaten in a long time or slept very well for that matter.
Taryn’s mother appeared in the doorway with breakfast for Taryn. It was almost like she had read her mind. Taryn ate fast, not tasting any of the food she consumed. Her mother looked worried and tried to get Taryn’s attention, unsuccessfully. Taryn was rushing around her room, putting on jeans, a sweatshirt and pulling on thick socks.
“Taryn!” Her mother shouted.
Taryn looked up quickly with her hair covering most of her face. She brushed it back and answered her mother.
“What?”
“What’s going on? What are you doing?” Her mother questioned.
Taryn froze. She forgot she hadn’t told her mother of the new discoveries the police had made. Taryn explained quickly.
“Well the police found Miranda’s car, with everything in it and she wasn’t there and they don’t know where she is and I can’t just sit here and do nothing. Miranda could be in trouble and I need to find her because this is all my fault mom.” Tears were streaming down Taryn’s face at this point and her mother’s arms were wrapped around her in an attempt to comfort her.
“Mom I have to go. I have to find her. This is my fault. I cant-” she was cutoff.
“You are not to go anywhere near the place her car was found or near that road at all. This can’t happen to you to. Promise me you won’t go.” Her mother said.
Taryn was shocked. Her mother really thought this could happen to her too? Taryn didn’t want to make the promise, but she didn’t want to disappear like Miranda either. Taryn was the only person her mother had left, and she didn’t want to hurt her like that.
“Okay mom. I promise. But we have to do something. Just sitting here is killing me.” Taryn said.
“We’ll do whatever we can. But I’m not so sure what that is at the moment. This is a tough situation and the police are going to do all they can.” Taryn’s mother said, reassuringly.
Taryn couldn’t argue with her mother. She didn’t have the strength. The whole situation was tough, and it was draining every ounce of sanity from Taryn. She wasn’t thinking correctly and didn’t have the best judgment at the moment. Going to the place Miranda was abducted probably wasn’t the best idea. The town didn’t need two teenage disappearances to deal with. They could barely handle one.
Taryn had to search her head for any detail pertaining to the dreadful night. If she couldn’t go back to the scene, she’d have to replay every scene of the night, if she could.
She started with the moment Miranda arrived at her house. She remembered the light blue sweater and jeans Miranda had chose to wear. Taryn couldn’t help smiling when recalling her friend’s bland sense of style. She thought of the beginning of the drive to the end. She stopped when she remembered seeing Miranda’s distressed face when they were almost to the party.
Taryn tried to recall everything going on in the car at that point. The music was blasting and Taryn remembered herself dancing in the small confinements of the car. She pulled the image of Miranda back into the front of her mind and studied it. Taryn then saw the rearview mirror in the image she had made in her mind. Then the picture of some black truck filled her head.
Taryn flashed back to reality, stunned. She couldn’t believe she had forgotten the dirty black truck. She knew she had seen it following them, but didn’t want to scare Miranda. According to Taryn’s flashback, Miranda had seen it too, from the distressed look on her face.
Taryn stood up so fast that her mother jumped. Taryn tried to run for the phone but was forced to stop when her mother grabbed her arm.
“Where are you going? What just happened?” Taryn’s mother questioned.
“I just made a break through mom. I’ll tell you about it after I call Miranda’s parents.” Taryn said, very confident.

Chapter 9.
Taryn wasted no time at all picking up the phone and dialing the number she had memorized before she was twelve. Her fingers flew over the buttons and she had the phone against her face before her mother could even turn around. This time it was Miranda’s father who answered and he sounded as frantic as Miranda’s mother.
“Hello?” He answered, quickly.
“Hi Mr. Phillips, it’s Miranda again. I have to tell you something.” Taryn blurted out.
“Okay, well go on.” He said, very hopeful.
“Well I was just trying to think of anything that might be able to help find Miranda, and I remembered a truck that was behind us when we were on our way to the party. It might not be very helpful, but it was kinda creepy and I thought I should tell you.” Taryn told her story very carefully.
“Taryn that’s great. Please describe it to me the best you can. Did you see the license plate by any chance?” He questioned.
“Well I can’t remember it; I barely even noticed the truck. It was real dirty though, and it had some sort of blue light on top of it.” Taryn said.
“Okay. Well thanks a lot. I’m going to call detective Williams and let him know what you saw. If you think of anything else, don’t hesitate to call. Every little detail is helpful.” Mr. Phillips told Taryn.
“Of course. Bye.” Taryn hung up the phone.
Taryn’s mother was sitting on her bed with a very confused look on her face. Taryn sat down beside her and told her mother all the information she had just shared with Miranda’s father.
Taryn’s mother put a small smile on her face. She looked into Taryn’s eyes and saw nothing but hope. She put her arms around her daughter and hugged her. She knew that even with the new information, it was still going to be difficult to find Miranda.
“Honey, it’s good you remembered that, but I don’t know if it’s going to be much help without the license plate.” Taryn’s mother said with an apologetic look on her face.
“I know mom.” Taryn said.
That ended the conversation and Taryn’s mother left her daughter’s room, leaving her with as much comfort that she could. Taryn thought for a second, and realized she couldn’t sit around. She decided that maybe a long drive would help to calm her a little bit.
She got into her car and drove, not knowing where she was going or what she should think about. The quiet wasn’t helping, so she turned on the radio. The song was very familiar. It was the one her and Miranda had been listening to when they were on their way to the party. Taryn started singing along.
She snapped back to reality when her car had drifted into the other lane and she saw a car swerve to miss her. Her heart was racing. Not because of the fatal accident she had almost caused, but because the song had helped her remember something.
The letters and numbers of the license plate were now etched inside her mind. She pulled over and dug through the glove compartment for something to write with and to write on. A crayon and napkin were going to have to suffice. She wrote it down and picked it up to admire it. XCA 22J was scrawled onto the wrinkled napkin in green crayon.
Taryn couldn’t believe she had brought the image into clear view. It seemed impossible, even to her. She was back at her house before her mother had even realized she was missing. She burst through the door calling for her mother to come into the entry way with the phone. Her mother thought questioning wouldn’t be a good idea, so she did as she was told. Taryn, once again, called the Phillip’s residence.
“Hello?” Mr. Phillip’s answered.
“It’s me again.” Taryn said, almost breathless.
“Oh. Well hi.” He answered. It seemed like he wasn’t expecting her to call.
“I remember the license plate number!” Taryn exclaimed.
“What?! That’s great! Hold on let me get a piece of paper.” He said.
Taryn told him the plate identification and he promised her he would call the detective right after he hung up with her. Taryn felt the smallest bit relieved, like she was helping the police get somewhere in the case.

Chapter 10.
Taryn woke up the next morning with the sun’s ray’s radiating through her window. She squinted and looked around the room. To her it felt like the past few days had all been a huge never ending nightmare. She felt her heart sink when she looked on her nightstand and noticed the small piece of paper with numbers on it. It was Kate’s phone number.
Taryn had forgotten about the incident the day she went to school a total mess. She smiled and picked up the paper and the phone next to it. She dialed the neatly written out number and waited. She didn’t know why she was calling or what she was planning on saying, but Taryn needed someone to talk to.
Kate answered in a very quiet voice, and Taryn remembered there was school that day, but she had decided not to show up. She really didn’t care anymore, and she probably wouldn’t until Miranda came back.
“Hi it’s Taryn. Sorry, I forgot you were probably at school.”
“Oh well it’s cool, I’m in study hall anyway. What’s up?” Kate said.
“Well I just wanted to say thanks for giving me your number and everything.” Taryn said, embarrassed that that was all she could think of.
“Well I feel really bad. I wasn’t always the nicest person to Miranda and now she’s gone. She doesn’t deserve this, and neither do you. I’ll do anything I can to help.” Kate said.
They finished their small conversation and hung up. Taryn was confused. She hadn’t ever expected a girl like Kate to care. Now that Miranda was gone, everyone seemed to be caring. It was a wakeup call for anyone who knew of her, but hadn’t actually had the chance to get to know her. No one would of expected a girl this unknown to cause such chaos.
Later that morning, the Phillips called Taryn and told her that the police ran the license plate through the database and found an address. They’d be able to go to the house and ask the owner, Carl Wilson, questions regarding what he had been doing the night of the party. They probably wouldn’t be able to get a search warrant because of the lack of evidence, but would see if they could get anymore proof that maybe he was the culprit.
Taryn had a feeling that he had to be the one who took away her best friend. She couldn’t think of anyone else who could possibly bear to do this to such an innocent girl. It had to be someone totally unfamiliar to her.

Chapter 11.
Taryn was in her car once again, driving for no reason at all. She was flying through small streets at such fast speeds she wasn’t able to notice any of the surroundings moving past her. When a small symbol appeared on her dashboard, her eyes flickered to it and she sighed. Her tank was almost empty and she was sure she’d need to stop for gas if she wanted to get home without causing a scene.
She pulled into the nearest gas station and fidgeted with the gas pump until it signaled her tank was full. She took the receipt and went into the store in order to pay. She walked in and saw a few other people scattered around preoccupied with their tasks. She noticed a lady waiting in line to pay for the coffee she was holding, and what seemed to be a couple in the back.
Taryn instantly realized something was wrong with the way the two other people were standing. The way he was grasping her arm seemed in no way loving toward the girl. They were facing the wall and Taryn couldn’t seem to make out what was going on.
The man put his face into the girl’s and began quietly shouting at her, like he was punishing her for something unnoticed by the other people crammed into the small store.
Taryn felt remorse for the young girl. She couldn’t have been older than seventeen or eighteen and the man was obviously over powering her. Her jacket was large and the hood was covering most of her head, revealing nothing but a few strands of hair escaping from it. Taryn felt oddly attracted to the girl. The way she was standing and the color of her hair was appealing, like she recognized it.
The man pulled on the girl’s arm and yanked her through the glass doors, leaving Taryn in a shocked state. She hadn’t seen the girl’s face but she felt like they were connected in some way.
Suddenly it all clicked. That had to of been Miranda. Taryn knew the girl was familiar, and she couldn’t think of anyone else who generated such strong feelings towards her.
Taryn pulled the money out of her pocket and threw it at the cashier, telling him to “keep the change”. She bolted out of the doors and flew into the parking lot. She whipped her head in every direction, spotting the black truck pulling out of the gas station. She sprinted for her car and jumped in, chasing after the truck as soon as her door slammed shut.
She kept a close distance behind it for about a half hour. After it pulled onto what seemed like a deserted road, Taryn slowed down and watched carefully. The driveway the truck turned into led to a small, old looking house. Taryn drove some feet past the house and parked her car on the side of the road, making sure her keys were with her. She walked towards the house, making sure to stay hidden from it’s view.
Taryn reached the side of the house and ducked below a cracked window. She heard a deep, husky voice inside and knew it had to belong to the man who was now in control of Miranda.
“Girl get on the floor and clean my shoes! They better be spotless!” Said the man, “we’re leaving in thirty minutes and you better have all my things ready!”
Taryn cringed as the words bellowed from his mouth and shook the window above her head. She was furious he dared to treat her like that. She was planning her route into the house in order to save Miranda. It wasn’t going to be easy, and could possibly mean the end for both of them, but she had to try. There was no other way, she didn’t have her cell phone and wouldn’t have time to get to the police. She wouldn’t let him leave with her, it was her only choice.
Taryn heard the man’s foot steps leave the room and the faint sobs coming from Miranda. She decided to open the window further and climb inside. The cracked paint scrapped her hands and left small cuts, but she wasn’t aware. Her shoes made a small thud as she hit the floor and Miranda’s head jerked up, acknowledging Taryn’s presence.
Her face was worn out and her eyes were filled with fear. The clothes she was wearing were torn and dirty, spotted with everything from dirt to blood. Her eyes widened so wide Taryn thought they might fall out of her head. Taryn put her finger to her lips and motioned for Miranda to climb out of the window with her. Miranda was motionless. Taryn furiously waved her hand, but Miranda wouldn’t move.
Their eyes flew to the bedroom door when they heard the door knob click. Miranda looked at Taryn with more fear in her eyes than before. Taryn flew behind the sofa and covered her mouth, silencing the harsh breathes erupting from inside her.
“Are you done yet girl?! Why do I always have to tell you more than once?! Get it done!” Said the man.
Taryn flinched when she heard a crack. The man’s hand had plowed into Miranda’s face with more force than she would have thought possible. Taryn peeked from her hiding place and saw Miranda fall fully to the floor, covering her face with both hands, trying to keep the blood from dripping onto the floor. Taryn pulled out the phone she had taken from the man’s coffee table and punched in 911.
The phone dropped from Taryn’s shaky hands and crashed to the floor. She froze.
“What the hell was that?” The man questioned.
He turned around and made his way toward where Taryn was. Taryn prepared for his arrival and closed her eyes. Then Taryn heard another loud crash. Taryn stood up to see the man had fallen to the floor and was cradling his head. Miranda was standing over him with a broken bottle in her hand. Taryn jumped to where Miranda was standing, and grabbed her arm, leading her to where she believed the door was.
Miranda fell when the man grabbed her foot and began pulling her towards him. Taryn grabbed both of her arms and pulled with all her strength. They had to get out of there alive. The man stood up and pushed Miranda behind him. He threw Taryn into the wall and grabbed Miranda, pulling her towards a door near the bedroom.
Taryn tried to steady herself and run after them, but they were threw the door much too fast. She grabbed the handle and tried to rip it open, without any luck. Where had he taken her? What was he going to do?
Taryn ran threw the front door and began banging on the garage door. That’s where he must have taken Miranda. She couldn’t hear anything, but the sirens approaching the place she was standing, breathless. In that instant the garage door began slowly opening, and Taryn backed away cautiously. Was he coming for her now?

Chapter 12.
Everything around Taryn was now a grey smear filling her peripheral vision. The only thing she saw were the feet under the garage door, slowly turning into legs. Time was moving too slowly. So many thoughts raced through Taryn’s mind until it was completely impossible to pick out a single one. She thought about running, but her feet wouldn’t budge. She thought about screaming for help, but who would hear? She thought about the consequences all these actions could have, and one in particular filled her with fear. Miranda could be dead, and doing something drastic might grant her the same fate.
The garage door rose in slow motion, revealing, inch by inch, the tattered clothes the person was wearing. The shirt was familiar, but Taryn couldn’t remember who had been wearing it. She stumbled back a few steps when she realized it could be him, coming to now hurt her.
Taryn’s eyes widened, absorbing the now visible scene in front of her. Miranda’s face was in so much pain, and she was shaking uncontrollably. Taryn followed Miranda’s shaking right arm with her eyes, until she abruptly stopped at her hand. Miranda’s hand was gripped so tightly around a knife her knuckles were slowly turning purple.
The knife wasn’t what scared Taryn the most; it was the fresh, red blood dripping from it. It hit the ground in small splatters, creating a puddle. Taryn couldn’t remove her eyes from the gruesome sight. What lay in the background was even worse. When Taryn forced herself to look, a large lump lay on the cold ground, with blood covering and surrounding it.
It was like the ending of a horror movie was being played in front of her. She didn’t know if it was real, and didn’t know how she should react. Miranda was motionless except for the uncontrollable spasms shaking her body. Taryn wanted to run over to her but the knife dangling from her iron grip wasn’t very inviting.
Taryn heard the sirens behind her and turned around to see a line of red and blue flashing lights approaching the house. The officers told Miranda to drop the knife, and she did. They ran up to her and noticed the mutilated body hunched over in the garage.
Miranda’s gaze wouldn’t disconnect with Taryn’s. Miranda looked so terrified, and Taryn could only imagine the thoughts filling her head. She had just done something Taryn thought only the psycho paths on television were capable of doing. Even though it was an awful thing to think, Taryn was glad Miranda had the guts to end this man’s life. If she hadn’t, they would probably both be dead now. Taryn felt the ground shaking beneath her, and her surroundings twisting into one big blur. Miranda had saved both of their lives, and she knew she wasn’t giving her enough credit.
The last thing Taryn remembered was an officer ask her if she was okay and some other questions she didn’t remember. She couldn’t recall what her answers had been, all she knew was she was now riding in the back of a police car. Her head was still spinning. What did they do with Miranda? She didn’t want to ask the officers, fearing what the answer might be.
The car pulled up to Taryn’s house all too slowly. The officer told her they’d call if they had anymore questions. Taryn flung open the door and stumbled onto her door step. In the same moment, she was resting in her mother’s arms. Taryn broke away after a few seconds and questioned her mother about where Miranda was.
The look on her mother’s face changed. It was no longer the look of relief it had been a few moments ago.
“Honey, she’s okay. She’s just not acting right.” Her mother said sounding concerned.

Chapter 13.
Miranda hadn’t said a word since she arrived at the police station. She wouldn’t answer anyone’s questions, including the police officer’s or her attorney’s.
Taryn wasn’t surprised. Her friend wasn’t one to talk before all this had happened, and the after effect had made it even worse. Taryn needed to see Miranda. She begged her mother to take her to the police station, and it worked when the fake tears started forming in her eyes. They called the station and asked if it was okay for them to go down, and they gladly agreed.
When they arrived, Taryn was nervous. She hadn’t seen Miranda since all of this had happened, and wasn’t sure how either of them were going to react. They told the short blonde lady at the desk who they were, and she was surprisingly delighted to see them.
“Miranda will not talk to anyone. We tried everything we could. We were hoping you might be able to talk to her, but that’s only if you want to.” She said.
Taryn wasn’t sure if even she could get Miranda to talk. She felt as if Miranda knew it was Taryn’s fault she was forced into such a terrible situation. The guilt alone made her fear the loss of her best friend.
“Sure. I’ll do my best.” Taryn said, unsure of what she was about to d

Fiona 44-49

2009-12-23T06:44:00.000-08:00

I redid the part about her asking her dad about the part so it starts right after her talk with her mom-

Thanking her for her approval, I give her a quick hug then go up to my room to text Gwen of the current party going status. Punching at the numbers on my phone, it begins to ring as I wait for a cheerful voice.

“So what did they say?!” Gwen exclaims into the phone.

“I’ve gotten a yes from my mom and I haven’t asked my dad yet. Mom says it will be hard to convince him though. Knowing him, he will probably make this whole thing hard on me.” I begrudgingly respond

“I’m sure he will do what he thinks is right. I have a feeling he’ll say yes, he knows ya really wanna go.”

“Yeah, I’m just unsure cuz he doesn’t really know any of these people that are going. I could see that changing his mind.”

“I’m getting so nervous about it though, what should I say? Just that there’s a party a wanna go to and you are going and it will be safe?”

“Yeah, I would say that and add that everyone is gonna be sober and nothing bad is gonna happen.”

“I wanna call him and ask but my mom said he might be in a bad mood so I should wait and see when he gets home.”

“Well good luck, I feel for you. I should go and finish my homework so text me later when you find out, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll definitely text ya. See ya.”

“Bye!” she exclaims into the phone, ending the brief conversation.

Closing my phone, I go over to my desk and try to work on my homework to pass the time. After five minutes and a lot of math frustration, I decide to stop doing that and I pull my laptop from my closet and type in Google. Interesting Halloween costume ideas, I type into the empty, white bar and I click enter, waiting for the words to be processed. I click on the first highlighted link and scroll down, searching for a costume. Seeing two blue people at the edge of the page, I quickly whip out my phone again.

“We should be smurfs!” I hastily type.

“Ella,” my mom yells from downstairs “your father’s home.”

Trudging down the stairs, I can see my dad sitting at the kitchen table in a suit, rubbing his tan temples.

“So Dad, how was your day?” I cautiously ask.

“Oh, it was fine I guess. A little busy but I wasn’t too bad. How was yours?” He responds with an affectionate smile.

“Well actually good, and there was something I wanted to talk to you about that happened today.” Giving me a worried look, I sit down next to him. “Gwen asked if I wanted to go to a Halloween party with her. Mom said yes so now I just have to get your approval.”

“Oh, um,” he clears his throat then continues, “I don’t really know much about it, do I.”

“I guess not. Well to start, it’s at a guy named Tommy Bourke’s house and he is best friends with Gavin. I was gonna go with Gwen and we would only be out til like nine. Both of his parents are going to be there and there’s gonna be nothing bad at all, just a bunch of friends getting together.”

“Well I’ll talk to your mom about it, then we will tell you our answer.”

“Oh and here’s Mrs. Jones’s number, you can call her and ask about the party if you want. She has more details on it.”

“Okay, well we’ll talk about this later.”

“Thanks Dad.” I say sweetly then gently kiss him on the cheek and run off to my room.

Chapter 6

“This is so exciting.” I say enthusiastically

“I know, I can’t wait. Gavin said he helped set up and I guess they made a haunted house!” Gwen squeaks.

We decided the smurf idea was a good one, so we got tones of blue face paint, white clothes, and fake flowers. We expect to win the costume contest, and our mom’s are planning on taking tons of pictures to document our unusual attire. I start smearing the potent blue mixture on my face then realize we won’t have enough to color our arms and neck too. Calling my mom into the bathroom, I tell her about our dilemma and she quickly grabs her keys and runs out to the car to get more. After finishing up the three jars we have, we wait in the living room for my mom’s return.

“I got it!” My mom yells as soon as she throws the front door open. “It was the last two jars, I hope it’s enough!”

Passing the jars to me, we thank her then go back to the bathroom to finish applying our makeup. After we are done, we quickly clean off any spots of blue on our white shirts then we head downstairs.

“Look at you girls!” Mrs. Jones exclaims once seeing us round the corner into the kitchen. “You two look hysterical! You definitely win that costume party.”

Unable to stop laughing, the two grab their cameras from the counter and begin taking pictures of us. Once several pictures have been snapped and the giggling has stopped, my mom and Mrs. Jones get into the car and we go grab our phones before leaving.

The journey to Tommy’s house last’s about twenty minutes and it was very noticeable which house was his once we pulled up the block. The large Victorian style house has a large front yard covered with mummies and fake bats. There is a small group a teens standing at the door laughing while walking into it and my mom pulls into the driveway to let us out of the car.

“So girls what time should we pick you up?” My mom asks sweetly.

“Um how about ninish. I’ll ask Tommy and see what he says but if I don’t text you with a different time then just count on nine.”

“Ok then. Well you girls have fun, and if there are any problems, call either mine or Tracy’s cell.” She says while motioning over to Mrs. Jones.

We wave goodbye as our moms pull out of the driveway then we enter the tall house behind us.

As soon as we enter, we are greeted by Gavin and Tommy’s moms.

“Hey girls!” They chime in unison. “Most of the kids are downstairs, in the haunted house. I guess you have to go through it to get to the party; you can go down if you want. We are just waiting for the rest of the kids. We’ll be down soon.” Tommy’s mom says in a sugary way. “Tommy and Gavin are the headless people in the middle of the haunted house, so don’t be scared when you see those guys.”

Smiling, we thank them for allowing this party and then we go down to the basement to join the others.

“Hey guys!” I hear from the corner of the room, “Are you getting in line?!”

Turing, we see that Ava and Evelyn are here and dressed as what looks like Christmas elves. Gwen and I head over and stand with the other two in line, waiting for what’s to come inside the next room.

After waiting a few minutes, I see a kid run out and say to me I’m next. Gwen grabs my hand and we timidly begin our walk inside.

“RARRR!” I turn and see a “monster” grab my arm. Not expecting a surprise exactly like that, I let out a short, shrill, scream.

Maddy 45-46

2009-12-21T09:51:00.000-08:00

Renee 42-45

2009-12-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

Weeks past by, and things really were getting better. My grades, despite my content with them being average, were increasing significantly. Periodically, Pastor Dennis would take me out for ice cream or food of some sort. Pastor Dennis assured me that he believed it would help me overcome inner struggles, having somebody to talk to and all. I definitely looked forward to those times.
One Saturday morning I woke up, quite pleased to be alive to be honest. I squeezed in two hours of extra sleep. This was going to be a great day!
I slipped on my slippers carefully, sighing as I retreated downstairs to my mom making breakfast.
“Morning mom,” I mumbled softly.
“Good morning sweetie,” she replied in her well-energized morning voice.
I smiled, feeling her enthusiasm. “What’s for breakfast today?” I peered over her shoulder.
“Pancakes and sausage.” She replied in harmony with my realization.
“Sounds good to me.” I was now cheerful. I picked up the morning paper and sat down with it at the table. I peered through the events, looking for anything interesting to read. I stopped on an article about a local band playing at the legion, interested. It said it was this coming Thursday at four o’clock. I mentally noted I wanted to go to that and moved the now scattered paper aside to make room for an incoming dish.
Mom plopped the glass dish down in front of me. I ate it right up, smiling and enjoying every bit of it. “Thanks mom.” I managed to blurt out before gulping down my orange juice.
That day I decided to call Jared and see if he wanted to hang out with me. We hadn’t been speaking in God knows how long, and this couldn’t go on for very much longer. I couldn’t stand the nitpicking and the awkward moments that were now becoming us. He was my best friend and we both didn’t deserve this.
We walked back and forth down a road from the park to the beach in our winter coats, chatting. He talked about his side of the story, assuring me that it was nothing personal. Somehow I wanted to believe him, but something in his expression made him suspicious. Then I told my side of the story, mentioning how much he had truly hurt me with his utter rejection and betrayal, by letting those two other girls on and leaving me out. I tried to mask the hurt, but couldn’t ignore the pain building up on the inside. My throat bubbled up and stung a little, like it does before you cry. Jared turned toward me, and I looked to the ground, biting my lip.
“Were you really that hurt?” He asked, sincerely. I nodded. Tears flowed down and I couldn’t help myself this time. He grabbed me and held me. I cried into his winter coat.
“Why are you so sensitive?” He asked, still hugging me. I laughed, the contents of my nose probably shooting all over the place. I still loved him.
“You can let go of me now.” I laughed, pulling myself out from his arms.
He put his arm around my shoulder still, and we walked back toward the park.
“I’m really sorry. It’s just...” he started.
I turned to him. “Just what?” I asked.
He sighed. “I hope you won’t get mad about this.”
I smirked, interested in what he had to say. “Really, what could be worse than being rejected by your best friend?”
“Well, here’s the thing, it’s not exactly about us. It’s about...” he drifted off again.
“Okay. Who?” I asked, confused.
“It’s Pastor Dennis, Becca. There are so many rumors going around. What’s going on between you two? Why does he keep taking you out to eat and talking to you all the time? He never does this. He doesn’t take girls out to eat alone. Don’t you think it’s weird he keeps doing this?”
I stared back at him, incredulously. “What are you talking about? You know my situation. He’s just trying to help me, Jared.”
“I sure hope so. I don’t like what he’s doing. It’s weird.” He looked pretty serious then.
“So what your saying is, you don’t trust him? What’s so suspicious about him?” I eyed him, doubtful.
“If he views you as such a broken person, why wouldn’t he just leave you alone and let you heal on your own? Why does he need to get involved so intimately?” The questions were rolling off his tongue like rain off a windshield with Rain-X.
“You seem more jealous than anything.” I scoffed.
“I’m not jealous. You need to get your head on straight, though. Pay more attention to what he’s doing. He wouldn’t even come to watch us at music practice the other night. He usually does. ‘Said he needed to take a youth out and couldn’t make it.” He was getting angrier now.
I was very surprised. “How did you know it was me, though?”
“It’s not hard to figure out. It’s not like he hides anything.” Jared responded.
“So what are you saying; you don’t trust him anymore?” My voice was rising.
“Honestly, no. I’m thinking of quitting worship team too because of it. I don’t want anything to happen. I advise you to let him know that you’re not coming anymore too.” He was confident now, and spoke as if he had been thinking about this more than once, and that this was his final decision.
I couldn’t believe it. “What? What are you talking about?”
“You said it. I’m your best friend. I’m supposed to watch out for you.” He was like stone.
“Whatever. I’m not listening to you. There’s nothing wrong.” I folded my arms over my chest, stubbornly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Becca, if you don’t leave with me, I will make sure you don’t go. This is how I feel about this. I don’t think you get it.” He stopped walking when I stopped.
“Wow, are you mad?” I kept walking. I felt the anger pump through my body. He caught right up to me, quickly.
“I just don’t want anything to happen.” He said, more calmly now as we walked.
“I get it. I’ll let you know if anything does.” My voice was short.
We kept walking until we reached the park. We walked to the swings, brushing off the snow. We plopped down next to each other.
Jared was kind of quiet. Then he started changing the subject as best he could, but my anger was still boiling in me, growing more apparent with each pointless discussion, and my short replies. I felt very rude but I couldn’t help it.
Jared was silent again, and we swung aimlessly side to side on our swings, avoiding each other’s collision. Even though I was angry with him at the moment, it gradually drained. I knew deep down that there was some truth to what he was saying, but couldn’t put my finger on it. Jared was still my best friend either way, and I knew eventually there would be a total break between us if I didn’t listen to him. I didn’t want that to happen, either.
Jared drove me home and we listened to music on the radio. I looked out my window, enjoying the moment. It was sunset and the sky looked gorgeous. I wanted to take a picture, but didn’t have a camera with me.

Audrey 43-46

2009-12-21T06:52:00.002-08:00

Chapter 12.
Everything around Taryn was now a grey smear filling her peripheral vision. The only thing she saw were the feet under the garage door, slowly turning into legs. Time was moving too slowly. So many thoughts raced through Taryn’s mind until it was completely impossible to pick out a single one. She thought about running, but her feet wouldn’t budge. She thought about screaming for help, but who would hear? She thought about the consequences all these actions could have, and one in particular filled her with fear. Miranda could be dead, and doing something drastic might grant her the same fate.
The garage door rose in slow motion, revealing, inch by inch, the tattered clothes the person was wearing. The shirt was familiar, but Taryn couldn’t remember who had been wearing it. She stumbled back a few steps when she realized it could be him, coming to now hurt her.
Taryn’s eyes widened, absorbing the now visible scene in front of her. Miranda’s face was in so much pain, and she was shaking uncontrollably. Taryn followed Miranda’s shaking right arm with her eyes, until she abruptly stopped at her hand. Miranda’s hand was gripped so tightly around a knife her knuckles were slowly turning purple.
The knife wasn’t what scared Taryn the most; it was the fresh, red blood dripping from it. It hit the ground in small splatters, creating a puddle. Taryn couldn’t remove her eyes from the gruesome sight. What lay in the background was even worse. When Taryn forced herself to look, a large lump lay on the cold ground, with blood covering and surrounding it.
It was like the ending of a horror movie was being played in front of her. She didn’t know if it was real, and didn’t know how she should react. Miranda was motionless except for the uncontrollable spasms shaking her body. Taryn wanted to run over to her but the knife dangling from her iron grip wasn’t very inviting.
Taryn heard the sirens behind her and turned around to see a line of red and blue flashing lights approaching the house. The officers told Miranda to drop the knife, and she did. They ran up to her and noticed the mutilated body hunched over in the garage.
Miranda’s gaze wouldn’t disconnect with Taryn’s. Miranda looked so terrified, and Taryn could only imagine the thoughts filling her head. She had just done something Taryn thought only the psycho paths on television were capable of doing. Even though it was an awful thing to think, Taryn was glad Miranda had the guts to end this man’s life. If she hadn’t, they would probably both be dead now. Taryn felt the ground shaking beneath her, and her surroundings twisting into one big blur. Miranda had saved both of their lives, and she knew she wasn’t giving her enough credit.
The last thing Taryn remembered was an officer ask her if she was okay and some other questions she didn’t remember. She couldn’t recall what her answers had been, all she knew was she was now riding in the back of a police car. Her head was still spinning. What did they do with Miranda? She didn’t want to ask the officers, fearing what the answer might be.
The car pulled up to Taryn’s house all too slowly. The officer told her they’d call if they had anymore questions. Taryn flung open the door and stumbled onto her door step. In the same moment, she was resting in her mother’s arms. Taryn broke away after a few seconds and questioned her mother about where Miranda was.
The look on her mother’s face changed. It was no longer the look of relief it had been a few moments ago.
“Honey, she’s okay. She’s just not acting right.” Her mother said sounding concerned.

Shelby- injections ending

2009-12-21T06:52:00.001-08:00

“It’s not every day that you witness an unmarried couple stay with each other for seventeen years,” Ron said to her after a while.
Sometimes not even married couples stay together for that long. Over 50,000 couples in New York alone split up each year, which is a lot when you think about it.
“Lust can drive men to do many things, Dr. Collins,” She replied, looking at her hands, “I think it’s sad that my mother’s fate ended up the way it did. She’d be able to lie next to a man she loved every night with a clean conscience had she chosen my real dad.”
“Well, she did lie with him didn’t she?” He asked.
“Sadly yes,” Cayluh replied, “It was after Christopher and my mother got married though. They spent a week long honeymoon in Hawaii and the minute it was over, Christopher received a page demanding he come back to work. So while my mother sat at home, hours went by until he came home. Sadly, every day after that was the same way. Over another year of devotion to him, my mom discovered some things about Christopher. He wanted children more than anything else in the world. She did not because it would ruin her figure. What my mother didn’t know is what he wanted most was something he could never have because of a genetic disorder. He was the only one in his family to get it directly.
“Another sad thing is my mother ‘miraculously’ got pregnant and I popped out nine months later. A shock to everyone I might add. My grandmother almost had a heart-attack.”
“Because they thought your father had successfully produced a child?” Ron asked.
“No, because my mom actually went full term rather than get an abortion. Christopher wouldn’t let her do the latter.”
“Why not?”
“He thought that I was his child. Oh, you can just imagine the excitement he felt when he found out my mom was pregnant.”
“Does he dream about that, too?” He asked.
“No,” She replied, smiling a bit, “When my mom called up her mother, Grandma raced down here before Christopher even knew and filmed his reaction to the happy news. I watch the video a lot.”
“Why is that?” Ron asked, noticing sadness in her last sentence.
Cayluh looked out the window again, “I think that the only time my,” she lifted up her fingers for air-quotes, “Dad ever felt any sort of love towards me is when I was still in my mothers stomach. Through those months, my mother’s mom lived with them, filming from time to time. Christopher was always by mom’s side, rubbing her stomach in affection and telling her how much he loved her and how great of a miracle it was.”
“That’s nice of him,” Ron said, wishing he could be that way with Sophie.
What Cayluh noticed and what he didn’t is that his tone went quickly from curious to remorseful. In the silence that followed, he couldn’t remember a time ever touching Sophie while she was pregnant except for when she carried the first baby. Sophie felt his distance, too but in an understanding way, she accepted it. It all of a sudden seemed strange to him how such a small, un-born thing that usually brings couples together, could push them apart so quickly. In nine, short months, the little person growing inside of Sophie had taken their relationship from loving and warm to cold and anxious.
Cayluh sensed the subject was getting touchy, “We can talk about something else if you want to doctor.”
“No,” Ron said hastily, ripping away from his thoughts, “I want to know more. When did he figure out that you weren’t his?”
She hesitated, afraid of pushing his boundaries, “When I was born, a head of brown, thick locks shocked him. That‘s when he knew. There was just no chance that she could get pregnant from an infertile man and have strange genetics that neither side of the family possessed. All were blonde and cold looking creatures whereas I’m not.”
Cayluh thought back to that memory Christopher shared with her un-knowingly. Not a day went by when he looked at her with affection. He never touched her hair in a fatherly way or picked her up off the ground when she tripped. All her life, Cayluh assumed that’s how all fathers acted, cold and distant. Only when she went to Lisa’s house for the first time in second grade did she realize how wrong she was. Welcomed with a package of Oreo’s, a jar of peanut butter and the sight of Lisa’s father placing a kiss on her head confused little Cayluh and filled her with a longing, dreadful emotion.
“Why does your daddy treat you like that?” Cayluh asked Lisa one day in third grade.
“Like what?” Lisa replied, smothering an Oreo with peanut butter.
She stuffed the sticky treat inside of her mouth and smacked to release her tongue from the goo that plastered it to her jaws. To Cayluh, she looked like a fish out of water.
“He gives you kisses and cookies and takes you to the park on Saturdays and tells you that he loves you,” Cayluh replied.
“That’s what daddies are supposed to do silly,” Lisa said, scraping the filling out from between another cookie with her teeth once she had swallowed the previous one.
Lisa thought little of what Cayluh was saying.
“Don’t you want any more?” She spoke again, offering Cayluh the package.
“No,” Cayluh said, deep in sadness and confusion, “My tummy hurts.”
When Christopher picked her up that day, Cayluh sat buckled down onto the front seat in a usual silence staring out the window. While her mouth said nothing, her mind screamed questions at her father. It’s a shame that he couldn’t hear her. If he could, he would have heard a desperate child crying out for love that she was foreign to. He would have heard a small girl crying out for her daddy, something that he couldn’t give her. He would have felt the desire to treat her like his own child, and even though he never could, he would have tried. Christopher would have felt the pain and desperation she experienced every time she saw Mr. May put Lisa up on his shoulders or make her laugh at the smallest things. He would have heard her asking “why?” continuously. Could he give her the proper answer? One a toddler could understand?
While he focused to look through the snow that burst against the windows, her silence told him nothing and he did not ask.
“Beside the way I look, I act nothing like them. I guess that‘s beside the point though I need to hurry though because we have little time left and my story is far from being over,” Cayluh said, looking up from her retention.
“Do finish then please,” Ron replied, pulling his arm out to get the sleeve edge higher on his wrist.
Ink and white dress shirts did not mix well.
Cayluh paused and gathered all of her thoughts together before she spoke. This was going to be hard to explain and all the more difficult to grasp.
“You’ve heard of the Special Forces?” She asked Ron as he scribble down more things, “That branch of the military where soldiers do amazing things that require only the most special training, hence the name?”
“Yes,” He replied.
“Well, there’s one more separate branch in there that no one really knows about called ‘Testing and Analysis’ where scientists come up with many weird things to try an enhance human power,” She paused again while he wrote this down, “A large number of special doctors worked for hours at a time for many years to usually only come up with one concoction of failure. Shortcomings that resulted in a waste of money as well as soldiers. Many were paralyzed by these ‘drugs’ that came in a series of injections and some even resulted in death. Depending on what it was, men could wait months at a time with nothing and then unexpectedly the side effects kick in. They took the best of each branch and tested different things on them all at the same time. A Navy Seal named Jacob White was given a serum that was supposed to raise his white blood count as well as platelets and clotting proteins to make wounds heal faster. This was just a simple test, something that they thought would never go wrong. Nothing did go wrong because nothing happened. They tested everything like where it could have gone and why it didn’t work and after many blood tests, they could find nothing. Eventually they deemed it a failure and the file was tucked away.
“The next man in line was William Amoretto, a pilot in the air force. These injections were supposed to enhance his fight or flight response, making him extremely powerful, strong and quick to think and react. Again, a failure followed. James Beaufort, a Coast Guard was another experiment along with Mitchell Harris who was in the Army. Both yet another failure. For some reason, they saved what seemed like the most impossible for my father. This injection was one that was supposed to expand the info bits of the mind to a point where they pulsed out sonar waves. Like bats, sound would come back to them that was supposed to be in the form of thoughts. Immediately, a person could be so overcome with such thoughts that they feel as though they are one with the person whose head they are reading from. I know from experience that it takes many years to get your mind used to deciphering the thoughts and getting sucked into a person‘s body. It took many years to get the muscles of my info bits strong enough to get used to pumping out waves in steady amounts and when to know enough is enough.
“This series of injections was, to the scientists, the most important. With the use of brain-transmitted sonar waves, the doctors thought that, if a success came from this one, secrets would be revealed of terrorists and other enemies conspiring against the country. This one took the longest to ‘perfect’. Although the other ones were hard to make as well, scientists slaved over this serum more than any of the fellow chemicals, feeling as though it’d be the end of war and death of the innocent.
“Much to their disappointment, all were unsuccessful. There seemed to be nothing close to achievement or anything to show for the years of hard work and money these scientists put into creating the experimental drugs. Unfortunately, they skipped one very important test which seems very insufficient and stupid to me for such experienced men.”
“And what test would that be?” Ron asked, leaning on the edge of the chair.
“DNA samples. See, at the beginning they did that to test for different diseases, but they found it unnecessary to re-test when the lab rats were set free. Had they done these tests, they would have found a glitch in the comparison between the old and new DNA strands. They would have found out that these serums did not affect the carrier at all but rather laced itself permanently into his gene structure,” She said.
“So, whatever they gave to your dad has now been passed onto you?” Ron asked.
Could something like this really be possible? How could they have been working on such a huge project for so long and none of it being released to the public? Did brain waves really have a way of working like that? Could info bits reach to that big of a size that they have a mind of their own? A heart and voice as well?
“Yes, and a little will probably be passed on to my children and their children’s children,” Cayluh replied.
The doc leaned back in his chair as he felt shock and disbelief settle into his stomach. It was remarkable. She knew way too much to be lying about this.
“How did they manage to grow the info bits that big though? There’s no possible way--”
“I have no idea,” she replied, “These men were genius chemists that could probably cure cancer and AIDS if they really worked on it. I saw a lot of chemical formulas floating around in their heads all the time. They dreamed about them. These injections haunted them for years. They all sensed that they missed something, one small little thing, but could never place what it was or admit to it. Dr. Reno even went back to check and I have a feeling that she’ll figure it out eventually. I’m not sure when that will be or how she’ll react, but I guess I’ll find out one day.”
“Do you know whether the other experiments had children as well?” Ron asked.
“I know that Commander White is living happily in Nevada with his wife and three kids. He was on the news a few days ago for receiving a purple heart. He’s going to retire soon, before his oldest goes to high school.” She replied.
“And the other three?”
“No idea. They must have,” Cayluh smiled, “All were very handsome.”
A silence followed yet again. A long one. The silence was comfortable this time. Cayluh was back to her painting, Ron wrapping his brain around this and the possibility of it all. Science really was amazing. Although it made him kind of mad that after all this time they couldn’t have come up with a cure for really special diseases, it boggled his mind that they had been able to conjure up something as advanced as this. So many great minds coming together and making a discovery that’s actually useful. Not one that involved two years of questioning why pregnant women didn’t fall over when they stood up.
Then he remembered something.
“So what ever happened after you got sent to the principal’s office?” He asked.
She looked up, “Huh?”
“When you were shooting everyone with an invisible gun and got sent to Principal Trakis’ office?”
“Oh! I forgot that I never finished that story,” She laughed.
“I went to principal’s office. I always hated defying teachers because they were, after all, adults and way more experienced than I. Therefore, I always respected and tried to stay out of trouble as much as I could. When I showed up and Principal Trakis’ though, he out of nowhere he started lecturing me on my behavior and how ever since the beginning of this year, it’s become unacceptable. ‘What happened to the good Cayluh?’ he asked, ‘The one who always brought ham and cheese sandwiches her ninth grade year and was excited about school?’ I can’t quote every little thing he said but that’s basically what took up the first twenty minutes of our visit. I don’t remember ever not being excited about school though. I liked getting out of the house for ten hours every day. It was refreshing. The funny thing is that I said nothing the entire time and just listened, silently disagreeing in my head and correcting him on grammar mistakes. Then my hands started shaking again.
“’Oh God,’ were the first words that ran through my mind, ‘Again?’ Never had it happened twice in one day which scared me. What was happening? Trying to make my eyes calm as I looked into his, I sat on my fingers, palm against the seat of the chair. The agony of waiting in expectancy didn’t last long. The transition happened a lot sooner than the last one and the ink splotch spread like a wild-fire over my vision.
“Each wing in our school is painted a different color including the bathrooms, walls, lockers, and everything else you can think of. Desks, chairs you name it. Very elementary I know, but in this situation it helped out. The English wing was painted entirely green making it simple to pinpoint where I was at. I was in the bathroom by my homeroom, looking into the blue eyes of a stranger in my gym class. A girl who used to not be such a stranger to me. One that I helped with a science project almost two years ago. What was she doing in here? I thought. I mean she wasn’t doing anything. Usually girls go into the bathroom to fix their hair and make-up but Lisa was just staring. Her mind told me many things though. In the purse that her left hand rested protectively on, was a small vial of un-nameable drugs all mixed together. She planned on taking the whole thing, not knowing how much was even in the vial. Neither did I or the girl that sold it to her. What the idiot dealer also didn’t know is that mixing drugs, no matter what the dosage, could be lethal.”
Cayluh’s voice became dry sounding when she said lethal.
“Lisa’s black purse was on the green commode beside her, the fluorescent lights making her look ill, giving a pale tint to her skin and greenish circles underneath her eyes. I watched, nestled in her mind as she picked up that purse and rummaged through it. I felt panic when she couldn’t find what she was looking for and then relief when her fingers closed around a cold glass cylinder. A sigh escaped her lips as she pulled out a small glass vial and syringe encased in a plastic bag. Was she a first time user? I asked myself, still in her mind. If so, how could I have not been able to tell? Weren’t best friends supposed to be like kindred spirits or something? They could tell when a friend was in serious trouble, isn’t that how it worked?
“She set the purse slowly on the counter of the sink. Reluctance. What was she doing? I thought again, fear making my heart beat in my body almost four hundred feet away from the bathroom. She stared into the mirror again, Just do it Lisa. Just do it. She was reassuring herself? Amanda said it’d be fun. You’ll never know until you try. You need a distraction anyway. I couldn’t believe this. She picked up the paraphernalia and wiped the tip off with her shirt.”
Ron stared in amazement at Cayluh. She was up off of her chair now, the emotion pouring down her face reflected in the way she was speaking. Her eyes were focused on something behind him and pure pain was scribbled all over her face. The memory had possessed her.
“I wanted so bad to jump from her head and shake her, tell her to stop. Tell her that she didn’t need to. I longed to kill Amanda for telling her that load of bull, especially since she knew Lisa was gullible, almost as if she was trying to kill her. Instead, I sat there, watching in horror as she whispered to herself, trying to sound convincing. It was then that I remembered the pain she was going through. Her father had died just a month ago from an allergic reaction to some drugs he took,” Cayluh paused to wipe her face and nose, “And his smiling face flashed through her thoughts probably twenty times in five seconds. It always went from grinning and healthy, the man I remember, to color-less and decayed, worms gnawing through his flesh. The image made me want to puke as well as the thought that Lisa had sunk this low to escape her sorrows.
“So, while looking in the mirror, she tied off her arm with an elastic band while I silently screamed at her to stop. You don’t need this Lisa, I shouted, I can help you if you just talk to me again. She listened to her pulse for a moment, memorizing it‘s loud beat, but my voice was could not be heard. No matter how much I pushed or willed, she would not listen to me and would not to let me go back to my body. I refused to let my screaming subside even though it was impossible if she could hear me and mistake me for her conscience. Even when I felt my hands attached to my body cover my eyes, as if it would help, I screamed. Lisa couldn’t do this to herself. Especially because the amount in that vial seemed like a lot more than a normal dose.
“The plunge of the needle was sharp. She shoved it in right at the crook of her elbow and slowly pushed the rich drug into a large blue vein that ran down her arm. Then she waited.” Cayluh paused again.
Her hands were trembling, but not in the “snap” way. Soft shakes, fearful shakes, remorseful shakes, shivers of a painful memory destroying a person from the inside out. Her green eyes were spewing tears and heart was beating loud enough for Ron to hear. He was paralyzed. There was no way she could be faking this. His pen stopped scribbling. When the scratch of the ballpoint was halted, there was complete silence in the room. The CD that had once spun quickly around in the boom box earlier had been played through and stopped some time ago. Only then did Ron notice how burdening the quiet was. The extinguished sound lurked in the air for what seemed like years when Cayluh finally spoke again.
“Then one heart beat after another grew softer and softer,” She put a hand over where the heart would be and tapped out how slow the tempo was, her finger taking more and more time to tap with every strike.
“Her breathing slowed down to where it hardly felt like she was inhaling. Indescribable pleasure and heat enveloped her after a few minutes. She had never felt so happy in her life and even I have to admit that it felt unrealistically delicious. All fear, anguish, and feeling simply evaporated into a mask of ecstasy. Her eyes fluttered and she let out a noisy sigh, a happy middle between a breath heaving out of your body and a moan. A moan that came from somewhere deep within her. This mixture was magic, a potion to halt all that causes you trouble in a temporary and deceiving state. Shivers ran up her spine from how good this trip felt, better than anything she’d ever experience. The bliss was so over-powering that she didn’t even notice her stomach give a strange flip and acidic material filling her mouth.
“The burn of the stomach acid was so vague and dull compared to everything else that even as death closed around her, the happiness remained. This close to perfect alleviation did not fail her at all as she was pulled by Death to wade in that black abyss. Just try it, he told her as she went knee-deep, lungs not seeming to work as well as they did a few minutes ago. Waist deep, brain’s scream for oxygen was muffled by the ring of elation pulsing in her veins, killing her. Shoulder deep and she succumbed to Death‘s temptation. The minute her head went beneath that inky pool, I snapped back.
“I was Cayluh again, lying on Principal Trakis’ floor. He was looking down at me, a look that was flooding over with fear. What are you doing? He asked me as I got up. My mind registered its surroundings slower than I‘d imagined it to. I was in the Principal’s office because of Mrs. Trakiss, who was in no relation to Principal Trakis because I had snapped into a psycho killer’s body. Principal Trakis’ passive-aggressive behavior is extremely annoying. I should point this out to him just to piss him off. Lisa may be dying in the bathroom,” Cayluh paused, refusing to let her voice crack.
“I had to have been out for a while, screaming and flailing around on the thin carpeting that blanketed the cramped quarters. Looking back, I kind of feel bad for the teachers who had to deal with my nonsense. I was not thinking of that at all at the time though. The only thing I could think of was Lisa and her small frame crumpled on the floor. So I picked up my feet and ran as fast as I could to the English wing bathroom, Principal Trakis huffing and puffing behind me as he tried to keep up. A blur of colors went by me but I still felt like I could not pass them fast enough. My legs were burning and lungs heaving in desperation, yet it seemed like no distance was being covered at all. Kind of like running through water.
“The red of the math wing floated slowly by me, as well as the yellow for science and purple for history. Even when the green came into view I did not slow down, trying to force my legs to go faster, faster, faster, even if it meant running them off of my body. My feet flew over the floor in a panicked flurry. It felt like a lifetime had gone by before I finally felt my hands press against the green plastic door of the bathroom. When it swung open, the stench of vomit met my nose and made my eyes water immediately. It was over-powering, as if she’d puked up every content in her body and it was decaying fast as lightening on the tile. I couldn’t see Lisa clearly. The smell was horrible. Her head was faced toward the ceiling and vomit was streaming out the sides of her blue mouth, caking the corner of her lips.
“I took in the sight of her slowly. Through the blur of tears that were now the result of sadness and not the smell, I saw the black lump on the tile. Despite the puke streaming through the cracks of the floor, she looked peaceful and there was a small smile on her face. A fog settled around her as I registered that she would never walk through the halls again. Lisa would never graduate high school and be the art teacher she dreamed of being as a career. She would never smile again, laugh again, or be there for me to look at and wonder why she never spoke to me after that one last incident. I would never have the chance to ask. I would never have peaceful dreams with her in them. I would never see her again.
“Blinking, I rushed over to her, dropping to my knees over her body. I picked up her limp wrist and checked for a pulse, nothing. I shoved my finger into her carotid artery, no beat beneath her skin. So I reached my finger into her mouth and tried getting all the vomit out, wiping her lips with my jacket. When most of it was clean, from what I could tell, I pressed my mouth down on hers and urged her to breathe. In the background I heard Principal Trakis talking urgently to someone, probably by phone. I pressed up on her ribs where some guys hit to knock the wind out of each other and continued this process. Only when the medics showed up, after how long I do not know, did I know it was hopeless. Lisa was dead.”
Ron looked up at Cayluh, her face dripping with affliction and misery. Slowly, he set his pen down and walked over to her. She looked up at him and wrapped her arms around his torso before he could move first. There was desperation in the way she clung to him. The anguish and frustration she’d kept pent up for so many years was finally breaking through. Tears seeped into the fibers of a 300 dollar suit and sobs shook the both of them. He didn’t care though. Was this how it’d be when his un-born baby girl turned seventeen? Would she long to be wrapped up like this by him when she went through heartache?
Cayluh wondered why she was blubbering so bad. She had shed few tears for Lisa’s death and wasn’t even invited to her funeral. It didn’t make sense for the story to end in such a woeful state.
The embrace didn’t last long. It only took a few minutes for her to calm down. After that short time had gone by, she was close to being back to normal and sitting back in her chair. Leaning again over the canvas, Ron picked up his notepad again and scribbled down the last few events. Cayluh was hunched back over again, the brush caressing the tough material of the paper.
“I’ve been working on this since yesterday,” she said, her voice a little scratchy from exhaustion, “Tell me what you think.”
After a few final, long strokes, she rolled the painting up and put it in a metal case, not showing him her final masterpiece. He took the container and she looked up at him.
“Whatever you do with all that you wrote is not up to me, but just know one thing,” she said, walking back to the easel and pushing the strangling man off of it to the floor, “I will always know what you’re up to.”
Her back was to him now, a signal that he was allowed to exit. Turning around, he left the room in a solemn state, his life not feeling as though it was changed forever. His feet hit the carpet stairs softly as he descended, admiring the detail of the home again. Everything was so orderly and neat as a pin, it was remarkable. Even though the cleanliness could make a person feel nauseated at times. The weather outside was lovely. Leaves of gold and honey were floating from the arms of trees out of sync, but in and underlying harmony. He stepped onto the back porch and looked to where his car was parked. There was a chill tingeing the air. Autumn was on its way. New changes were coming. An awaited life was yet to be lived.
The car sat there lonely. The gravel crunched beneath him as he walked to the vehicle. Opening the car door, he revved the engine and turned the heat on. Placing his briefcase and gift from Cayluh on the passenger seat, he gripped the steering wheel preparing to drive home. His feet didn’t seem to be receiving the messages from his mind though for they stood as still as stone. His fingertips tingled with curiosity as he reached over and pulled the canvas from the protective case. Unrolling it from the bindings, he looked in awe at Cayluh’s masterpiece.
There were drops of rain spotting the picture everywhere. Each of those drops had small little details in them that added definition and a unique quality to the piece. The color those beads of perspiration lay upon was a deep purple, the endless abyss of night-time. While this color and artistic ability might hypnotize a looker alone, it’s the person that was in that canvas that put Ron in a trance.
Sophie was off to the right corner of the painting, brown curls wildly framing her heart-shaped face and cheeks pink with a cold flush. Blue eyes were wide with innocence and rosy lips plump, awaiting a kiss. The eyes were what reeled him in though. Every little glint was exactly how they’d been that night before he went to college, every beautiful fleck of underlying tones that made the ocean in her eyes. Love swelled in his heart.
At that moment, happiness flooded a gray soul with color and for the first time in a little less than a year, he could not wait

Fiona 1-44

2009-12-17T09:49:00.000-08:00

Fiona Moore
Chapter 1
It is 3:00am and I am exhausted. I have a pounding head ache, my heart is racing as if I just stepped out in front of a car, and there is a warm sensation sliding down my chin. As I slowly raise my hand to touch my face, I regret it. I don’t want to wake up another morning with blood on my face. I don’t want to make my mom cry anymore when she witnesses another agonizing, coughing fit and can’t stand to see me in so much pain. I definitely don’t want to waste my high school years in some hospital or bedroom waiting for my day of death. Homecoming is tonight and I’m not missing that for anything. Gwen and I have picked out our dresses and I can’t let her down again by missing another school event. I slowly stand up, all I can see are throbbing black spots, and once I get my sense of balance, I begin padding towards my mirror. I quickly turn on a lamp. The light is blinding, so it is switched back off. There is a box of tissues on my dresser and I intend on taking one. The blood on my chin has started to dry so I have to quietly slip away to my bathroom to get some water. A couple drops is all I need. There is also a plastic cup etched with flowers sitting on the counter. It slowly fills up. I glance in the mirror in my bathroom and now I can see the dried blood. This wasn’t one of the worst times but it wasn’t one of the better ones either. The blood comes off easily and after a few swishes of water through my mouth, I head back to bed.
I lie there for an hour or two, daydreaming and dreading what could happen today. Any other day, I don’t really care if I have a little fever or a couple painful coughs, but today nothing can go wrong. I’m praying I don’t hear another person saying “Oh, yeah that girls name is Ella, she’s a freshman. I feel really badly for her though, she has Cystic Fibrosis.” I hear that enough. My brother Bryan is always asking me why I can’t just like the attention. Most freshman will just be thankful if they get through the year with minimal rumors whispered amongst the hallways about them but I would just be happy if everyone except for my friends, ignored me at school. Don’t get me wrong, generally I am an upbeat person, and I love talking a little too much, but when you live your whole life being pitied, you learn to dislike the attention. Tonight, though, I want the attention for all the right reasons. I want people to look at me and think about how pretty I am and wonder where I’ve been hiding. I would love to be that person that stands in the middle of her group of friends and everyone is just mesmerized by my charm and splendor. I’m almost positive that these things won’t happen because I’m probably thinking of some Disney movie, but I can only hope. A few more thoughts drift in and out of my head but they don’t remain there for long because I quickly slide off to sleep.
The next morning, there is a very unpleasant banging that wakes me up. At first I think it’s thundering but then I realized someone must be climbing the stairs outside of my room. For the past five years that I have lived in this house, I have always hated the location of my room. Whenever I am sleeping, I can always hear everything going on in the hallways even if it’s the smallest noise.
“Ella, get down here! It’s past noon and Gwen is going to be here in twenty minutes!” my mother yells from the kitchen downstairs.
I open my eyes to see my six year old brother, Joel, staring at me with a sinister smile curling across his face.
“Joel, why are you in my room? The door was closed and you know you shouldn’t come in here unless I tell you you can!” I say, while rubbing my temples and squinting my eyes at the sunlight permeating my blinds.
“Mom’s downstairs, baking cookies for you and you were supposed to help at nine o’clock and you still aren’t down there. She’s mad.” He quietly giggles to himself.
I gently push him back as I climb out of bed and watch him run off to his room. I pop my retainer out of my mouth, throw on a sweatshirt and then I clamor down the stairs to find my angry mother and my almost unconscious brother sitting at the kitchen table, both eating toast.
“Hi mom” I mumble as I pull my uncontrollable mass of curls into a knot on the top of my head. I always pity the people I encounter in the morning because more often than not, I am like a walking chain saw, you get in my way, I’ll tear you up.
“Hi” she says curtly. “I know you are tired and want to get a lot of sleep because you are staying up late tonight, but you were supposed to help me with these cookies. I am making them for you and your friends, after all.” motioning towards the mound of chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies on the counter tops.
“I’m sorry, but you didn’t have to make them. You volunteered to do it and I didn’t think that if you were supposed to do something, I am involved in every little detail too. But if we are doing everything for each other now, how about you clean my room?” I respond, not being able to restrain my anger I feel regularly in the morning.
After saying that and seeing the look on my mother’s face, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to have my breakfast before a fight.
“Excuse me?!” My mom says, in shock. “I don’t think you should ever talk to me like that. After all I did give birth to you, and I do support you when it comes to your disease, and I do give you money and a place to sleep and I help you with your homework. So don’t ever talk to me like that because I do all these things out of the goodness of my heart. I expect an apology.”
“Sorry,” I grumble as I start to saunter over to the cabinets and grab a Pop Tart. Taking off the wrapper is probably the only reason why I eat these things. I don’t know why I like the sound or the feeling of the plastic completely surrendering to my quick tug and sliding open; but I just do. I only eat half of it while I am sitting on a tall, swivel chair in the kitchen and then I walk into the living room and fall onto the couch. There doesn’t seem to be anything good on TV after flipping through a few channels, so I pop Beauty and the Beast into our DVD player and finish my breakfast.
“Hi,” I hear someone yell and then I see Gwen opening the front door. She smiles at me, then gently places her hand about a foot above the knob and slowly push the big red door shut.
“Hey Ella, I got some new make-up so I might have to try it out on you cuz I don’t know how well it will go with my skin tone.” She says as she glides over to the couch and plops down next to me.
We stay slung across the couch until we grow bored by the movie. Then we go up to my room to get ready for the dance.
“Okay, so I don’t know what I am going to do with my hair, but I’m thinking an up-do just because of the neckline of my dress.” I say while holding my dress up to my body and looking at my reflection in the full length mirror.
A few weeks before Homecoming, my mom, Gwen, Mrs. Jones, and I went on a day trip to get our dresses. We spent the majority of the time picking out ugly ones or trying to find the puffiest prom dress in the store but once we got down to business, there was nothing that could stop us from finding the perfect dress. It took Gwen only about fifteen minutes to find a dress that looked flawless on her. Even though there were a lot of nice dresses, it took me what seemed like forever to find one that I loved. Every dress that I walked out of the dressing room stall in my mom and Mrs. Jones started to cry. Gwen and I thought it was hilarious to see our mothers acting as if we were picking out our wedding dresses. Finally, I found the dream dress. The dress every girl wants to find. It was a strapless dress that had a sweet heart cut. There is a thick black band under the bust line and then the dress flared out. At the hem, there is a thin line of intricate, black lace and if that’s not good enough, then the dress’s pattern definitely is. It has a white background with light pink roses scrawled across that looked like something sent from heaven. As soon as I walked out of the dressing room with this dress on, everyone, even Gwen, started tearing up. Her dress was beautiful too; of course everything looks amazing on her because she is pretty much the epitome of an Amazon princess. She is tall, and thin with chocolate brown skin and matching long crazy curls. Practically every girl wants to be her and every guy wants to date her. Her dress was strapless too. It was layered, deep plum satin with flowers down the left side.
“Here,” Gwen says as she walks towards me and puts her hands on my shoulders, pushing me down on to my chair, “I saw this gorgeous hairstyle in Teen Vogue. It was on like Anne Hathaway or something, it looked a little hard to do, but I’ll try.”
It took what seemed like forever, but once she subsides with her make shift salon, it is perfect. I ask Gwen if she wants me to do her hair but she says no. I don’t blame her; I’m really bad at doing hair, plus she always looks the best with her curls down and wild. We quickly do each other’s make up, throw on our dresses, take a few pictures on my phone and then scamper down stairs.
My mom is setting up the cookies on a table next to the front door, for all of the people coming over for pictures before the dance. When my mom sees both Gwen and me, she once again, starts to cry.
“Hi honey,” she says in between sniffles. “Both of you girls look so beautiful. Where’s your mom Gwen, she’ll want to see this.”
Gwen ran inside to get her mom while mine slowly walks towards me, her hands held out. Her big, blue eyes started watering up and that’s when I know that I wouldn’t be able to leave with a dry face either. I can feel my mom’s soft hands press into my back as she hugs me. We stand there for a few minutes in my mother’s tight maternal embrace, and when Gwen comes back out of my house, arm in arm with her mom, who also both had streaks down their faces from where tears had just skimmed over their cheeks. We broke free from our loving hug to quickly clean up our make up before others came for pictures.
“Wow. That was pretty awkward. I had a feeling my mom was going to cry but I didn’t think she would start bawling. I had no clue what to do! I didn’t know if I should hug her or comfort her or if I should start to cry too, so I just cried. It was probably the easiest thing to do.” Gwen says as we laugh about our mom’s responses to what we would like to think, our mature outfits.
“Yeah, my mom looked so sad. At first I thought she was going to tell me someone died or something.”
“Aw darn!” Gwen exclaims, while looking in the mirror and pulling at her cheeks “Look at all the lipstick my mom left. I’m gonna have to apply all new makeup.”
With that, there is the classic chime of the doorbell, and my mom’s yell, telling us that our friends have arrived.
“Oh my gosh, you guys look like so gorgeous! I adore your dresses! Where did you get them?!” Hannah screams, as she steps out of her dad’s black BMW.
She, like me, has shoulder length, curly, hair that is currently blond but will probably soon change to black or red or who knows, maybe blue. She ran over to both of us as we all start examining each other’s hair, makeup, and dresses.
“It took me like four hours to get ready,” Hannah says in her always too loud and brass voice. “As soon as I would finish like my hair or my make up or something, I would decide I don’t like it and then would have to redo it all over again. Hey Sam!” she yells, while pulling off her metallic pumps and quickly hopping through the grass on her tip toes to be sure that her tights won’t get wet.
Evelyn is the last to arrive, and by the time she comes over to join our loud, jubilant cluster, all the parents are gathering and ready to begin taking pictures with their shiny, digital cameras. There is eleven of us girls, organized in a line, shortest to tallest, while being blinded by the repetitive flashes from cameras in the clutches of crying moms and smiling dad’s. The farewells from the parents were drawn out too long for comfort. Then after going inside, grabbing some Tylenol, to prevent possible head aches, and taking my blood pressure to make sure that I don’ t have any problems during the dance, we are loaded into my mom’s gold minivan and she slowly backs out of the driveway.
In a tight cluster, we walk to the front doors of our high school. Being freshman, we are scared beyond belief that some druggie, or super senior is going to beat the crap out of us for dancing with “her guy”. We have made a pact that we will defend each other if that does happen, I know it won’t but the things that run through your mind when you are nervous seem infinite and all very plausible.
The line to hand in our tickets is a lot longer than I expected. We all get in quickly to make sure that Jen, Ava, and Evelyn can get tickets. The bass from the gym is making the walls vibrate and I can see through the small, rectangular windows on the doors, couples making out in there too. I point it out to Gwen and she starts laughing hysterically after seeing my disgusted face. The laughs that I follow with are painful and soon turn into coughs.
“Are you okay Ella? Should I call your mom, cuz those don’t sound like your normal coughs?” Gwen says, while pulling out her bejeweled phone and she begins her search through her contacts to find my house number.
“I’ll be okay.” I say, sputtering a little through my words while trying to hold in another cough. “If we call her, she’ll freak out and I’ll have to go home. I’m fine.”
We all walk into the gym single file as the teachers check for our tickets. I’m one of the last people in our group to get in, so by the time I enter some of my friends are already dancing with unknown faces. I feel a hand grasp my wrist and pull me onto the dance floor. Once my eyes adjust I realize that it was Gwen pulling me and we are now dancing with Jen, Ava, Julia, Hannah, a guy named Gavin and three more unfamiliar boys. The beat of the music was pounding in our heads and we could feel the layer of dirt building up on out soft, bare feet.
“We are gonna go to the bathroom.” Gwen yells over the blasts of music. “We’ll be right back.”
The eight other group members all nod while trying to keep their momentum and we slide off to the girls bathroom across the hall.
As we walk, we are both hit with the over powering aroma of cheap perfume and hairspray. There are already five girls in a cluster, comforting one sitting in the middle crying.
“He said he was going to come, he promised me!” says the tallest one while tears drip down her plump, red cheeks. All of her friends sat around in the circle, seeming to be contemplating what she said until a boisterous girl chimes “You know he doesn’t deserve you. He’s scum.” This seems to comfort all of them.
Once they register that there are two newcomers in the bathroom, there is silence, awkward stares, and then the cluster leaves.
“Oh my gosh, it’s so hot in there.” Gwen says while pumping the paper towel dispenser, then she rips off two pieces, handing one to me. “I can barely even hear myself talk! I mean the music is so loud, but I don’t think it would be so much fun if it wasn’t.” Smiles simultaneously cross our faces.
“So, what do you think of Gavin?” She asks as I try to picture her with a tall, lanky, blond, boy who seems to always have something to smile about. “I think I like him, I mean like you and him. You guys would be so cute.” This seems to make her smile grow almost twice in size.
There is a loud pounding on the door, as if someone is hitting it with their fore arm, and then the school nurse, Mrs. Harrods, runs in.
“I saw you girls run in here in a hurry, and you have been in here for a while, are you okay Ella?” She manages to say while gasping for air. In her clenched fist she holds a walkie talkie and a first aid kit.
I assume she ran back to her office on the other side of the building to get supplies in case I had a problem.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine Mrs. Harrods. We were just taking a little break. Anyways we were planning on going back into the gym now, but I will definitely tell you if there is anything wrong.”
“Plus, I take really good care of her,” Gwen says, I feel the pressure of her hand clap me on the back. “After all, we are practically sisters.”
This seems to settle Mrs. Harrods. With a shrug of her burly shoulders, she smiles, nods her head, then saunters off into a hormonal waste land. A few minutes later, we follow her path back out of the bathroom and we re-enter the gym, our group bopping in practically the same place. I think they slide over a little bit, but that’s probably to get farther away from the semi psychotic seniors, known for their less than light drug use. With minimal conversation, from the lack of words we are able to hear, we dance what seems to be, the whole night away.
The room seems to be getting hotter and hotter and when Ava asks if I want to get a sip of water, I am practically halfway out the synthetic wood doors.
“So did you see Mr. Craft’s comb over?” she says motioning her eyebrows up and down as I take a sip from her water bottle. “It looks pretty cute!” I have to cover my mouth to prevent the water that has seeped through the crease of my lips from escaping. Bursting out in a mixture of laughter and coughing, the water trickles down my front as I try to conceal my smile. It doesn’t help that with every laugh or cough I let out, Ava’s guffaw grows even louder.
“Sorry about that. I wasn’t intentionally sabotaging your dress.”
“It’s fine.” I manage to spit out between coughs.
“Are you okay? Do you need any water? That might help you stop. How about we go to the bathroom to clean you up a little.” She says, linking arms with me and escorting me to the room I was in less than an hour ago.
“There you go!” She says, wiping access water off my front. “Boy, those coughs are really out to get you tonight, aren’t they?”
“I’ll be fine, they’ll let up soon.”
“Are you sure? I can get the nurse. I think I saw her right out there. Just a sec.” Ava starts to head towards the bathroom door to retrieve the only women that will send me home tonight.
“No! No, don’t get her. She’ll have an anxiety attack and then I’ll have to go home! It’ll stop soon, this happens all the time. Don’t worry.”
“Well, if you say so. Just tap on my shoulder though if you’re having any trouble and I can go get here. I don’t want you to die or anything.”
You can always tell when Ava is nervous. She repetitively wraps her straight, blond hair around her lean, pale index finger.
“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you right away if something is wrong.”
Trying to reassure her that everything would be fine, I gave her an easy smile and placed my hand on her shoulder as we walk out. Strutting though the hallway, I start to get that horrible sensation. It’s hard to describe, but there is a ringing in your ears and a knot in your stomach. When you know that something, one way or another, is going to go wrong.
“That’s it; I’m calling your mom. I can’t take this anymore. You know you need to go home.” Gwen says as she once again pulls her phone out. Bracing myself against a wall, I repetitively cough until that sweet and salty mixture of blood comes up my throat. Leaning over and spitting in the bathroom garbage can I feel my heart race even more as Gwen gasps when she sees.
“Where’s Mrs. Harrods, I need her now. It’s an emergency!” She says, rounding the corner of the bathroom doorway in to the main school hall.
Another teacher, whose face I don’t truly see because I feel as if I’m going to pass out. My head seems to be spinning. I’m now bracing the sink and someone is rubbing my back. These hacking coughs seem to be wearing away my throat.
“Everything is going to be fine sweetie. I’ll help you out to the car.” My mom is now holding my elbow and lower back, helping me as I stumble through the hall, hoping that no one will see me in this state.
The car ride home is completely silent. Slowly, I gain control of myself and finally, I stop coughing. The clumsy van glides into the drive way and my dad comes out of the house to help me to my room.
“I’m scheduling a doctor’s appointment for you tomorrow, surely Tessa is still awake. How about you go, put some pajamas on and I’ll make you some hot chocolate.” Mom says as she flips through the rolodex on the counter, trying to find Dr. O’ Callaghan’s phone number.
Joel was standing on the stairs, staring at me, glassy eyed.
“Are you okay? Mom was really scared when she answered the phone and then she left really fast. What happened?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow, right know my throat hurts when I talk. I’m all right, so don’t worry.” I say, ruffling his sandy blond hair as I pass him to go to my room.
Sliding open my highest dresser drawer, I pull out my favorite, fleece sleeping pant, then throw on an old Pink Floyd t-shirt, that used to be my dad’s. I spy a tattered pair of fuzzy socks on the ground, slip them on to my feet and then walk over to my bed. While pushing my legs under the pink sheets, my mom walks in with a tray.
“Here, drink this.” She says, handing me my favorite mug. It is cream with blue and red flowers. “It’s that dark hot chocolate you like. I scheduled an appointment with Dr. O’ Callaghan tomorrow at one, so you can sleep ‘til noon. You won’t have to go to school for the next couple days. I’ll call the school Monday morning and we can pick up your assignments. After your mouth cools off, can you take your temperature? I want to make sure you’re not coming down with some bug.”
Picking the tray back up, she carefully walks out.
“You really need to clean this room sometime, you can barely see the floor! I’ll cut you some slack though, goodnight Ella. I love you.” With a sweet, loving smile she walks back over and gently kisses me on the forehead.
“Goodnight Mom, I love you too.”
Descending deeper down under my sheets, I place my head on my pillow and lay awake until my eyelids become heavy and I fall asleep.
Chapter 2
Pushing my hair out of my face, I open my eyes and see my mom standing in my doorway, her hands pressed against the chipped paint on the side with a wide smile on her face.
“Good morning sweetie. I was just coming to wake you up,” she says while walking over to my bed side and gently easing herself onto my over stuffed, pink comforter. “You have a doctor’s appointment in about an hour. I just got off the phone with Tessa; she says if you’re still sleeping we can push it back to three, that’s when her next opening is.”
“Okay, I think I’ll be ready by one. I’m gonna get some breakfast then I’ll take a shower.” I say, pushing back my comforter.
“I cooked some pancakes for Bryan and Joel, do you want some? I think there are three left.”
“Nah, I’ll just have some cereal.”
Smiling, once again my mom nods and stands up to leave my room.
“I’ll leave you to your business then.” She says, pulling my white door shut.
Stepping quickly out of my bed, my feet plunge into my shag carpet. Ever since seeing The Sixth Sense, I’ve been terrified that someone is going to grab my ankles from under my bed. It’s a stupid, constant fear. My pink cell phone was sitting on the top of my dresser. Twelve new messages popped up on the screen and of course, most of them were from Gwen with a majority of words spelled in ways I have never seen. Her frantic state was very apparent when I left the school last night, and is even more apparent in her hectic text’s. She was shaking when she saw the blood. Her clumsy fingers probably had trouble getting around her small keyboard.
“Omjg! R utoi okaa!?u scrdesj me!” A majority of the texts read.
At first it took a while for me to figure out what they were trying to get across, but then I finally gave up on this decoding game I seemed to be playing, and I just texted her back.
Walking into Dr. O’Callaghan’s office, I once again get the strong smells of hand sanitizer and baby tears. Dr. O’Callaghan is a really nice lady, she is like my second mom, but I wish her office wasn’t so dreary. There are orange and purple monkeys depicted on the walls, obviously trying to brighten up the place. The receptionist, Kelly, smiles when she sees me and then tells me just to go back to Dr. O’Callaghan’s typical room. I walk past her office, with my mom a short distance behind me.
“Hey there Ella! Your mom tells me that you had some problems last night, with your coughing?” A pained look crosses her face then a smile quickly follows, “But she said you looked very beautiful though. How about you jump up here so we can listen to your lungs. I want to hear how those guys are doing.” Patting on the squeaky, vinyl bench, I push myself onto it as I straighten my green medical robe.
“Could you take a couple deep breaths? Ah, that’s good. Thank you.” She says as my chest rises then falls. “Okay, so your lungs are sounding pretty good. I’ve heard better, but from what I hear, last night was pretty bad, so on that accord, you are doing pretty well.” Looking from me, to my mom she continues, “I think that I’m going to increase her thAIRpy hours, that should help decrease the mucus build up and it should also help with her other symptoms too.”
“Do you think an adjustment in her diet would help? She hasn’t been eating very healthfully lately.” My mom says, staring directly at Dr. O’Callaghan with a discerning look.
“With her problems, food won’t do anything, but my advice would be to exercise more, if possible and get more sleep, you look tired.” Patting her hand on my shoulder, I nod.
“I just didn’t sleep well last night, that’s all. Tomorrow, if you come over to my house, I’ll be the most energized teen you’ve ever seen!” With an incline in my voice, my mom shushes me to be quiet. Apparently, many sleeping people in a pediatrics office at one P.M.
“Well, I guess I’ll just see you girls tomorrow then,” Dr. O’Callaghan says while finishing up our appointment and glide the heavy door open. “If you have any more problems though, Ella, feel free to give me a call. I’m gonna be coming home tonight probably around six or seven, so you could try my house then if any issues come up, but your mom seems to be good at dealing with medical things like that.” Giving me a gentle smile, she holds out her hand as if to escort us from the room. We walk out ahead of her before saying goodbye.
“Can you tell Jane to schedule you another appointment sometime next month, just a usual check up.” Nodding, my mom and I wave as we say our farewell’s and walk towards the secretary to do as my doctor asks.
Getting back to our van in the parking lot, I pull open the gold door and climb inside.
“Hi, could I have two grande coffee frappacinno’s please.” My mom belts into the square, tan box in the Starbucks drive thru.
She pulls up to the window, where a heavily pierced and tattooed teen is standing and in a raspy voice he asks for the money then hands us our drinks.
“Have a nice day.” He says as my mom smiles, returns the response, then drives away.
The long, green straw is moving back and forth, as we drive home, in my attempts to suck up the last of my drink. The chills from the shredded ice in it are starting to set in and I am beginning to shiver.
“Thanks Mom for the drink.” Because trips to Starbucks are pretty unusual, but always desired, I feel that I always need to thank her after she treats me to coffee bliss, so I’m not excluded next time.
“No problem sweetie.” She says turning her head to smile at me, her chestnut hair brushing against her shoulders as she moves. “Oh my gosh, look at my arm. I’m already getting goose bumps.” She says laughing and rubbing her arms, trying to get the unnerved hairs to settle down.
“I have the same thing too.” Raising my arm to show her, I turn my head to look back onto the road. “Green!” Manages to roll off my tongue as the car behind us starts to honk it’s horn.
“People these days are so impatient.” She responds while gliding around the corner, with a clear view of our house directly ahead.
“Hey little buddy!” I say, as my younger brother Joel makes his way down the stair case, while rubbing his eyes after I close the front door. “How are you feeling?”
Since schools start a few weeks ago, Joel has come down with a cold or something with cold like symptoms that has made him sleepy and gave him a runny nose. Since I am staying home to recover, I am practically his nurse, which is fun when I get to read him stories and sing him songs, but when it comes to carrying his dirty tissue to the bathroom or helping him change, that’s when I start to wish I had a different job.
While standing in the kitchen and getting a glass of water, the stunned six year old makes his way over to the fridge and grabs the carton of milk inside. He then, toddles over to the cabinet and pulls out a plastic, sippy cup. Placing the cup on the ground in front of him, he spins the cap off and braces the sides to be sure he doesn’t loss his grip.
“How about I help you with that,” I say, rushing over to him to be sure he doesn’t spill.
“No! I can do it! I’m not a baby!” He yells, obviously offended by my attempts to help.
“I don’t want you to spill though.”
“I won’t!” With that, the milk sloshes out of the carton, splatters all over the floor, and tears start to well up in his large, blue eyes.
Grabbing the roll of paper towels on the counter, I rush over to clean up the mess and comfort the sobbing boy.
“Oh, it’s fine buddy. Everybody spills milk at one point or another. No big deal.”
When the tears start to flow more heavily, I scoop him up in my arms and put him onto the couch. Rapping him in a blanket, I flick on the TV then go back into the kitchen and clean up the rest of the mess, pouring another glass of milk for him in the process. Bringing a glass of milk and a cookie seemed to cheer him up, so we sat on the couch, cuddling until he fell asleep once again.
Chapter 3
“I’m gonna run out really fast. I’ll be back soon.” My mom blurts as she grabs her purse sitting on a table next to the door as she starts to open the front door. “And work on your homework when I’m gone! You are going back to school tomorrow and you have only gotten a quarter done. I don’t want you getting any farther behind or else your grades will really suffer.” After giving me a stern look, she walks out the front door.
Unhappy, but avoiding conflict, I go up to my bedroom to grab my book bag full of papers. Four pages in math, two in science, three in English, and two in social studies plus book work I read from my agenda. I clear off my desk to make room for a math worksheet when I spot an old picture of Gwen and I from when we were both five. I go into my closet and pull out my photo album I made in fifth grade, in search for more good memories. Finding a box, I look through all of my pictures, reminiscing.
After a while, I look over at my glowing, blue clock in the corner of my room, reading 7:48 PM. With that, I hear a door slam down stairs and the dreaded sound of my mom’s voice echoing through the halls.
“I’m home!” she yells, her heels clicking on the wooden floors.
Trying to muscle my way over to my desk through the mounds of clothing on the floor, I make myself look as though I have been working, trying to conjure up any good excuse that would come to my head. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
“Can I come in?” The door slides open and my mom’s smiling face pokes around the corner.
“Hi there.” I say, with a pained look on my face.
“How’s it going? Did you get most of your homework done?”
“Um, yeah. Almost all of it.”
“Well, is there any way you can finish soon? I want to serve up dinner in about fifteen minutes. You should probably also go to bed right after, so that you can get plenty of rest, your body probably needs it.”
“Ok,” I say, trying not to let the lies show in my eyes, “I’ll eat as fast as I can so that I can finish up my homework.”
Turning to leave, I watch my mom walk away then I rush back over to the heaps of photos lying on the floor next to my bed, trying to clean them up quickly as if I were a culprit trying to hide the evidence of a crime scene.
“Ella, dinner!”
Thrusting the door open, I stride down the stair case and enter my kitchen, while trying to figure out how I should sort out my homework debacle.
“Here’s a plate of food for Joel,” my mom says, holding out a plastic dinosaur plate mounded with mashed potatoes and slices of turkey. “He’s sleeping in his room. Please, don’t wake him up, just put it next to his bed and help him eat if he is awake.”
Entering my brother’s room, I see the sick six year old lying peacefully on his racecar bed. This was the bed he cried for daily and every night, before heading to his room, he would tell someone in the family that he really wanted it, more than anything. When Christmas came and he found the bed lying in front of the tree, he sat in it for hours and repetitively asked for multiple pictures to be taken with him and his knew treasure.
Walking over to his bedside table, I place the plate next to his head, and then grab his water cup, so that I can go a fill it up in the bathroom sink. Placing the cup back down after it has been filled to maximum capacity, I see Joel’s left eye open and then close once more.
“Can you get Mommy for me?”
“Yep, I’ll be right back.” Rushing down the stairs, I get my mom’s attention, send her upstairs, and then start to eat my meal.
“Hey there sweetie.” My dad says, walking into the kitchen and placing his hands on my shoulders to kiss the top of my head. “Hey Bryan.” He adds, once he sees his oldest son sitting in the chair across from me.
“Hi Dad, how was work?”
He sits down next to me and tells us about his day.
He has always seemed to have been great at turning everything he says that in general, is boring, into something that is so funny, it’s hard to keep from crying. He has always been like that too. It was the worst when he was reprimanding us when we were young because we would try so hard not to laugh and my mom would get so frustrated watching my brother and me laughing at my father’s red, angered, face.
“So, where’s your mother?” My dad asks during a break in our conversation.
“Oh, she’s upstairs, helping Joel. I brought him some food, and he asked for Mom. She should be down soon.” At that moment we hear her stocking feet slide down the stairs, and when she comes in to view, I see that she has Joel in tow.
“He says he’s feeling good enough to come down and eat dinner with us, so I’ll guess we’ll see.” She says, while my dad pulls out a chair so my mom can put down my brother.
Going back over to the oven, she pulls the slices of warm turkey out and places them onto the table next to the mashed potatoes, and the assortment of steamed vegetables.
“Dig in everyone!” She chimes and we all begin to gorge.
The dinner, as a family, is short lived because soon after starting, Joel starts to cry and then is taken by the hand back up to his room.
“I think he’s just tired. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched his pillow. I think he will probably get better in the next few days.” My dad says, once he replaces the empty space that was previously occupying the chair.
“I’ll check on him after dinner.” My mom replies while fiddling with the mashed potato mound on her plate.
After dinner is finished, the family scatters throughout the house. My mom went to check on my brother, my dad returned to his worn, leather chain in the living room to support his favorite football team, I have no clue as to where Bryan went and I go to my room to begin my homework.
I work as quickly as possible and skip the questions I feel aren’t necessary. Every sound I hear in the hallway, I panic, hoping it not my mom telling me I should go to bed. Checking my phone, I try not to get distracted by the message on the front screen that reads 3 new messages. Tossing my phone onto my bed, I am compelled to opt out of my math homework, but I decide that’s probably not a good idea because I am so behind. Jotting down answers, I finish my work at ten thirty.
Before going to bed, I go downstairs and get a glass of water. My mom stares at me as I walk down the stairs.
“What are you doing still up? I thought you went to sleep hours ago!” She cries, angrily. “You are going to be exhausted tomorrow and you are not going in late because you slept in, you’ve missed to much already this year.”
“Mom, I not tired and I’ll be fine tomorrow. I’ve gone to bed later than this before on school nights and have been fine the next day.”
“Get your water and go to bed,” She says while watching me grab a glass and stick it under the spout on the fridge. “I’ll be up in a couple minutes to say goodnight.”
Sipping from the glass, I walk up the stairs and then go into my room to change. I grab the pajamas lying on my desk chair, and through them on. I hop into my bed and soon fall asleep.
I wake up and my eyelids are glowing orange then quickly switch to black. Opening them up, I see my mom standing in front of me with her hand on my wall. In my rush to fall asleep, I forgot to turn off the lights. She walks over, gently pushing back the small hairs that have fallen onto my face as she kisses my forehead and says goodnight.
Bleep, Bleep, Bleep, Bleep, my alarm clock hums as I smack it to stop the noise. The nights always seem to go by too quickly and the morning slips away too. School, unfortunately, doesn’t go by at the same speed.
I begrudgingly climb out of bed, getting the unpleasant rush of dizziness that comes every morning I sit up too swiftly. Seeing my sweatpants in a neatly folded pile next to my bed, I am inspired to have a lazy day, so I one foul swoop, I grasp the pants and an old tee shirt, lying next to it. Being surprised with how exhausted I actually am, I turn on some music to pump me up for the day. I find a little Beyoncé always does the trick. Jamming out to Single Ladies, I rub on my foundation, smear on some eyeliner, glide on some mascara and lip balm and I’m ready to go. Snatching a sweatshirt from my closet, I strut out of my room confident, and ready to go.
“So what exactly happened to you at the dance, I heard you were throwing up blood.” I am bombarded as soon as I enter the school.
Several people approach me, curious about what really went down Saturday night and whether or not I’m some kind of medical mystery.
“I just felt sick and started coughing, nothing huge.” I respond.
Obviously not satisfied with the answer, but knowing that I won’t divulge anything more, the group disperses and I am greeted by my cheerful group of friends. Practically being tackled by Gwen, the group surrounds me and begins pelting me with questions.
“What happen?!”
“Are you feeling better?”
“We really miss you and we all were super worried!” I hear from the overwhelming crowd.
“Hi guys! I’m so glad to see you all. Yes, I’m better now, no worries.” I exclaim, trying to make my way to my home class room. Pushing my way into the classroom, I quickly say bye to everyone and rush to my seat before the bell rings.
I’ve heard all of their questions before from relatives and other friends but the older I get; the harder it is to hear them. When you are young, you feel invincible. You know nothing bad will ever happen, until it does. I don’t think it’s scary to think that I will someday die from this disease, but the fact that I don’t know when scares me. Often times, I sit in my bed at night and pray that I have more years to live. So far, my life has been great but I’m not satisfied with the mediocrity I’m living. There are so many things I still want to do and the thought that in one day it could all be gone, terrifies me. I can easily hide my vulnerability, after all I have had years of practice, but I know someday soon I will crack and when I do, it will be harder than ever to explain. It seems that no one really knows what I am going through and no matter how well I explain it to them, they never will because they aren’t living it and they aren’t feeling the pain.
I’m trying to pay attention during science especially since I really need to raise my grade, but my peer’s questions are flooding my mind. Bouncing off the wall’s of my skull, I try to ignore the echoing of their words circulating through my head.
“So, do you have any ideas of why this water molecule is inorganic Ella?”
“Oh um no, sorry.” I say trying to act as if I knew what Mrs. Crosby was talking about.
“It’s fine. I’m sure you’re not the only one.” She says kindly , then turns back around to explain why.
After a twenty minute long explanation regarding this topic, I begin to pack up my bag and wait for the bell to ring for lunch. Once it does, the door way is packed with students and the hallway is flooded with hungry kids.
By the time I near the cafeteria with Evelyn and Ava the room is already full, except for the table next to the tray drop off where we regularly sit. We plop down in our seats and I am once again bombarded. Taking the next five minutes to explain what happened, my friends look at me with intense stares of concentration. After the story is recited, then come the questions. Most of them are common sense, but when Hannah asks if I will die from it, I have a meltdown. The tears are rolling down my face, and I see people from other tables starting to stare.
“Oh, I didn’t mean that! I… I was just, I didn’t think before I said it. I’m so sorry.”
“I know you didn’t mean it, it’s just, never mind.” I say, tears rolling down my face like rain down a pane of glass.
“I’m so sorry, so so sorry.”
Gwen grabs my arm and helps me stand. She walks me to the bathroom so I can wipe off my face. Sitting me down on the wide window ceil, she walks into the stall and gets the roll of toilet paper.
“Aw, Ella, you know she didn’t mean it. Anyways, chances are, in a couple years there will be a cure for this disease. Do you know how many geniuses they have working to find a cure? There’s no reason to cry. You’re living a good life. Your friends love you, and so does your family. Don’t worry honey, it’s gonna be fine!” She says, dragging the moist tissue over my face.
Nodding my head vigorously, I watch her toss the most recent tissue into the trash then grasp me in a hug.
“You know everything’s gonna be just fine, alright? So stop crying and give me a smile.” Tilting my chin up I realize how great it is to have a friend like Gwen. She’s my best friends, but also acts like my mother. She’s always there to slap me back into reality and show me how lucky I really am.
“Thanks.” I sputter
“No problem, what are friends for, after all?”
Chapter 4
When I was seven, I fell into a ditch. I was walking to Gwen’s house after school on a November day. Being that the sun set earlier than normal, I was rushing. My fear of the dark was overwhelming as a child and the concept of being lost outside in a black oblivion petrified me beyond belief. As I was rushing to her house at five o’clock, the street lights winding the cal de sac, began to flicker on. Near a sprint, I lost my balance and somehow hurt my foot, tumbling into a ditch two blocks from my house. I screamed for what seemed like hours, and my throat soon became too raw to try any longer. I attempted pulling myself out of the ditch several times, but that also became impossible to do with a swollen foot. Lying in the ditch, immersed in darkness, I sobbed, waiting for someone to rescue me, hoping my mom would come. People often walked this street, and it seemed just my luck that no one was currently striding down this stretch. Understanding that I wouldn’t be found any time soon, and deciding in my dramatic ways, that I was near my death, I closed my eyes, bracing myself for whatever else life might throw at me. Humming, I tried to distract myself from the fear I was holding, and when I heard friendly voices calling my name, I knew it was my time. It wasn’t until I got an uncomfortable beam of light shining on my eyelids, that I realized I wasn’t dead. Once the shaft of light was pulled away, and I was beginning to feel hands grip my arms, I started to panic and thrash. Shouts of question where thrown around my head as I tried to break free from my kidnapper. The group seemed to be growing as I heard more voices and it wasn’t until I heard the sweet chime of a dear friend that I recognize I am safe.
“Ella, calm down! It’s just us. We’ve got you now, everything will be fine.”
In those moments of terror that often fill my mind, I remember who saved me and pulled me out of that ditch, crying. She and her mom helped me to my house and informed my mother of what happened. Gwen was the first one I called when I found out I had a broken foot, and she was the first one to sign my cast.
Later, I found out that Gwen was the one who decided to go look for me. She knew there was something wrong. My absence from her house wasn’t often especially when a visit was scheduled. I think about that night daily and I thank the lord that I have a true friend like her. From that day on, I promised myself that I would be the best friend to her I could because she was for me.
After receiving a text from Gwen saying that she was on her way over to my house following her date with Gavin, I know she needs to talk. She is like my therapist when I get all emotional and I am hers whenever she becomes over dramatic.
“So how was it?!” I anxiously ask after Gwen’s return from her date with Gavin.
“It was… great.” She responds in a mellow tone, a tone she rarely uses.
“Are you sure? I seem more enthused than you do.”
“No, it was fun. I had a good time. It just wasn’t what I expected.”
“What’s not to expect? You went to a movie, probably talked for most of it, and ate popcorn. You, of all people, would expect that, right?” I ask, unsure of her response.
“Well, you got most of it right, but he didn’t really talk. I sat there and asked him tons of questions and all he did was look at me and nod or just smile or something. I don’t think I could even recognize his voice!” She exclaims, obviously trying to contain the concoction of anger and sadness brewing inside.
“He was probably just shy. I might have been his first date and he just didn’t know what to do. Anyways, not everyone is as capable at talking as you.”
She smiles quickly for me, then gives a disapproving look at her ticket stub and continues.
“He’s nice, and sweet, and seemed to talk at school, but I don’t know if I can have a relationship with someone who doesn’t talk to me. It just seems weird.”
“People change, give him a chance. I think you will be happy if you just wait him out.”
“You know I’m not patient!”
“Well your gonna have to be to make it in this world. Just deal with him for like a week. You can do it, it’s gonna be worth it.”
“Fine, but if it doesn’t work out in a week, then that’s it.”
“Okay, that’s fine. I just have a feeling if you end the relationship now, you’ll regret it the next day.”
Listening to my advice, she promises to deal with Gavin for a while, saying that she’ll break his shy shell in the process.
The next day at school, I am still upset about what Hannah said. Her feverish hast of apologies where nice, but they didn’t change how I felt. Not looking towards today, I through on some sweat pants and a fleece sweater, then rush out the door.
“Miss. Garten,” my English teacher Mr. Cole bellows as he sees my mouth moving at high speeds in Gwen’s direction. “do you always feel the need to talk as soon as I start my lectures? Or does it just happen to be a rare coincidence?”
“I don’t do it intentionally; I just remember all the things I need to tell people when class starts. Once I say them, I always stop talking.”
“You never do stop talking though, that’s the problem! Every day I give you a break, and let you talk hoping that once you finish, you’ll pay attention, but that doesn’t seem to happen does it?” He says, the anger growing in his voice.
“I’m sorry! I’ll try to stop.” My attitude and anger also growing.
Today isn’t really a good day to get on my bad side, I thought.
“See, that’s the problem! Whenever I ask you to do something it’s not, “I will stop” it’s “I’ll try to stop” that leaves the door open for failure. I’ve warned you many times and now it’s the third. You’ve earned yourself a detention.”
“What?!” I exclaim, about to shout more words of anger, but then refrain after thinking about what the new consequences could be.
“After school tomorrow, plan to see you there.”
I can feel my cheeks begin to flame with furry and the creases between my brows deepen. My first week back and a get a detention. Just the thought of my mom’s face when she gets the call from my school makes me want to storm out of the room. I can picture in my head, the disappointment on her face then the anger that will follow.
“I hope you will learn your lesson.” He blurts over his shoulder while continuing to finish the poem he was writing on the chalk board. “Don’t make this harder on yourself than it has to be.”
Trying to burn a hole in the back of his head with my angry stares, I scribble in my black and white mead journal. I don’t think there is a word to describe the immense hatred that is currently growing in my chest, but once it gets to the point when I feel like I am going to scream, I decide I need to take a break and go to the nurse.
Quickly plunging my hand into the air above my head, I wiggle my fingers to attract even more attention from Mr. Cole.
“What is it now Ella?” He moans while slouching.
“I need to go to the nurse, my head hurts.”
“What?! You haven’t been doing anything all class now you want to leave?”
“Yes.” I put it simply.
He sighs then quickly scribbles on a pass and holds out his hand, “Come on, take it.”
“Thank you.” I squeek while gathering my things and making my way up the thin isle to reach the pink square of paper.
Grasping the pass I thank him once again, then leave the room and enter the empty bliss of the hallway.
“Hi Mrs. Harrods. How are you?” I ask, while walking over to her desk to say hello.
“Hey there Ella! What can I help you with?”
“Oh, I don’t really know if you can do anything, but I have a horrible head ache.”
“Oh, well you can lie down, I doubt that will help but it’s currently the best I can do. Should I call you mom to see if you can take some Advil or something?” She says while I walk over to the low, white beds covered with starchy paper.
Mrs. Harrods has always been one of my favorite people. Her kindness and gentleness is so obvious but it’s not until you get to know her that you see her other side, the side that is hidden in most people. She is really crazy and pretty weird, but makes me laugh so hard that my eyes water.
“So what’s new with you? How’s your daughter doing? Isn’t she going to have that baby any day now?” I say once I get settled on the lumpy mattress.
“She’s doing well. The anticipation is killing us though; I don’t know how much longer I can wait. I’m so excited to have a grandchild.”
“It’s going to be a girl, right?” I ask
“We are pretty sure, but my sister’s granddaughter was supposed to be a boy, so we don’t know how reliable that system is.” Her smile seemed to be growing larger and larger with each word said about this soon to be child.
In mid sentence, the large beep from the school bell interrupts me, signifying the end of the period. Free to go to my next class, I politely excuse myself from the conversation then make my way down the hall, to the math wing.
The white tiled walls and floor are overwhelming when first walking down this wing and the always unpleasant feeling of my pupils contracting after being confronted with a new level of light makes a small pain grow behind my temples. My following class seems to amplify the minute pain too. Miss. Barlow was possibly the most obnoxious, and rude women I have ever met. Her class never seems to go by fast enough. She tends to slink into a constant drone about math equations that don’t make any sense. So far this year, she has sent seven people to detention because of their lack of courtesy which consisted of speaking without a raised hand, and forgetting to properly address her.
My conversation with Mrs. Harrods had put me in a better mood but when I first enter Mrs. Barlow’s room, and she shoots a glance at me as if I have already done something wrong, I once again start to feel my blood pressure rise and attitude begin to boil in my chest.
“Good morning Miss. Barlow.” I proclaim, trying to get onto her good side. “How are ya!”
Ignoring my question, she proceeds to pass out the papers previously lying on a student’s desk. Turning around and glancing at Gavin, sitting nearby I raise my eyebrows, as if a warning to him of what’s to come.
“We are starting class now, come on, sit down!” She angrily states looking at a few girls talking in the back of the room. “Take out your homework from last night, and pass it up. They will be graded as if they were tests. You will also find that there is your homework assignment from yesterday sitting on your desk; I will be answering any questions regarding that today too.”
Looking at the snail’s pace everyone was moving at she once again exclaims “Sit down!”
No one is scared of her or her power and maybe that’s why her commands never work, everyone stopped caring. Mrs. Harrods and I often get onto the topic of Miss. Barlow and her constant nastiness towards students and co workers. She said that the first few years that Miss. Barlow taught at our school, she was the trail blazer for power abuse. She acted as if she was the principal and has always been power hungry. After applying several times for jobs as principal and other head positions at other districts with no luck she just continued to rule her classroom as if she was in control of everything. Back when I had only heard stories about her through Bryan, I felt badly for her and I knew I would break through her hard shell to exposes a kind, loving women, but after a year of trying to make her crack, I realized that she just has a black heart with no other strings attached.
“ Last night, when I was grading your papers, I saw that most people missed questions six, eight, nine, eleven, seventeen, and twenty. I just go over those.”
“Miss. Barlow, I think you deducted an extra point on this. Can you look at it?” Asks a shy girl named Charlotte asked from the back.
Marching to the back of the room with a deep v in between her brows, she snatches the paper from Charlotte’s grasp and looks over each question. Sighing deeply, she smacks the paper back down then heads back to the front of the class.
Raising her hand once again, Charlotte shakily lifts her paper, looking at it puzzled.
“What is it now Charlotte?!” Miss. Barlow exclaims.
“Well, not to be rude or anything, but why is my grade the same? I thought I got the question right?” she manages to spit out; obviously very nervous about the response she is soon to receive.
“You got the question right but I marked it wrong, so it stays wrong.”
Nodding slowly, Charlotte looks like she will shortly cry.
“Don’t most teachers give you the point if they made a mistake? Ya know, it’s kinda a common courtesy thing.” I say, unable to conceal my frustration any longer and ready to take the blow of any punishment coming my way.
With a shocked look on her face, she responds.
“What do you know about common courtesy?! Every day you come into my classroom and disrespect me and my belongings! You obviously are too dense to grasp that concept though, but I bet you’ll understand this. You have detentions for the remainder of the week.”
Walking over to her desk, she advances on filling out the blue form.
“Excuse me?!” I exclaim “I know enough about common courtesy not to talk to people in that way! No one, especially a teacher, should call a kid dense! You can give me detention and call my mom, I don’t care, but I just want you to know that the principal will be hearing all about our little talk too.”
Holding the pass out for me to grab, I take it from her hand and strut back to my seat.
I suffer through the following half an hour, then make my way to the office once the period is done, confident in my side of the story with hopes that it will get her fired.
“Can I talk to Mr. Newman? It’s regarding a problem with a teacher.” I say to the secretary sitting behind a gray desk looking at me over her half moon glasses.
Rolling her eyes, she grabs the phone from its receiver and begins dialing.
“I have a student here that say’s she need to talk to you. Yeah, I think so. Okay thanks. Yep bye.”
Hanging up the phone, she tells me he can see me now, the points toward his office door and wishes me luck.
“So Miss. Garten, I heard there was a problem.” He says, clearly searching for my view on the situation.
“I would say so! Not to sound like a snitch or anything but I was just given detentions for the rest of the week because I was standing up for a fellow classmate that was too scared to talk for herself. In addition she called me dense.”
“Who was it? I’ll call and talk to them.” He says, sighing deeply. He leans forward, placing his elbows on the large, worn desk in front of him and begins rubbing his temples. It is obvious that he already has an idea of who the perpetrator could be.
“Miss. Jeannine Barlow. I think she might be at a study hall now but I would still try her classroom phone first.” I say, sitting a little taller in my chair, knowing that what I said about her might cause our school to take more action regarding her previous offenses.
“Ya, I’ll call her. Thanks for reporting it, do you need a pass to your next class?” He says while trying to open a sticky desk draw that won’t budge, the frustration growing on his face as he presses his two red lips together. After an attempt and a failure, he nonchalantly says, “How about I just make a pass out of some paper, do you have any I could use?”
Gently smiling, I slide a slip of loose leaf paper out of my bag and place it in front of him.
“Thanks.” He remarks shyly
Nodding, I take the paper from his slacked hand and thank him for speaking with me. I don’t think he realized how much better he made me feel.
Chapter 5
“Hey, you’re going to the party, right?!” Gwen anxiously asked through stall door in the girl’s bathroom.
“Um, can we talk about this when you get out?” I ask feeling kind of uncomfortable talking about a party in front of three other girls.
“Oh, yeah,” she giggles, “sorry!”
I hear the tumbling noise of water going down a toilet, then the stall door clicks open as Gwen walks out, still giggling.
“So, what were you gonna say?” I ask now that the onlookers have left.
“Oh! Right, the party! Gavin’s like best friend, Tommy Bourke, is having a costume party on Halloween. Do you wanna go?! They said it wasn’t gonna be really big so I should keep it quiet, but I can invite anyone I want!”
“Sure! Wait, is it on Halloween? I might have to go trick or treating with Joel, but I’m sure I can figure something out. What are we gonna be though?”
“I was thinking either thing one and thing two from The Cat in the Hat, or like s’mores. I saw an easy way to make them on some news website so I figure if we can’t find anything else then we can make them last minute. Feel free to come up with something too.”
“I’m pretty much clueless when it comes to costume ideas. You know me, for most of my childhood, I was either a Disney princess or a vampire. I’m not really one for originality.” Laughing, Gwen dries off her hands, then we stomp into the hall together, on the way to study hall.
“How bout I text you when I get home, cuz I need to know for a fact if you can come. The R.S.V.P. date is this Sunday, and Tommy needs to know the number of people coming.”
“I’ll talk to my parents bout it tonight, but I’m almost positive they will say yes.”
Sliding onto a crumb covered cafeteria bench, we dump our stuff on the table and get settled in. Even though Gwen and I can talk for ages, this period always seems to stretch on forever. Lugging her iPod out of a pocket in her book bag, Gwen unwinds the tangled strand of plastic then holds out an ear bud for me to take. We listen to music for the remainder of the period, occasionally pulling an earphone out of our tuned in heads to mention something that just came to mind and we are sporadically lectured by our study hall monitor for speaking to loudly. We obviously forgot about the level of the music and compensate by increasing our own volume. Seeing crowds of people at neighboring tables stand up and leave the room, I glance at the clock and realize that the bell to leave has rung.
“Hey Ella!” My bus buddy, Stella, chirps from the back of the disheveled vehicle.
“Hi there!” I respond, remembering I haven’t seen her in at least a week.

“So, are you pumped for Halloween, or what?!” She says, while jumping up from her seat to let me in. Her stop is before mine so it makes the most sense for me to sit next to the window.
“Yeah, but I have no clue what I’m gonna be, how bout you?”
“Well, I think I’m gonna be a cave girl cuz my mom was gonna make my costume and she said that would be easy. I’m not sure if I wanna be that, though, so we are going to the fabric store just down the street to see if we can find another pattern.”
“Hey Ella!” My bus driver Iren yells, “Are you going to your house today?”
“Yeah,” I respond. “My mom wants to get some stuff done, so I’m not going to Gwen’s today.
“Oh ok, sounds good.” She says, then smiles sincerely.
“Well this is my stop, see ya tomorrow.” Stella says in her airy, sing song voice.
“See ya!” I respond cheerfully.
When the bus rolls up to my stop, I can see my festive house surrounded by fake spider webs and carved pumpkins. Staggering down the steps onto the road, I say thank you to Iren, then begin walking toward my humble abode.
Walking up the driveway, I see my brother’s face pop up in the window followed by my mother’s.
“Welcome home sweetie!” She exclaims as the opens the door and holds out her arms for a hug. “How was your day?”
“Fine, actually I have some stuff I need to talk to you about.” Seeing the concerned look on her face, I reassure her. “Don’t worry, no detentions today. I have recovered and learned from my little bout of attitude.” Her face calmed with this comment.
“So how was your day?” I ask politely, trying to get on her good side before approaching the every tender topic of a party.
“My day was great! I cleaned up the house, and met for lunch with Tessa, um, what else did I do?” she asks to herself. “Oh, yes, I decorated the house for the season!” Striking a pose, she extends her arms as if modeling the work she has done.
“Looks good!” I exclaim.
Satisfied with my respond, she proceeds in asking me about what I wanted to discuss, referring to what I had said a few minutes before.
“Well, today at school Gwen asked if I wanted to go to a Halloween party with her. It sounds really fun and it won’t go very late. I was going to go trick or treating with Joel, but I figure I can twist Bryan’s arm into doing that and I would just owe him a favor. What do ya think?” I ask nervously.
“Well, I think it sounds fine. I’ll have to find out a few more details, but once I have those, then you have my approval. The only thing is convincing your dad.”
With a pained look on her face, she warns me about how he is less likely to let me go out, me being dad’s little girl, he is constantly protective.
“He’ll be home in about an hour, so you can ask him then. I would make sure he was in a good mood though, catch him in a bad one and you definitely won’t be able to go.”
“Okay, thanks Mom. I’m gonna go and call Gwen, she’ll want to know.” Grabbing my phone from my school bag, I go up to my room and poke at the key board, dialing her cell number.
“So what did they say?!” Gwen curiously asked.
“My mom said yes, and my dad isn’t home yet but I don’t know what he will say.”
“Well keep me posted! I really want ya to go!”
“Yeah, it sounds fun. If I promise I’ll be good then I think he’ll let me go but I’m still not sure, he’s been really protective lately.”
“Ella, he’s home!” I hear my mom bellow from downstairs.
“Okay, thanks. I’ll be down soon!” I respond, while covering up the mic in my phone so that I don’t deafen Gwen.
“Sorry I have to go, he’s home. Talk to ya tomorrow. Bye”
“Bye!” She says quickly, and then hangs up.
Walking down the staircase, into the kitchen, my dad is sitting at the table, talking to my mom and rubbing his forehead. He seems really stressed.

Brigetta 25-47

2009-12-16T07:25:00.000-08:00

Don’t you forget about me

LAKE MICHIGAN

IV

The breezes of late summer air hummed lightly through the open crack of a window in the black classic looking Lincoln that accelerated along I-32. The road it sped along wound through beautiful country-sides and a glimpse of Lake Michigan glittered in the distance. The rural surroundings were beautiful, the vehicle was a classic, but it was the cargo inside of it, which was the most precious.

“About twenty minutes left, Miss Christopoulos.” The driver said over his shoulder.

He was cute, 50-something and looked a little like Skye’s grandfather. “Alright, thank you.” Skye smiled at him graciously.

She then turned to her sister sitting next to her, “Serena?” She paused and tucked a long dark lock behind her ear. “Do you mind if we… make a little pit-stop?”

Serena looked up from French Vogues fall edition. “What might that be?” She asked and cocked her head knowingly.

“Well,” Skye swallowed, “I was thinking, maybe, before we have to deal with all the hassles of moving… would you mind if I stopped to see Asher?”

Asher McCullen was Skye’s on again, off again, boyfriend. Tall, dark, and handsome, Asher was always mysterious from his sexy artist looks to his bad boy acts. You never knew what to expect with the two of them, Skye always found she was either heartbroken, or head over heels, swept off her feet. He was from the city as well, and had quite a rebellious rep. But Skye found something sweet and endearing in him, and never let go hope, no matter how bad it might’ve been.

Serena chuckled at her sister’s eager plea, “Whatever floats your boat, sis.” She shook her head and returned to her magazine.

Serena and their brother Phoenix had tried to convince Skye to let him go countless times, but all their tries went by unsuccessfully. Skye could never quite see the bad in people, no matter how much it was hurting her. She found a way to still find some light, something good within them that made it worth it. Asher could walk all over her, betray her, and lie, but no matter how much her siblings tried to help her, Skye would still love him at the end of the day. So at that point, Serena chose to not share her views, and just stay out of it. Her efforts always proved to be useless. And it was her sister’s life, not hers, after all. But no matter how indifferent Serena acted, she had an obvious distain for him or anything Skye had to do with him. This bothered Skye, for she wanted nothing more than for Asher to prove his love to her, and prove the doubts of her family wrong. “You will like him in time, once you get to know him better. Trust me.” She told her Serena in a confident tone, then looked away.

Skye twiddled her freshly manicured fingers, then laced them together. She held her hands as a reaction to aggravation, so she simply placed them upon the soft true religion denim over her knees, and sighed. “I mean it, Serena. I love him, so much.”

Skye gazed her brilliant blue eyes out the window at the passing fields, and the love was obvious in her expression. Silence dwelled between them in the small confines of the luxury town car, the tension and conflicting views creating a wall between them. Skye simply turned her head out the window, searching for some clue of what to say. Serena sat in front of her, silently rocking her crossed legs and flipping the pages of the magazine.

“I know what you mean, Skye. If you want to talk about it though, you should try talking to Phoenix. He knows him better than I do,” She tried. “I’m sorry I can’t be much of a help; but you know it'll be better once you see each other.” Serena told her, still with no response. She shrugged, and gave up. “Skye, really. You know it’ll be fine once you talk to him.”

A light went off in Skye’s mind. “You know what?” she sat upright in her seat, and faced her sister. “I’m going to call him too, right now!” She proclaimed.

“Do whatever you please; I’m just here to enjoy the ride. But don’t take too long, Hannah’s waiting too you know.”

Skye nodded as she retrieved her blackberry from her new Balenciaga bag, and pressed one, Asher’s speed dial. “Thank you for… not making this difficult.” She stuttered. “I do know how you feel about him…” Skye searched for the right words, and then stopped, as she obviously heard his voice. Little did she know, he would quickly hang up.

“Hello? Asher? Hello?!” Skye put her phone out in front of her checking to make sure the phone was connected. “Helloooo?!”

No answer. Hoping he had a bad connection, or that the call was simply lost, Skye quickly pressed redial. It rang three more times, then the dial tone cut off.

“Hm.” Skye huffed, a frown and disappointment on her pretty face. “I’ll try again later” She nodded, trying to seem sure of herself.

Skye instantly became worried, but tried to not get so easily discouraged. He could be busy moving in himself, or just landing. Who knows what he could’ve been doing. But Skye couldn’t help but wonder, what was the voice inside of her that instantly led her to assume the worst? She didn’t know, but that feeling wasn’t very comfortable. Sometimes following your intuition was a little too unpleasant for her taste. Skye always chose to remain positive and happy, and that was just what she was going to do.

“Rather I see Ash before I get there or not, I know I will, very soon.” She assured herself.

Serena agreed as she set the magazine down beside her. “Exactly. So why worry?”

Skye didn’t respond. Her full pink lips were pursed, her eyebrows knitted. She loosely twirled one of her jet black strands of hair with her finger, and then raised her eyebrows. “It’s been since July, you know. Since I’ve seen him.”

“Wow!” Serena quickly said aloud. “I can’t believe it’s been that long.” She more calmly added, as she shook her head. “But I agree, once you get settled, the two of you can then meet up. Maybe he’ll be waiting for you when we get there! You never know.” she positively added, and gave her a trying smile. Serena never liked to see her sister worried like this. She could sense the tension Skye held inside, and she looked lost in thought.

Skye sat back in the smooth leather seat, and was trying to not feel so defeated. Serena, who was usually the negative one, was even being optimistic. So, Skye thought, maybe I should try a little harder to not be so… dramatic… It is day one back after all, and we have a whole year to be together.

“You’re right; everything is fine.” Skye concluded. “In fact, I really am excited right now. I wish words could describe it.”

“I do go to college too, you know. Just because it’s near home, I still know the feeling. You’re going through a big transition, dealing with a lot of emotions. It’s only natural to have some worries.”

But… just how big should my worries really be? Skye asked herself. For everything else in her life was in sync, from school, to family and friends. She knew it would all fall into place, like it always had. But with Asher, no matter how positive she acted, Skye herself never knew. What had he done that summer? Why was he avoiding her? When would she get to talk to him? The list of questions Skye handled was endless.

However, all of these worries and thoughts were washed away with one simple ring. She reached for her blackberry that she had just spoke to her best friend Hannah with shortly before. Soon after that call she placed, she called her boyfriend, Asher. And that’s who the new text message in Skye’s inbox was from, Asher himself. Her heart skipped a beat as she clicked “open”. Bracing herself, Skye opened her eyes, and then read the screen:

- From: Asher
- To: Skye

Sorry babe, just getting to school…I’ll call ya when I can.

“Asher?” Serena asked.

“Uh huh.” Skye mumbled, not taking her eyes off the short few words he sent. She re-read them a few times, and then dropped the phone in her purse. She squinted her large eyes as she scanned her thoughts for how she felt about it. The message was simple, only twelve words. Though in essence, the words were meaningless to her. For no amount of words, no paragraph he could’ve typed could give her what she wanted, the feeling, the relief she wished to have. Nothing he could say could give her the warmth, the belief, the assurance, of three simple words: I. love. You. Skye had scanned the message back and forth, and sure enough, no sign of what she hoped for. She didn’t know how to explain this to her sister because it seemed a little silly after two years of being together, that she needed to hear them. But she did, she desperately wished to have seen them, for they would’ve meant more than any explanation he could’ve gave. This was difficult for Skye to express, but Serena needed an answer. Skye didn’t know what to say; so she finally looked away...

All I want is everything

Northwestern university

V

Eight letters, three words. I l-o-v-e y-o-u. Seemingly simple. When written, no different then: A c-o-o-l c-a-t. Same, eight letters, three words. But the meaning of those particular three words, “I love you”, is different to each person. It’s amazing how humans can have the ability to throw around the words, I hate you, so easily, yet the words I love you, are rare. They can be powerful, strong, and life changing.

As Skye contemplated the meaning of “I love you” to her, only a dozen miles away, her dearest roommate was as well. Skye was shook by a text from a lover, the lack of “I love you.” But it was the call that Skye made previously to that, when she herself spoke those words that affected her best friend and roommate Hannah. Skye didn’t think twice about it, it was common, short and sweet. She had moved on from their call instantly, and focused only on the situation with Asher. Whereas Hannah, who was only a short distance away, was still fixated upon it. They had similar concerns however with the thoughts that plagued them, they were over the issue of love. Love is a funny thing, it can be felt so easily, yet when spoken, it is a little more difficult. Skye was grasping the lack of love, when Hannah was meanwhile just trying to grasp the presence of the love. The love she felt from Skye was irreplaceable, and in actuality, was the only love in her life she felt. Skye had spoken the three words, “Love you, Han.” And Hannah had responded, “I love you too, Skye.”

After hanging up on Skye and ending that call, Hannah paused, and began to think. She processed what just happened, and the last three fateful words hanging in her mind. Staring at all her things strewn on the ground, for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to pick them up. She was frozen, those three small words sinking in to her core. Oh, how she missed her beautiful roommate. “I love you too, Skye,” Hannah repeated to herself in a whisper.

Aside from her ivory locks blowing gently in the wind, Hannah was motionless. With her perfectly still posture, she looked almost like a statue. The complex young woman stood beautifully, angelic even, as blonde waves blew around her face like a halo. Staring blankly, her expression soon changed from confusion, to sadness. The word’s meaning and strength hit her like a semi truck when they dawned upon her. She felt her stomach drop, and her golden eyes were suddenly wet with tears. Contemplating no more, Hannah quickly caught a hold of herself and kneeled to the ground. “Stop being silly,” she said under her breath, and patted her eyes dry. She shook her head and gathered her bags, and emotions, back together again.

As she returned binders and books to her bag, something in the distance caught Hannah’s ear. She thought she heard someone say her name. She stopped, flipped her hair out of her face, and looked up. Her confusion would soon be answered.

“HANNAH!” a voice clearly called ahead of her. Scanning the quad, Hannah then found in the front of the parking lot, two of her closest friends running towards her.

“Rachelle, Claire!” Hannah stood to her feet, bags in hand, beaming as they came closer. Rachelle Sinclair, and Claire Piermont stood before her beautiful as ever, and they reached out to embrace their good friend. Rachelle and Claire were both from New York City like Skye, and had been friends for years. Rachelle was tall with a short blonde bob and soft features. She had a brilliant smile, and loved to have fun. Particularly with men in her case, Rachelle often had a little too much fun, and a reputation to go with it. Claire was a short brunette, just as pretty, and had style that rivaled Victoria Beckham. She was dark and Italian, and had a sultry look about her. Although not as outrageous or infamous as Rachelle, Claire was no Georgia peach either. Their group of friends was all similar in that; they each had their own scandalous way. Birds of a feather flock together, Hannah would always say; but these were birds two she was surely pleased to see.

“How was Cape Town and the rest of your trip to Africa?” Rachelle asked, helping her with some of her bags. “I’m so bummed we only got to see you one night out of all the time we had off!”

“I know!” Hannah frowned, then smiled once again, “But I had so much fun with you two when I did make it out there. You know I love New York. But, Africa! It was wonderful. We stayed for 3 weeks, then went inland to Kenya and did a Safari. Crazy, I know! I was scared to death.”

Claire’s jaw dropped, “Wow! No wonder we only saw you out in the Hamptons once.”

Hannah shrugged sheepishly. “It was exciting, but I CANNOT wait to hear about all that went down on the shore!” she shifted her weight in her heels, secretly anxious to take the topic off of her summer, which in reality was spent in an office or her three bedroom PA home. She intentionally put emphasis on all the fun they had, knowing they’d be quick to share.

“Oh my god, it was so fun! Just wait ‘til you we tell you all that went down.” Rachelle spoke with her hands, and was obviously anxious to tell. “Oh,” she paused and looked around, then leaned in closer. Raising her perfectly arched brows, she more quietly said, “and you’ll DIE when you hear ‘bout all the fun Asher had.” She put an emphasis on “fun”, her tone’s inflection lower.

Rachelle and Claire both stood with their hands on their hips and smirks on their pretty faces as they waited for her reaction.

Hannah’s stomach dropped. “Oh, I’m sure there’s plenty of good gossip.” She too quickly responded. Hannah tried awkwardly nodding her in agreement, and tried to seem curious and not so demure. “You know I love to hear a good scandal!” she added for effect. While attempting to match their interest, Hannah had somehow managed to avoid the topic of Asher, at least for the time being.

Claire however, had no reason to be timid. “You got that right,” she scoffed. “He is complete trash. Poor Skye, honestly.” Claire shook her brown haired head.

Rachelle nodded, and put in her own two cents. “For real, it was downright ridiculous. He smoked like a fiend and drank like a fish, every night of summer. Each night out would end with him luring in a different dumb skank or drunk model, to the love fortress of his Ocean Drive estate.” Claire laughed, as Rachelle rolled her eyes concluding, “New York’s own Casanova, Mr. Asher McCullen.”

Hannah jumped at his name. “Why don’t we head inside?” She suggested, desperate to avoid the discomfort of that subject.

“Yes, my loves, why don’t we catch up once were all set, instead of standing here in the middle of the parking lot!” Claire giggled and slung a bag over her shoulder.

“Yeah, let’s get a move on” smiling in agreement, Hannah was really just thankful to have avoided the topic. She pushed it out of her mind, quickly striding away from the parking lot, and she disregarded it completely.

As the three trekked along the pathway towards the large Evanston doors, Hannah tuned her friends out. As Rachelle and Claire buzzed with exciting gossip and giddy chatter, Hannah simply gave an occasional nod or “yeah” when they’d plead for her opinion on a probably meaningless issue. The two overflowed with stories and tales of their glam summer holidays, none of which Hannah paid any attention as they walked. She was usually the quiet one, so her reserved demeanor wasn’t anything suspicious. In fact, the girls almost loved to hear themselves talk so much, they probably didn’t even notice Hannah couldn’t get a word in. But in fact, Hannah felt no need to stop them. For in reality, if Hannah were to ask herself, what tales such as theirs did she really have to tell? The answer to that was simple; she had none.

The conversation and gossip quickly halted as they entered the beautiful Lindgren Hall of the Evanston campus. Ivy twisted along the stone exterior, and it had an old, aged, English feel to it. Inside the building, Professors briskly passed by, tour guides waved over their groups, parents hugged and kissed their children goodbye. Move-in day was always miserable, but this year as juniors, it was especially hectic. For they were now living in Upperclassman housing, a rite of passage among students who couldn’t wait to no longer be in the notoriously stingy Allison Hall freshman dorms. No more ambulances for the too drunk freshman, no crowded bathrooms shared with 30 others. No more annoying R.A.’s, no more wondering where their next class was. They had already been through all of that, the girls were now knowledgeable and knew the ins and outs of the university as they began their junior year. The three quickly made their way through housing, and were so excited to discover their new and improved rooms. They each got their own key, and located where their new dorms were. Hannah and Skye had already requested the previous year to be roomies once again, and she felt lucky to not have the surprise of just meeting who she’d be living with for the next year. Rachelle and Claire weren’t lucky enough to room together again, so the three of them said their goodbyes, and each went their separate way to meet their new roommates. Hannah was solo once again, and felt a little relieved. She’d had a lot to deal with in one day. She smiled at familiar friends and new faces as she walked the halls of Lindgren Hall, and eventually made it to her and Skye’s room, and turned the key in room 1262 for the first time.

Once she had finished moving in all her things, Hannah felt a weight fall off her shoulders as she looked at her new room. Yes, it was small, but it seemed just perfect to her. She smoothed out the new pink comforter and sat down, not minding the changes. Although relationships, times, and rooms may have changed, one thing remained the same; Skye. Hannah loved her, she was all she had. Skye was her saving grace; she was there through it all. Even with the guilt always lingering in her mind, Hannah had come to accept there was nothing she could do, what was done was done. She still felt stressed, and after moving in, and driving all those hours, Hannah felt truly exhausted. All she could do then was lie down, relax, forget those lingering thoughts, and await the arrival of her beloved friend, Skye.

To live is to be loved

dolce restaurant- Chicago- august 28

V

“Have you made it to Chicago yet?” Skye irritatedly asked as she briskly walked towards the restaurant. She had just finished hanging out with Hannah, and wasn’t early like she planned on being.
“Skye, I’m already there. I have been for almost twenty minutes.” Yes, Asher McCullen had arrived at downtown Chicago’s Dolce Restaurant before his girlfriend Skye had, but he was nowhere near twenty minutes early. Try five, maybe. The guilt card was clever, but could cleverness be enough?
Asher was attractive, about 6’2 with shaggy brown waves, tanned skin, and emerald green eyes. His long dark locks resembled those of Edward in Twilight, and Asher had a way about him that would make any girl swoon. He was a bad boy from New York, kicked out of prep school numerous times, and with 3 older brothers even worse than him. In and out of rehab, dating top models, and one even in a famous rock band, the McCullen boys were the epitome of rebellious. From a blue blood NY family they never failed to shock and disappoint, Asher and his brothers loved to stir up trouble and push the envelope. In middle school, they’d steal grandpa’s cigars from his New York penthouse, find dad’s Playboy magazine in elementary, and went on to use daddy’s bank account for sex and drugs in high school. Among NY’s high society families, the McCullen’s were always looked down upon for the beautiful yet devilish boys they raised. Some felt sympathy for them, most rolled their eyes and sneered at the disgrace.
Asher was different from his older brothers though, he was much gentler. A wonderful musician and a naturally talented artist, he had a mysterious air about him that was incredibly intriguing. Known for his wild ways, Asher could still sweep one with his looks, his gentle demeanor, the mystery that surrounded him, for you never knew what to expect. One moment you could be enthralled by his unique beauty, his artistic ways, then soon feel heartbroken with disappointment at his often outrageous and dark ways. Skye constantly felt this battle. She fell in love with the guy who she believed to be different, and yet she found herself among the others left wondering, who is the real Asher McCullen?
Skye didn’t know. But she knew she loved him, she thought he loved her, and she knew that the distance and separation between them wasn’t normal. Something was up, and she would figure out what it was. No one had ever ignored Skye Christopoulos. Asher had never in the time she’d known him, just not talked to her. Skye had been in Illinois for two days already on the warm night of August 27th, and was pleased with many things so far. She had moved in with the help of her sister Serena, caught up with old friends, and reunited with her best friend, Hannah. Yes, Skye’s first days back at school had been wonderful, especially with her sister there. She was lucky to have had her help, and the girls had spent their time together with Hannah shopping, going out to eat, and over drinks with Skye’s other girlfriends. Skye’s arrival at school had been such a joy by that point, most would wonder what else could she possibly be missing? Skye could answer that question easily, she was missing Asher.
Skye left him a message the night before, asking to meet her at Dolce around 7. She called him around 6:45, and was taken aback by the fact the he not only was there, but for once Asher had showed up early. As she rushed towards Dolce and the fate awaiting her, she was extremely excited, yet was jaded with a dark bitterness.
That date could determine a lot in their relationship. Asher knew that it was important to her, and he figured he should try and show that the meeting meant something to him too. In reality, it was almost like a chore. Something he knew he had to do, but he’d feel better once it was over with. This had nothing to do with Skye, she was an angel to him. It more so was the fact that for 2 hours Asher would be forced to sit eye to eye with her beautiful face, and grip the guilt. It wasn’t an easy task, and he didn’t look forward to it. He didn’t mind going out to dinner, but he didn’t care for it either. Personally, Asher would probably prefer wearing jeans a t-shirt instead of slacks and a button up, and would rather pizza and beer than the $500 dinner they would be having. But he knew he was in the wrong, more so then she even knew. Asher also knew Skye was never one to stay angry or hold grudges for long, which was one of the great things he loved about her. She was so caring, always worrying about everyone else. He knew that with a few sweet words with his low husky voice, he would assure her of his love, and soothe all her worries. Yes, instead of confessing and apologizing like he knew he should, Asher would probably simply charm her with his intrigue, and convince her all was well with a gentle kiss on the lips. But even he didn’t know how this meeting would turn out. It'd been so long since the two had last seen one another. Asher twiddled his fingers anxiously in the secluded VIP booth, nervously awaiting Skye’s arrival.
It would occur a little later than he anticipated, but all good things are worth the wait. After she returned from weeks away overseas, he was the one who hadn’t spoke to her in days. Waiting a few extra minutes wouldn’t kill him, and Skye thought at a place as nice as dolce, it wasn’t much of a punishment, more a privilege.
Dolce was more than just an establishment of fine dining, it was the newest hotspot among Chicago’s elite. Only a 25 minute drive from Northwestern University, students pined to get on the entrance list, but those who actually made it within its stainless steel doors were far and few. Not just anyone could dine among the powerful politicians, athletes, and celebrities that frequented the ritzy restaurant. Skye Christopoulos however, was not just anyone.
As she gracefully sashayed through the large doors held for her, even Skye was breath taken. She had traveled all around the world, and seen numerous beautiful places within it, but the establishment of Dolce right in the heart of Chicago, was a sight to behold. Massive red Chandeliers lined the entrance, and were made with Egypt’s most unique and expensive glass. The light from the crystal’s reflected down onto the black marble below them, and cast a seductive shade of scarlet upon the room. Bright and warm shades of red, purple, and royal blue were found throughout the restaurant, and aromas of the delicious Italian cuisine and wine filled the air. Skye looked to her feet and saw that the rays of light glittered in the reflection of her patent leather Louis Vuitton heels. She admired their shine as she clicked her way to the bouncer, a warm smile on her face.
“Skye Christopoulos” She stated as she handed a hostess her white cashmere Fendi trench coat, and had to try not to laugh as the hostess searched for her name. Please, do you think Skye ever would call ahead for reservations, or to put her name on the list? Some things in life just work a certain way, and Skye did not work that way.
In a restaurant as exclusive as Dolce however, it was unheard of to pass by the waitlist, skip over the reservations, and be granted a table, let alone a VIP booth, simply by stating your name. And on a busy Saturday night in Chicago too! It simply didn’t happen, ever. But like most things in her life, it did, and with a drink and VIP pass offered to her at that. “Thank you.” She graciously nodded towards the miserable looking hostesses dressed in a black from head to toe.
Skye was directed towards a secluded booth, and soon saw the one and only Asher’s smiling face, looking handsome as ever. She sat down into the low booth slowly, careful to leave some to the imagination from her short Versace sequined dress to the wealthy a-lister’s around her. She crossed her golden legs, set her purse down, and finally looked up at her boyfriend sitting before her.
“Hey you,” he said in his usual enticing tone, with a beaming smile, and an adorable wink.
“Long time no see, love.” Skye breathed a sigh of relief, and reluctantly let him hold her hand.
Asher tightly grasped her small hands in his, and he couldn’t stop smiling. The dim candle light highlighted the contours of her face so beautifully, it reminded him of a painting he once saw in Rome. He etched the memory of her mesmerizing beauty in his mind. Her olive skin was flushed with a warm red glow, her beauty fully displayed with her black hair pulled back in an up do. The two sat in silence, Skye searching him for some emotion, while Asher just admired her. He wished he could be painting right then, Skye was often the muse of his works. He admired the gleam of her glossy lips, her thick dark lashes, how they were so lavish and long naturally, not plastered and gunked with makeup. They perfectly framed her blue opalescent eyes that were so hypnotizing. The flame of the candle’s danced within their sapphire depths, and they desperately scanned his own eyes for the emotions he was hiding.
“Hello and welcome to Dolce. My name is Svetlana and I will be serving you tonight.” The tense silence was ended abruptly, as their red headed waitress introduced herself cheerfully, with what sounded like a fake Spanish accent.

“Svetlana” as she called herself, stood awkwardly, waiting for some greeting in return. At the candlelit booth however, it was obvious the two were not in any mood to chat.

“Hi.” Skye offered with a smile that was about as believable as “Svetlana’s” accent. Asher sat fixated on her still, rudely ignoring the waitress. Has he no social graces?! Skye nudged his foot under the table. “Hello,” He abruptly sat up and nodded at her.

The waitress set two glasses on the table and filled them with wine. “Our drink special tonight is Chteau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac, as you can see it is a remarkably dark wine. It sports mineral aromas of mint and black currant, and is flavorful with its silky texture.” Svetlana as she called herself, set the bottle in between the two. “This wine originates from the French 18th century by King Louis XV. Dubbed the “King’s Wine”, it totals over $300 a bottle today. It is brought to you as VIP guests tonight, our courtesy and gift to you from us at Dolce.”

“Uh, could I actually just have a crown and coke on the rocks?” Asher quickly asked, with a smug expression on his face.

“Oh, Asher.” Skye glared at him then looked up at the waitress, “That won’t be needed.” She laughed and shook his hand off of hers. “That will be all! Thank you very much Svetlana.”

The phony Spanish red head took the hint. Chat time was over. She quickly nodded and walked away towards the kitchen once again. Skye looked over her shoulder to make sure she was not within hearing distance, then turned to her cocky boyfriend.

“Why are you so rude Asher?” she hissed.

“Um, it was nice to give us their wine, yes. But you act as if I’ve never been to a nice restaurant Skye. I can order a separate drink if I like.” He shrugged.

“You just don’t get it do you? It’s not even about the wine. What is your problem? You obviously have been avoiding conversation.” Skye squinted her gaze at him, pleasantly surprised at her lack of sadness, and sudden rush of anger. It would help her remain strong, and not be swayed by his kindness.

“I don’t know what you want me to say.” He sighed. “There is no reason why I would ever not want to be with you…but there’s plenty why I wouldn’t want you to be with me.”

Skye sat up in the leather seat and gave him a cross look. “What. The. Hell. Asher.”
She annunciated each word, dripping with disgust. “That makes no sense, what so ever.”

“Skye, these past few weeks haven’t been easy. They’ve been really hard on me.” Asher momentarily shut his eyes, for painful effect. “I am begging you to understand,” he continued, “That you can’t put this all on me. You were the one that left this summer. How would you expect me to react? How was I supposed to know it would affect me so much?”

“Oh my god, are you serious right now? Please, if you are going to make me feel guilty for going a family vacation instead of getting drunk on the beach with you like usual, then I am done. Because that’s ridiculous and you know it. You know how important this trip was to me, and if your too selfish to try and see that, that’s your problem. Do NOT hold that against me.” Skye angrily told him, trying to keep her volume down from the close ears of those surrounding them.

“I don’t, you’ve got it all wrong.” He pleaded, and started with the sweet puppy dog eyes. “You know I was happy for you. I missed you terribly, yes, but I would never put that on you. None of this is because of you.”

“Well then enlighten me.” Skye demanded as she crossed her arms across her chest.

“When I’m not with you, I feel…lost,” He began, then paused, searching for the right words to say. “So this summer when you were gone, all those weeks, I had a hard time...being me,” He continued.

“Elaborate.” Skye demanded again, her tone still cold as ice.

“Skye, I just had a hard time handling not being with you. When you first met me, I was horrible. Drugs, drinking, parties, constantly screwing up and disappointing my parents.”

“Oh, trust me, I recall.” Skye scoffed. “Please, let’s not rehash those days. Get to the point.”

Asher swallowed a gulp of the wine, and nodded. “So, I am who I am because of you. You gave me a chance, you changed me. You showed me who I really am, and helped me see all I could be. You’re an angel Skye. And this summer, when I lost that angel, it was like…like, the devil found its way towards me.”

Skye’s jaw dropped. A look of disbelief and disgust struck across her face.

“No, no, no.” Asher quickly backtracked. “I don’t mean I acted how I used to. I could never do that to you. Not after all you’ve done for me. I just lost myself for a minute, too many parties, too much drinking, you know?” He begged her.

This was getting a little too desperate for Skye’s taste. “Asher, cut the sweet talk. What did you do? How were you so horrible?” She pressed, wanting the truth. He said nothing. “Was it girls? Pick up a cute little slut at a cabana party?”

“Okay, Skye, you’re going a little over board. There is no need to throw accusations like that.” Asher began to get defensive, a sensitive chord had been struck.

“I’m not accusing you of anything. You said you went backwards, said the “devil found its way to you,” Skye explained, putting air quotes around his pathetic statements. “So when I think of that, I can’t help but assume you’re referring to past issues we’ve dealt with, all which relate to cheating.” She shrugged.

“Skye, all that it was, was I simply got a little out of control. With my girlfriend thousands of miles away, yes I turned to alcohol, and partied a little harder then I should’ve. Oh and your bitch little posse sure got a load of that.”

“Please, complaining about my friends like you usually do is so unnecessary right now.” Skye rolled her eyes, then looked at him once again. “So,” she shrugged, “That is all? You just went a little wild, people were gossiping and talking bad about it, and you didn’t want me to hear it?” Her tone was dripping with sarcasm, Skye seemed not the least bit convinced.

“I just wanted you to hear it from me. I didn’t want you to think I didn’t care you weren’t there, and that I was just out partying not even thinking about you.” He looked into her eyes, “All I thought about was you.” He said, and Skye still said nothing, waiting for further explanation. She didn’t enjoy the dramatics, and even he knew, he wasn’t going to get away with this one easily.

“And when I got back to school, I took a few days to get myself back together, because I didn’t want you to see me like that. Once I got out of the Hamptons, back at school, and got my head on straight, I didn’t want you to think anything less of me. I just wanted to see you the same way I was, I wanted to make you proud.”

Skye nodded, taking all of what he just said in. She saw their waitress hesitantly approaching them, and she put her finger up, signaling they still needed a minute.

She turned to face him again, and put her elbows on the table, her head in her hands. She had obviously softened, and thought about it a little deeper.“I don’t understand why you couldn’t have just told me this in the first place.” She shook her head, “And why is everything you said for me? Why can’t you make yourself proud too? Why don’t you think of yourself, try and make yourself happy before me?”

Asher reached for her hands once again, and gazed deep within Skye’s sad questioning eyes. “That my dear, is for one reason, and one reason only.” He gently planted a kiss on her hand, and leaned in closer to her. She felt anticipation, and scooted closer towards him as well. In a matter of seconds, they were face to face. “And what is that reason?” Skye quietly asked, as she looked up into his big hazel eyes. “Shhh,” He raised a finger to her lips and pressed his smooth, freshly shaven cheek beside hers. His pink lips only centimeters from hers, he cocked his head, his breath was hot on her bare neck. “It's because…” He whispered huskily into her ear, “I,” he slowly spoke, then kissed her cheek. “Love,” he continued, planting a kiss on her other cheek, “You.” As he finished, Skye, who was biting her lower lip, soon spread into a smile, “I love you.” He repeated once again, all together.

Asher waited for her reaction, and locked their gaze with intensity. Skye hadn’t heard those words in so long. They were all she needed to hear. The fighting was over, there were no more questions she had to ask. “I love you, too.” She whispered back, and this time sealed it herself, with a kiss on his lips.

Svetlana, the annoying waitress, returned once again a few minutes later. “Do you two like the wine tonight? How are we doing sir?” She hesitantly asked Asher.

“Never been better,” he grinned.

“And you Ms.?” The waitress turned to her. “Anything else to drink? Or are we ready for dinner tonight?”

“You know what?” Skye cocked her head, and looked up at her. “I think were alright. In fact, I’ve already got everything tonight that I could want.” She squeezed Asher's hand tightly. “Do you agree?”

“I do.” He nodded. “Put my card on the tab.” Asher winked at the waitress, handing her a hundred dollar bill. “Thank you, Svetlana.”

Skye giggled, she loved to see Asher charm a woman besides her. The waitress instantly stood taller at the sound of his powerful, genuine tone calling her by name. It was amazing what he could do to women.

Svetlana held her head high and slightly smiled, “I hope you enjoyed your time here at Dolce, it was a pleasure to serve you. Thank you, Mr. McCullen, and a good night to you, Ms. Christopoulos.”

“No, thank you. It was wonderful.” Skye gave her a gracious smile before she walked away. “Are you ready to get out of here?” She asked Asher.

“I am whenever you are!”

Skye stood and smoothed out her mini-dress. She flipped her hair, grabbed her purse, and reached her hand out to him. “So what are you waiting for silly?” Laughing, they then walked out of Dolce’s divine doors hand in hand. “Serena is in town, we’re together, and all of us are back at school, and its Saturday night. I think we’ve got some celebrating to do!”

“My thoughts exactly.” Asher winked at her, and helped her into the town car awaiting them.

The car sped off through the city lights of Chicago, and whisked them away, off to meet their group of friends at one of the cities a-list clubs. One would’ve never guessed mere minutes earlier, they had a fight, Skye threatening to walk out on him, questioning why they were together at all. But it’s funny the effect that words can have, what a difference it made to simply say, “I love you.” It seemed to make up for all their time spent apart. It made Skye ignore the rumors of his wandering eye and summer night trysts, gave her hope in their love. For we all know that absence can make the heart grow fonder. But as wind extinguishes a candle, yet fans a fire, absence can kill small passions of love and increase the great ones. “I love you” in itself, did not answer Skye’s doubt of where they would go from there. She needed to figure out just that, how great was their love was, or if there was even any true love at all.

Kelsey

2009-12-16T05:01:00.001-08:00

“Who are you?” I managed stutter out. I was terrified of the tall, intimidating, mysterious man who stood directly in front of me. His smile grew bigger when I asked that. I then could clearly see the two sharp fangs that seemed to sparkle in the dark. That’s when I knew my fears had been right.
He was a vampire!
“Jagger,” he said softly as he brought my hand to his mouth and I felt his lips gently graze my knuckles, “Jagger Dumitrescu.”
When he said his name I could hear the faintest hint of an accent.
Where is that accent from?
“I’ve been waiting for you Gianna Cusimono.” He told me.
Okay now I was more annoyed then scared. I know, I know it’s ridiculous to be talking to a vampire and just be mad, but in my defense I don’t like stalkers, who does?
“How do you know my name, and what do you mean you’ve been waiting for me. What are you, stalking me or something?” I asked with anger then originally intended.
I could tell by the surprised expression on his face that he was obviously caught off guard by my sudden transition from frightened to mean, but he shook it off and began to smile once again.
“All in do time, dragostea mea, I promise.” Then he leaned in and kissed me on the forehead. The feeling of his cold lips on my skin sent chills down my spine.
I closed my eyes and drank in how right it felt to be with him despite what I knew about him and all that I didn’t know. What was wrong with me how could I have even I thought that. I pushed away and I opened my eyes. I was standing alone at the edge of desolate forest.
Chapter 8
I was at a full on sprint back to my house. I was determined to get back to the house without have another encounter with the undead sort. I jolted through the door panting and out of breath. I walked back into the kitchen debating whether or not I should tell my dad about Jagger Dim..Domtres…whatever his last name was, but he wasn’t there anymore, so I guess I had a bit more time to decide.
I probably should tell him, but what was I supposed to say. Hey Dad, guess what there was just a creepy vampire stalker outside. Yeah I’m not thinking that would go very well, seeing as they already think I’ve completely gone insane. This incident would just make them believe I need to be institutionalized.
I had no clue what to do, what could I do? Would I just have to wait to see him again and, and then what. I’m going to assume that last comment he made means he is going to be back, so I’ll have to make a plan of action before then. I really wish I knew when that would be.
How do I get rid of a vampire anyways? Sunlight, a stake threw the heart, no I couldn’t kill anyone. Garlic? Should I make a necklace of it like they do in the movies? Do those things even work?
I was walking into my living room when my little brother bounded down the stairs. I cleared my throat and tried to calm down. Even if I was going to tell our parents, whom I still haven’t fully decided, I didn’t need to scare Tony. So I quickly put on a fake smile and acted as normal as possible.
“Todd what are you doing up?” I asked using my best “mom” voice.
“I jus’waned to say buh bye for ya lef’fo’scoo.” And he ran up and hugged me.
“What do you want?” He never acted cute and cuddly unless he wanted something.
“I saw him Gi Gi.” He whispered. His voice sounded shaky and sad. “He wans ya, he tol meh so.”
“Wh…what are you talking about Tony.” He couldn’t possibly be talking about Jagger.
Tony started crying. I grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him.
“Who talked to you?” I was beginning to get vey frustrated.
“Th’ vampiwe.”
“Tony, when did he talk?” Like it wasn’t bad enough that he was stalking me. That stupid blood sucker needs to stay far away from my baby brother, and the rest of my family for that matter.
“An’ I saw ya go an’ tawk to him.”
“Tony! I nee…”
I stopped talked when I spotted my Dad heading down the stairs. He paid little attention to us. Just smiled and walked back into the kitchen. Then my mother came down stair as happy and as perky as I’d suspected she would be on he first day of work. She followed my father into the kitchen. I looked into the room and lowered my voice so they wouldn’t be able to hear.
“Tony, honey, when did he talk to you? I need to know.”
“In my dweams.” He whispered. “He says tha ya are his. I try to tell him ya not, bu he says is desiny.” He was still crying when he was talking and I pulled him to me and gave him a hug. I wasn’t really sure what to say because honestly I wanted to cry to.
My mom strolled into the room and noticed Tony’s tear soaked face, and immediately ran over and tried to console her child. He just kept repeating “don’t let him take Gi” over and over again. My Mom stared at me, she was so confused.
I went to the car and sat in the passengers’ seat wondering why he told Tony that it was my destiny. My mom suddenly appeared in the window, I nearly jumped out of my skin. I have to tell her. I thought. It’s not just about me any more he has brought Tony into this, she needed to know.
We drove a little ways down the road and I finally got the courage to tell her when I saw Jagger on the side of the road. My mother saw him too.
“What is he doing?” My mom asked, “No buses come down this road.”
She began to pull over. I grabbed the wheel and yelled, No! We swerved and almost him Jagger In the process.
“What are you thinking you can’t do something like that? Do you want to get us killed?” She screamed at me, but I wasn’t paying attention to her my eyes were fixed on the vampire walking toward the car.
He jogged to my window and tapped on the glass. I sat there completely petrified. My mom rolled my window down and he poked his head in car.
“Are you two alright?” He asked. I wouldn’t look at him. I kept my gaze on the dash board, but I knew that he was looking at me. I could feel him burning a hole in the side of my skull with those mesmerizing black eyes.
“I hope neither of you are hurt.” He seemed sincere. I could tell he was upset, even with his thick accent.
“No, no we’re fine. My daughter just, well she is a little out of sorts this morning.” She shot a look of disapproval at me, “I was actually pulling over to ask if you needed ride to school, maybe?”
He smiled a brilliant smile and again I saw his fangs. If my mom had noticed she hadn’t acknowledged it.
“I would love a ride, how very kind of you.” He stepped back and bowed like he was meeting royalty or something and climbed into the back seat.
I wished I would have told my mom sooner, now we have a potentially dangerous (extremely hot) vampire in the back seat.
I was on edge the entire way to school. I just couldn’t believe that my mom had picked him up. I know she loves kids and is extremely friendly and all, but didn’t my grandparents teach her better than to pick up random people she saw on the side of the road, I would have thought that was simply common sense. Something else that’s seems stupid to me now was how scared I was to start school today. There was a freaking vampire creeping around my house and I was afraid because the kids could all be potheads, I could slap myself.
I knew he was staring at me. Again I could feel it, and I had no doubt on my mind that he had that same smug smile on his face. I glanced over at my mom, tears filling my eyes as I tried to make her see how frightened I was, but she was paying such close attention to the road that she didn’t even notice. I wanted to say something so badly, I wanted to warn her, but I didn’t know what would happen if I did. We were on a dark, country road, with no other cars or houses in sight, and I didn’t know what exactly he was capable of, so I kept my mouth shut.
I was looking out the window at the passing trees to try and keep my mind of the man sitting behind me, even though I knew how impossible it would be. After a while of staring out my car window, I began crying. I tried to muffle the sounds of my sobs, but I couldn’t help myself, when I’m scared I cry.
Jagger leaned forward and placed his hand on my shoulder. I didn’t respond. He left in there. I didn’t even budge.
“Gianna I believe someone wants you.” My mother utter undeniably annoyed by my rudeness. Sure that you see.
I tuned around slowly and looked at him. He was frowning a bit and I saw sadness and confusion in his eyes.
“What is wrong, why are you crying.”
My mom’s eyes darted in my direction. I whipped my head around and looked out the window. I didn’t want to answer him and I didn’t even know what to say.

Ashley

2009-12-16T04:57:00.000-08:00

The Fearless Four Go To School (14 pages):

It is the first day of 3rd grade at Central Elementary School in Lexington, Virginia. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the children are running around out back. The bell has just rung and the children are running inside. It is now time for gym class. The children are scared because no one really knows each other. The gym class was going to be an obstacle course. The gym class was split into teams, and they had to do a couple of things as fast as they could. The children had to crawl through hoops, tunnels, and run through ladders. The gym is separated into groups with four people each. One of the teams is made up of Anne, Rachael, Colin, and Tommy. They do not know each other, but they will have to work together as a team to finish the course. The gym teacher yells, “1...2...3...!” The whistle blows and the kids are off. They are screaming and cheering their teams on, hoping they win. Anne, Rachael, Colin, and Tommy are in the lead! They have gone through the hoops and the tunnel. Everyone made it through the ladder except Tommy. The other teams are catching up. Tommy is trying but he can’t make it. Anne is cheering him on. He finally makes it through the ladder. The group finished the race. They ended the race in first place! The team all jumped with joy. The gym teacher handed them each a piece of candy for winning first place. The bell rang, and it was time for lunch. Anne said, “Come and sit with me during lunch.” They all agreed and sat next you one another. The kids started talking to each other, and found out new things about each other. Rachael loves playing soccer, and drinking fresh grape juice. Tommy loves to watch Sponge Bob, and racing too. Anne loves reading books, and playing soccer. Colin loves to snack on strawberries, and play “I Spy.” The four children agreed that “I Spy” was a great game to play. Colin then asked the group if they would like to play because he happened to have a book in his bag. Colin flipped the book open to a random page, and started playing. The group needs help. Would you like to play “I Spy?” Find: A shovel ( ) A slippery snake ( ) A lock ( ) A seahorse ( ) A pair of scissors ( ) A key ( ). The children were all laughing and having a good time, as they ate their delicious sandwiches. Anne came up with the idea that they should call their group a certain name. Tommy shouts, “Let’s call ourselves the Fearless Four!” Everyone agreed that it was a perfect name for them. Just then the bell rang and the day was almost over. The kids could not believe how fast the day went by. The “Fearless Four,” could not wait to go home and tell their families what great friends they made. They did not have any more classes together, but tomorrow brings another day of laughter and excitement. Colin ran out yelling, “See you later, alligators!”

The Fearless Four Visit The Police Station (20 pages):

It is time for a new day at Central Elementary School. Today is going to be a little different than a normal school day. Today, the children are going on a field trip. All of the children get to school in the morning, and will soon be leaving for the field trip. They are going to take a trip to the Police Station. A police officer is going to talk to them about safety rules. The teacher says, “We are going to get on the bus now. Everyone grab a partner to sit with. You should be getting on bus 124.” Anne and Rachael agree to sit together. Colin and Tommy are going to sit together in the seat next to the girls. The children has been loaded on the bus, and they are headed to the station. The Fearless Four are pointing things out, as they drive by them on the bus. The bus finally reached the Police Station. In amazement, Colin said, “Wow! Look at that police car.” The children get off the bus, and the teacher is making sure everyone made it there okay. After taking attendance, a police officer speaks, “Hello, my name is Officer Mike.” “Be sure to pay attention to the lesson today. I would like you to look at the sign over there. Those are the rules you must follow while you are at our station,” Officer Mike said. Officer Mike tells the children that they will go into the building, and meet another officer that is going to help them with the class. Officer Mike introduces the other officer. The other officer is names Joe. Along with the officer is his dog, Striker. “Let’s begin,” said Officer Joe. “For each question that you ask or answer, you will get one fake dollar. At the end of the day you will be able to turn in your money to get prizes.” “We are going to start with asking you all some questions. If you know the answer, just raise your hand and you will get called on,” said Officer Mike. “Halloween is a very fun time for children. During Halloween you must be careful. Should you go out by yourself?” Officer Mike asked. Anne instantly raised her hand. She said, “You should never go by yourself. You always want to take someone with you, especially an adult.” “Very good!” Officer Mike exclaimed, “You have earned yourself a dollar.” “Next question. What should you do if someone that you don’t know pulls up in a car and tells you to get in?” Officer Joe was asking, as he pulled out another dollar. This time another member of the class raised her hand. It was Emily. Emily said, “Don’t go in. They could hurt you.” “Good job. Here is your money,” said Officer Joe. “okay. How about this one. If you are home alone and the doorbell rings, do you answer?” Officer Mike asked. “What if we don’t have a doorbell?” Tommy asked, mocking the officer. “Please pay attention,” the officer said. Colin then shouted out, “Don’t answer the door!” “Right! Thank you,” said Officer Mike. The class went on and more money was handed out. Tommy thought that he knew everything, so he did not pay any attention. Anne, Rachael, and Colin all answered questions, and got some money. The kids all turned in their money. Anne got a page of princess stickers. Rachael got a page of soccer stickers. Colin got a bright orange colored pencil.The officers then said, “We are going to give you a short wuix on what you learned today. The three highest scores will receive an additional prize.” Officer Mike handed out the quizzes. Do you think you can answer the questions? 1) Q: What should you do if your doorbell rings and you are home alone? 2) Should you go out by yourself on Halloween? 3) If a stranger pulls up in a car, should you get in? 4) Is it better to cross the street alone or with an adult? 5) What it the most important thing to wear when riding your bike? 6) What number do you call when there is an emergency? 7) What should you do before you cross the street? 8) Should you take candy from strangers? 9) When should you play with matches? 10) What should you do if you’re caught on fire? Everyone turned in their quizzes and the officers graded them. Officer Mike announced, “ The top three scores are Colin, Anne, and Rachael. Congratulations.” They all got badges saying, “Safety Patrol.” The class is over, and they head for the bus. Anne, Rachael, and Colin were very excited. Tommy thought to himself, “I wish I would have gotten a prize.” He became very disappointed in himself for not paying attention. Tommy thought to himself, “Now I now better for the next time I go on a field trip.” Tommy learned a new lesson today. It is better to pay attention when someone is speaking, even if you think you all ready know everything.

The Fearless Four Visit The Pet Store (Up to Page 11):

It seemed to be a normal day at Central Elementary School. However, today there was a big storm outside. Colin came into school, looking very upset. Everyone asked him what was wrong with him. Colin said, “My fish died yesterday after school.” Anne then said, “I am so sorry. Why don’t you go get another at the pet store?” “My mom is taking me after school. Would you guys like to come with me?” Colin said, hoping they would. Colin called his mom and they all agreed to go to the pet store after school. School seemed to go by really slow for Colin. Finally the day had ended, and it was time to head to the pet store. Colin became very excited when they all pulled into the pet store. The children and Colin’s mom all walked into the pet store. There were so many different kinds of animals there. They could not believe it. There snakes, bunnies, fish, dogs, and cats. “Wow!” Colin said in amazement, “Everything looks so cool.” All of the children wanted to look at different animals, but Colin only cared about the fish. He looked and looked but couldn’t find one that he really liked. Anne quickly ran over to the puppy section of the store. She said, “You should get this puppy instead of a fish. I love this one!” “It is a cute puppy Anne, but I really want another fish.” Colin replied. Colin became very sad. He could not find the fish that he really wanted. A worker came over and said, “I think I have a fish that you may like. Follow me.” As soon as Colin saw the fish, his eyes lit up. That was the fish he wanted. That fish was perfect. It was all different shades of blue, and it glistened when the light hit it just right. Colin yelled with joy, “Mom, I want this one!” Colin had to have this one. His mom came over to take a look at the fish. She said, “It is a cute fish, but I am afraid it’s too expensive for one little fish.” This upset Colin. He began to beg his mom, like a dog wanting food. Colin was very sad. His mom said, “I’m sorry Colin, but maybe next time.” Colin no longer wanted to be in the pet store, so he went out to his mom’s car. Colin’s friends had never seen him so upset before.

Renee's Story 38-41

2009-12-14T06:37:00.001-08:00

“Oh, don’t be like that.” he snickered. I turned away, embarrassed, gazing out the dirty, dusty windows. The place couldn’t have possibly been thoroughly cleaned, at least not in months. My eyes traveled through the glass of the window. The snow was now floating down in thicker, white forms. I peered out at it, mesmerized.
“Well, I’d better get you home. You ready?” He asked, staring down at my half-finished ice cream cone. “Oh, nevermind,” he added, smirking.
I lurked on a thought, considering whether or not I should bring it up. I looked up into his eyes, shivering slightly as they stared back in passion and almost rage. They seemed different tonight.
“Sorry that I’m taking so long with this ice cream,” I apologized, looking down at the table quickly. I slid my last thought away, not wanting to bring up his family.
“Don’t be sorry,” he chuckled.
I felt guilty for not asking. He seemed to be the type the sensitive type, so I figured maybe it’d be best to just ask him later. I swallowed the bottom of my ice cream cone whole, enjoying the creamy, ice cream and cone combination. That was definitely my favorite part of the cone.
“You ready?” He asked, smiling. I noticed his eyes were turning a slight hint of orange inside of the green, outer part of them. I nodded, getting up from my seat. He held the door open for me, and we both strode out in the blizzard. I immediately wrapped my scarf around my face more tightly, closing my eyes partly and squinting to see.
We reached the white mini cooper, which now looked camouflaged through the falling snow. Pastor Dennis brushed off the top of the cooper and opened up my door for me and ushered me in. I jumped in, shivering like mad.
He came around the other side and got in too, exclaiming, “Woo! It’s cold out there!” I laughed, enjoying his statement of obviousness. We drove off and I reached over and turned on the radio, searching for a favorable station. Country riffs and rock and roll singers flooded out through the speakers. I searched intently for an upbeat song, and I finally settled in on a song I knew very well. The lyrics flooded out of my mouth, and I half-realized that my youth pastor was still in the car with me.
Pastor Dennis turned to me, intently, and unaffected. “You have a good voice. Why in the heck doesn’t Jared just let you on?”
I shrugged. “No clue.” The song ended, and a man began talking, repeating the song title that had just been played, and trailing off to the weather report.
He turned to me again, this time serious. “Becca, tell me about yourself.”
I sighed. “There’s nothing interesting about me at all,” I snapped, more then I would have liked to.
“I just want to be able to get to know you more. I like to be able to get to know all my youth groupers on a personal level. I’ve hardly even known you for that long,” he explained, almost forcefully.
I gave in. “You wanna know about me? I’m miserable, messed up, hopeless and lost,” I spoke, my true feelings coming out.
“I know you are. I know you’re hurting. Becca, I can’t even imagine losing a friend like that. How do you stand it?” He spoke, looking over at me now.
“Well...” I drifted off, pausing for a moment. “I’m not one to show feelings, really.”
He paused for a moment, thoughtful. “I know exactly how it is, and I am just like you, Becca. My wife - well, my ex-wife, was killed in a plane crash. It was just a small passenger plane, only about twenty-five people. I don’t talk about it.” His facial expression and voice told me that it pained him to talk about this.
I was so surprised, and felt suddenly very sorry for him. I wanted to comfort him, but didn’t know how. So much for bringing up the question of his wife’s absence, too. I decided her lack of presence in the pictures on his desk was due to a need to forget she ever existed. My insides twisted in a knot. I immediately felt sympathy for him, knowing that our feelings were mutual.
“What about your kids? I have never met them,” I spoke softly, my head turned toward him, avoiding questions about his wife.
“My kids are Landon and Ash. They live with me, but their grandmother takes care of them most of the time. I don’t get to see them as much as I’d like to. It blows. This job at the church that I have means everything to me, but I hardly get to spend time with my kids anymore. I’m running here and there, everywhere, trying to please everybody. It’s not an easy job, Becca.” His sounded exhausted.
“You do a good job though. Everyone loves you, Pastor Dennis.” I said, sincerely.
He looked over at me, a half smile spread across his face. “You think so?” I could tell it pleased him. I nodded. How could you not love somebody like him?
His gaze fell upon the road once more. He changed the subject. “I know you have a musical gift, just hearing you sing like that. That is so cool.”
“Why can’t you just tell Jared to stop being such a meat head, and put me on worship team yourself?” I blurted out, angrily.
“I wish so badly that I could put you up on worship team myself, but this youth group is supposed to be kid-led, especially for worship. I have no right to tell Jared what to do.” He insisted. His voice was hard.
I sighed. “Well, if I have such a musical gift on my life, why can’t you just tell him that. Jared is not on my good list right now. I don’t understand why he’s acting like this.” I was being honest now, and he could tell. I was happy that I could be myself around him, knowing that he wouldn’t Bible thump me.
“Don’t you worry about Jared. I’ll take care of things. In fact, I want to get you started with music. Instead of worship team, why don’t you start your own band? Don’t you write songs?” He asked.
“Yes. They aren’t very good,” I said, sighing in disappointment.
“I haven’t even heard you play them. Has anyone heard you play them before?” Pastor Dennis was immovable.
“No. I don’t think you want to hear them.” I half cracked-up as I tried to say this solemnly. He chuckled at my attempt. I loved his laugh.
“Alright, I’ll play them for you sometime.” I gave in. “When can I play them for you?”
He replied, business-like, “We’ll figure out a day, don’t worry. In the meantime, here we are.”
I looked up, confused, to find we were already at my house. Deep anguish cut through me as I realized I would have to leave now. I didn’t want to go.
I pushed down and unbuckled my seat belt. He held out his arms, waiting for a hug. I reached over and engulfed him in my arms, grinning and enjoying his warm embrace while it lasted.
“Thank you so much.” I repeated to him again. I felt like an idiot, not knowing what to say.
“No problem. Becca, don’t you worry. You deserve a lot better than what you’ve

been getting. You deserve the moon! Things will get better. I promise you that.” His

voice was so sincere. I couldn’t help but grin beneath my blank face. It was the first

genuine smile in a long time. Maybe things would get better after all.

Cheyanne 25-41

2009-12-14T06:35:00.000-08:00

Ch.7
I ran onto the stage. My heart pounded fiercely against my chest. This was the first time ever I had been on live TV. The music was booming in the background. I opened my mouth to sing.
“Hey! Hey! You! You! I don’t like your girlfriend.” I started out at my attempt to cover Avril Lavigne’s song “Girlfriend“.
I tried to peer down into the crowd, as I continued singing. The lights on stage were so bright it was hard to see the audience. I could tell some where singing along. That was relieving.
I walked aimlessly around the stage, as I sung each word. My throat felt scratchy, and I felt like a mess. Some how I kept singing though, jumping around on stage enthusiastically. As if the less I thought about it the more the words just came out of my mouth.
I couldn’t tell if my voice was bad, or good. Right now I was just living in the moment. Not thinking about yesterday, or tomorrow.
I finished my song, and the crowd cheered widely. Maybe their cheers were out of pointlessness, or maybe not. Either way it felt good.
I ran off the stage sweating. My adrenaline was rushing. I was hyped up, and was defiantly ready to do this again soon.
A tall lady from across the room looked at me. It had been a while since my performance on stage. I was behind the stage cheering on the other contestants as strange as it may seem.
The lady walked towards me, I wasn’t exactly sure who she was.
“I’m Kristen Kelly.” The tall, lanky girl introduced herself. She had shoulder length, wavy black hair, and round brown eyes that stood out against her pale skin. Unlike most people in Hollywood Kristen paired her short purple, and black striped cotton dress with a pair of Converse.
“I’m Noelle.” I told her, all while guessing she had already known that.
“Yeah, well take this business card,” She said handing me a card with that read “Big J Recording Company” with numerous phone numbers on it.
“You want me to comer here?” I questioned her.
“Yeah,” She answered me sweetly, “Stop by tomorrow at two.” She added, then swiftly turned away before I could answer.
Was this a big deal? I thought to myself. I wandered to find Kate. She usually was babbling away on her cell phone. So much for her voice saving techniques.
When I finally found her I walked up showing her the business card. Kate’s blue eyes widened when she saw it.
“No way!” She exclaimed. Her wild orange hair had been curled into small ringlets, and she may have gotten a little too crazy with the red lip stick tonight.
“I know. I don’t believe they wanna see me.” I explained in a giddy tone.
“I know. I mean you were good tonight, but not that good. If anything I should be the one they want to see.” Kate said smirking, as her jealous side came out.
I frowned. It was sad that Kate was my only friend here. I don’t know if I can even consider her a friend.
I slipped the business card into the pocket of my black cargo pants, and decided I would celebrate by myself. It was ten. I could go to a restaurant, and indulge in ice cream.
“I’m going to Friendly’s .” I told Kate, sort of hoping she would invite herself along.
“Okay. I have some calls to make. See you around.” Kate said already punching numbers into her phone.
Ch.8

I was almost had finished my mint cookie crunch Sunday when in walked a guy I had never seen before. He had shaggy dark blonde hair, and big brown eyes. He was wearing a light blue Vans tee shirt, and dark washed jeans. Trying to wipe my mouth clean, and hide my empty large dish my heart picked up speed. I know it’s silly, but some people just give you butterflies. I put my head down, so when he walked by he wouldn’t notice my warm blushing cheeks. He sat down at the table across from me. Great, was the five letter word that formed in my head.
I decided to pull my head up, and get ready to leave. My day was going fantastic, and seeing some hot guy with his girlfriend join him wasn’t going to happen tonight.
“What ice cream would you suggest?” The guy asked as he turned towards me. I searched inside for words. I wasn’t good at talking to boys.
“Well, I got mint cookie crunch.” I was able to stutter out.
“Sounds pretty good. Hey you look kind of familiar.” He pointed out.
“Maybe you’ve seen me on TV.” I admitted bashfully. He probably was wondering how I could sing live on TV, then not even be able to form sentences with out taking a ten second pause.
“TV? Oh I was gonna say maybe I’d seen you around town or something.” He laughed out. His brown eyes widened, and he ran his hand through his dark blonde hair.
Did I sound conceited? I really hoped not.
“Oh, yeah I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” I told him, as I twisted my fingers around my long hair.
“Well, I’m Kyle.” He said introducing himself.
“Noelle.” I replied. Usually guys didn’t talk to me. I guess I wasn’t your typical pretty, sweet girl next door. I never wore make up, or messed with my hair. All the guys back in Wyoming seemed to not acknowledge my existence.
“So what were you saying about being on TV?” Tristan asked thoughtfully. I looked down at the table.
“Well, you know the show with the uh contest. America’s Next Rock Star?” I muttered.
“Oh yeah I’ve seen it. “ He said playing it cool.
I decided instead of making a fool of myself I would leave now. I stood up.
“Well, I better uh get going. See you around.”
“Wait, my friend is having a party tonight. You should stop by.” He said bravely. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a folded up flyer. He held it out for me to take. As I took it I briskly touched his hand.
A smile spread across both of our faces.
“Thanks, I’ll check it out.” I replied grasping the green flyer in my hand.
“See you around.” He grinned, his brown eyes widening once again.
“See you tonight.” I said. I wasn’t exactly sure how I was getting to this party on the other side of L.A., but one way or another I was going to be going there.

Ch.9

I had decided on taking a bus to East Los Angles area. It was all the way on the other side of the city. I know my mom would absolutely kill me, but I was determined to go. I may have been breaking her promise, but I was young. I needed to experience life. As long as I’d been alive I haven’t lived a very exciting one.
The party was at a house. I wasn’t sure what exactly I was expecting, but when I arrived in the neighborhood I saw many rich ones. I was excited this would be my first “real” party ever. I was sick and tired of those kiddy birthday parties anyhow.
“Excuse me do you know where Greenwood St. is?” I asked the bus driver.
“Lucky for you it’s a block away. I suggest you get off at this bus stop.” He said, as the bus came to a stop.
I nodded, and jumped out. I had dressed to impress. Well at least I’d attempted to. I was wearing a short, black shimmery dress, with fishnets, and black rocker boots. Lets just say no one in my house would approve this outfit.
It was easy to tell which house the party was at. There must have been at least one hundred people, most likely more. The music was playing loudly.
This house was nice. It was a mansion, with a huge front yard. I wasn’t exactly sure how I would ever find Kyle.

* I skipped around to a later part in the story.

I stood stiffly looking around the room. The music blared loudly. So loud that my ears felt like they were going to bleed. Maybe because this music sucked.
“I love this song!” Cried Kyle. He approached me with a smirk.
“Me too!” I lied taking a sip of my martini. It was my third this night, and I still haven’t started to feel the least bit wasted.
Kyle defiantly was gone. He laughed wildly a he wailed his arms around attempting to dance. I searched for a place to sit. My shoes were starting to hurt my feet. They were four inch black leather Jimmy Choos. I ran my fingers through my over processed bleached hair, and sighed.
“What’s wrong baby?” Kyle asked in a sing song voice. I rolled my eyes. Did he really not know what was wrong?
“What do you think?” I asked in a sarcastic tone. There was a lot wrong. Lately I hadn’t felt like my self. I had gotten sucked into a redundant night to night party life that resulted in a hang over, and not being able to work.
Jason told me that he was suspending my contract if my partying had continued. Trust me I put up a fight.
“You don’t need them. Who cares?” Kyle replied. He had been trying to persuade me the last week to move with him to NYC. Sometimes I thought he didn’t even care about my career. He only cared about his stupid band. Kyle’s band wasn’t even that good in my ears. Maybe that’s why they played for druggies. Once you were high then the sounded kind of alright.
“I care.” I muttered. I had recorded a few songs, but other than that I’d totally been blowing off work. They had given me a contract that had paid a lot of money. Apparently I decided that I didn’t want to keep up with my side of the deal. My first, and best song recorded was rock. The other two that had taken quite some while were (I admit) corny pop tunes.
Pop was what’s in. I mean I had to compete with other artists. The world is too competitive to be different.
“Lets get out of here.” Kyle said. Then he added “ I have some “good stuff” back at my place.”
I nodded. By the term “good stuff” he meant drugs. Mostly pot. I followed out the doors of the club to his shiny silver Mercedes.
“Is this yours?” Kyle asked once inside the car as he picked up a demo CD.
“Yes, it’s “total crap”. I exclaimed referring to what Jason had called it.
Kyle raised his eyebrows, and slipped the CD into the CD player. I normally would of argued. I normally would of not wanted him to hear it, but right now I didn’t care.
“I saw you walking down the street and then our eyes meet. I knew you were the one. I knew we could have so much fun. I would do anything for you because baby I just really adore you.
“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I want you with me all the time. Can you please be mine. I want you cuz’ your so fine. Do you feel the same way. Would you be there every single day. Can I believe all you tell me. Should I not trust those butterflies in my belly. I want. I want. I want. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.”
“Kyle!” I yelled after my song “I want” had finished the first chorus. A smile was on his face.
“Is this song about me?” he laughed.
“No! It’s about nobody.” I loudly answered. Maybe that was exactly the problem.
My alarm woke me with it’s same old annoying sound.
“Ugh.” I moaned loudly. I had a very wild night with Kyle, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for work. At least I woke up on time. That’s a start.
I pulled my hair into a pony tail. Threw a navy blue sweat shirt on, and some jeans and was ready.
“Noelle.” Kristy stated as she took one look at me after I had arrived at the studio. Her expression read “Did this really happen again?”. She seemed annoyed.
“What?” I asked defensively.
“You’ve changed so much. When you came here you were a sweet girl. Now you care more about parting than work.” She said sadly, while shaking her head.
“That’s not true!” I lied.
“You know Eliza has a lot of talent, and Jason actually thinks she has good work ethnics.” Kristy stated, which was true. Eliza was a talented, but at the same time a Britney Spears look a like.
“Screw Eliza!” I yelled. My head was killing me. All I wanted to do was crawl back under my warm covers.
“Come back when your sober, and ready for work!” Kristy yelled. She had just kicked me out. I squinted my eyes, and opened my mouth to let out an apology.
“Bye.” Kristy screamed, before I could say anything. I madly pulled open the door, and slammed it behind me.
Tears started to run down my cheeks. Was this Eliza chick really replacing me. Who the hell cares if she what all the guys want, and talented. She’s a stupid, no fun, slut.
I had better things to do than work with unappreciative fake loving jerks.
It was another loud night spent with Kyle. I defiantly was wasted a lot quicker this time.
I sat in the corner as Kyle tried pushing me to get a tattoo of his name.
“Well I dooo want onee.” I said slurring my words. I let out a few quick giggles.
“I’ll go with you, and I’ll get one of your name baby.” Kyle compromised.
‘My name isn’t baby!” I laughed hysterically, then proceeded to stand up. I wobbled a little bit, and swayed side to side losing my balance.
We arrived at the tattoo parlor about twenty five minutes later. After having to repeat myself five times the tattoo artist finally understood what I wanted.
“So you want Kyle’s name inside a heart, that is inside a flower?” He asked one more time.
“Duh!” I told him. Of course that’s exactly what I wanted. Thankfully since Kyle was friends with this guy I didn’t need to show proof of I.D.
The next morning I woke up very sober, with the ugliest tattoo ever on my left shoulder.
“Oh. God. Please tell me this is fake!” I ran to the kitchen sink. I turned on the faucet as quick as possible, and squirted a hand full of soap into my hand. I scrubbed with pure passion. The tattoo didn’t fade the least bit.
I plopped down on the ground crying out loud. I didn’t know the least bit why I would ever want Kyle’s name in cursive inside a big heart, that lay inside a even bigger flower. Not only could I never wear tank tops again, but the long petals would probably stick out when I wore t shirts.
“Why?” I asked myself repeatedly.
I tried to pull my self together after countess hours of sobbing about everything. It seemed like my problems were endless. Well maybe this tattoo was a good sign. It could possibly mean that Kyle, and I were going to have a long lasting relation ship. Then I realized I had an idea.
I could turn this huge mess into inspiration. A song about how I woke up with a tattoo of my boyfriends name, and how I believed that it meant we would last forever.
My cell phone started ringing. It startled me, and I jumped to realize I was being silly. I picked it up, and answered it.
“Hello,” I asked, not sure who it was. The number was private, and I wasn’t expecting any calls.
“Noelle, we need to talk.” Kyle muttered.
“We need to talk?” I asked him confused. Those four words always meant one thing. Break-ups. It was like the worse combination of words to hear from anyone actually.
“Meet me down at Shirley’s Café.” He said softly. Then I heard a beep. Kyle had hung up. This better be good news. There wasn’t any type of other news I was in the mood for!
Kyle clasped his hands together sitting across from me at the small table. We were at an outside table. I felt the heat radiate me, as I looked at him, waiting for what he needed to tell me.
“I know that you have unfinished business here. I also know that you don’t want to go with me to NYC.” Kyle started out.
“Yeah, both of those statements are completely true.” I reassured him.
“So, I think it would be best if we end it.” Kyle said quickly. It stung, like a band aid being ripped off my sore wound.
How could I have not seen this coming? Of course I wasn’t going to stay with him forever. Any guy that picks you up at Friendly’s is not going to last.
“Good!” I agreed. He wasn’t going to see a single tear come from me. I was going to hold all the tears in until he was gone.
“Also I sort of met this other girl.” Kyle admitted blushing.
What? Another girl? I was instantly filled with envy. Some one stole my very first boy friend. How dare they!
“Who?” I asked almost knocking over my water.
Kyle shook his head. “Your going to be mad at me.” He said.
“Well duh! I’m already mad at you!” I said grabbing my purse. I was ready to ditch him right this second.
“Eliza.” He stammered.
My eyes widened. First she stole my job! Now my boyfriend! The envy quickly turned into anger. I grabbed my glass of water, and dumped it on Kyle’s head.
“Don’t ever talk to me again!” I yelled storming off. The people around us stared at me. Good thing I wasn’t famous. That would have been a perfect scene for paparazzi.
I sat in the middle of the park strumming my guitar loudly for everyone around to here.
“I was the girl that got a tattoo of her boyfriend’s name. I was the girl who was insane! I was the girl who’s not good enough. I was the girl who wasn’t tough.” I sang not caring who heard me.
An amused looking guy approached me. He looked at me with a humorous smile. I looked down, and continued to sing.
“I hate Kyle. He never even really made me smile! He a stupid loser! And a drug abuser!”
“Sorry about your recent love drama.” The guy laughed. I stopped to look at him. He seemed to be around my age. He had spiky black hair, and a lip ring. He had on jeans, and a t-shirt.
I shrugged. I didn’t feel very social at the moment. Actually I wasn’t quite sure why I came to the park to let out my most inner feelings. I guess I needed some sunshine. Gloominess would only add more depression.
The guy smiled genuinely. “Well I think your pretty talented.” He said.
“No I’m not.” I disagreed. I stood up, lifting my acoustic guitar with me. I was going to call Kristy, and tell her I was ready to come back from my “little vacation”.
“Okay?” he laughed.
“I’ve got to go.” I told him, then started to walk away. I gasped, then turned around.
“Oh my god! You’re my first fan.” I said just realizing it.
“Sure, I guess you can say that.” He agreed.
“Thanks.” I smiled, and waved goodbye. I walked down the little brick path to a quieter area, and pulled out my cell phone. I hoped that everybody down at the record company would like my new song.

I paced back in forth my bedroom apartment. Needless to say Kristy wasn’t willing to forgive me just like that. My happiness had disappeared. Then I thought of just what to do. Maybe instead of making a song so anti-Kyle, I could make one ant-jerk boyfriend. Lyrics already started to form in my head.
I had ideas for anther song too. I could write about how I messed up. How I had fallen into the wrong crowd. Maybe Kristy, and Jason would appreciate that one more.
There wasn’t a sooner time to start then now. I endlessly scribbled my thoughts onto a piece of paper until my masterpiece was finished.
“I used to be the girl that sat all alone/ I didn’t have many friends and no one called me on the phone/
I stood up for myself and what was right/ now I’m starting to lose sight/
Of everything/ nothing is good anymore
Of who I am now I’m not so sure
Confused on which direction to take/ on which decision I should make
I guess I just need to let my wild mind take a break
Chorus: I’m slipping through the cracks on this wooden floor
I’m locked inside this room and can’t open up the door/
Lost inside somewhere I really still care
Deep down I know what you’ve done to me is fair
I want to turn around/ I want to be found/
but it’s so hard when it feels like I’ve already drown
V2: I’m sorry for everything that I put you through
You gave me the chance of a lifetime to show you what I could do
If I had one more chance I can change back
To the girl who I once was/ the girl who wasn’t whack
I can’t complain/ cuz’ it’s not like in much pain
Chorus”
I found just the right music to play along with my song, and decided that I was ready to go back to work for sure.
Kristy apologized for kicking me out. There was one problem still, Eliza had officially replaced me at the recording company. Sadly I hung up the phone. Tears started dripping down my cheeks. I had it all, and now It was gone. I’d officially had blown my chance at any success.
I ran on my bed, squeezed my pillow intensely and started to sob away. I’m not sure how much time I wasted lying on my bed crying. Maybe hours, or maybe days. Finally my eyes dried out, and that forced me to stop.
There wasn’t going to be a better time to start packing for home. I was through here in Los Angles. I called my mom, and told her I would be on the next flight. Slowly I packed my suitcase, and all my belongings. I throw away anything that had belonged to Kyle.
For some reason I wasn’t as sad to go home as I thought I would have been. I figured that I needed some time to spend with my family. I would catch up on everything back there, and maybe get a job. A real job that is. Not some fantasy Hollywood career.

Madeline 38-41

2009-12-14T06:31:00.000-08:00

11

The next morning, Skye and Kristen found that they were the only ones with Saturday detention. This meant that they were the only two students who weren’t sleeping in, or waking up to a hot Saturday morning kitchen feast. About ten minutes into detention Skye had fallen completely asleep. Having absolutely nothing to do herself for the next two hours, Kristen tried to fall asleep while sitting upright. After about five minutes without success. Kristen just sat and let her mind wander wherever. Eventually her subconscious arrived at the last nights fair. As the previous nights events unfolded in her mind Kristen became puzzled. Everything was about Sam. As she watched her thoughts as if in a dream or movie, Kristen saw that at every point of the night she had either been with Sam or talking about him. She paired up with him for rides, shared all of her food with him, and yammered on about how sweet he was being, while she was talking to Skye. When the two were at the games she even saw some signature Kristen flirt tactics! Was it possible that she liked him? As soon as the thought passed through her brain she knew that it was true. She had always thought he was cute and funny, but now it was more than that. The things she had always considered dorky about him were actually admirable. Even his obsession over getting good grades, and the obvious results in the class room showed that he was going somewhere. Now that she had had this revelation though, she didn’t know if she would act differently around him because she had no idea how he felt about her. After a few minutes of super analysis about every thing he had ever said to her, Kristen was jolted back to reality by the shrill sound of the bell.

“So can I ask you a favor?” Asked Skye as the girls walked out of the detention room.

“Sure.” Said Kristen cheerily.

“Well I have to make this mosaic for art, and I was hoping that maybe you could come with me to gather creek glass for it.” Said Skye.

“Oh yeah sure, no problem.” Replied Kristen.

“Ok thanks!” Said Skye enthusiastically. “I’m actually scared to go by myself. I always think that I’m going to slip, hit my head and die, like the girl from

The Bridge To Teribithia.” She added, her face reddening.

“Well, I never would have guessed you’d be the type to freak out about stuff like that.” Said Kristen.

“Oh shut up!” Replied Skye with a laugh.

Once they arrived at the creek, the girls waded into the cold water. They walked along in the water talking, and looked for bits of glass that had drifted down the long and winding creek. As they walked along the girls moved a blockage of leaves that were caught against a few upturned rocks. Once the leaves were cleared, the girls made a shocking discovery. Wedged haphazardly between the rocks, was a bundle of cold, hard, cash! The girls were stunned. As Kristen pulled out the money and counted, she was shocked. In that one bundle there were twenty-five, twenty dollar bills!

“Holy cow!!! There’s five hundred dollars here!” Said Kristen in disbelief.

“Five hundred dollars!?” Screeched Skye as she grabbed the cash and counted for her self.

“Oh my gosh! We’re rich!” Screamed the girls in unison, as they jumped around joyfully.

Amidst the celebration reality struck Skye, “shouldn’t we turn this in? I mean someone is bound to be freaking out right now. I know I’d be having a heart attack if I lost five hundred dollars.” She said.

“Ugh, you’re right. Let’s take it up to Sister Mary-Janice’s office.” Replied Kristen glumly, her bubble of excitement completely deflated.

Trudging, up the hill towards the office, the duo found their headmistress sooner than expected. As Kristen and Skye walked past Carl’s little hut they, stumbled into a heated conversation between Sister Mary-Janice and Carl. When the adults saw Kristen and Skye they abruptly fell silent.

“Um, I’m sorry for interrupting, but we found this money and we thought that maybe you would know who had lost it.” Said Kristen apprehensively.

When Kristen produced the money an excited look came over Sister Mary-Janice’s face, and Carl let out a gasp.

“Where did you find that!?” Demanded Carl.

“In the creek.” Said Skye

“Are you positive that’s where you found it?” Asked Sister Mary-Janice.

“Yes! We just found it laying there in the creek!” Replied Kristen in an exasperated tone.

“Well, we really appreciate you girls for turning the money in to us. Now, why don’t the two you go and grab some lunch ok?” Said Sister Mary-Janice in a sugar-coated voice.

Not wanting to argue, or stick around longer than needed, the girls handed the money over and left. As they walked, they tried to make sense of what just happened there.

“What do you think they were arguing about?” Asked Skye.

I have no idea, but it wasn’t a very friendly conversation, that’s for sure” Replied Kristen.

“Oh my gosh! What if they’re terrorists and they are plotting to kill us all!” Said Skye in a scary voice.

“They are not terrorists Skye. Ninjas maybe, but not terrorists.” Said Kristen laughing.

“Oh you are so right! I can totally see them both doing high kicks in tight black body suits.” Said Skye sarcastically.

After a second of imagining their headmistress and janitor in tight black clothes, the girls lost it.

Once they finally stopped laughing, Kristen said, “ ninja or not I say we take Sister Mary- Janice’s advice and eat. I am starving.

“I totally agree. I’ve had nothing in my system since the fair.” Said Skye.

As the girls made their way over to the dining hall for heaping plates of food, Kristen couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something very wrong with the meeting they had witnessed. She had no reason to worry, she hadn’t done anything, but her gut told her that something was not quite right.

Lorin's story

2009-12-10T05:38:00.000-08:00

Lindsay's Story 25-37

2009-12-10T05:36:00.000-08:00

***Lindsay would like everyone to know that the section with Aubree waking from a coma will have major revisions!***

Seven

The amusement this new world gave me faded as it was filled with wondering when I would hear another voice, and whether I would recognize it or not. Another voice did come, eventually. It wasn’t one I recognized, no surprise there. It was a deeper, more monotone voice. One that was much more even and collected than the voice I had previously heard.
“I’m here, honey,” the voice said, and after a pause, “Aubree, do something!” the deep voice begged, “Let me know that your alive!” The voice was hurting and sounded more pained now.
I got nothing that could give me a clue as to who this new voice belonged to. It was just talking to me, which suddenly wasn’t good enough. I then grew furious, and pushed at the barriers, wanting to get out, but I got nothing, and to top it all off, the voice stopped, too.
Was this how I was going to spend the rest of my existence? Trying to get out of this world I’m trapped in, and never succeeding? I’ll never see the people I love and care for again.
“Come on, Aub! I know your in there. Don’t give me this crap.”
This voice caught me off guard, as I immediately knew that this new voice belonged to the most important person in my life. Marjorie. This is Marjorie’s voice, I’m sure of it. Her face then came into my head, as the first thing I’ve really seen the entire time I’ve been here. Her big blue eyes, with her black hair and sharp features.
She kept talking. “You have to come back. Our family is falling apart with you like this. I can’t lose my best friend!” she cried, “I just can’t!” The image faded away.
I’m trying, Marjorie, I’m trying! Help me get out of here! I wanted to scream at her. I suddenly wanted to give up. I couldn’t do anything here, so why keep trying? Let me die here. I don’t want to live anymore.
I need to hear Marjorie’s voice again, if I want to last any longer. Please, I begged, to anyone that would hear me.
I listened, but heard nothing. The pain I was feeling was suddenly halted as I then felt something different. I didn’t see anything different, but I could feel something literally touching me. My face tickled as it started to feel wet, like it was raining, and then those wet drops that covered my face just slid down into nowhere. They continued to poke my face randomly, as I suddenly realized that these were tears- but I wasn’t crying. They weren’t coming out of my eyes, but dropping onto my face from somewhere distant. The pieces then clicked- Marjorie had just been talking to me, which meant she had been somewhere relatively close, like she was leaning over me. These tears were hers, as she cried over me, and I could feel them.
That caught me off guard. I could feel them. What did that mean? Did one layer of this barrier that separated us disappear? Did that mean that all of me wasn’t stuck in this dark world, just my mind, and that my body was with her? I didn’t know, and knew that I wouldn’t get any answers. What more could I do to unveil another layer? My head filled with questions that made me more and more saddened and angry. Not wanting to continue living like this seemed like it pushed me deeper and deeper into the darkness, but Marjorie did just communicate with me somehow, right? I was so confused and didn’t know what to do but just wait. Wait for the next voice, and hope that it’s Marjorie’s.

Waiting doesn’t seem as long as it really is when you don’t care anymore. I wanted to hear someone again, but who know’s how long it will be. Why wait? Just let it come.
What I was waiting for then came, a lot sooner, of course.
“So this is how it’s gonna be, huh? Mom crying herself to sleep every night. Dad never cracking any more jokes. Alex stopping his drawing. You know he never put his sketchbook down. I can’t live like this. Your like a vegetable, Aub. You used to move around sometimes, but now your still. I don’t know what to do,” Marjorie cried.
Don’t do anything! I screamed to her, knowing she wouldn’t hear me, Stay with me and help me get out of here!
No answer.
Marjorie disappeared.

***
I continued to drop deeper than I thought possible into the murkiness of this place. I still haven’t given it a name, but what does it matter? My life is nothing to me or to the people on the other side, or else I would be out of here by now.
I faded lower and lower, until the black swirls started to smother me, and I couldn’t hold on to my train of thought. My memory started to disappear, as well as my sense of feeling. My body went numb as I lost my sense of vision, too.
This must be it. This is the end.
I held on to any memory of this life as possible, knowing that it will be my last chance to connect with reality.

Eight
I wonder if this is what death is really like. Going from stage to stage, experiencing the different levels. This new level was much more colorful, but it started out very dim and dull. I was aware that I came from some other distant place, but I couldn’t remember exactly where I had been. When I came to this new place I saw absolutely nothing, like my eyelids were closed, but as I got my bearings somewhat straightened out, I could see many colors blended together. All of the colors I was familiar with was all I saw, starting out with a big mush of different shades, but then they started to get sharper and clearer, until I saw, what looked like a pair of hands.
I stared down at the hands, which were connected to arms, which were connected to...me. My eyes then slowly looked away and up. I was in an unfamiliar room, but at the same time it still feels like I’ve seen this place before. I was laying in a white bed, and I could hear buzzing around me and soft murmuring in the distance. As I looked around, I realized that there was a small, unkempt woman sitting at the foot of my bed with messy hair and tired eyes that had dark circles beneath them, but as I looked into those extremely familiar blue eyes, my heart seemed to stop beating and my world came crashing down around me as I looked at my mother. I knew it was her. The memories of the world I had just been in quickly flashed before my eyes, from the first time I was floating in the black swirls, the first time I heard my mothers voice in the darkness, to when I first pictured Marjorie’s face, to the anger I felt, then to what I thought was my death be cause I had given up. It all came back to me in the matter of a second.
My mother looked like she had just witnessed a murder, with her eyes bulging out of her head and her jaw dropped. “Aubree?” she whispered, “Aubree, thank God!” she sobbed as she stood up, her knees giving out, as she threw herself at me.
I didn’t know what to say besides just to look at her. My mind was racing 100 miles a minute but I couldn’t make anything come out. Nothing had actually set in yet. I didn’t grasp the fact that I was safe in my mother’s arms where the obscurity that I was now afraid of couldn’t overcome me.
Everything was happening so quickly that I didn’t even notice the man that was my father doubled over by the side of my bed, crying.
My mother then pulled away, looking at me, and wiped the tears from my eyes. I was crying. It was the first real human emotion I had given off, that I was aware of, in what seemed like forever. She noticed where my attention was mostly at, and looked down at my father, calling his name in a broken voice.
He got up and my mother moved out of the way, still keeping my hand, so my dad could have a turn with the hugs. “I new you would make it, Aubree. I knew it,” he whispered between sobs.
I have no idea what kind of condition im in, but being here, safe with my parents overwhelmed me with emotion, me saying nothing, this whole time.
My parents both leaned back and tried to collect themselves, never taking their eyes off me. What parent can take their child waking up after a long period of time, cooly, not knowing what, if anything, they’ve been through? That thought got me thinking: how long was I out?
I had to ask. It was a struggle to find my voice, but when I did it came out as a raspy, hushed whisper. I couldn’t fully get my voice out. “How long have I been out?”
As the first thing I’ve said to my parents since I’ve been back, the looked at me wide eyed, a flash of a smile on their faces, which then faded as it was my dad who told me the honest answer. “About five months,” he said. That answer he gave seemed to take them off of cloud nine and bring them back to the earth and realize the actuality of this situation and I could see the look of horror on their faces. I have been laying comatose in this bed, away from my family, putting them all in pain, for five months.
He came closer to me. “Aubree, we didn’t think that you were going to make it. The doctors didn’t think you were going to make it either,” he said, starting to get choked up again, “they were thinking about putting you on life support but we would’ve rather had you go when it’s your time instead of keeping you like this,”
My stomach dropped. I didn’t know how to take this. My father just told me that I’m really not supposed to be alive. That isn’t news that you get everyday. I looked at their faces, taking this in, and as I did, I saw something different. Something was wrong- and I mean, really wrong.
My poor family. For the past few minutes my thoughts have been coming so quickly and everything second is passing like a blur, and I haven’t stopped to think about the rest of my family, including my best friend, my sister. How ignorant of me not to have thought of Marjorie the second I opened my eyes.
I immediately jerked myself upward, being stopped by the many tubes that are stuck into my body like I’m some kind of science experiment. My mom’s gentle hands pushed me back down on the bed as she could see my eyes pop open wide.
“Marjorie!” I shouted, much stronger than before. “Let me see her!” I growled.
“Honey,” my mom comforted, “lay back down. It’s okay. Calm down,” she chanted, as my father turned around and walked out of the room so I couldn’t see his face.
“Let me go get a nurse. I’ll be right back,” she said, panicked, as she quickly turned on her heel and ran out of the room, leaving me alone.
I’ve been in a coma for five months, and they leave me alone like this? What is going on? Now I know for sure something is seriously wrong. I can sense it.

Nine
Even though my parents were out of the room for less than two minutes, it felt like forever when a handful of nurses and a doctor came in, with my mom trailing behind, all sense of her panic gone. She must have collected herself out in the hallway. Where did she learn to hide what she was feeling before it spread all over her face and gave her away?
The doctor’s attention immediately went to me, and I knew that this was the first time she saw me awake in a very long time. Had she seen me awake at all before? I couldn’t remember.
The young doctor greeted me with a nice smile and a “Hi, sweetie,” as she walked towards me, “I’m Dr. Michaels. You must be Aubree. It’s nice to formally meet you,” she said in a professional, yet kind voice as there was a flurry of nurses checking monitors and flipping through papers around me. I noticed my mother standing towards the corner of the room, with tears streaming silently down her face. I couldn’t tell by the look on her face whether it was because she was sad or happy. Maybe it was a mixture of both. My father still hadn’t returned to the room- another thing that confused me.
Dr. Michaels got my attention then, as I reluctantly tore my eyes away from my mom and looked in to the doctor’s. As I did, something about her brown eyes were very familiar.
“So, Aubree. In a nutshell, how are you feeling? I know that seems like a silly question to ask you, but we need to start somewhere.”
I had to stop and think about that. The entire time I’ve been awake I haven’t really acknowledged my physical state. I looked down at my body and it just looked like a big lump under the blanket. I didn’t know if I could move any of my limbs, but I don’t dare try just yet.
“I feel like...I don’t know. How would you feel if you were in my position? I don’t know what I feel like right know, okay?” I stuttered, my weak tone not as polite as it should’ve been.
“Okay, I understand,” Dr. Michaels said, “well, obviously you can somewhat talk, and you know that you are in a hospital, but can you remember how you got here?”
“No, I can’t remember. There are lots of things that look oddly familiar, like you for one, but I can’t recall seeing any of them before,” I said.
“Right,” she said, understanding, moving on to the next question, “can you give me your full name- first, middle, and last?” she asked.
“Sure. It’s Aubree...Aubree...,” I stuttered again, obviously struggling. I couldn’t even remember my name. I started to panic. What did this mean?
The doctor obviously noticed my moment of alarm and tried to calm me. “Oh, it’s okay, honey. Lets skip the questions for a bit and let me just test some of your basic senses. Lets start with your eyes.”
She started with a small flashlight that fit in her front pocket, and started waving it back and forth in front of my eyes, wanting them to follow it. The light was harsh, and my eyes felt heavy, making it difficult. She then held up her hand and asked how many fingers she was holding up, but her hand that close to my face made them seem blurry and I couldn’t quite tell. It was like I suddenly needed glasses for some reason. She drew her hand away.
“Alright, I think were done for now. I’ll just let you rest,” she murmured, with a polite smile on her face, as she was jotting several things down on her note pad, then going to discuss something with a couple of the nurses.
I then saw a nurse step up to one of the many tubes that were connected to me, with a syringe in hand and I immediately new by the look on her face that she was giving me some kind of medication to knock me out.
“Aw, come on! No, no, no, no!” I screeched, searching for my mom, seeing her talking with the doctor on the other side of the room. She heard my cry and came over to me, comforting me, telling me that I need to rest and that she’ll be here right when I wake up.
“What if I don’t wake up? Don’t make me go back there!” I screamed, alarming everyone in the room.
“It’s okay, honey. I love you and I’ll be right here,” I heard my mom say as I felt my eyelids grow heavy, so I surrendered and shut my eyes, too tired to fight anymore. She’ll put up with me later.

I then found myself running in a large, green field, with the grass as high as my knees and beautiful wildflowers billowing in the wind for as far as I could see. The sun was bright, at the highest point in the sky, beaming down on me so I could feel the heat cover my body. I ran to the rhythm of the beat that my bare feet made as they hit the ground. I wasn’t running from anything, just running for the joy of it.
I looked up, admiring the crystal blue of the sky, and as I looked back down, the beautiful green meadow was then gone. It was replaced by a pit of black swirls that I was about to fall in. I tried to stop running, but I was going to fast. I fell into the sinister black pit, as it’s dark clouds swallowed me up, the beautiful field disappearing.
My eyes popped open, to a place that I actually remember. I gasped as I realized I was safe in the much too white hospital room. I lay there and try to get my heart rate to slow down and try not to start freaking out. It was only a dream, I won’t go back there, I repeated to myself again, and again.
I cautiously looked around the now dark room. The TV hanging from the ceiling in the corner is still on, but muted, and all of the lights are off as I see my mom curled up in the reclining chair next to my bed. It didn’t look that comfortable, but she didn’t seem bothered by it. Her face was peaceful, all sense of the pain wiped clean. I look past her, and saw my little brother Alex sleeping on the ground, curled up next to the chair, on a big pile of blankets.

My heart seemed to fall into my stomach as I looked at his face, also peaceful with sleep. My memory of him is so vague, so it feels like this is one of the first times I have ever looked at my little brother. I have no recollection of thinking about him while I was away for those five months. Maybe it was because I never heard his voice. I wanted to wake him up and look into his eyes and fully remember him, but being here must take a toll on you. They both look like they’re so deeply asleep nothing could wake them up.
As I looked at my brother, I could feel my eyes water up and my vision grow blurry as the tears broke the surface and rolled down my cheeks. Alex must have not been as deep asleep as I thought, because he seemed to have heard my quiet crying and opened his eyes, looking up at me.
I could feel the smile spread all the way across my face as the tears began to come faster. “Hi,” was all I could say, as I watched him get up and stumble over to my bed, immediately climbing on to it and curling up next to me.
“Hi,” he said, wiping the tears off my face, “It’s about time you came back.”
We both said nothing and just lay there, until I could hear Alex’s breathing become deeper and more even, as he fell back asleep.

Ten
I must have fallen back asleep as well, because when I woke up, it was light again in the room. The TV was on, and my dad was sitting in a chair on the other side of the room, watching it, or at least it looked like he was.
“Dad!” I screeched. I hadn’t seen him since I first woke up.
My shout made him jump as he turned around to see that I was awake. “Hi, Aub,” he said sweetly as he got up and crossed over to the bed. He looked at me with tired eyes. “How are you feeling?”
“Weird,” I replied. “So, would you like to tell me where you have been since the last time I saw you?” I asked, immediately changing the subject.
His face was abruptly cautious, as he tried to give me a smile, but I didn’t believe it. “It’s just been a little crazy around here. After all, this is where I work. I obviously have time off since you’re here, but we are so short lately that I try to help when I have the chance, mostly when you’re asleep,” he said, and something about his tone was extremely fake.
“Oh,” was all I said, looking him up and down, but then I remembered. He worked here. “You’re a doctor,” I realized.
“Yes,” he chuckled, joyed that I remembered. He patted my forehead. “Maybe it’s starting to come back. Slowly.”
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t count on that just yet,” I sighed. “Where are mom and Alex? And Marj-,”
He cut me off, immediately cautious again, knowing what I was about to ask next. He pretended like he didn’t hear that last part. “They, uh, went to, uh, go get something to eat. They should be back shortly,” he said, in the phony voice that I once again didn’t believe.
I grew very irritated. “Okay, look Dad-,” My questioning was interrupted as Dr. Michaels strolled into the room.
“Hey, Hugh,” she called to my father as she turned the corner. “Hello again, Aubree,” she smiled, as she walked over to check what looked like my heart monitor. “Looks like something gave you a scare earlier this morning. Your heart rate jumped. Do you remember anything that happened?” she asked.
“Um...,” I hesitated, as I remembered the vivid dream, “yeah, I just had a dream that wasn’t very pleasant this morning. But it’s nothing anyone needs to worry about.”
“Okay,” the doctor said, “are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. There was actually something else I wanted to talk about. I need to see Marjorie. Now. Where the hell is she?” I demanded, staring at my father. It was the doctor who answered, though.
“Aubree, I need to talk to your father for one moment out in the hallway, and then we’ll be back to answer your questions,” she told me, accepting no argument.
I glared at them both, not bothering to argue, as they walked out of the room. I strained my ears to be able to hear some of what they said.
“Hugh, I think you need to tell Aubree now. She seems to be going a lot stronger than she was. She needs...,” was all I heard the doctor say to my father before their voices faded away.
This is just plain wrong. My parents and even the doctor weren’t telling me something important, something I need to know. I need to see Marjorie, but they wont tell me anything about where she is. Why hasn’t she come to see me? Does she even know that I’m alive? My stomach twisted into knots as I realized that something must have happened to her. Why else wouldn’t she be here?
When Dr. Michaels and my dad came back into the room I nearly jumped out of my bed, if that were possible. I still couldn’t or wouldn’t move a lot yet.
The doctor was absurdly calm about the way I was reacting. “Aubree, you need to calm down. You don’t need to strain yourself over this.”
I tried to relax, but didn’t have much success. “Okay. This is getting ridiculous,” I said, “where is my sister?”

Post Your Papers Here

2009-12-03T07:22:00.001-08:00

We will begin posting our papers here in order to read them and discuss them in a timely manner. Simply click on the comment section of this blog posting, and cut and paste your story into the comments box. Then, make sure you read all the other postings.

Character Descriptions

2008-10-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

Character Descriptions:
Please fill in the following character descriptions for both your antagonist and your protagonist.

Name:

Nickname:

Address:

Rural/Urban

Home life (what does it look like…)

Sex:

Age/birthdate:

Height:

Weight:

Eye Color:

Hair Color:

Hair Style:

One striking feature either psychological or physical:

Nationality:

Family background:

Language:

Marital/Relationship Status:

Level of Education:

Job:

Sports:

Pastimes/Activities:

Religion:

Favorite
Clothes:

Food:

Songs:

Books:

Movies:

Television:

Race:

Most important accomplishment:

Most tragic life experience:

Goals:

Relationship between protagonist and antagonist: