ViVi(:
10-22-2009, 11:57 PM
This is just the first chapter of it, i was hoping for some feedback. (:
Chapter 1: Before & After
It was summer, that's when it all started happening. Like a full moon suddenly shut off from the world by a dark thickening shroud of clouds, or at least that’s what it felt like to me. There was no warning, no first hand clue to what I would awaken to that morning. Let alone what I would happen later that night. In any other perspective, it was easy to tell that the day was going to be a good one, but I just couldn’t believe that.
The last days of my sophomore year in high school was something to remember. A trip to Disney World, which I’ll never forget, it was the most fun I’ve ever had within a short three days of adventure. Screaming like maniacs with my close friends, running around wildly from one attraction to the next and then ending the trip with a flight to Hawaii. An unexpected turn of events, but all ended for the better. Walking through the sandy beach during the sunset, it felt like one of those moments in our lives where it was time to say goodbye, although I couldn’t understand why at the time but I would soon find out for myself later.
I was sitting along the shores of the closest beach I could find near the hotel we were staying in. The moon beamed down its glistening light upon the deep blue ocean surface. The sight was breathtaking, even if the waves crashed only slightly against each other, the impact sent little floating crystals into the air. It took me by surprise when I felt the light tap on my shoulder; I literally shook my entire body out of the daze I was in just to turn around to meet the gaze of my close friend, Jennifer Lock.
“What are you doing here all on your lonesome Mr. Last?” she asked in a way that might have been joking around but worried at the same time.
“Not much Miss Lock, why must you always use my last name when you talk to me?” I asked her as I pulled my knees up to my chin and wrapped my arms around my knees, trying to keep warm as I suddenly noticed the cold chilly winds.
“Only because I love the look on your face when I call you that Zane.” Smiling as she sat next to me shoulder to shoulder. She probably knew that I was beginning to get cold, but didn’t want to leave just yet for a reason of her own. It wasn’t before long that she cut through the silence, nudging me before asking “Hey Zane…”
“Hmm?” I turned my head slightly to see that her eyes were far off into the distance, staring beyond the ocean.
“I’ve been wondering lately…” Slowly she started tracing lines into the sand before her feet. I tried to guess if she had been writing or drawing anything in particular but to no avail could I figure out what it was. That’s when I looked back up at her, her eyes were on mine no longer joking but serious, I knew it was she was going to ask me but I had to hope I was going to be wrong, just this once.
“Have you changed your mind?”
“Are we going through this again?”
“You know why I’m bringing this up…”
Of course I knew why, how couldn’t I not know why. It was like asking why fishes needed to be in water, otherwise they’ll die. During our time in the last two years of High School, people had constantly told me the very obvious attraction she had towards me. But the feeling wasn’t mutual between us. I didn’t want to be bothered with something as trivial in my life as love or whatever it was that she had been feeling for me. It was nothing but a crush in my opinion.
“I’m sorry Jen, but I haven’t changed my mind.”
She looked straight into my eyes before standing up abruptly to walk towards the coming tide shouting, “Well why won’t you! It’s not like I’ve ever done anything bad or hurt you! So tell me why!”
I felt so bad hearing that from her, she was right though, she had never done anything wrong to me but she just didn’t understand that it wasn’t her fault, it was my own. I knew that if I spoke anymore on the subject it would only make things worse, so I just rested my head on my hands that were now on top of my knees.
Now she was just pacing back and forth, walking into the light shaded areas where the water came onto the sand. It took me awhile before I realized that she was just trying to calm down, not wanting to ruin our friendship with a problem like this. Her motto used to be “Love is temporary but friendships last forever.” But like everyone else, it was only natural for her to change, even if she knew it might not end the way she wanted it to.
Counting in my head back from one hundred, I hoped that by the time I got to about twenty or even thirty that she would talk again. I stopped counting when I got to around ten, that’s when I decided it was my turn to break the silence, to set the mood right.
“Look Jen, I know how you feel but why can’t we stay the way we are now? We still have two more years of school, who knows what will happen then.” I stretched my legs across the sand before sitting up straight to hear her reply. It didn’t take her too long to stop her pacing and just stare at me from under the moon lit night sky.
“I know that but there’s also something I haven’t told you. I’ll be transferring schools as soon as we get back from this trip.” She closed her eyes and stared down at the ground. It was at that moment I had felt lower than the lowest of the low. If that was even remotely possible, but as much as I wanted to, I just couldn’t feel the same feelings as she did and lying wouldn’t make anything better.
I stood up and calmly asked, “Where will you be moving to?”
“Back home with my parents, they finally both got stable jobs so they want me to be closer with them. Sort of gaining up the loss of time I guess.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Yeah…”
We stood there for what seemed like forever, glancing up occasionally to see if the other person was watching. She finally broke the silence with a rush of an embrace into my chest, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist. I knew, she was crying, crying over the fact that our friendship would be parting soon. I wrapped my arms around her and started rubbing her back, trying the best I could to comfort her.
In some ways, this may be the first or truly last memory that I ever had left of her. I didn’t want to remember the moment in any other way; we had a true friendship that would be tested by this long separation period. It was only after we got back from the trip did more shocking events hit me straight in the face.
When I got home, barely even had made it through the front door, the news was given to me like a news flash on TV. I was given only a few days to pack and say goodbye to all I knew here. Like the perfect drama movie I suppose, but this time there was no happy ending in sight. My mother told me that she was sending me to stay with my aunt for a good six months while she went off to visit my father who was in Italy for business. “Unfair” was the only word I could mumble without her hearing before I stormed off into my room to gather what little I could before my judgment day.
It was easy to prolong my departure date since my mother was always easily fooled with my excuses. “I need more supplies... I didn’t get to say goodbye to the Foster’s… I think I’m sick.” This lasted me an extra few days of being in the place I had learned to finally call my home, but finally my mom put her foot down and I was at the airport the next day. “Damn.” was the word floating through my mind the entire time I stood there looking at the display board, hoping that my flight would be delayed just a little longer. It was as if fate was on my mother’s side today because my flight was actually fifthteen minutes early, so I only had 5 minutes in reality left to rush to my gate.
Luckily I got there in time, mainly on account that my mom managed to drag me embarrassingly through the entire terminal. The lady who stood there waited patiently for me to catch my breath before asking, “May I have your ticket please?” Smiling cheerfully at me as she asked, it was almost as if she was waiting there just for me.
After handing her my ticket she swiped it quickly through the machine and handed it back to me smiling once more, “Have a nice flight.”
“Thank you.” I said while tilting my head down slightly to acknowledge her kindness towards me. With that awkward moment behind me I went through the long tunnel that finally ended with the entrance to the plane, the noise was unbearable. It was like walking into a loud basketball game back during the fall season of my school. I took a careful step onto the plane and headed through the aisle way looking for my seat. Luckily I didn’t bring many things with me, so there was no need for the overhead compartments. By the time the pilot spoke over the p.a. system I was already in my seat ready to go, sadly. I turned my head over to the seat next to me a few times before the take off started; I guessed that the person wasn’t coming on the flight.
The view of my home town wasn’t like the first time I had come to live here. Now I was saying goodbye to it all, instead of dreading it and saying hello. Irony seemed to be present through this weird summer; I could only hope that whatever was in store for me once I landed would be better for me.
I stared out the window for a long time before the exhaustion finally had caught its way back up to me, knocking me out into a peaceful but restless sleep.
"I'll give you a better dream, at the end of the night..."
Chapter 1: Before & After
It was summer, that's when it all started happening. Like a full moon suddenly shut off from the world by a dark thickening shroud of clouds, or at least that’s what it felt like to me. There was no warning, no first hand clue to what I would awaken to that morning. Let alone what I would happen later that night. In any other perspective, it was easy to tell that the day was going to be a good one, but I just couldn’t believe that.
The last days of my sophomore year in high school was something to remember. A trip to Disney World, which I’ll never forget, it was the most fun I’ve ever had within a short three days of adventure. Screaming like maniacs with my close friends, running around wildly from one attraction to the next and then ending the trip with a flight to Hawaii. An unexpected turn of events, but all ended for the better. Walking through the sandy beach during the sunset, it felt like one of those moments in our lives where it was time to say goodbye, although I couldn’t understand why at the time but I would soon find out for myself later.
I was sitting along the shores of the closest beach I could find near the hotel we were staying in. The moon beamed down its glistening light upon the deep blue ocean surface. The sight was breathtaking, even if the waves crashed only slightly against each other, the impact sent little floating crystals into the air. It took me by surprise when I felt the light tap on my shoulder; I literally shook my entire body out of the daze I was in just to turn around to meet the gaze of my close friend, Jennifer Lock.
“What are you doing here all on your lonesome Mr. Last?” she asked in a way that might have been joking around but worried at the same time.
“Not much Miss Lock, why must you always use my last name when you talk to me?” I asked her as I pulled my knees up to my chin and wrapped my arms around my knees, trying to keep warm as I suddenly noticed the cold chilly winds.
“Only because I love the look on your face when I call you that Zane.” Smiling as she sat next to me shoulder to shoulder. She probably knew that I was beginning to get cold, but didn’t want to leave just yet for a reason of her own. It wasn’t before long that she cut through the silence, nudging me before asking “Hey Zane…”
“Hmm?” I turned my head slightly to see that her eyes were far off into the distance, staring beyond the ocean.
“I’ve been wondering lately…” Slowly she started tracing lines into the sand before her feet. I tried to guess if she had been writing or drawing anything in particular but to no avail could I figure out what it was. That’s when I looked back up at her, her eyes were on mine no longer joking but serious, I knew it was she was going to ask me but I had to hope I was going to be wrong, just this once.
“Have you changed your mind?”
“Are we going through this again?”
“You know why I’m bringing this up…”
Of course I knew why, how couldn’t I not know why. It was like asking why fishes needed to be in water, otherwise they’ll die. During our time in the last two years of High School, people had constantly told me the very obvious attraction she had towards me. But the feeling wasn’t mutual between us. I didn’t want to be bothered with something as trivial in my life as love or whatever it was that she had been feeling for me. It was nothing but a crush in my opinion.
“I’m sorry Jen, but I haven’t changed my mind.”
She looked straight into my eyes before standing up abruptly to walk towards the coming tide shouting, “Well why won’t you! It’s not like I’ve ever done anything bad or hurt you! So tell me why!”
I felt so bad hearing that from her, she was right though, she had never done anything wrong to me but she just didn’t understand that it wasn’t her fault, it was my own. I knew that if I spoke anymore on the subject it would only make things worse, so I just rested my head on my hands that were now on top of my knees.
Now she was just pacing back and forth, walking into the light shaded areas where the water came onto the sand. It took me awhile before I realized that she was just trying to calm down, not wanting to ruin our friendship with a problem like this. Her motto used to be “Love is temporary but friendships last forever.” But like everyone else, it was only natural for her to change, even if she knew it might not end the way she wanted it to.
Counting in my head back from one hundred, I hoped that by the time I got to about twenty or even thirty that she would talk again. I stopped counting when I got to around ten, that’s when I decided it was my turn to break the silence, to set the mood right.
“Look Jen, I know how you feel but why can’t we stay the way we are now? We still have two more years of school, who knows what will happen then.” I stretched my legs across the sand before sitting up straight to hear her reply. It didn’t take her too long to stop her pacing and just stare at me from under the moon lit night sky.
“I know that but there’s also something I haven’t told you. I’ll be transferring schools as soon as we get back from this trip.” She closed her eyes and stared down at the ground. It was at that moment I had felt lower than the lowest of the low. If that was even remotely possible, but as much as I wanted to, I just couldn’t feel the same feelings as she did and lying wouldn’t make anything better.
I stood up and calmly asked, “Where will you be moving to?”
“Back home with my parents, they finally both got stable jobs so they want me to be closer with them. Sort of gaining up the loss of time I guess.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Yeah…”
We stood there for what seemed like forever, glancing up occasionally to see if the other person was watching. She finally broke the silence with a rush of an embrace into my chest, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist. I knew, she was crying, crying over the fact that our friendship would be parting soon. I wrapped my arms around her and started rubbing her back, trying the best I could to comfort her.
In some ways, this may be the first or truly last memory that I ever had left of her. I didn’t want to remember the moment in any other way; we had a true friendship that would be tested by this long separation period. It was only after we got back from the trip did more shocking events hit me straight in the face.
When I got home, barely even had made it through the front door, the news was given to me like a news flash on TV. I was given only a few days to pack and say goodbye to all I knew here. Like the perfect drama movie I suppose, but this time there was no happy ending in sight. My mother told me that she was sending me to stay with my aunt for a good six months while she went off to visit my father who was in Italy for business. “Unfair” was the only word I could mumble without her hearing before I stormed off into my room to gather what little I could before my judgment day.
It was easy to prolong my departure date since my mother was always easily fooled with my excuses. “I need more supplies... I didn’t get to say goodbye to the Foster’s… I think I’m sick.” This lasted me an extra few days of being in the place I had learned to finally call my home, but finally my mom put her foot down and I was at the airport the next day. “Damn.” was the word floating through my mind the entire time I stood there looking at the display board, hoping that my flight would be delayed just a little longer. It was as if fate was on my mother’s side today because my flight was actually fifthteen minutes early, so I only had 5 minutes in reality left to rush to my gate.
Luckily I got there in time, mainly on account that my mom managed to drag me embarrassingly through the entire terminal. The lady who stood there waited patiently for me to catch my breath before asking, “May I have your ticket please?” Smiling cheerfully at me as she asked, it was almost as if she was waiting there just for me.
After handing her my ticket she swiped it quickly through the machine and handed it back to me smiling once more, “Have a nice flight.”
“Thank you.” I said while tilting my head down slightly to acknowledge her kindness towards me. With that awkward moment behind me I went through the long tunnel that finally ended with the entrance to the plane, the noise was unbearable. It was like walking into a loud basketball game back during the fall season of my school. I took a careful step onto the plane and headed through the aisle way looking for my seat. Luckily I didn’t bring many things with me, so there was no need for the overhead compartments. By the time the pilot spoke over the p.a. system I was already in my seat ready to go, sadly. I turned my head over to the seat next to me a few times before the take off started; I guessed that the person wasn’t coming on the flight.
The view of my home town wasn’t like the first time I had come to live here. Now I was saying goodbye to it all, instead of dreading it and saying hello. Irony seemed to be present through this weird summer; I could only hope that whatever was in store for me once I landed would be better for me.
I stared out the window for a long time before the exhaustion finally had caught its way back up to me, knocking me out into a peaceful but restless sleep.
"I'll give you a better dream, at the end of the night..."