Sooooo, I went back to fix the last chapter. I just made it not so rough around the edges. But now I'm down in the dumps.
Oh, and I decided to add this one so that it's a little longer. And I apologize for any spelling mistake I make. I'm simply too lazy to fix everything.
Anyway. Enjoy.
FlashbackIt was an unusually boring Saturday, as I remembered it so clearly. Sometimes, it's amazing how the single last blissful day of your life can remain so untainted in you mind. In fact, I could remember everything. I still recall the way the neighbor's savvy cat sauntered on the street in that conceited and lazy motion. I have committed that day to memory. Saunter
Everything was pitch perfect. The sun was blazing down on the roof of the house, where I was hidding out temporarily. The sun oozed warmness, showering happiness that can make one feel so complete. Mom warned me to put on lots of sun lotion or I was surely going to get fried, and I could already feel my skin sizzling.
Everything was the same in sunny ole California. The weather was mangy hot, enough to make you sweat a pound just sitting there. I could make out the voices of the neighborhood kids hollering, scrambling around the sidewalk for a game of chase. Somehow, it calmed me. Those kids were still so naïve. They never even once think about what they have to strive for to make life so valuable.
Jesse had called me for ice cream. It has become a daily routine ever since California hit summer. He's found some tiny ice cream joint that's not so packed with so many teenagers. It just the most precious little parlor off the back street of Starbucks. Of course, it didn't earn as much popularity as the coffee shop, but that's what made it so worthwhile.
It was still pretty early, and I was lying in Jesse's bed sassily. I drew myself together. My legs folded against my chest, as I held myself smugly, drawing in the scent of Jesse's old T-shirt. It made me feel giddy all over like a silly child.
Jesse went out early for a morning jog. It was already noon and he has yet to come home. So I waited, hugging myself on his bed. The softness of his covers drew me in like cashmere. I get the same warm feeling wash over me whenever I lay there.
And sooner than five minutes later, I was dozing off. A lingering sleep followed me. My body unwinded and unraveled against itself. The humid air guided my dreams. I was just following wherever life takes me, trying to catch a ride. It was summer, and I was ready to sleep my knowledge off and just let myself catch up.
It also did make me somewhat sad to depart from my friends. Cee got an early acceptance to Brown, and she was already packed and ready to go. It's as if she couldn't wait to leave us, and that's enough to make me tear. Adam had already left a few days ago to some college in Florida, probably a clown college if not better. As for me, I was just taking me time and enjoying the ride.
I would feel a drop of tear rolling down my smooth cheek. It rounded against the chin, drawing a curve. My lips drooped, pouting. I was never going to see them again.
The colleges I picked out were placed all around the country.
It just drives me deprived when I realize that none of my friends were ever going to meet up again. Yeah, maybe a party for the class of 2006 eighty years from now, but who's going to wait that long?
Oh, Cee was absolutely heartbroken when Adam left. You always think that the people you're with now are the people that you'll be with forever. But how wrong we were.
Mom and Andy keeps telling me to pick out a major. Jakes, who's already been off in college—dozing it off I bet—always pressures me that it's going to be too late if I don't pick now. I still don't know what his major is. Probably something along the line sleeping-ology. He'd pass that in a snap.
But I had no idea how long my day was going to be.
Now days:
"You mind if we walk?" Paul kept fingering the folder, grinning at me with that knowing smile of his.
The wind was drawing me hair out, cradling me softly. Its touch was velvety smooth, and caressed my skin with a tingle of warmness. I let my eyes flutter to a close, breathing in the sweet scent of spring. It was so serene and peaceful.
"Isn't it so beautiful?" I breathed, barely parting my lips. "The air is so fragile, I'm afraid to break it if I hold it."
He chuckled, like I was some foolish five-year-old.
I finally stopped skipping and pried my eyes open. I caught Paul in the act of staring at me in awe. His piercing sapphire eyes penetrated me skin.
"What, Paul?" I smiled unevenly.
He quickly looked away like a kid caught stealing cookie from the cookie jar. And shook his head, giving me the eye roll. Being around him made me feel so immature.
I started again, trying to keep up my pace, "Hey, Boss. Mind if I ask you a question? I know we're not suppose to talk about it since you're my boss and it's suppose to be 'personal' or whatever."
He looked startled for a second, and then pleased. His golden locks shone with a bright luster in the sun. "Sure. Ask away."
"You know James from the sales staff?" I inquired. "Why did you fire him? I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to or anything. But, he's kinda my only friend from the company. All the other people would just kind of shy away from me. It's like I'm contagious."
I sucked in a deep breath, chocking over my own words. I blinked, licking my dry lips, and continued. "And then James was really nice to me. He would always stop by my office every afternoon and tell me a joke. I kind of miss having a friend who just doesn't start eyeing me every time I'm around you. Like right now."
I stopped to reminisce the dry smile he'd draw every afternoon when he'd stop by with one of those corny jokes. Sometimes, that's the only thing that makes up my day.
He was good natured, and laid back. Always did bear that honest expression. But he was also just a kid. Constantly on the quest for more knowledge. Sometimes, after sharing a joke with me, he'd stop by for some help at work. He was so curious, and that was sweet. Now, I missed having a friend at work.
As we walked down the courtyard where the employees—like me—were supposed to be having lunch, they all hid behind their lunches and started eyeing us suspiciously. I could feel their eyes on me as we moved. It was scary.
I wanted a friend. Someone that I can share my day with, and go out with on the weekends. Someone that can I can joke around with and can lift a smile on my lips. Maybe just for a day, and it'll be worth it.
With Paul around, it was nearly impossible. Everyone avoided me. Sure, I talk to a few friends here and there. But do they ever stop by just to say hi? Do they even care if I was fired the next day? Maybe I was just searching for comfort.
He took a deep breath, and sighed, looking desperate for a good answer. His expression was pained, and then eased into his relaxed features. "He was a distraction."
I lolled my head, confused. "A distraction? So what, you're jealous now that I suddenly have a friend, and you, this boss of this entire corp, doesn't? God, Paul, you're just like that. You know what you are? You're like the kid on the playground that have to ruin everybody else's time just because you're not having a good one, and—"
"He was bad for the company. Wasn't selling enough. Did you know his sales pitch was half of everyone elses'?" A distraction and slacker." He said easily with a winning smirk. His face glowed.
"Oh," I gaped. Gawd, what a way to make me look stupid. "Well, I stand corrected."
He didn't seem to have realized what I had said. His forehead was creased with a questioning gaze. "Hey, you like ice cream?"
.0.0.
Jesse:
Flashback
I yawned, lolling my head back with a great sigh. I reached for my alarm clock, hitting the snooze button. It was only six. Knowing Susannah, she was probably sleeping in on a Saturday morning.
I quickly washed up, and grabbed breakfast, already running behind schedule. I ran a hand through my wet hair, and pulled up my hood. The sweatshirt smelled of the sweet scent of Susannah. I could feel the warmness seep through me at the thought of her, even though she wasn't there. I felt her fragile hand in my palm.
She was that kind of person. One that grabs your mind constantly, unwilling to let go. And most of all, I could always feel her there with me, soothing my mind. She was like a guardian angle, always watching over me, tugging on my heart strings. I liked her there.
I sat in my front door steps. It still wasn't the time of the day when the sun was boiling yet. Just perfect. A chilly breeze swept the air, laced with the fragrance of salty seawater. The weather was just right, and ideal for morning jogging.
Closing my eyes, I let the cool gentle wind wash over me. I sensed the waves crashing on shore in a rhythmic beat. This is the part of the day I loved the most. The palm trees swayed slightly, and the sea gulls squawked, soaring overhead.
Something purred at my foot. The neighbor's old cat pawed at me, searching my face for some comfort with those knowing, gleaming, golden eyes of its. Its pupils grew large, shuffling its body against my leg. It maneuvered easily through the gaps left between. Then, with a soft whimper, it left. I studied the way it promenaded flexibly at the wide sidewalk.
Something about it reminded me about Spike. Perhaps the way it stared up at me with those comforting eyes filled with ease. Remorse came over me.
I shook my head, and started jogging like I originally planned to before getting distracted.
The sound of the soles of my shoes hitting against the cement sidewalks were cadenced, cracking against the ground. I felt my breath draw up as my pace picked up, and sweat was dotting my forehead.
It looked like everyone was sleeping in late this morning. The curtains were all drawn and lights were smothered out. The street was silent, except for the sound of my running and nature itself.
After a while of listening to my pounding heart, I stopped at my favorite destination. Dropping to the sand, I picked up the sound of the waves again. The cavern lay behind me, hollow and dark. It threatened anyone that came close but me.
The sea gulls swooped down close to me, pecking at the sand, and started up again. They chartered the way north.
I couldn't wait to see Susannah this morning. I had promised to take her to that ice cream parlor. She loved that place, and could never contain her excitement whenever we came near. I loved seeing that eager look on her, as she'd prance around. She mentioned to me that the ice cream reminded her of New York. Those ice creams, she said giddily, have real fat in it. It didn't taste organic. And I would just chuckle and shake my head.
A shadow loomed over me at a towering height. I glanced up at the source of this blockade.
A short, stubby man frowned at me. He held a questioning gaze with those stern yet dull gray eyes of his. He looked formal, dressed in a business suit and tie, but his posture was anything but.
He nodded curtly, never taking his eyes off me. His hand clenched a suitcase. He had fine lines of age and wisdom cut in his face.
He finally opened his mouth to speak.
"Jesse de Silva?"
0.0.0
REVIEW. It would mean a lot to me. So I know that all the time I took to write this won't go wasted.