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Last school year, it was in the middle of May, and all of the seats were filled. Well, all except one next to an old woman, sitting by her lonesome. She seemed like one of those sweet women who you find rocking back and forth on her old rocking chair in a mid summer evening. The woman was short and plump. Her gray hair was tied up in a loose bun, with several locks of hair hanging free on the sides. Her straw sunhat was askew on her head, with several yellow flowers tied to the side with a bright yellow bow. Her bright yellow sundress had a beautiful pattern of different assortments of flowers. She looked like a sweetest old woman I had ever seen. The woman was asleep in the window seat. It confused me that she was sitting all alone, and that everyone looking for a seat quickly passed her. She was so sweet; or so I thought.
As she slowly breathed in and out I quietly took the seat next to her and sat my knapsack on the seat next to me. I recognized her as the elderly woman that sits alone in the back of the train practically every day. I tapped the woman on the shoulder. She stirred.
“Mhmm…?” she said. Her eyes still closed.
“Um…Excuse me. Is there anyone sitting here?” I asked. The woman’s eyelids flew up, revealing eyes that had no pupils, just the iris.
Startled by such a scary sight, I jumped back and screamed.
“These children show no damned respect!” the woman spat, showing a toothless, scornful look. The woman, however, was not looking at me at all; she was staring at the seat in front of her, as if talking to herself, “Every day the same thing happens. Why can’t these children grow up?”
The woman turned her attention to me, “And you! You, as I watched day after day, I thought would be different! But, no, no one can pay some decent respect!” As she continued to lecture me spit began to fly from her toothless mouth. I simply stared at her with a shocked expression. I was never sure if I was shocked because she was so rude to me, or because of the fact that she had no pupils.
“If it weren’t for those nice people today, who don’t seem to mind this indecency, children might not be running around causing the trouble as they do now. But, who affects the children none other than their parents. Every parent is the same pigheaded parent. They give their children whatever they want and don’t use some discipline. Your parents do nothing but spoil you and your sisters!”
“Wa-wa-wait!” I said in a high pitched voice, far from my own, “How did you know I have sisters?”
“Never mind that!” the spit from the woman’s mouth continued to fly in all directions, “Want me to tell you what I’d do if I were your parent? I’d whip you until your flesh was torn, chapped and bleeding. I’d make you mop the floors and dust the shelves. I’d make you go to the stores to buy more whips so I could give you more lashes. I’d give you lashes until you would beg to be me, with no pupils and no teeth. I’d give you 365 lashes, one for every day of the year, and one for every day you’ve sinned.”
The woman pointed her boney finger at me and screamed in her wicked, bone-shattering voice, “But I would make you that you’d never, ever, treat another person like you did to me!” The woman slowly began to inch toward me, and I inched backward.
“Repent!” she shouted, “Repent for your sins before you find yourself in the darkest pits of hell. Repent for all of the things wronged of people! Repent! Repent!” The woman scooted closer to me, and I fell backwards onto my messenger bag. Something sharp from my bag was digging into my back.
“But, whatever you do,” she inched her dreadful face closer to mine, “Don’t ever treat me like you did just now.” The woman reached for me and grabbed my hair.
“Beware,” she warned, “Beware! Or this day might be your last!” A look of panic covered my face. Did she just threaten to kill me? I thought.
“Now,” she tugged on my hair, “Don’t you ever show your face again, or I’ll-” My eyes widened, and I let out an ear piercing scream. I frantically swatted away her hand and jumped back. Immediately, I grabbed my bag and took off down the isle, pushing past everyone in my way.
“Get back here, girl!” I heard the elderly woman shout, “Repent! Repent! Repent!”
“Leave me alone!” I screamed as I continued to push people out of the way.
The first thing I did was headed toward the bathroom. I frantically banged on the door.
“Someone’s in here,” I heard a polite voice sing. I swung my bag over my shoulder and did a little dance, as if I really had to use the bathroom. I wanted to get away from the open now. The woman’s words ran back and forth in my head.
Beware…Beware! Or this day might be your last!
I could still feel her spit flying onto my face, and my head still hurting from having my hair pulled.
Repent! Repent! Repent! Repent!
Suddenly I realized the words playing in my head were not my imagination at all. The woman was chanting the words as she trudged down the isle. I banged on the door more frantically.
“Just a minute,” I heard the voice sing once more. I backed away from the door and tapped my foot in annoyance. The old woman was getting ever closer.
I danced some more, then rolled up my sleeves. I decided I was going to kick down the door. Just as I was about to charge, the door swung open, revealing a tall, beautiful young woman.
“Ah,” she said, “Much better.” She dusted the dirt off of her skirt and stepped from the doorway. I turned my head and noticed that the old woman was getting even closer, and her chanting became even louder.
“You know,” the woman began, “I never knew that-” I did not even stay to hear the rest of what she was saying. I pushed past her as quickly as possible and dashed into the bathroom.
“Hey!” the woman shouted. But I ignored her; I could hear the old woman’s dreaded footsteps stomping down the isle.
I immediately locked the door and curled up in the corner of the room, wishing that it would end. The only thing running through my mind was, when is it going to be over?
I came crashing to reality with a sudden stop, as the subway jerked sideways and took off at the speed of light. Lucy had her face pushed up against the glass and watched the view of the corner swirl into a big blur of scenery. I silently stared up at the ceiling and closed my eyes trying to block out the horrors of that day.
“Are you ok?” I heard a soft voice say. I looked over and saw Lucy’s worried gaze upon me. I nodded; after all, it is impossible to change the past. Lucy gave me a strange look, but turned her attention back to the window.
After a few moments of silence I decided to ask Lucy about the boxes in the kitchen.
“Lucy?” I asked in a quite voice.
Lucy turned around, “Yes?”
“Do you know why there were a bunch of boxes in the kitchen?” I asked.
Lucy gave me a befuddled look, and I gave her one in return. Obviously I had missed something.
Then, as if to comprehend my look of confusion, Lucy said, “They never told you, did they?”
I knit my eyebrows, “Huh?” Lucy squeezed her eyes shut and leaned her forehead against lucent glass of the subway window. The lights of the tunnel we were going through illuminated her face.
“Daddy’s going off to war…” she said, in a monotone, her eyes still shut.
“I know that, but, why were the boxes there?” I asked, vexed by her nearly emotionless attitude.
“That’s just it,” her voice quivered, as if she were about to cry, “He’s going off to war, and he’s leaving for good.” Her eyes were still shut, but I could tell if she opened them she would burst into tears.
“Lucy, calm down,” I said in empathy, “We’ve still got a while left with him, we can just use our time with him wisely, and-”
“No!” She wailed, “You don’t understand. We don’t have any time!”
I looked at Lucy perplexingly, “Wait, what are you talking a-” Lucy’s eyes shot open. “He’s leaving this weekend, Kela! And he’s not coming ba-a-a-” Lucy could not even finish her sentence she immediately broke out into a heart filled, soul shattering fit of countless tears, causing me to nearly break down with her, however I was the older one and, apparently, somebody had to be strong.
Immediately, I wrapped my arms around Lucy, trying to comfort her.
“It’s not fair!” she cried out between gasps of air, “It’s re-eally no-ot fa-a-air! I-I-It’s not fair at a-all! It’s-” Lucy could not even talk any longer, for she began to choke on her tears. She started a humongous fit of hacking until finally she took in a shaky breath and collapsed onto my left shoulder.
“I don’t want him to leave…Not now…” I heard her whimper into my ear. And the subway fell silent, not only because her crying had seized, but because the entire population of the subway had stopped what they were doing and looked at us. I gave the people staring a stern look and, one by one, they returned to what they were originally doing before the chaos my sister had caused.
I listened carefully as Lucy’s hacking came to a halt and her hurried breathing started to slow down to a normal pace.
“Are you ok?” I asked in a tranquil tone.
“Mm-hmm…” she said.
“But I’ve got some good news, you know,” I said. The least I could do was try to cheer her up.
Lucy lifted her head slowly from my shoulder, which had fallen asleep while Lucy’s head was resting on it, “What?”
“You know,” I smiled at her, “Today’s our first day of school.”
Lucy sniffled, then said in a bored tone, “And?”
“And your going to make lots of friends,” I continued to smile, “And learn lots of things.”
I put a hand on Lucy’s shoulder, “And you’re gonna have lot’s of fun, right?”
Lucy wiped away the tears from her face and smiled, “Yup!” Then Lucy randomly began to laugh, and, though I had no apparent reason, I began to laugh too. We, in fact, laughed until everyone on the subway once again fell silent and stared at us. Both of us fell silent, however our joyous expressions remained.
Finally I spoke, “You sure you’re ok?”
Lucy looked at me and smiled, “Of course, but thanks for looking out for me.”
Then, for no apparent reason, I hugged her, “No problem.”
And then we continued hugging, until I heard the loud call of the conductor.
“Last stop; Villion Peveira School of the Arts!” he shouted.
I let go of Lucy as the subway started to slowly come to a halt. In silence we picked up our bags, slung them over our shoulders and stood, waiting for the adventures ahead of us. I took Lucy by the hand, and we walked off the subway, hand in hand. And there it was; Villion Peveira School. Lucky for Lucy, the building, where the younger children her age went, was right next to the subway stop, so right when we got off the subway, I waved goodbye and, as fast as a bullet, Lucy ran off into the building. I leaned up against the lamppost that was conveniently located behind me, and watched Lucy disappear into the school, because I knew that moment would never come again.
I was about to walk off to my part of the school, that was all the way across campus, when I heard a voice shouting my name. I turned around, and it wsa Kenny. He was in his school uniform now, and not that musty subway uniform.
“Hey! Wait!” I heard Kenny shout over my shoulder.
I turned around and smiled, “Hey.”
He ran up to me, “So…Long time, no see.”
I smiled, “Yeah.”
I began walking, and he walked beside me, as we made our way to the High School building. There was a long silence. I looked at him, and he seemed not to mind the quietness.
Knowing I needed to break the silence barrier, I spoke, “So...How have you been?”
Kenny looked at me and smiled, “Good…Working hard. Trying to get some money together…”
I looked at him, “Oh…That’s good…”
It was silent again. The silence was eerie. I knew why it was silent, though. I knew what he was going to say. Any moment now he was going to pop the question…Any moment now he was going to-
“So…Has she said anything?” Kenny asked hesitantly.
“Took you a while to ask,” I said with a smile, though behind that smile, I was screaming, Why won’t he just give up? He’s an idiot! He can never tell what’s good for him!
“I know,” he said as he blushed…hard, “But…Has she changed her mind?”
“No, Kenny. My sister did not change her mind,” I said firmly, and somewhat harshly, “She is not interested, and never will be.”
Kenny threw me an angry look.
“Why are you saying that so loud?” he whispered.
“Kenny, everyone already knows. The whole freakin’ world knows, so stop making me keep quiet!” I snapped.
“Well then why do you keep acting all angry when I bring this up?” Kenny’s voice was rising.
“Because it’s stupid!” I fired back at him. I hated arguing with Kenny, but this subject got the better of me. He had no idea what he was trying to get himself into.
“And why is it stupid?” Kenny ordered, “You don’t know how amazing your sister actually is! You don’t even try to get to know her!”
“Of course I’ve tried to get to know her!” I was losing my temper, “I’ve known her all freakin’ fourteen years of my life! I think I know her! Way more than you do, too!”
“Then why do you keep telling me I’m not right for her all the time?” Kenny stormed, “You haven’t known me as long as you have your sister! For all you know, Heather and I could be perfect for each other!”
I looked him dead in the eyes, “But you’re not!”
“How the hell aren’t we?” Kenny boomed.
I stopped walking and my eyes softened. How was I going to tell Kenny…? I could easily say, Because my sister is a freakin’ slut. She doesn’t care. She goes out drinking late at night and hangs over fifty bazillion other guys, even if she has a boyfriend. She probably does drugs, knowing her. And she would never go out with her baby sister’s best friend! She’s laugh in your freakin’ face!
But I knew I would never say that because that would tear Kenny apart…
Immediately I stared at the ground and dug my foot into the turf. I closed my eyes and sighed. I had no idea what to say. Suddenly I felt incredibly sad; depressed, even. This reminded me of him.
Kenny turned around and looked at me. His once angered eyes turned worried and sad.
“You miss him…” He said sympathetically.
He didn’t say his name, and, personally, I didn’t mind him not saying it. His name was Jake, and, now, every time I hear that name I want to burst into tears. No, I didn’t love him, no matter how much it seems that way. He was a friend. That was all. But I did miss him…A lot.
I closed my eyes and sighed, “Yes.”
“I do to,” He said bleakly.
“I know,” I said in the same tone.
Kenny didn’t know how much I missed Jake. I missed Jake probably more than Faith and Kenny could together. He was important to me, but then he left. I hated him for leaving me, and that made me feel so upset. I knew I shouldn’t have pretended to hate him, but I did anyway.
“It’s so hard not to.”
“I know.” Kenny didn’t understand at all. I badly wanted to forget Jake. I didn’t want to keep talking about him
“I understand why you’re so upset.”
“I know…” I tilted my head up to stop me from crying. I didn’t want to cry. I wanted to forget so badly.
“He was great, you know?”
I began to get irritated with Kenny. He knew I didn’t like to talk about Jake. He was great, really. But he was gone. I wanted to just forget about him and move on. I hated Kenny for always reminding me of him.
“I know, okay? I know!”
Kenny looked at me and said nothing.
He walked over to my side, and we both stood there in silence.
Finally I found something to say. Meekly, I stated, “I’m sorry…It’s just...I don’t want to talk about him…Okay?”
Kenny’s eyes seemed to fade. He looked me in the eyes, and had an expression written across his face that showed he was-though he would never admit it- truly sorry.
We stood there in silence for what seemed like an eternity.
Finally I spoke, “So, you said you were trying to get some money together?”
Kenny’s face brightened, once he noticed I was trying to change the subject, “Yeah. I want to get some cash so I can buy that car!”
“A car?” I asked raising an eyebrow, “Why do you possibly need a car?” I smiled playfully.
“Well, I need a way to get around, and getting up at five thirty in the morning for a subway doesn’t really appeal to me,” he said. He was smiling, too.
“You could always walk,” I said in a knowing voice. I was kidding, of course, because Kenny cannot run, walk, or even skip without getting bored and walking off somewhere. He always needs to have a motive, and, apparently, school is far from one.
“Of course,” Kenny said sarcastically. He was grinning widely, “Because I’m so fast, and all.”
“You think you’re all that!” I said, as if I were the best at running, though I was far from good at track, “But I bet I can beat you! Hands down!”
“You think so?”
“I know so!”
“Well, we’ll see about that,” his grin broadened, “Let’s see who’s first to get to the high school!”
“Fine, but the loser has to hug Hawkins,” I replied happily. I knew Kenny would lose, and I also knew he hated Mrs. Hawkins, therefore, I knew I should take advantage of this opportunity.
Kenny nodded in agreement.
“Onyourmarkgetsetgo!” I shouted out as fast as I could. Then I took off, leaving Kenny behind me.
“Hey!” he shouted, “That’s unfair!”
He ran after me, grabbed the back of my shirt, and tugged me down. I fell, unharmed, on the grass, and he ran away, making his way quickly toward the track located near the high school.
I propelled after him, though my legs were starting to ache from running uphill, and quickly managed to cut him off, stick my foot out in front of him, and trip him. He fell on the ground with a thud. I looked to see if he was okay, but after noticing he was laughing, I determined he was totally fine, and ran faster toward the high school.
I could hear Kenny cursing from behind me, but that only made me want to go faster. I continued to run up the hill. Once I finally made it to the paved sidewalk, I cut across it and jogged up the steps leading toward the high school. Once I reached the top, I sat on the bench on the covered patio at the top of the stairs. I placed my hand on the glass door that was used to enter the high school hallway. I beat Kenny.
As I tried to catch my breath I looked at the beautiful view in front of me. The sun was still rising, for it was dark when I had gotten on the subway. I looked out and looked at the large forest of trees to the side of campus swaying the light breeze. Oh, I had missed this place so much. But still, something was missing; something big.
I knew right away who was missing.
Jake.
I missed him so much…
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