|
Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Georgia
Posts: 17
|
Let It Rain - A Short Story
“Come on, I want to know, Nick!”
I found the walls of the rather large classroom closing in slowly. The peach-color of the three-dimensional structure seemed to be caving in on me. A feeling of claustrophobia grew inside, and the face of her next to me in that rickety old desk seemed too close.
“It’s nothing, Leigh.” I was losing my voice; a feeling a weakness grew from the claustrophobia.
“Someone left a rose and a card in your locker. That’s not nothing. Secret admirers are not nothing!” Leigh’s voice was powerful and direct. “What did the card say, Nick?”
I struggled for the words of which the card interpreted, but I stumbled upon a stage of shyness. All that came out was, “It didn’t say anything.” My voice was softer than the last. I had to have been blushing. Someone expressed their feelings toward me in one sentence and they were afraid to tell me in person.
“Sure…” Her voice was sarcastic, and I knew later on when I saw her again that she would ask me about the card repetitively. She was that type of person. She always wanted to know what was going on with everyone else. She would always ask personal questions; she was not the least bit conceited. She’d ask you how you were doing on a day she got hit by a truck. She was kind, and that’s how I always saw her as.
The school bell to switch classes rang. All of the students in class got up with books and bags, heading straight for the small exit in the far corner of the room. Leigh got up and grabbed her Chemistry book.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Nick,” Leigh stated softly. She turned with a gentle wave of her fingers, almost as if she was departing me from her life, but yet inviting me at the same time.
“Yeah, see you tomorrow!” My stuttering voice was an embarrassment. The noise the incoming class developed luckily had overthrown mine so that she couldn’t hear. The last thing I needed was for me to make a fool of myself.
That night, I lied in bed, and just stared at the card in my hands. Who had left it? What do they see in me? I’m not the cutest guy in school. I’m not really athletic. I’m not as smart as I might seem to be. So why did they like me? Thoughts circled my mind like a person playing musical chairs. Only I had no music; just the blank silence of one who seemed to have no life, but yet what someone else would diverge with. I set the card onto my nightstand. I flicked off the small lamp, rolled over, and closed my eyes. The thoughts were still there, and they wouldn’t leave me. Forcing them away with just the simple thought of sleep, I fell into a state of complete rest, and there I remained until morning.
The hallways at school the next day seemed twice as crowded as usual. Maybe it was because I was looking for guesses as to who left the card. Maybe it was just girls that I wanted to leave the card, I don’t know. Still with some thought relating towards my secret admirer, I skipped my way over to my locker with a state of happiness. Someone liked me for me, and they put effort into giving me something to show how they feel. My sweaty hands reached for the lock on my locker door. I began doing my combination. When finished, the latch holding the locker tight lifted, and the locker door came swinging open with a loud ‘screech.’ There, next to my gym bag and Geometry book, was another scarlet rose, and a card concealed in a blood red envelope. Imprinted in cursive writing was my name, with a heart shape dotting the ‘i.’ Without hesitating, I reached for the card and pulled it from the locker area. My head turned toward those in the hallway; maybe I could find someone staring right at me; a girl to be exact; a girl that could have left it! Sadly, everyone in the hallway seemed to be going about their own business, and I received no attention. I turned back to the card. I pulled the sticky flap loose and pulled the card from its entrapment. The cover had a beautiful field of red roses, and imprinted in cursive golden writing was the phrase ‘you are special to me.’ I turned the card cover and stared inside at its white interior, where a sentence in blue ink was left for me. The sentence read: ‘But you can’t like me because I have a secret.’ My eyes squinted to make sure I read it correctly. Indeed, that is what the sentence read. I closed the card and shoved it back into its red case of paper. I grabbed the two gifts and my books and went to my Chemistry class.
Leigh was sitting there when she saw me with the new gifts. A smile formed on her tanned face, and her eyes gleamed from the light shining through the windows. I sat down, and she turned to me.
“My guess is that these are new. Are they, Nick?” Her voice was sarcastic, but yet seductive.
“Look, it’s nothing, Leigh.” Once again, I could tell I was blushing. “It’s nothing.”
“Nick, I’m not buying that anymore. This is the second time in two days, and you still think of it as ‘nothing.’ Seems like something to me.” She leaned back as the teacher entered the room. Class had started, and for the next hour would be nothing but ramblings of chemistry from the teacher.
After class, Leigh got up and gave me hug, which she rarely ever did, especially on me. I returned the favor and she went on her way to second period, as I did as well. The rest of my classes seemed twice as long; this was one thing about having a secret admirer; they make the day go by so slow! Once I got home, I rushed into my room and set the rose and card by my previous gifts. There I just stared at them, admiring them as the one who left them admires me. It was an odd feeling, but a pleasurable one too. The rest of the day was a blur, like I was in some sort of time warp of love; only I had no idea who I loved. It’s peculiar how you can start to gain the feeling of love on someone you don’t know. It’s even weirder how that someone can make such an impact on you. It was a lot harder for me to sleep that night. The thought and questioning of the certain secret seemed staggering, and I was desperate to know what it was. Did she have a boyfriend? Was it really a guy? It seemed that almost all of my predictions turned out negative, and it left a queasy feeling in my intestinal region.
I did manage to get a few hours of sleep, however. When I awoke, it was dark and cloudy outside, and I could tell that in the near future a thunderstorm would occur. In my jeans, shoes, and white T-shirt, I ran onto the bus that took me to school.
When I got there, I suddenly got the rush of having another gift in my locker. I knew it would be there, but it was still sort of like a surprise. Pushing through a crowd of friends, I managed to get to my locker. My hands were sweaty as I reached for the lock. I inserted the combination, and pushed the lock up. My heart began to beat faster, and my eyes grew wide. The door swung open and there, next to my Geometry book was – nothing. Not a card, nor a beautiful rose. Just the drab boringness of my school material. With a sigh of disappointment, I grabbed my chemistry book and turned to go to class, but I bumped into someone walking forward.
“Whoa, sorry man,” I said with a shock. It was the star quarterback of the football team, Dave. In his hand was a gift bag with a giant blood red rose in the very center of the black background.
“Here,” he said, pushing the bag forward to me. “She wanted me to give this to you.” I grabbed it from his hand and he walked off without saying anything; not even a good-bye. The odd thing about this was that it looked like he had been crying. With the bag and my chemistry book, I turned to go to class.
Leigh wasn’t there today. She was probably home sick. She seemed to have been sick quite often as of recent memory. I sat down without talking, and just stared at the bag in my hands. I set it down slowly on the desk. I removed a small piece of tape from the top of the bag, and opened it up. I pushed my hand inside, feeling around for what was in it. My hand met with an object; it felt just like a rose. I retrieved my hand, and I was right. It was indeed a rose. But there was something wrong. It had turned brown and gray, and some of the pedals were falling off. The rose was dead, and all of its dramatic beauty was gone. My heart sunk into my stomach. This was, without a doubt, the most questionable gift I had ever received. Nervously, I set the rose onto my desktop and then went back in for something else; I knew what else was in it, and once I grabbed it, I pulled it out.
The card was now concealed in a black envelope. The front didn’t have a name, nor did it have that heart-shaped dotted eye that I seemed to like. I pulled the flap from the sticky substance that held it down, and pulled the card within. The card was different too. There was no rose, there was no colorful field. There was nothing more than a black and white photo of a woman shedding tears. Mascara had run down her cheeks, and the tears shown more from this effect. Reluctantly, I opened the card to the inside flap. And that’s where I found it; that’s where my life changed forever. With an utter surprise and heartbroken stage, I closed the card. The sentence now wouldn’t leave me, and that’s when the principal’s voice grew on the intercom system.
“Teachers and students, I have just received distressing words from the Princeton County Hospital.” The principal’s voice was serious, and I could tell something was wrong. My eyes widened as I turned toward the speaker hanging on the wall in the front of the classroom. And in that second, the words hit me hard. The depressing card fell from my grasp and landed open on the tiled floor. These words traced back to the card I had just received, and that very card held the sentence I will remember forever: I am dying of cancer. With that, I peered over to the empty seat next to me; the seat where Leigh wasn’t and forever wouldn’t be. And that’s when the news of Leigh’s passing of cancer came to me, and that’s when the dark clouds above began to rain.
--------------------------------
I am not one to write in this type of format. I am a script kind of guy. But I wanted a challenge, so I decided to use an old concept and turn it into a short story. Here is what I have conjured up. It is my first short story, so don't be too hard on me. Feedback is greatly appreciated.
|
