Smoke and Mirrors

“Life insurance?!”
“Just in case something happens to you.”
“Nothing will happen to me, Dad.”
“You never know.”
Clarissa stared at the black leather on the chair. She sat in a formal-looking office with her dad. The place was monochromatic, without one book out of place. Why did everything always have to be so perfect? She was born in a designer crib, with maids tending to her. It was all due to the fact that her father was a bank owner.
“Who will be your benefactors? We need at least four.”
She chewed her lip. She could put her dad, but her mother had died giving birth to her. Clarissa felt a bit bad for her, but as a stranger would. She had no siblings, and few friends.
“Uh, my dad, Mr. Hawkins, Jayce Wilkins, and Grey Thomson.” Those were the three easy choices. Jayce was her boyfriend, and Grey, her best friend since kindergarten.
“You still need one.”
“Clarisse, there is a long-lost cousin of yours that could need the money.”
“Okay, I guess.” It was pretty morbid to think of her death, really.
“Bryce Hawkins.”
Her father shook hands with the man, and they exchanged good-byes.
Once they were out the door, Clarissa sighed heavily.
“That was pretty stupid.”
“You'll thank me one day.”
“You mean when I'm dead?”
------
Back home, Clarissa sat on her king size bed, and stared at the ceiling. She glanced through her secret notebook. She always kept it in the inside pocket of what she was wearing, close to her heart. She had even made pockets inside her coats so she could always carry it. Grey had given it to her two years ago for her fifteenth birthday. She had treasured it ever since. Inside it she kept all types of things: pictures, poems, reminders, anything you could think of. No one had ever looked upon it except her. Only Grey knew she had it, but never asked to see it.
On her nightstand, her phone started vibrating.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Clarissa.”
“Hi, Jayce. This may sound strange, but you're one of my benefactors for if I die or whatever.”
“Don't say that, and thanks, I guess.”
They both started laughing. Aside from his good sense of humor, Jayce seemed perfect in every way. He was handsome, kind, honest, and pretty smart. Anyways, he seemed that way. Clarissa had seen him mad, and that wasn't a pretty picture.
“So are you free right now?”
“Sorry, I'm meeting up with Grey.”
“Oh, well, I'll talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
He hung up on her. Jayce always seemed a but jealous when she was with Grey. The two of them didn't get along very well. But since she loved them both, they just had to learn to live with each other.
Clarissa climbed into a car, and told the chauffeur to go to Grey's house. She hated having a guy in a tux drive her around. It was extremely annoying.
When she stepped out of the vehicle, Grey was already outside of his house.
“Let's take your car better,” she said. He knew almost every detail about her. Since he was already eighteen, he could drive. His family wasn't too high on money, so Clarissa had given him his car for his birthday. Don't get the wrong idea, though. It wasn't a Lamborghini or anything. Grey loved old cars, and she had given him just that. He had refused at first, but couldn't resist.
“Where to?”
“Let's go to a park or something.”
“How about Gold Creek?”
Gold Creek was a scenic park, with a lake, and a wonderful view of the mountains. It was so peaceful there, and it was huge, so you had lots of privacy. It was one of her favorite places.
On the way there, they sang along to the car stereo.
At the park, Clarissa threw herself on the lush grass, looking at the strange shapes the clouds form. She had done that with Grey forever. He laughed, and lay down beside her.
“Doesn't that one look like a heart?”
“Yeah.”
She was usually the one pointing them out, but he some talent for it.
The sky was a wonderful blue, with huge fluffy clouds. Clarissa sighed. They stayed in silence. They could comprehend each other without a single word. With some people you couldn't do it, because they got bored, or you felt awkward with them. But he was the type of person that made you feel at ease.
Grey reached over and took her hand. Clarissa greeted it warmly, not thinking of it as anything more than a friendly gesture. His grip was tight, not enough to hurt, but tight.
Clarissa's phone rang, startling them both out of the the trance.
“Hello.”
“Clarissa? What're you doing?” It was Jayce again.
“I'm still with Grey.”
“Still?”
He said it in a hurt tone. Had that much time passed?
“I can meet up with you if you want.”
“Okay.”
“I'll go to your house.”
“See you.”
She hung up, and was met with a frown from Grey.
“I kinda have to go.”
“With Jayce?”
“Are you mad?”
“Whatever.”
“Grey, I'm sorry.”
“I said it's okay.”
He started walking quickly back towards his car. She had to run to catch up to him.
“Grey!”
He didn't turn around.
Before he could get in the car, Clarissa jumped between him and the car door.
“Grey, don't be mad.”
“I'm not.”
“Liar. I've known you forever. If I don't when you're mad, who does?”
He rubbed his eyes with his hands.
“We'll go see a movie tonight, okay? If you have any other plans, cancel them.”
Although Clarissa didn't see it, he smiled broadly.