Status: Start Date: August 20, 2009. Finish Date: November 9, 2009
Apparition
Rebirth
Chapter 15: Rebirth
“Are you taking the bus today, Lawren?” I asked as the bell rang and school was out. For some reason I was feeling desponded the whole day and I desperately needed some cheering up. I was occasionally like this and most of the time it was because of what happens in my dreams. In my last dream the woman told me what happened when she took Nathan’s power, how he withered in pain and cried out my name.
“Stop it,” I hissed under my breath. I slapped the memory out of the way and refocused myself.
“What did you say?” He asked, tilting his head to the right.
“Uhm… nothing. So, how about it?”
He smiled. “Why do you ask?”
“I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at my house. It’s a nice day so we can probably have a picnic in my backyard. If you want to, of course!”
“Yeah, yeah! Sure. Let’s do it.”
“We should walk home,” I suggested as I shoved my Spanish textbook into my bag.
“Wow. You’re being really…”
“Out there? Yeah. I have to get my mind off some things,” I said quickly. “Let’s go!” I jumped out of my chair happily and grabbed him by his arm and dragged him out of the room.
I burst into laughter as Lawren finished his story about what happened to him in his fifth period class.
“You promised me you wouldn’t laugh!” He scolded me as we crossed the street.
“How could I not laugh when you just told me a story of you walking into fifth period with a trail of toilet paper stuck to your butt? I’m sure you’d laugh at me if it was the other way around.”
Lawren thought about it for a moment that he to burst into laughter. “Okay, I would laugh at you.”
I nudged his arm.
Lawren stopped in place as we entered our cul-de-sac. “I’ll race you to your house,” he said with a mischievous grin.
“It goes downhill. We might go out of control,” I noted.
“C’mon! We always used to run down this hill.”
“And I fell each time,” I mumbled.
“Are you scared?”
“Go!” I yelled and laughed as I got a head start.
“Cheater!” Lawren yelled as he ran behind me.
My laughter was unsteady as I ran down the hill at full speed. It was a beautiful day, blue skies, the sun shining, everything was in color. I felt like I child. I felt so free. Even though I was just running down my street I still felt energized.
As I ran my legs were uncontrollable. They felt like Jell-O. Then all of a sudden my right leg gave out and I fell to the hard concrete face first where I heard a sickening cracking sound. I tumbled the rest of the way down and the last thing I remembered was something hard crashing against my stomach and I came to a stop.
“You’re crazy,” Lawren chuckled as I became conscious.
“Ugh! My head is throbbing,” I moaned and clutched both sides of my head.
“Well you did break your nose when you landed face first and you did fall down a hill faster than I could run so that shouldn’t be a surprise.”
“Is it still bleeding?” I mumbled and lifted my chin in the air.
“Nah. It stopped a long time ago. You Second-Hand Ghosts heal really quickly. I just sat here and watched you heal,” he laughed.
“I’m glad I entertain you.”
“Oh yeah! When your gut hit the mailbox a pile of mail fell out. You got a letter from the University of Washington and Highline Community College.” He handed me the envelope from the University. I kept my hand out. He sighed and rolled his eyes, putting the other envelope from the Community College in my hand.
“Thanks for snooping through my mail,” I laughed. “Ouch,” I muttered and clutched my head.
Lawren sat behind my head to read the letters. I ripped open Highline Community College’s letter first and pulled out the piece of printer paper.
“It looks like I’m going to HCC,” I said without emotion. I was happy I got into a college but since my head was still throbbing I didn’t want to make it any worse.
Lawren cleared his throat and pointed to the other envelope.
I rolled my eyes. I applied for the University of Washington a long time ago when my grades were still well maintained. They probably denied me. I picked it off my stomach, ripped it open, and took out the ivory piece of paper; unfolding it.
Lawren roared laughter when he read the first word.
I didn’t continue reading the letter after the first word either. Instead I smiled and began laughing quietly to myself.
I sat up and smiled to myself as I watched Lawren roll around on the floor laughing.
He finally stood up and bent his arms out to make himself look like a scale. “HCC,” he said, lifting his right hand into the air, “or UW.” He lifted his left hand into the air then repeated twice more.
“Alright, alright!” I said, surrendering. “I’ll go to the University.”
Lawren smiled at me and held out his hand. “High five.”
I slapped my hand against his and laughed at him.
“It looks like you’re feeling better,” I said, examining me with a smile.
I shook my head back and forth to see if there was still any loose bolts. “Yup,” I said, popping the “P”.
“So how about that picnic in the backyard?”
“Let’s go prepare the stuff,” I said, jumping off the couch then went skipping off into the kitchen.
We ended up with making six peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we brought out a carton of orange juice, and some cookies.
We sat on a quilt under the tree in my backyard. Throughout the whole picnic Lawren and I just talked with a burst of laughter every five minutes. This was exactly what I needed-some fun time with my best friend.
This was the first time in a very long time that I actually felt… normal. I forgot how good the feeling was. This whole day had just taken a one-eighty.
“So… what’re your plans for this summer? Anything special planned?” Lawren asked all of a sudden.
I looked down and became silent momentarily then looked back up at Lawren and smiled. “I’m going to Australia to visit my grandparents remember?”
“Oh yeah! When are you leaving?” He asked.
“The week right after graduation. I know it’s sudden but when we get home I need to prepare for college.”
“I didn’t know you were going to be there for that long!”
“It’s only until the end of July,” I laughed nervously. I looked away from him and squeezed my eyes shut. I was lying to Lawren. Something I promised myself I wouldn’t do because the last time I hid something from him and lied about it things didn’t go very well. This time I just had to keep the secret much better and when things are done I’m going to be completely honest with him. “So how about you?” I asked, turning the question on him. I didn’t want to go any deeper with my plans for the summer because I knew that none of it was really be accomplished.
“I’m going to be really busy with the launching of my new clothing line…. Well if my mom lets me of course.”
“That should be fun though, right? If you get it?”
“Of course it would be fun! I’ve been dying to have my own clothing line since I started designing. And I could be my own manager! Well… the sub-sub-manager. My grandmother is still going to be my big boss and my mother is still my manager either way.”
“Lawren… when we go off to college promise me that we won’t ever loose touch,” I murmured.
“Natalia, you don’t have to worry. Even though I’m going to be in New York and your going to be across the country from me you will always be my best friend. It’s going to be sad when I’m not going to be able to see you everyday in person though.” His voice dropped down to a whisper.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But I still have that webcam you bought me three birthdays ago so we can still see each other everyday if we aren’t studying of course.”
“And during the holidays! I could never miss a Christmas in Seattle. I just love the spirit and most of all how everyone dresses up!”
“Don’t forget our tradition of spending a whole day in Seattle from the morning to watch the Christmas parades to nighttime to watch the tree lighting ceremony. And shopping in between for Christmas presents!”
“Your getting me so excited already and it’s merely the beginning of summer!” He laughed.
I smiled at him and he smiled back. I didn’t notice how close Lawren was to me but if I wasn’t melted in place by his deep chocolate brown eyes I would have scooted back. Was it weird that I didn’t even tell Lawren to back away?
He scrutinized my face and he slowly moved closer, his breathing uneven just like mine. For some irrational reason I started to move forward as well like their was something pulling us together. We were inches away… centimeters… millimeters. Then our lips touched.
Right at that moment I felt something. It was like static electricity between Lawren and I. It was like when a pair of gears are put together and start to work again. It was like when the planets aligned. It was magnificent. It was beautiful. It was a rebirth of love.
“Are you taking the bus today, Lawren?” I asked as the bell rang and school was out. For some reason I was feeling desponded the whole day and I desperately needed some cheering up. I was occasionally like this and most of the time it was because of what happens in my dreams. In my last dream the woman told me what happened when she took Nathan’s power, how he withered in pain and cried out my name.
“Stop it,” I hissed under my breath. I slapped the memory out of the way and refocused myself.
“What did you say?” He asked, tilting his head to the right.
“Uhm… nothing. So, how about it?”
He smiled. “Why do you ask?”
“I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at my house. It’s a nice day so we can probably have a picnic in my backyard. If you want to, of course!”
“Yeah, yeah! Sure. Let’s do it.”
“We should walk home,” I suggested as I shoved my Spanish textbook into my bag.
“Wow. You’re being really…”
“Out there? Yeah. I have to get my mind off some things,” I said quickly. “Let’s go!” I jumped out of my chair happily and grabbed him by his arm and dragged him out of the room.
I burst into laughter as Lawren finished his story about what happened to him in his fifth period class.
“You promised me you wouldn’t laugh!” He scolded me as we crossed the street.
“How could I not laugh when you just told me a story of you walking into fifth period with a trail of toilet paper stuck to your butt? I’m sure you’d laugh at me if it was the other way around.”
Lawren thought about it for a moment that he to burst into laughter. “Okay, I would laugh at you.”
I nudged his arm.
Lawren stopped in place as we entered our cul-de-sac. “I’ll race you to your house,” he said with a mischievous grin.
“It goes downhill. We might go out of control,” I noted.
“C’mon! We always used to run down this hill.”
“And I fell each time,” I mumbled.
“Are you scared?”
“Go!” I yelled and laughed as I got a head start.
“Cheater!” Lawren yelled as he ran behind me.
My laughter was unsteady as I ran down the hill at full speed. It was a beautiful day, blue skies, the sun shining, everything was in color. I felt like I child. I felt so free. Even though I was just running down my street I still felt energized.
As I ran my legs were uncontrollable. They felt like Jell-O. Then all of a sudden my right leg gave out and I fell to the hard concrete face first where I heard a sickening cracking sound. I tumbled the rest of the way down and the last thing I remembered was something hard crashing against my stomach and I came to a stop.
“You’re crazy,” Lawren chuckled as I became conscious.
“Ugh! My head is throbbing,” I moaned and clutched both sides of my head.
“Well you did break your nose when you landed face first and you did fall down a hill faster than I could run so that shouldn’t be a surprise.”
“Is it still bleeding?” I mumbled and lifted my chin in the air.
“Nah. It stopped a long time ago. You Second-Hand Ghosts heal really quickly. I just sat here and watched you heal,” he laughed.
“I’m glad I entertain you.”
“Oh yeah! When your gut hit the mailbox a pile of mail fell out. You got a letter from the University of Washington and Highline Community College.” He handed me the envelope from the University. I kept my hand out. He sighed and rolled his eyes, putting the other envelope from the Community College in my hand.
“Thanks for snooping through my mail,” I laughed. “Ouch,” I muttered and clutched my head.
Lawren sat behind my head to read the letters. I ripped open Highline Community College’s letter first and pulled out the piece of printer paper.
“It looks like I’m going to HCC,” I said without emotion. I was happy I got into a college but since my head was still throbbing I didn’t want to make it any worse.
Lawren cleared his throat and pointed to the other envelope.
I rolled my eyes. I applied for the University of Washington a long time ago when my grades were still well maintained. They probably denied me. I picked it off my stomach, ripped it open, and took out the ivory piece of paper; unfolding it.
Lawren roared laughter when he read the first word.
I didn’t continue reading the letter after the first word either. Instead I smiled and began laughing quietly to myself.
I sat up and smiled to myself as I watched Lawren roll around on the floor laughing.
He finally stood up and bent his arms out to make himself look like a scale. “HCC,” he said, lifting his right hand into the air, “or UW.” He lifted his left hand into the air then repeated twice more.
“Alright, alright!” I said, surrendering. “I’ll go to the University.”
Lawren smiled at me and held out his hand. “High five.”
I slapped my hand against his and laughed at him.
“It looks like you’re feeling better,” I said, examining me with a smile.
I shook my head back and forth to see if there was still any loose bolts. “Yup,” I said, popping the “P”.
“So how about that picnic in the backyard?”
“Let’s go prepare the stuff,” I said, jumping off the couch then went skipping off into the kitchen.
We ended up with making six peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we brought out a carton of orange juice, and some cookies.
We sat on a quilt under the tree in my backyard. Throughout the whole picnic Lawren and I just talked with a burst of laughter every five minutes. This was exactly what I needed-some fun time with my best friend.
This was the first time in a very long time that I actually felt… normal. I forgot how good the feeling was. This whole day had just taken a one-eighty.
“So… what’re your plans for this summer? Anything special planned?” Lawren asked all of a sudden.
I looked down and became silent momentarily then looked back up at Lawren and smiled. “I’m going to Australia to visit my grandparents remember?”
“Oh yeah! When are you leaving?” He asked.
“The week right after graduation. I know it’s sudden but when we get home I need to prepare for college.”
“I didn’t know you were going to be there for that long!”
“It’s only until the end of July,” I laughed nervously. I looked away from him and squeezed my eyes shut. I was lying to Lawren. Something I promised myself I wouldn’t do because the last time I hid something from him and lied about it things didn’t go very well. This time I just had to keep the secret much better and when things are done I’m going to be completely honest with him. “So how about you?” I asked, turning the question on him. I didn’t want to go any deeper with my plans for the summer because I knew that none of it was really be accomplished.
“I’m going to be really busy with the launching of my new clothing line…. Well if my mom lets me of course.”
“That should be fun though, right? If you get it?”
“Of course it would be fun! I’ve been dying to have my own clothing line since I started designing. And I could be my own manager! Well… the sub-sub-manager. My grandmother is still going to be my big boss and my mother is still my manager either way.”
“Lawren… when we go off to college promise me that we won’t ever loose touch,” I murmured.
“Natalia, you don’t have to worry. Even though I’m going to be in New York and your going to be across the country from me you will always be my best friend. It’s going to be sad when I’m not going to be able to see you everyday in person though.” His voice dropped down to a whisper.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But I still have that webcam you bought me three birthdays ago so we can still see each other everyday if we aren’t studying of course.”
“And during the holidays! I could never miss a Christmas in Seattle. I just love the spirit and most of all how everyone dresses up!”
“Don’t forget our tradition of spending a whole day in Seattle from the morning to watch the Christmas parades to nighttime to watch the tree lighting ceremony. And shopping in between for Christmas presents!”
“Your getting me so excited already and it’s merely the beginning of summer!” He laughed.
I smiled at him and he smiled back. I didn’t notice how close Lawren was to me but if I wasn’t melted in place by his deep chocolate brown eyes I would have scooted back. Was it weird that I didn’t even tell Lawren to back away?
He scrutinized my face and he slowly moved closer, his breathing uneven just like mine. For some irrational reason I started to move forward as well like their was something pulling us together. We were inches away… centimeters… millimeters. Then our lips touched.
Right at that moment I felt something. It was like static electricity between Lawren and I. It was like when a pair of gears are put together and start to work again. It was like when the planets aligned. It was magnificent. It was beautiful. It was a rebirth of love.
♠ ♠ ♠
The Catalyst & The Incarnate: Apparition: Chapter 15: Rebirth.