Hello, Can You Please Stop Haunting Me?
douze.
“You’ve been so distant lately, Ellie,” her friend, Julie Snow whined, clinging on Eliza’s arm in the midst of the crowded hallway. She was a black-haired, olive-skinned, ill-tempered girl with strikingly beautiful light blue eyes. They literally reminded Eliza of an ocean far away in an exotic area or another. Next to Julie, who was rolling her dark brown eyes at Julie’s childishness was Brianna Rivers.
Brea was one of a kind, screaming all sorts of exotic herself. She was a cinnamon-skinned girl with black hair and red highlights and long lashes. Her family tree was a bit too complicated for any of her friends to even bother to remember, but Eliza recalled that Brea herself once said to them a few years back, “I’m black, with a splash of Japanese and Latina and a bit of Thai. If you ask me, if I were to be a fusion dish, I’d be a kick ass awesome one.”
One of her dreams was to go to Japan and study there, just like Julie. While Brea was fascinated by the culture, Julie was just fascinated by the fashion. Eliza was intrigued by the two of them, partially because she didn’t have a definite dream, except to graduate with flying colors from Wyatt-Heath and never to look back.
What about after that?
She didn’t know.
“We’re hanging out at Julie’s mom’s coffee shop after school. Want to come with?” Brea asked. Tempting. The Cacao Brew Coffee House had the best chocolate cheesecakes she had ever tasted.
“Sure—”
She abruptly paused as she saw the familiar the brown – slightly reddish – hair a few steps away from her, pushing through the crowd looking annoyed.
“Um, just text me the time and I’ll be there. Gotta go, loves.”
“Eliza!” Julie called but she slipped away and hurriedly ran after Zachary Harper, who was already a few feet away. And then suddenly, he was engulfed by the multicolored, noisy wall of people. When the crowd parted a bit, she lost sight of him.
She was disappointed, of course.
But there was always tomorrow.
***************
Before going to Mrs. Snow’s coffee house, Eliza absent-mindedly browsed through the fiction section of a nearby bookstore. She felt awkward. With Jeremy hovering beside her, talking non-stop to kill his own boredom, she wasn’t sure what fiction was anymore. Everything seemed to be a dream, ever since she saw him falling.
No.
He already fell even before his suicide. Sadly, she didn’t realize it sooner.
“—It was so ridiculous, I swear! It’s like one minute he was proposing with these gay ass flowers and all, and BAM! A Frisbee hit his head and he got so pissed off that when he got up to give the kid a lesson – with that look I reckon he was going to shove that Frisbee down his throat and tie him to a tree branch— ” Jeremy said, talking about one of the many, many conversations he eavesdropped. While on normal days, Eliza found most of his stories were amusing, on that particular day however…
“God, Jeremy! I can’t think with you YAPPING in my ear all day long! Could you just please shut it for a while?!”
“He’s just lonely.”
Both of Jeremy and Eliza screamed, startling the other customers around them. Well, Eliza. They couldn’t hear Jeremy.
Supposedly.
Eliza raised an eyebrow at the person who spoke. Zachary Harper was holding up a self-help book. He looked at it and shrugged. “For research.”
“What? I don’t care about that. Who is just lonely?”
“From your conversation? I think it’s Jeremy Pike,” he said, pointing straight to Jeremy. Even Jeremy was astonished. “I know him, when he was alive. He wasn’t the one to talk much, so maybe he’s just lonely.”
She instantly felt dizzy.
Brea was one of a kind, screaming all sorts of exotic herself. She was a cinnamon-skinned girl with black hair and red highlights and long lashes. Her family tree was a bit too complicated for any of her friends to even bother to remember, but Eliza recalled that Brea herself once said to them a few years back, “I’m black, with a splash of Japanese and Latina and a bit of Thai. If you ask me, if I were to be a fusion dish, I’d be a kick ass awesome one.”
One of her dreams was to go to Japan and study there, just like Julie. While Brea was fascinated by the culture, Julie was just fascinated by the fashion. Eliza was intrigued by the two of them, partially because she didn’t have a definite dream, except to graduate with flying colors from Wyatt-Heath and never to look back.
What about after that?
She didn’t know.
“We’re hanging out at Julie’s mom’s coffee shop after school. Want to come with?” Brea asked. Tempting. The Cacao Brew Coffee House had the best chocolate cheesecakes she had ever tasted.
“Sure—”
She abruptly paused as she saw the familiar the brown – slightly reddish – hair a few steps away from her, pushing through the crowd looking annoyed.
“Um, just text me the time and I’ll be there. Gotta go, loves.”
“Eliza!” Julie called but she slipped away and hurriedly ran after Zachary Harper, who was already a few feet away. And then suddenly, he was engulfed by the multicolored, noisy wall of people. When the crowd parted a bit, she lost sight of him.
She was disappointed, of course.
But there was always tomorrow.
***************
Before going to Mrs. Snow’s coffee house, Eliza absent-mindedly browsed through the fiction section of a nearby bookstore. She felt awkward. With Jeremy hovering beside her, talking non-stop to kill his own boredom, she wasn’t sure what fiction was anymore. Everything seemed to be a dream, ever since she saw him falling.
No.
He already fell even before his suicide. Sadly, she didn’t realize it sooner.
“—It was so ridiculous, I swear! It’s like one minute he was proposing with these gay ass flowers and all, and BAM! A Frisbee hit his head and he got so pissed off that when he got up to give the kid a lesson – with that look I reckon he was going to shove that Frisbee down his throat and tie him to a tree branch— ” Jeremy said, talking about one of the many, many conversations he eavesdropped. While on normal days, Eliza found most of his stories were amusing, on that particular day however…
“God, Jeremy! I can’t think with you YAPPING in my ear all day long! Could you just please shut it for a while?!”
“He’s just lonely.”
Both of Jeremy and Eliza screamed, startling the other customers around them. Well, Eliza. They couldn’t hear Jeremy.
Supposedly.
Eliza raised an eyebrow at the person who spoke. Zachary Harper was holding up a self-help book. He looked at it and shrugged. “For research.”
“What? I don’t care about that. Who is just lonely?”
“From your conversation? I think it’s Jeremy Pike,” he said, pointing straight to Jeremy. Even Jeremy was astonished. “I know him, when he was alive. He wasn’t the one to talk much, so maybe he’s just lonely.”
She instantly felt dizzy.
♠ ♠ ♠
I'm so frustrated with this chapter. Really, I am. It's like no matter how much I re-write it, it'll turn out like crap anyway, pardon the language. This is the best I could do for now. Hopefully, I'll get in my writing mood sooner or later.I have a friend like Brea. She's really beautiful *jealous*
I'll try to make the next one more interesting btw. Thank you so so so much for STILL reading this story, and commenting & subscribing. It makes my day, really!