Sparkle Baby, Shine

"But Alex," Jack whined, tugging his arm toward the exit. "Pizza is that way."

"Look, Jack, I know. Okay? One second." Alex shook him off of his arm, pressing his back against the concrete wall and peering around the corner. Other than the girl kneeling down, rifling through her locker, the hall was empty. All the lights had been turned off in the school and the only source of light where they were was from the sun coming in through the window at the hall's end. From where he stood, he could see that she was wearing a wine coloured dress with tiny white polka dots. It came to just above her knee with a pleated skirt that flared away from her waist and hips, but was tight on her torso and had sleeves that came to her elbows. Her hair was in a messy braid down the side of her neck, with many strands of loose hair that had fallen out throughout the day hanging by her cheeks. She pulled on a black pea coat and slung on her large messenger bag before shutting her locker. Alex quickly flinched away, hiding behind the wall again. Jack quirked his brow, stepping around Alex and glancing down the hall. Alex watched as he rolled his eyes, scoffing at his behaviour.

"Yeah, I'll be waiting in the car..." He trailed off, stalking off toward the exit. Alex could hear her footsteps approaching and he was quick to follow behind Jack, jogging to catch up with him. "What was that about, man?" Jack looked at his friend with a furrowed brow. "Who is that girl?"

"I don't know, some girl in my English class." Alex shrugged and pulled out his keys as they approached his car. "I just, erm, wanted to know where her locker was."

"Why?" Jack laughed, moving around to the opposite side of the car and pulling open the passenger door.

"In case I ever need help in the class?" He smiled sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders. He pulled his door open and sat inside, looking over at Jack.

"Right." Jack smirked, rolling his eyes. Turning his head, he looked at Alex sternly, giving his head a small shake. "Just remember, you have a girlfriend, Alex."

"It's not like that at all! I don't even know her name." Alex insisted, turning the key in the ignition. "And Ashlynne isn't even my girlfriend, so whatever."

Jack looked at his friend knowingly, but Alex chose to ignore the look he was giving him. Instead, he stared straight out the wind shield, at the girl who was crossing the parking lot in front of them. She was using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun as she lugged that massive messenger bag to her car. Her hair was now in a knot on the top of her head that bobbed with every step she took and he smiled, keeping his eyes on her until she ducked into her car and out of sight. Alex glanced at Jack, he was looking at her too, but with a furrowed brow. Before he could ask any more questions, Alex turned on the stereo and pulled out of his parking spot.

----

For being the most expensive street to live on in the entire city, there sure was a lot of pot holes.

Amelia assumed that the city would have them filled in, considering the money people on this street spent per month to keep their neighbourhood maintained. She could feel every single dip in the road and it felt more like she was sitting on a rickety old washing machine rather than in a car. She was starting to realize that there were consequences to choosing the older, much cheaper used car over the more reliable, brand new BMW that her father had suggested.

Despite the pot holes, the street really did have it's charm. The way the old trees sort of hung over the road with the sun light peaking in through the leaves. It was long and winding, weaving around high hills and bridging over thin, trickling rivers. Every kilometre or so, there would be a gate peaking out of the trees that lead to a house that almost looked like it grew there with the trees and ivy that crept up its sides. Once in a while, you'd see a property that had been cleared of all the trees and plants, with a massive white house right in the middle. The gate would be gold and gaudy and the gardens would be minimal because they wanted the focus to be on their huge house and expensive cars more than anything. Those were the people that enjoyed the privacy of being out this far in the forest, but didn't actually want to have to live in a forest.

Amelia's house was at the very end of the street, where the houses stopped and the trees got thicker and continued on for what seemed like forever. There was a black, wrought iron gate where the metal was twisted and pulled into an intricate pattern that she could and has stared at for very long periods of time. She had to undo her seatbelt and almost hurl herself out of the car window in order to reach the number pad to type in the code, considering the fact that she was a bit vertically challenged.

When the doors swung open, it was a slow sort of motion that almost demanded attention. As if it was about to reveal something great to whoever requested that it opens. Amelia was always slightly taken by her home. It was beautiful. They had two straight lines of old, towering oak trees along both sides of the driveway and at the very end of the driveway that looked miles long, you could see just a bit of their house. It was large enough to be considered an estate and was almost as old as the massive weeping willow trees around it.

The front door was this massive slab of mahogany that was almost two Amelia's high. It was rounded at the top and there were hundreds of ridges and carvings cut into it tediously by hand. It was the original door, which was what Amelia's dad liked so much about the house. The completely renovated interior and the massive pool did little to peak his interest, but when he saw the door, he had this glimmer in his eyes. Amelia remembered that day so well. She hasn't seen him light up the same way since. Not even for her and that broke her heart the littlest bit.

The sound of the door echoed through the foyer and Amelia called out to somebody, anybody. As much as she liked being quiet, after not saying a single word for the entire time she was in school, it would have been nice to talk to someone. She could hear the sound of light footprints coming from the kitchen and she turned to see Mary grinning at her, a dish towel slung over her shoulder.

"Great, you're home!" She beamed, motioning for her to follow. "Your dad's home too! Come on, I have dinner waiting."

Amelia couldn't contain her smile. It was very rare that her dad made it home for dinner. She was almost skipping behind Mary as she lead her down the long corridor, the smell of whatever she was cooking becoming more and more overwhelming with every step closer to the kitchen.

Her dad was sat at the end of the table, still dressed in the suit he wore to work. His hair was pushed back away from his face and he had stubble growing on his upper lip and chin. He pulled on his tie so it was hanging loosely around his neck, the collar of his shirt wrinkled after having worn it for a full day. When his daughter entered the room, he grinned the same charming smile that she was almost positive was responsible for making her mother fall in love with him. "Amelia, my darling." His voice was so soft and full of adoration for his daughter. It made Amelia's heart swell so much that she thought it would pop.

"Hi daddy." She plopped down on his lap and hugged him tightly around his neck, just like she would do when she was much smaller. He chuckled, the sound deep and throaty in her ear.

"My, my, you've gotten a lot bigger since the last time you did this." He was laughing and so was she. She didn't realize how much she missed him until that very moment.

Eventually, Mary had the entire meal spread out on the table and Amelia took her real seat, which was to the left of her father. They talked while they ate their dinner, something that rarely happened any more. The earliest he had come home in several months was nine pm, when Amelia was beginning her nightly bedtime routine. Sometimes, he didn't come home at all. He worked so hard, Amelia knew it was the reason why she could live in this incredible place, but she would be happier in a two bedroom apartment if it meant her dad would come home for dinner.

But of course, like all good things, it had to come to an end. His Blackberry cellphone buzzed on the table by his right hand and he couldn't not pick it up. He muttered a 'sorry', excusing himself from the table and a few moments later, she heard the front door close as he left to go back to the office, leaving his half-eaten, now cold dinner at the head of table.

And leaving his only daughter, sitting solemnly to the left of where he sat, feeling cold and only half there as well.