Rosaleigh, NY

After Dad’s meeting with the town, the town hall is buzzing with the same question on everyone’s minds: will we be able to save Rosaleigh in time? A ton of people are coming up to Dad and Levi’s Dad to talk about the issue further, and to me as well. If they thought I would know more about the situation, they were wrong. I realise with a slight pang of annoyance that I’ll probably have to stay in Rosaleigh for longer than the week I originally planned. I remind myself to call Mark later, but for right now, I have to go to the lake.

After brushing off an elderly couple with the promise that I’ll talk with them soon, I make my way towards the lake, which is this huge lake on the edge of town. It takes about an hour by walking to get there, but the path there is generally flat so it’s not that bad. As I’m nearing closer to the lake, I can see Levi and Jules waiting there, with no sign of Jordan Suzuki. We were never friends in high school or anything – most of the time, I made fun of his appearance and his odd friend to Jules and some of our other friends.

“Hey,” I smile at the pair, who is sitting on some boulders that line the lake. The lake is quite big and made for some good parties back in the day, before everything that went down. “Thanks for coming.”

“Did we have a choice?” Levi mutters. I shoot him a frown. I know that Levi’s not too keen on saving the lake, but he’s family (even though we don’t act like it much) and I’ll be damned if he came all the way here and didn't even help to save the town.

“Are we waiting for anyone?” Jules asks, and before I can reply, I hear the sound of boots stomping along the path. Looking up, I see Jordan coming towards us, his long black hair hiding his face. He gives me a curt nod and leans against a boulder.

“Hi Jordan,” I greet him in response. I feel a bit of guilt creeping up from our high school times, but I push it down. “So um, let’s get started.”

There’s an awkward silence while I try to figure out what to say, but Levi breaks the silence first. “Samara, what do you want from us?”

“We need to save Rosaleigh,” I tell him, keeping my focus on him only. I know that if I look around and reminisce on old times, I’ll remember that night and the memories that come along with it. “We can try to pretend that Rosaleigh was nothing to us, but we all know that Rosaleigh is our home and we shouldn’t relinquish it so easily without a fight.”

“Do you remember what Rosaleigh was like in high school?” Levi replies frustrated, standing up. “Honestly Sam, I couldn’t give a shit about this place.”

“Jules?” I plead with my best friend. “Don’t you want to save the town?”

She shrugs, seemingly uncomfortable. “I don’t know, Samara. Rosaleigh doesn’t exactly hold many great memories for me.”

It’s one thing for Levi to turn his back on me, since we were never close growing up, but for Jules to turn away? What’s up with her?

Annoyed, I turn to Jordan. “How about you, Jordan?” I ask. “Don’t you want to save the lake?” I meant to say the town, but seeing the lake behind me brings back things I’d rather forget. It seems as though Jordan feels the same way too, as for a moment, his face flickers with sadness. “We can save the lake and in turn, save Rosaleigh.” And just as quickly, his face becomes a stone wall, emotionless and hard.

“No,” he responds shortly. “I don’t care about Rosaleigh.”

It’s silent, and I have this feeling that we’re all thinking about that night, a night where the four of us had ever been remotely together. Laughter and screams and tears echo in my ears, transfused with the sound of water. Water. The lake. I shudder inwardly. Every time I think of it, my mind shuts down and I can’t handle it. That night makes me want to forget about ever helping Rosaleigh, but the nights before make me want to save it, and it’s with this thought that I vow to change everyone’s minds before the town is ruined.