Just for a Moment

I’m so excited about tonight; I asked Jack to go out on date with me. I went with Vic to Guitar Center last night and bought Jack a black Martin X Series LX Little Martin Acoustic Guitar, I even got his initials inscribed on it. I had to hide it in my closet when he passed by last night, I didn’t want to ruin the surprise. I can’t wait! Until then though, I’m having down-time with Naomi. We haven’t had an actual day to just hang out and talk since summer break. Today we’re just going to talk, watch some movies, and eat lots of food. I’m getting excited just thinking about it.

I jump out of bed and do a little stretching dance before walking over to the bathroom to fulfill my daily routine. I skip back into my room after I’m finished putting my undergarments on and skim through my closet. I grab a black and yellow Nirvana sweatshirt from a hanger and slip it on, then pull on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans. After slipping on a pair of black leg warmers, I lace up some yellow vans and tie my hair into a high ponytail. I stand in front of the full length mirror and look myself up and down, then give myself a thumbs up. I grab my phone and shoot Jack a good morning text before slipping it into my pocket. I wrap my scarf around my neck, zip up my coat, and grab my keys then run out.

I meet the outside world to get smacked in the face by the winter air laced with some snow. This puts me into an even better mood, being that I love snow. I remember going to the park with my siblings when I was younger. My brothers and I would engage in an intense snowball fight, while Lizzy would practice some skits that she had written over on the playground stairs. Then when we were done, my brothers would head home for some video games and I’d spend the next few hours on the swings talking to Lizzy about random stuff. Then we’d head home for some hot chocolate with fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Those were some good times.

When I walk into the cafeteria, I give Jack a tap kiss; say a quick hello to the group, then head over to Naomi’s table. I know it’s not right that I just abandoned the table after Lizzy left, but it’s just not the same without her being there. I take my seat next to Naomi and notice that Reggie was sitting across from her, all smiles. I glance over to Naomi’s beaming face and smirk, shaking my head. I’m going to get her to talk today for sure. I wave the waiter over and order an omelet on a bagel with raspberry iced tea.

As I wait for my food to come, I start a conversation with a couple of the people at the table. There’s Megan who’s an art major, Hannah who’s in photography, and Daniel who’s a new dance major. They’re all cool people, and they seem genuinely interested in me. Hannah actually invited me to photo shoot for a class project, gushing about how my appearance features would be perfect for an “exotic” theme. I happily obliged to be in it while she added that we all needed to hang out as soon as possible. I agreed, but told her it would have to be another day since I had plans for later on.

My food finally got to the table and I ate happily, enjoying the company around me. After we were done we said our goodbyes, then Naomi dragged me out of the cafeteria and to her room. When we got inside, I plopped myself onto her bed as she sat on her desk and smiled excitedly. She stared at me expectantly, waiting for me to ask. I rolled my eyes and sat up.

“Okay, spit it out.”

“He asked me out!” she squeals and claps her hands.

“Oh my gosh! Finally,” I shout.

“I know! We’re going out tonight, to the amusement park,” she says, hopping off of the desk and walking over to the closet.

“Ah, the amusement park; the perfect place for a first date,” I sigh dreamily. I instantly swat away that thought as my date with Max comes rolling into my head. I start to feel nausea as the letter flashes in my head, making me feel paranoid again. I should probably tell Lizzy about it, and soon. She needs to know. I distract myself by picking up a slinky from the nightstand and continue the conversation. “Trying to figure out what to wear?”

“Mhm,” She pulls out two hangers: one with a black tiled skater dress, the other with a gray Rag & Bone Melanie Oversized Pullover. “Which one?”

“Just wear the shirt, it’s not like he’s going to see the dress anyway, you’re going to be all covered up.”

“You’re right,” she said, putting the dress back. “So…”

“So..?” I raise my eyebrow as I put the slinky down.

“How are you and your boyfriend? I see that you guys made up,” she says, turning to me, “care to explain what had happened?”

“Oh. Right. Well long story short, I got drunk-” I rolled my eyes.

“You what?!” She shouts, accidentally throwing the hanger out of her hand.

“Can I finish please?” I stare at her and she purses her lips, bending down to pick the hanger up.

“Like I was saying I got drunk…and kind of cheated on Jack,” I bite my lip and look down at my hands, that day’s guilt filling me again.

“You did? With who?”

“Ugh, I don’t want to talk about it,” I wave away the conversation and transition into a new one. “Like you noticed, we’re fine now. We’re going on a date tonight actually,” I smile.

“That’s good, I’m glad you guys made up,” she smiles cheekily while walking over to her dresser. She pulls out a pair of green camouflage skinny jeans and sets them down on the bed. “How’s work going?”

She gives me an unsure look, knowing my situation. I had texted her the day Rick told me that he liked me, and the day that he kissed me. She said that she wasn't surprised that he liked me, supporting the same reasoning he had told me. She was surprised about him kissing me, thinking that it was completely inappropriate.

“Rick hasn't shown up these past few days, I hope he’s okay…”

“Don’t over think it, maybe he decided that he didn't want to work for the whole break,” Naomi suggested.

“I don’t think so, I remember him telling me that he couldn't go home because his parents were away, and he didn't know how else to spend his time, so he wanted to work.”

“Yikes, maybe it is because of you,” she says while changing her clothes.

I suck my teeth and fall back onto the bed.

“I hope that he can forgive me.”

“Who knows,” she shrugs, “it’s only been what, a week? He should get over it soon enough.”

I sigh and mumble an ‘I hope so’ to myself. She pushes me over as she grabs the TV remote and starts the first movie, launching into our marathon.

By the time Naomi put the third movie on, it was almost time for her date. We had spent most of our time laughing at stupid jokes and muting the conversations of the actors to dub it over with stuff that we made up. We also ate a lot of junk food, which was another thing that contributed to this awesome chick-day. She hugged me before pushing me out and telling me that she would tell me all about it tomorrow. I walk to my room with a smile, excited for my own date. I unlock my door and walk in, looking down to find an envelope that instantly caught my eye.

“Not again,” I groan as I pick it up and throw it into my trash can.

I stare curiously, wondering what it said this time. I pick it up and tear it open then unfold the paper. I let out a sigh of relief when I see that it was from Jack.

Hey babe, can’t wait for tonight, I've got a surprise.

- Jack

So we’re writing each other little notes now? That's cute. I place the letter on my desk and turn the TV on, turning the channel to MTV Hits, singing along to the songs that come on and dancing with the videos. After an hour or so, Jack lets himself in to catch me singing to my mirror.

“That’s some intense air microphone-ing,” he jokes, giving me a hug from behind.

“Thanks, I was practicing for tonight,” I joke, kissing his cheek.

“You’re going to sing to me?” He steps in front of me with a big smile.

“Nope,” I say turning and sitting on my desk.

“Oh,” he follows me, “well you should.” He sits in my desk chair and starts to spins around slowly.

“I’ll think about it. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes ma’am,” he stops to regain his steadiness.

“Okay cool, I’ll meet you at the gazebo in 10 minutes,” I say, pushing him out of the chair with my foot.

“What? Why?”

“Just go, you’ll see when I get there!”

He drops his head and drags his feet to the door, then sticks his tongue out at me before leaving. I sigh and shake my head as I jump off the desk and hop over to my closet. I lug the guitar case out and set it on the floor, popping it open. I marvel at its sleek wood and shiny steel stings, a quick thought of contemplation running across my mind and telling me to keep it for myself. I shut those thoughts up and shrug my coat on, zipping it up. I pull my gloves on and pick the case up by its handle, skipping out of the door and locking it behind me. I meet the cold air and snow again, a smile spreading across my face. I approach Jack who made himself comfortable on the gazebo floor; he had spread out a blanket and had a thermos of what I was guessing was hot chocolate.

“So you decided to sing for me after all, huh?” His eyes light up as I sit down across from him.

“Not exactly,” I bite my lip and hand it over to him, enjoying the overly excited expression on his face.

He didn't get it at first, but he caught on. He lays it across his lap and unclips the hinges, scoffing happily at the sight.

“No way!” he laughs happily in disbelief and takes it out, strumming a couple of cords.

My heart flutters as I watch him instantly falling in love with the guitar. He notices the inscribed initials and points at it, mouthing ‘that’s me’. I've never seen him so ecstatic before, I guess he really does love guitars. He smiles cheekily as he places it back in the case, but leaves it open.

“I’m glad that you like it,” I giggle as he turns his attention to me.

“This has got to be the best gift I've ever gotten,” he says, moving his hands dramatically.

“Really?” I move closer to him.

“Yeah, it’s my favorite instrument, with my name on it. What’s even more special is that you put in the effort to work for extra days with the intent to replace my old one” he paused for a moment, looking away, “that means a lot to me.”

A smile forms on my face as I lay my head on his shoulder and play with my zipper. I’m so flattered to know that I gave Jack his best gift ever; score.

“I knew how much you really liked the old one; I just wanted to do something nice for you,” I shrug, looking up at him.

He closes the guitar case and shoves his hand into his pocket, fishing out a small red rectangular box. He hands it to me with a lopsided smile and stares at me as I open it. I flash a toothy grin as the box reveals a silver necklace with a treble clef pendant, complemented by tiny diamonds around the curve.

“You want to know what I thought when I saw this?” He lightly grabs it from me and kneels behind my, clipping it around my neck. I look down at it and hold it between my index finger and thumb, examining it a bit longer. He chuckles and continues, “Well, it’s a bit corny, but you popped into my head. Then I thought: you’re like a song, a song that I fell in love with and couldn't get out of my head. I couldn't quite get the lyrics right,” he says, sitting beside me again, “but when I finally figured them out, I knew that it had to be one of my favorite songs.”

“That is really corny,” I giggle, extremely flattered, “but it’s still cute.”

He gives me a satisfied smile and gets up, sticking his hand out. I grab it and he helps me to my feet, pulling in for a hug.

“We should get inside, it’s pretty cold out here,” he whispers.

“Well I mean yeah, it’s the end of December,” I retort playfully.

He bends down and grabs the guitar case, then grabs my hand with the other.

“Let’s go, mood killer,” he jokes.

We walk slowly back to the dorm as I stick my tongue out to catch the falling snowflakes. When we walk into the building I remember that he had left the blanket and thermos, but decided to remind him about it later. We get in my room and he settles down on my bed with the guitar as I unzip my coat and hang it on the hook. I’m about to sit down at my desk when Jack pipes up.

“Hey, what’s that?”

I turn to the direction he was pointing in to find another envelope. I smirk and roll my eyes, figuring it was another little letter from Jack.

“I don’t know, let’s find out,” I say as I pick it up.

I rip it open and something immediately falls out. I look down to see the infinity necklace that Max had gave me the night we hung out at the track field. I pull out the letter and read it, fear creeping in.

Hey Ally,

Don’t forget about the necklace I got you, I got that sign for a reason.

PS. I love your Nirvana shirt, good choice.

XX

The last thing I see is Jack’s confused face as my I get dizzy and my vision starts to fade.