• Chapter 2
    Dinner at the Diner

    I beat Blair 14-2. But, who’s counting. By the time we came back to the room I was sweaty, gross, and in desperate need of a shower, but I was happy. Blair was complaining about me being so unfair and not going easy on her.
    I wasn’t even arguing, just laughing at her in pity. In the middle of her complaining I cut in, feeling too gross to sit in my bed for fear of contaminating it. “I’m going to take a shower. I’m grosser now than I was this morning.” I got up and grabbed my robe instead of clothes. I didn’t know if I wanted PJs or if we were going out again. It was around seven, that in between time where you’re not sure what you’re going to do.
    I took a quick shower just trying to get all the sweat and dirt off, and smell nice. When I was done, I rung out my long hair and threw it back over my shoulder, then put on my robe.
    I continued back to the room while trying to tame my hair. I settled with it as it was for the moment and stepped into the room. Blair was on her bed, next to the window. I sat down next to her and inspected her.
    She had changed clothes and put on more deodorant. Her extremely wavy hair was brushed and almost sane looking. I opened my mouth to speak, but the ringing of our phone interrupted me. I picked it up.
    “Hello?” I said into the mouth of the phone.
    “Don’t you look pretty in a white robe,” said a deep, muffled voice. I felt my face contort in disgust and fear as the sentence sunk in. He could, somehow, see me.
    “Who is this you creep!?!” I asked frantically. Blair looked at me with concern, and I didn’t know what to do.
    “Look out your window and you’ll be able to tell,” Click. The phone went dead and I dropped it.
    “What’s wrong S? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Blair said, obviously freaked out.
    “It was some guy who said I looked good in a white robe. Then he said to look out the window to see who it was. Should we look?” I asked, clearly terrified. I saw Blair’s face change from disgust, to surprise, to anger, to fear.
    “I guess we should. We should be okay if it’s a *****. We’re on the third floor. It’ll be okay. It’s probably just some senior playing a trick on us,” she said, with question in her voice.
    I crawled across her bed and opened our window, peering out into the haze of sunset. I looked down and didn’t see anyone, and then I saw the bushes move.
    “Hello?” I screamed down. I hoped it was just a breeze I couldn’t feel. “Is someone there?” I asked with the panic rising in my voice. If I leaned any farther out the window I would fall out.
    Suddenly someone jumped out of the bushes. Of course I screamed until I realized who it was. The wavy hair was just too familiar. “Jamie! You suck you know that! I thought you were a *****! What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to really scare you. It was just a joke. I really am sorry. Do you want to come down so we can go get something to eat? Bring Blair and we’ll make it a party.” I smiled at his apologies.
    “Fine,” I replied. “I’ll be down in fifteen minutes.” I began to close the window when Jamie called me again.
    “Sadie?” he yelled.
    “What Jamie?” I asked, making my agitation sound as real as possible. He smiled at it.
    “You really do look good in a robe.” He wagged his eyebrows and I laughed. I glanced at Blair who was suspiciously picking at her nails, pretending not to be thinking what I knew she was.
    “Go away Jamie.” And with that I closed the window and set to getting ready. We could dress more casually now that school was over.
    I threw on a pair of jeans and a black tank top before putting in a pair of silver hoops.
    Then a layer of lip gloss and eye liner and I was done. As always, Blair was waiting for me by the door. “Hurry up Ms. Jamie-doesn’t-like-me-even-though-he-said-I-look-good-in-a-robe. We don’t want to leave Jamie waiting. For you,” she said skeptically.
    “My last name is very long. I should change it,” I said back, making Blair smile. I ran out the door after ruffling up my hair in the mirror above my desk.
    Thankfully we didn’t run into The Nazi this time, for we were running. We never did learn, ever. We left Blackbird, the name of our dorm, and headed toward the back where I knew Jamie would be standing.
    He was there, perfect as ever. I smiled at him standing there, staring up at our window. Blair stood behind me, waiting for me to move toward him. He hadn’t seen me yet. An idea struck me. Pay back.
    I steadied myself. Quickly, I jumped around the building in a ninja-like movement. “Boo!” I screamed. Jamie jumped at my surprise. His face had a mixture of fear, astonishment, confusion, and all the things he had made me feel when he jumped from the bush.
    “That is so not funny. I almost had a heart attack! I could be on the floor writhing in pain,” he yelled at me. I just stood there doubled over in laughter. Blair had her giggles coming out in spasms.
    “You should have seen your face,” I managed to say between my laughs. I made an exaggerated version of his face; I could tell Jamie was fighting back his own chuckles. “Now you know how I felt when you jumped out of that bush,” I concluded.
    “Alright, now I see how annoying that could be. I won’t be jumping out of any shrub any time soon.” I chuckled at his words, and the use of “shrub” in casual conversation. “So, you want to go to Frankie’s?” he asked, getting back to business.
    “Sure,” Blair and I said at the same time. I swear, sometimes I think we’re fraternal twins separated at birth. We were so similar, but so different. Now Jamie and I? We were just amazingly the same.
    With our place planned, we set on our very adventurous journey across campus. The campus had cobble stone streets and concrete sidewalks. Everywhere between those pathways it was grassy.
    There were oaks and maples that were starting to change color and loose their leaves because of the changing season. There were gas lamps outside too, they too only lit up at night.
    It was at nice place to be.
    A lot of the students liked to come outside when it was nice outside and do their homework against the trees or have picnics with friends. It was like having your very own park that you lived in.
    The school buildings seemed to be made from the same stones the streets were, gray and cracked. It gave to whole school a very ancient, cool feeling.
    There were many different hangout spots different people had. Like I had this bench I liked to go to when I had to think. It resided right under an oak tree, and was made of stone.
    I knew Blair had a hideout in the library. I think it was in the attic, but I wasn’t sure. She never really told me the exact location. Apparently she didn’t want me to taint the sacredness.
    And then there were places that all the students went to mingle and have fun after class or do homework and such. One of these places was Frankie’s. Original, I know.
    Frankie’s was a burger joint, with killer fries. It was where everyone came to relax, have drinks and appetizers.
    We walked in, and I was happy to find we came in just in time, right before it was super crowded, but we didn’t feel like it was a ghost town. We got a booth next to window, and I slid in first.
    Blair took her rightful place next to me, and Jamie sat across from me. “Thanks for taking us to the fair tomorrow,” Blair said to Jamie, striking conversation. He smiled at her casually.
    “No problem. It will be fun to just hang out outside of the confines of the school walls. I wonder what the fair is going to be like,” he thought, seemingly to himself.
    “I hope there is a pie eating contest,” I said joyously. I thought about the last pie eating contest I had been in. I loved the thought of diving head first into a warm pie and trying to eat it as fast as I could. I smiled at the memory. I’d won.
    “Why?” Blair asked me, her eyebrows scrunching up in confusion.
    “She likes pie,” Jamie said.
    “I like pie,” I said at the same time. I looked at Jamie and felt the blush creeping up me face. Blair looked between the two of us and smiled. She was going to rub this in my face later.
    “How did you know?” I asked him. I knew at some point I must have told him; I just didn’t remember when.
    “Remember that one Thanksgiving in 4th grade, when I went to your house because my parents were in a fight. Your mom made this pudding pie and you scarfed down half of it. I asked you how you could eat so much and your whole family looked at me and said ‘she likes pie’. Then we all cracked up because your face was covered in chocolate. We couldn’t figure out how you got it on your ear but you did.” I stared at him in disbelief.
    “You really remember it that well?” I asked him, shocked at how well he knew me. Blair didn’t even know what my favorite book was let alone how much I liked pie.
    “Of course. We’re best friends Sadie. I know almost everything about you, from your addiction to popcorn, to your loving of those dorky comic strips in New York Magazine. You know a lot about me too, you know?” he asked me.
    “Yeah, I guess I do. I know that you were so devastated when your dog Trevor died in 6th grade that you didn’t go to school for a week. I would go over and bring your favorite comfort food.”
    “Oreos with peanut butter,” we said together. I smiled, and he did the same. “That was the first time I saw you cry,” I said, remembering the day in detail. I could tell Jamie was too. It was like Blair wasn’t even with us.
    I was lost in thought when Blair spoke. “You guys know too much about each other. It’s freaky,” she said. I laughed at her face, contorted in disgust.
    “You’re too right. What if we were to become not friends? He could use anything against me. That’s what sucks about having such a close friend. They can also be your enemy,” I said, sad at how true it was.
    “I would never do that Sades, you know that. I would never be able to hurt you,” he said, all joking leaving his voice. He really wanted me to know how much he cared. I smiled at him. Then B had to go ruin the moment.
    “Aw! He is too cute. What other guy do you know that is so honest and sensitive? He loves you Sadie!” I punched her in the arm, and she yelped in pain. While she nursed her injured arm, I gave Jamie a pleading look.
    He was laughing; a good sign that he didn’t take her seriously. Good. I was going to have a long talk with Blair when we got back to our room.
    The rest of the night went smoothly. No more special moments, or Blair ruining them. We ordered, naturally me and Jamie ordered the same thing. I couldn’t stop thinking about how well he knew me. We’d shared so much together.
    Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to date him. We could skip the getting to know each other stage and go straight to each other. It did seem like we were compatible, and I did love him. I had the epiphany tonight. I was in love with Jamie Roberts.
    I just hoped he loved me back.

    That night, I laid awake pondering Jamie and how much we were involved in each others lives. We’d spent holidays together with our families. We’d cried on each others shoulders. We’d been to concerts and fairs and the beach and the amusement park together. It would only make sense that knowing so much about someone would make you care for them.
    There was just one question that needed an answer. Ask Jamie out, or don’t? I made a huge list of pros and cons and forgot which side was winning after the 12th thing on each side. Counting items on the list did about the same thing as counting sheep.
    Before I knew it, my eyes felt like led and I couldn’t keep them open any longer. My brain was wondering and I was asleep.
    That night, I had a dream that I will never forget. It was the best, worst, scariest, most different dream I had ever had.
    There was me, just me, on a small sail boat. It was a dark, clear nighttime sky. I was lying down staring at the beautiful stars. I remembered vaguely when my grandma told that stars were the openings in the sky for souls to look at you from, and wondered if it was true, despite my atheistic nature.
    The moon shone brightly down on me at full force. I saw from its light alone, tinted red from the seeming eclipse.
    The waves rocked me gently. It was so calming, so reassuring. Then, suddenly, so very suddenly, the gentleness was gone. It was as if there was a shift in the world’s balance and everything was out of order.
    The waves thrashed in a furry that I had never seen before. They seemed to reach in and try to grab me from my stance, but I evaded each attempt.
    The whole boat was filled with water. The murky liquid was being tossed into the boat faster than I could throw it out.
    Finally, in a quick change in judgment, I stopped trying to save myself and accepted the fate that was destined to come for me. Why die in so much confusion when you could do so in a blissful peace?
    I hunkered down into the shin deep water and stared at the stars once again.
    When I went under the water, I wasn’t afraid. I was at a strange sense of happiness. All I could think was, I’m finally free. Free.
    As my tiny breath ran out, I just laid there. I didn’t doggy paddle, I didn’t try to tread the water like my whole body was screaming at me to do. My mind told me to be still, to be at peace.
    I smiled as the night sky drifted away from the view in front of me, as I was dragged by the strong current. I descended into an abyss of darkness; it was blacker than words could describe.
    I floated downward, and my breath seemed limitless. How strange, I thought.
    I saw an orb of light that nearly blinded me in such blackness. At first it was just an outline of someone, like a shadow. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I began to see in more detail.
    It was a girl. She was about my age, give or take a year or two judging by her size and shape. Her back faced me as I tried to make out more definite features.
    I saw soon that she had short blonde hair and tanned skin. That was all I could really make out from her back. Without turning to me, she muttered something I couldn’t quite make out.
    “What?” I asked, and was very surprised to hear how clear my voice was under water.
    “Death will come,” she said in a voice so lifeless it scared me. “Death will always come.” Her words shook me to the bone. How could such a statement come from such a young girl?
    With out seeing it, I knew what her face would probably look like. It would be as shallow and dead as her voice. As if she heard my thoughts, she turned her head slightly so I could see her profile.
    What I saw shouldn’t have shocked me as it did, but I gasped in surprise. Her face was gnarled and whiter than paper. It looked as though her head didn’t match her body.
    Her pale lips turned up in a movement I could barely register as a smile. She twisted her head to look at me fully, and laughed an awful, twisted laugh at my disgruntled look.
    I looked down and saw blood tricking down from her stomach. I screamed at the image. She looked so pale, and so soulless. It made me feel cold. Something that I knew a blanket would melt off.
    Nothing could melt it off.

    I jolted upright in my bed. My hair was plastered to my forehead with sweat. My breath came fast and I felt like I was hyperventilating.
    I was aware that Blair was by my side asking what was wrong, but I couldn’t for the life of me form a coherent sentence. My mind was stuck on the horrifying image of the girl. The words she said echoed in my mind.
    Death will come. Death will always come.
    “Sadie, what’s wrong?” Blair kept repeating over and over, clearly she was freaked out by the show I was putting on. “If you don’t talking to me right now I’m calling Jamie,” she threatened.
    “No!” I found myself shout. “I just had a really scary nightmare. It’s nothing,” I told her. Her face told me she wasn’t convinced.
    “Oh, it’s nothing is it?” she asked loudly. “Sades, you are hyperventilating. It must have been one hell of a dream,” she shouted.
    I felt myself calming down. I took deep calming breaths, getting myself together. “I’m fine Blair. Calm down and don’t do anything rash,” I said, trying to ease her worry. It seemed to work, but only a little bit.
    “Fine, I won’t do anything rash. What ever the hell that means.” I laughed at her small vocabulary. This seemed to make her feel better. I guess laughing was a good sign in her book.
    “Rash means not doing anything over dramatic, or spur of the moment, thoughtless. Now go back to bed, I’m totally fine.” When she didn’t move, I sighed. “I can breathe perfectly,” I took a deep breath in as proof and let it out. Then I rolled over to look at the clock.
    I groaned. 4:13 it read. I put my head on the pillow. I heard Blair’s tired sigh as she shuffled her feet back to her bed across the room. I listened as her breathing slowed and she fell into a deep sleep.
    Her regulated breathing lulled me to sleep. Slowly I felt all of my senses shutting down to leave room for the bliss of sleep. Finally, I drifted off into a dreamless haven where I didn’t have to worry about relationships, or creepy dead-like girls.