| Page 5 �I�m Natalie.� I followed Lana and the cat in the house and to a small kitchen with peeling green flowered wallpaper and matching cracked tiles. Despite it being small and run down the entire single story house was immaculate. Lana gestured for me to sit at the table and reached in the refrigerator for a pitcher of lemonade. I was beginning to understand why Adam was complaining about having another pet. Two sparrows and a dove with a broken wing hopped around a large rusty cage, a golden retriever slept on the floor near the back door and a fish bowl with one fat lazy goldfish sat on the counter. Suddenly a monkey leapt out of nowhere and landed on my shoulders causing me to scream bloody murder. Lana looked up from where she was pouring the lemonade and smiled. �That�s just Roland,� she said. �He won�t hurt you.� She grabbed the monkey and set him down on the counter next to her feeding him an apple. I nodded, my heart still pounding in my chest. Just then, I heard an engine start outside and heard Adam yell �It�s about freaking time!� Two seconds later D.T. walked through the door, a triumphant grin on his face. Adam came in behind him muttering under his breath. �Adam you really are pathetic.� Lana said bringing the lemonade over to the table. �This is the second time this week that the truck has broken down with you driving it. And on top of that you have to get a fifteen-year-old who doesn�t even have his freaking learner�s permit to fix it for you.� D.T. took a seat at the table and reached for and cup of lemonade. �Hey, I can�t help it if I�m brilliant.� �Oh, Lord.� Adam said rolling his eyes. Roland finished his apple and with a mischievous grin dropped it in the fish bowl. �ROLAND!� Adam yelled and fished the apple core out of the bowl with his thumb and forefinger. Roland chattered excitedly and leaped into D.T�s lap. Adam dropped the core into the trash can and glared at the monkey who was being petted by D.T. and still grinning. �I�m serious, that monkey hates me.� Adam complained seating himself at the table and scraping his chair along the floor. �Did you see that? He looked right at me before dropping the apple in. That is just pure hatred.� �Quit being such a drama queen.� Lana said. �Roland hates the fish not you.� �Roland hates everyone,� Adam grumbled. Lana shrugged. �He doesn�t hate me. But that�s because I�m the only one who feeds him. And he loves D.T.� �Everyone loves D.T.,� Adam groaned. D.T. smiled innocently from across the table. �Of course they do. D.T. is so cute,� Lana said. D.T. scowled at her. Lana smiled back. �What about me?� Adam asked opening a bag of jellybeans lying on the table. �You�ll do.� Lana answered dryly. Adam threw a jellybean at her. It landed in her lap and Roland immediately pounced on it, swallowing it whole, smacking his lips and looking at Adam for more. Adam took a handful and tossed them on the floor for Roland to get. �Here you go you little vermin,� Adam said. Roland leaped off of Lana�s lap and picked up the jellybeans one by one until he had a huge handful and then dumped them in his mouth. D.T. burst out laughing. �Look at that, he left all the licorice ones on the floor.� Adam rolled his eyes. �That monkey is just too damn smart for his own good.� �So are you.� Lana answered provoking more laughter from D.T. And so it went. All through my freshman year in high school I spent almost every weekend over at Adam and Lana�s house. However as I grew older I grew more and more busy and spent less time over there. During my senior the only time I heard about them was through D.T. Last I heard, Adam had gotten a new job and they had moved across town. Adam had proposed marriage but Lana refused because she wanted to wait until she was older. The decision caused extreme friction between the young couple. I still remember D.T. explaining the situation to me last April. �What are going to do?� I had asked him. �About what?� D.T. asked me. �About Adam and Lana,� I said. �Nothing. The best thing to do in situations like this is nothing,� D.T. told me. I hadn�t understood him then but now it made perfect sense. I might never be able to help Simon and Al with their problems but getting in the middle just made it worse. In a state of elation I slammed on brakes, pulled over and leaped out of the car in the middle of the pouring rain. �Thank you!� I shouted to D.T. who was up there somewhere helping me out. This was the first time in a month where I felt I knew exactly what to do. I stared up at the sky as a bolt of lightning streaked across it and struck the ground right in front of me. That�s the last thing I remember before it threw me backwards and everything went black. Chapter 7: What Are Friends For? Up until the lightning strike I was positive I had everything figured out. I thought I could just back away from Simon and Al�s problems and live my life simply until it was time for college. I had less than three weeks; I figured I�d make it. But of course yet another surprise lay in store for me. I wasn�t going to get involved in Simon and Al�s problems I would become one of them. I ended up staying at the hospital for two days even though I could have gone home the first night. The doctors said I was fine just a nasty bump on my head which I hit on the ground after falling backward. My mother however insisted I stay for two positive I had some broken bone or life-threatening catastrophe the doctors had missed. Finally, I went home one calm peaceful evening. My father and Remy were waiting in the den for me and my mom when we arrived but they both made fast business of leaving quickly looking awkward. I would have wondered why they were acting so weird but I was too tired. Hospitals can be exhausting. I went up to my room expecting messages from Simon and Al checking on me. Well, Al left a message but Simon didn�t. Not really. He delivered himself. I was totally shocked to walk in my room and find him there sitting on my bed. �Remy�s down the hall,� I said yawning hoping he�d take the hint. �Ha, ha. I�m actually here for you. I want to see if you�re okay,� Simon said. �I�m fine. Just very tired,� I said. �I�m sorry.� Either he was completely dense or not getting the hints on purpose. I sat down on the bed and sat next to me. Close, very close, so close I could feel his breath. �What happened,� he asked softly. �Um,� I stalled trying to think of the stupid lie I had told everyone at the hospital. �I was going for a leisurely drive in the country when the weather started getting bad so I headed home. Then I saw a squirrel.� �A squirrel,� Simon repeated his eyebrows raised. �Um yeah,� I said my cheeks flaming. Why was he sitting so close to me? �A squirrel in the road and um I didn�t want to hit it so I stopped the car and um I chased it to the side of the road and then the lightning struck. Not me or the squirrel just the ground. Yeah and it kind of threw me back a little. I mean a lot.� God that sounded so dumb. My mother had bought it but my mother would believe everything. I couldn�t tell the truth. What would people think if I told them I was out of my car in a thunderstorm shouting to the spirit of my dead best friend? They�d think I was completely nuts. I expected Simon to laugh. He wasn�t as dumb as my mother. He knew I was lying. �That�s great!� Simon exclaimed. �Classic Natalie. Classic!� Oh great so he could picture me doing that. That boosts my self esteem. �Who are you?� I asked. �I�m Simon,� he whispered. His face was so close to mine I could count his eyelashes. �I�m your friend. A very good friend.� He kept leaning closer until his lips met mine. It was like a weird dream. The room was hot and stifling, my head throbbing, I was so, so tired and there I was sitting on my bed kissing my best friends boyfriend. I knew it was wrong and it was more trouble than its worth but Simon had a way of making me feel different. No one would ever expect me to do something that low and that�s what made me accept Simon�s kisses, returning them with my own. Page 6 |