It was Thursday afternoon, the sky was gray and cloudy, but the air was warm and humid. Louise stared up at her two-story home, bedroom windows facing the neighborhood.
I�m home, Louise thought, grimly.
She slowly made her way up to the front door. Entering the house, she felt a cold draft sweep over her. Chills were sent up her spine as she looked up at the upstairs� hallway. Her eyes landed on the closed door at the end of the hall: Jennica�s room.
Her chest started to hurt and her eyes began to water. Finally she pulled her eyes away from the door and entered into the kitchen, where she fixed herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She silently ate at the counter, her eyes blank and her body feeling hollow.
After eating, she left the kitchen and dragged herself upstairs into her bedroom to start on her homework. Louise was standing in the doorway when she felt herself itching to enter the closed bedroom. You�re not going to win this time, Jennica, she thought, trembling. So stop tempting me to go into that bedroom.
She slammed the door closed and sat on her bed. Magazines and clothes littered the blue carpet, along with hairbrushes and tampons. Louise was already halfway done with her rough draft paper for literature when she felt another tug at her curiosity.
"Damn it, what do you want, Jennica!" Louise tossed aside her notebook and pencil. She angrily headed towards the room across the hall. Landing a hand on the doorknob, she started to calm down. Maybe not calm down, but a wave of fear and cautiousness swept over her.
But, fear of what?
Slowly she opened the door and peered inside. The room was empty and dark, but the smell of a sweet bouquet of roses hung in the air. Smells like Jennica, Louise thought.
A chill ran through her body once again as she scanned the room. She felt as if she should leave the room, but her curiosity tugged more and more until she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "Now what, Jennica? Now what do you want me to do?" Louise said out loud, expecting an answer. "Answer me!" Her eyes drifted to a yellow rose petal on the floor. It was lying near the closet, and almost dead. Cautiously, she walked towards it very slowly, as if it�d jump up and start attacking her. Bending down, she saw that it was sort of shaped like an arrow, and the point was pointing towards the closed closet door.
"In the closet now, huh? Let�s see what you�ve got hidden in the closet, Jennica." Opening the closet door, she peered inside. It appeared empty, except for a shoebox sitting on the top shelf. She reached up, brought it down and exited the room. Leaving Jennica�s room and into her own felt like leaving a haunted house and into a friendlier neighborhood.
Sitting on her bed, she opened the box. Inside were photos, dead flowers, hair pins, and�
�A diary.
"You led me to your diary?" Louise carefully took it out of the box and opened it. Inside were Jennica�s neat and tidy handwriting, but bubbly that reminded Louise of clouds for some odd reason. The pages were a soft light brown, which fit the brown cover of the diary.
Louise recognized this diary, and remembered trying to steal it away from Jennica so she could read it. Of course, she had to undergo Jennica�s beating. But finally, Louise could read within the pages without anybody yelling or beating her to let go of the chocolate-colored diary.
Date: Saturday, February 15
Time: 10:03 PM
Valentines� Day was the best day yet! I must savor each moment.
Jason picked me up yesterday afternoon in his father�s beautiful gold Mercedes. As I answered the door, he was in tan colored slacks and a black over shirt. His usually tossed brown hair was slicked back, revealing his handsome face. He looked so clean.
"Hi," he had said, grinning. He pulled out from behind him a beautiful bouquet of red, orange, and pink roses. It was more like a bouquet of a sunset! That was the first thing I thought when I saw them. There must have been three dozen roses in there, I promise you that. Goodness, I was already falling in love with him all over again.
Of course I took the bouquet and gave him a kiss on the cheek and hugged him tightly. He smelt of soap, spice, and vanilla. I inhaled his scent deeply, melting inside while we hugged on my porch. I ran inside to find a vase to put them all in. Luckily, I had a big vase and I used that to put them all in. Louise took them and said she�ll put them up in my room.
My poor sister. She looked lonely and so bored seeing Jason and me together, and seeing our parents go out for Valentines� for the weekend. I wished she had a life so I wouldn�t feel so guilty about leaving her all the time.
"She wished I had a life?" Louise thought out loud, feeling somehow insulted. She continued on with the rest of her sister�s entry, a bit troubled that Jennica had thought that.
He took us out for a picnic at the beach. He laid out a blanket, a picnic basket, and some plates and utensils. For lunch we had sandwiches, Jell-O, and fruit salad. We talked and talked about practically everything, almost to the point where I thought there was nothing left to talk about.
Afterwards, we cleaned up our plates and food and we just sat there on the beach, me being held in his arms. We watched people walk along the beach, several couples holding hands or making out. Then when the sunset came out� oh, that was the most beautiful part of all. This was the moment that stood out the most. The sky was the colors of my bouquet, except each color entwined with the others. The sun rested behind the ocean as the sky lit on fire, as the waves tossed upon each other and onto the shores. Inhaling the fresh salty air, hearing the oceans crash and seagulls cry out� was it beautiful or WHAT!
It was then that he handed me a beautiful gold omega necklace. A beautiful sapphire hung onto it, shimmering. He had said it was his sister�s before she up and left with her husband to Maryland. He called her to tell her she had left behind this necklace, but she told him to keep it and give it to somebody special. I suppose that �somebody special� is I. I felt so warm and gurgley inside, knowing I was his �special somebody.�
He put it around my neck, and we stayed at the beach �til nine. We drove back to his place and had some wine. The taste wasn�t the best, but I drank it, hoping that I�d get used to the sour flavor.
Oh, I don�t know how to describe this part of the night. I feel embarrassed, yet excited just thinking about it!
We made love. Such sweet, sweet love. Gosh, the feeling� we were kissing and he slowly started to take my clothes off as I undressed him. Feeling his big hands on my body felt so good� soothing and relaxing. We lay down on his bed and he made love to me. The next morning, we also took a shower together and made love there, as well. At first I was scared, but then I realized there was nothing to be scared of. I was with Jason, and Jason was with me. We were together, on Valentines� Day, sharing the love and passion for each other. It was my first time, though I know it wasn�t his. He had done it before with a girl, but he regretted it because she wasn�t in love with him and he was just so infatuated with her. So, he considers me his first. He believes that sex isn�t sex without the intimacy and passion for one another.
I feel like a true woman.
Love, and in love,
Jennica Darla Pierce
Louise blinked, then noticed a damp circle on the page. She knew she was crying, but she let it go. Turning the page, she noticed something shimmering in the shoebox.
It was Jason�s Valentines� Day gift to Jennica.