Starting Over

Character development Showing, not telling story for workshop in fiction class

Casper sat in a corner booth of the bustling restaurant with his eyes glued to the wooden green entry door. It had been three years since he saw the girl he was waiting for. They had been close friends in high school, thanks to the theatre and choir programs, but college sent him away while she stayed at home to commute back-and-forth to her classes and job. Casper had never spent time outside of their high school activities with her, but he had always admired her lifestyle; she was nice to everyone, never cared what others thought of her, and did not cave into peer pressure. Maybe he felt this way since he was always quite the opposite: he was sarcastic and had been drinking since his freshman year, when his older brother had thrown his first underage drinking party. Casper was unsure of what she had been through since they last talked during their first year of college, but he was sure she had accomplished more than he had.

The door shrieked as it opened and cast sunlight into the front of the restaurant. A girl with not curly yet not straight brown and blonde hair walked up to the hostess stand. She wore brown, square glasses, a navy shirt with an Old English “D,” knee-length jean shorts, and neon orange tennis shoes. Her straight teeth were shown through a smile that seemed extremely genuine as she spoke with the workers at the stand.

Is that? Casper thought. It couldn’t be…

The girl’s eyes locked with Casper’s, causing her smile to enlarge, before she walked towards him.

Casper stood up once the girl reached the booth he was occupying, “Brielle?”

“Casper?” she replied. “I can’t believe we waited this long to catch up!”

She embraced him in a hug, making Casper aware of the strawberry and vanilla scent present on her hair. She let go of him in a few seconds before they sat on opposing sides of the table.

“How have you been?” Casper asked her, picking up his glass of water to take a sip.

“I’ve been good,” Brielle replied, still smiling, as she opened the menu in front of her. “I haven’t done much outside of school, work, and volunteering but I can’t complain. How about you? How it is to go away to college? I always feel like I may be missing out on something…”

Her intent, green eyes made their way from the menu to Casper’s face.

Casper finally returned her smile, “I like going to Central, but I miss my parents and brother every once in a while. Oh, I have an internship there now!”

“That’s awesome!” Brielle said. “I have been trying to get one around here, but I haven’t had any luck yet.”

“Oh, I’m sure something will come up soon,” Casper reassured her. “Besides, you’re a hard worker so you could get an internship or job anywhere.”

Brielle placed her gaze back onto the food items in the menu, then thanked Casper for his compliment.

“I’m serious! And you know I’m right, too.”

“I know I work hard, yes,” Brielle admitted, staring at her hands placed on the table, “but the people hiring me don’t know that. I know references are meant to relay that information, but who knows if anyone actually calls them.”

Casper looked at the top of her head, since she shifted her gaze further down, “Bri…”

Her gaze slowly met his dark brown eyes as he stretched his hands across the table to cover hers.

“If you think community college is preventing you from getting an internship, you couldn’t be more wrong,” he whispered to her. “You are one of the smartest, nicest, most motivated and independent people I know. If those people saw the girl I see, you would have them knocking at your door day and night to work with them.”

Brielle placed one of her hands on top of Casper’s and, while patting it lightly, said, “Casper, where have you been all these years?”