Fish: Chapter 7

A Chapter by Irena

and another one(: I thoroughly enjoy posting these even if no one reads them

I ran for a long time, not stopping for anything or anyone. Then I stopped short. I was far from any civilization. I took a deep breathe and tried to calm my heart as it beat far faster than usual.

I looked around and saw no one in sight. There weren’t even any buildings. Some may call this kind of experience, “getting lost,” but I was exactly where I wanted to be. I was in the middle of nowhere. It was pure bliss.

I spent hours there, by myself. I thought, then I drew and then I thought some more. My mind wandered away the afternoon and I lost track of time. It was so refreshing. I didn’t want to have to leave, but I could see that the sun was, slowly but surely, setting. The sky was colored pink and purple and the moon was already visible in the far distance. I had to start heading back to the house.

I got to my feet and trudged towards the nearest road as slowly as I could go, trying to drag out my last moments of freedom. I wanted to take as long as possible even if it took walking at a snail’s pace to do so. I could see the house in the distance, and darkness was falling over Hansing.

One day of summer down, I thought. One hundred and three to go.

The lights of the house were all off. That was when I first noticed that things were a little bit strange, just a tad bit off. I should have just walked away from the house right then. If I had known what would happen when I stepped inside, I would have just waited until midnight and then snuck into my room through the window. Instead, I acted like an idiot and I opened the door. At first there was silence. I looked around for a few seconds, wondering if Gram and Gramps were already asleep, which wasn’t hard to believe. Then suddenly the lights turned on and I was bombarded with simultaneous shouts of, “Surprise!”

It looked as if the entire town was standing in the living room. A big banner hung behind them that said, “Welcome to Hansing, Mimi!”

This was just great. All I wanted to do was avoid people and Gram had to throw a surprise party. Even thinking the words “surprise party” was like torture for me. I absolutely hate surprise parties. They always spring up at the most inopportune times. I suppose I should be honored that these people took the time to put this together for me, but now I was just plain tired out.

I smiled so that I wouldn’t look too rude. What else are you supposed to do when a giant group of people jumps at you shouting “surprise”? The gut reaction would be to run away in fear but I knew I couldn’t do that without offending anyone.

Everyone laughed as if they were all in on a hilarious inside joke, and then I was surrounded by a swarm of people warmly welcoming me to the neighborhood. The rest of the party went by in a blur. I shook so many hands and heard too many names that I was expected to remember. I knew I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t even try.

Soon, I began to think that it was almost over. I thought I would finally be set somewhat free. But instead, food was served. I knew then, that I was in for a very long night.

Gram decided to take it upon herself to introduce me to teenagers of Hansing who were my own age. I wish she had just left it alone. Can you imagine how embarrassing it is when your Grandmother takes you over to a kid and says “Mimi, this is so-and-so. They’re your age so you’ll have plenty to talk about!” Then she’d leave us alone and I knew we would have absolutely nothing to talk about. I’d look down at my feet. Then the awkwardness would begin.

I tried to avoid people as much as possible by looking for excuses to excuse myself from the room. When the punch bowl was emptied, I was the one who volunteered to get more from the kitchen, and when one of the younger kids scraped their knee outside, I went to get a bandage. Gram and the rest of the crowd thought I was being helpful and sweet to make a good impression. I wasn’t that selfless. I just wanted to get away.

Finally, it was almost over. I looked at the clock. Surely they would be headed to bed soon. And sure enough, the guests were on their way out the door. Sadly, it took them forever to say goodbye. They had to tell everyone in the room that they were leaving even if they were going to see them all the very next day. It was agonizing.

When the room was empty, I sincerely couldn’t believe my eyes. I blinked a couple of times and rubbed them with my hands. But it was true. The room as practically deserted. And it seemed like I had been blessed with a miracle. Then I heard a voice. It was his voice. I froze.

“Mrs. Davis, can I help you clean up?” It was the handsome guy who had almost run me over with his bike. I kept my back turned to him because I was blushing a deep red color.

“Thank you so much, Parker,” Gram replied in a grateful tone. “I could always use an extra set of hands around here.”

So his name was Parker. I didn’t know what to think. First he practically kills me with a bike, and now he’s helping my Gram clean up after a party as if nothing had even happened. Had he been at the party the entire time? How had I not noticed him? I swear, if I had noticed him then I would’ve left that house as fast as possible. Now I was sort of trapped.

“Hi, Mimi.” He called from across the room. I swear that I could hear him smile from where I stood.

“Hi.” I said with as little expression in my voice as possible.

He chuckled under his breath. It was like he could read my mind.

“Look, I’m really sorry about today with the bike and all,” he walked towards me. “And I just wanted to say how much I like your drawings…”

I should’ve yelled at him. I should have shouted at him until he left the house, but Gram was standing nearby and I had to keep my cool.

“Thanks. I’m sorry I didn’t stay to introduce myself…”

I didn’t know what else to say. My mind had gone completely blank. I wasn’t even looking at him, and I was being put under his spell again.

Don’t turn around. Do not turn around. Do not turn around! I yelled at myself frantically.

I turned around.

Grrr…

I thought I could be strong and withstand his mesmerizing powers but I was completely wrong. His face was just as amazing as earlier that day, if not more so. I tried to busy myself by picking up pieces of trash on the ground and throwing them in the garbage bin. He came by my side and joined in on my trash-collecting chore.

My mind was still blank and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t form an actual sentence with him so close to me. Why did he have to be here?

But then, I realized that I didn’t want him to go. My mind was telling me that I wanted him out of my life for good, but something else was telling me that I would feel even worse if he left…

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