Life, the Universe, and Everything

 

            “Izzy, would you come out here,” Ben cried form the first level of the pent house apartment that my parents had left me. I was feeling a lot better that afternoon after a good nap and some food in my stomach. I ran down stairs in my black silk robe. It was very dark outside already and I was just waking up. He was standing at the edge of the steps looking right strait at my door with his blindingly bright blue eyes.

            “Hey what have you been up to?” I asked him playfully.

            “Izzy you need to stay away from those people.” He gave me that look that only parents could pull off, and I laughed because I couldn’t take him seriously.

            “You had no problems with it when I was younger; I’m even more responsible now.”

            “That was before Wolfey broke your heart.” That shut me right up.

            “Oh you’re just jealous cause I got to go out and have a good time.”

            “Izzy, I’m really worried about you, I don’t want you staying out that late again.” What can I say I’m a sucker for the men I crushed on.

            “Fine,” I sighed, “but I’m going back eventually.”

            “That’s fine, just come back before I go to sleep.”

            “That might not work, I’m not sure about before you go to sleep.”

            “Before two in the morning.”

            “Fine.” With that I left him and went to the kitchen.

            “I really get worried about you when you do that to me,” he whispered.

            “Sorry,” I whispered back.

            “Look I’ve got to go to Iraq for work the rest of this week. Do you think you can handle being on your own for that long?” he strolled over to the kitchen and rested on a wall.

            “Oh dear. Whatever shall I do? My protector and provider has decided to leave me,” the sarcasm was seeping out of my mouth like water through a strainer.

            “I expect you to behave while I’m out, do you understand?” It was hard to take him seriously when he was only three years older than me and talking to me like I was a small child.

            “Yes, father dearest,” I said in a mocking tone.

            “I’m serious.” I knew he was so with a smile I nodded and went on pouring some cereal. He gave me the suspicious eye and then walked away.

            “So how was your date with Vicky?” I half yelled to make sure he heard.

            “Oh you remembered? I had to go to work today. You know, urgent business.”

            “You know the two of you can never have a truthful relationship don’t you? She can never know all of you,” curiosity was burning in my throat.

            “Yes, I know,” his voice was cracking and soft so I went to give him a hug.

            “Thanks Izzy, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He gave me a sad smile.

            “Suffer and die,” I said without removing my face from his shirt.

            “Rough night last night?” he asked.

                “Very, but who cares about me I’m always in these situations, what about you, talk to me about Victoria.” I led him to the couch and together we sat down. I started to spoon mouthfuls of cereal down my throat while he started to gush, as I knew he would, about his first, that’s right, first ever girlfriend.

                “I just feel so normal with her, you know? It’s hard to find a normal moment around this place,” he told me looking straight down at his jacket zipper. He looked up at me then and gave a loud laugh seeing the milk run down my cheek.

                “I see someone has a drinking problem.” I couldn’t help but laugh back, after I swallowed of course. He wiped my chin with a napkin and I licked my lips.

                He was so in love with me I could see it in his eyes. Why then, oh why, could he not see it himself!

                “I don’t understand, how your relationship can be normal when you have to keep most of your life a secret from her.”

                “Well it’s normal so long as she doesn’t know,” he gave me a playful suspicious look like I was going to be the one to spoil his fun, “but I didn’t say anything about comfortable or right.”

                “It’s true, you are a horrible person for dragging out a relation when you know it’s not safe for her to know the real you. I’m surprised she’s stuck with you so long. She must really love you.” I said the last bit real quiet cause I wasn’t sure I could stop myself from cursing her out if I said it too loud.

                We went on talking about relationships like that well on into the night. At around eleven he unconsciously laid his head on my lap and I started watching The Nanny, a wondrously funny sitcom but I kept the volume low cause I was afraid Fran’s laugh would wake him. It was nice to just sit there and stroke that shortish/longish black hair of his that always bugged me cause it always stuck out at wild angles. It was so nice to have him to myself like that. It was a nice advantage knowing every last detail of your crush, and an absolute miracle to be living alone with him. I couldn’t help but remember the day we’d ran away from my grandparents together. I suppose I should tell you about that. After three months it became unbearable to live in the stuffy suffocating household that my grandparents ran. My parents had left me a giant pent house in Manhattan. That’s where we went. We’ve been living here for oh… 2 or so years. That was Saturday, he left on Sunday evening. It was hard to watch him walk out the door, not even getting to see him onto the plane.

                I contented myself with the fact that tonight I would meet my real friends, the ones that really loved me and honored my decent opinion on things. Morgan and Sadie were the best friends a girl could hope for.

                Morgan lived with her father, her mother died not long after she was born of a terminal illness. She. Was. A. Genius. When she was a very small girl her father snuck her into his top secret lab deep within the bowels of the CIA headquarters and that’s where she started learning the ways of a genius. When she was 2 she was rattling of her elements while the rest of us were slugging through our alphabet. She could have graduated high school at age 12 if she hadn’t dropped out of high school to work with me and Sadie at the CIA. Her black hair was faded from lack of light; one day when we were in 8^th grade me and Sadie put a purple streak on the front right side to try to liven it up. While neither of us liked the way the gray and purple clashed Morgan seemed to love the way it made her stand out, so she kept it. Her chocolate eyes were covered by cute little half moon spectacles; she wouldn’t stand for contacts because she was afraid she’d end up poking her eyes out and knowing her she probably would.

                Sadie’s parents were the only two still alive, sounds a little sadistic doesn’t it; well you lose both your parents and then talk to me. Both her parents were secret agents, just like the rest of us. She was a brilliant spy, the best at cracking riddles and safes in record time, and no one compared to her when it came to the brush pass. Not only was she the perfect female Bond, she was the girl next door. With classic looks she blew away all the male competition. She had long blond locks and wide blue doe eyes that melted any man, no human will.

                There’s nothing much more to say in this chapter. I think I’ll begin a new one to really introduce you to my friends.

                Oh but there is something… ok there’s a huge event coming up that me and Alice do every year. The New York weather out there was getting colder; people were wearing their winter coats. So you can probably guess it’s Christmas season. No, we didn’t plan an awesome Christmas party every year, that was always reserved for family, for some reason Alice’s father would always insist that she come to his house for Christmas dinner and mass, somehow they were Catholic. Every year we started off the New Year the best way we knew how. Party! A big blow out ball in the great room at the Plaza hotel. We would all dress in our finest gowns and it was a huge social faux pas if the men showed up in anything less than a tux and tie. I can’t say anybody who’s anybody is there because that would be too much of a generalization. Oh and we would dance and dance till our feet fell off and the paparazzi would have a field day because this was an event not to be missed, better than the Emmys could even dream of. This year’s guest list comprised of big stars such as Taylor Swift, Daniel Radcliff, Rupert Grant, Emma Watson, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Launter, Will Smith, Leonardo DeCaprio, Hugh Jackman, and other assorted friends like future leaders of the world.

Reviews

[Dylan I. Cree]

The end made me laugh. I liked this chapter but the friends into was kind of wierd and that fact that they're all in the CIA is interesting....