Post by poft on Jul 13, 2005 4:52:32 GMT -5
NOTE: thanks for the review guys. i'm glad you all liked it. keep telling me what you think or where the story should go. Please keep in mind everyone is older in this story. Have fun readin!
-nb
...........................................
The Future is Now
Chapter 2: A Familiar Stranger
“oh my gosh, it’s senior year,” Tia cried dreamy as the trio walked through the entrance of HG Wells High.
“All those time spent at the mall buying expensive clothes have finally brought me here.”
Tia, as fashionable as ever since she did wake up a couple of hours earlier to maker sure her perfect outfit…was in fact perfect, pranced through the halls with her hands to her chest. She did a little twirl and sucked in a huge gulp of air and closed her eyes with a huge smile on her face.
“Smell that guys?” Tia asked.
“It sure smells different now that we are at the top doesn’t’ it?”
“Not only will I now be popular but I will be…..a popular…senior,” Tia wiped away tears in her eyes and sighed happily.
Phil and Seth could only stare in shock. It was still blistering hot and that walk to get them here did nothing to cool off the heat. There were sweaty and sticky not to mention they were now back in school. And there Tia was, walking down the long stretch of the hallway like she was walking down the red carpet. Occasionally, stopping to pose and answer some questions.
“Tia’s right, it does smell different,” Seth said as he sniffed the air.
“Kinda like…….old baloney and expired….mustard.”
“Great. Sounds like you just described our new and improved senior lunches,” Phil grinned as he began placing his book in the locker. He couldn’t help but glance over to Keely’s locker and wonder where she was. He tried calling her and even stopped over at her house but no one was home. They are probably jus…..
“Actually I’m kind of hungry. I skipped breakfast,” Seth replied placing a hand on his stomach.
“Why? You were up before the sun this morning,” Phil asked as he grabbed his bag and walked with Seth over to his locker.
“Tia called and demanded I come right over since it was,” Seth made a face as he tried to imitate Tia’s voice, “a matter of great importance.”
“It turns out the balance of good and evil hung in fragile jeopardy and it was imperative that I offer her my assistance immediately.”
“She couldn’t figure out what to wear?” Phil asked without even looking up from his chemistry book.
“No, apparently the hair ribbon she wanted to wear didn’t bring out her eyes, enough” Seth answered as he began peeling the wrapper off an old candy bar.
“She ended up picking something that looked like her living room rug.”
“Well at least I didn’t show up with the exact same clothes as last year,” Tia said, raising both her eyebrows at Seth and looked at him as if she was a mother scolding her child.
“Hey, you should be happy I washed them last night,” Seth said eating his candy bar as it began to melt and landed on his shirt. A couple of brown dots could be seen on Seth’s ‘newly washed shirt.’
“Ugh. You are disgusting. It’s bad enough to be seen with you,” Tia complained as she scooted farther to the side to prevent any chocolate getting on her.
“Now I have to be seen with you while you’re wearing last season’s clothing.”
“Don’t be mad at me just because I don’t need flashy outfits to make me feel important,” Seth answered while busily trying to wipe the stains off with his fingers. But only making it worse by rubbing the chocolate deeper into his shirt.
“I’m not mad because if I was mad that means I would have to care. Which I don’t,” Tia replied obviously and moved her attention back to Phil.
She looked at him expectantly and asked, “Where is Keely? She was supposed to be home yesterday so we could go over what to wear today. Not to mention the major girl-bonding that we did not get to do.”
“Don’t look at me. I couldn’t get a hold of her last night,” Phil answered and raised his hands up proclaiming his innocence.
“Or the night before that and the one before that,” Seth laughed throwing away the wrapper.
“I don’t call her that often,” Phil said defensively.
“Only when I’m wondering when she’s coming back.”
“Which is all the time,” Tia raised her brows and began walking to class since the bell just rang with Seth not far behind.
Phil was putting his book away in his backpack and did not notice the two of them walking away.
“That’s not true. I don’t even think about her that oft….,” Phil looked up only to see that his two friends were way down the hall.
“Hey, guys,” Phil yelled but Tia and Seth did not slow down. Phil began a little jog all the while yelling, “Guys, wait up.”
…………………………………….
Pim was not a happy person. After days of generating an infallible blueprint for Operation Blizzard Storm, she could not get her hands on the devices to execute her plan. There were always obstacles obstructing her path to world domination. Why couldn’t everyone just accept the inevitable and let her take her place as their leader? Was that too much too ask? Goodness, these creatures were denser than she thought.
“Pim. Oh Pim.”
“Speaking of obstacles. One of my biggest problems has once again spotted my position. Quick. I must lose her,” Pim thought to herself as she quickly maneuvered herself in various twist and turns around the school hallway.
“Pim. Where are you goi….”
“Good, she can’t find me here,” Pim talked to herself as she stood with her back flat against the side of the locker stalls. She slowly tilt her head to the side and peeked. Her enemy was no where in sight and Pim turned back with a little sigh. Just as she turned her head the other way getting ready to leave…
“PIM!” A large smiling face called out to her.
“AHHH!,” Pim toppled backwards holding her hand to her racing heart.
“Brewick. How do you keep on doing that?”
“Are you wired? I knew it.”
Pim turned Debbie over with both palms flat on the locker as she began to frisk her for any hidden devices.
“Wha…wired?” Debbie exclaimed.
“Pim, just what are you talking about?”
“Hmm, she’s clean,” Pim thought.
“She must be better than I thought.”
“Pim, are you feeling alright?” Debbie asked looking genuinely concerned as she placed a hand across Pim’s forehead.
Pim backed away quickly and said, “Hey, watch it.”
“You are acting rather strange Pim,” Debbie replied with a confused look on her face. But then she just smiled and said, “It must be the weather. It’s making everyone a little…loopy.” Debbie shrugged her shoulder and giggled.
This caused Pim to raise an eyebrow and eyed Debbie strangely.
“The only one acting loopy i…,”
“Oh Pim. I surely have missed you over the break,” Debbie said smiling motherly.
“Come now, we must introduce ourselves to our new teachers.”
“It’s important to leave a good lasting first impression.”
Debbie took Pim by the arm and led her down the hallway in search of their teachers.
“Why?” Pim asked her strangely. Quite frankly, Pim could not see the point in this. Why spend anymore time with a teacher than you already have too?
Debbie smiled and gave her trademark laugh.
“Pim, I’ve forgotten how you love to kid,” Debbie said smiling while shaking her head.
“Oh look, it’s Mr. Hackett.”
“Mr. Hackett….over here,” Debbie called out frantically waving her arm while dragging Pim along for the ride.
………………………………………..
“What is up with these tacky name tags?” Tia cried as she exist English class with Seth.
“I already know what my name is, I don’t need a reminder.”
All Seth could do was stare at her. Sometimes he wondered how Tia actually passed her classes.
“I think these name tags were meant for other people to get to know you Tia.”
“You now, the wonderful and caring Tia that you really are deep…..deep inside,” Seth told her sarcastically.
“Bite me,” Tia gave him the evil stare.
“Besides, everyone already knows who I am.”
Seth was about to respond when Tia suddenly pushed all her books into his arms and started screaming.
“oh my gosh,” Tia yelled as she dashed down the hallway. Right into the arms of her best friend.
“Keely, you’re back!”
Seth looked at them in wonder as they began their ritual dance. First, their voices began to hit decibels that he didn’t know existed. They held each other’s hands and screamed and jumped up and in, in circles. All this time, talking simultaneously which made it impossible to understand what the heck they were saying. There was a lot of ‘oh my gosh’ and ‘I missed you’ blah, blah, blah. And when all this begins to settle down, they just do it all over again.
“Ladies, please. We are in a public area,” Seth called out while walking towards them.
“Welcome back Keely.”
“Seth. oh my gosh,” Keely screamed which caused him to cover his ears.
“Oh, sorry,” she smiled but not looking like she meant it. Keely gave Seth a quick hug and once again resumed the very interesting conversation about how different New York was.
“I swear Tia, there were so many shops there and they like….never close,” Keely described passionately.
Again there was the screaming and more hugging before Tia pulled back and regarded Keely seriously and her eyes got so wide that Seth thought they were going to pop out of their sockets.
“You mean like....,” Tia panted, “…… a 24/7 mall?” Tia asked in a daze.
“YES!” Keely yelled happily which in turn caused Tia is get super excited. Tia grabbed Keely’s hand and said, “Girl, you must tell me everything. In details.”
“How was the guys?”
Keely sighed, “Hot as ever. God, the good ones are never near by.”
She looked at Seth sadly, “No offense.”
Before Seth could answer, Tia interrupted. How shocking.
“Give me details now,” Tia demanded.
Just then the tardy bell rang but neither girls seemed to notice as they continued their ‘fascinating’ discussion about how hot guys could be.
“Not that I want to interrupt this extremely,…and I mean extremely important chat…,” Seth began.
“Then don’t,” Tia cut him off with a wave of her hand and turned her attention back to Keely.
“But…Tia, Keel,” Seth noticed that he was now invisible to both girls as they blatantly ignored him
So taking matters into his own hand, Seth sat down in the middle of the girls breaking their conversation. Seth smiled at them nervously now that he was the object of their attention.
“Tia…Keely,” he nodded his head at them both and continued nodding his head now that he has completely forgotten what he wanted to tell him. A girl has never paid this much attention on him before, let alone two girls. He realized that they were still staring at him waiting for an explanation.
“…well…..hi there….,” he gave them a little wave and laughed nervously.
“Seth?” Tia looked at him annoyingly.
“Yea?”
“Go be annoying somewhere else,” Tia commanded and crossed her arms waiting for him to leave.
“You are ruining our moment.”
“Okay listen,” Seth began speaking very slowly as if he’s talking to toddlers, “we have classes that we need to attend or would you rather have this discussion in detention?”
“Oh my gosh. I totally forgot. Good call Seth,” Keely got up and gathered her things and put both hands on Tia’s shoulder looking her straight in the eyes.
“Tia, we will sooooo talk about this later.”
Tia nodded her head emphatically as Seth pulled her away by the arms.
“Wait. Have you guys seen Phil?” Keely called out but Tia was too busy yelling at Seth for touching her to hear.
…………………………………………….
Phil walked through the empty hallway aimlessly. There was an error on his schedule so now he ended up with a free period. Hopefully, by tomorrow he’ll have this taken care of. It was now in the middle of the day and lunch will be within the next hour or so.
“So much time, so….not much to do,” Phil thought as he sat down on the stairs. The whole day has been spent renewing past friendships with people he met before summer started. And Phil has basically seen everyone he knew. Except for one. He hasn’t seen her all day which was funny because she said she was going to be home in time for school. Keely rarely wanted to miss a day that would give her an excuse to shop. Phil has walked pass her locker during every passing period and each time he would get butterflies in his stomach only to be disappointed because she wasn’t there.
“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to check once more,” Phil thought as he got up and swung his bag over his shoulder. He began walking down the path that he knew all too well. Phil wasn’t that nervous this time around because Keely probably won’t even be there.
However, as he got closer to the lockers, he could hear someone muttering and see their shadow flicker across the tiled floor.
“Whoa….heavy.”
“Way too heavy.”
And there she was. The object that has dominated his thoughts for the entire summer. He was completely awestruck by her presence. Watching her standing over there trying to balance all those books in her arms, she took his breath away. Literally. Man, she looked great. Her blonde hair was twisted up in some fancy do and her mismatch clothes somehow always seem to be coordinated. On anyone else, that outfit might have looked tacky but on Keely, it looked amazing. No scratch that. ‘She’ looked amazing.
Everything else just seemed to....blur pass his eyes until nothing is left except the vividly painted picture of her. He was so confuse with his conflicting emotions as he stood there regarding his best friend. Yet, at the same time….nothing could’ve been clearer. Lost in his thoughts, Phil forgot how heavy those books really were and Keely was swaying to the left and looked as if she was ready to topple over.
Phil rushed up behind her and was about to offer some help when Keely turned around and knocked the books right into his chest spilling everything to the floor.
“Oooof….,” Keely cried as she collided with the person behind her, sending the books everywhere. She dropped to the floor immediately and proceeded to apologize to the person who she probably just squashed with her math book.
“God, I am so sorry,” Keely frantically picked up her papers.
“I totally didn’t even see you there.
“When you said you wanted to be a hard-hitting news reporter, I didn’t know you meant literally,” Phil teased as he stood up with some of Keely’s books in hand.
Keely, still on the floor, furrowed her perfectly plucked eyebrows and slowly looked up to the person looming over her and she was greeted with deep brown eyes soften by a goofy smile.
“Phil…,” as if snapping back to reality, “oh my gosh, PHIL!”
Suddenly Phil’s arm was full of Keely, books and papers once again fell to the ground completely forgotten.
“Welcome home Keel,” Phil said as he held her tighter and wondered if it always felt this right with her in his arms.
But she pulled back slowly but her arms remained on his shoulder. She had the cutest confused expression on her face as she continued to stare at his chest.
Phil, not knowing what was happening, also looked to the front of his shirt but couldn’t find anything wrong. Maybe it was out of style.
“Phil…..you’re tall…,” Keely told him in a complete shock.
“Well I knew I’ve always been a little challenged vertically but….I didn’t know it was that bad,” Phil replied smiling trying to lighten to mood. She looked so serious; he really was beginning to think gaining these few inches over the summer wasn’t a good thing.
“…er….I mean taller. Taller than me,” Keely said as she broke out in a smile.
“It’s like the first time I actually have to look up to see you.”
“It can’t be that bad, I’m still the same person,” Phil said smiling down at her. Yes, he was smiling ‘down’ at her.
Keely laughed out loud and said, “Of course not. This is so cool.”
She started to frown again and looked into his eyes seriously only to hit him on the chest, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, I would’ve if you ever answered your phone,” Phil smiled and rubbed his chest while looking at her accusingly.
She shrank under his convicting gaze and pouted, “I’m sorry Phil. It’s just I was so busy and everything was sorta happening at once….”
“Plenty of time to catch-up later cause these books ain’t gonna pick themselves up,” Phil smiled as he swatted down and began retrieving the fallen materials. Keely soon followed afterwards and began to tell him stories of her adventures while in the Big Apple.
Soon her books were placed in her lockers and she continued to talk as he led her to a bench nearby. Phil wasn’t really listening. He was just so wrapped up in her. The way she looked, how great her perfume was, her enthusiastic smile and passionate voice, everything about her was so overwhelming. It was taking over all his senses at once and Phil found it a little difficult to concentrate on anything.
“….that store was like totally made for me,” Keely told him while laughing as they sat outside the school underneath a giant tree.
They sat side by side on the bench and Keely turned and smiled at him.
He looked over at her, “Sounds like you had too much fun,” without me, Phil added silently.
“I’m surprised you even came back. It’s not everyday a guy dared to step between Keely Teslow and her shopping spree,” Phil half teased her.
But she could see through him, down to the very last detail. She could see all his insecurities and worries that somehow, someone else became important enough to take his place. It was actually silly, even after all these years and all the things they’ve gone through for each other, Phil still thinks that someone else might possibly know her better and make her as comfortable as she is around him.
“Are you kidding me?”
“I couldn’t leave Tia and Seth all by their lonesome selves,” Keely answered with mock seriousness.
“Well,” Phil said as he got up, “I know when I’m not wanted,” and began to walk away with a smile on his face.
“Hey!” Keely pulled him back by his sleeve until he sat back down.
“I saved the best for last,” She whispered as she turned her body over and was now facing him on the bench.
“Oh really?” Phil looked straight ahead and pretended to only be slightly interested.
“The best, huh?”
Keely decided to play his game and sooth away all his fears that were so evident in his eyes and body language. Phil was unsure and a little reluctant to be the best friend she left behind a lifetime ago. Well it was only three months but it seemed longer. Funny, how everything seemed longer without Keely.
“Yup cause he’s the most….amazing and wonderful and…..caring guy in the whole world. A little nerdy at times and even though his jokes could use a little work…..,” Keely smiled, “no one makes me laugh like he does. No one knows me better.”
They sat there for awhile with Keely looking at Phil’s profile while he stared off across the field.
“Wow. That’s a….mighty long list,” Phil tilted his head to the left side and looked at Keely with a little smile playing on his lips.
“You sure he lives up to all that?”
She returned him with a soft smile and looked at him with her big thoughtful eyes and Phil felt as though she was piercing right through him with her stare.
“You do.”
Phil became completely captivated by her. If the world was ending this very second, he didn’t think he had enough will-power to look away.
“Keely!”
Always count on Tia to have the worse timing. Keely looked away and jumped up to hug her friend. And just like that, the moment was gone and they were back to where they started, as two best friends.
Phil stared at Keely as a group of girls swarmed around her, begging for every single detail that happened in New York. He couldn’t help but notice how the light hit her perfectly this afternoon.
Seth took a seat where Keely once was, “It’s not so hot anymore.”
“Nice day huh?” Seth asked crossing his arms over his chest and extended his legs while looking to the clear blue sky.
“Beautiful,” Phil replied still staring at Keely as if she’s the only one that existed in the crowed lunch area.
..................e.n.d.c.h.a.p.t.e.r.2.......................
-nb
...........................................
The Future is Now
Chapter 2: A Familiar Stranger
“oh my gosh, it’s senior year,” Tia cried dreamy as the trio walked through the entrance of HG Wells High.
“All those time spent at the mall buying expensive clothes have finally brought me here.”
Tia, as fashionable as ever since she did wake up a couple of hours earlier to maker sure her perfect outfit…was in fact perfect, pranced through the halls with her hands to her chest. She did a little twirl and sucked in a huge gulp of air and closed her eyes with a huge smile on her face.
“Smell that guys?” Tia asked.
“It sure smells different now that we are at the top doesn’t’ it?”
“Not only will I now be popular but I will be…..a popular…senior,” Tia wiped away tears in her eyes and sighed happily.
Phil and Seth could only stare in shock. It was still blistering hot and that walk to get them here did nothing to cool off the heat. There were sweaty and sticky not to mention they were now back in school. And there Tia was, walking down the long stretch of the hallway like she was walking down the red carpet. Occasionally, stopping to pose and answer some questions.
“Tia’s right, it does smell different,” Seth said as he sniffed the air.
“Kinda like…….old baloney and expired….mustard.”
“Great. Sounds like you just described our new and improved senior lunches,” Phil grinned as he began placing his book in the locker. He couldn’t help but glance over to Keely’s locker and wonder where she was. He tried calling her and even stopped over at her house but no one was home. They are probably jus…..
“Actually I’m kind of hungry. I skipped breakfast,” Seth replied placing a hand on his stomach.
“Why? You were up before the sun this morning,” Phil asked as he grabbed his bag and walked with Seth over to his locker.
“Tia called and demanded I come right over since it was,” Seth made a face as he tried to imitate Tia’s voice, “a matter of great importance.”
“It turns out the balance of good and evil hung in fragile jeopardy and it was imperative that I offer her my assistance immediately.”
“She couldn’t figure out what to wear?” Phil asked without even looking up from his chemistry book.
“No, apparently the hair ribbon she wanted to wear didn’t bring out her eyes, enough” Seth answered as he began peeling the wrapper off an old candy bar.
“She ended up picking something that looked like her living room rug.”
“Well at least I didn’t show up with the exact same clothes as last year,” Tia said, raising both her eyebrows at Seth and looked at him as if she was a mother scolding her child.
“Hey, you should be happy I washed them last night,” Seth said eating his candy bar as it began to melt and landed on his shirt. A couple of brown dots could be seen on Seth’s ‘newly washed shirt.’
“Ugh. You are disgusting. It’s bad enough to be seen with you,” Tia complained as she scooted farther to the side to prevent any chocolate getting on her.
“Now I have to be seen with you while you’re wearing last season’s clothing.”
“Don’t be mad at me just because I don’t need flashy outfits to make me feel important,” Seth answered while busily trying to wipe the stains off with his fingers. But only making it worse by rubbing the chocolate deeper into his shirt.
“I’m not mad because if I was mad that means I would have to care. Which I don’t,” Tia replied obviously and moved her attention back to Phil.
She looked at him expectantly and asked, “Where is Keely? She was supposed to be home yesterday so we could go over what to wear today. Not to mention the major girl-bonding that we did not get to do.”
“Don’t look at me. I couldn’t get a hold of her last night,” Phil answered and raised his hands up proclaiming his innocence.
“Or the night before that and the one before that,” Seth laughed throwing away the wrapper.
“I don’t call her that often,” Phil said defensively.
“Only when I’m wondering when she’s coming back.”
“Which is all the time,” Tia raised her brows and began walking to class since the bell just rang with Seth not far behind.
Phil was putting his book away in his backpack and did not notice the two of them walking away.
“That’s not true. I don’t even think about her that oft….,” Phil looked up only to see that his two friends were way down the hall.
“Hey, guys,” Phil yelled but Tia and Seth did not slow down. Phil began a little jog all the while yelling, “Guys, wait up.”
…………………………………….
Pim was not a happy person. After days of generating an infallible blueprint for Operation Blizzard Storm, she could not get her hands on the devices to execute her plan. There were always obstacles obstructing her path to world domination. Why couldn’t everyone just accept the inevitable and let her take her place as their leader? Was that too much too ask? Goodness, these creatures were denser than she thought.
“Pim. Oh Pim.”
“Speaking of obstacles. One of my biggest problems has once again spotted my position. Quick. I must lose her,” Pim thought to herself as she quickly maneuvered herself in various twist and turns around the school hallway.
“Pim. Where are you goi….”
“Good, she can’t find me here,” Pim talked to herself as she stood with her back flat against the side of the locker stalls. She slowly tilt her head to the side and peeked. Her enemy was no where in sight and Pim turned back with a little sigh. Just as she turned her head the other way getting ready to leave…
“PIM!” A large smiling face called out to her.
“AHHH!,” Pim toppled backwards holding her hand to her racing heart.
“Brewick. How do you keep on doing that?”
“Are you wired? I knew it.”
Pim turned Debbie over with both palms flat on the locker as she began to frisk her for any hidden devices.
“Wha…wired?” Debbie exclaimed.
“Pim, just what are you talking about?”
“Hmm, she’s clean,” Pim thought.
“She must be better than I thought.”
“Pim, are you feeling alright?” Debbie asked looking genuinely concerned as she placed a hand across Pim’s forehead.
Pim backed away quickly and said, “Hey, watch it.”
“You are acting rather strange Pim,” Debbie replied with a confused look on her face. But then she just smiled and said, “It must be the weather. It’s making everyone a little…loopy.” Debbie shrugged her shoulder and giggled.
This caused Pim to raise an eyebrow and eyed Debbie strangely.
“The only one acting loopy i…,”
“Oh Pim. I surely have missed you over the break,” Debbie said smiling motherly.
“Come now, we must introduce ourselves to our new teachers.”
“It’s important to leave a good lasting first impression.”
Debbie took Pim by the arm and led her down the hallway in search of their teachers.
“Why?” Pim asked her strangely. Quite frankly, Pim could not see the point in this. Why spend anymore time with a teacher than you already have too?
Debbie smiled and gave her trademark laugh.
“Pim, I’ve forgotten how you love to kid,” Debbie said smiling while shaking her head.
“Oh look, it’s Mr. Hackett.”
“Mr. Hackett….over here,” Debbie called out frantically waving her arm while dragging Pim along for the ride.
………………………………………..
“What is up with these tacky name tags?” Tia cried as she exist English class with Seth.
“I already know what my name is, I don’t need a reminder.”
All Seth could do was stare at her. Sometimes he wondered how Tia actually passed her classes.
“I think these name tags were meant for other people to get to know you Tia.”
“You now, the wonderful and caring Tia that you really are deep…..deep inside,” Seth told her sarcastically.
“Bite me,” Tia gave him the evil stare.
“Besides, everyone already knows who I am.”
Seth was about to respond when Tia suddenly pushed all her books into his arms and started screaming.
“oh my gosh,” Tia yelled as she dashed down the hallway. Right into the arms of her best friend.
“Keely, you’re back!”
Seth looked at them in wonder as they began their ritual dance. First, their voices began to hit decibels that he didn’t know existed. They held each other’s hands and screamed and jumped up and in, in circles. All this time, talking simultaneously which made it impossible to understand what the heck they were saying. There was a lot of ‘oh my gosh’ and ‘I missed you’ blah, blah, blah. And when all this begins to settle down, they just do it all over again.
“Ladies, please. We are in a public area,” Seth called out while walking towards them.
“Welcome back Keely.”
“Seth. oh my gosh,” Keely screamed which caused him to cover his ears.
“Oh, sorry,” she smiled but not looking like she meant it. Keely gave Seth a quick hug and once again resumed the very interesting conversation about how different New York was.
“I swear Tia, there were so many shops there and they like….never close,” Keely described passionately.
Again there was the screaming and more hugging before Tia pulled back and regarded Keely seriously and her eyes got so wide that Seth thought they were going to pop out of their sockets.
“You mean like....,” Tia panted, “…… a 24/7 mall?” Tia asked in a daze.
“YES!” Keely yelled happily which in turn caused Tia is get super excited. Tia grabbed Keely’s hand and said, “Girl, you must tell me everything. In details.”
“How was the guys?”
Keely sighed, “Hot as ever. God, the good ones are never near by.”
She looked at Seth sadly, “No offense.”
Before Seth could answer, Tia interrupted. How shocking.
“Give me details now,” Tia demanded.
Just then the tardy bell rang but neither girls seemed to notice as they continued their ‘fascinating’ discussion about how hot guys could be.
“Not that I want to interrupt this extremely,…and I mean extremely important chat…,” Seth began.
“Then don’t,” Tia cut him off with a wave of her hand and turned her attention back to Keely.
“But…Tia, Keel,” Seth noticed that he was now invisible to both girls as they blatantly ignored him
So taking matters into his own hand, Seth sat down in the middle of the girls breaking their conversation. Seth smiled at them nervously now that he was the object of their attention.
“Tia…Keely,” he nodded his head at them both and continued nodding his head now that he has completely forgotten what he wanted to tell him. A girl has never paid this much attention on him before, let alone two girls. He realized that they were still staring at him waiting for an explanation.
“…well…..hi there….,” he gave them a little wave and laughed nervously.
“Seth?” Tia looked at him annoyingly.
“Yea?”
“Go be annoying somewhere else,” Tia commanded and crossed her arms waiting for him to leave.
“You are ruining our moment.”
“Okay listen,” Seth began speaking very slowly as if he’s talking to toddlers, “we have classes that we need to attend or would you rather have this discussion in detention?”
“Oh my gosh. I totally forgot. Good call Seth,” Keely got up and gathered her things and put both hands on Tia’s shoulder looking her straight in the eyes.
“Tia, we will sooooo talk about this later.”
Tia nodded her head emphatically as Seth pulled her away by the arms.
“Wait. Have you guys seen Phil?” Keely called out but Tia was too busy yelling at Seth for touching her to hear.
…………………………………………….
Phil walked through the empty hallway aimlessly. There was an error on his schedule so now he ended up with a free period. Hopefully, by tomorrow he’ll have this taken care of. It was now in the middle of the day and lunch will be within the next hour or so.
“So much time, so….not much to do,” Phil thought as he sat down on the stairs. The whole day has been spent renewing past friendships with people he met before summer started. And Phil has basically seen everyone he knew. Except for one. He hasn’t seen her all day which was funny because she said she was going to be home in time for school. Keely rarely wanted to miss a day that would give her an excuse to shop. Phil has walked pass her locker during every passing period and each time he would get butterflies in his stomach only to be disappointed because she wasn’t there.
“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to check once more,” Phil thought as he got up and swung his bag over his shoulder. He began walking down the path that he knew all too well. Phil wasn’t that nervous this time around because Keely probably won’t even be there.
However, as he got closer to the lockers, he could hear someone muttering and see their shadow flicker across the tiled floor.
“Whoa….heavy.”
“Way too heavy.”
And there she was. The object that has dominated his thoughts for the entire summer. He was completely awestruck by her presence. Watching her standing over there trying to balance all those books in her arms, she took his breath away. Literally. Man, she looked great. Her blonde hair was twisted up in some fancy do and her mismatch clothes somehow always seem to be coordinated. On anyone else, that outfit might have looked tacky but on Keely, it looked amazing. No scratch that. ‘She’ looked amazing.
Everything else just seemed to....blur pass his eyes until nothing is left except the vividly painted picture of her. He was so confuse with his conflicting emotions as he stood there regarding his best friend. Yet, at the same time….nothing could’ve been clearer. Lost in his thoughts, Phil forgot how heavy those books really were and Keely was swaying to the left and looked as if she was ready to topple over.
Phil rushed up behind her and was about to offer some help when Keely turned around and knocked the books right into his chest spilling everything to the floor.
“Oooof….,” Keely cried as she collided with the person behind her, sending the books everywhere. She dropped to the floor immediately and proceeded to apologize to the person who she probably just squashed with her math book.
“God, I am so sorry,” Keely frantically picked up her papers.
“I totally didn’t even see you there.
“When you said you wanted to be a hard-hitting news reporter, I didn’t know you meant literally,” Phil teased as he stood up with some of Keely’s books in hand.
Keely, still on the floor, furrowed her perfectly plucked eyebrows and slowly looked up to the person looming over her and she was greeted with deep brown eyes soften by a goofy smile.
“Phil…,” as if snapping back to reality, “oh my gosh, PHIL!”
Suddenly Phil’s arm was full of Keely, books and papers once again fell to the ground completely forgotten.
“Welcome home Keel,” Phil said as he held her tighter and wondered if it always felt this right with her in his arms.
But she pulled back slowly but her arms remained on his shoulder. She had the cutest confused expression on her face as she continued to stare at his chest.
Phil, not knowing what was happening, also looked to the front of his shirt but couldn’t find anything wrong. Maybe it was out of style.
“Phil…..you’re tall…,” Keely told him in a complete shock.
“Well I knew I’ve always been a little challenged vertically but….I didn’t know it was that bad,” Phil replied smiling trying to lighten to mood. She looked so serious; he really was beginning to think gaining these few inches over the summer wasn’t a good thing.
“…er….I mean taller. Taller than me,” Keely said as she broke out in a smile.
“It’s like the first time I actually have to look up to see you.”
“It can’t be that bad, I’m still the same person,” Phil said smiling down at her. Yes, he was smiling ‘down’ at her.
Keely laughed out loud and said, “Of course not. This is so cool.”
She started to frown again and looked into his eyes seriously only to hit him on the chest, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, I would’ve if you ever answered your phone,” Phil smiled and rubbed his chest while looking at her accusingly.
She shrank under his convicting gaze and pouted, “I’m sorry Phil. It’s just I was so busy and everything was sorta happening at once….”
“Plenty of time to catch-up later cause these books ain’t gonna pick themselves up,” Phil smiled as he swatted down and began retrieving the fallen materials. Keely soon followed afterwards and began to tell him stories of her adventures while in the Big Apple.
Soon her books were placed in her lockers and she continued to talk as he led her to a bench nearby. Phil wasn’t really listening. He was just so wrapped up in her. The way she looked, how great her perfume was, her enthusiastic smile and passionate voice, everything about her was so overwhelming. It was taking over all his senses at once and Phil found it a little difficult to concentrate on anything.
“….that store was like totally made for me,” Keely told him while laughing as they sat outside the school underneath a giant tree.
They sat side by side on the bench and Keely turned and smiled at him.
He looked over at her, “Sounds like you had too much fun,” without me, Phil added silently.
“I’m surprised you even came back. It’s not everyday a guy dared to step between Keely Teslow and her shopping spree,” Phil half teased her.
But she could see through him, down to the very last detail. She could see all his insecurities and worries that somehow, someone else became important enough to take his place. It was actually silly, even after all these years and all the things they’ve gone through for each other, Phil still thinks that someone else might possibly know her better and make her as comfortable as she is around him.
“Are you kidding me?”
“I couldn’t leave Tia and Seth all by their lonesome selves,” Keely answered with mock seriousness.
“Well,” Phil said as he got up, “I know when I’m not wanted,” and began to walk away with a smile on his face.
“Hey!” Keely pulled him back by his sleeve until he sat back down.
“I saved the best for last,” She whispered as she turned her body over and was now facing him on the bench.
“Oh really?” Phil looked straight ahead and pretended to only be slightly interested.
“The best, huh?”
Keely decided to play his game and sooth away all his fears that were so evident in his eyes and body language. Phil was unsure and a little reluctant to be the best friend she left behind a lifetime ago. Well it was only three months but it seemed longer. Funny, how everything seemed longer without Keely.
“Yup cause he’s the most….amazing and wonderful and…..caring guy in the whole world. A little nerdy at times and even though his jokes could use a little work…..,” Keely smiled, “no one makes me laugh like he does. No one knows me better.”
They sat there for awhile with Keely looking at Phil’s profile while he stared off across the field.
“Wow. That’s a….mighty long list,” Phil tilted his head to the left side and looked at Keely with a little smile playing on his lips.
“You sure he lives up to all that?”
She returned him with a soft smile and looked at him with her big thoughtful eyes and Phil felt as though she was piercing right through him with her stare.
“You do.”
Phil became completely captivated by her. If the world was ending this very second, he didn’t think he had enough will-power to look away.
“Keely!”
Always count on Tia to have the worse timing. Keely looked away and jumped up to hug her friend. And just like that, the moment was gone and they were back to where they started, as two best friends.
Phil stared at Keely as a group of girls swarmed around her, begging for every single detail that happened in New York. He couldn’t help but notice how the light hit her perfectly this afternoon.
Seth took a seat where Keely once was, “It’s not so hot anymore.”
“Nice day huh?” Seth asked crossing his arms over his chest and extended his legs while looking to the clear blue sky.
“Beautiful,” Phil replied still staring at Keely as if she’s the only one that existed in the crowed lunch area.
..................e.n.d.c.h.a.p.t.e.r.2.......................