Fireflies

22

The next morning, I have been stuck in the same room as my tutor. Whenever Angie and I weren't hanging out or I wasn't peering down at the memento, school work came frequently.  Even though I have missed a couple of months recovering, everyone around me tried to help so I wouldn't repeat a year.

My promising grades before the tragedy happened helped me cope. Luckily, my knowledge didn't fare as poor as I expected it to be and so I caught on with my missed topics through vigorous efforts with my tutor. It was an exhausting routine of catching up for I had all sorts of things to think of already. Oftentimes I would space out of nowhere and it took me a couple of purposeful nods just so I wouldn't be nagged often for losing focus.

"Are you done?" asked Angie as she made her way inside the house.

"Yes, just now. It's tiring."

She giggled. "You did well today, I just got home from school too."

Angie stood still for a few moments, scratching the nape of her neck and avoiding my eyes. I frowned, her demeanor didn't come off as the usual tough girl which concerned me.

"What's wrong, Angie?" I inquired clutching her hand.

"We've been friends for a few months now and I know enough of your story," she mumured slowly. "And I was hoping that maybe we could take you to the next step."

"What step?"

"A good friend of mine is in town and I was hoping that maybe you'd want to meet somebody new," she said carefully.

"A good friend is always nice, Angie. Why are you so hesitant?"

"Because I didn't know if I should ask you. But I hoped maybe you could have another friend, apart from me of course. I wouldn't ever give you up any day, so anyway," she blurted out in a hurry. "Would you like to meet him?"

I blinked at her. Now that I stared at her nervous face, I realized that meeting someone new didn't feel so heavy of a burden anymore. My throbbing pulse didn't rush to hysteria for instead it was calm and soothed.

I breathed deeply and then squeezed her palms tighter. "If it is you, I will always say yes. Your good judgment is enough reason for me to dwell on your intentions. I trust you, Angie and I know that you would never let me encounter someone who is not nice."

"Do you want to see him now? He's at the coffeeshop nearby as of the moment."

"Now?"

She nodded with hopeful eyes. "Yes, if you like."

"Okay."

I bid my leave and informed my Mom of where we were off to. Luckily, she scooted me off with a smile as she was delighted I was willed to meet a new friend. She trusts Angie too.

"Bye Mom!" I chirped. "I'll be back before dinner."

Angie linked her arms with mine and as I grabbed my purse and phone, we walked out of the house gossiping of how her day had been at school and how uninteresting mine had fared to be.

Of course, at the back of my mind, I still frequently think about the owner of the memento and how far he seemed to me.

Each day I miss him but I could never do anything else but wait for Mrs. Annabeth Lee. She said she would call me but it had almost been a week and my hopes were wavering to ashes.

"So this friend of yours is a guy? What's his name?" I asked as we turned along a corner, nearing the coffee shp which was a few blocks away.

"Well since this is a huge step for you, why don't you hear it from him? I'd like to have the both of you meet because that guy is close to me too."

I slung my shoulders to hers and grinned. "Don't worry, I'm not the frantic Claire you've met on that day."

"Silly Claire, you're getting goofy."

"I know right?" I agreed as we foolishly leaped on the sidewalk acting like our feets were wobbly. "I hang around you too much that I'm picking up your corny jokes."

She gasped. "I can't believe such a day would come."

"Me either."

The sun started to set when I looked above and I ushered Angie to look too and so we stopped on our tracks and took pictures of the different hues. Staying for a minute or two, Angie took a picture of me while I stood near an antique street lamp. Caught in the moment, both she and I took silly and vibrant ones too.

"Do you not like getting your picture taken?" she asked me as we began sauntering to the coffee shop again.

"I stopped before."

"Why?"

"Pictures didn't seem so important to me," I replied.

She ended up sighing. "From now on, we'll take lots of pictures together until you'll come to look back on all our moments whenever you feel down."

That made the corners of my lips quirk up. I hugged her just as we were outside the salon which stood next to the store with an oozing smell of brewed coffee. She chuckled at my actions and ended up patting my back.

All this time, after I met Angie, she had become such a huge part of my life and recovery that it would give me such pain if I lost her.

"Let's go inside, shall we?"

I tagged along as her hands reached the knob of the door. The tingling sound of the chiming doorbell filled my ears and we hopped inside with florid cheeks for the air outside had been extra chilly.

Angie roamed her eyes all over the room but she couldn't find anyone. She grabbed my hand, walked all over the ground floor not spotting her friend so we immediately climbed the stairs going up.

"He might be here," she mused. "He likes to take pictures after all. Sometimes of people and often of picturesque views."

"That's cool."

She guided me further inside and as soon as her eyes found a back that seemed familiar to her, she pointed at the figure who was occupied with clicking sounds on his camera. It was too amusing for me to see her eyes sparkle and so she hurried off to go to him while I followed. My curiosity grew, even more, when I came closer.

While the soft jazz music played in the background, Angie tapped the guy by the shoulder excitedly. He stopped clicking away and put down his camera as he faced Angie. I haven't seen his face then so I didn't mind it much.

But when Angie urged him to look back to where I was, I caught a good glimpse of his face. The guy craned his neck to see me.

I froze on the spot and gasped in silence.

It was him. I had met him before. The surprise in my eyes must have been boggling to Angie and so she watched the both of us in confusion for he, too, was surprised to see me there.

"Do you know each other?" Angie asked in curiosity.

The guy started to speak and so my guess became a confirmation. "It's you, the ice cream girl."