forget avery

mad libs.

today is september fifth, the third anniversary of my ex-girlfriend's death. i've done some terrible things in my life, but i feel like this is a new low. i've never forgotten the scent of her neatly combed hair, or the sad poems she wrote. avery was... well... the most influential person i've met in my life time. seeing as i'm only twenty one, i guess that leaves me way more years to find somebody who can outdo what she's done-which is promising i suppose. i sit at the bench of a miniature starbucks with, ironically, a shamrock shake from mcdonald's across the street. i could be visiting avery's grave. i could be doing something life changing. i'm just out of enthusiasm for one day. it's all too stressful, so i normally-on this day-would turn off my phone to avoid calls from my mom or texts from my brother about if i'm alright. i just feel as if it's utterly useless to ask me those questions. won't it just make me more dejected? i'm cut off from my thoughts when a girl with a notebook sits fairly close to me. it makes me uncomfortable because 1. she is a girl 2. nobody else has sat next to me throughout a period of 3 hours, which makes me also very surprised 3. she is very pretty and obviously out of my league. i slide a bit to my left until my elbow is touching the arm of the bench. i don't really want to converse with her, honestly. i glance over and see that she's writing in in her notebook. i squint to try to see what she's writing, but she notices me looking at her and looks up at me. it's almost like a cheesy movie scene. a small gust of wind (oddly enough, in september) sweeps her ash-brown hair up and the sun causes gold flecks to appear in her stunning hazel eyes. our eyes meet and i conclude that no, she is not stunning. she is phantasmagoric.

"give me an adverb." she states, leaving me confused and out of my trance. ideally, she would succomb to my 'you are very beautiful but please don't talk to me i am in a state of major distress' look. but no, she chooses to say something out of the ordinary.

"sorrowfully," i say, hoping that she understands my current sorrowful situation. that's when i realize she has a mad libs. i was confused before, but now even more so. what the hell is she doing in the middle of new york with a mad libs? well, i guess other people are asking that of me, too. not the mad libs part, but the 'why is that loser in the middle of new york with a shamrock shake from mcdonald's at a starbucks?' part. we make a pretty odd-looking pair for a couple of eccentric misfits.

"that's a little depressing. i'll use something more exultant," she looks down at her mad libs and her hair falls down from being tucked behind her ear. that's when i hear her laugh an exceedingly cute laugh. the only sad thing about it is that i didn't get to see her face when she laughed. i regret tucking her hair back and seeing her smile. it probably was just as cute as her laugh. "joe ate an extremely sexy sandwhich," she turns to me, a wide grin across her face as she giggles. woah. a girl just smiled at me. not even avery had done that before. oh... avery. i'm a terrible person. i dismiss my faithless thoughts and turn to face the oposite of her direction. the thing is-i'm only here because i am imensly hungry, and yes-a shamrock shake is barely enough to satisfy my need for a gigantic burger from mcdonald's. i didn't get a gigantic burger from mcdonald's because they were out of them (which is expected from a popular new york fast-food restaurant) and to top that, the guy working there was pissing me off. he kept glaring rudely at the gay couple sitting near the window. i fully support gay marriage and their rights, so this was just annoying me. i felt as if i shouldn't give mcdonald's money to contribute to this man's paycheck, so i ended up just getting this shamrock shake, which is now unfortunately empty. i have no idea what to do, really. i can't talk to her because of guilt. i end up staring into the busy crowd, observing the many people walking amongst the sidewalk. it leads me to an undeniable brooding predicament so i lean my head back against the glass of the starbucks to condemn my jumbled thoughts. i feel a cool breeze brush against my bare neck, making me flinch.

"are you okay?" the girl asks, looking up at me. i roll my eyes and turn to her, still leaning back.

"if by okay you mean 'unfathomable and meaningless' then yes, i am okay." i say a bit too harshly.

"same here," she leans her head back with me, and we are both staring up at the limitless sky. "i found myself to be in a bit of a conundrum, after my best friend died."

"i guess we're both on the same page, then."

hi! it's emily. i really hope you enjoyed chapter one of forget avery. i worked for a few days on this one. i really like it, actually. it's different from the other thimgs i usually write about. if you liked it as well, be sure to vote and comment! i always like it when you guys comment on my writing, it makes me exceedingly happy!