Life After Dinosaurs

10 - Reunion

After searchingthe cruise ship for the better part of an hour I gave up on findingRodger and Penny. They had probably found some place to have sex, inwhich case I didn't want to find them any way. I walked around thedeck listening to the sound of people shouting, laughing, and playingmusic. Alicia was someone I actually liked, but I was too scared to doanything about it. It was all because of Mindy. I had loved her too.The longer our relationship had gone on, the more I would've done for her.

That thoughtsickened me too.

I started crying.I gripped the railing. The metal wascold and searing, but I didn't really care. I gripped the poles andpulled myself down until it pressed against my chest. My tears sliddown my nose and rolled onto the metal. I sobbed for what feltlike hours.

"Ian Smit?"

I wiped my eyesand looked back. It was a man with a goatee and short black hair. Helooked like he might be a villain in a movie. He was very tired, butthere was this spark of sympathy in his eyes.

"Yeah?" Iasked.

"I shouldn't betalking to you, so can you just agree to never tell anyone we hadthis conversation?" He asked looking from side to side.

I wiped my noseagain. I must've looked terrible.

"Why?" Icroaked. "Who are you?"

"I'm thedirector of Jenny Martins' sweet sixteen." He confided in me.

That got myattention. I perked up.

"Why do you wantto talk to me?" I asked weakly.

"Because I camehere to make a shallow birthday video, but I've stumbled onto a greatlove story. I think you know what love story I'm talking about," the director said in a hushed voice.

I sighed andlowered my head. "There's no love story, it's just a tragedy."

I rubbed my eyesand looked up at the man.

"Ian, listen tome, there's still a chance that Alicia will forgive your drug use,but you've got to come clean," the director urged me.

I held my handsup. "I'm not a druggie. This really is my friend's jacket! He putit on me so I could get inside."

The director puthis hand on his chin and looked me over. "Yeah, he might've beenright on that call."

I gave an annoyedsigh. "How much of my life have you been filming?"

"We had a cameracrew following Alicia from the beach." The man at least sounded apologetic.

"Fuck me..." Igroaned.

"But there'sstill hope for you. I mean, I can't tell you everything, but I cantell you that something is going to happen in the ball room at eighto'clock. That's in thirty minutes." He was urging with his handsand voice. He really wanted to take my story and broadcast it acrossthe world. He probably had some catchy title for it too, like PuppyLove or something.

"You're ahorrible documentarian, you know that?" I asked him dryly.

He held his handsup. "I just wanted to make sure you were at the right place at theright time."

"Yeah,whatever," I snapped at him. "This is all so you can take thefootage of me and Alicia having what we thought was a privateconversation, and sell a love story that's complete with secrets anda third act twist that comes together in a nice neat happy ending."

"It's a reallife love story that hasn't been fabricated or influenced," The mansaid with a strained voice. "Can you really blame me?"

I groaned put myhands over my eyes.