Lost

Chapter One

     "Hey! Wait up!" a younger version of Terra shouted.

     A young boy turned, smiled, and ran faster. By the time the boy had stopped, Terra was out of breath. 

     "Kai!" Terra panted. "You're . . . the worst." She continued to struggle.

     Kai laughed and grabbed her hand. "No, you're just slow."

     "Am not!" she said grumpily.

     Kai continued to smile. He simply said, "Sure."

     Terra wasn't happy with this response. She rambled on about why she wasn't slow until Kai interrupted her. 

     "Uh huh, look at this," he said, pointing to a nearby tree.

     Terra frowned. "It's a tree."

     "Yep."

     "What's so special about it?" she asked.

     Kai rolled his eyes. "It's quiet," he explained.

     "Rude," Terra muttered.

     "Kidding." Kai walked over to the tree and pointed to a leaf. "It's a caterpillar."

     "What are you? Five?" Terra walked over to take a look with a smirk on her face. "I still don't see what's so special about it," she announced.

     "That's because you don't ever look hard enough," Kai scoffed.

     "Well you're immature," she retorted.

     "You're only two months older," he complained.

     "I'm still older," Terra replied in a sing-song voice, pleased with herself.

     "Whatever," Kai said. "My birthday is tomorrow anyway."

     Terra smiled and grabbed Kai's hand again. "Well, since you'll be out of town tomorrow, can I give you your sixteenth birthday present now?"

     "Sure, what's stopping you?" he said.

     Terra leaned in closer and waited, unsure he got the right message. Just a peck was all she wanted. She'd been dying to know if things could grow between them. She was tired of him just being her guy friend from her childhood.

     Kai looked so shocked when he realized what she meant that Terra laughed, trying to seem calm about it, though she was terrified that was his kind of rejection. She didn't want to find out yet. She kissed him before she could lose the nerve, and thankfully, he kissed her back.

     But that was four years ago. Now, Terra is working two jobs just to maintain her apartment since she insists she pays for her own part of the rent. She lived with her lovely boyfriend, William, whom she's been dating for a little over a year.

     Why would her first kiss with her first boyfriend be popping up in her mind now?

     "Terra!" a woman next to her hissed.

     "Yes, Stacy?" Terra responded.

     Stacy was a red-haired woman with freckles all over her face. In contrast, Terra had dark skin and black curly hair. The two of them had brown eyes and soft facial features.

     "I wanted to see if you could come over today," Stacy said. "It's been a while since we've had a girl's day."

     Terra smiled for a moment, but it quickly turned into a grimace. "I wish I could, but William wanted to go out tonight." It had been so long since she's had a one-on-one day with Stacy, she's been too busy, but she had one day free and she'd promised it to William. Of course, she's doomed to feel bad about it.