ιηтєηтισηѕ

The Memories

Except for the slight humming coming from the bedside dialysis machine, Chris's room is blissfully quiet. A stark contrast from the chaos that continues to take place just outside his door. The Watsons sure are something else, but Jeanette can't think about them and their antics right now. She tears up at the sight of the only Watson she gives a damn about. His face a ghostly white hue and swollen almost beyond recognition. He looks so peaceful. Too peaceful.

He hasn't been awake since he was shot. The thought scares her and she places two fingers gently on the crook of his neck, then breathes a sigh of relief when she feels his pulse. The low steady beeping from the vital signs monitor makes her laugh at herself for panicking prematurely.

Logan stands back near the door to give her privacy and to stop Chris's family should they try to come into the room with their foolery. Jeanette pulls up a chair and sits close beside Chris's bed. She lays her head on his arm and closes her eyes.

/~/~/~/~/~/ 30 Years Ago \~\~\~\~\~\

First Sight

The Mackenzie Stags boys basketball team laugh and talk noisily as they make their way to the gym for practice. At the same time, inside the auditorium, the drama club is about to hold auditions for the upcoming production of The Wiz. Standing nearby, the drama teacher Ms. Ross shushes the team as they walk by. They quiet their laughter and continue on down the hall.

Coming from the opposite direction a girl with her arms full of notebooks and loose papers rushes towards the auditorium in a blur, dropping one of her papers as she does. The Stags guard Chris Watson stops short just before stepping on it and picks it up.

"Excuse me. Miss?" He turns to give it to her, but she's already walking into the auditorium. Looking the paper over he notices it's part of a script and jogs back towards the auditorium. Ms. Ross stops him before he can go inside.

"This is a closed reading young man. Are you on the roster to audition?"

"No, that girl, she dropped this." He holds the script up.

Ms. Ross moves into the auditorium and gently taps the girl on her shoulder. "You dropped something." She points at Chris standing in the doorway.

As soon as the girl steps fully into Chris's view he holds out the script but fixates on her face.

"Oh, thank you."

The girl tries to take it, but he's so taken by the slight slant of her gorgeous eyes, the pout of her thick lips, just her whole pretty round face that he can't let go.

Ms. Ross calls out to her. "Jeanette, you ready?"

"Yeah, I am." She says over her shoulder and tugs harder, managing to pull the script free then rushes back to her seat.

He stands there for a long moment watching her before Quintin, his best friend and teammate, calls his name.

"Chris!" He holds his arms up questioning. "What'chu doing man? Come on!"

He takes one last look before leaving to catch up with the team.

30 Points

Ever since Chris saw Jeanette in the auditorium he hasn't been able to stop thinking about her. Over the past two weeks, he has gotten small glimpses of her here and there in the hallways and cafeteria, but it was never the right time to talk to her. That and he was apprehensive. She's a 10th grader after all and he's a senior. He didn't want to look like a cradle robber in front of his friends. Today though that wouldn't matter. Today he no longer cares. Today, he decided, would be the day he just goes for it.