Keep Me Alive • Camren

Three

Lauren was so caught up in her head, she didn't realize that the brown eyed girl left, or that her bus was about to. "Shit!" She held on tightly to her backpack and began running, "hey! Wait!" But the doors closed and the bus took off. CAPA was a fifteen minute drive. Yeah, Lauren liked exercise, but there were too many streets to cross, and too many people to pass to walk. There wouldn't be another bus for over an hour, and she didn't have money for a taxi. She could go back to the apartment, it was probably empty by now. Lauren let's out an irritated sigh and runs a hand through her hair, her mom was usually home before school ended. What was she supposed to do for the next seven hours? She laughs, shaking her head. She's only lived here for three weeks, there were hundreds of things she could do. The only problem was that she didn't know her way around the city, or what exactly she could do. Feeling defeated, her only other option was to go to the roof and hope her parents didn't suddenly decide to explore the building.

She opens the door, a gust of wind gently hitting her face. Turning the corner to go to her favorite spot, she stops in her tracks. There is the girl once again. She seems to be too engrossed in a book to notice Lauren. She clears her throat, and the girl lifts her head, she looks at Lauren for a couple of seconds before returning her attention back to the book. "What're you reading?" Lauren asks, setting her backpack down and sitting next to it, adjacent to the only other person there.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you owned the roof of a public building."

The girl didn't say anything back, she never even looked at Lauren during the couple sentences they exchanged. Lauren pulls out her phone, she begins to listen to music again. She always listened to music, she loved it. That's why when they moved here, she begged her parents to let her go to the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Anything that was creative or artistic intrigued her.

For an hour the girls sat in silence, but Lauren was easily bored. Pulling out her earphones and wrapping them around her phone she throws her head back. She must've forgotten that there was a cement balcony behind her because she managed to smack her head against it. "Ouch!" She frowns, rubbing the back of her head.

"Dumbass."

Lauren raises her middle finger at the stranger but again, she never lifts her eyes off the book to notice. "I'm bored," she almost whines."

No answer.

"So, do you know any fun things to do here...for free?"

"Shh."

"What I-"

"Shhhh. I'm almost done."

Lauren throws her hands up defensively. She watches the girl flip pages intently.

"Ok, I'm done."

"Was it good?"

"Very."

"What book was it?"

"It's a compilation of some of Poe's short stories."

"You like Edgar Allan Poe?" Lauren's face brightens. The girl nods.

"Me too!"

"Nice."

"I've never met anyone that likes him, everyone thinks I'm weird because of it."

"You are weird."

"So are you."

"Anyway, why aren't you at school? Were you stalking me again?"

"Please. I already learned my lesson."

The brunette shrugs, and they sit in silence once more.