An Amalgamation of One Shots

Chasing Abigail

"Aaron! Aaron you wake up this instant!" The woman in the front seat sniffled and waved a hand in her husband's face. He made a snorting noise and shot up in his seat, blinking wildly.  

"What do you want, woman!?" He snapped. 

"You have to listen - listen to this boy's story! It's so romantic!" She wailed, swerving dangerously on the road. 

"Mayella, you keep your eyes on the road! You'll take ten years off my life, woman!"  

She kept swerving and muttering, "Oh the romance, my heart!" 

The man turned to me with a dutiful expression. "Now or never, boy, and make sure she hears." 

I grinned like a lunatic in the back seat , flipped my bowler hat in my hands, and took a deep breath.

It was grade five, and we were at the park. We were always at the park actually, it was this magical place where we could play together and no one could tell us what to do. It was right in between both our houses, so we could meet there every day after school. Our moms and dads didn't mind, and we were so close that we basically had two sets of parents. Abigail and Michael, Michael and Abigail, inseparable!

Some people ask me if I ever played hockey, or rode a bike, or swam, even. Of course I did! With Abigail. Alright, maybe not the hockey, but everything else was a go.

For one glorious year and a half everything was perfect.

Then, it was that day in class. Abigail and I were sitting beside each other, and I was showing off for her as usual. Magic tricks and things, making oranges disappear. Everyone was laughing and watching - I was the class clown, I really was. But then out of no where the teachers starts yelling at us to quiet down, something about the train.

The Duskenbourg train had been hit by an oncoming vehicle and the passenger carts had flipped on the track. 13 in critical condition, 3 dead, 12 others injured. My parents were on that train.

I ran out of the room as fast as I could, with Abigail right in my tail. She held me when I cried, and together we went to the train station to wait for mom and dad. Four hours later they still weren't there, so we went home and she tucked me into bed. The next morning the car wasn't there, like it wasn't the next or the next. Every day Abigail would bring me a lunch to school and I would go to school and go home and tuck myself into bed and wait for the next day. Eventually, people caught on. I was the weird kid with no parents who hadn't said a word about it, and that was not acceptable in our little old town. So, they packed me away and sent me to my aunt and uncle. And that was it.

"Oh AARON! Did you hear?!" Mayella sobbed. The car swerved dangerously close to the side of the road, and both of us yelped. 

"Mayella you pull over now! It's my turn to drive, my turn!"  

"Oh Michael thank you!" She sobbed again. I smiled at her and say back, putting my bowler hat on. I was going to find Abigail again soon, and then I would tell her everything.