Just Friends

CHAPTER-14

MEMORIES

"Let's leave?"

Jade turned around to see Alec walk upto where she was sitting.

He had been attending a call from Emma who was still in Chicago, while she sat at the edge of the terrace and looked at the sun set.

"Why?"

Alec came and plopped down on his knees next to her.

After the lake, they went to Jo's for ice cream, then to town high school and atlast now they were sitting on the terrace of the Hopkins Villa.

"We still have to visit the kindergarten playground. How can we not go there?" Alec said.

She groaned, "Its so pretty here. And we can't do everything in one day!"

The view was really beautiful. From the terrace of the Hopkins Villa- which was situated on a small hill to the eastern part of town- the whole town could be seen.

The orangish red sun was setting and the sky had a pinkish hue to it.

There was a time when the Hopkins Villa had been the house to the most respected and richest family of the town.

The house itself was huge with French windows and elaborate gardens.

Amanda would always tell Jade stories about the huge parties that were held there. She even tried to describe the grandeur of the place in its full glory.

But years of neglect by the descendent of Reginald Hopkins who had originally built the Hopkins Villa, had left the Villa in a ruin.

The walls were crumbling, the gardens were filled with weeds and vines and the whole house had a ruined haunted feeling to it.

Jade and Alec had discovered the terrace of the in their senior year.

The grand view of the town and the almost haunted feel of the mansion somehow always drew them to the house.

They would sit on the terrace for hours on end and just talk.

This was the place they had tried and hated their first beers, which Alec had sneaked from a classmate.

"We can see everything in one day.... Wait!" Alec shoved his hand into his pockets and brought out a piece of paper.

He handed it to her. Jade saw that it was actually the itinerary he had been talking about.

"See only this is left." He said pointing at the kindergarten playground which was written at the end of the little page, "Then we will go to your apartment so that you can change, which you desperately need to do. And then go for drinks to Splendour."

Jade let the comment about her clothes slide. She was still wearing the skirt with Alec's sweatshirt on top.

The skirt had dried and become rough, paper like. And his sweatshirt, which had turned out to be really big for her, was till her thighs almost covering her skirt.

She had a good plan. Before Alec could take the paper from her hand and put it securely back into his pocket, she threw it out from the terrace and let the air carry it.

"Now it's not there." She said with a grin, "Sit down we aren't going anywhere."

Alec looked stunned for a minute but then gave in and sat down again. He knew very well that it was very difficult to convince Jade to do something when she had made up her mind to do something else.

"What if we don't have time to go to the kindergarten playground some other day?" He said after a few minutes.

"We'll take out time. Now shhh...."