The week passed by quicker than I realized, and before I knew it, Friday arrived. To make things worse, the school took a holiday, so I'm stuck in the house of horrors by myself all day until tonight.
As I ate my usual Fruity Pebbles, the phone rang making me drop my spoon. Like I said. This house has become Hell, and it's made ma a little jittery. I answered the phone after I cleaned up the milk that spilled.
"Hello? Raven speaking." I heard a girlish giggle on the other end and figured out quickly who it was. "Hi, Ray! I was wondering what you were doing on your day off." I sighed and thought about where this is going, which I think I know. "Well, you know I have that thing tonight. Other than that, nothing. Why?"
She squealed and I heard her hands clap excitedly. "Great! Would you like to come over? We could go swimming or something!" I thought about this, "Uh...sure thing. I could use some more time away from the house. Things have gotten worse lately." She made an 'aw' sound and said goodbye.
I headed upstairs and pulled out a blue bikini and placed it into a day bag along with deodorant and an extra change of clothes for tonight. After I finished packing, I left another blue sticky note on the door in case mom or dad comes home early. I stuck the note on the door and locked it before leaving for Mindy's house which is just down the road.
I walked up the steps of the small farmhouse. Mindy was already waiting on the steps with a grin and led me inside. As the outside would indicate, the inside was antique and old. There were roosters and paintings of old farms and multiple animal trinkets on shelves. She showed me to her room, and I was dumbfounded.
Her room was painted a deep purple, and her bed was large enough to fit at least three people. She had pictures of family and friends on her dresser, and stuffed animals littered the window seat that looked out to the forest. "I love your room." I told her. She smiled and sat on the bed. "I have my bathing suit on under this, so if you want, there's a bathroom down the hall and to the left if you want to get changed." I nodded and took my bathing suit out of the bag and walked down the hallway to the small bathroom.
I changed quickly and met her back in her room. "Wow, I like the suit." she exclaimed. She wore a black one piece that had a skirt built around the waist. It, like her room, didn't seem to go along with her personality, but I guess you can't judge a book by its cover.
We went out to the backyard, and walked over to the above-ground pool. I dipped my hand under the water and found that the water felt pleasantly warm. Mindy climbed the ladder first and dove in, as I followed her lead. For hours, we talked and chased each other until her grandmother came outside to check on us as we made a whirlpool.
When the older version of Mindy looked at me, her eyes grew wide and panicky. Mindy pulled her way to the edge of the pool and held the woman's hands. "Grandma Beth, this is Raven Mathews. The one that we gave the ring to for her birthday." The woman nodded, but wouldn't look away from me.
She pointed a shaky finger at me, "It's not safe for you here, child. Only Death waits for you here." Mindy gawked at her grandmother, and chills ran down my spine. Mindy got out of the pool and guided her delusional grandma back into the house and returned with a nervous smile.
"I'm sorry for that. She can get a little confused when she doesn't take her medications." I nodded and painted a smile on my face. "You know what? You're the first person that's actually wanted to be my friend since I lived in Georgia." She frowned and shook her head.
"What is it with people nowa days? It seems that people like to stick to their groups like flies on a glue trap than to get to know other people. It's sad, really, and I'm glad I got to know you." I smiled and gave her a hug. "How about we get the whirlpool started again?" She nodded, and we started swimming circles again.
----------------------------------------------- Every great friend has to have that one crazy person, right? Ps, Mindy is actually based on my friend Mindy. All the way to her personality. Seriously. Above is my friend Mindy (Left) Raven (Middle) and for some reason Noah. Anyways, don't forget to comment and vote and keep looking for the hidden "blues".
