Dead!

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The next day, I mustered up all of my courage and decided that I was finally going to talk to that cute boy that I always saw on the way to work. It shouldn't be this big of a deal, I told myself as I attempted to pull my hair into a French braid and contemplated over which of my nine pairs of shoes were the most fashionable. It's not like you haven't talked to a boy before. You talked to three of them last night! That was different though. It wasn't like I had any interest in any of them.

"Whoa, Ivy you look different," Maya commented as I went out the door. I was trying to leave early so that I would have more time to talk to Adam, so I hadn't even eaten breakfast yet. Oh well. I would just stop by the local bakery on the way and grab a muffin or something.

"Do I look okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah, you look fine. It's a little preppy for my taste though. Maybe add in some black lipstick?" Maya said. "Why are you so dressed up anyways? Are you going somewhere? You know, besides work."

"No," I said. "I'm just going to work. Don't worry about me. See you later Maya!"

"Bye Ivy," Maya said. As she walked away, she mumbled, "I wish you had gone to Hell instead, Ivy."

"I heard that!" I yelled as I walked out the door.

I headed down to the bakery and bought a blueberry muffin. It was actually pretty good. I made a mental note to go there more often. At first, I didn't see the boy, which made me a little bit worried. What if he wasn't there today? What if he was on vacation or something? Maybe he was sick. It was flu season, after all. I continued walking, hoping that I would find the boy with the jet black hair and hazel eyes.

I was still eating when I spotted him. He was watering flowers near the sidewalk. I quickly ate what was left of my muffin and stepped a little bit closer to him. "Hey," I said quietly. He didn't hear me, so I said it again, a little bit louder this time.

The boy turned off the hose and looked at me. For the first time, I was able to get a good look at him. The boy had pale skin, and his eyes were hazel, but I could see flecks of gold in them. He was a few inches taller than me, and he had a muscular build. He appeared to be a few years older than me as well, but it was hard to tell. He was wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers that were slightly wet from the water from the gardening hose that was now dripping onto them. "Oh sorry," he said. "I wasn't really listening to you the first time. I was kind of busy. Did you need something?"

"No, not really," I said. "I just see you every day, and I was just...I just kind of wanted to talk to you."

"Oh okay," the boy said. "What's your name?"

"I'm Ivy," I said. "Ivy Livingston."

"I'm Adam," he said. "Adam Corrigan."

"Nice to meet you Adam," I said as I shook his hand. "I always see you working out here. What exactly are you doing?"

"I'm part of the Celestial Bureaucracy's Beautification Project. My job is to ensure that Heaven stays lush and green all year round," Adam explained.

"That sounds dull," I said. Dang it, I thought. I shouldn't have said that. I probably just insulted him.

"It's actually really fun," Adam said. "I love working with plants. My grandmother used to say that I had a green thumb. I helped her in her garden a lot when I was little."

"That's nice," I said. "It's good to do something that you love."

"Yeah, I do love it here," Adam said. "Heaven's a wonderful place for sure."

"But it does have its flaws," I reminded him.

"I suppose there are a few minor defects, but there's no such thing as a utopia," Adam said. "Even Heaven can't be perfect."

"Of course it can't," I said. "Heaven gets rid of all of the truly evil people, but it won't get rid of the people that I just don't like."

"I haven't really met anyone that I just didn't like," Adam said. "I tend to get along well with most people. Then again, sometimes I just prefer being out here with the plants."

"It is beautiful out here," I said.

"Isn't it?" Adam said. "So why do you come over here every day? I've seen you pass by a lot."

"I work at the Cedar Creek Celestial Post," I explained. "This just happens to be on my way."

"What do you do there?" Adam asked. "Are you a reporter or something?"

"I'm a photographer," I said.

"That's cool," Adam said. "Is that what you did before you came here? How old are you anyways?"

"I'm sixteen, almost seventeen," I answered. "How old are you?"

"Wow, I thought you were older," Adam said. "I'm eighteen."

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"I got into Heaven back in October," Adam said. "What about you?"

"I've only been here for a few weeks," I said. "I was stuck in the waiting room for a while."

"So was I," Adam said. "They take forever sometimes, don't they?"

I nodded. I wanted to ask Adam how he died. After all, there were very few people around my age in Heaven. I still wasn't sure if that was considered rude though, so I didn't. "They do," I said. "My friend just got appointed as a judge, and she's hoping to speed up the process."

"That's interesting," Adam said. "One of my friends works in Soul Analysis, and that's a huge part of the sorting process too."

"How does that work exactly?" I asked. "I've always wondered that."

"From what I've heard, it's kind of complicated. Once they do the examination, they have people who analyze the results and then compile a report of what they found. Then there are condensers who find the important stuff and give that to the judges. It's all very scientific and it takes a while."

"Oh, I didn't know that," I said.

"I didn't know either until I met Laura," Adam said.

"Laura? Is that your girlfriend?" I blurted out. Why did you say that, Ivy? I thought immediately afterwards. You're going to make a fool out of yourself.

Adam chuckled. "No, she's not my girlfriend," he said. "I'm not really dating anyone at the moment, and I don't really want to. I'm okay with being single for now."

"I guess I'm the same way," I said. "I had a boyfriend when I was alive, but he's probably moved on by now." I looked at my watch. "Dang it. I'm already late for work. See you soon Adam."

"It was nice talking to you, Ivy," Adam said. "See you later." I started walking towards the Celestial Post's office, and as I looked back, I saw that Adam had a huge, toothy grin on his face. I smiled back at him and then kept on going, but I just couldn't get the boy with the hazel eyes out of my head.