Luna gazed at the sky. "No clouds today," she heaved a heavy sigh as she carried her pale blue knapsack.
She stumbled down the grassy hill and realized she had forgot to put her number two pencil in her backpack pocket. The lonely girl glanced back for one last look at her hill, but then as she was looking back, her pencil, as if it were magic, seemed to wriggle out of her hands. "Oh no!" Luna exclaimed softly.
The pencil rolled onto the smooth light-colored pavement.
Luna reached down to pick it up. Suddenly, there was a strong gust of wind that blew the pencil away farther down the pavement. Luna chased--CRASH!
The girl with the pale blue knapsack collided with a boy.
Luna was flat on her face and she felt as if her forehead was swelling up like in those old Airhead commercials. The boy on the other hand, was also in pain. Already having a bad day, he sat upright. He didn't bother to help the girl that he had just crashed into. He didn't care. At least for now.
Starting to realize her situation, she too, sat upright. Then she gazed at her banana-yellow converse, that was several sizes too big, and then dared to bring her head up to neutral. And saw a boy with a somber expression, amber eyes, straight brown hair that seemed to flatten itself against his head, and he looked like he had been crying all day. "Oh gosh. I'm so so sorry!" Luna quickly got to her feet and offered out her hand to the boy.
He took it.
With little effort, he hauled himself up and leaned down to pick up his baseball cap. "Sorry to you too," he handed Luna her pencil, stuck his hands in his pockets, and casually walked away as if they hadn't collided at all.
"Wait," Luna called out softly when he brushed past her.
The boy halted and turned around. "My name's Ben if you were gonna ask. Now I'm gonna go. Bye."
Luna held her pencil in her hands, and just stood there for awhile, awestruck by someone so mysterious. The feeling of her swelling head made her come back to her senses. She rubbed her aching forehead and tucked her pencil behind her ear and walked home to her cozy cottage where her older sister was waiting for her on the porch.
"What took you so long?" her sister demanded as she scowled at Luna.
Before Luna could say a word, her sister interrupted her, "You know what? Never mind. You're gonna make me late for practice."
Her sister drove them to the basketball court in the old gym. By the time they arrived, the glossy floor looked like it had been painted with sweat, which it probably was.. The basketball was flying in the air while several hands reached for it. The whistle was blown and the players staggered to the bench panting and wiping their faces with the top of their jerseys.
"Wassup Carina!" Carina's teammates called out.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," Carina glanced at Luna to give her buddies a hint to whose fault it was.
A few of Carina's teammates stifled down giggles when Luna made a silly face at her sister.
"Ok...." Carina glanced at Luna suspiciously. "Let's get started!" A whistle blew and they walked onto the court and dribbled basketballs back and forth between each other.
Luna sighed and sat down in one of the player's chairs. Then she perked up like she was a withering sunflower on a dark day but then the sun came out. Today was the second to last day of summer vacation! She would get to see her best friend again--Leandra Maca. She would be coming back from Alaska today. Today! Luna had completely forgot! Luna glimpsed at the gym clock, 2:21. What!? Luna screamed inside. Leandra would be arriving from the airport at three, and Carina's basketball practice would be over at 3:20! And Luna had promised Leandra that she would be waiting for her when she came back home. What a disaster!
It was now 3:20. Luna was losing her patience. As soon as her sister packed up, Luna ushered her to the door quickly. "C'mon! Leandra's already gonna be there!"
Carina gave her a glare that only a sister could make to a sister. If her glare was fire, Luna would be already burnt up.
By the time they arrived, it was already 3:50. Luna groaned and cursed herself for breaking a promise. Carina finally slowed the car down to park. Overexcited, the younger sister nearly tripped opening the door, steadied herself, and then scampered over to her best friend's house that was two houses over.
Luna was expecting to see Leandra's mom's silver Honda in the driveway. But it wasn't. Oh they're probably not here yet, Luna thought.
She was wrong.
After standing on her best friend's driveway for ten minutes, she finally sat down and waited.
Twenty minutes.
Thirty.
"You know what? Maybe their flight was delayed or they're having traffic problems," Luna said aloud to calm her worries.
She waited until it was already six, and her stomach began to growl. The rolling of tires broke the silence of her neighborhood. Luna stood up, eyes shining, ready to tackle Leandra. But then Luna saw a police car instead.
Trouble.
Trouble was the first thing that popped into her mind. The police car parked on Leandra's driveway. Then a policewoman stepped out. The policewoman looked solemn. She turned to Luna who was sweating with worry. The woman took big steps towards her and asked, "Is this the Maca residence?"
Luna nodded.
"What is your name?" the policewoman's gaze softened.
"Luna Cordula," her eyes rested on the policewoman's taser on the side of her hip.
The policewoman seemed to notice, "Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you. Why are you waiting here alone? It's getting dark and it's dangerous at night."
Luna replied, "I'm waiting for my best friend, Leandra Maca. She and her family were supposed to be here at three."
The policewoman crouched down to Luna's eye level, "Sweetie," the woman paused, "they got in a car crash. It's on the news. They're dead. I'm sorry."
Luna quietly gasped and her blue eyes started to produce waterfalls.
"I'm so sorry. It happens to everyone. It's the circle of life. We all have to go one way or another," the woman stated simply, her voice filled with sympathy. Her face hardened. "Now go home. Please."
Luna didn't need to be told twice. She stood up then ran. She ran. She ran with tears streaming down her face as her blonde hair whipped in her face.
She ran home.
