My Life is Unwritten

Chapter 8

I showed up at the park at about 7:30pm. The sun was starting to go down and since it was still only September, I didn't bring a jacket. Behind the park was a large dark forest that would be easy to get lost in because of all the trees. The park also had playground equipment for the little kids to play on, such as a swing set, a slide, monkey bars, etc. I looked around and realized that no one was there and that Tabitha was probably just trying to fool me. Feeling stupid, I decided to just go home. But when I turned around, she was standing behind me. "You didn't think I was lying, did you?"she said. "Of course not", I reassured her,but I was the one that was lying. "So, tell me about some of your friends"she suggested. "Like Cleo, from the cheer squad, what's she like?" I thought for a second, wondering how to describe Cleo to her. "What can I say? She's my best friend" I told her. Tabitha gave me a funny look. "I mean really though, what's she like?" she asked. "Well, she's popular" I said. "Does she like fashion" she asked, again. That made me laugh a little. Knowing Cleo, what's not to like about fashion for her? "Yeah, Cleo likes fashion" I said. "What about you? Do you like fashion?" Tabitha asked. "I guess so" I said. "Well I like your clothes, they're pretty"she said smiling, "and so are you".
Did she just compliment me?, I thought. That was unexpected. "You think so?" I asked, confused. "Well, looking at you, I can tell",she said with a little chuckle. "Um thanks" I said. "You're welcome" Tabitha replied. I gave her a smile in return and this time it was a real one. I was starting to think that maybe this girl wasn't so bad after all. That untrustworthy look in her eye was still there though, and it stayed. "So, tell me about cheerleading" she said, "you seemed pretty into it at the meeting today".
And so we talked and I actually kind of enjoyed it. I started to see why Dustin liked talking to her, she was one of those people who listened to what you had to say. Speaking to her felt comfortable and calming. I was so into the conversations we were having, that I forgot to ask why she was talking to Dustin.
Eventually, the sun went down and the darkness arrived, along with the stars. Tabitha told me things I never knew about the stars, while we layed on the grass, watching them.
I had no idea she was so intelligent. Even Amy had never told me this stuff. At one point, I had figured that it must have been pretty late, because we had been talking so long.
"I think I'd better go" I told her. "No stay, please, I insist" she said. I sighed, "I guess I'll stay a little longer". "Cool, so do you wanna go somewhere?" she asked. "I don't know, like where?" I asked. We sat up and she thought for a second and said "We could go to the lake". I stood up and asked "How far away is that?" "Not far, come on, I'll show you" Tabitha said. "Okay" I replied. So I followed her into that large dark forest that I mentioned earlier, which she told me was a short cut to get there. It took a little while to get there, but when we did, it was worth the wait. "Here it is" she said, pushing a tree branch out of our way. The place reminded me of a famous artwork or something. The reflection of the moon and stars sparkled on the lake. It was such a beautiful sight. "Wow" was all I said. "Nice, huh?" Tabitha said, sitting down on a tree log by the water. "Sure is" I said,"How did you find it?" "I like exploring" she said,"You never know what you find until you look". That makes sense, I thought. I sat down next to her and we stared at the stars again, for a minute. Then I realized it must be really late.
"Look Tabitha, this is really nice and all, but I really should be getting home" I told her. She nodded in agreement and said, "Okay, lets go then" and we returned to the park. "I guess I'll see you on Monday" Tabitha said. "Yeah, see ya" I said. Then I walked home in the dark and every couple minutes or so, I'd look up at the stars, thinking about the neat things that she told me. I then had better feelings about her.