Finding Gabriel

Chapter One

Miracles happen to people. Those miracles can be good or bad. I didn't think mine would come in the middle of a war. Not just any war but a celestial one.

"Charlie darling." My mother touches my shoulder. Heat transfers to that spot, warming my brain to startle awake. My eyes flutter open, greeted by the bright light flooding my room.

"You're late." She blatantly says. I shoot up like a rocket and she hands me a change of clothes before leaving me to privacy. I whip on the jean shorts with ease. I wrestle my shirt on, tying my caramel hair into a ponytail. I slip my leather jacket on in seconds with books in hands before sprinting down the stairs.

"Have fun!" My parents call as I grab the keys in my right and a waffle in my left. I unlock the purple VW Beetle from the window as I tie up my black combat boots. I stride to my car and hop in, chewing the waffle corner. My foot slams to drive out of the driveway and go to school.

School is not my forte. I absolutely hate it. Though, I am a senior so it makes it all better that I graduate in a month. It's gonna be the best day of my life. Finally free from all the idiots of the world to go traveling with my friends on our summer road trip.

My friends seem like they would never hang out with a badass like me. Most are the popular people that are either sports jock or cheerleaders. Not in between. I'm sort of the outcast of the group. I dress like I am going to kill someone while they are all about fashion. The latest fashion to be exact.

I park my car next to Katherine's. She is kind of the snooty girl that somehow is liked by all the people but it's whatever. I slip out of the car, stepping toward the school, finishing off the square spongy material.

"Charlie!" Sammy calls out. Sammy is my best friend; she has been since first grade. Her golden locks fall over her shoulders, contrasting with the purple v-neck she is wearing. Her purple eyeshadow illumates her ocean eyes, piercing the air. Her skirt flows to the floor, white foam of the ocean.

"Hey." I smile, walking up to her. Beside her is Amanda, Syd and Ethan. Amanda and Syd are much like Sammy, stylish and always smiling. Ethan is our nerd, you could say. He is a computer geek. He once hacked into the Pentagon. Don't ask why; he has never told us why.

"Did you hear about Jade?" He asks me as we head to our first class. Jade is the jock. Smart too, in fact. He has a GPA of 3.8. He plays half of the sports and dating the head cheerleader and snob of the school, Wanda Hemmerson. Just like the stereotypes, they are basically really grossly in love. Makes half the school sick to be honest. But if a kid gets in Wanda's bad side, oh it's like prank World War 3. Absolutely awful.

"No." I reply.

"He was seen cheating on Wanda with Katherine. It's everywhere. Katherine sent a Snap to all her friends, including Wanda, with Jade sleeping beside her, breasts visible, naked." Ethan informs. My eyes widen. At that moment, I heard the shrill scream of Wanda as we entered the school.

"You little piece of shit!" A bag flies across the hallway at Jade himself. He ducks his muscled self as low as possible.

"How is it going for Katherine?" I turn to Amanda.

"Well...she was sent to the nurses after being punched in the face by Wanda. Bloody mess that was." Amanda replies.

"Glad I don't have this problem." Sammy smiles. I nod in agreement and head to my locker. I twist the numbers, hit the locker and jam it open right as the first bell rings at 7:55. I get my AP Literature book and pencil before joining a geek, Dani, to the class. I am nice to most of the cliches here so Dani is definitely a friend.

"So where did you get in the book?" She asks, adjusting her arms.

"Chapter 5." I shrug. I am behind but the things not due till next Friday. I'll be fine.

"I'm done with it already. It was so good in my opinion." She says. I smile at her before taking my seat in the back of the glass. I pop in a piece of gum and chew it on the right side of my mouth, twirling my pencil in between my fingers. Mr. Summers rattles on through the magnificence of 1984. It's okay but not my favorite. I watch the clock, the ticking echoing in my head. I tap my fingers on the desk as an off beat. Makes a little weird song but I enjoy it.

My eyes focus on the board. The ringing soon blasts the room apart and I get up with the book in hand. Dani catches up to me.

"Did you know that the cosmos are going absolutely insane right now? The astro-"

"Yeah I don't care about astronomy." I interrupt. She touches my arm and turns me to her.

"A shooting star goes across the sky around every five minutes." She informs. I raise my eyebrows at her.

"Like what does it look like?" I wonder, slightly curious.

"More like a massive comet that is hurtling across a battlefield." She describes. I purse my lips together in a straight line before walking on. Astronomy is interesting. Not my favorite but I like it somewhat. Especially when something is hurled across the sky every five minutes.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When the school day ended, I head to my car. Amanda stops me.

"Want to go to a party? Greg is going to be there." She implies. Greg is a crush of mine. But a friend of Jade's.

"I might." I smirk and get in the car. She follows in the passengers side, putting her feet on the dash.
"Will your parents let you?" She asks. As a sophomore and strict parents about driving, she is not allowed to drive. So I drive her thirty minutes out of town to her home.

"We'll see. If not, sneaking out." I reply. She starts laughing and a snort like a pig comes from her mouth. For right now, life is pretty good.

Just like normal, I drop her off. The dust of the Earth has settled to be perfect. It is going to last, this perfect feeling.

I was wrong.