A new chapter of Dear Prudence that I hope you enjoy.
Thank you for reaidng.
It means so much to me.
xoxo,
Pornoskians
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Curiously, he stepped farther into the room and looked around.
He knew it wasn’t right for him to snoop around Prudence’s room, but he also knew there was something they were hiding. Ashton wanted to find out what it was.
His footsteps creaked along the wooden floor only slightly, as his hazel eyes observed every inch of the room. It was a typical girl’s room, only some aspects of it were different. The walls were painted white, there was a bulletin board with pictures on one of the walls, and Ashton even saw there was a piano keyboard in one corner of the room along with a white acoustic guitar.
He made his way to the end of the room where the bulletin board was hung and saw pictures of Prudence.
But in a lot of the earlier ones, she appeared with a boy and a girl, who stood next to her with big smiles on their faces. Then he saw pictures of Prudence and Lucy, celebrating birthdays, graduations, an religious celebrations like their first communion. Ashton smiled at the sight of her with a bunch of children. He saw how her smile lit up the room, her hair cascaded past her shoulders, and her eyes were brighter than they were now.
Sure she was still beautiful now, but in all those pictures she looked so much happier and... healthier.
It made him wonder if she might be sick.
On the opposite side of the room was a white laptop, sitting atop a white desk. And there was a stationary set on the side
And there were a few religious posters on the wall.
Ashton somewhat scoffed internally when he saw the ever so popular Footprints in the Sand poster. There was another poster next to it of a tan skinned Virgin Mary, whose veil was navy blue and decorated with stars. Her dress was red and decorated with flower patterns. Around her were dozens of colorful roses.
In large letters, Ashton read the name Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Ashton didn't understand what the deal was with Catholics and all the saints they worshipped. There had to be thousands if not millions of them in existence. Like the one on Prudence's poster. He had never heard of her before.
His eyes continued to examine the room until they fell upon a folded sheet of paper that rested on her pillow. It was slightly worn and frayed at the edges, leading him to believe it was written a while ago.
He closed the space in between him and the neatly made bed and picked up the sheet of paper. Looking over his shoulder, to see if the coast was clear, he unfolded the note and read what was written in neat print.
The 100 Things I Must Do In My Lifetime
“Its a bucketlist.” He concluded in awe.
Never in his life, would he have imagined a girl like Prudence to have a bucket list that she wanted to complete.
He gently folded the paper back the way it was and set it back down on the pillow.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps walking down the hakkway, in the direction of Prudence's bedroom. If it were anyone but Prudence, he could have played it off easily. But something about eher catching him in the act of looking through her things made his stomach churn. He didn't want to lose the smidge of hope and maybe even trust that she was starting to have in him. He tried to hide, to escape but it was too late. When he turned around, Prudence herself was standing at the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. Her gray eyes narrowed suspiciously.
All Ashton could think to do was smile and wave awkwardly at the sixteen year old. “Hey…”
“What are you doing in my room?” The question seemed to escape her lips almost automatically.
“Uh…” Ashton began, urging his brain to come up with a reasonable excuse.
For the first time since he was caught in her room, his hazel eyes met hers. They were slightly red and puffy, and he noticed there were tear stains on her face.
She had been crying.
“What happened? Are you okay?” He asked her.
But Prudence only shook her head. “Please don’t try to steer the conversation in a different direction and answer the quesion. Why are you in my room? Were you looking through my things?” She asked him sternly, yet there was still a soft politeness to her voice.
“No.” He shook his head. His legs, which had been paralyzed in fear of her knowing he was snooping, finally responded and he rushed past her, feeding her the best explanation he could come up with as he made his escape, the truth. “I was just looking for the bathroom and I got lost. Sorry, Prudence.”
Most of the story was true.
He was looking for the bathroom.
He had gotten lost.
Only he omitted the part where he forgot all about the need to use the toilet and started looking through her room as if it were some kind of interesting museum exhibit.
Prudence could hear the sound of his hurried footsteps on the wooden floor fade away as he got farther from her. She stepped into her room and closed the door behind herself, bolting the lock so she wouldn’t be bothered by anyone.
After the news she had been given earlier, she needed some time to herself.
Her feet carried her gently to her bed, where she had left her list.
Performing the sign of the cross before beginning her prayers, she said to herself, “What an odd boy.”
Her grey eyes looked up at the ceiling. She always did that when she talked to God. Her mum always told her that when she talked to him while tilting her head up, then he would hear her better.
“Please, bless him, Father. He seems like a nice boy. He isn’t mean to me like his friends are despite being in their company all the time. And please, soften the other boys’ hearts so that they they can look past what they don’t like in other people. Thank you, Amen.”
From the other side of the door, Ashton smiled to himself
“At least she doesn’t think I’m a jerk.”
