A Fairie Tale

1:2 An Old Friend?

Forty-some minutes later, I slumped into one of the bar stool chairs and admired my handiwork. I had washed, dried, and put away all the dishes, swept and mopped the floor, cleaned the walls, ceilings, cabinets, and cleaned the appliances.

I stood up and stretched, then darted upstairs to my room. And now to clean me... I paused before my mirror and grimaced. I was practically coated in food and other grime, and my hair was stiff and sticky from the liquid that Sam had poured on me earlier. I hopped into the shower and scrubbed off the gunk quickly. I shut off the lukewarm water and wrapped a towel around myself, walking into my bedroom and peering into the closet. I slipped on some clothes and then towel dried my hair. I yanked a comb through the tangled mass and plaited it, my bangs framing my face. I looked at myself in the mirror. At least i have a nice nose. I thought wryly. My bangs were caught in my long, thick eyelashes and tendrils cupped my cheeks and hid my small ears. I usually chose to hide them because they were pretty small and pointy and they looked just like elf ears. Talk about embarrassing. My eyes stared back at me dolefully. I hated them. They were gray, with a tawny ring circling the iris and the pupil. Blue flecks were scattered randomly throughout the iris.

I pulled my floppy turquoise hat off of my hat rack and placed it on my head. I made sure to slather on extra sunscreen, although  I'd already applied some, before grabbing my wallet, notebook, and keys. I slipped out to the screened porch, locking the door as well. I quickly touched up the house and glanced at the clock.

10:08. I can make it in time... right? The Renich was only about a mile and 3/4 away, but considering the superb weather, the streets and sidewalks would be packed. I considered running as I was on the track team, but decided that although I was fast, I wasn't that fast. I sighed and wheeled my bike out of the carriage house. I quickly cycled to the Renich, dodging the crowds of people. I was getting ready to pull into the Renich's driveway when a person stepped straight in front of me. My eyes widened and I veered into the road to avoid her. I did a quick jump to get back onto the sidewalk and hit the pavement harder than I meant to, the bike's worn out shocks only half-heartedly absorbing the impact. I grimaced as my poor bike's tires struggled for grip on the sidewalk and I skidded into a parallel park, barely missing a trashcan. I closed my eyes and breathed heavily, one foot resting on the ground. Well, that was pretty close. Thank goodness I've been doing this for years.

I wheeled my bike into the bike rack and wrapped the chain around it and the rack. Although I doubted anyone would steal my crappy bike, there wasn't any reason to risk it. I clicked the lock into place and turned around, hurrying towards the building.

SMACK! I tumbled back and papers flew out of my notebook as I dropped it. "Wha-?" I asked, surprised. I began to scramble for the papers. What just happened? Did I run into a pole or something? Can't let anyone see these...

A hand snatched up the last two papers before I could. A strong, masculine hand, golden toned and well defined. My eyes followed the hand up an arm to a face. A boy dressed in a red t-shirt and khaki's smiled down at me.

"You dropped these when you bumped into me," he said, looking down at them briefly. "By the way, that was pretty good riding skills I saw." He smiled warmly, looking at me before his brain registered what he saw on the papers.

Oh, no. They were two drawings: the first was an extremely realistic, colored portrait of Leah. The second was a rough sketch of a boy slouching in a chair, teasingly pulling the braid of the girl in front of him. Although it was a sketch, he could tell who the people were. The drawing was dated- May 18, 20008. The boy in front of me was the boy in my drawing, and I was obviously the girl.

He stared at me blankly as I began to reminisce. It was the 6th grade, in math class. He had sat behind me and talked to me every day. We grew to be fast friends. Classes transferred and I didn't see him again until high school, where he never threw me a second glance. I'd tried calling, but... no one ever picked up. And then the number was disconnected. I took the hint and never looked back.. until now.

"Alison?" he asked in faint disbelief.

"Benjamin," I replied, somewhat frostily. I held out a hand for my drawings and he looked at me with a strange mixture of shock, happiness, and confusion scrawled across his face.

"Wow… you've certainly grown up," he said after a moment. "You used to be so… tiny." He gestured with his hands that I had been short.

I refrained from rolling my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Enough with the preliminaries. Now-"

He cut me off. "Oh, geez. I'm such a jerk, aren't I?"

I looked at him sharply. Is he about to apologize for being a jerk and ignoring me all these years? Although that would be a little bit lame… but hey, I'm not complaining. I felt butterflies in my stomach like I usually did when I saw him, no matter how often I tried banishing them.

"I heard about your mother. I am so sorry."

I practically glowered at him. I hate when people talk about Mum. Especially when I don't freaking like the person that's doing the talking. "That's great. Now gimmie my drawings and leave me alone."

Benjamin looked confused. "I… Why are you so angry with me? I thought we were friends…"

This time, I did roll my eyes. "Look, Benjamin. We were friends- 4 years ago. That doesn't mean we are now. Now, I'm slightly busy and I don't have time for a friendly chat with someone I barely know, let alone like. If you'll excuse me-" I moved but Benjamin's hand shot out, landing on my shoulder.

"Alison, I'm serious, are you okay? C'mon, tell me why you're so mad at me. I miss being friends… I miss you," he pleaded.

"You want to know? Seriously? I'm mad because you were one of my closest friends and you dropped me like I didn't even matter! And now, you're expecting me to be all friendly with you and I have no clue why and its seriously irking me!" I fumed.

"I… dropped you?" Benjamin laughed harshly. "You have got to be kidding me. I called you dozens of times, but nobody picked up. Finally, I got the message that your phone had been disconnected. I still didn't get the hint so I asked everyone that I knew was friends with you what your new number was. I got a letter from you saying you hated my guts and never wanted to see me again. I just saw you and remembered what good times we used to have when I saw that drawing of yours. I thought you might too. Apparently I was wrong. " He turned away.

What? I never sent a letter, or got a call. "I never got a single phone call from you. But I tried calling you. and I never sent the letter, you did. You sent back your friendship bracelet."

Benjamin stopped and looked back at me. "What? I never…" He stopped talking and broke into a smile. "Do you wanna talk about this over coffee or something? It's kind of stupid to be standing around talking in this absurd heat."

"I think… I think I would like that, but I was actually on my way to meet up with a friend. Y'know, actually, you can come too. If you want to, that is."

He smiled and nodded. "Sounds great… where?"

I grinned and pointed to the Renich. Benjamin's bright smile slipped a few notches. "I've never been there… I've heard stuff. But, I guess there's a first time for everything…" he looked up at the building before us. it was wood, painted dark blue with a black shingled roof. It didn't look inviting, but I loved it. I led the way in.