Beneath the clear blue sky

Beneath the clear blue sky chapter 1

BENEATH THE CLEAR BLUE SKY

BY GERRYL FLOYD

"How well do we know the classmates we seldom talk to?.Have you even wonder how is it like to be in their shoes or hear their side of the story?.Everyone has a story to be told.Unfortunately ,some of them are left unsaid.'

CHAPTER 1

LIFE IS A HIGHWAY

I don't want to wake up from this dream, but I know sooner or later I have to do it. It was pleasant and surreal, the bright sky, the fluffy clouds and the endless meadow of sunflowers, I was floating above all of it. I was flying, high up in the air, free as a bird, like there were no limits. It felt like it was real, so real I had to question myself if I'm still dreaming or not. The alarm has been buzzing for at least ten minutes, what's wrong with me?

I lifted myself from bed and walked towards the mirror, I always look in the mirror in the morning, I stared blankly at my reflection, I went back from where I was standing, near the bed and fell backwards on the soft mattress, I just couldn't resist the cold morning and the comfy bed-sheets. My body was glued on the mattress; I stretched out my hands and reached for the pillows.

My phone rang. It has been months since I received a text message. The last I received was an advertisement. The message was 'dear Southport students, the school will be reopening on April 15th, please be reminded to be in your proper school uniform and attendance is compulsory, thank you.'

My old uniforms were too small for me, too small that it could choke me to death if it's fully buttoned and my school pants were too long that every time I walk I have to pull them up. I wish I could find a better fit.

High school has been good to me, I have met and worked with different kinds of people in my school. Mainly because the population of foreign students in my old school had increased by 50 percent, it provided me the opportunity to interact with people from other parts of the world. This time would be different I was transferred to another school so it would be definitely different. New set of people, new environment and new life. I just hope they'll be good to me.

I live with my family in a suburb in Pennsylvania. I love the weather here It is usually humid rather than arid. Our house is about thirty minutes away from town. My dad usually had to drive us to the supermarket to do some grocery shopping, it's a long journey but we're used to it, I would just fall asleep along the way.

A car is very important in a place like this where amenities are too far away from your home. My dad, Rick, bought his first car few years back, when I'm still in my mother's womb, he told me that he wanted to buy the car of his dreams which was the Honda civic and mom has always been supportive and tried to convince him to buy the car that he always wanted, as he was on a tight budget, he bought the Acura legend coupe instead. He was glad that he bought a car on his own money, but regretful that it wasn't the car he wanted.

When my mom was about to give birth to me, my dad drove her to the hospital as fast as he could, it was one hour drive from our home to the community hospital, with good driving skills he cut it down to half an hour drive. Soon, my dad learned to love his own car and forgot about the car of his dreams, he was satisfied with it.

One evening, the night before my birthday, my mom had to rush to the supermarket to buy a cake for my birthday party, she had to borrow my dad's car. Mom thought that the supermarket might close soon, she drove recklessly. Before she knew it she was spinning on a thin black sheet of glass, she had an accident. Soon, dad received a call from a police officer. He fell on his knees as the police officer goes on talking. We rushed mom to the hospital but it was too late, she choked on her own blood. At that moment, there were a lot of questions on my mind I could not find an answer, everything happened too fast, it felt like a dream, I wished it was, but it wasn't.

I could still remember the smile on her face right before she died in front of me. I wiped the smudged icing on her eyelids and tears started to trickle down on my face, It felt like the room was wide and empty, like I was spiraling in a vast dead space, alone in the dark.

Lana, my older sister, comforted me and wiped my tears with her pink t-shirt, she always does that. I remember when I was a kid, it was my first time to ride a bicycle without support wheels. I fell, like a meteor crashing into earth. It was painful, there was no blood, just embarrassment. I cried my lungs out, Lana picked me up from the ground and wiped my tears with her t-shirt, It's nice to have a sister like her. She have graduated from college and now working at a boutique store where she met her boyfriend, Seth. I didn't know him until Lana invited him for a dinner at home. He's a cocky kind of guy, I can tell by the way he talk and behave, my sister finds that attractive, well he's fine, it's just sometimes I hear rumors about him being a playboy and having issues with his temper. I guess they're just rumors, aren't they?

Although my sister has a bad taste for boys, she helps to pay for my education and for our daily expenses, as my father does not earn that much to support us. I was buried in my own sorrow, it has been a long night. Lana took my hand, her palm was warm like as if I'm holding a warm mug of hot chocolate, I felt safe, she led me to the corridor which seemed endless, the walls were painted in alabaster white and near the elevator door there's a bloody handprint stain, the janitor must have missed that spot, but I have not seen a single shadow of them since I arrived. On the left, there's a bench where my dad sat in silence, his body was motionless, there was something different in him which I cannot explain, a different side of him I have never seen before. I looked into his piercing eyes, I tried to read him, but he looked away.

The cold January wind peered in my room. I could smell the oak tree from my bed, it calms me down to know that spring is finally coming, not to mention the school reopening. It was just then I realized that Lana will be taking me to the shopping mall to buy stationaries and stuff. I dread going to the Fremont shopping mall, not that I hate purchasing stuff, nor the fact that it is situated near the Fremont recreational park, it's the environment I dislike, the unfavorable toilet cubicles, they disgust me, the limited food chains, which means I have to travel all the way to Greenville to get a taste of Macdonald's. The only significant reason for me to go there is Lana, I have not seen her for awhile, not after she runaway from home, I missed her a lot, she has been living with her boyfriend in Minnesota. I have not heard of him since Lana caught him having unprotected sex with an old flame in her bedroom, but they got back few days later. It has been seven months, seven long straight months. I really want to meet her. I took out my favorite grey shirt from the closet, the gray has faded into a lighter shade of the color, and it must be the bleach. Put on some black denim and converse and I'm good to go. I brushed my hands through my hair, thinking that I should have bleached my hair blonde a long time ago, but then again I thought to myself I would only look silly. A red Subaru car halted on the driveway, just when I happily thought it was Lana, a blonde corporate-looking lady came out of the car, I couldn't recognize who she was until she removed her sunglasses. 'Oh my god! Lana!' She waved and smiled.