EPILOGUE
The story starts in 6h grade. Winfield Elementary school. Four friends sat on a flight of stairs that night. Wind blew through young strands of hair, eyes set on the horizon appearing behind the ghetto buildings. The skyline lit up in negatives and the laughter of a Latina family three houses over filled the air, potentially delivering its duty as white noise.
Grayson Stone sits on the third stair from the top, a Nintendo DS in her callused hands, silently trying to defeat the other three kids. Her mom had said that if there was so much as a squeak coming out of their voice boxes she'd personally remove them herself. Ms Lane was having guests over for the open house, trying to sell the house after Mr Lane had moved out. Grayson didn't wanna talk about it. They all understood that.
Christopher Brie sits a stair down from Grayson. His character is beating hers on the head, and he knows how badly she wants to smack the crap out of him, but has to keep quiet. Chris giggles to himself and makes a point of torturing her character even more. He was always in the business of bothering Grayson somehow, mainly because she's funny when she's mad. She can actually kick his ass. Chris doesn't come across girls who don't pout and cross their arms and go silent treatment too often, so Grayson, in his 11 year old mind, is asking for the harassment.
Luna sits across from Christopher, more in the business of trying to set things right than to kill the characters. Things are unorganized, and Luna has never been one to put up with that kind of shit. While killing Chris is fun in all the good ways, the swords and the blades and daggers all should have a special place in her inventory. Oddly enough, Luna doesn't lose often. She just knows when to attack.
Landon Heins is already dead in the game, like usual. Even if he wasn't dead, he'd still be bummed out. The four friends had been hanging out for as long as he could remember. They had found each other way early in their lives, and despite the differences that ran between their families, they never stopped being friends. Now that Grayson was moving out of her house, it would all be different. Landon knew Christopher's little crush on Grayson, which was the reason he never mentioned his own. Grayson was the glue that kept the group together. Even at 11 years old, Grayson Stone was fierce and independent, witty and clever. Her sense of humor could rage from an insulting joke to twisted truths. Grayson Stone wasn't a solid person, and that's what made her an essential part of the gang- she called out on all bullshit and said it how it was. This trait was much admired by her fellow best friends, although not peers.
"I can't believe you're leaving," Luna said after a while when the match was starting to get boring. She closed her DS and stared off into the drowning sun.
"I know," Landon whined. "We can't do this without you, Gray."
"Yeah you can, don't be pussies," Grayson responded, displaying her infamous half-smirk. The smirk that you can only tell is out of love if you know Grayson personally.
"You guys will grow up in the same area, come on. I have to move to an entire different school. I mean, what if I can't wear my My Little Pony shoes there? I heard people there are really uptight."
Lunda gasped.
"Not your My Little Pony shoes! If you can't get a use of them, send them to me. I think your biggest problem should be their cafeteria. I hear it stinks in there."
Grayson wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"The real problem, Grayson, is that you stink more than the caf." Chris spoke up, shooting her a dirty look.
"You're an ass, the ultimate stink bomb," Grayson rolled her eyes as she shook her head.
"I'm not kidding. I hope you never come back," Chris hisses, looking back down at his game.
Grayson did not need to be told to not let this get to her. She knew how close Chris and her were, and how this was hurting him. But it wasn't her fault, and she was not about to take credibility for it.
"Fine," Grayson scoffed, crossing her arms.
"I won't even call you when I'm rich and famous."
Chris scoffs.
"Rich and famous doing what your mama does?"
Grayson gasps and slaps Christopher's arm. Sex education that year did not help even slightly with Christopher; only made him much, much worse.
"It's alright," Luna says in her high pitched voice.
"You're gonna call me, and we're gonna buy those Hannah Montana sneakers, kay Gray?"
"You got it," Gray smirks, sticking out her pinky.
The four friends stare off into the sunset. Landon in his quiet persona, Luna fiddling with her hair, Chris cracking his knuckles and Grayson staring far into the distance. She did not know what was going to happen next, but she knew she was afraid.
And I'm still afraid. 15 years later, I'm still afraid.
