Rose
Things begin to settle down a little. We’re all starting to put the shooting behind us. School is still closed but there’s talk of reopening before the end of spring. It is spring now. In the beginning of spring it feels cold and damp everywhere. There may be a few warm days to get your hopes up but then the temperature plummets down the night you decide to wear your short sleeves and shorts. But it’s getting warmer out. I can hear the birds again and rays of sunshine pour into Le Café. Without school as a social place to meet friends, more students have been stopping by Le Café. After a busy day, we all like to sit down and eat curly fries after everyone else is long gone. We talk about our lives, the shooting, April 20th and whatever thoughts come into our heads. One night, we’re all talking and I notice Jake is in the backroom. I enter the room and see him slouched against the wall playing games on his phone.
“Hey,” I begin happily. He looks up and nods at me. “There’s curly fries in the main room. Want some?” I ask casually. He shakes his head. I stand there awkwardly and look down at him. I realize he’s really quiet. “Oh is something wrong?” I ask. He looks at me sadly. “I’m worried.” He mumbles. “About what?” I ask. The list of my worries are endless. I feel like I’m being held at Rob and Scotch’s gun point all day every day. “Well Mute was telling us all about Rob and Scotch and they just seem so . . . dangerous. I guess I’m just worried about Super Six.” He explains. He bites his lips and we lock eyes for a while. “I’m worried about you.” he adds softly. The color in my cheeks rise. I recall the last kiss we almost shared. I wonder if maybe he’s bummed about that too. Am I? I think to myself. I think maybe it was more than just shared grief. I find myself leaning forward. He does too. Our noses are barely touching so if I focus on it, I can feel the tickle of his skin on mine.
I feel somewhat giddy. I giggle and get a whiff of burnt curly fries. “What’s so funny?” Jake asks smiling a little. “I think B.B is killing the curly fries.” I whisper with a light, airy voice. My hands are shaky and jittery with anticipation. Jake sniffs the air. “Poor fries.” He whispers pressing his nose against mine. This is it. I think I do want him more than just a friend. My thoughts are interrupted by B.B’s voice booming through the building. “FIRE! FIRE! Get out!” he screams. I leap up quickly. Jake’s eyes widen. “There’s no emergency exit in here.” He mumbles looking around frantically for a way to escape. “Well we can’t just wait in here for the fire to burn us alive!” I shout running to the door. I learned in school if when you press your hand against a door and it’s warm, there’s fire on the other side. When I press my hand onto the rusty, metal door it stings and burns like crazy. I yelp and yank open the door. A big, bright patch of flames stands in our paths.
I slam the door shut quickly coughing out smoke. “Shit!” I shout. “What do we do?” Jake cries. “Uh . . . maybe we can go through the flames really fast?” I suggest like a question. He shrugs and debates. I slowly open the door again. It’s even hotter this time. I decide to just get it over with. I take a few steps back and throw myself through the doorway. I feel sudden warmth followed by extreme pain. I weakly crawl through the flames. I can’t breathe. I can’t move. I fall to the ground my arms over my head. I see I’m wearing pink gloves. I sit up and realize I transformed. Just like my first transformation I don’t need my gem. I struggle my way out of the flames and gasp in the air. I see the whole room is dim and smoky. I see the glass door. There’s the door. Just need to reach it and I’ll be fine. I whirl around looking for Jake. I don’t see him. I just see the ever-growing patch of flames I just escaped blocking his exit.
“Jake!” I cry desperately choking on smoke. “Help!” a weak voice moans from the room. Jake’s still in there. I need to go through the flames again. Tears of frustration sting my eyes as I drop to my knees. I slowly begin to inch toward the flames. I’m not sure I’m strong enough to do it again. My whole body still stings so I know I didn’t kill my nerves yet. I shut my eyes tight and jump into the flames. I shriek again as my entire body is set ablaze. Am I going to be burned alive? “Rose!” a voice yells. I need to reach Jake. He’s still trapped. I feel determination and I open my eyes. The flames stop hurting. I’m glowing pink. I feel in my pocket for the white gem and sure enough it’s generating my pink glow. I stand up and watch the flames around me burn. The glow of the gem protects me from them. I run through the flames into the back room where I see Jake.
