"They said she went fast. According to them it was- and I quote; 'over in an instant'. An instant. How dare they tell me that?! How dare they pretend to know how long an instant lasts when all of your bones are simultaneously being crushed inside of you? Yeah. Like they know. No type of oh-so-fancy degree can certify anyone to tell me how my Aunt Mags felt in her final 'instant' of consciousness. They're just a bunch of-"
"Pretentious, incompetent scum?" A high-pitched, distinct voice that I perceived to belong to Darcy Adams replaced the words that hadn't even left my lips. She had skipped up next to Chad and I in the middle of our high school cafeteria and head-butted her way into our conversation through interruption. Not much of a turn in events.
My eyes rolled and then stared down at my interrupter with icy hatred as she bobbed her head slightly, her short brown hair and yellow polka dotted headband bouncing with her. "Actually, Darcy, before I was so rudely interrupted, I was going to say that the doctors are faggots. So, unless you would like to sink to that same level of filth, I suggest you stop-"
"Completing your sentences with a plethora of word contemplations?" She interrupted yet again, and I shouldn't have been surprised. Darcy Adams is always finishing people's sentences with what she believes to be intelligent-sounding 'word contemplations'. Let me tell you, it sure as shit did not sound intelligent.
I frowned at Darcy, willing myself to hold back the nasty stream of words that settled on my tongue. My face contracted in the way it does when I'm picturing a thousand times over in my head what it would feel like to slap someone right across their face. Hard. However, I knew that even if I tried to say "hey, listen here you polka-dotted catastrophe, I wasn't even talking to you in the first place", she would cut my following sentence in half by informing me that I was "actually speaking with Chad about the untimely death of dear Aunt Margaret".
I glanced over at the person I was attempting to hold conversation with; my best friend, Chad- and he gave me his "let-it-go-because-it's-not-even-worth-it" look that he had mastered after years of dealing with my snappy habits.
Okay. Deep breaths now. In and out, in and out. Deep breathing is key.
I looked down at Darcy with a forced grin, but it must've looked more murderous than forgiving, because Chad snorted in laughter and little tufts of his dirty blonde hair fell over his eyes. I then took one last deep breath, looked down upon Darcy, developed a bit of a headache from the bright yellow she adorned herself with, and, er- calmly excused myself to class. She waved and smiled as I pulled Chad away and gave him a look for chuckling.
We got to a long, outstretched hallway that would most likely lead us to our first class- well, but then again, the school is pretty big. So no promises with the whole 'directions' thing. I've never been particularly good with those.
"Well Genevieve, I must say, you do look minorly tense" Chad giggled and I lightly shoved him. It is rare that he calls me by my full name as I typically go by Ginny, but when he does it is a tell-tale sign of sarcasm and lies. He couldn't be decieving if he tried. "You know," he continued, "she's not even all that bad. Just ... perky. That's all."
"Oh yeah? You're just saying that because you think her butt is 'perky'" I scoffed, and freaking Chad Tylers didn't even attempt to deny my statement. He just sorta shrugged his shoulders. I scowled at him. He side glanced at me with his stupid grayish blueish eyes and his stupid lips curled up into a stupid little smirk. I'm fairly positive that the group of girls walking past us saw his face and dropped dead. These girls were presumably members of his fan base. Possibly had posters of him on their ceilings. Perhaps they occasionally kissed those posters. Probably even added in some tongue action. I don't even know these chicks and I know that they think Chad is some kind of greek God of beauty and love. Chad is kind of a prodigy when it comes to physical attractiveness- and he knows it.
I breathed in deep and adjusted the straps of my peach tank top. We turned a corner to find a tall boy with light brown waves and a jaw line that, in theory, could cut diamonds. Chad barreled into the boy in more of a tackle attempt than a hug and crashed into his chest, more than likely breaking his jaw in the process.
"Geez. Release! Chad, if you don't get off me, God bless both of our souls. Down boy!" The boy commanded, and much like the untrained puppy we referred to him as, Chad just kept holding on. I can't be certain, but it almost looked like he squeezed even tighter. I suppose even the 'God of beauty and love' has a soft side.
As soon as Chad had been peeled off of this tanned, tall practically-stranger of a male, it was my turn. I wrapped my hands around him, his fingers snaked around my waist. "Elijah, fancy seeing you here" I smiled into his chest. He let go of me and I so desperately wanted to hold on as Chad did, but I reluctantly took a step back. "How has your summer been going? I haven't seen you since... when, like, June?" My toes tapped the ground softly as I said this.
He smiled and nodded. "It's been great, actually. Mostly just practicing bass, hanging out with family. Not many crazy summer memories." His voice was lower than I remembered, but maybe I just hadn't heard it much. Elijah gave off more of a strong and silent vibe, and we weren't that close anyways. He was Chad's best friend and wingman, not mine.
Chad had now hooked his arm around Lij's neck, trying desperately to balance on the tips of his toes. Not that Chad was short, necessarily. He was taller than I am, maybe by 4 inches even. 5'11, if I had to guess. Elijah, on the other hand, was well over six foot. He wasn't gawky, per say; built with about as much muscle as he has hight. When the boys stand together, however, Elijah towers over Chad so that my poor little blonde friend practically looks more like a stalky, attractive garden gnome.
I laugh at Chad, wobbling on his toes in attempt to keep his arm around Elijah as he winks at some girls going by. They blush like mad, twirling their hair and giggling. Elijah and I exchange the same, universal "you've-got-to-be-shitting-me" expression. Chad, however, was not as thouroughly amused as us, and continued making faces at the girls.
"Okay, okay, you dirty man-slut. We gotta go to class." I laughed and Elijah smiled as I tugged Chad away, his eyes still lingering on the girls. Although it was the summer before senior year, none of the three of us had yet completed all of our credits, and therefore signed up to complete them in a summer course. We would be in a summer health class for the next three weeks together, learning CPR and what STDs are and how eating 30 days straight of only McDonalds is actually a really, really bad idea. Ahh, the magic of the high school education system.
Although, I will admit that the three of us grew much closer in those three weeks. Lij and I, who at the time only ever saw each other on accident, grew very close. Chad and I- if at all possible, grew closer, too. We got into all sorts of mischeif, and planned out elaborate journeys that we would do together on the final day of summer. It was me, I'll admit, that suggested we take a roadtrip to Hollywood and back in that final day. It was an easy drive, only a couple of hours from where we live in nothern Cali. I told them that they could do the required summer reading on the way, since neither of them had even started. Heck, it was even me who volunteered to drive.
And that's how it started, in a way. Painless and innocent. Such a contrast to the blood-stained way that it happened to end, seemingly a million years from the day that poor old Aunt Mags died in an 'instant'. And yet, I have started to wonder more and more just how long that 'last instant' truly is.
