Letters From Nikita

Letter To Nikita

Riley's brain was an utter mess. Her thoughts were piling up in one massive, unsortable train wreck. She couldn't let Nikita just kill herself. That would be ridiculous, and it's not like Riley could just bike to Nikita's house. She lived in Corona.

Riley thought of things all morning. She couldn't focus on anything other than the small, handwritten letter ironically attached to a yellow, obnoxious smiley face balloon.

Hey, what's up? My name is Riley

She scratched that. She didn't want to sound like she was on some kind of ridiculous medications.

Dearest Nikita,

            My name is Riley Wattson. I come from Claremont, California, which is not so far off from Corona.

Riley scratched that too. She didn't want to sound too formal because after all, Nikita was another teenager just like her.

Nikita,

            You don't know me, but my name is Riley.

Immediately, Riley scratched that too. She didn't want to sound like she was stealing lines straight from the somewhat interesting movie Taken. Riley took at moment to just sit and collect her thoughts. She was spazzing too much. Maybe, the idea of her limited time was bugging her, but Riley knew she need to slow down.

"Breathe," Riley kept saying to herself over and over again. It was only slightly helping.

The bell rang for lunch, and Riley headed to the large, noisy cafeteria in the middle of the high school. She went her usual way thinking deeply until she ran straight into someone.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry," Riley said picking up both her books and the other person's books. Riley's face was instantly pink with embarrassment.

"It's okay, I'm use to getting my books thrown on the floor," a girl said above Riley. Riley was a little shocked at how calmly the girl said her books are usually thrown on the floor.

"I promise, I didn't intentionally do it. I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going. I suppose I'm still not looking where I'm going." Riley said pulling her head up from the paper infested floor to meet eyes with the small, brown-eyed sophomore.

"It's okay, I believe you." The girl said, slightly smiling with her cute chipmunk teeth. Her medium-lenghth hair was braid down into two braids. She looked kind of nerdy, but that intrigued Riley.

"I'm Riley," she said, handing all of her papers back to the cheery girl.

"I'm Slash," the cute, blonde said taking her papers from Riley's hands.

"That's a cute name," Riley just blurted out.

Slash smiled, "My real name is Shane Silver, but if you call me Shane, I'm going to punch you."

"Alright, Shane. I got it!" Riley said laughing as Slash lightly pinched Riley's arm. "So, will I see you around?" Riley asked, hoping for a yes.

"Most definitely," Slash said with a smile. She turned around to walk to her next class, and the bell rung. Slash picked up her pace because she was about to be late. All Riley could think was that Slash had a nice ass.

"So what the hell was that?" Andrea said as Riley slipped into the table next to her. Andrea's douchebag friends weren't at the table yet.

"What was what?" Riley asked, pulling out her piece of scratch paper to write her letter on.

"I had a perfect view from here. You were talking and smiling to that girl. Does she seem into you? Did you get a number? Is she a junior? Spill it!" Andrea's blue eyes were lit up with excitement.

"It was nothing. Her name is Slash. I accidentally ran into her. I don't think she's into me, and stop being so nosy. I'm not into her."

"Mhmmmm. Sure, honey. You owe me twenty when you guys start dating, then." This was Andrea's foolproof idea of how to tell when Riley was lying.  Riley would never bet money when she knew she was going to lose it.

"What? No way. I'm not playing that stupid little guessing game of yours, Andy." Riley's face flushed pink. The cat was out of the bag. Riley was lying somewhat. Andrea's friends walked up with their "All Organic" lunches. If Riley had to classify them, they would be the Mini-Martha Stewarts. They all reminded Riley of those Cooking show phonies with their fake smiles and vibrant pink lipstick shades. The four of them all traveled as one in their overpriced skirts and too-high high heels. Riley thought that Andrea secretly wanted to be one of them. The only reason the Mini-Marthas were sitting with Riley and Andrea was because the Jocks stole their table, and the Mini-Marthas were too ladylike to ask for it back. Riley suspected their body odors offended them. Being the good person Andrea is, she invited the Mini-Marthas to sit with them at their almost-empty table, the loner table.

"Hi ladies!" Andrea said with too much excitement. Riley kinda wanted to stab Andra in the face because of how fake her smile was.

"Hello Andrea," Tina, the ring leader, said. She looked over at Riley. "Riley," she said. That was probably the politest greeting Riley had gotten from Tina all year. Riley just shook her head, blowing off Tina's greeting. It seemed like the other Mini-Marthas couldn't sit down until Tina sat down. At the square table, Tina sat across from Andrea. Rhiannon, Tina's best friend, across from Riley. Lauren sat next to Riley. Everyone slightly knew Lauren was a lesbian, but she denied it everytime someone would ask. It sucks being stuck in a closet, Riley would know. Finally, Natalya sat next to Andrea. Riley tuned out as soon as they all started chattering about heir manicures.

The afternoon was the same as the morning, Riley couldn't focus on anything. A kid actually asked her who her dealer was.

Nikita,

            My name is Riley.

Riley thought it was too plain, but she continued to write.

Nikita,

            My name is Riley. I was walking to school the other say and saw a balloon attached to a letter; it was your letter. To be honest, I don't know what to say. There's so much I could say, but you're not interested in reading my endless babbling.  I really just want you to know that you don't have to do it. If you think that there's no one for you, you're wrong. I'm here. I may be late, but late is better than never. In return to the photo you sent, this is me and my sister. She that one person I'm strong for.

Sincerely,

Riley

Riley knew that was it. After the final bell let out, she ran to the post office to get stamps and an envelope. She wrote Nikita's address on the envelope and felt relieved as she let the letter slip through her fingers into the mail box.