Falling For Hannah

Chapter Two

     Waterfalls, Georgia, is a small town just north of Atlanta by about ninety miles. We have three stop lights, two of which are blinking red lights acting as more expensive stop signs. Then we have a grand total of thirteen stop signs. It's not the kind of place people move to unless they are trying to get away from the big city lights.

     My parents were those people. After going to school in D.C. And moving to Atlanta to start working at a law firm they decided the hustle and bustle wasn't meant for them right around the time my mom decided being a stay at home parent was going to be her path in the world.

     They put all their thoughts down on paper. Pros and cons of moving away from a big city and quickly realized that the pros side outweighed the other. I, myself can vouch this information since my mom decided to frame the paper and hang it in the hallway along with all of our family's photos from throughout the years.

     The town is so small that everyone knows each other's names. It's just the kind of place where you walk down the street you know each person passing you and your parents stop to talk for what feels like hours.

     Going to school in such a small area means that everyone, and I mean everyone knows your business. During ninth grade when the captain of the senior cheer squad found out she was pregnant by the captain of the football team every person knew within one day of her stopping by Mike's Pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test.

     That isn't even the tip of the iceberg of drama or happenings that that Waterfalls High was accustomed to.

     My point here in telling you all of this is for you to realize just how quickly information spun and how fast every person knew about Hannah's existence. I knew it was only a short matter of time before every kid in the area would be walking down the road trying to catch a glimpse of my new next door neighbor.

     I was shocked how long it took me to realize there was someone new next door but after their trip to the store, Hannah was sure to be found out. Especially since she was the image of a fair haired goddess. The football team was sure to want to get to know her and quickly.

     Part of me was a little disappointed because who would hang out with the nerd next door when they could go off with the hottest guys around? The other part felt a particular need to protect her from their childish antics, because they really were childish. The last part of me felt a little happiness and comfort for her. If anyone should have their minds taken off of the present it would be Hannah.

     I was right of course, two days after Hannah confessed to me about her parent's death a varsity football player was knocking on my door.

     “Uh, So uh hey Adam.” Mike stood in my doorway wearing a faded Nike t shirt and windbreaker pants. He also wore a dumbfounded look like he wasn't quite sure why he was going to ask, “How's your summer going so far?”

     This is the part where I have to tell you that Mike hasn't talked to me since we were in fifth grade and still friends. His dad would drop him off at my house almost every Friday night from first through fifth so we could play video games and we would go outside to play Army after my mom would force us out of the house.

     Once we hit sixth grade, Mike buffed up and found his new love for football. Since I couldn't join in on the games I was left behind and my love for books grew.

     “Summer barely started but I guess it's going good.” I responded casually with a lift of my eyebrow. “How's yours?”

     Mike leaned back a little overlooking his shoulder multiple times before answering. “Pretty good, I guess. So uh, there is a new girl in town I heard?”