Fateful Ties

Chapter Seven

Hopping out of bed, I quickly get ready for school. As soon as I'm dressed and ready to go, I sprint to Audrey's door and pound on it until she opens it.

It slowly cracks open and she looks me dead in the eyes before groaning, "It's 7:30. What the heck could you possibly want?"

C

Things have become a lot more casual between Audrey and me since Saturday night. We watched a romance movie that night, and I found out she has quite the taste, when it comes to the boys she likes. Needless to say, I learned a lot from her that night. Yesterday, we went downtown and shopped together for several hours. Half the time we were shopping while the other half of the time, I followed Audrey around as she stalked cute boys who didn't go to the academy. It was at the moment I realized I that I had become friends with someone who is extremely boy-crazy.

I learned a lot about Audrey in those two days over the weekend. She's not as shy and awkward as everyone thinks. In fact, I think she has more confidence than anyone at this school. She's blunt about her opinions on people, and can be pretty rude when she's cranky, which was something I found out early Sunday morning. I felt happy the more I got to know that side of her. The side of Audrey that was hidden from the other people in our grade.

C

I rolled my eyes at the slightly disheveled girl standing behind her door. "Hurry up and get ready. I have something I want to show you."

Audrey groans, but doesn't object. It only takes her a fifteen minutes to get dressed, and as soon as she walks into the living room, I grab her arm and haul her through the hallway. We run through the corridors and out the dorms heading for the garden.

"Why are we heading to the maze?"

I look back at her, struggling to keep up with me. "I have something I want to show you."

Panting, she replies, "Can't you show me after school? I'd rather not be out of breath before class." Despite herself, she keeps running until I come to a stop before the entrance to the maze.

"Of course not," I tease, a broad grin growing on my face as we walk in.

We walk through, making a left here, turning right there until we reach the garden, which is still lit with the amber lights around it. It isn't nearly as pretty as it is at night, but there is something I can only show her in the morning. We walk over the bridge past the marigolds, now my least favorite flower, and stand underneath the little deck. Morning glories line the fence of the deck. They're just starting to bloom by the time Audrey and I reach there. They're beautiful colors glow bright as they open up. Audrey observes them, wonder dancing in her eyes.

"It's beautiful," she says, "So beautiful."

I smile and nod, "One of my favorite things to do is come to the garden and watch them bloom in the early morning. Though many people don't pay attention to them normally, they're some of the prettiest flowers in the garden."

We both stand there, admiring the flowers for a few minutes before Audrey looks up and sees someone. She motions for me to turn around and when I do, it's none other than Sam standing there. This time though he looked surprised to see me here let alone with Audrey. He stalks over to us, a set of pliers in his hands.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asks as he cuts one of the marigolds of its stem.

My heart begins to pound against my chest. Nervousness. Embarrassment. "We were watching the morning glories bloom," I manage to reply casually, "What are you doing here?"