Picture Perfect (On Hold)

A Change in Plans

            Running, I was running. My legs were pounding over rocks and branches as I raced away from that monster. I stumbled over a large root and felt myself go down. I didn’t have time to rest, I had to keep moving. My fingers reached up to feel the warm, sticky fluid running down my face. Blood. I was getting dizzy; the world was shifting before my eyes and I didn’t know which way was left or right, all I knew was to keep running. Don’t stop Anni, don’t stop, you can’t stop. I had coached myself for this moment.

            “Anni, let me help you,” no, my mind said, don’t trust him, and trust no one.

            “Please Anni, just stop running,” I felt myself slow down and fall to the floor again. The stranger grabbed my hand and whispered soothing words as he cleaned the gash on my head. I could hear the monster coming closer, close to where we were, but I didn’t care anymore, let him come, I was ready. I looked towards my helper, my stranger, and saw a pair of golden eyes gleaming back into mine. He roared like a lion and the forest was finally silent. I was finally silent.

“Good morning, bitch,” are the first words I hear in my mother’s cackling tone. She slaps my but, dumping something on the bed and leaves. It was only a dream, a nightmare. I opened my eyes just to make sure she was gone and saw that it was just the crack of dawn. Great, I was hoping to sleep in until seven this morning but Mother always had other plans. I looked down to what she dropped on my bed and realize it’s the home phone, the one she keeps in her bedroom under lock and key.

            “Hello?” I mutter in my morning voice.

“Hello, Anastasia? This is Robert, your step-father’s nephew,” he sounded like he was in his mid-twenties with a slight fresh accent.

“Oh hi, listen I know I wasn’t planning on coming out until later this week but I found a great price on a ticket, I know its last minute but the flight’s tomorrow morning and…”

“Anastasia, that’s why I rang,” he cut me off and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. “I'm being called out on business to Athens while you’re supposed to be here, I can understand if you’d rather stay home but it’s a great opportunity and there just as many sights to see here as Paris. I'm sorry if you had your heart set but I really have no control over these things…” It was my turn to cut him off.

“I’d love to! If you don’t mind,” I had to keep my voice down, Mother knew I was going to France but if I showed any more excitement over it, I probably would be allowed to go.

“That’s great, I won’t be able to spend a lot of time with you because of work but I believe it can be just as fun. You learned about Greece in school right, all the mythology of it?” I nodded then remembered he couldn’t see me.

“Yeah I was fascinated by it, plus it’s a great place for pictures.”

“That’s great, so there’s a flight leaving tomorrow night around 5pm. I’ll pick you up at the airport in Athens when it lands, alright?”

“That’s perfect, I’ll talk to you then, bye,” I ended the call and made a risky decision to call Noel before Mother came in to take the phone away.

“Hello?” he asked in the same groggy tone I probably did.

“Hey Noel, no time to talk, change of plans means I'm going to Athens tomorrow instead of Paris.”

“That’s great!” he said, still waking up. “I'm assuming this is Anni right? Anyways got to the park and check under the bench where we met, I believe you need the latest snap added to your collection.” I could tell he was winking though the phone.

“Are you finished yet?” Mother yelled though my door so I whispered a quick goodbye to Noel and hung up. I erased the latest call history and handed the phone over. She made a “humph,” noise and went to take a shower. She was still wearing her “uniform” so I took it she was just getting back from work. “Oh I have a business meeting later today, clean up the house while I'm gone,” she yelled over her shoulder. Business meeting meant ruined family in her language. I groaned and returned to bed. Sometimes I felt like Cinderella, only I had the mother and step-father, no step-sisters, but I was still treated lower than crap.

I woke up again around 9 and went out into the kitchen to make breakfast. Mother was still sleeping so I decided to watch some television before she woke up around noon. Because it was a Tuesday and 9am, there were only cartoon reruns on. That was fine with me; I never got to watch them when they originally aired.

I shut the TV off around 12:30 and went to begin packing; I would have to wait until Mother left to go get the picture. I grabbed the rest of pictures from under my bed in the converse box and shuffled though the memories. The first picture we had taken was awkward and accidental. It was also the best one by far. The light behind us created almost a halo around the two of us, and the kiss looked perfect. Now I'm no creeper who goes around watching people kiss, I’ve seen my classmates do it and its kinda hard not to when there sitting in front of you in Algebra II, but that kiss was a good one, it was the only one I had felt the fireworks people had always talked about. I looked though the next, looking at the first ones from high school, the first time we tried using tongue and burst out laughing because it was so strange. I didn’t realize I was crying until I saw the tears landing on the pictures. I gently wiped them off trying not to smudge the images and put them all in a small pocket in my suitcase.

About two hours later I heard Mother leave, I waited fifteen minutes to make sure she was gone then raced outside and biked the mile to the neighborhood park. Within five minutes I was looking at the bench where Noel and I had both sat down on 5 years ago. I had been out biking and he had been playing with his four older brothers. I was resting on the seat when he came over and offered me his water. It was nothing really special but it was the beginning of my first real friendship. I looked underneath the seat and found a plastic baggie taped to the underside with a note attached.

As long as you love me, I’ll be yours forever :) Noel

I read the note first then looked at the picture. I was shocked by its intensity but put it safely away in my bike’s basket. I rode home with a smile on my face and an exciting adventure awaiting me.

kinda sappy ik... oh and before u say it yes i realize its Athens, like a cheesey demigod book... but just wait and keep reading... ull c