Cold

Dreams of the past

"Hey, Em, come on! We gotta go!" 

There he goes, boy of my dreams. And he didn't have a clue. I felt a tug at my arm.

"Emily, we have to go, the bus is leaving..." My friend, Rachel. She was a very nice girl, but she was always so.... I couldn't think of the word. He was still in sight...

"I hope you're happy, Em. The bus just left." 

"So we'll walk. It's not like you live far..."

"But it's the weekend! Homecoming weekend! Does that mean anything to you?"

"Only if he asked me out..." She sighed.

"When are you going to get over him? He's a loser, he's in band, and he doesn't seem to care. Also, he's really weird..."

"Maybe weird to you.... he's always been nice to me."

"Ughh, fine. Come on, let's go. Maybe I can get Mike to drive us home."

I looked back to the crosswalk. He was gone, nowhere in sight. I let out a heavy sigh, and followed Rachel to the student parking lot. A red jeep careened around the pool, and screeched to a halt in front of us. Mike. Always showing off. Slamming the door behind him, he picked Rachel up and span her around. 

"I missed you, babe,"

"Why? I only just saw you like, ten minutes ago!" 

"Doesn't change anything..." He looked at me. "Oh, uh, hey Em, how's things?"

I rolled my eyes, "Fine, Mike. Just fine..."

"She's just upset that nobody's asked her out for tomorrow night." Damn you, Rachel.

"Aww, well, I can probably get Steve or somebody to go with-"

"That's fine, Mike. I'd rather stay home anyways." That shut him up. "Can we just go?" 

"Yeah, sure. Hop in."

I took my place in the backseat and buckled up. This was going to be the longest mile of my life. Lucky you, Rachel. At least you have somebody to be with...

***********

I stared at my phone, trying to remember who was and wasn't going to the dance. Was I the only one not going? Rachel was there with Mike, who found a date for Steve. Molly was at the anti-homecoming with all her theatre friends. I scrolled through the entire list, but not one would be available. Returning to my government homework, I tried to remember what it was that Roosevelt said about foreign policy. Something about a piece of wood... my phone rang! I quickly snatched it up and looked at the screen. 303-552-8222... what? Who's number was that? I flipped it open...

"Hello?"

"Hi, Emily?" Oh my God...

"Who's this?"

"This is Joe, uh... did I call at a bad  time?"

"No! I mean, no, you didn't..."

"I can call back later..." Don't hang up, please!

"No, you're fine. What's up?" 

"Well, wasn't sure that you were at the dance..." No thanks to you...

"No, I'm not. Just trying to get that gov homework done..."

"Oh, you have foreign policy right? Uh, overheard and all..."

"Yeah, I do." Why didn't I ask him to help?

"What was the assignment for that again? Can't remember what we were supposed to write about..." He's asking me for help? 

"Hold on.... 'discuss how foreign policy affected America in the late 1890s and early 1900s'" 

"Oh okay. Thanks." Say something, quick!

"Uh, what are you doing tonight?" So much for hinting...

"Just staying home. Haven't got anything better to do..." Perfect.

"I need help, Joe. Do you want to meet somewhere, so we can get this done?" 

"Sure!" He sounded excited, that was a good sign. "Where do you want to meet?" Shit. Don't want to risk bringing him here... not while Dad was home. Starbucks was open another hour...

"Starbucks? The one by school..."

"Yeah, I can do that. Right now?" Duh...

"Right now."

"Alright, see you in a few then!" I hung up. Oh my God, this was happening! It wasn't a real date, but it was just as exciting. I grabbed the papers and stuffed them into the book, and stuffed that into my bag. Running down the stairs, I called out to my father, "Hey Dad, be home in a bit, gonna go get some coffee."

"Why? You can brew it right here." His voice was apprehensive. 

"Meeting up with Rachel at Starbucks, she's having trouble with her homework"

"Isn't the dance tonight?"

"Yeah, but Mike couldn't go, so she didn't. Don't worry, I'll be home in a couple hours."

"Be careful out there, babydoll. There's a bad storm tonight and kids will be driving drunk. Don't do anything I wouldn't do"

"Don't worry, Dad. Bye!"

I jumped into my car and backed out. The wind started to pick up, I could see the trees swaying. I sped down the street and made my turn onto Dry Creek. I'd be there in about five minutes... keep it easy... just passed Colorado. The wind really picked up, I can feel it rocking the car... I flew down the hill. A large gust slammed from the right, shoving me over a lane. Branches fell around me; a tornado in Littleton? But there weren't any sirens... not even a warning on the radio... I looked forward, white light flooded into my face, I screamed...