The Umbrella

Asking

In the week leading up to the final stage of Dana and Alex's plan, the rain had begun to pick up once again. As the days wore on, the rain got heavier and heavier. This, of course, meant Sara's umbrella was used daily. It was practically the girls' shield against the less than ideal weather.

It was Thursday, and the deadline for the plan's finish was looming, sitting just around the corner. Dana was taking her work very - almost too - seriously. Dana and Alex met near the math block that morning, somewhere Sara nor Kelly were likely to go. And, thankfully, there was shelter from the rain there.

As soon as Alex had shown up, Dana begun to complain. The plan wasn't exactly going her way and she didn't like it. Not one bit. Dana began to rant about the off-course scheme, but Alex tuned her out. Instead he allowed his mind to wander to a conversation him and Sara had had just one day before.

The conversation played through his mind and then he realised - he could get this plot going properly. As long as there was a small adjustment to the method.

He sat down on a bench behind Dana, who was still standing. As she turned, still angrily talking to someone who wasn't listening, Alex wondered if it were even a good idea to interrupt her yet. He decided to, based on the fact that she'd like the news anyway.

Carefully, he cut his way into the conversation, right in the middle of her sentence. Dana shot the boy an irritated look. 'This better be good,' she muttered in a voice that held the warning not to cross her.

Alex held his hands up in mock surrender. 'It is, it is!' he assured, before leaping into his explanation.

By the end of it, Dana was nodding. She knew that Alex had to be the one to make this little scheme work.

'Just one small condition . . .' Alex grimaced, worried that Dana would turn on him. It seemed safe enough, as Dana dropped on the wooden seat next to him. 'I need until Monday.' Until now, Dana had stuck to a specific deadline for each task, as if it were helping the plan move faster and smoother.

Dana nodded. 'Fine. Monday.' She paused, pulling out her phone to glance at the time. 'We should meet the others now.' She smiled inwardly, thinking about how much she enjoyed spending time with the merged groups. The pair got up and walked away together without another word.

The weekend came and went. Alex had talked to Sara and whole heartedly believed she was ready. If he were honest, he didn't particularly enjoy the meddling. Then again, he at least had comfort in the fact that Sara had done most of the work herself, though it be unknown to the girl in question. All Alex had to do was offer words of encouragement and make small suggestions.

Much like the weekend, the school day flashed by. For everyone except for Sara, that is. She was full of many emotions that day. At the forefront were the butterfly-inducing nervousness and excitement. Among the mix was what Sara would call an almost-lethal dose of pure boredom. Her final class just dragged on. And on . . . and on.

Closing her eyes tightly, Sara attempted to focus on her class. Until now, she'd been lazily copying notes from the board at the front. She hadn't been keeping up with the class discussion though, and so was completely lost on that front. And, as it seems, she focused at the right time. Not long after beginning to actually absorb the words, she was called on.

After what may have actually been a decade, the bell rang. It mixed with the sound of the steady rain. As the other students groaned about the weather, Sara grinned. To her, it seemed perfect to ask Kelly to be her girlfriend under the very thing that had more or less forced their friendship in the first place.

Rushing out of the classroom, she headed to her locker, as usual. She quickly made the necessary book exchanges, her mind racing as if she were in fast forward.

She exited the school and made her way to the general spot where she'd had her first proper conversation with Kelly and waited under her umbrella for the other girl. In reality, she only waited a few minutes, but Sara could've sworn it felt like an hour.

As Kelly approached hurriedly, Sara went over her plan quickly. She'd thought of it herself, and when she had explained it to Alex, he reacted as if it were brilliant. All she could hope is that it really was.

Simplified, the plan was: wait until either's parents came to pick them up, and as they were about to park, ask the question. Easy enough, right? Sara wasn't so sure.

As it turned out, Kelly's mother was the first to arrive. 'Kells, before you go . . .' Sara began. Inhaling deeply, she decided to treat this as a band-aid . . . rip it off quickly. Gathering both her thoughts and her nerves, she managed to form a coherent sentence, saying, 'Kelly, listen. I . . . I like you.'

Kelly blinked a couple of times in surprise and interrupted Sara's next sentence. 'I like you, too. Um . . .' It was Sara's turn to be surprised, now. A small smile spread across both girl's lips, while butterflies danced happily in their stomachs. 

Sara realised she would have to act fast, as Kelly's mother's rain slicked car drew closer and would soon stop. 'Will you be my girlfriend?' Sara asked, thinking of the metaphorical band-aid. A fresh mob of butterflies replaced the ones she'd gotten just moments ago.

After a short pause, Kelly spoke. But it wasn't the sentence Sara had hoped for. It was just the opposite - 'I can't. I'm so, so sorry.'

The butterflies stopped fluttering instantly, as if they all dropped dead. Sara watched Kelly walk away and get into her car. The vehicle began to drive away, leaving a confused, and upset, Sara behind.

Sara followed Kelly's footsteps towards the curb as the rain kept falling. She attempted to stop the tears falling, but as she let go of her wretched umbrella, she wasn't sure if it had or hadn't worked. She wiped her face regardless, glancing at the umbrella that she'd allowed to drop in a puddle. 

It was a perfect metaphor. Like the umbrella, Sara Moore's hopes had come crashing down, falling less than gracefully on the ground.

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Thanks for reading! 

. . .

I'm sorry! I don't know how many people expected that, but still. Ouch.

I will hopefully be back with another update soon. It will most likely be the last! I'm really excited for the ending, but also quite sad at the same time because I really love this story! I have another short, original one coming soon, but I want to write that one before uploading it.

Even though I hate saying it, please leave a vote/comment if you enjoyed the chapter and if you're enjoying the story, I would appreciate it so much if you gave it a share!! Thank you x

And today's alternate cover is . . .  ((art credit to Abrider3 from deviant art. Go check them out!!))