Crossing Bridges

0:01

A Certain Bridge We Have to Cross

Diana eyed the shelves, making sure the books were following alphabetical order. She hated it when her books were not arranged in such way; a little OCD quirk. She eyed the clutters of paper piling beneath her desk; she would have to sort them out again. A sigh escaped her lips, as she began kneeling down her desk.

You are such a neat freak.

Her hands were stucked mid-air, as she recalled her moments with Joel. She retrieved her hand and tightened her closed eyes. She sat on her carpeted floor. Joel once teased her about her ocd-ness. When she was at his room, she had started yapping and wrinkled her nose. He chuckled; threw himself at the bottom of his bed on his vinyl floor and told her that she looked cute wrinkling his nose. She had blushed.

You have to stop thinking about him, Diana thought.

Joel was someone she knew she couldn't get. He rode a motorbike. He boxed, and was seemingly proud of it. He was surrounded with popular people. He was a part of something she wasn't, and as much as she would want to actually be a part of it; she couldn't. She just couldn't.

And he likes Zoey.

And he's leaving for college soon. A college miles away from Ontario.

"Diana, you have someone at the door." Her mom's soft voice echoed through her large room, her head peeking behind the door. She smiled a small smile. Diana tried hard to return it.

"Be down in a sec, mom."

She looked at the massive mirror occupying half of one side of her wall. She was tired from assisting the oldies at the hospital; and it was a clear evidence on her face. She made an attempt to fix her hair. Her thoughts was swirling on the possibilites that it might be Joel. She mentally scoffed.

Ridiculous, Diana.

She sprinted down the stairs to find someone who was one of the reasons why her growing affection to her childhood bestfriend couldn't be.

Zoey.

She frowned slightly, then recovered quickly. She forced a close-lipped smile, a kind of smile that wouldn't broadcast unsincerity. Zoey was good at reading faces though, and in turn, frowned. Diana motioned for her to get inside. She shook her head.

"Di, there's something wrong. What's wrong?" She eyed her carefully pokered face. Her pretty eyes looked squinty; as if they were deep in thought. Diana couldn't help but stare and think that Zoey and Joel would look good together. They both have matching personalities.

"Nothing, Zoey. Get inside, it's freezing." Her voice came out monotonously. She didn't know why. She scolded herself for being ridiculous. She shouldn't be jealous of her. She didn't have the right to.

Zoey, once again, shook her head. "We're not done. We are going ice skating."

Diana groaned.

The rink was just a block away, considering she lived near downtown. It was the oldest rink in the city, and lots of people go there when Canada's freezing climate gets freezier. It was as cold as heck, and the two layers of clothes and combat boots Diana wore wasn't enough. Zoey was practically bouncing, and looked absolutely gorgeous wearing a tight cotton sweater and a heavy coat wrapped tight on her body. Her scarf looked cozy. She mentally slapped herself for forgetting hers.

Expectedly, the rink was crowded, not enough space for everyone to glide along the ice. There were flocks of teenage girls pretending not to know how to skate just to flirt with boys, couples sitting at the benches, parents looking after their children. It was a sight Diana was reminded of something. The thought kept nagging her; until she finally got the memory.