(recap)
“Vi you coming? The bell rang.” Vicky snapped me out of my internal babble and I got up leaving my tray on the stand by the door.
The rest of the school day dragged by without me spotting Ethan or Jonathan or er what the hell was the other dudes name again… anyway the Scottish guy.
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~ {Chapter 2}~
The final bell rang to signal the end of another school day. I had Vicky in my final class and we caught up with Van as we walked to the parking lot together. I had history with Ethan again today but we didn’t speak to each other, again. I tried saying something to him, but chickened out when he looked over at me. He seemed intent on listening to the teacher, and as soon as the bell rang he was out of the class. I wonder if he doesn’t like me, if he doesn’t, then what the hell did I do to him to have him hate me without me saying even two words to him.
“So what are you ladies up to for the rest of the day?” Van asked, breaking me out of my internal debate and Vicky said,
“I’m going to finish my science project with Sam. It’s kinda due tomorrow and we’re only half way.” She gave a sad smile and I pattered her back in sympathy,
“I might go up to the lake to take a few pictures for photography; I need to add some new pics to my portfolio. You wanna come with Van?”
“Nah, as much as I love walking in mud and climbing up rocks and stuff I think I’ll pass, maybe I’ll visit Dean.” She smiled thoughtfully to herself.
“You’re actually going to take Lil’s advice?” I smirked at her and she blushed,
“Maybe.”
“What advice? What did Lil’s tell Van to do?” Vicky asked looking a little confused.
“Well my oh so wise sister told our delayed friend to just kiss Dean and get it over with.”
“Hey I’m not delayed.” Vicky and I laughed our butts off ignoring Van’s weak protest.
“I swear there’s some older chick stuck in your little sister’s body, that was the best advice I had ever heard if there was ever one.” Vicky said still laughing a bit
“Whatever.” Van mumbled, but you could see she was trying to hide her smile.
We split up to go to our cars, calling byes to each other and I walked towards my broken down beetle and waved bye to Vicky and Van.
I threw my bag in the back seat and put the key in the ignition and turned trying to start the car, but it started chocking.
“Damn it, come on baby, and start for mama.”
I turned again pumping gas this time and then she started with a loud roar
“That’s it sugar, good girl.” I pattered my dash board smiling and looked out my front window and saw Ethan with his cousins standing close to the exit on the side of the school. They looked to be having a serious conversation. He looked like he and the Scot were arguing, while Jonathan just stood to the side very uncomfortably, looking between the two as they exchanged words.
My car back fired loudly, startling me and causing Ethan and his cousins to look my way. I locked eyes with Ethan, his face seemed to soften a little, losing the scowl he had when he was talking to the Scot, then quick as a flash it was gone, his eyes hardened and he turned away, snapping me right out that little trance. Okay, what was that all about? He must really hate me, but what was with the soft look he gave me or was he even looking at me. Urgh, I think I’m going to drive myself mad trying to figure it out, no boys, remember, and concentrate on that scholarship, focus Violet. Shaking my head and chalking it up to one of life’s great mysteries, I put my beat up buggy into gear and drove to pick my sister up.
I got to the Kindergarten where my sister attended and saw her and her friend Amy sitting on the front step, playing with what I assume is Love-a-lot bear. They were covered in different color paint, from head to toe. They looked like someone flecked them with a brush coated in paint. What did they get up to today?
I honked and Amy and Lily looked up. I had offered to pick Amy up seen as she lived close to our house and it wasn’t out of the way or anything. Her mom dropped her off in the mornings because she had to leave a bit earlier than us to get to work on time. Amy stayed over until her mom came to pick her up after work around about four o’clock.
They both came running and giggling, the passenger door was open and they both climbed in and went straight for the back seat. After I closed and locked the door, I took off at a normal pace.
“So kids, how was your day?”
“We painted our hands and feet today, then Jason started painting Carry’s back and hair and Mrs. April told him to wait outside because he was naughty and he made Carry cry, and then Mrs. April called his mommy and daddy.” Lily said in one breath,
“Then when Mrs. April left, Henry started splashing everyone with paint from his brush and then we started splashing each other and then the next thing you knew, we were all covered in paint and when Mrs. April saw, she said she needs a drink.” Amy said smiling.
“We should do that again tomorrow.” Lily said and Amy was nodding her head emphatically with a giant grin on her face.
Poor Mrs. April, she’s going to have her hands full tomorrow, I’m glad I’m not her.
We got home and the two rug rats raced inside to play and I hauled my bag out of the back seat, rolling my eyes at them.
When I got in I went straight to my mom’s room; knocked softly and walked in. My mom was in bed reading a newspaper with her glasses on. When I walked in she looked up from her bed.
“Hey pumpkin, you home already? How was your day?”
“Boring as usual, not like Lily’s. Oh, mom is it okay if I go up to the lake, I need to take some pictures” I smirked at what those two would look like.
“Sure sweetie and do I even want to know what my Lily pad has been up to.”
I heard little feet running and a soft knock. Then Lily popped her head inside the room and I heard my mother gasp.
“What in heaven’s name happened to you?” While my mom was talking she looked over to me and gave me the what-the-hell face and I just shrugged and sat next to my mom, while Lilly climbed on the bed. Luckily the paint was dry so she didn’t get the bed dirty.
“We painted in school today.”
“I can see that.” She looked at me with raised eyebrows and I smiled at them.
“Mommy can Amy and me swim?”
“Not when you’re full of paint. Wash up first then you two can swim.”
“When are you leaving for the lake honey?”
“No mom it’s fine I can go some other time. I’ll watch over Lil’s and Amy.”
“Nonsense. I’m here, I can watch over them.”
“Mom I don’t think-“
“I’ve been cooped up in the house for days, I need to get out every once in a while. Shoo off you go.”
“Are you sure? You know you just have to give me call if you’re-“
“Yes, yes. I’m not totally useless you know. Now go, you’re annoying me.”
I rolled my eyes at her and grabbed my sister’s hand.
“Come on kido, I’ll hose you and your buddy off outside.”
Lil’s jumped off and ran to the door pulling me along in her excitement. When I got outside to our back yard Amy already had her feet in the water.
“Come on Amy Violet’s going to hose us off first before we can get into the pool.”
I walked over to the hose and turned it on to medium speed and started to hose them. They started laughing and screaming while I chased them with the hose.
“Argh, come here I’m going to melt you with my volcanic water.” I said in a scary voice, which most likely sounded like a pirate’s voice. Never could do the evil voice thing.
“AAAHHHHH NO. DON’T MELT US.” They screamed while they ran away from me.
“I’m going to melt you, and then I’ll use your bones to build my house.” I shouted as I chased them around the yard with the hose. I managed to corner them and hose them fully down
“NO.”
“HA, HA, HA… I’VE GOT YOU NOW.”
“NO… STOP…NO.” They were laughing as I kept the hose on them, and I kept laughing like a mad woman.
“Okay kids that’s enough. Here you go Violet. They’re clean enough.”
I turned off the hose and got my camera my mom was holding out to me with a smile on her face. I heard the girls mock in a sing song voice,
“We didn’t melt, we didn’t melt.”
“No curses, the paint has protected you from my evil power. I will get you next time.” I said in my evil pirate voice, shaking my fist in the air and smiled at them as they ran to the water laughing and screaming.
“What time will you be back?”
I put my camera into its protective bag and packed a few trail snacks as well as a bottle of water in my bag, while I answered my mom.
“The hike shouldn’t take too long, I will be back in like three hours’ time.” I said moving my hand from side to side, palm facing down in the universal hand language of more or less.
“Okay honey be safe and stick to the trails. You have your cellphone?”
I was already out the door in a hurry to get to the lake to take my pictures so that I could be back as soon as possible.
“Yeah mom. Call me if you get worse, okay.”
“Okay bye.”
“Bye.”
I closed the door and rushed to my car and drove to the mountain. The lake was close to the peak, there was this beautiful clearing, with a waterfall and wild flowers that grew everywhere.
I got to the mountain and parked my car. I grabbed my bag from the trunk of my car and started my hike. It was a beautiful day, spring had just started and the birds were chirping. The sun wasn’t too hot and I could smell the tantalizing aroma of the surrounding woodlands.
I got to the top in no time, the hike not being that strenuous and I had reached the clearing with the lake. There were different color butterflies all around, the crystal blue water in the background, making it look like something out of a fairytale novel. I gently put my back pack down and pulled out my camera bag and gently took out my camera. My camera was one of my most expensive items I owned, I had worked long and hard for this baby, the zoom lens alone cost me over a thousand dollars, but it was worth it. The quality I got was extraordinary, and would ensure my scholarship into the school of arts.
I started snapping away, creeping along trying not to disturb the habitat. I took some pictures of the fish in the crystal clear water and of the birds chirping away in the branches of the trees. I had a very productive day all in all and decided to call it a day. I walked over to my bag and was about to put my camera away when a deer stepped out into the clearing, towards the lake to get a drink of water. I slowly moved my camera and took a few pictures. I zoomed in to get the perfect shot, the deer’s tongue was just about coming out to take a sip of water and you could see the reflection of the deer in the water. It kind of looked like the deer was about to lick a mirror. When the deer was done it ran off. I was smiling like an idiot, that picture would be my ticket into getting into the school of arts. I was currently saving up for a high powered underwater camera, so that I could drive out to the beach and get some sea creatures pictures. I wanted to be a nature photographer; my main dream is to get a job taking pictures for national geographic.
I was starting to feel a bit hungry so I pulled out my sandwich that I had packed and began munching on it and taking sips of my water. When I was done I decided to lie down among the flowers and stare up at the sky. That’s another thing I loved to do, especially when there were clouds in the sky like today.
When you stared up at the sky just watching the clouds, it’s almost like you can feel the world spinning, like instead of the clouds slowly moving, the world was and you can see it, feel it and for that small moment you feel like you’re on a journey to a place somewhere big and the whole world is a spaceship and you’re just along for the ride. Okay so I know it’s kind of stupid and I know that the earth does spin, but when you’re lying on your back looking up at the clouds, it’s just… different, it’s relaxing and something really extraordinary .
I closed my eyes for a moment just enjoying the sun on my face, when all of a sudden I heard a twig snap in the distance. My eyes snapped open and I was up in a flash, looking around me, like I was about to be jumped by some bear or something. There aren’t really bears in these woods I think, or at least that’s what I’ve been told.
As if he was produced by the shadows itself, Ethan appeared; walking so silently, with his hands in his pockets and looking straight at the river that ended in a beautiful slow moving lake. He had a sad look on his face as he continued to stare at the silently flowing water. He didn’t see me, still sitting in the grass and I was tempted to call out his name, but what would I say? ‘Hey Ethan what’s up? What brings you to my humble abode?’
Yeah right as if I could even make my voice work when he’s around, maybe I can just sneak off without him spotting me. Yes that sounds like the best idea I had ever come up with, I deserve a freaking award for that one.
So I silently grabbed my back pack and peered over at Ethan making sure he hadn’t spotted me yet. He was now standing by the water, but instead of looking at the lake like you would have expected, he was looking up. His hands were still in his pocket and he looked to be pleading with the sky for something.
I should leave before he spots me, it was obvious he came here to be alone, but the artist in me couldn’t resist, so I took out my camera and aimed it in his direction and took the picture. He didn’t notice me so I took a couple more then he turned while my eye was still looking through the camera at him. Oh-oh busted.