"Sabrina! Sabreeeena!" I call, facing the horizon. Where could she be? I whisper in my mind, a strike of worry entering my head like a prodigal throwing the doors open. Suddenly, I spot footprints leading back towards home. They seem larger than Sabrina's would be, but reluctantly, I start to let them lead me. Though I know not who they come from, I follow.
Maybe she left without me, I decide and rush back home to find out. My feet plod across the sandy ground, and I feel my toes squish in the golden grains. I finally reach home, and everyone turns to look at me. Sabrina's mom steps up and asks,
"Where's Sabrina?" I furrow my eyebrows. What?
"Did she not come back?" Expressions of fear rattle my brain. My eyes almost water, but I hold the tears back. I'm not that good at it, so salty drops roll down my face, making my vision blurry.
Sabrina's mom shakes her head in cautious anxiety, her blonde hair blowing swiftly in the wind. Then, realizing, the tears come. To both Mrs. Waller and I.
"I don't know where Sabrina is. You should know, she's your daughter!" I scream, anger and fear rising in my expression without warning. "Tell me where my best friend is!!!!" I must be giving a tantrum that I haven't done for years, but I don't care. As unrealistic as this all is... it's true. There's only one explanation. A thought of concentration is interrupted by the sorrowful looks on the faces of Sabrina's parents. Her dad is in shock, and her mom has teardrops falling from her eyes, wetting the already damp grass. The saddest part though is Jago. It seems like he doesn't want to believe it.
"She could just be... hiding or something..." Jago says. Sabrina's mom nods.
"You're right, Jago. Didn't you see her, Christi? Didn't you?"
I just shake my head, glaring.
"She must have drowned, okay? I don't know where she went and maybe I'll never know. If you think this doesn't affect me, it does! Okay!? Just leave me alone!" I storm off, slamming the screen door against the trim and marching to my room, anger still bubbling inside of me.
Picking up my phone, I dial Sabrina. No answer. I dial several times until a video pops up. I cautiously click the play button, unaware of the truth. The video suddenly reveals Sabrina on the screen. Her expression is pure dismay.
"Sabrina, Sabrina! It's me, Christi! It's CHRISTI!" Her expression doesn't change. In fact, it gets worse. She covers her ears as if she hears screaming. I'm not screaming though, am I? Does she even hear me? Or is she faking? But why on earth would she be faking?
The screen goes black and I flop on my bed. Staring at the ceiling, I dream of what might be happening to Sabrina. Groaning in sadness, I turn to look at the wall instead. There, posted on the wall is art; two names are written there like an equation.
Sabrina Jenna Waller + Christine Alexa Brandon = Best Friends Forever!
"Where could she be? Why does everything bad have to happen to me?" I say to myself. I throw my friendship bracelet against the wall, nearly cracking the gem. I storm over and pick it up, then set it on my desk. Then I think about Sabrina. She's probably in worse condition than I am. Through the video, I remember her horrified face when I thought she could hear me. She didn't look too good. I think to myself, when will I ever see my best friend again? For some reason, I don't want to know the answer.
✦
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! I turn, seeing Katy's face inches from mine instead of the alarm clock I thought was making the noise. Katy is my older sister and in my eyes, "living for only one cause." That one cause is to bother me.
"AAAAAAH! What?" I exclaim in shock, "what and why?" I'm totally clueless and annoyed by Katy's nosiness.
"School," Katy answers, carelessly. "Uh, DUH!" Then, she struts out of the room, distinctive brown hair waving goodbye to me as she passes.
"Older sisters," I mumble to myself, clearly in the fuzziness of the mind. Messing with other people's brains is the first thing on her list. She's fifteen and doesn't know how to deal with me so I don't freak out.
"I can't believe her," I mutter, just to get a peek into the room from Easton, my sixteen-year-old brother. He and I are very close. Even though he's pretty strict, he's always in the mood to have fun. I moan to him about Katy. He just laughs, messes up my hair and leaves the room. I scowl as he leaves, tall and striding out with sticks of blonde hair. I dress and trudge reluctantly down to breakfast, only to get turned down for not brushing my teeth. My parents, Wayne and Evie Brandon are really strict with hygiene. I guess today is just not my day. Not a single little deed done has been in my favor. I slip on my bracelet as I head to the bathroom.
I decide to comb my hair for good measure. It has just the slightest of waves. It falls softly, ending near my collarbone. After brushing my teeth, I flop into my chair. I'm about to put a spoonful of bland cereal into my mouth when Katy says, "Yo, Christi! It's time for school, whatcha think ya doin'?"
"AAAH!" I scream, narrowing my green eyes. "Leave me ALONE!" She shrugs, backs off, and scurries to get her stuff. Finally, a little peace and quiet. I stare at the open window in the kitchen. As I'm about to close it, I spot a cardinal. You don't usually see those in CA. I want to tell Sabrina this. An idea sparks in my mind. I'll just tell her at school! Or, I could take a picture! YES! A picture will be wonderful to show that I actually saw a cardinal!
I softly close the window, and run, reaching for my phone in the den. The den is located right next to the kitchen, and it has carpeted steps leading down to it, just like the living room. I tiptoe down the steps and grab it. Grasping the back, I raise the lens up to capture the moment. I focus on the cardinal, but as I'm about to snap the photo, it flies away as if it hates the combination of me and cameras.
"Ugh! WHY!?!?!?!?" Sabrina would've loved to see...
Right, she's gone. I forgot... or at least I tried to forget. It's not every day you lose your best friend to the ocean. I trudge to the door, swinging my backpack around my shoulders. My shoes touch the sidewalk while I turn, hoping to spot Sabrina running towards me. I squint through the sunlight, but no sign of Sabrina. I miss her already, we've been through so much together.
Once, my family decided to remodel our house, and I got to sleep and eat and live at Sabrina's house for a whole week! We even built our own treehouse in her backyard... with the help of our dads of course!
"Come on, Christi! Get a move on," Katy teases, leaving me still in thought. After her remark, I lose my ideas and ponders.
"Why do you always have to be so bossy?" I ask, and she flips her hair in return. Why is everything so horrible today? Why, why, why, why????? "Let's just go to school, okay? I've had too much of you today! You keep bothering me, and I've had ENOUGH. Leave me ALONE!"
I miss Sabrina, she would know what to do. She would cheer me up with every smirk and smile. A pun up in her mind, she would know how to deal with me. Without freaking me out as Katy does. A certain teenage sister is going to ruin my life if Sabrina doesn't come back. All these times I've had Sabrina as my friend. All because our dads were in a car accident together. They just crashed. All because of that. It was an accident, that changed my life. That found me a best friend. My only best friend. I can't lose my only best friend, can I? I can't, I can't live without her! A best friend made from an accident.
An accident. It was all an accident. A mistake made to ruin both Sabrina's and my life. If Sabrina still has a life. I mean, she can't be dead! She's a great swimmer. She personally inspected my pool to make sure it was perfect for swimming. I'm serious! She came to my house one day and said, "So, I heard you have a pool now! That's cool! Can I see, Christi, please?" Then she marched into my room, told me everything a good pool must have, then she flew down the stairs and into the backyard to look at my pool. Well, that's Sabrina.
I could have fixed everything. I could go back and then save Sabrina from who knows what? I could have been there for her. I could have saved her. My best friend. I need to get her back. I need to find a way to get her back. Before I lose her even more than I need to. I wasn't even supposed to lose her. She was supposed to stay here in California and we were going to have a wonderful evening after we ate those delicious hot dogs for lunch. An epic evening of pure joy. We would talk and gossip and toast sparkling glasses of juice. It would have been a wonderful night.
Instead, Sabrina's family went home in tears, (why did I do such a horrible thing?) and I lost my best friend. At least my parents were there to comfort them? Ha, pathetic. I'm pathetic. Today can't get any worse than it already has. It has been the worst day of my life. The thing is though, I don't know how to fix anything I did today! I'm a helpless little child that can't even say sorry. I don't know how to make things right. There isn't any inspiration. No inspiration means no ideas. No ideas popping into my head. Nothing I can do. Nothing to say. Everything went wrong.
It was all a huge mistake. That's what it was. Sadly, I remember Sabrina's call before she "drowned." She was so desperate. So scared and wanting help. The help I never gave. I regret everything I did.
And there's no way to fix it.