Suroar

Annette turns her sight back to the blending mundane colors as if viewing them from a carousel. She thinks to herself, maybe... just maybe, she'll finally meet the girl in her dreams. While she normally doesn't dream, when she does, they are more like premonitions. They lead to some type of reality in her life. She does realize that the setting of this particular dream isn't where she'll find this girl... it's just a little, she could say 'old fashioned'.

She drifts off to towering trees all around, the dark wet bark embellished with moss and algae. The ground covered in roots and soft, moist dirt from a midday rain, a cool gentle mist lingering in the air. The clouds that remain hang high above the branches cutting out even more light from the early evenings arrival. The girl, a princess destined to be queen, with dark brown hair that fell just below her shoulders, braids that followed her temples around to the back of her head were adorned with gold and jewels. She wore a black and purple dress with a slit up the sides revealing her legs, the midsection woven with a design showing her belly button and the sleeves hanging just off her shoulders. She looked up to Annette with flooded hazel eyes overwhelming with reminiscing thoughts that will remain long after that day. Her voice shaking with a tone of desperation and uncertainty.

"There's no other way, is there Annette?"

All Annette could do was shake her head.

"Just give me a moment before you join me."

"Yes princess. I'll keep an eye from the cliffs and come at your signal." Annette replied.

She took the princess' hand in hers up against her chest and bowed her head to her knowing how difficult this decision was. A tear slipped down her majesty's cheek and joined the soil beneath her. She wiped her cheek and took a breath. Annette saw the emotion leave her face as she exhaled. She knew this empty, numb feeling would be all that was left of the princess after this day. Annette was left standing there a moment, her hand to her chest as the princess pulled away and ran into the darkness between the dense barrier of trees. The remaining clouds looming overhead started their final shower to finish off the day.

The dream ends the same way every time. Annette finds herself in the middle of those woods, trees slowly being brought into the shadows as the darkness grows closer to her. Scratchy laughter seemingly creeps right behind her as if it were just beside her ears. She constantly spins, searching the darkness. Nothing there. The darkness grabs even closer at her until a tentacle wraps around her ankles. Hidden spikes stick out from it's tight grasp into her skin and drops her to her knees before dragging her into the pitch black. She wakes up in a sweat left wondering what happened to the princess and what was that thing that attacked her.

Her mind turns back to the present moment as they turn in to the school drop off lane.

"I hope you have a good day. I love you."

She steps her black boots out onto the sidewalk and leans over to grab her backpack from the floor board. Her white and gray plaid button up left undone slid down her shoulder catching on her white long sleeve she wore underneath of it. She stood up and threw the bag over her shoulder as she turned back to her mother. Her mother blows her a kiss and Annette catches it and holds it to her heart like always.

"I love you too mom."

She closes the door and turns as her mother pulls away. She stands there a moment tucking her hand into her skinny jean pockets, the front of her shirt lifted above the angel wing belt buckle. She looks at the building as the cars rotate behind her before taking her first steps.

"Look out!" a boy called to her as she stepped forward.

From between the two cars that just pulled up, he hopped over the curb on his skateboard and onto the sidewalk right across her path. The wheels crackled against the pavement as he glided over to his group of friends who were waiting out front for him. He popped his skateboard up, leaning it against the cement bench. Annette began to walk to the building when two girls wearing a pink and white checkered skirt and a yellow and black checkered skirt with matching long sleeves and t-strap heels with knee high socks ran in front of her making her hesitate her gait. They stopped at the boy that had jumped in front of her as well and then looked over their shoulders at Annette.

"Is that the new girl?" Annette heard them say as she walked by, she glanced her eyes their direction as she passed.

"Yeah, I heard she was kicked out of her last school for..." their voices left her ears as she rushed to distance herself.

She knew there would be rumors. She's left three schools in the area already and came out of no where from Ohio. Back then she would end up coming to school with black eyes and bruises hidden as best she could beneath heavy makeup. People avoided her seeing that she would do nothing, but harm them. 'Yeah, the only way to get a black eye is if you were in a fight and were the one causing trouble, right?' she shook her head annoyed at the thought.

She walked into the cafeteria which filled the main building. Entrances to hallways lined all the way around the walls leading to the classrooms. Each hallway was listed by a letter of the alphabet. Between the hallways lining the border of most of the cafeteria were the lockers, except for the sides, one end had the gym, the other side had the auditorium, and the front had the library, administrative offices, and large windows and front doors to the parking lot where the buses drop off. Observing the room, Annette saw all kinds of groups huddled together at their tables. People who have been friends for the last few years, to people that had the first quarter of the year to get to know each other, and she was just the stranger walking in to the middle of it all. Although, she does see a single table in the middle of all the mess with just one person. Looking for just a moment, she edged her way past glaring eyes to that table full of space.

Annette stood across from the girl. Her dark brown hair cascaded across her face dancing across her shoulders only covered by the straps of a dark purple tank top. Her hands fiddled with her pen tapping the top of a page in a geography book. It was turned to a map of the United States, X's marking across the Eastern side. Her backpack sat beside her, her hoodie laid across her lap.

"Hi, I'm Annette. You uh, planning a trip?"

The girl didn't even glance up.

"I see you don't have Florida marked off... but I'd have to say that's one you should definitely check out."

Still no response.

"Do, you mind if I sit here?"

She just shook her head, so Annette took a seat. She quietly pulled out a snack before classes began. She picked up a bottled water and took a few sips before setting it to the side. Next she revealed a vanilla pudding cup and an individual size bag of salt and vinegar chips. The girl glanced up between her dark strands to spot this unusual combination. Annette peeled open the pudding cup and licked the top before crumbling it up and setting it aside. She then crinkled the bag of chips, pinching and pulling it apart to open, reaching inside she began to dip her chips into her pudding.

"Really?" Disgusted yet curiously she asked.

Annette ate the chip in her hand.

"Yeah, you've never tried it?" She licked her fingers. Annette pushed both items over to the girl, "Pudding Chips. Not only are they my favorite punk rock band, but snack food too."

With a brief moment of hesitation, she looked up and brushed the hair behind her ear away from her face, Annette saw it was the girl she's been seeing in her dream. Same brown hair, same greenish brown eyes. Same button nose and fierce brows, and partly the same numbness to the dream. The girl slowly took a chip and pulled the vanilla pudding cup closer. Lightly dipped it in, and opened her mouth. She lifted her brows as she set it down on her tongue and closed her lips beginning to chew. Her face settled in to enjoyment.

"Actually not bad, you're right." She giggled. She took another... "Oh, sorry... You don't mind right?"

"Not at all, I'm just surprised someone else actually tried it."

"Before I go and steal all your food..." She scoots the bag and cup back over to Annette, "My names Auraya."

"Auraya," she smiled finally knowing her name, "I like that. So, what class are you studying for?"

"Oh, it's not for class. Just some personal studying you could say." She closed the pen in the book to hold her page.

"Planning on taking a trip?"

"Something like that."

The two girls that were talking about Annette outside in the group got up with their trays and headed behind Annette towards an opening. A quick whisper 'watch this'. A tray of partially eaten food and used napkins flipped over Annette's head and down her face.

"Oops. I tripped." The girl in yellow said as they quickly ran off laughing. The other girl in pink tossing her tray in the bin.

Annette took out a small pad of paper from her back pocket with a tiny pen.

"You don't happen to know that chicks name, do you?"

"Yeah, that's Charlene Vero, goes by Charlie."

"Charlene," Annette speaks as she writes against the sheets, "Vero."

"What is that?"

"Oh nothing, it's just my slaughter list." Auraya gave her an odd look, "you know, instead of hit list, I, have a slaughter list. Not that I would actually slaughter someone, but if there's a time when I can verbally and/or emotionally cause them upset and embarrassment, I do not think I'd pass up that opportunity."

"I understand. Some people just need to be knocked down a peg. I definitely would say Charlene falls into that category. You're not the first one she's treated this way."

Tossing their garbage away, Auraya and Annette walked to the bathroom to clean up Charlene's mess. They talked about their schedules and found out they take the same bus home and have a lot of the same classes together, including homeroom, so when the bell chimed they began to make their way there together. As they exited the restroom and started toward the hall Auraya noticed Charlene going to her locker that was connected to the set by the hallway they were about to walk down. So as Auraya turned the corner behind Annette, she slid her hand along the edge of the last locker on the end. A surge of electricity sent every locker door swinging wide open with a thundering roar. Paper was thrown from binders and books fell out to the floor from the vibration. Annette stopped and turned at the sound.

"What was that?"

Auraya shrugged as the laughter started up. They both returned to the hallway entrance. Kids lined up around the lockers to their left. The reactions on their faces repeated every several people or so. Some with gaping expressions of shock, some of the girls covering their mouths with giggles escaping, most of the boys were smiling, laughing, or laughing while pointing. Following their gaze and the direction of the extended arms, they saw Charlene who had fallen back onto the floor. Her hair was standing on end with an additional look of shock on her face. Tears started up in her eyes as she looked around at all the students gathering around her. She saw Annette and Auraya exit the hall to look at her as well. She screeched.

"What are you all laughing at? Stop it!"

Her friend in the pink rushed over with a pocket mirror, trying to hold in her giggles. Charlene stood up and grabbed her friends wrist aiming the small mirror to see herself.

"Oh, my, God!" She grabbed a hairbrush from her locker and ran to the bathroom.

"I don't know what happened, but that was priceless." Annette laughed walking back down the hallway.

Auraya grinned and followed on to homeroom.

---

Auraya sat down on the bus keeping her eyes toward the stairs looking for Annette. She dropped her backpack between her legs out of the way. When most of the students were already on the bus Auraya became a little concerned about where Annette was until she ran past her window and jumped up the steps. She saw Auraya as soon as her head popped over the front seat and gave a light wave. Auraya nodded her head to the side as if to say come on.

"Sorry, I got held up at the counselors office." Annette tossed her bag to the ground and sat beside Auraya.

"I was about to think you weren't gonna make it. What were you at the counselors office for? Everything okay?"

"Charlene saw me come out of the hallway at the end of the lockers and immediately assumed I had something to do with it. Which obviously I don't, but they had to bring me in to talk, so it's whatever."

"Exactly, what could you have done to make that happen?"

"It's the same everywhere I go. People feel threatened, like I'm violent. I'll just add it to the long list of rumors I already have about me."

"That's horrible."

"Eh, at least I got a friend this time."

"Really?"

"We are friends right? I hope so."

"Yeah, of course we're friends, just really you haven't had friends?"

"Kind of hard when you come to school with bruises and people assume the worst of you. And you can't really go out of the house without a big issue, and you can't have people over cause you don't know when your dad's gonna pick a fight with your mom. Don't know when your gonna have to step in and take it cause you see your mom's had enough." Annette gave a gentle, 'it's okay' smile, "He's gone now though. Just my mom and me. He's in prison."

"I'm sorry you had to deal with all that."

"It's best to just see what the future holds. It's good. It maybe includes dinner at my house? My mom will be super excited I've made a friend."

"Yeah, that sounds great. Let me just run home real quick and I'll meet you back at the bus stop."

They parted ways when they stepped off the bus. Auraya went home to drop off her bag and let her mom know she was going to have dinner at the new girls house. Her mother was surprised yet happy being that this was the first person she was spending time with after Jacob left. She told her to call when she arrived safely and when she was on her way back home or if it was too dark she would pick her up instead. Auraya passed the trees that lined the street in front of the houses. Down at the bus stop she saw Annette already waiting. She was sitting on the brick border of the yard at the corner house looking down at the ants crawling around her feet. They were making a line from the grass at the curb over to the brick border wall where at the base someone had dropped some food. She noticed Auraya coming up from the distance and as she approached Annette stood up to join her pace. They both stepped over the ants and began to cross the street. Auraya looked past Annette down the road to the bridge crossing the creek. She sighed and moved past her thoughts.

"So, where's home?"

"It's just two streets down and then I take a right and it's the house all the way at the end where the street splits left and right."

"The one across the street at the split?" Auraya asked knowing that was Jacobs' old house.

"Yeah, the one with the big tree out front, hedges in front of the windows." Auraya began to slow her pace before stopping, Annette turned to face Auraya and slowed her words getting a little confused, "Blue, with a, brown, door...? You know it?"

"Yeah, um. I don't know if I can go to that house."

"What do you mean? Is it haunted or something." Annette laughed.

"Or something."

"Well, tell me. What's up?"

Auraya sighed not wanting to explain things to a person she just met. She looked down at the cracks in the sidewalk and the flowers pushing through. She saw the beauty coming from the broken. She looked back at Annette who was just watching her patiently. She thought about Annette being open about her situation with her dad and knew she should be able to be that honest as well.

"My best friend used to live there a few years ago. At the time I lost my grandmother who was my favorite person in the world besides him and he ended up moving too. So I lost them both within the same month."

"That had to be rough. So you have a lot of memories at this house." Auraya nodded her head in agreement to the statement, "I get it. It's kind of like a ghost, haunting you. Do you think you still want to try to come over for dinner though. My mom really wanted to meet you when I told her you were coming."

"I can try."

They continued walking. When they came around the corner Auraya saw the house in the distance. As the details came into view she remembered when they were about six years old riding their bikes up and down the street in front of the house. Looking at the steps that lead up to the porch she saw herself sitting there with a scraped knee and Jacob taking care of her with a first aid kit. Cleaning it with the little cloth, putting on the antibacterial ointment, and placing a band-aid over it before finishing it up with a little kiss making it all better. They walked up the driveway and she looked over at the tree. One of the thicker, lower branches had the markings of where the swing hung. Jacob had spun her around in a circle so fast she literally couldn't walk for about five minutes. She ended up falling off backwards onto the ground and he ended up laying beside her looking up through the branches to see bits of sky, clouds, and sunshine peeking through the dark green leaves. They walked up the steps, Annette opening the front door and calling to her mother.

"Mom, we're here." her mother stepped out from the kitchen.

"Hi Miss Annette's mom."

"Just call me mom, it's easier." she laughed, "So, how are you, Auraya, right?"

"Yeah, I'm doing pretty good."

"Well, I hope hungry too." she wiped her hands on her apron.

"Oh, absolutely."

"Wonderful, we're having chicken with baked beans and honey carrots and steamed broccoli with melted cheese."

"Sounds delicious."

"Thanks mom. We're going to go hang out in my room for a little bit, is that okay?"

"Yes, I'll call you when dinner is ready."

"Love you." Annette leaned over to her mom and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you too."

Annette and Auraya walked upstairs to the room that used to be Jacobs old room. Annette opened the door and walked in and sat on her bed. Auraya stepped in slowly looking around the room. She could still see where all his stuff was when it was his room. A couple video game posters on the wall. Video game console on his desk with the TV hanging over it opposite of the bed. Books on the other side of the desk for school and general reading. His dresser with a couple of football trophies, his helmet, and a picture of his team. She thought to herself and hoped that he was still playing football. He loved it and she loved going to his games, watching him play, and getting celebratory ice cream after, whether he won or not.

"You look lost in thought."

"This was his room. I can still see everything how it was."

"Looks a little different, huh?"

"A little. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I know it's hard losing people close to you. I haven't had to deal with it personally, but I could imagine if I ever lost my mom. I wouldn't know what to do."

"So, what do you want to do?"

"Let's pick a random place on a map and then find out as much information about it as possible."

"Seems odd, but okay."

"Well, I was thinking about your geography book and how you have X's all over it. I was kind of taking a guess about what you were doing."

"Oh, I wasn't doing that." she laughed, "The X's are just places I've been."

"You've traveled a lot then. How often do you travel? When do you find the time?"

"Just vacations, hitting several spots in one go. I've been trying to find something. I just, haven't found it yet."

"Well, like I said you should look in Florida. That place has everything."

"What is it with you and Florida?"

"I just get feelings about things sometimes. What are you looking for anyways?"

"I, um... It's..." She sighed a deep breath.

"You're looking for him huh? You know that's going to be practically impossible right?"

"How, why do you... I know it's impossible, so why would I even try."

"Because you love him."

"I, we were kids, he was my friend."

"Of course." Annette said. "Good friends are hard to find. Even harder to let go."

Her mother called for them to come down for dinner. After dinner Annette's mother thanked Auraya for coming over and Auraya thanked her for the wonderful dinner. Annette walked Auraya out onto the front porch as they waited for Aurayas mom to pick her up.

"Thanks for coming over. I know it was hard, and I really appreciate it."

"It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be."

Aurayas mom pulled up.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow." Auraya turned to the steps.

"Auraya?" Annette said making Auraya turn back around. She gave her a tight hug. "Don't ever give up looking. It may seem impossible, but it only becomes impossible when you quit trying. Until then you have a chance."

Auraya tightened her arms around Annette's waist as she spoke. When she was done Annette slid her hands down from Aurayas shoulders to her hands giving them a light squeeze before she let go.

"See you tomorrow."