Misplaced *finished* [a novelette of my life]

iGrievous wrote:Yeah, you don't wanna make that mod, iGrievous angry!

Yeah, I don't wanna do that. XD

No you don't.

XD Lotsa A2A people!! Lol, anyway, here's more!

The cycle of our lives continued on as it’d been going, and the relationship between Jamie and I only grew stronger and stronger. There were times when it hurt to be away from him, especially since we went over to each other’s house nearly every day now - always with parental supervision, of course. I did tend to get lonesome without my best friends, though, so that was pretty normal.

So now it was Ash Wednesday, which sucked, because I’d decided to give up TV — so no watching TV, no movies, and no Wii — not even at my friends’ houses. So I was kinda distracting myself while I waited for him to call by doing a little random tidying in my room. There were scraps of paper all over from the game of “in-the-cup Imaginiff” my siblings and I had played. They didn’t fit too well in my trash can, though, which was filled with Kleenex from the cold I’d had for about a week now. At least it was going away . . . I really needed to get around to emptying it out.

The phone rang shortly after, and I raced to answer it. “Hello?”

“Hey, Steph.” His voice sounded congested.

“Oh, you’re still sick?” I said, disappointment and concern coloring my speech. We hadn’t seen each other since Tuesday a week ago, except for band, because he was sick, too - Nicklaus caught a cold from him and gave it to the rest of us. I was hoping that now that I was mostly better, maybe he’d be, too.

“Yes,” he sighed. “This is KILLING me. Do you know what torture it is just to lie around all day?”

“You need to get better, though, so you can come over again!” I wailed. “It’s killing me, too!”

He laughed. “I can’t really do much about it.”

I sighed. “I know. But I’m better now - shouldn’t you be?”

“I dunno . . .” He sighed now, too. “I would’ve thought so, but I guess not.”

I half-moaned. “You’re starting to get me worried here.”

He laughed. “Don’t get worried. My mom worries over me enough already.”

I snorted. “I’ll try.”

“I’ll be fine,” he assured me. “I’ll probably be better within the week, even.”

“Probably. Sure,” I said, trying to convince myself.

He laughed. “Well, I gotta go . . . sorry. I know it wasn’t really a very long time, but my mom only let me call for a few minutes because . . . well, you know. She wants me to rest.”

I sighed. “Okay . . . bye . . . will I see you tomorrow?”

“Maybe . . . if Mom even lets me go.” He snorted. “Hopefully though.”

“Okay.” I sighed. “Bye.”

“Bye,” he said, and then the phone clicked.

I sighed miserably, silently cursing all the germs in the world.

* * *

Thursday was torture, as I waited for six-thirty to come so I could finally get out of the door to band. Jamie hadn’t called, so I was assuming he would show.

But he didn’t.

So after enduring band and getting home, I waited by the phone until I was sent to bed. This was bad . . . why hadn’t he called?! Maybe he had finally gotten tired of me. I knew that probably wasn’t it, but it still felt like it . . . I had to remind myself that his mom probably hadn’t let him call before I could even manage any degree of relaxation. I promised myself I’d call him first thing tomorrow, however, and find out what exactly had happened.


* * *

I sighed to myself, shaking my head. Was he avoiding me?

Of course, I was jumping to conclusions. I mean, there’d been no real reason to assume that. But Margaret - his sister - had sounded on edge when telling me Jamie wasn’t available . . . oh crud. Maybe they took him to the hospital!! He must’ve been sicker than I thought.

I frowned. If only I had his mom or dad’s cell number . . . then I could call to check in. Then I remembered that I was once again jumping to conclusions. I sighed. Maybe I was better off just not guessing at all . . . but I would find out the real story from his mom if I didn’t hear from Jamie soon.

* * *

I waited until Monday before calling the Atearas again. I dialed their familiar number the instant I finished with my schoolwork, about eleven ‘o clock in the morning.

“Hello?” answered Joe.

“Hi Joe, it’s Stephanie. Is Jamie there?”

“Um . . . Well, no, not really,” he said, in a suspiciously casual tone.

“Oh. Do you know when he’ll be back?” My voice was strangely desperate.

There was a pause. “Um, sorry, I don’t,” he said after that.

“Oh. Well . . . will you ask him to call me when he’s back?”

“Um . . . sure,” he said.

“Thanks. Bye.”

“Bye.”

I felt like crying after I hung up . . . he must be avoiding me, because wouldn’t Joe have told me if he was in the hospital? But maybe they didn’t want me to be all worried over him . . . and maybe they weren’t allowing visitors . . . my ears teared up, and I bit the side of my tongue with my back teeth to distract myself from the stronger pain . . . sighing, I turned on the old iMac in my room, and began working on my stories, hoping to distract myself.

* * *

A phone call the next day proved no more successful than yesterday’s — again, all I got was a hedging answer from Michael, the oldest of the Ateara ‘kids’. A depressed feeling was beginning to grow inside me — I was becoming more and more suspicious of the theory that Jamie was avoiding me, because I sure didn’t see what harm it would do to for them to tell me he was too sick to talk.

Next part on page 9 post 4.

Wow, I was really significant!

Getting suspenseful. (I usually spell that wrong....so it might be spelled wrong there.)

Ohhh, just you wait!!

Okay....

*Gasp* What's wrong with Jamie?

You'll see.

Thursday. I looked around as I sat next to Bridget, wondering whether Jamie - or any of the Atearas - were going to show.

This was bizarre. Why would none of them show? Maybe Jamie really was in the hospital. But then . . . why wouldn’t they tell me? It wasn’t like Mrs. Ateara to hide things. She was the kind of person who’d tell me what was going on.

I tried to piece together details. When I asked about Jamie, all of the Atearas gave vague, non-helpful answers. I hadn’t seen Jamie or heard from him since Wednesday last week. He’d been sick, and his mom hadn’t wanted him on the phone or going anywhere. This was too confusing. And now, this - none of them showed at band.

Why???

I would guess they were all sick now, except for they sounded fine every time I called. But if it was just Jamie, what disease would be so bad that they’d hide it from me, and I couldn’t see or talk to him? And why were they all in band last week but not this week, even though they’d been vague and non-helpful the whole week? Whatever it was, it was almost certain that he had some sort of illness. Or that they all hated me.

I’d have to talk to someone about this. Someone smart. Someone like . . . Grapeman! (Aka Laura - from teen club. She was easy to goof with, but intelligent and “vocabulous” either way.)

I felt a bit more relieved, having this to look forward to. The next teen club was supposed to be in a few weeks, so if Jamie wasn’t talking to me by then, I could ask her. Wait - Mrs. Ateara was usually the one who arranged teen club. What if they canceled it because of whatever was wrong with Jamie?! That would SUCK.

“Jamie,” I whispered over to Jamie P., leaning towards her. “Has Audrey heard anything from Jamie Ateara at all in the past week?”

She shook her head seeming confused. “No . . . she hasn’t talked to him since the last teen club you had.”

I nodded slowly, straightening myself. Well, at least if he was avoiding me, he was avoiding her too. Either that, or we were just sticking with the whole illness idea. But either way, I thought I could live one more day.

* * *

A week.

A long, torturous week.

A long, torturous week where I didn’t see or hear Jamie. His family was just as elusive as ever, and my mom didn’t seem to know anything either.

I grimaced. I wish I knew the way to his house; then I could sneak out tonight and pay the Atearas a visit. But I didn’t . . . although, there was always Mapquest.

I smiled. And why not look up the way? After all, I was on the computer, conveniently, taking my time as I did every day. Glancing behind me to make sure the stairwell was empty, I discreetly opened a new window and went to Mapquest. Then I hurriedly looked up the Atearas’ address in our homeschool group's directory, and typed this in. Then I entered my own at the top, and hit Go.

The directions popped up. I printed them, straining my ears to make sure nobody caught me. While I waited for the pages to be done, I quickly deleted Mapquest from our computer history. Nobody would ever know. Then the directions finished printing, and I stowed them under the computer desk for when I was done with my time.

Next part on page 9 post 10.

Is he a werewolf?

That'd be a lame plot!

Good job. Post more; I want to know what happens to Jamie!

I'll have to post more tomorrow; mom wants me off now. XP

Aw. xP Bye!

Two in the morning.

My mom had finally gone to bed - or at least upstairs - and I sat here at my desk, staring at the directions laid out on it. Was I really going to go through with this? I chewed my lip, and then decided I could at least try.

I crept to the window and opened it, then let myself out by using the garbage can to support myself halfway down. I snuck around back and over the fence, just in case my mom was watching TV in the “manroom” which overlooked the front yard. I sprinted down the sidewalk then, free. I could not believe I was really going through with it.

I followed the Mapquest directions, holding the page in my hand. I kept freaking out, though - what if I made a wrong turn? What if someone saw me? That last one was unlikely, though. It was two in the morning; who would honestly be up?

And then I was nearly there. Walking down their street. Or sneaking, rather, especially considering I was all in dark clothes. I usually never wore black, which made it really weird - I’d had to wear my Cookie Monster t-shirt. And it was just slightly too short on me, but it made up for that in bagginess. But who cared? I wasn’t on a mission to look good.

My mind carried on as I forced myself to continue, a step at a time until at last I was standing in front of their house. My eyes teared up, stupidly, as I stood in front of the house and stared up at the roof - I remembered seeing Jamie up there, and how he’d called himself the king of the world, and the banter that we’d had with each other . . . that . . . did that mean something, or was it just nothing, like it had all originally been?

Ugh, no, I had to stop this. I needed to at least decide on one theory. I decided to go with the mortal-illness theory, seeing as I was kinda weepy from that. I could be he’s-such-a-player later.

I snuck around the back, doing my best not to trip into anything, or make any loud noises, or wake Luna up. If she was anything like a normal dog should be, then if she woke up and smelled me, I was toast. I shivered. Why was I this daring? I usually wasn’t. The answer was obvious: because the first ‘love of my life’ was involved. Which just made this all the more idiotic and stupid, considering my parents would kill me if they found out.

Then, I stood in front of the shut driveway gate. This was really stupid, I decided, but I slowly opened it - thank God it didn’t creak - and stepped through, even further into potential trouble. But I seriously didn’t expect to find a wolf there, right in front of the side door, which was cracked open with a faint light shining out, the light above the dining room table.

The wolf was staring at me, sitting in a lounging way outside, looking kinda sprawled out. Then it got to its feet when I froze, pacing towards me with perked ears. I was pretty sure that meant it was in a good mood to attack me . . . based on what I remembered from dog books, and watching Angel, my current dog. Cus her ears were always like that when she was stalking towards squirrels.

Oh, great, how had I turned into a squirrel?

The wolf moved forward a little more, making its way into the stream of light. That showed me something kinda freaky - its fur was russet. Red-brown, just like Jacob Black from Twilight. If it had just been giant, too, then this would be a perfect Twilight scenario, cus I was sure as heck scared to death just like Bella in the meadow in New Moon.

It growled softly, and I glanced between it and the door. Life or Jamie? I wanted to choose Jamie, even though I obviously wasn’t going to . . . I’d much rather live, thank you very much. I slowly paced backwards, keeping my eyes off the wolf’s, and trying not to appear scared even though I was half-paralyzed, freaked out, and had a hammering heart.

Well, I was obviously going to have to get away . . . but first I needed to apologize; I couldn’t help it. “I’m sorry, Jamie,” I whispered, and felt my voice slip into a sob. “I really really like you, but I can’t do anything for whatever happened. If you’re in the hospital or bedridden or something, your family won’t let me see you, and I’m so sorry; I miss you so bad and this is killing me to be away from you. And if you’re avoiding me . . .” I sobbed again. “I’m sorry,” I just added again, and then quickly turned and ran out, slamming the gate shut before the wolf could get any closer. It barked twice, as I ran off into the night, and I thought I heard a whine as I left the house behind me.

* * *

I arrived in my room, breathless and wide-eyed. Nothing new. I clambered up into my bed after shutting the window securely, and cowered underneath the blankets.

One thing was sure - this sucked. I couldn’t tell anyone, and even if I did, they’d just consider me even more of a freak than ever. I forced myself to go to sleep, trying to make myself vow to not tell anyone no matter how badly I wanted to.

Next part on page 10 post 9.

Aww, that's sorta sad.

Oooooooooooooooh.

I just went through and read it all! Awesome job Shadow.

I. Want. More. Now. xD

I was right! He's a werewolf! At least, I think so.....

Aw! What's going to happen?

Nah, we dunno the werewolf theory.

It seems like it though.

You guys will find out. S all I can say. (I haven't even written up to where we find out, though. XD Unfortunately.)

Here's more!

Sunday came around . . . this was the saddest day. March 15th, the day that Shadow died three years ago.

I’d been having a rough day; I was pretty sure I was the only one who even cared or remembered Shadow today, including out of the Atearas. And so, of course, my mom and dad didn’t know why I was being all sad . . . and they were, naturally, giving me a hard time about it. I didn’t feel like explaining it to them, because they probably would’ve just laughed. Or even worse, tried to comfort me - I wasn’t that sad. I just wanted a day of mourning to remember my baby puppy-dog.

Sighing, I called “I’m going for a walk!” upstairs, turning my iPod on and heading out the door - without Angel, for once. I usually took her with me on my walks. And if I didn’t, I usually biked. But I needed to be alone, and I wanted to think. About Shadow. And Jamie. Nothing had improved, of course.

Well, I was a little scared as I was started, seeing as it was starting to get dark out. I didn’t like walking in the dark by myself, since I was a bit paranoid about being kidnapped or something equally crazy. But I pushed these thoughts out of my mind as I headed towards the park with the pond and the big walk around it.

When I arrived, I wandered down to the pond - by the willow tree where there were usually ducks or geese around the water’s edge - and sat down, clasping my hands around my knees. I soberly stared out across the pond, pondering my messed-up life.

Then I heard a soft whimper behind me. Turning around, I saw the wolf. I screamed.

The wolf’s ears folded back, and he laid down - did wolves usually act so much like dogs? I mean, I always had pictured them more aggressive. But whatever, that’s what it did. The wolf laid down, and flattened itself against the ground until I stopped screaming.

I watched it, slowly edging away. It whimpered again, and crawled closer, its tail wagging. I let out a noise myself that was pretty much akin to a whimper, but didn’t move.

The wolf slowly stood and made its way over to me, where it nudged my cheek. That was the scariest part - I was sure I was going to die, or at least be maimed for life - but it just let out another whimper, its warm breath gusting into my face.

“Are you a wolf, or a dog?” I managed. I was in the habit of talking to animals as if they were people; despite popular belief, I was positive that animals were just as smart as humans, even though they couldn’t speak to us.

The wolf sighed - a surprisingly human-like gesture - and sat. It watched me.

“Are you a dog?” I asked, tentatively reaching a hand out towards it. When it didn’t seem to care, I petted its head as if it were just a pet. But the wolf shook its head slightly, and I froze to see the humanness. So I wasn’t just being a daydreamer with the intelligence theory?

“So you’re a wolf?” I murmured. It started to nod - and then shrugged.

“How can you not know? Are you a wolf? Do you think you’re a wolf?”

It nodded again.

“But you could be something else, right?” I asked, and began stroking its head again. It felt softer than I’d expected, like a rabbit. It shrugged, which I assumed meant yes.

“Are you a boy?” It nodded again, wagging its tail and nudging my arm.

“Okay. I don’t get why you’re not being so . . . wolf-like, you know? You’re like my dog, Angel.”

He licked my arm this time.

“Maybe cus you’re smart, right?” It nodded.

I laughed. “Have you heard of the Twilight books?”

He nodded rapidly.

“Have you read them? Do you know the plot?”

He shook his head this time.

“Well, there’s this person in it - he’s really cool. He can turn into a wolf, and I think it’s kinda funny, cus the wolf he turns into is the same color as you. Red-brown.”

The wolf stared at me for a long time, and a small whine escaped its throat.

“What . . . do you not like Twilight?” He just sighed, and laid on the ground again.

“I wish you could talk,” I murmured, scratching it behind the ear. “Well, I gotta go home now . . . I really wasn’t supposed to come this far.” I shivered, staring back across the pond. It was even darker now than before, and I didn’t quite want to go home in the dark. “Do you want to come? The dark kinda . . . scares me.” It was a lot easier to admit these things to animals than to humans.

It nodded with a woof, getting to its feet. I copied him, and began to walk towards home. He followed me, brushing against my legs all the while and panting happily.

This wolf was crazy. And so was I.

[i]Next part on page 11 post 8.[i]

*cough* werewolf *cough* Jamie *cough*


*Very sarcastic voice* Oh no, I must have a cold.

LOL


(Jasper: CARLISLE!)

LOL more!