Part V

[she never wanted to go through something like that again, but yet she already had. she told herself she was better off not knowing whether or not she wanted to than regretting having already done it.]

the next day was monday; a school day. she stepped off of the school bus and touched her head to find her glasses. stupid. she'd left them in his bedroom on his dresser. she wondered how she was going to get them back. she hummed the mission impossible theme as she played out the scenario in her head walking down the pathway to her locker.
she placed her backpack down carefully next to the lockers and swung her locker door open. the tedious task of spinning a locker combination between classes annoyed her within the first few days of school and did away with the thing. on her door was a picture of them, all three of them. they were younger then by at least six months, yet they looked so different that it seemed like it had been years.
his hair was shorter then and didn't need the desperate haircut that it needed now. he flaunted his perfect smile for the camera and his glasses sat on his nose reflecting the flash of the camera in front of him. those eyes, so different from the ones she'd seen on sunday. they were warm and caring as she knew them to be before that fateful friday night. they glowed with happiness as he hugged the girl next to him. that girl who she almost did not recognize as herself. the difference between then and now was deeply significant even though the only change she could see was in her hair. it was braided in cornrows in the picture.
the creases beneath her eyes matched the size of the smile she bore on her face with her two favorite people under her arms. a tall figure embraced her from the other side, smooth cream colored skin and head of long, shaggy blonde hair. his eyes were bluer and sparkled with the quiet innocence he once posessed, that innocence that she now, accidentally, was the owner of.
they all looked so happy. just being together. not a care in the world, enjoying each other's company, trust, friendship, brother & sisterhood...just perfect. and now it was over. there was no going back. the chances of things being the way they were before were so slim...so slim indeed...she pulled the picture down from the tape and looked at it closely seeing exactly the same amount of happiness she'd seen only four days earlier. she smiled weakly as she placed it against her chest and tried to feel that happiness through her heart. for a fleeting instant she felt it, but it left just as suddenly as it had appeared. looking back down at the picture, she let the tears flow freely down her cheeks and onto the faces of the three people she'd changed in one night, the people she loved the most.
"goodbye" she whispered as she tore the picture straight down the middle. the bell rang from somewhere in the back of her mind; she closed her locker door, placed the two halves in her pocket and grabbed her bag. she heaved a sigh and walked, head down, towards her first period class. none of them saw each other as they passed in the hallways, all with their heads down in deep regret.

THE END.

suggestions for a new storyline? ideas go up tomorrow!
thanks for reading =)

-Snoopy