Imagine (3 page)

III

imagine a white swan

Chelsey was almost as happy as I was when I was telling her about my morning, she wanted to know every little detail of what had happened out there. She asked me questions about when Keagan touched my hand, wanting to know how it made me feel. She was grinning from ear to ear the whole time, eagerly eating up everything that I told her. Just thinking about my morning and especially the point when he did hold my hand gives me goose-bumps and thinking back to when Keagan completely ignored Porsche, only focusing on me, made me swell with happiness. I'm all jittery inside in anticipation for our date.

After about an hour of gossiping and dissecting ever
ything that happened Chelsey literally pushed me out the door. She told me that if she didn't love me like a Sister then she would have shoved me out the door as soon as I entered because I smelled terrible. She’s over-exaggerating, as usual. I only got to run a mile. 

I head to my room to clean up my wounds and take a shower. On the way I run into a couple of girls that I reco
gnize from class.

"Good Morning!" I greet them cheerily.

They stop in shock and just stare at me, probably because I usually don’t greet people. I think one of them is called Kristina; she gives me a smile and returns my greeting as they walk by. I can hear them talking about me as I continue down the long hallway. Kristina is talking to her friend, thinking I am out of earshot, but I am still close enough to hear her say

“Chelsey was right, she
does seem really nice! No death stares for us today. We should invite them both to hang out with us sometime.”

I give myself a little smile,
Chelsey is awesome. When I walked into the cafeteria the day after I arrived and looked around for somewhere to sit all by myself, she picked up her tray and made her excuses to leave her table filled with people and headed my way. She led me, arm in arm, to a table in the back, where she went on to tell me all about the school, who was who and who to stay away from. Of course she mentioned Porsche.

That first lunch set the tone of our whole friendship.
 She filled the silence with happy chatter and I was only too happy to listen. Don't get me wrong, Chelsey isn't one to just talk, when I want to share things she really listens and asks the right questions, but never pushes for any information that I am not willing to share. 

I make it back to my room
grab my shower supplies and head to the common bathroom down the hall to take a long, hot shower. It feels great, but is extreme torture at the same time. My knees and hands are burning, but I ignore it so that my sore muscles can find some relief in the heat of the water.

I get out of the shower and put on some comfy clothes, I still have anot
her five hours before Chelsey comes over to help me get ready. Once I get back to my room I grab the book that I have been reading. I love how books let you escape, how one minute you’re lying on your bed alone and with the turn of a page you’re in a foreign land, painted in your mind by the author. Whether it is in the past, a different country or even a completely different world entirely, it’s a great way to escape. Reading really got me through living with my Mom. She kept me away from the outside world, choosing to home school me. I really didn’t have any friends at all.

I lose myself in the book, reading about a girl that
 sacrifices everything for her Sister to make sure that she will not have to experience pain and fear in her life.

Reading is relaxing too. I must have fallen asleep because there is a loud banging on my door.
 I wipe the drool from my chin and look at the clock; it is already four so it must be Chelsey knocking.

Chelsey barges into my door before I can even begin to get up. She is still wearing the hot pink sweats and a white tank-top that she had on earlier. She throws herself onto my bed next to me, tos
ses my book to the floor and gives me a big hug. I squeeze her back and push her away, so that I can take a look at her and make sure that everything is alright.

"I’m so excited about you and me going on a date with E
ddie and Keagan!" she tells me in a singsong voice. “But I don't know what I am more excited about, me and Eddie or you and Keagan!" When I give her a quizzical look she begins to elaborate.

"Well,
I knew that Eddie was going to eventually come around, I mean come on who can resist this." With this she strikes a pose and batting her eyelashes, she blows me a kiss.

I roll around on the bed in laughter, cracking up at my cr
azy best friend. She laughs too and neither of us can stop. I get up from the bed and between hiccups I ask Chelsey "So, how come Keagan and I make you excited?"

She gets a serious look on her face, sits up on my bed and crosses her legs. She pats the space next to her, ind
icating for me to take a seat. As I sit next to her I roll my eyes, still with a smile on my face I say "Chelsey Moore, sometimes you can be so dramatic!"

Her reply catches me off guard

"I was worried about you Trish. There are times when you just seem so sad; you've told me some things about how you grew up. I know that there are some other things that you have not shared with me too. I can tell that something is really weighing on your heart. You seem much happier recently, especially now that Keagan has been paying attention to you. You just seem to light up when you’re around him or even when you just talk about him. I want you to be happy." She once again throws her arms around me and then jumps off the bed pulling me up along with her.

She has a point, I have been sullen
since arriving here, but have started to slowly put the resentment I feel for my Mom behind me. I like the place I’m at right now. "I couldn’t
Imagine
having a friend that is better than you Chelsey, you are absolutely amazing. Thank you for always being there for me. You’re one of the main reasons that I am happier just recently" I tell her.

She gives me a smile
of acknowledgement “Time to get our sexy on Miss Trish!” She turns on the radio that sits on my bedside table, tuning it to our favorite station, Radio 94.7. Dog Days are over by Florence and the Machine fills my room. Chelsey cranks up the volume and dances over towards my closet.

I
have an awesome wardrobe. It’s something that Mom and I used to love doing together on the weekends. We would take roadtrips to find these fun little boutiques. When we went on vacation we always came back with more clothes than when we left. We would find the coolest and craziest, unique clothes. Chelsey loves my closet and takes any chance she can to dress us up. We’re the exact same size, so that makes things a lot easier.

Chelsey rummages inside my closet for a few minutes b
efore bringing out a Fuchsia colored dress for herself. It is made from a super soft material that feels great against your skin. I remember when Mom and I picked it up. We went to a great little vintage store while on vacation here in California for my sixteenth birthday. It was called Funk and Flash in Sebastopol.

She also chooses some dark blue denim
shorts and a sheer, sleeveless white blouse, complete with a black tank top for underneath for me. 

We throw on our outfits and turn to the mirror, smoothing out our clothes to make sure that we
look perfect for tonight's' double date. Chelsey has chosen the perfect outfit for me, highlighting my tanned legs and toned arms, while the dress looks unsurprisingly perfect on her. We both do our own makeup and then whilst doing each other’s hair we sing along to songs by Imagine Dragons, the Neighborhood and Mumford and Sons, into our hairbrush microphones as loud as we can. Humming along to the tune when we don’t know the words. I have to say I'm having a blast, time really does fly when you’re having fun because all too soon its five o’clock, time to leave.

I guess s
he can see the worry on my face, because Chelsey stops and says "Just have fun tonight and be yourself, girl." as we are tidying away the hair products. "You bite your lip when you’re nervous. Try not to do it tonight!” she adds teasingly.

"Stop it!" I tell her and throw my hairbrush at her, ma
king sure to have it miss her by about a foot. We both giggle and head out the door, grabbing our purses and turning off the radio just as Dave Grohl and the Foo-Fighters finish the song ‘My Hero’, on the way out.

I lock m
y room and we head down the stairs to the main dormitory door, there stand Keagan and Eddie leaning against the stone wall. Keagan’s back is turned to us, but when Eddie notices us and nods in our direction he turns around immediately. He looks straight at me and I catch my breath, a smile instantly forms on my lips. He seems to be drinking me in and enjoying the view, as he smiles too. I lean over to Chelsey and whisper "I think you picked out the perfect outfits."

"I know, I know. We look smoking! Now stop talking to me, run over to Keagan and say hello to the poor boy. I think he might be drooling." We both laugh as we reach the boys.
 

Keagan looks great in a
dark pair of jeans, a dark blue button down shirt and a leather jacket. The blue of his shirt matches his eyes and his dark hair is styled to perfection. I cannot believe that I am going on a date with him. The butterflies return and are doing gymnastics in my stomach. I take a deep breath and stop in front of him. "Hi!" I utter nervously.

"Wow,
you look stunning" he tells me. The smile on his face growing as he opens his arms to give me another of his incredible hugs

"You don't look bad yourself." I reply.

"Alright you two lovebirds, stop flirting. It’s time to go we've got reservations." Eddie yells as he and Chelsey begin walking away.

I can feel myself flush and when I look at Keagan I'm su
rprised to notice that his cheeks are stained pink too. I decide to be brave and take his hand, hoping that he will not pull away. To my pleasure he entwines his fingers with mine and we walk hand in hand behind Eddie and Chelsey, who are deep in their own conversation.  

"So
, I see that you're showing off your battle scars from this morning." Keagan teases me.

"They’re not too bad” I say, looking down at my knees.
“I figured that it’s just such a nice day out, so why not wear shorts. You don't mind do you? Walking with a Klutz?" 

"Wh
y would I mind? I definitely appreciate the view." he tells me and lightly bumps into me with his hip. He’s flirting with me again.

"You know that's not what I meant,
I only have them because you can’t look where you’re running." my turn to do the teasing. Keagan’s laughter fills my ears.

“Touché!”

We have arrived at Eddie’s car, a brand new Mercedes M-Class SUV. It screams comfort and luxury. Keagan and I slide into the back, letting Chelsey ride shotgun. The interior smells of new leather and polished wood. As soon as our seatbelts are fastened Keagan takes my hand and our fingers are entwined once more. It feels almost natural, I can’t help but smile. Eddie starts the car, and grabs his cell phone. A few button pushes and he is playing DJ. The new track by Daft Punk comes on, he turns up the volume. It is too loud for conversation, but I don’t mind. I just tap my fingers to the beat. My heart is beating pretty quickly and it seems as if it is trying to race the music. 

We get onto highway 8
0 and head towards Nevada City. I have no idea where we are going. After about a twenty minute drive past fields of grape vines and vineyards we turn off the highway and arrive at a little restaurant that I have never even seen before. The sign says ‘The White Swan’ Eddie grabs his phone and we get out of the car. Chelsey and Eddie are, once again, engaged in conversation with each other. Chelsey is talking animatedly and Eddie is nodding his head and smiling at her.

We head inside
the building and it’s really neat inside. The walls are made of brick and in the back a huge fireplace that has a fire flickering away which warms the room. The floors are a shiny, dark wood and each table has a crisp white table cloth, complete with white swans made of napkins, silverware and a candle in the center.

The atmosphere is very intimate, the only light in the whole place is pr
ovided by the candles and fireplace. It is full of women wearing nice dresses and men in suits and ties. I look down at my outfit and feel underdressed, slightly out of place. I'm here with the guy of my dreams holding hands, and my best friend, so I don’t care.

A man in a
suit and apron greets us at the hostess stand and once Eddie explains that he has reservations he marks a sheet of paper and leads us to our table. Keagan pulls out my chair, like a true gentleman, and I politely thank him as I take a seat. 

"So Eddie, I hear that you and Keagan grew up in the same small town? It sounds like a wonderful place, do you ever miss it?" I ask as we all take our napkin swans and u
nfold them.

Eddie glances at Keagan, seems to consider his words f
or a moment before he replies. "I do miss home, but luckily my grandparents live close to school, in Stone Valley. Besides, most children are home schooled in our town. We were lucky, getting sent to a school together, so that we have the chance of getting into a good college if we want to. Keagan here is on the track team, who knows maybe he will get a scholarship; he’s really good you know. I hear that you ran into him on a practice run? Your knees look like they hurt."