~It was supposed to be a game...that's all, a game. But I guess it went too far...we got too involved with it...and when it became real...we weren't perpared...we weren't ready...this is my fault...~
You'd never expect anything out ot the ordinary to take place in Fernandina Beach, it just never seemed that sort of town , espically to those who lived there. Of course there were murders, robberies, and drug deals, but those were few and far between. Honestly, you were more likely to hear about some moronic teenager falling and breaking his arm while tring to skate down the hill by the beach, just a small historic town....where there was nothing to do...
"So why not Katherine? Lets do it" my best friend Merideth* asked, while slightly audible murmurs of agreement followed her statement. In the dark atmosphere of the downtown coffee shop, I had assumed that she had been kidding with her emthusiam at the idea of the little game, now almost two hours later, we were still sitting here, the five of us, discussing it, as if we were actually going to attempt it, an d adding small distinct details to make it perfect, and it would need to be, if we were to suceed.
"We would need to dress the part, everyone would have costumes" Jonathan* said, brushing the long blonde hair out of his hazel eyes, laughing. "Just how many people are we letting in on this anyway??"
"Anyone that we think would join, as many people as we want!" I replied. I thought that maybe they would put it in the back of their minds and ponder it for a bit, but I had no idea that mentioning something like this would cause such a stir amoungst my friends.
For the teenage scene, there was really nothing to do. The arcades were gone, the movie theather had gotten boring, and thanks to immature little kids, whenever we went downtown, we were watched by the police. The beach is fine, but when you've lived here as long as us...you get tried of the same damn thing...
Coffee shops and book stores are all my friends and I had at the moment, the occaisional restruant in between. On rare moments we'd just pick a friends house and stay there. Merideth and I, we didn't go out much, because we really just didn't fit in....we were in with the out crowd. And besides our boyfriends and Jonathan, we really didn't talk to people much.
"Katherine?? You in there somewhere??" Merideth brought me crashing back to reality. "You're up..."
"Oh..thanks...." I noticed that the band was watching as I stepped up and took the microphone down, the tune became softer, more melodic, more elegant, this is what I live for...
"Somber screaming lullaby.....guide me through my dreams tonight..."
Letting the music control my movements, I swayed around the stage, glancing at this place that has been my home away from home for almost two years. The familiar long rosewood tables with matching chairs, dressed in dark fuscia crushed velvet. The sweet essence of the freshly baked pastries and flavored coffees behind the counter. The ice cold marble floor, with swirls of gray and black, the high raised celing, the iron wrought chandliers with dim lights that teased to burn out, the intresting paintings by artists who remain nameless even though they express great experience with shading and texture, the tall shaded glass windows, with tourists passing by, they never did seem to stop in though, I guess this place looks so much smaller from the outside...no matter...it was our place...and we love it this way. A tiny speck of the universe that we could call our own.
"We need to get going, it's getting late" Christopher* remarked, kissing Megan on the cheek as he stood up. Issaiah* did the same, but he motioned for me to follow.
"You did well tonight...you're getting better" He said, his blue-green eyes striking the light as he looked at me...
"Thank you" I said, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks....
Christopher, Jonathan, and Issaiah walked out, leaving me and Merideth to talk about the night...
I had met Merideth the day I moved to this town, when my grandfather died and my mother and father decided we were destined for something diffrent than Chicago had to offer, they didn't want me to be raised around death and violence...what I think they failed to ralize is that death occurs everywhere in the world, and where there is death, there is motive behind it. Meri was honestly my first real friend, I moved in next door to her, her family welcomed us, and we spent everyday together until she moved out of our neighborhood, we've never lost touch, never had a fight, never been jealous of each other. She knows things about me that I would never have the guts to tell anyone else, and I know things about her that would make her mothers hair curl...not that her nor her mother need it..
Meri Was aout 5'4'' tall, a head shorter than myself, with medium long curly blonde hair, green eyes, and a classic "you can trust me" smile. She was probably the most slef expressive person there was. As she spoke, she played with her good luck charm, a necklace she had found about three weeks after we had met, she hasn't taken it off since, it was a silver pentagram with moonstones placed at each point, it was a locket with a keyhole in the center, we never could get it open.....
Glancing at the clock I saw that it was a quarter till Midnight, the guys were right, we needed to leave. We paced the parlor one last time, put some change in the tip jars, said goodbye to the band, and headed out.
On the drive home Merideth and I kept talking about the boys, the band, and we decided to talk more about the game tomorrow, I would call her before school, and we would choose if we thought it was still worthwhile. We laughed about the way the morning had turned out, today wasn't too bad for a Sunday. We reached her house all too soon, and the lights on the front porch ment her mom was still awake. All was well as of yet.
As I rode off towards my house I just allowed the night wash over me, the aroma the the coffee shop, the sounds of the band playing in the corner, the favorable company of the night, and the game that would change ours lives.....
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