Gordon to Krista

*Gordon*

I once knew a girl named Krista Lauder. She was a bright little girl. A little loud and hyper, but filled with big dreams. We used to live next door to each other. She always followed me around when we were back in Oko Elementary school. Our classmates called her my girlfriend. I used to get mad and fight them off. I used to try and keep my child manliness by being a typical jerk in front of the other guys. However when Krista and I were alone, we played nicely together.

Why am I telling you this? Here is why:

Back in October �07, I was coming back from school and waiting for the bus. I stood waiting while I wondered why ever since the school fire, but life had gone to Suckville. I�m twenty years old and still live with my mom in Suiten since I was eight. I have no job yet. (I have applied to six different places, but no one has called back.) Other than that, I have nothing else going for me. Or rather, that�s how my part in this story started out. (Oh, you will hear some start similar to this from my other friends. Just a fair warning.)

In my boredom, I decided to people-watch just like I used to when I was kid. Not much going on at this bus station. Just a mom with two screaming kids, an old man with a pipe, three schoolboys, and a woman with red pigtails. The red pigtails drew me in closer to her. I focused the rest of my attention on this woman.

She looked close to my age, maybe a little bit younger. College student by her pink and black backpack. I don�t think I�ve ever seen her before. Tourist? I highly doubt that. What�s there to see in Suiten, really? She must be from this town, but how come I�ve never seen her around before?

The woman looked around for something overhead. I kept my eyes on her cork-heeled shoes. I�m not liking how she�s leaning back in them. I don�t think you�re supposed to lean back on hills like that. Uh-oh, she going to fall!, I thought. She doesn�t even notice how she�s leaning back in her heels. I should do something to help her�

In a few seconds, it occurs to that she is falling. The woman begins to flail her arms all around to keep her balance. That�s not going to go well. Oh, don�t fall. Don�t fall! Please, don�t fall. I think I might have jinxed her; because she started falling backwards to the ground. As if on instinct, I rushed over to rescue her. The woman looked up at me while she was inches off of the ground. I looked deep into those soft blue eyes of hers.

�You alright?� I asked. She gave me a quick nod.

�Yeah,� she said one breath.

�Let me help you up,� I said. I slowly pushed her to her feet. The woman brushed herself off and took another breath.

�Why would you lean back like that and not notice you�re about to fall?� I asked. �That just seems kind of careless, don�t you think?� I honestly thought that she would be pissed off at me for asking that. But instead, she gave me a little shrug.

�Dunno, I guess,� she said. She noticed me squinting hard at her. The woman blinked at me.

�What?� she asked. I shook my head at her.

�Nothing, you remind me of someone I used to know for some reason,� I said. She gave me a puzzled look.

�Who?� she asked.

�I can�t really remember right now,� I said. That led to another thing I had wondered about her.

�Say, are you a tourist or something?� I asked. Her ponytails swayed back and forth as she shook her head.

�Nah, I�ve lived in Suiten since I was thirteen,� she said.

�Thirteen?� I asked.

�Yeah,� she replied. �In fact, I�m looking for an old friend that lives here.�

�Really?� I asked.

�Yeah, here is his address,� the woman said as she pulled out a piece of paper. I took it and read it to myself.

�241 Ryu Commons?� I asked. �I know where that is.�

�You do?� my new acquaintance asked. �Take me there!� My face suddenly dropped.

�What?� I asked. She quickly grabbed me by the hands.

�Please!� she pleaded. �I�ve never been down that part of Suiten before and I don�t want to get lost! Pleaseeee!� I gritted my teeth at her. She�s starting to sound annoying. Let�s see, help her out or endure more whining. I breathed out a heavy sigh. Anything to shut her up.

�Fine,� I said. �I�ll help you out.� Her eyes lit up brighter than a thousand stars in the sky.

�Oh thank you!� she cried as she hugged me wildly. �You have made my life easier!� I chuckled nervously at her.

�Right�� I mumbled. I glanced up at the sky. What the hell did I just agree to?

In ten minutes, the bus pulled up to the stop and everyone got on board. This woman and I sat in the front sideways seats. I looked at the side of her face. She is kind of cute in a strange sense. Her cheeks looked an apple-rosy red. She really does look like someone I used to know. I just can�t connect the dots.

�Still trying to remember?� the woman asked me. I quickly remembered to earth.

�Hm?� I asked. She made another puzzled face at me. It took me a moment to get her question.

�Oh, yeah,� I said.

�Still can�t remember?� she asked. I shook my head.

�Ah,� she said. The bus took off down the road. On the way into town, I got lost in my thoughts again. Why does this woman seem so familiar to me? It just doesn�t make sense. I got pulled back into reality when I felt something leaning on my shoulder. I turned my head and noticed my new �friend� sound asleep on my shoulder. A puzzled look came onto my face. Maybe I should push her off� But yet, she looks so cute sleeping there. Just like my old friend in Oko Elementary. I can�t remember which one. Krista? Julie? Robin? Definitely not Julie. She was a tough little brat. Even when she was crushed, she forced herself to stay strong. I highly doubt that she would break down and cry, let alone fall asleep on a boy�s shoulder. So, it would have to Robin or Krista. My thought is Krista. Just not sure yet.

The bus pulled up at our stop. I tried to tap my new friend on the shoulder.

�Hey, hey,� I whispered. �Wake up! Here�s our stop. Hey! Hey!� She didn�t budge. Oh, this isn�t good. I looked out the window as I clinched my teeth. The doors drew closed and the bus rode away. I lowered my hand and looked at the driver.

�Okay�� I mumbled. �Now what?� The woman slept on as we rode away from the neighborhood.

Two hours later, my friend woke up and looked around.

�Oh, we�re here,� she said. I nervously chuckled to myself. Does she not know that this is the second time that we�ve been here? Oh well, couldn�t complain. We exited the bus and continued our quest. This neighborhood looked like a ghost town. I looked around, nervously.

�Are you sure this is the right place?� I asked.

�Yeah,� she said as she kept walking. �This was the last place that he lived at.� I�m not so sure about this.

�Alright�� I mumbled.

�Something wrong?� she asked. I shook my head.

�Nothing,� I lied. We kept walking to the address on the paper. After ten minutes, we found the house in question. My face dropped.

�What the hell?� I asked. My friend sank to her knees in tears.

�No!� she whimpered. �It can�t be!� We weren�t looking at a house. Instead, the address led to a vacant lot for sale. My friend broke down into tears. I walked forward and patted her on the shoulder.

�It�s okay,� I whispered to her. �We�ll find your friend.� She looked up at me with big tears in her eyes.

�How?� my friend whimpered. I went silent and shrugged. Hadn�t really planned that far ahead. But somehow, I couldn�t let her know that. So, I kept up my blatant lie.

�I don�t know, we�ll think of something,� I said. I helped her to her feet and walked her out of that ghost town.

I took her home with me and made her some green tea. She sat at the living room table in a daze. I sat down next to her and handed her a cup.

�There, there,� I said. �Maybe he moved away.� She shook her head from side to side.

�Uh-uh,� she mumbled. I tried to keep smiling.

�Do you have a picture of the guy?� I asked. She nodded at me.

�I have one picture of us together when we were kids,� she told me. �Hang on.� The woman reached into her cameo jacket, pulled out an old photo, and handed it to me. I took a good long look at it. The woman looked six-years-old with her dark red pigtails and wearing a bright yellow sundress. With her, sat a little boy about the same age dark in a dark blue t-shirt and black shorts with scruffy dark brown hair. I stared on at the picture, mesmerized for a couple of minutes. Little sparks began to light up in my brain.

That�s me with Krista, I thought. Suddenly, a huge wave smacked me in the brain. I jerked my head forward at the woman sitting before me.

�Krista?� I asked in shock. Her powder blue eyes widened at me.

�Gordon?� she asked me. I had been with my old childhood friend this whole time and didn�t realize it.