The girl looked around wondering where she was. She didn’t recognize the place from any of the books she had read. It was so cheerful looking yet everyone was dismal. Everything was so bright in color. All the flowers were in bloom, unlike the other place just across a river that was dismal looking but everyone was happy. There every thing was in shades of black and white. She didn’t understand this; she didn’t understand why the people weren’t switched. She was about to ask when someone pushed her and she was falling into the river. She let out a scream. All of a sudden she woke up and found herself in her bedroom. Her father came running to her.
“Sweetie it was only a dream.” He said.
“It was real, Dad. I just know it wasn’t a dream. Someone pushed me into the river so that I wouldn’t be able to ask and tell others.” The girl told her father.
“Honey, why don’t you go back to bed? We’ll talk about this in the morning.” Her father kissed her forehead and left her room.
“I just know it wasn’t a dream. It couldn’t have been.” She whispered to herself.
The girl tried to go back to sleep but she couldn’t. She got up and went downstairs. She rummaged through the refrigerator looking for something to eat. She finally settled on a cold turkey sandwich that was left over from supper. As she sat eating it she was remembering her dream. She was wondering what it could mean. It wasn’t often she had these types of dreams. Most of her dreams focused on her mother and brother. She couldn’t explain them, not even to the psychologist. The psychologist said that she was his worse case among the “yougins”, as he called the children. She had been seeing him ever since her mother and brother died. That’s also when the weird dreams started to occur. Though the dreams always happened in the same place and she always got pushed in the river. Sometimes she was on the cheerful side other times the dismal side. But always, without fail, she would get pushed in the river. What could it mean? I’m not supposed to figure something out…but what?
The girl stood up and brushed away the crumbs from the sandwich. She knew her father would schedule a new appointment with the psychologist. She knew that the psychologist wouldn’t understand again, just like he never understood any of her other dreams. She went back upstairs to bed. She fell asleep with no problems; she didn’t have any more dreams that night.
The next day her father took her to school, Misty Oaks High. She dreaded going to school after having those dreams. One of the kids always found out somehow, even if she didn’t say anything. He would ask her about them. Trying to get her to talk when all she wanted to do was stay in her own world, where her mom and brother were still alive and with her. She walked to the classroom and got ready for homeroom to begin.
“So how was that place last night?” The boy asked her.
“What place?” She answered back.
“Don’t be playing games with me. You know the cheerful and dismal place.” He said.
“Oh, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Bull crap you don’t. I mean you know I know. I’ve been there myself. So don’t you be messing with me.” The boy said on the verge of yelling.
“Listen, I know what you’re talking about. But I don’t want to talk about it, not here and not with you. That’s what my shrink is for.” The girl said.
The boy looked at her. Jade Violet Lomond or J.V. as she was sometimes called, had her sandy brown hair pulled back with a barrette. Her light gray eyes were lifeless this morning, just like they always were the following morning after she had a dream. Lifeless eyes. Just like I get after my dreams. That’s how I know and have to ask. She had sat down in her desk during the conversation, when she was standing she was just over five feet (which made her one of the shortest in the class).
“I know you don’t want to talk to me, J.V. But I think it would help if you did.” He said in a whisper. “I know you talk to a shrink and I but he doesn’t have a clue what you’re talking about and refuses to even try to understand. Mine’s the exact same way.”
“How do you know so much about that, Jarrod?” She asked barely above a whisper as she looked at him. Jarrod Reeves stood so that his five foot six athletic frame was bent over as he leaned on her desk. He had his red hair pulled back in a braided ponytail, it was said when it hung loose it was about mid-back. His green eyes were ‘awake’ this morning.
“Jade, I know, just trust me on that for now. It’s Friday today, let’s grab a bit to eat tonight and I’ll explain it to you. I agree school is not the place to discuss this.”
“Aren’t you afraid of what you friends will say if they see you hanging out with me?”
“Should I be?” He said as he straightened and went to his desk.
Crap he didn’t say where he wanted to meet for dinner…I suppose I could go ask him. I mean he did talk to me. J.V. looked around the classroom. Of course none of his friends are here yet.
J.V. got up from her desk and walked casually to Jarrod’s. She squatted next to his desk.
“Where?”
“Where what?”
“Don’t act coy. Where did you want to grab a bit to eat? I mean, I agree that I need to discuss this. You say you understand, which means I can’t be as crazy as everyone thinks I am. But maybe this is all some big joke, and your friends are right outside waiting to laugh in my fa…” Jarrod put a finger to her lips.
“Jade, your making this into a bigger deal then it real is. If I were trying to play a joke on you I wouldn’t joke about the dreams. I looked at you this morning and I bet you were dreading coming in because you knew I would ask about the dream. I’m sure you want to know how it is that I know every time you have one.” He said removing his finger from her lips. She just nodded. “I know because you get the same lifeless look in your eyes that I get after I’ve had them. I bet you never paid attention to how your eyes look the next day.”
“I can’t say that I have.”
“I’ll meet you at your locker after school.” Jarrod said. He kissed her forehead. Then he whispered. “Go back to your desk…”
“Yo, J-man why ya kissing weirdo girl for?” One of Jarrod’s friends said as he walked in the room.
“Yo yourself Marco.” Jarrod said. “She’s not a weirdo.”
“Whatever man.” Marco walked over to his desk, which happened to be next to Jarrod’s. J.V. looked at Marco with out being noticed. He was probably one of the tallest in the class at just a hair over six feet three. Today his short sandy blonde hair had streaks of blue in it, more then likely because it was probably school spirit week and once again Jade forgot. His eyes were eight balls, as in the contacts he was wearing were eight balls. Jade couldn’t recall the true color of his eyes.
The day went by quite fast. As she headed towards her locker, she started to get butterflies in her stomach. She knew exactly why too. She had tried to hide her feelings from herself and from him. She had always had some inkling of feelings for Jarrod. She just hoped, that talking about the dreams and whatever else wouldn’t make it more then an inkling. As she got closer to her locker she almost let out a sigh of relief because she didn’t see Jarrod there. But just then he appeared from nowhere. He had on his jacket and was holding a motorcycle helmet.
“Hey.” J.V. said. She opened her locker and started getting the things she needed for that night’s homework.
“Hey, how was your day?”
“Not to bad, except for third and sixth periods.”
“Why?”
“Those are the two classes I have the Marco.” Jade said as she finished putting things in her backpack and closed her locker. She swung the backpack onto her back.
“He’s still trippin’ on the kiss.” Jarrod said with a smile. He handed the motorcycle helmet to her. “Here. You’ll need this.”
“Excuse me?” She said as she looked at the helmet startled.
“Well if I’m going to give you a ride home, you’ll need to wear that. I don’t allow passengers on my bike with out one. I just so happen to keep an extra one here at school. I just gotta remember to bring it back on Monday. That shouldn’t be a problem…well that is if you’ll accept my offer of a ride to school.”
“We’ll see how the ride home goes first.” She said with a slight smile.
“Deal. Come on let’s go. Besides I wanted to ask for your help with some of our English homework. It didn’t make sense to me.”
“Is that the excuse you’ll give Marco?”
“No. I’ll tell him the truth. I really don’t care what he thinks. We go to far back, besides he’s only looking out for what he thinks is my best interest.” Jarrod said as he took hold of her hand that didn’t have the helmet in it.
She stared at their hands intertwined. Wondering if it was just a reflex he had with all the girls or if it was something he was doing so she if she changed her mind she couldn’t escape. When they got to the parking lot, she looked stunned.
“What’s wrong?”
“I forgot how many students actually own a form of transportation.” She said. Jarrod laughed. “What?”
“Nothing. I’m over this way.” He said pointing to the right.
“Oh my gosh!” J.V. said.
“Now what?”
“That’s a Kawasaki Vulcan 2000!”
“How the hell do you know that?” Jarrod said wide-eyed. “What else?”
“The engine is a four-stroke V-twin, dual cam and 8 values. The ignition is digital. Frame is steel, double-cradle with box-section single-tube backbone. Seat height: 27.2 in. Dry weight: 750 lbs. Fuel capacity: 5.5 gal. Wheelbase: 68.3 inches. And yours happens to be the color that they call metallic majestic red.” Jade said blushing a little. For once she was glad she went back through and read her brother’s motorcycle magazines when he wasn’t looking.
“I don’t think I’ve ever known a girl who knew that about this bike.”
“And it usually runs for about $14, 500.” She whispered. “Come on lets go. I might have to think of a nickname for you like Biker Chick or something.” He said getting on. He put his helmet on and patted the seat behind him. “Oh you don’t mind holding on to my backpack also. That’s the one problem with this bike and passengers.”
“I think I’ll stick with weirdo.” She said as she took his backpack and put it on. She swung her leg over and sat behind him. “Just so you know I may know a thing or two about motorcycles…but this is my first time riding one.”
“No problem. All you have to do is keep your feet up on your footrest, turn into the curves with me, and if you need to you can hold on to my shirt or if you feel safer, you can put your arms around my waist.”
“That’s it?” J.V. said placing her helmet on.
“That should do it.” He said. He started the motorcycle and took off.
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