Episode One, Why Won’t Something Amazing Happen?

Let's just call this, "My Amazing Adventures in a Mediocre World"

So there I was, standing in the middle of the crowd, keeping my head down, trying my best not to get noticed. It’s what I always do. No matter where I am or what I’m doing I stay there, in that exact same spot, hoping beyond hope that one day I will find the courage to break free from my own, imagined bindings and experience a world more spectacular then I’d ever imagined. I often imagined this world in a far away universe, somewhere I could never even dream of reaching, when in fact, it happened to be right in front of me. But, since I am me, I won’t be doing anything soon that will significantly alter my monotonous life, so I leave the burden on those who I can trust to add some excitement to the tedium. These are the ones I owe everything too. But how was I to know that today would be the day that changed it all.

The crowd began to disperse and I was left in the middle of the large, musty gymnasium. Wait, what in the world was I doing here? That’s when I felt her push me gently from behind and saw as she gestured for me to follow. Let’s just call her… Addy. I followed willingly as I recalled where I was. The bleachers were filled with underclassmen chatting in the high pitched, squealing voices that I had grown to hate. It must have been a pep-rally, one of the many things about high school that wreaked of predictability. Some idiotic spirit obsessed punk would participate in an inane event and fail horribly, thus his entire class’s failure would be blamed on him.

Addy led me to a seat about three rows up and there I sat, observing the primal customs with minimal enthusiasm. The event ended and of course, everything happened as expected. How boring…

Everyone got up to leave and we began to follow the flow of the crowd. The day was almost over but I always had the hope that once the school bell rang, it would finally begin. Addy and I parted ways with a simple “see ya” and I watched her go, wishing I had even an smidgen of courage. Suddenly I felt a hard jolt against my side and the force spun me around quickly before I lost my balance and fell to the floor. I had always frowned upon walking backwards, but now here I was, caught in my moral compass pointing south. “Watch where your going,” laughed a familiar voice, Lucas.

“You’re concern is refreshing,” I joked as he helped me to my feet.

“I’m sorry,” he replied in a mocking tone. “Are you hurt?”

“Well, I don’t have brain leaking out of my ears, so I think I’m good.”

“That’s definitely a positive.”

Now this was the problem. He was the problem. Not that we weren’t friends, because we were, but he was an obstacle on a road I already had trouble traveling. I hated myself for falling for her, just as he had, but I couldn’t help myself. Maybe that’s why we were such good friends, because our personalities were so similar.

“Time for class,” I offered as we stood in the middle of the hallway, blocking the progress of many, agitated passersby. I cursed them under my breath. Were they not the same people that did this every day? I hated hypocrisy and the hypocrites that were its demonic spawn.

“I suppose,” Luc said and we made are way down the hall, getting stuck behind some demons who had decided to strike up a conversation in the middle of the hall. I laughed aloud as my point was proven less than seconds after I had made it.

Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea… I got a few death glares in my direction, as if I were the one doing wrong. I just kept my laughter to myself as we made our way up a flight of stairs to the second floor. Right when we entered the classroom the final bell rang and everyone hurried out to the lives I envied unknowingly. Many would have weekends they would boast about endlessly, but for me, it would just be the same old, same old.

Lucas left me to catch his bus and I hurried out of the building without stopping at my locker. That detour would have caused a certain meeting with Addy and at the moment I wasn’t really to intent on torturing myself. It was always hard to be around her when I knew it wasn’t possible and never could be possible, unless she felt the same way. But who was I kidding? It’s not like that was ever going to happen.

I walked slowly once I was out of the school, noticeably sulking the entire time. Who cared what other people thought of me? The only thing that mattered was what I thought. I knew who I was, and I knew I was better than all of them. “Them” being those who thought it was cool to be drugged up punks and high school drop outs. Yeah, because blatant idiocy is the definition of cool in today’s world.

My walk home usually included a detour through the park, but today I decided against it. I don’t know exactly why, but it was spontaneous choices like these that always made my life a tad bit more interesting. About a minute after I walked by the turn off I heard her calling my name. At first I thought I was hearing things. Oh great, I thought to myself, now I’m going insane. I had seen those movies, and it only started with voices. I didn’t think I was ready for strange visions of headless corpses or impaled skulls, at the moment.

But then I heard her voice again, this time closer. I turned around and smiled, at both the realization that I wasn’t losing my mind and at the girl who was approaching. Had I always missed this opportunity because I had so indignantly taken the path through the park without a second thought. The path that had always seemed the easiest. Oh! How that was the story of my life. Maybe it was indeed wise to take the road less traveled. I would just have to wait and see how it all turned out.

I waited as Addy caught up, letting her fall in step by my side. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. “I never see you walking this way,” she pointed out.

I looked at her and was happy to see, she was smiling too. “Well,” I began, and then thought for a second. “I was ready for a change.”

“Ha,” she laughed. “I know exactly what you mean.”

“How so?” I asked curiously.

“Life is so boring,” she exclaimed. “Nothing ever happens in a town this small. I know everyone there is to know, I’ve seen everything there is to see.”

My face was beginning to hurt, I couldn’t wipe the smile off of it. “Exactly,” I repeated her statement from before. “Something needs to happen and it needs to happen soon.”

We came to an intersection and I pushed the button on the street lamp. After a few seconds I pushed it again. Addy laughed. “What?” I asked.

“What was that for?”

“What?” I asked again, not knowing what she meant.

“You pressed the button twice,” she said.

“Did I?”

“Yes, you did,” she replied, then added, “why?”

“I don’t know,” I laughed with her. “I guess I just don’t trust technology. In fact, I have a deathly fear of elevators-”

I didn’t get a chance to finish my thought, she tugged on my hand to get my attention then began to lead me across the street. I blushed as she freed my hand. I looked away and waited for the blood to leave my face. It had just gotten unbearably hot.

The feeling passed, way too quickly, and I wished it would come back. “What do you say?” she asked changing the subject. “Want to do something spontaneous?”

“Like what?” I asked keen to the idea.

“I have no idea!” she exclaimed. “That wouldn’t make it very spontaneous.”

She took a turn down a street I didn’t recognize and I followed. “Where are you going?” I questioned after a few more seemingly random turns.

“What’s with all the questions?” she teased as she led me off the road onto a forested path.

“Well,” I thought aloud. “Call me crazy, but I also have a fear of getting lost in the woods after nightfall.”

“Isn’t that something,” Addy chuckled as she slowed her pace, headed uphill.

“What?” I wondered.

“A few minutes ago you were all for doing something crazy, and know your questioning it?” she sounded a little disappointed.

“No, that’s not it,” I said quietly. I knew exactly what was causing me to second guess myself. I was frantically yelling at my mind to get over its shyness, but I feared it may be my downfall.

“Then come on,” Addy said with her smile that I loved so much.

I didn’t open my mouth again until we had reached what seemed to be the top of an extremely large hill. “I didn’t know there was a mountain in this town,” I tried to joke.

Addy laughed once again, “We’re almost there.”

“Wait,” I said in a mockingly accusatory tone, “Doesn’t it defeat the purpose you know where we’re going.”

“I’ve only ever been here once,” she said as she pushed a branch out of her way, holding it for me to go by. “It’s the most beautiful spot for miles.”

“I guess I have no choice but to trust you,” I smiled.

After a few more steps the forest around us began to thin and the sun shone clearly through the canopy above. The smell of wildflowers lightly scented the air and the many shadows playing in the wind accented the scene astonishingly. The path ended when they came upon a large boulder. “Climb up,” Addy motioned as she stood back.

I was done arguing, so I started to climb. It was surprisingly easy, as if all the footholds had been carved into the rock purposely. I reached the top and was astonished by the amazing sight before me. I stood atop a giant rock that was placed against the edge of a sheer cliff. From this lookout I could see the entire town, the river from its start to it end far off in the distance, and the school far off to the right. Addy soon stood right beside me. “Beautiful, isn’t it,” she remarked.

I was speechless, and she must have understood why because she said, “I was the same way.”

“When did you find this?” I asked as she walked towards the edge and took a seat.

She didn’t answer until I was sitting directly next to her. “A while ago.”

“Why haven’t you come back?”

“Because it’s lonely all by yourself,” she replied quietly as she noticeably positioned herself closer to me. My heart did a double back flip and I tried to recover. This could not be happening. Things weren’t supposed to be so right.

“You have a lot of friends,” I offered. Why in the world was I making this so much harder than it actually was?

“Yeah, but none of them are you.”

I turned and looked at her and after a few seconds she did the same. I repositioned my hand on the rock and it fell on top of hers. I couldn’t tell if I had done this on purpose, or if it had been an accident. But at this point, I was done arguing with myself. We sat like that for what seemed like hours, but was in actuality only a few seconds.

“I’ve always liked you,” I blurted and fought the impulse to slap myself in the head.

Addy smiled and leaned a few inches closer to me. As if pulled by a magnetic force I did the same. In the next instant we were only an inch apart and my senses were passionately out of control. Could it really be this easy? Our lips met and we kissed. After a few seconds we drew apart and I inhaled quickly, then looked out over the horizon where the sun was now beginning to set. It, however, could not compete with the beauty of the girl sitting next to me.

It seemed as if my wishes had come true, but I couldn’t help but dread what was to come. I had to tell Lucas, and what I had just done now seemed the easiest thing in the world.

To be continued in Episode Two.