Officially's Stories

Miracles

2008-02-27T01:26:20Z

My mother and my father shared happy looks, nodding enthusiastically.

“We know that it may be hard for you,” my mom began, smiling nervously at me, eager for my approval, “but we hope that you’ll be ok with it. You’re a good girl, we know.”

It was a question, I knew, one to see how I felt, and I couldn’t crush the happy glow in my mom.

I knew that at one point my mom had wanted a huge family. They thought that maybe that wouldn’t happen, when they tried for a while to have a baby without sucess.

I had been their miracle. Now, it seemed, they had another, and I couldn’t ruin that.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about being a big sister at this age (and with my mother’s age!), but I smiled back.

“That’s great, Mom. That’s really great.”

My parents looked relieved for a moment, and then simply smiled goofy smiles at each other and me.

“So, um, why don’t we eat?”

The Wedding that Didn't Happen [SIG 8]

2008-02-24T20:28:18Z

I was walking down the street when I came across a woman in a white dress.

Her toes peaked out from under the long white of the dress, betraying the fact that she wore no shoes.

She had her head propped up on her hand, and she was smiling softly to herself.

I paused as I walked, looking over at her.

She looked really calm, tranquil.

Ready, I assumed, for what would be the best day of her life.

So it shocked me quite a bit when she stood up and began running.

People rushed from the church, all dressed up for a wedding, shouting after her.

A man in a tux ran after her, also shouting.

She was trying to wave down a taxi.

I, taking this all in, quickly did the most helpful thing I could think of.

I whistled, a cab stopped. The bride let out a hurried thank you as she got in, and the yellow car sped away, leaving the wedding party without her.

I continued my walk.

I don’t know exactly what happened that day, to be honest, but I got a cab for her. And that’s something, I guess.

WHAT?

2008-02-24T19:49:14Z

“Honey,” my dad began, and I closed my eyes for a moment before waiting for him to break the news.

What was I going to do? Make new friends? God, that would be even harder now, considering I was already two years into high school.

Everyone would already have friends, kids wouldn’t be as accepting…what was the chance that I would find another friend like Max?

Even June wasn’t much of a great friend anymore. In her old age, she spent most of the day curled up in her bed in a corner.

My dad looked over at my mom, both of them sharing secret, happy, nervous, excited smiles again.

Obviously Dad was getting a really good promotion.

We just had to move so that he could get it.

My mom picked up there, grabbing my hand from across the table and giving it a little bit of a squeeze.

“Jo, I’m pregnant. You’re going to have a little baby brother or sister!”

I swear my jaw must have dropped a foot.

WHAT ?

Moving

2008-02-24T19:08:59Z

I went home and worked on homework until around noon, finishing an essay for English class.

Then I went to the sandwich place that Dad had been talking about.

By the time I got there, it was about fifteen minutes until Dad told me to be there, but my parents were already sitting at a table, cups of coffee before them, talking.

I walked over to the table and sat down, and they both looked up at me, a bit startled to see me, but smiling.

“Josephine, your father and I want to talk to you about something,” my mom said, still smiling.

Now however, the smile seemed a little bit different. Excited, yes, as she traded a look with my father, but also nervous.

It reminded me of the last time they had to tell me something. When we moved.

Oh God, we were moving. I had the best friend possible, I’d spent much of the night before making out with a guy that seemed really nice, and things were working out.

And we were moving.

Why?

Lunch

2008-02-24T19:04:41Z

I talked with Max on the phone as I got ready for bed, saying good night when I was just about dozing off.

I was right in my suspisions. He did make fun of me quite a bit, oohing and aahing over my first date, laughing. But he also talked seriously with me for a while, asking if I had had fun, if I liked Jake. Making sure that he didn’t have to go and beat Jake up, he said.

We planned on going out for breakfast the next morning, so after I woke up and got ready, I drove to the Waffle House and met him there.

We were finishing up when my cell phone rang. I answered it, and it was my father.

“Hey Dad,” I said, holding up a finger to Max before putting that hand over my ear. It was noisy in the restaurant.

“Hey, honey. Sorry your mother and I missed you this morning. But your mother told you about lunch, right?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, good. Well, how about we meet you at 12:45? Does that sandwich place we went to last month sound good?”

“Sure.”

“Good, then. We’ll see you there!”

White Square on the Black Counter

2008-02-23T17:49:18Z

Soon after we’d finished our pizza, I was at home again, pulling off my jacket, walking over to the stairs.

A lot had happened that night, I guess. Not a lot in a manner of actions, but a lot in a different way.

I had almost made it to the foot of the stairs when a square of white on the black counter of the kitchen caught my eye. So a let go of the bannister and walked over, looking down at it.

Jo,

Max called, said to call him back when you can. But your father and I want to go out to lunch with you. We both have early mornings, though, so talk to you before then.

Mom.

I frowned faintly down at the note, but shook my head. Ok, then, I’d eat lunch with them.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my cell phone, ran my thumb over the slightly battered screen to clear it, and turned it on.

I had a feeling that Max wanted to spend much of the conversation teasing me, but that was ok.

I probably deserved it anyway.

The Most Beautiful Thing in the World [beauty challenge]

2008-01-28T00:52:26Z

Lost in the woods is never a good thing to be.

The trees all look the same after a while. You get thirsty after a while. You get hungry after a while.

It gets dark after a while.

I was lost. I had carefully kept water in my canteen, not wanting to run out, but food…well, I went three days without food.

I’d been out hiking, had some trail mix with me, a canteen of water, and a few more bottles of it in my back pack.

I was out of trail mix an hour into the hike, but I was gone for another three days longer than planned.

I fell into a ditch and broke my leg. It hurt, actually, quite a bit, but I don’t really want to go into all of that. This story isn’t about getting lost. Or getting found, either, actually.

It’s about after all that messy stuff.

They found me, got me out of the woods, got me into a hospital, got me into a cast and a bed.

And that’s when I saw it.

After three days of not eating, I saw the most beautiful thing in the world.

A piece of chocolate cake.

Nothing Better Than... [hardtoexplainmyownfeelings' 100th ficlet challenge/kiss challenge]

2008-01-23T01:31:39Z

A small little girl toddled down the side walk in a way that only toddlers really can.

She was decked out in an outfit that she had chosen herself: a pink dress, pink stockings, shiny black shoes that were on the wrong feet, and a bright pink bow on the top of her blonde little head.

She was smiling brightly, blue eyes shining with joy. She moved from a regular toddle to a fast toddle, a run. A giggle escaped her mouth.

The sun was shining brightly on her golden curls, the grass was green, the day was beautiful. She was happy.

Then she tripped, and skinned her knee, blood rising to the cement burn quickly, flooding the shallow scrape and pouring over.

Clouds came. The grass was brown. The day was horrible. Wails and tears appeared.

Suddenly two arms came down, wrapping around the girl, pulling her up lovingly, holding her close.

Two lips came down on the knee just above the scrape, taking away the pain.

It was beautiful again.

Because there is nothing better than a mother’s kiss.

Interuptions, Confessions, and Lips

2008-01-17T03:00:34Z

“You can take me home now,” I said coldly, still not looking at him.

Suddenly he stopped short. “What did I-?” He seemed to realize there that he had been laughing, while I had not..

“Sorry, that was stupid of me. Laughing. I wasn’t laughing at you, Jo, I swear. It just struck me as funny. Maybe becauseI’ve been thinking about kissing you. At the very least since you fell into the pool.”

I flushed at the memory.

“And I was also afraid that you would be mad at me, for kissing you. Because really I was only trying to get the conversation back to me because it would be ok if I interupted you talking about myself, rather than interupting you when you talked about something important. Like yourself, or Max.”

I stared at him, unsure whether to believe him.

“Oh,” I finally said, still doubtfull.

But then I glanced at his lips, remembering the soft feel of them against mine.

It was too late for any other thought after that, because by then I was already kissing him again.

Shadow Kiss [SIG, 7]

2008-01-14T23:14:29Z

To the side of the park was a small fast food stand.

French fries, hamburgers, hot dogs, kid’s meals that parents would buy for their screaming hungry kids, all while vowing to get him/her something more healthy next time, or, better yet, feed them before the screaming started next time.

The rush was on weekends, more precicely Saturdays around lunch time when those same parents decided that a bit of fresh air would do their kids some good, chicken nugget lunches or no.

When I walked by one Wednesday evening, it was empty. Almost empty, actually.

At one of the tables was a couple. I couldn’t really make them out, but I could clearly see their sillouhettes. They were kissing.

Sharing in a private moment that I had tread in upon.

I quickly and quietly made my exit, not wanting to disturb the two lovers.

Still, I had seen them when they thought they were alone, been part of their private moment, their love, even when they thought it was just the two of them. And that’s something, I guess.

Officially answers A Fun But Insane Quiz From Insert Pen Name Here's Very Insane Mind.

2008-01-13T23:04:29Z

1. It is pink. With lots of small pink flowers on it. Needless to say, I didn’t buy it.

2. I am home and my feet are cold.

3. A minority.

4. Um…I don’t remember. Which is sad. I remember the first time I was on the site, but not how I found it.

5. Probably. I mean, I own money. That’s valuable, right?

6. Very cool. I have a really cool one that’s like two lava lamps combined.

7. Yes, yes I do. It’s lovely. I probably spend too much time on it, to be honest.

8. Unfairity.

9. Sola, by Insite. Honetsly, I don’t speak Spanish. It was just the free iTunes song last week, and I downloaded it just for kicks. It’s ok, though, I guess.

NOTE : I had to delete the questions because it got too long, and now it’s really short. Oh well.

'cause I STOLE it. [profile picture challenge]

2008-01-13T02:17:53Z

Ok, I’m going to be completely and totally honest in this ficlet right here.

It’s not mine, ok? I stole it. I stole the stupid icon.

First, I spent forever trying to decide what icon to use, thanks to the brilliance of iconator.com.

I finally found it. And am, actually, still using it for AIM . It is a picture of a pinapple. And in the bottom right corner is says unique.

I like it.

So I chose it, I set it up, I typed in my screen name and…

NOTHING HAPPENED !

It still wouldn’t let me have it. I tried on another account. And then one more.

Finally I gave up.

I looked through my buddy list, found the one that I best liked and didn’t really reflect anything, and typed her screen name in.

It worked for her but not for me. Ah, the unfairities of life.

(I’m not totally sure that ‘unfairity’ is a word, but that’s ok. It should be one, if it isn’t.)

Anyway…

I never told her that I took it or anything.

Jake Laughs

2008-01-13T01:58:36Z

My eyes fluttered closed and, as weak and helpless and, yes, infuriating it sounds, I forgot what I was saying and simply let him kiss me.

And it was nice.

And it felt good.

And when he stopped kissing me and tried to talk I didn’t let him, I pressed my mouth to his again before he could get anything out.

After a bit we separated, and Jake smiled, then laughed.

My cheeks turned bright red and I looked down.

He was laughing at me. Jake was laughing at me. Was I really that bad of a kisser? Ok, I was out of practice, yes, but was I really that bad?

Of course I could count the people that I kissed on one hand.

Max, June, my mom, my dad, Jake.

And none of those really counted, because June was my dog, my mom was my mom, my dad was my dad, Max was, well, Max.

Except Jake, he counted. Though maybe not, considering he was now laughing at me.

I turned away from him, trying not to cry.

The first time I’d really ever kissed someone, and he was laughing at me.

Who is Him?

2008-01-01T22:01:05Z

Tim stares at screen for quite some time, then back at his sleeping love.

Told him what?

Time tries to tell himself that it couldn’t be anything bad. After all, Jill had accepted his proposal to marry him.

And, after all, the message may not even be alluding to him at all. It could be some other “him.” Someone she worked with, perhaps.

Still, a part of him is scared. What if the “him” in question was him, Tim? And what if it is something bad?

It had, after all, been six months. Maybe Jillian had been planning to break up the first time that she’d seen him.

But no, then she wouldn’t have said yes, would she have?

Tim isn’t sure how much time has passed as he has stared at the glowing screen of her cell phone. It feels like an eternity.

Knowing that, perhaps, it isn’t the right thing to do, but unable to stop himself anyway, Tim hits a button on her phone. Reply.

The phone makes a beep, and he jumps.

But it is too late to stop, so he sends a message.

Told him what?

Him: Time.

2007-12-30T03:41:45Z

He was now alone in the apartment, looking around. Quite some time had passed since they’d decided on the split. The apartment was almost entirely empty, except for a few boxes and things that he’d come to pick up.

He took a deep breath as he looked around.

It was months ago that they’d moved in.

“Where are we?” she asked, angrily. “And when can I take this stupid blindfold off?”

“Just a few minutes. C’mon, trust me.”

He was holding her hand, leading her forward to the door, putting his key in and opening the door.

He led her in, closed the door behind her. “Ok, you can take off the blindfold now.”

She did, and gasped, eyes widening. “Is this…?”

“Yeah, it’s ours.”

Then she let out and excited noise, one that really could only be described as a squeal, though she would deny it later.

Her arms were around his neck, her lips were against his cheeks over and over and then his lips.

Really, it was almost funny, though sad, how time could change things so much.