My Writing Space

Their day started out normal. Patrick and Lauren, sitting together on the couch, reminiscing about old times and watching movies neither of them cared about. Positioning themselves in old familiar ways, innocent to them, yet intimate to onlookers. Every once in a while they shifted together in laughter or the excitement of the conversation. Further entangling themselves in each others limbs. Together they ignored the stares and whispers of the other guests in the small bed and breakfast.

They talked for hours about old times and new developments. The couch and movies soon melded into dinner and drinks. They wandered their old haunts, running into others who were in town for the reunion. The party growing as they relived the nightlife of their youth. they sat as a group, beers and wine coolers in trunks of their cars, after the bars had closed, in old party spots. They talked until dawn about were they had moved, places they visited, who was missing, who had stayed in their small town and why.

Lauren returned to the bed and breakfast she was staying in with three other people who were there for the reunion. How she had missed the other two the night before she was not sure. Patrick walked her to her room where she took some Ibuprofen, a lot of water and took a short nap. It was already 7 AM and the reunion started at noon. Patrick promised he would wake her at 11:30? That is really all the time they needed to get across town to the high school.

Lauren ran through the halls of the old high school, familiar and haunting laughter followed her every turn. A chorus of sing song chanting began to accompany the laughter. A figure stood backlit by the windows as she rounded the corner of senior hall. Leaning against the window frame, she had the suspicion of a cigarette between his teeth. He exhaled, righted himself, and began to walk toward her.

“You were warned not to come back here, some people can never leave the past behind.” His laughter began to echo through the halls as a larger, darker shadow rose behind him in the window. As the larger shadow broke the windows surface and grabbed the man, she heard his familiar voice cry out into the night.

“Welcome Back Lauren, I will see you at the reunion!”

“Lauren! Stop Screaming! Lauren!” She woke suddenly, in mid scream, to Patrick standing over her bed, hands on her shoulders, shaking her. Behind him were their friends from high school, Brandon and Janelle. She looked concerned, her eyes meeting Lauren's with a haunted look. He seemed annoyed and shook a hung over head while rubbing blood shot eyes. Glancing from them to Patrick, she began to apologize, to explain.

“Everything?s fine Lauren, everyone has bad dreams now and then. There's nothing to apologize for.” Brandon said half heartedly as he headed out of her room toward his own. Patrick and Janelle watched him leave wearily. Janelle stepped closer to the bed and closed the door tighter.

“Was it Justin?” She whispered, barely audible as she sat down on the foot of the bed, eyes never leaving Lauren's. “I saw him too, two nights ago, when I first got to town. He was in my parent?s back yard. That?s why I am staying here.”

Patrick looked at her mystified. “That makes no sense. Justin couldn't have been in your back yard. I understand seeing him in a dream, I mean, being back in town after all these years, but actually seeing a dead man is not natural, it?s not possible.”

Janelle blushed a little, “Are we sure he's dead?” She asked shyly, quietly. Patrick and I looked at her in disbelief. Her demeanor turned sour “I know what I saw Patrick!” She said angrily and stormed out of the room. Patrick shook his head disapprovingly muttering something under that Lauren couldn't hear.

“Do you need me to stay a little longer? Or are we ready to go to the reunion?”

“Let me get showered and properly dressed, I will meet you in the lobby.” Lauren said as she got out of her bed and shooed Patrick out the door.

“Does that mean this is our first date?” Patrick said smiling as the door closed between them.

“Maybe?” Lauren called through the closed door.

Janelle stormed to her room slamming her door and muttering to herself about how she had come too far to be questioned by some small town red neck high school sports coach. She hastily showered and put on something skimpy that would have fit in very well at her upscale New York parties. Wiping the steam off the mirror, she thought to herself how she would appear in this small town. How all of her graduating class would finally see her as she deserved to be seen. As a strong, dominate woman who was capable of making hard decisions and deadlines. Someone who knew more stress than anyone else in this Podunk little town.

Wiping away the last of the steam from the mirror, Janelle watched a dark shadow cross her mirror. Dismissing it as her imagination, she put on her make-up and finished her hair. She kept thinking of what an entrance she would make. Dressed and made up for a uptown high scale party, she would sweep through that pathetic high school reunion like Cinderella through the ball. Her only equal would be Lauren, as it should have been in high school. As it would have been if she has learned the advantages of being a woman before Lauren had found Justin.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she allowed herself to think about Justin for a moment. His long black hair and chiseled features smiling with mischief. She sighed, straightened her hair one more time, grabbed her purse and began to saunter out the door. She would make everyone who ever knew her wonder why they ever forgot her.

As she was headed out the door to meet her taxi, Janelle felt a cold chill climb hr spine, as if an icy caress up her bare back. She heard a familiar voice call from behind her.

"I believe in you Janelle, I always have. I have always seen your beauty."

Janelle closed her eyes as she opened the door and she walked through calmly, ignoring the edge of fear that had climbed into her stomach and was sticking there.

Hearing the door click closed behind her, Janelle let out a sigh ad straightened her shoulders. With her eyes still closed she began to chant a familiar mantra that had gotten her through the tough times in college when she thought she wasn't good enough to make it through. Just as she was about to open her eyes and step forward, a cold hand clamped down on her wrist

Janelle screamed and jumped backwards into her closed door. Brandon reached out and grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

"Jesus Jan, I'm sorry. I thought you have heard me come up the hall. Are you all right?"

"Oh, Brandon, you just startled me. I was lost in my daily affirmations. I've been a little jumpy since Laurens nightmare."

"Yeah, well, you always were the empathic one. Would you like a ride to the reunion?" Brandon asked smoothly changing the subject to cover the sarcasm in his voice.

Janelle looked at Brandon thoughtfully for a moment. His boyhood charms showed through in his playful green eyes. His unruly, waves of black hair still looked freshly tousled. His smile was one she remembered, so much like Justins. He always tried so hard to be Justin, but never could force himself to come close. Justin was just too unruly for Brandon to immitate it too much. But he was the classic nice guy and the guy you wanted to take home to mother. Janelles current life would eat him alive, But he might be some fun to spend the weekend with.

"Sure," She replied with a coy smile. "As long as you promise to keep those roaming hands to yourself." She laughed while playfully pushing his hands away.

"Come on Jan, You know me, I am always a perfect gentleman until after 9 PM." Brandon joined in on the joking as he motioned her to take the lead. Hewatched her saunter down the hall in her skimpy dress, shaking his head and thinking to himself about how much she had changed. She used to be the perfect girl next door. Now she was arrogant and self-absorbed. He shrugged and resigned himself to being her escort for the evening. He would see her home safe and what she did after that was her own conscience.

As the car Patrick rented, pulled into the schools turn-around, he got out of the car to run around and open Laurens door. She stared at the school aprehensively, barely believing she was back here, unsure of what to expect inside. She smiled nervously when Patrick offered her his hand to help her out of the car. It was hardly nessecary as she had dressed as casually as he had. She was hardly in sweat clothes, But jeans and a nice blouse was nothing she needed help manuvering in.

Handing his keys to the senior high school student who was waiting to Valet for them, Patrick offered his arm and they began to stroll down memory lane together. They walked slowly while talking of memories and old times. Things that happened in this spot or that, do you remember this person or that, do you think they will show-up? They talked about all the normalities of a reunion, careful to avoid the one topic they were both obviously thinking about, Justin.

Finally they meandered down the main hall towards the auditorium, as they stood in line to check in they giggled as they told old jokes and murmurred quietly about old rumors. As they reached the main table they were confronted with a startlingly cheerful woman, the kind everyone knows and dreads at any reunion. The head of the glee club who became the head of the Alumni association. The woman who has so much school spirit it couldn't be spent in the four years she was actually in high school.

Debbi Saunders sat behind the table greeting everyone by their first names, in front of her was an old year book. Laying on the table were name tags with small year book pictures on them. Patrick and Lauren pasted careful smiles on their faces and prepared themselves for the onslaught of cheerfulness.

"Oh my goodness, Patrick Jacobsen, and Lauren Martin! It is still Martin isn't it? Someone hasn't been in touch with the alumni association much," Debbi squealed as her hands flew to their name tags and she winked at Patrick, with the playful jest at Lauren. "But what matters is that you showed up. And together, how lovely... You'll need you schedules, your brochures, and your name tags, ... " Her hands moving and shoving things at the couple as if they had minds of their own, her smile widening with each item. "And you'll need to sign in, hopefully leaving your email or phone number so we can reach you for all our alumni functions. Enjoy the reunion." She called after them as she shoed them away from the table and towards the auditorium. From behind them, they could hear the same onslaught happening to the people in line behind them.

As they stepped into the auditorium, they were transported back in time to their own personal high school hells. The decorations were all the same, tables lined the edges of the room, covered in school colors that matched the streamers that flowed across the ceiling. Bad pop music that they could barely remember coursed out of speakers, as their former class mates wandered aimlessly on a dance floor that they had all tried to forget.