This is the revised version of the first story that I ever wrote. I'm putting it on here cause I want a copy of it online. Not necessarily for anyone to read-I mean, if you want to I won't object but you don't have to-but for me to just have have an extra copy in case enything happens. I already lost it once when my first laptop's screen cracked rendering it useless and I have finally gotten it back and I don't plan on losing it again so view my sucky story.
My Friend the Angel
Jack staggered out of his apartment. Pulling his shirt over his head he yelled, "Crud! I'm gonna' be late again!" His black hair fluttered as he ran back into the room. He came back out throwing a black book sack onto his back. He took off down the hall, looking at his watch for merely a moment. When he looked up he saw a girl about his age, maybe seventeen, with long, brown hair. The two collided, falling to the floor.
"Shoot!", he yelled. "Umm...okay." He picked up his book sack and dusted himself off. Then he looked at the girl. "I'm so sorry!" Jack held out a hand for her. She looked up at him with beautiful blue eyes, taking his hand.
"It's okay," she said rubbing her head. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"
"Oh, class... I'm late!" he said again, as if reminding himself. "Look, I have to go. Maybe we can talk later." He ran down the hall before she had a chance to reply.
The girl watched him run off. She walked over to a bag that she had dropped. She picked it up and began to make her way down the hall, checking the doors as she went.
"Two 0' one, two 0' two... two 0' three!" she counted. The girl pulled a key out of her pocket, unlocked the door, and walked into the apartment.
Jack sat quietly in the back of the classroom. Somehow he managed to be the only one with detention. "Three, two, one..." he said as the bell rang. "See ya!" he called to the teacher sitting at the desk in the front as he left the classroom and made his way out of the building.
Jack fiddled with his keys as he walked down the hallway toward his apartment. He stopped in the middle of the hall, still fumbling to find the right key. "Finally!" he said triumphantly.
He walked up to a door that read, "Apartment 202". He tried the door, but found that it was already unlocked.
"Hmmm..." he pondered to himself. "Must have forgotten to lock it this morning, I was in such a rush." He walked in, sliding his book sack off of his shoulders and onto the floor. He looked around, making sure that no one had touched anything. Then, when he was done, he turned to close the door, and he noticed the girl that he had bumped into that morning, standing outside of the door.
She stared into his brown eyes. "Hello," she managed.
"Oh, hi," Jack replied. "Uh, my name's Jack. What's yours?"
"Mine? It's Ketara. Do you live here by yourself?" she questioned.
"Unfortunately, yes. My dad died about six months ago. I'm lucky that I was able to continue living here with the insurance money," he said, looking down.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." she said, turning away.
"Nah, it's okay, it was his time. You can't change the fact that he's gone," he said.
"How did it happen?" she asked reluctantly.
"Well," he began, "My dad and I were walking down the street together, when a man who had just robbed a convenient store ran down the side walk where we were at. A policeman turned the corner to arrest the robber. The robber tried to shoot the policeman, but in the frenzy he lost the ability to aim. Instead of hitting the policeman, it hit my dad in the back of the head. He was slightly in front of me, and I remember hearing the bullet whistle as it flew past my head. They called an ambulance, but it was too late. I watched him slip away as I sat clutching him.
"That's horrible..." she muttered.
"Yeah, well, like I said. You can't change what happened," Jack said. A tear glinted in his eyes. "So," he said, changing the subject. "Where do you live?"
"Next door, two 0' three, just moved in today..." she answered. It seemed to catch her off guard. He told the story like it was from a book he just finished reading. "I had to get everything unpacked. I was going to get some air and maybe take a look around town."
"Can I come with you?" he asked expectantly.
"Well, I suppose. It's better than getting lost...alone," she laughed to herself.
"Then I will be your tour guide. In fact, why don't I show you one of my favorite places to eat? I'll treat," he begged.
"I am kind of hungry... but I have some money," she replied.
"Nonsense," he replied. "I will buy you dinner and that's that!" He locked arms with her and dragged her down the hall. She laughed and went along.
The sun was setting as they finished the tour. They walked to a small pizza parlor. "Here, my friend, is the best place to eat in town," Jack declared.
Ketara laughed. The two sat down at a table outside with a large orange umbrella over it. A waiter came out of the restaurant.
"Hey, Jack," the guy said. "Who's the lady? You finally got someone other than your teacher to come eat with you?" He laughed.
"Ha, ha." Jack replied. "You're so funny Chris. No, this is Ketara. She just moved in next door. I'm showing her around town, and I thought I'd take her to the best restaurant in town-with the worst waiters." He smiled.
"You know you wouldn't want anyone else to take your order," Chris said to Jack. Then he turned to Ketara. "Hello, Ketara. I'm Chris, as I'm sure you've gathered. It's nice to meet you."
She laughed to herself and said, "Yes, I did, and likewise."
"So, Ketara," Jack started, "What kind of pizza would you like? I'm an old fashioned kind of guy, myself. I'm into plain, old pepperoni."
"That's good. I like pepperoni. I mean, who doesn’t?"
"Alright then." Chris said. "I'll take that as the usual." He wrote something down on a note pad and walked back into the parlor.
Jack turned to Ketara and said, "Good. I'm glad you like pepperoni. For some reason, I won't eat anything else." He laughed.
Soon the pizza came and they ate making chit chat in between bites. When they finished they walked back to the apartment.
"I had a good time tonight," Ketara said as they stood in front of her door.
"Yeah?" Jack replied. "Me too. Maybe we could do it again sometime?" He smiled.
Ketara winked and said, "Maybe so." She unlocked her door and walked into her apartment.
The next morning Jack noticed Ketara walking down the hall as he left for school. "Hey!" He yelled after her.
"Good morning, " she answered.
"So, where are you going?" He asked.
"School," Ketara said in a voice that screamed, 'Are you an idiot?'
"Oh... uh heh... I knew that," he said in a nervous tone, "I meant which school, duh!"
" Alerbrigh High," she managed between giggles.
"Hey! I go there too!" he yelled in excitement.
Ketara smiled nervously and asked, "Well, maybe you could walk me there. You see, I have only been there twice, and I'm a bit fuzzy on the directions."
"Maybe," he said coolly. Jack thrust hands and slumped back a little.
Ketara giggled, "Just to be sure, you know how stupid you are, right?"
"What do you mean?" Jack questioned confusedly.
Ketara thrust her hands at her sides, for she had no pockets. She slumped a little, and, imitating Jack, she said, "Maybe..."
"Very funny," he laughed.
The two had only known one another for a day, and yet they talked as if they had known each other their whole lives. They came to a stop in front of a large brick building. It was surrounded by a low brick fence that was for beauty, not protection. A large circular fountain in the middle of the area in front of the building. A concrete angel stood in the middle of the fountain spewing out water.
They entered the school yard, and a large guy came up to them. Tall as Jack was, the guy towered over him menacingly. "Well, well," he said. "Look who's on time, and who might this beautiful young lady be?" He put a large hand under her delicate chin to get a better look at her.
Jack glared up at him. "Leave her alone, Chumly," he ordered, bravely.
"Oh, yeah?" He asked. "What are you going to do about it?" Chumly smirked. He laughed as he reached over, grabbed Jack's collar, and slowly lifted him off the ground.
Jack struggled to get free. "Let me go!" He yelled.
"Alright," he said, dropping Jack to the ground with a thud. He turned to Ketara and asked, "So, babe, how about me and you get together sometime?"
"Uhh..." Ketara stuttered. "I don't think..."
Jack cut her off. "Look, Chumly," he said, getting up, "this has gone far enough! No one, and I mean no one, wants to go out with you. So why don't you just leave her alone!"
Chumly's face turned to rage. He looked like he was about to strangle Jack. He swung his fist straight into Jack's face with all his might. Jack fell to the ground again. Chumly smiled that evil smirk. He knew Jack wouldn't say anything because deep down inside Jack feared him. "I'll see you later," he said turning the other way and walking off. He waved one hand over his should without looking.
"Oh no!" Ketara gasped. She ran into the school to find some paper towels. When she came back out she sat Jack up on the brick fence. He complied reluctantly. His eye was slowly turning black, and his nose had begun to bleed.
"Are you okay!?" she asked frantically wiping off the blood.
He answered smiling, "I'm fine, really."
"Are you sure?" she asked again accidentally bumping his nose with her hand.
Jack grunted.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she yelled in her frenzy. Then she took a deep breathe and relaxed. "You didn't have to do that, you know?”
"Yeah, well," he said, "you couldn't even tell him no. 'Sides, I had to stand up to him eventually. This is kind of a, ummm...recurring problem." He laughed.
She forced a small laugh. "Well," she said, "thank you."
He just smiled and nodded. There was something special about her, something different, but he couldn't place his finger on it.
They walked into the school together chatting as they went. Suddenly, Jack bumped into a tall, slim man. He looked younger than he probably was and had long black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. The black glasses he wore had been messed up in the collision.
"Jack," he said in an authoritive voice.
Jack replied abruptly, "What?"
"What do you mean what?" the man asked. "What do you say?"
"Oh, right," Jack began, "Move!"
Ketara wore a worried look. What kind of trouble was Jack getting himself into now? Her worry soon turned to confusion as the other two burst out laughing. "Huh...?" she managed.
Suddenly the man stopped laughing as his face turned from joy to distress. "What happened to your face?" he asked worriedly.
Jack answered, "Huh? Oh this!" He pointed to his eye. "I just totally missed the door this morning and ran smack into the wall." He laughed. You would never know he was lying.
The man joined the laughter, but Ketara didn't. She didn't find what had happened funny at all. Why would he lie? She feigned a small smile nonetheless.
"So," the man began, "who's your friend?"
"Oh right!" Jack yelled in remembrance. "Professor Gen, meet Ketara. Ketara, this is the history teacher Professor Gen, but I usually just call him Pro., right Pro.?
"Whatever," the Professor replied. He shook Ketara's hand. Then the bell rang. "Well, it appears I'm late for class. I should be going. I'd advise you two to do the same." He nodded his goodbye and walked off down the hall.
Jack looked at Ketara. They were both late, but he had to show her where to go before either of them could get to class. "Which class do you have first?" he asked quickly.
"Ummm...." she mumbled taking a sheet out of her messenger bag and checking it. "Oh! Math."
"Good," he said, "that's where I'm going." He grabbed her arm and the two took off down the hall together.
