Like A Stone: Chapter 2

    "Neal!" Nadia says, almost shattering my eardrum.

    I motion my hand in dismissal. "What?" I refuse to look at her.

    "What happened to Clare?"

    "I don't know, ask Mike."

    I bet you anything that Nadia is pouting right now. "I have just a minute ago, and he's panicking too much to understand."

    Right...

    The bell rang, and it was time for me to try and avoid Nadia once again. She likes to forcibly drag me to her art club. I guess she doesn't like being alone, seeing on how she's technically the only member. If I were to walk home she'd fine me at the nearest exit, if I were to try and blend in with the plethora of people trying to take the buses going home she'd find me in a heartbeat because I don't take the bus; I wouldn't know which bus to take. So I decide to hide in the gym locker room, If I hide here she might not find me. She knows that I hate exerting energy so why would I be in the one place that represents that?

    However, it didn't work. She found me as soon as the buses took off. Trespassing into the boy's locker room, she dragged my ass to the third floor despite my rag doll protest. I lied on the floor and just allowed her to drag me up three flights of stairs. Sure I had a concussion due to the back of my head hitting every step of the way, but anything was better than mindlessly drawing and or painting. I may be a boring person, but even I have time that I don't wish to waste.

    When we got to the art room, Nadia told me to stand still. I guess I'm the statue today? How dull. She began to draw me but that's when she shouts, "Son of a bitch!"

    "Hmm?" That's my response to things irrelevant to my nature.

    Nadia groaned, "I ran out of paint."

    "You're done drawing me all ready?"

    "You're not difficult to draw," Nadia then turned the portrait over and sure enough, she was right. Average looks, average height, average demeanor. If you saw me walking down the street you wouldn't recognize me for the life of you. That's how average I am. And I like it. Nevertheless, I digress from my story. Nadia then decided to drag me to the shopping district of Chicago.

    Our school is dangerously close to China Town, or what I call China Town. Really it's just a bunch of Asians all bunched up together in one city block. They run the stores, the jobs, the cross walks, everything. Nadia wanted to get her paints there, and I had to carry all of the stuff. Great, right? Anyways, we were on our way back when Nadia stopped walking.

    "Hey Neal," She began, "who did you piss off this time?"

    I turned around, and was glad that I wasn't the only one who noticed. We're being followed. "No one that I can think of."

    That's when the girl from the park came out of the store. Her smile was still wide and she kept her innocent look. With her dyed pink hair, I swear it looked like something out of a crayon box. The girl spoke, "Hey Neal."

    I could practically hear Nadia roll her eyes. "This a friend of yours?"

    "There's something flawed with your logic, you know I'm an introvert." I said to Nadia, and then my focus returned to the other girl. I was about to speak but she interrupted me.

    "I'm someone Neal doesn't remember." She scooted closer to me and grabbed my arm, "And that makes me very angry."

    Before I knew it, Nadia was walking away. She took all the bags too. "I'm going back to the art room, you have fun with... whoever that is." Nadia sneered, she's usually quite level headed. I didn't know what that was about, but the next thing I knew I was being dragged by this weird girl.

    The girl brought me to Lake Michigan, there she sat down at the beach and we watched the setting sun. She refused to let go of my arm, knowing I'd probably run away if I had the chance. There was nothing but silence the whole time, it wasn't until it was nearly dark that she spoke. And with nothing to distract me, I listened.

    "Do you remember this place?" She asked. "I remember it."

    I looked at her, I've been here before when I a kid. I was with a girl back then too. We sat here, on this beach... just like this. Is she the same girl? "I see... you're the girl from before."

    She looked at me and had a true smile, not her usual meet and greet. "So you do remember."

    "It's been a while, Clare."

    We're getting into the inner city. Traffic is getting much heavier. Were we not on the highway I'd simply get out of the cab and walk to the hospital. Seems like the logical choice. For now, I guess I'll just sit here. Sit here and do nothing. Living but not alive. I simply exist...