Alexandria Bennett
Mr. McHale
AP English 7-8
16th February, 2011
It was too… peaceful.
Waves broke gently on white sands; the sky was blue, cloudless, only the faintest of breezes teasing my hair and clothing; people smiled and waved at each other across the streets; children ran, laughed, played like they would never get another chance.
I was so not in the mood for this.
It's not healthy to do too much at once, Lexi. Can't move too quickly. Stress is too dangerous. What is this thing you call laughter? No, no, fun is for those who didn't have mono three months ago. I am not an invalid!
I strolled restlessly through winding streets, glad for the brief respite from my family's company. I had to get away from the overly-cheery townspeople– darn my not being twenty-one and so being unable to get into bars with other angsty folk! Algiers is a picturesque little town, but I've been suffering from cabin fever for months. I want drama! But where to find it…that was difficult.
I stopped to lean against the side of an office building on the corner, intending to brood in silence, when shouts broke through my thoughts. They were coming from the holding cells in the prison down the street… well, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but right now, I'd take what I could get. I caught the end of a rant that sounded as if it had been a long time in coming– something about how life had no meaning except to those it was leaving. Ooh, and cursing. He sounded like fun. My kind of guy.
I peered through the bars on the window, catching a glimpse of –hopefully– my escape from another dull afternoon. Hmm…dark hair, mid to late twenties, thin, brooding… Perfect. Yay eye-candy.
"Psst!" I called through the pathetic excuse for a window, "Hey? How ya doin?" My mood had much improved in the face of a break in the monotony of my day. The man jumped about a foot in the air, looking wildly about his cell before coming to rest on me. He looked as though he'd recently come to some big revelation, but that revelation had slapped him instead of just lighting up the shiny lightbulb. That wasn't very kind.
"Hello! No, I'm not a figment of your imagination, so you can stop staring at me like either you or I have gone crazy– yes, you are staring– bewilderment doesn't suit you, you know." He looked bemused, which was better than irritated. Angsty, hyper teenage girls are such mood-lifters! He muttered something under his breath. Sounded like 'poor girl's gonna end up in here next', but I think I must have heard wrong. Ah well! "You know, you shouldn't mumble, because then I can't understand a single word you're saying. Conversation is so much more stimulating when one can actually hear what another has to say, don't you think? Oh! How rude of me! My name's Lexi, and yours?"
He definitely looked amused now. "Meursault," he said in a gorgeous accent, rising to his feet, "charmed, I'm sure."
Why don't they make them like this in America? The probably-dangerous-stunningly-handsome-dark-troubled-brooding ones are always the best… Whoops! Back to reality, before I start drooling.
"A pleasure," I answered, "though one I unfortunately must cut short. Have to get back- staying at the hotel three blocks down," I winked, "if you care to break out tonight, that is." One last smile, and I left the startled man standing in the room.
He wasn't nearly as surprised then as I was the next morning, as I read the news headlines proclaiming the escape of one dangerous convict by the name of Meursault.
Oh yes… I liked Algiers…
Bennett