"Oh my god!!"
"You're not supposed to be back yet! What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?!?"
Sunshine had run into the locker room to grab some equipment that was left behind for practice when he stumbled upon a girl in her towel right outside the showers.
"Who are you" he asked, recovering from the shock.
"My name is..ummm" she looked puzzled for a moment then cried out, "oh please don't tell on me! I have no where else to go, I'm all alone, and I don't know how I got here and-"
"Whoa, whoa easy there girly. Now, just calm down. My name is Ronnie Bass, but you can call me Sunshine. I'm gunna help you out. We can just talk to the coach-"
"NO!" Her eyes had become as big as saucers.
"Okay, okay. Listen to me, I have to get back to practice but I want to help you. Where are you staying?"
"Upstairs, in the girls' dorms."
"All right, I'll come and get you later tonight, but for the time being just stay put and out of sight. And don't worry, we'll figure this out."
He gave her a warm smile that seemed to calm her nerves a bit and then trotted back to practice.
************************************************************************ After he was sure all of his roommates had fallen asleep, Ronnie ventured up into the forbidden territory of the campus. He found the girl sitting in the hall reading a book.
"I didn't wan to you to start banging on all the doors trying to find me." She said shyly when Ronnie chuckled at her.
"I really appreciate you trying to help me" she continued, "but I'm not sure what you can do."
"Well, we can start by trying to figure out where you came from. Or better yet, let's start off with a name. Do you remember it yet?"
She looked at her hands which were still holding open the book in her lap and shook her head slowly. "Well I have to call you something. How about." he trailed off and held his chin as if contemplating the perfect name for this mystery girl. "Laini. It was my best friend's name from California. What do you think?"
The girl shrugged her shoulders timidly then picked up her head and gave an appreciative smile to the blond boy.
"Good. So Laini, what is the last thing that you can remember?"
"This. I remember standing in front of this school about three weeks ago and I have been here ever since."
"So you don't know how you got here?"
"Nope."
"Can you remember your family at all?"
"Nope."
"Nothing?"
"Nada."
He slid down the wall across from her with a stumped look on his face. He looked at the girl sitting in front of him. She was average all around. Nothing special, nothing horrific. But her eyes, they were something else. Ronnie contemplated them as he watched her. They were soft and sincere. When she smiled they almost sparkled at him and when she looked distraught he thought he would drown in them. They were the most captivating feature of her entire being.
They seemed to be sitting there in a dead silence for nearly ten minutes when she nearly whispered something that was so soft it could've been to herself.
"I'm scared."
Ronnie wasn't sure what to do. Did she want him to comfort her? Did she want him to leave her alone? He slid around till he was next to her.
"It's gunna be okay, don't you worry about a thing. I'm here. " He wrapped his arm around her and she nestled her head onto his shoulder and started to cry.
************************************************************************
"Oooooh shit!!!"
Ronnie jumped up and Laini fell to the floor. The sound of rowdy boys stomping through the halls echoed throughout the campus.
"Oh man, coach is gunna kill me!" Ronnie was pacing the hall with his hands tangled in his curly hair.
"Maybe if I sneak down there no one will notice," he began ranting, "or I could tell them that I got sick during the night and I didn't want to wake them so I came up here. Or I could-"
"Maybe you could go down there so you've at least got a chance." Laini noted to the hysterical boy.
"Okay, yes. I'll go now. But, are you okay? Can I leave you alone? You won't get spotted again?"
"Yes, yes, now go!"
Ronnie half ran half fell down the stairs, praying that no one would notice him coming from the restricted zone. Luckily, there were too many guys running through the hall to notice an extra one slip in.
"Where were you last night, man?"
He had managed to get to breakfast without a mention of his disappearing act from his roommates and he thought he was home free. And then Petey sat down.
"Oh ummm" he stuttered while casually picking up a roll, "I was sick last night. I spent most of the night in the bathroom."
"Oh, okay. For a minute there I thought you had gone off to meet some secret sweetheart and forgot to invite me." Some of the guys at the table laughed and Ronnie let out a nervous chuckle. "Yea right man." He was safe but he still felt unnerved. He knew she had lasted three weeks without being seen but he still couldn't help thinking in a worst case scenario frame of mind..
"You're not supposed to be back yet! What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?!?"
Sunshine had run into the locker room to grab some equipment that was left behind for practice when he stumbled upon a girl in her towel right outside the showers.
"Who are you" he asked, recovering from the shock.
"My name is..ummm" she looked puzzled for a moment then cried out, "oh please don't tell on me! I have no where else to go, I'm all alone, and I don't know how I got here and-"
"Whoa, whoa easy there girly. Now, just calm down. My name is Ronnie Bass, but you can call me Sunshine. I'm gunna help you out. We can just talk to the coach-"
"NO!" Her eyes had become as big as saucers.
"Okay, okay. Listen to me, I have to get back to practice but I want to help you. Where are you staying?"
"Upstairs, in the girls' dorms."
"All right, I'll come and get you later tonight, but for the time being just stay put and out of sight. And don't worry, we'll figure this out."
He gave her a warm smile that seemed to calm her nerves a bit and then trotted back to practice.
************************************************************************ After he was sure all of his roommates had fallen asleep, Ronnie ventured up into the forbidden territory of the campus. He found the girl sitting in the hall reading a book.
"I didn't wan to you to start banging on all the doors trying to find me." She said shyly when Ronnie chuckled at her.
"I really appreciate you trying to help me" she continued, "but I'm not sure what you can do."
"Well, we can start by trying to figure out where you came from. Or better yet, let's start off with a name. Do you remember it yet?"
She looked at her hands which were still holding open the book in her lap and shook her head slowly. "Well I have to call you something. How about." he trailed off and held his chin as if contemplating the perfect name for this mystery girl. "Laini. It was my best friend's name from California. What do you think?"
The girl shrugged her shoulders timidly then picked up her head and gave an appreciative smile to the blond boy.
"Good. So Laini, what is the last thing that you can remember?"
"This. I remember standing in front of this school about three weeks ago and I have been here ever since."
"So you don't know how you got here?"
"Nope."
"Can you remember your family at all?"
"Nope."
"Nothing?"
"Nada."
He slid down the wall across from her with a stumped look on his face. He looked at the girl sitting in front of him. She was average all around. Nothing special, nothing horrific. But her eyes, they were something else. Ronnie contemplated them as he watched her. They were soft and sincere. When she smiled they almost sparkled at him and when she looked distraught he thought he would drown in them. They were the most captivating feature of her entire being.
They seemed to be sitting there in a dead silence for nearly ten minutes when she nearly whispered something that was so soft it could've been to herself.
"I'm scared."
Ronnie wasn't sure what to do. Did she want him to comfort her? Did she want him to leave her alone? He slid around till he was next to her.
"It's gunna be okay, don't you worry about a thing. I'm here. " He wrapped his arm around her and she nestled her head onto his shoulder and started to cry.
************************************************************************
"Oooooh shit!!!"
Ronnie jumped up and Laini fell to the floor. The sound of rowdy boys stomping through the halls echoed throughout the campus.
"Oh man, coach is gunna kill me!" Ronnie was pacing the hall with his hands tangled in his curly hair.
"Maybe if I sneak down there no one will notice," he began ranting, "or I could tell them that I got sick during the night and I didn't want to wake them so I came up here. Or I could-"
"Maybe you could go down there so you've at least got a chance." Laini noted to the hysterical boy.
"Okay, yes. I'll go now. But, are you okay? Can I leave you alone? You won't get spotted again?"
"Yes, yes, now go!"
Ronnie half ran half fell down the stairs, praying that no one would notice him coming from the restricted zone. Luckily, there were too many guys running through the hall to notice an extra one slip in.
"Where were you last night, man?"
He had managed to get to breakfast without a mention of his disappearing act from his roommates and he thought he was home free. And then Petey sat down.
"Oh ummm" he stuttered while casually picking up a roll, "I was sick last night. I spent most of the night in the bathroom."
"Oh, okay. For a minute there I thought you had gone off to meet some secret sweetheart and forgot to invite me." Some of the guys at the table laughed and Ronnie let out a nervous chuckle. "Yea right man." He was safe but he still felt unnerved. He knew she had lasted three weeks without being seen but he still couldn't help thinking in a worst case scenario frame of mind..