Roommate Lost And Remembered
By: CNJ
PG-13
1: The Loss
Kristy:
It was good getting away
on this ski weekend. I didn't want to go at first because of my roommate,
Uharu Jakara. She had been having more trouble with her heart this January,
but seemed better these past few weeks. New York City, where my friends,
Mary Anne Spier, Mona Vaughn, Ran Zak, Uharu Jakara, and I lived and were
college students, had gotten a big snowstorm in early February. It was
almost a foot and we figured that upstate New York must have over a foot
of snow. Uharu had assured me that she'd be all right, but wasn't up to
joining us. Anyway, she said she'd be visiting her parents over this long
weekend in late February. So, skiing with me here in the mountains were
Mary Anne, Mona, Ran, and my boyfriend, Shane Arrington. It was a neat
trip for the most part. I was skiing the medium-advanced slopes. Soon,
I'll be ready for the really advanced in a year or two. From the top of
the hill, I could see Mary Anne ski down toward the bottom. Mona had already
skied down and was near the main cabin, chatting with Ran and Shane. I
smiled a little as I started down and saw Mary Anne accidentally bump into
another skier. She's a good skier, but isn't the most coordinated person
around. Once I got to the bottom at top speed, I noticed Mary Anne's eyes
were wide as she brushed snow out of her hair and seemed to be in a hurry
to get away from whoever she bumped into.
"Ex-cuse me..." I heard
her mutter and she seemed a bit nervous.
"Heeey, Mary Anne!" I called
and she slowly tread her way over to me. "Hey, did you recognize that person
or something from the past?" I laughed. Mary Anne turned slightly red.
"Actually, yes," she cleared
her throat. "Randy Kirwan, from Burkeview."
"Oh, yesss, I remember,"
I nodded. He'd gone to our rival high school, Burkeview and if I remember
correctly, had been part of the BIG clique there. I knew he and Mary Anne
had never hit it off the few times that they'd met. From what I'd seen
of Randy, he was a little hard to take. And another thing I remembered
as we headed toward the cabin was that Randy had been dating the same girl
since sixth grade and they act like a junior Ozzie and Harriet. Was it
Jenna...something Morgan, but she also was in the Big clique that used
to dominate Burkeview too. I wondered if they were in college around here.
Once Shane and Mona joined us, I asked if they remembered a Randy Kirwan.
"Yes," they both spoke up
simultaneously and we laughed a little. Then Ran joined us. Mona had gone
to Burkeview High until the beginning of eleventh grade, then transferred
to Stoneybrook High. Shane, on the other hand, had gone to the middle school
Mona and Randy had gone to, but after eighth grade graduation, his family
moved to Massachusetts and he went to Stateland High there. Ran had gone
to a high school in Minnesota, so she wouldn't know who Randy was. "I wonder
if he's still with Jana Morgan," Mona mused. Jana Morgan. That was his
girlfriend's name. I wondered if he was still with her too. I could see
the sun peering out from the clouds like someone peering through window
blinds. It tinged the sky a pretty purplish- magenta and reflected on the
snow in a light that only comes in the winter. I hoped we could get a few
more rounds of skiing in before it got dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, she's..." my voice was
shaking as I spoke to Uharu's mom over the phone the next afternoon. I
couldn't believe Uharu was in the hospital again!
"I think she's coming close
to the end," Uharu's mom let out a rasping sob.
"Oh, God, oh, God!" My breath
left me in a gasp. "I'll be right over there."
"What about your trip?"
she asked.
"That can w-wait," I told
her. Her folks live right around here, so it wouldn't be a long trip, just
twenty minutes. "I'll be over there in about a half hour." I clicked the
cell closed and ran back to the lodge to pack.
"Kristy?" Mona came up and
looked alarmed.
"Tell the others Uharu...is
back..." Tears welled in my eyes and I shook my head.
"Oh, my God..." Mona said
softly. She came over and gave me a hug.
"I'll call or be back later
on tonight," I told her shakily. "I'm going over to her mom's to see how
bad it is..." I threw my things in my overnight bag.
"You have a ride...?" Mona
asked. I nodded and booked out the door and ran all the way down the snow-covered
path and onto the cleared road and to the bus stop. Uharu had to be all
right...would she be? I worried. I knew her heart condition was serious
and had a high chance of being fatal, but now was bringing home the reality
that she could die. Oh, hang on, Uharu! I silently begged as I waited for
the bus. Hang in there; we all love you, I willed as the bus came and I
leaped on, skipping the steps and paid the fare. I just hoped I could see
her.
