A Bit Of Rain
Chapter One: The Lake
She came five years ago to this sleepy little town at the age of twelve, clutching her spirit like a precious jewel, for at any moment it may turn face on her and disintegrate to sand. She smiled at everybody; was kind to everybody. She made friends and feigned happiness. The truth must be apparent, she thought -- she wasn't pretty enough, tall enough, popular enough, good enough. Her new friends must have known how to pretend; they had her fooled into thinking she had been accepted. She couldn't believe...if it all turned out to be a great big lie, she would die forever wondering if she was truly enough of anything.
Without her knowing, she quickly caught the eye of a friendly young man with blonde of hair and a bit of a tummy. He pursued her with poorly-written love letter, flowers and cream-filled chocolates. He accepted her, and she believed. A single summer changed everything. And so it was that she was quickly labeled Moose Mason's girl, and the boys, knowing Moose's temper regarding things he cherished, grew both weary of and intrigued by her -- look, but never touch. Touch, but never tell; of course, she never let them touch. Not even Moose. She was better than that...she clung to her innocence, turned thirteen in August, tried to understand her feelings. She struggled to believe that she was truly loved.
Weekends were spent in the company of her boyfriend (a term which took some getting used to) over ice-cream sodas or, on particularly hot days, impromptu trips to the closest lake for stupid-smiley-flirty picnics and toe dangling in the water. And so it came that one weekend Moose was not available for such gaiety, and since all the girls seemed preoccupied, Midge was pleased to be in the company of herself for awhile. It was a particularly hot day; the lake was nearby. She took the trip by foot, walked through a familiar maze of trees and came upon a clearing where the light shown down hesitantly through tree-tops and was forced by the water's reflection into a mischievous game of tag with the land.
Midge was at peace; she felt a strange sort of love all around her and knew that somehow Moose had left the feeling there for her if ever she was in need of comfort. She sat against an old oak and set about taking off her shoes and socks; she wriggled the toes of her left foot and looked to her right, then stopped suddenly at the sound of splashing water. She gasped in the realization that she wasn't alone and, not knowing was else to do, stood and lifted her left shoe in a threatening manner, eyes darting anxiously about the lake in search of the intruder. She heard a rustle from behind, and turned quickly to see a small animal spring off into hiding. She sighed, lowering her shoe in relief...she was simply hearing things. Paranoia, that was all. Simple. Then again...
"Hello? Hey, wh--"
The strange voice forced Midge back around; the shoe deserted her hand on its own, and she was quite appalled to find it the next moment careening towards the voice's guardian -- she gasped and shielded her eyes briefly.
"Ow! What the h--...what do you think you're doing?!"
"I'm sorry," Midge said weakly, her voice rushing, "I didn't mean anything, you surprised me, I mean, why are you sneaking around here anyway, scaring people like that!"
"What are you doing throwing shoes at people?!"
Midge allowed her eyes and better judgement to focus in on the boy now nary a yard in front of her, who stood rubbing at his forehead which had apparently accepted the better part of Midge's shoe and was growing redder as he rubbed.
"Don't rub it like that, it isn't helping."
The rubbing ceased, and was followed by a justifiably confused sneer. The boy seemed to be at a loss for words, and shook his head in an odd and frustrated manner. He kicked at Midge's shoe and muttered softly, "I'll rub it however I want to."
"Sorry..."
"Sure you are."
"I don't...I don't think we've met." Midge bit at her lip uneasily; one day she would surely have to outgrow her habit of saying silly things. "I mean, I don't...I'm...my name is Midge."
The boy was silent for an uncomfortably long time; his face held the type of sneer so cold that even on a day like today, Midge felt herself chilled. As his face grew harder and less friendly, Midge grew softer and more intimidated. And as such, the boy turned around in such a way that he almost mimicked her behavior, thawed by her apparent sensitivity and the soft apologetic sparkle in her eyes. He sighed heavily and picked up the wary shoe, extended it towards her and waited for her to accept his feeble peace offering. She held it stupidly, eyes focused on his face, unsure of a proper reply.
"Midge?"
She nodded.
"Reggie." He extended his arm again, this time with the intention of shaking hands; Midge fumbled with her shoe, switching hands, and shook. A smile slowly overtook her face and forced her eyes to sparkle in a new and better way, and for a moment Reggie's grip tightened a little too much, forcing Midge to wince. He promptly let go. "Sorry."
She nodded to indicate that there was no harm done, and found herself relaxing to the point of conversation.
"I'm sorry about..." Midge indicated the shoe which still resided in her hand, "but you caught me off guard, I mean...I've never seen you around before. I mean, I haven't been here very long. I mean..."
"I was gone for awhile. For the summer." Reggie nodded down towards Midge's feet, letting go a smile. "Were you going in or coming out?"
"Oh, I...I...coming out," Midge lied. She sat down awkwardly, found her sock and took to redressing. She was surprised to find Reggie sitting very near to her, legs crossed, smiling at her still and chuckling gently to himself. She smiled back, her slight embarrassment turning her cheeks a pale shade of crimson.
"So you're new in town?" Reggie asked finally.
"Yeah. Yeah, pretty new," Midge replied, finishing off her laces. She met his eyes and found herself out of words, but regained her vocabulary a moment later. "I've been here for a few months. You must have left before I came. Um...you said your name was Reggie?"
"Yeah. Reggie Mantle."
"Oh, I've heard of you."
"Lies, all of it lies."
Midge would have laughed at the cliched response if only she didn't feel that he was serious; and, having heard the things said about him, she understood why he would be so quick to deny any allegation regarding his character...although, she decided, they were probably all true.
"I'm Midge," she repeated. "Midge Klump. Pease, no jokes about my last name, I've heard them all."
"I would never!" declared Reggie, putting his hands up and shaking his head innocently. "Why would I make fun of your last name when your beauty more than makes up for it?"
Tacky, thought Midge. Very tacky. He was too old for his age, she thought. And phony as a purple elephant. And yet she found herself smiling, nearly blushing at the sideways compliment, and she found Reggie smiling back. If she had known him better she would have realized that his smile was surprisingly honest and that there was something very strange about him very suddenly that would have taken his closest friends by surprise. All Midge knew, however, was that this boy sitting with her, this pleasant boy with the pitch-black hair and the long-forgotten sneer, was exceptionally cute when he smiled, and it left her feeling warm inside.
For twenty minutes, perhaps an hour, perhaps three, they sat together, talking of little things and big things; where had she come from? Where was she going? Did she enjoy rock concerts, and if she did, would she be very interested in attending one next Friday night? Yes, she would be interested in doing such a thing. She would very much enjoy it. And so it was that Midge sat alone aside the lake, pondering her feelings, drowsy with comfort. She had told him all about herself, and yet she knew nothing of him -- he had barely said a word about himself. How very odd, she thought. I'd heard differently of him. He was such a good listener...and had such pretty eyes...
And then, quite suddenly, Midge felt her thoughts pause. She looked around, feeling strangely empty, confused and alone. She had neglected to think of Moose. She had forgotten the strange and wonderful air of love which she had felt upon arrival to the lake -- she searched for it a moment, stood, and swallowed away her sudden pang of guilt. Moose would understand, she decided. She had made a new friend today. There was no harm in that...no harm in going to a concert together. No harm in sharing shallow heated breaths and rapid heartbeats over simple conversation.
Midge stared out at the lake for several minutes, watched the light vanish, and turned towards home.
Sleep came uneasily that night.
Note: (This could be better. -.-) Such drama for thirteen and a summer-long romance...I know. I write it like I see it. Further explanations to follow. I'm taking liberties with Midge and her history, but then one would have to, wouldn't one? More to come.