Before I Fall
A/N: Since Cleo and Emma do know each other, the next two chapters, and others, will just be the same event just in each girls point of view. Hope you like.
Chapter 11
Emma's Journal
"We're going to have dinner at Cleo's tonight," my mom announced that afternoon while she was driving me home from practice. "Won't that be fun. You haven't seen her since the accident."
Cleo, she was a nice, over protected, daddy's girl. A month ago she went on a field trip by boat and the boat her class was on sunk. Everyone died except her and she had been scared ever since. My mom told me she wouldn't speak to anyone and play alone mostly. She wouldn't even get near the water, not even a pool.
I never really played with Cleo unless we went to her house for dinner, which wasn't as often as we went to Zane's. Since we went to different schools and lived on different streets, there was no other way to see each other.
Cleo's house was not big, there was no pool, no big play set, not even that big of a back yard. The whole play always smelled of dead fish, or was that just her dad. Her room was big, but she had few cool toys, and the only cool thing about it was the painting of a beach over one whole wall, including her door.
When we got there, we were greeted by Kim, Cleo's little sister who got everything she wanted with a smile. Her mother was in the kitchen cooking dinner, which was most likely fish. Her father was with her mother, smiling like an idiot telling a story I didn't understand, but must have been funny. Cleo was on the stairs, as if hiding from human contact. She had her long really curly brunette hair pulled back into two pony tails. She wore a pink top with a picture of a star on it and a short white skirt. She was staring right at me and not smiling.
"Cleo, sweetie, come down here," Her mother called when she saw us.
Cleo peered her head out from around the corner. Her eyes locked on her mother's. Her mother was also smiling like an idiot. Whatever made Cleo's family so happy all the time, was definitely not treating Cleo in the same fashion. Her expressionless look made her seem like some alien next to her over peppy family. I had never seen her so down.
Usually a night at Cleo's was always some big party. Everyone was happy and laughing, like nothing bad ever happened in the world. They could turn the saddest person into the happiest just by being with them. I usually loved having dinner over here, even if Cleo and I were not that close. But that night was not like a usual night.
When we sat down for dinner, the parents went into talking about adult things at the adult table. Cleo sat across from me next to Kim. Elliot sat next to me. During dinner, Cleo kept her head down, like she didn't want to look at anyone. Elliot and Kim were unfazed by Cleo, acting crazy and make a mess as if it were any other night.
I didn't know what to say. I was never really good at that whole cheering-people-up thing. I was usually the one needing the cheering up, the one who was lost looking for someone to hold onto. I guess that is why I liked Brittany and my other swim team friends. That's also why I don't thing Cleo and I were that close.
After diner, we were set free to do what we please upstairs while the parents talked. Kim rushed Elliot up stairs, all excited about some sort of thing only kindergarteners got excited about. I followed Cleo as she quickly made a dash for her room.
Cleo's room had not changed much since I was last in it. The picture of her and Kate sat right in its place next to a picture of her and Kim. Her stuffed animals were still in a strange unorganized pile on a chair in the corner of her room. A toy box that had dolphins and mermaids painted all over it as if they were under water sat next to the door that lead to the bath room, which was cover in beads. The only new thing was a fish bowl that was set up on a small table next to her window.
"What's that?" I asked pointing to the bowl she was all over.
"This is Smiley," She answered too quickly for Cleo.
"You got a fish?" I asked, confused because I thought Cleo hated everything that had to do with swimming and water.
"Yes," She said, angrily. Her tone completely caught me off guard.
I just smiled, sitting down on her bed. I picked up the doll she had lying next to her bed and started combing through its long red hair with my fingers. And that is how the rest of the night went. There was no communication and no interaction.
When I left, she didn't even go down stairs to say good-bye. I could tell she was happy for me to go. I was happy to be leaving as well. If she didn't want a friend then I wasn't going to be one.
That night I told my mom how Cleo acted. She then went to tell me about the accident I had heard about a million times. The boat crashed, she was the only one who survived and no one knows why, she lost all her friends including her best friend Kate. But if that were me, I would want to talk about, not keep it to myself. I never understood her, even before this.
After she finished her explanation, she kissed me on the forehead, turned out the lights and left. But I did not go to sleep. I stunk to the window and pulled the blinds up. There in the sky was the moon, crescent shaped but still beautiful. I closed my eyes and made a wish on the fish star I saw. I wished that Cleo would go back to how she use to be, happy and fun.