Same "I don't own anything" rules apply....

Trip

Chapter 2: Longing

Trip thought he was going to see Lux at school again. When neither she nor any of her sisters showed up, worry clutched at his stomach, but he told himself that they probably all came down with something from being out in the cold all night.

Especially Lux.

Trip was finding that his thoughts were very often turning to Lux, and they inevitably turned into thoughts of guilt for leaving her alone on the football field. He was haunted by her; every blonde girl he saw in the halls had Lux's form superimposed over hers for a split second. He looked anxiously around every classroom, hoping to catch a glimpse of her hair, her leg, her crooked smile, anything. When none of the girls were at school the next day, Trip began to worry.

He stopped Joe Hill Conley in the hallway during passing period. "Have you seen Lux lately?" he asked.

Joe shrugged. "Naw, man, I haven't even seen her sister. None of 'em have been at school the past couple days."

"So I noticed. Thanks, man," Trip said, leaving Joe.

Joe did not help to ease Trip's anxiety. Trip continued to glance around classrooms and stare at blonde girls, hoping that Lux would materialize. The girls he stared at would smile and twirl their hair around their fingers, and when Trip's gaze left them, they would swoon at having made eye contact with Trip Fontaine.

* * *

The next day, Trip found out the news that was spreading like wildfire: The Lisbon girls would not be returning to school at all. Mrs. Lisbon, in an attempt to crack down on her daughters after Lux's failure to make curfew, had locked all four of the girls in the house and refused to let them out.

Trip's heart sank immediately when he heard. His hope of ever seeing Lux again was dashed.

The rest of the day dragged by. Everything was moving as slow as if it had been dunked into molasses. Trip himself moved with an aching slowness. Everything around him was fuzzy. He didn't make eye contact with any of the dozens of girls who were falling all over themselves to look at him. He moved as if dazed, his mind concentrating on only one word. "Lux," his mind screamed over and over. He would never see her again.

* * *

For the second time, Trip consulted his father and Donald about Lux. He related most of the details to them, and asked them if they thought that he had really loved Lux at all.

"It appears to me that you only liked her before the....incident on the football field, but now I think you really love her. If you ache for her so much, more than you ever have for any other girl, you must love her," his father said.

Trip nodded, agreeing. It had to be true. He really did love Lux Lisbon. And he had to find a way to see her again.