Author's note: could it be..? Something new? Why yes, it is! Shock at the new words and sentences! Horror at the sudden appearance of drama! Thrill at the twists and turns, cliffhangers and...guys...named Cliff...
Okay, there're no guys named Cliff (or *are* there?), but I hope you enjoy anyway.
*Karasuma*Firestorm*
***Somewhere Far Away From Here***
When my parents first broke the news, I went into a state of shock. What they were proposing was...well, it was unthinkable.
My grandma, a.k.a. the windsurfing, horseback riding, geriatric bombshell known as 'Gorgeous', had Alzheimer's. And as if my beloved grandmother's debilitating illness wasn't distressing enough, I learned that the three of us would be moving out to Colorado (*Colorado!*) to take care of her. For an indefinite amount of time.
We were leaving in a week.
That meant seven days to pack up everything we owned and ship it off. Seven days to say goodbye.
And then I'd be away in Colorado, *not* starting high school with my friends. No more Hillridge. No more Digital Bean. No more Tudgeman, Parker, or Mr. Dig. No more Kate and Ethan (okay, there was an upside). No more going to that park by my house; no more McGuire family outings that I was invited on because my parents were never home; no more Matt, Jo, and Sam; no more Miranda...
...No more Lizzie.
No more Elizabeth Brooke McGuire, struggling to open her locker every morning, tripping over her shoelace in gym class, blowing her bangs off her forehead in exasperation every time Tudgeman tried to talk to her, looking horrified and insulted all at once every time Kate said something mean. No more of Lizzie's inherent goodness, her wanting to help everyone no matter how awful they were to her. No more of her bad jokes, no more of her sad-little-valley-girl commentary on life. No more of her cheering me up, no more of me cheering her up. No more hugs. No more smiles.
Armed with the information that I might never see her again, I was filled with the reluctant courage to finally tell her the truth, that I loved her. I don't remember when it first came about, but before I knew it, my deep friendship with her had developed into a massive crush that had soon translated into me falling completely in love with my best friend. I'd tried seemingly a thousand times to tell her, but something kept interfering each time. Either some outside force, or my own cowardice. But there was no turning back now. I couldn't leave without her knowing the truth, regardless of the outcome.
Unfortunately for me, Lizzie was halfway through her vacation when I'd first received the news, and so when she finally came back, I only had three days before my departure.
Miranda and I were sitting on Miranda's front stoop, baking in the August sun and talking about our top five favorite movies of all time. It was easier than talking about how I'd probably never see her again. Since she'd been gone in Mexico for half the year anyway, my moving was only going to be harder. She probably knew about my Lizzie issue, seeing as how I probably had it written all over my face. At the very least, she kindly kept it to herself. It wasn't in Miranda's nature to keep a juicy secret to herself, especially one concerning both of her best friends, but I guess she figured that we'd work it out in our own time, and she'd just stand aside. I appreciated it more than she'd ever know.
"So yeah, I think that Save the Last Dance is my number one," Miranda said, leaning back against the railing and lifting her face to the sun.
"Please tell me you're kidding," I said. "That piece of absolute cheese?"
"It was sweet!" Miranda said indignantly, and I was about to launch into a rant on how the 'chick flick' was debasing our entire concept of love, when Mrs. Sanchez stuck her head out the front door and produced the cordless. "Lizzie's on the line."
"Ooh!" Miranda squealed, jumping to her feet. "Is she back already?" She grabbed the phone from her mom, who smiled and disappeared inside again. "Lizzie, where are you?"
I glanced up at her while she paced on the top step. "Really? That's great! Come over!"
Suddenly the smile dropped from her face. "What? That is such bull...no, seriously, tell them you're coming over anyway." She glanced at me. "You only have a few days left..." Her eyes widened. "What? What? No. No! I didn't say anything about anything! I, um..." a furtive glance at me, "I gotta go. Come over if you can. Bye." She clicked the off button abruptly.
I stared at her. "What was that all about?"
"Her parents probably aren't going to let her come over, because they just got home."
"Did you tell her about me?" I asked accusingly.
"No! That's something you have to tell her yourself, you know? I mean, something as monumental with that, it would suck to hear it from a third party."
"Mhmm," I mumbled, and before I could think of anything to say or how to say it, the McGuires' car pulled up to the curb, and Lizzie got out of the passenger seat. "Bye Mom," she said, then ran up the front walk to greet us. "Oh. MY. God. I have missed you guys *sooo* much!" she squealed, throwing her arms first around Miranda and then around me. I hugged her back as tightly as I could, just so glad to see her again and wishing for the millionth time that I didn't have to leave that Saturday.
"So, what have I missed?"
"Oh, you know, nothing big," Miranda said lightly, but suddenly I didn't feel like putting off the truth.
"Actually, Lizzie, I do have something to tell you..." I started to say. Lizzie frowned at me, and Miranda's eyes went wide.
"Uh, is that my mom calling me?" she said, entirely unconvincingly. "I'll be back in a bit!" Miranda ducked inside the house, and I now had no idea what to do. I had two very important, very life-altering things to tell her, but I was faced with a case of total paralyzing fear.
"Gordo?" Lizzie said, peering at me, concerned. "What is it?"
"I...um...well..." My search for adequate words, however, was interrupted by the harsh ringing of the phone, which Miranda had accidentally left outside. Lizzie and I looked at each other, shrugged, then I answered it. "Hello, Sanchez residence."
"David? Is that you?" It was my mom.
"Yeah, it's me, Mom."
"Why are you answering the phone?"
"It's a long story," I said hurriedly, turning my back to Lizzie. "What's up?"
"Your father's on his way over there right now; I need you to come home. There's been a problem with the movers."
"What sort of problem?"
"It looks as though they might have shipped off all of your stuff a few days early..." my mom hedged, and I groaned, slapping my forehead with my hand. "You're kidding."
"I'm afraid not."
"Did they leave me anything?" I said, seeing my dad's car pull up to the curb. "Never mind, Dad's here. I'll see you in a few, bye." I hung up the phone and passed it to Lizzie as I started down the front steps.
"Wait, Gordo, where are you going?" she said.
"Home."
"What's going on? What did you have to tell me?"
"I'll tell you later, tell Miranda I said bye!" I answered, hopping in the car.
Truth was apparently going to have to wait for another day.
Okay, there're no guys named Cliff (or *are* there?), but I hope you enjoy anyway.
*Karasuma*Firestorm*
***Somewhere Far Away From Here***
When my parents first broke the news, I went into a state of shock. What they were proposing was...well, it was unthinkable.
My grandma, a.k.a. the windsurfing, horseback riding, geriatric bombshell known as 'Gorgeous', had Alzheimer's. And as if my beloved grandmother's debilitating illness wasn't distressing enough, I learned that the three of us would be moving out to Colorado (*Colorado!*) to take care of her. For an indefinite amount of time.
We were leaving in a week.
That meant seven days to pack up everything we owned and ship it off. Seven days to say goodbye.
And then I'd be away in Colorado, *not* starting high school with my friends. No more Hillridge. No more Digital Bean. No more Tudgeman, Parker, or Mr. Dig. No more Kate and Ethan (okay, there was an upside). No more going to that park by my house; no more McGuire family outings that I was invited on because my parents were never home; no more Matt, Jo, and Sam; no more Miranda...
...No more Lizzie.
No more Elizabeth Brooke McGuire, struggling to open her locker every morning, tripping over her shoelace in gym class, blowing her bangs off her forehead in exasperation every time Tudgeman tried to talk to her, looking horrified and insulted all at once every time Kate said something mean. No more of Lizzie's inherent goodness, her wanting to help everyone no matter how awful they were to her. No more of her bad jokes, no more of her sad-little-valley-girl commentary on life. No more of her cheering me up, no more of me cheering her up. No more hugs. No more smiles.
Armed with the information that I might never see her again, I was filled with the reluctant courage to finally tell her the truth, that I loved her. I don't remember when it first came about, but before I knew it, my deep friendship with her had developed into a massive crush that had soon translated into me falling completely in love with my best friend. I'd tried seemingly a thousand times to tell her, but something kept interfering each time. Either some outside force, or my own cowardice. But there was no turning back now. I couldn't leave without her knowing the truth, regardless of the outcome.
Unfortunately for me, Lizzie was halfway through her vacation when I'd first received the news, and so when she finally came back, I only had three days before my departure.
Miranda and I were sitting on Miranda's front stoop, baking in the August sun and talking about our top five favorite movies of all time. It was easier than talking about how I'd probably never see her again. Since she'd been gone in Mexico for half the year anyway, my moving was only going to be harder. She probably knew about my Lizzie issue, seeing as how I probably had it written all over my face. At the very least, she kindly kept it to herself. It wasn't in Miranda's nature to keep a juicy secret to herself, especially one concerning both of her best friends, but I guess she figured that we'd work it out in our own time, and she'd just stand aside. I appreciated it more than she'd ever know.
"So yeah, I think that Save the Last Dance is my number one," Miranda said, leaning back against the railing and lifting her face to the sun.
"Please tell me you're kidding," I said. "That piece of absolute cheese?"
"It was sweet!" Miranda said indignantly, and I was about to launch into a rant on how the 'chick flick' was debasing our entire concept of love, when Mrs. Sanchez stuck her head out the front door and produced the cordless. "Lizzie's on the line."
"Ooh!" Miranda squealed, jumping to her feet. "Is she back already?" She grabbed the phone from her mom, who smiled and disappeared inside again. "Lizzie, where are you?"
I glanced up at her while she paced on the top step. "Really? That's great! Come over!"
Suddenly the smile dropped from her face. "What? That is such bull...no, seriously, tell them you're coming over anyway." She glanced at me. "You only have a few days left..." Her eyes widened. "What? What? No. No! I didn't say anything about anything! I, um..." a furtive glance at me, "I gotta go. Come over if you can. Bye." She clicked the off button abruptly.
I stared at her. "What was that all about?"
"Her parents probably aren't going to let her come over, because they just got home."
"Did you tell her about me?" I asked accusingly.
"No! That's something you have to tell her yourself, you know? I mean, something as monumental with that, it would suck to hear it from a third party."
"Mhmm," I mumbled, and before I could think of anything to say or how to say it, the McGuires' car pulled up to the curb, and Lizzie got out of the passenger seat. "Bye Mom," she said, then ran up the front walk to greet us. "Oh. MY. God. I have missed you guys *sooo* much!" she squealed, throwing her arms first around Miranda and then around me. I hugged her back as tightly as I could, just so glad to see her again and wishing for the millionth time that I didn't have to leave that Saturday.
"So, what have I missed?"
"Oh, you know, nothing big," Miranda said lightly, but suddenly I didn't feel like putting off the truth.
"Actually, Lizzie, I do have something to tell you..." I started to say. Lizzie frowned at me, and Miranda's eyes went wide.
"Uh, is that my mom calling me?" she said, entirely unconvincingly. "I'll be back in a bit!" Miranda ducked inside the house, and I now had no idea what to do. I had two very important, very life-altering things to tell her, but I was faced with a case of total paralyzing fear.
"Gordo?" Lizzie said, peering at me, concerned. "What is it?"
"I...um...well..." My search for adequate words, however, was interrupted by the harsh ringing of the phone, which Miranda had accidentally left outside. Lizzie and I looked at each other, shrugged, then I answered it. "Hello, Sanchez residence."
"David? Is that you?" It was my mom.
"Yeah, it's me, Mom."
"Why are you answering the phone?"
"It's a long story," I said hurriedly, turning my back to Lizzie. "What's up?"
"Your father's on his way over there right now; I need you to come home. There's been a problem with the movers."
"What sort of problem?"
"It looks as though they might have shipped off all of your stuff a few days early..." my mom hedged, and I groaned, slapping my forehead with my hand. "You're kidding."
"I'm afraid not."
"Did they leave me anything?" I said, seeing my dad's car pull up to the curb. "Never mind, Dad's here. I'll see you in a few, bye." I hung up the phone and passed it to Lizzie as I started down the front steps.
"Wait, Gordo, where are you going?" she said.
"Home."
"What's going on? What did you have to tell me?"
"I'll tell you later, tell Miranda I said bye!" I answered, hopping in the car.
Truth was apparently going to have to wait for another day.