Chapter 1: I Don't Exactly Want to Go
Ray
and Robbie sat boredly on the bottom step of the stairs before
school. Ray yawned, looking at his watch. "Jeez, man. Tired?"
Robbie asked, sarcastically. Ray nodded. His hair was messy, his
shoes untied, and his shirt on backwards. "Yeah, why did Lily
want us here so early anyway?" Ray asked, attempting to smooth
his hair down so he didn't look like a complete idiot.
Soon,
they heard footsteps echoing down the empty halls. "Lily?"
Ray and Robbie called in unison. "So she's not here yet, I take
it?" Travis asked as he turned a corner, coming into view. Ray
and Robbie shook their heads looking at the freshly polished floor.
Travis sat down next to Ray and fiddled with his thumbs. Ray was
still busy making himself look less dorky. Robbie had rested his head
on the step about three steps up from where he sat, his eyes closed.
None of them noticed Lily walking down the stairs.
She
stood on the step above Robbie's head. She leaned over, and he
finally saw her. "Hey, Lily, where have you been?!" He
asked, surprised. Ray and Travis instantly stood up and smiled at
her.
"Oh,
you guys, I'm so sorry I kept you this long." Lily said, her
shoulders slumping. Ray folded his arms jokingly. "Well, you
sure should be!" Lily punched his arm. Ray rubbed his arm and
sat down, whimpering like a puppy. Lily smiled and laughed a little
as she stepped off the stairs.
"Why
did you want us to meet you here?" Travis asked, inspecting the
large bag on her shoulder. Lily put down the bag and looked at her
friends. "Well, I'm going on vacation for a week, and I thought
I should tell you. My family is waiting for me outside."
Ray
stood up quickly. "You mean you're leaving me alone with these
things for a week? Gosh, and I thought we were friends!" He
stuck his bottom lip out. Lily raised a fist and said, "I wasn't
a part of this decision, Ray. I don't exactly want to go."
In
the background, Travis had picked up Lily's bag. "This thing is
pretty heavy, Lily. What did you pack?" Lily lowered her fist
and looked at him. "It's just some clothes and stuff. Why?"
Ray took the bag from Travis. He made a face and joked falling over.
"Its probably 20 pounds of make-up," He laughed. Lily
raised a fist again and walked towards Ray. He stuck out his foot and
Lily fell over sideways towards the stairway railing. You can imagine
how much her head would have hurt if Travis wasn't there to catch
her.
"Ray!"
All three friends scolded him in unison.
Ray
shrugged. "So when are you leaving?" he asked her. Travis
helped Lily to stand up, but still kept a hand on her arm to keep her
from tackling Ray. She blew a piece of hair away from her face and
took her bag back. "Now, Ray. I'm leaving now. I'll see you in
a week. Maybe longer, if I want to." She turned away and hugged
both Travis and Robbie. Ray held out his arms, expecting one himself.
Lily patted him on the head and walked out the doors down the hall.
Travis
and Robbie glared at him. Ray shrugged. "Did I do something
bad?"
Travis
sighed, "What is up with you today, Ray? What was all that
about?" he asked calmly, not letting the anger from deep inside
him show. Ray shrugged. "I was only kidding around. Maybe its
Lily that's in the bad mood."
Robbie
looked at Travis. "I'm going to go try to calm her down before
she leaves. Are you coming?" Travis nodded. "That's a
good idea, but we'd better hurry." He ran down the hall. Ray got
up to follow him, but Robbie stopped him. "No, I think it's
better if you don't talk to Lily for a while. In fact, I think it
should just be Travis. He's better with calming people down than
either of us is."
Ray
nodded. "I guess you're right." He sat back down on the
bottom step of the stairs, and Robbie sat next to him, on the floor.
Travis
caught up with Lily just as she was reaching the doors that led
outside. He grabbed her arm, but she didn't turn around. "Ray,
if that's you, I--"
"Lily..."
Travis said. Lily turned around. "Oh, Travis, I'm sorry, I just
thought..." her voice trailed off when Travis put his hand on
her shoulder and slumped over a little, catching his breath. "You
put up... a good... chase back there..." he managed to say. "I
don't know about Robbie, but I... Robbie?" Turning his head, he
expected to see Robbie. The hall was quiet. The only sounds he could
hear were Lily's slow, calm breaths and his rapid, worn-out breaths.
He
stood up a few minutes later, breathing normally, and looked Lily in
the eye. "Look, Lil... Ray was just joking around back there. He
didn't really mean to get you mad." Lily exhaled deeply. "I
know, Travis, and I think it's really sweet how you're trying to
get me to forgive him..." A small smile tugged at the corners of
Travis's lips. Lily continued on, "...I just think there's
something going on with him. He hasn't been himself lately."
"Yeah,
I've noticed that too," Travis lied. This was his big chance to
be with Lily, and he wasn't going to pass it up by saying anything
stupid.
Lily
smiled. "That's good, I'm glad someone else has. I want you to
watch him, take care of him for me. I'm real worried about him. Can
you do that for me?" Her eyes showed a deep concern that Travis
had never seen in her before. It made him worry, and feel helpful,
like this really was his big chance, both at the same time.
"Sure,
I'll do that for you. Of course I will." Travis said. Lily
smiled widely at him and hugged him again. "Thanks Travis,"
she said. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "This means a
lot to me. You really are such a good friend." Travis blushed
slightly, and he hoped Lily didn't notice. "Anytime," he
said quickly. "So I'll see you in a week?" Lily smiled and
nodded. Travis stood there for a minute, and watched her walk out the
door.
At
the time, Travis didn't know what a responsibility Ray could really
be.
