The next morning, a Saturday, I got up and headed to the library, alone, for yet another tutoring session with Dustin. For the most part, the sessions were going pretty good, but he's just a bit frustrating, that's all. And somehow I've managed to keep my head about me.
When I got there, I got a feeling that something wasn't right somewhere, but I headed to the library anyways.
"Dustin, I-" I said, looking in my bag then looking into the room, but I didn't see Dustin. However, I did see the yellow ranger and a bunch of things I didn't recognize.
When he looked back, he shouted, "Freed, get out of here."
Stunned I did as I was told.
As I sat outside the library, I wondered how he knew my name. I mean, I never met him before, nor was I introduced to him, but the stranges thing of all was that he sounded percurliarly like Dustin.
'Maybe it's only a coincidence," I thought. Or maybe Dustin was the yellow ranger.
I'm what's called a skepticist, so I tend to think on things that most people don't. But I ended up dropping the matter all together.
"Hey, whatcha doing?"
Immideately I was thrown out of my thoughts. "Huh?" I asked looking around until my eyes found him. "Oh, hey, Dustin."
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, why?"
"You look a little freaked out, that's all."
"Hey, we're got to to that tutoring thing, don't we? Well, then, let's get started."
Basically for half of the day, I tried to explain his math assignment to him; it worked, sort of. We quit, because he had to go to practice for his next big race.
The next day, I went up to Hunter's, only to find he wasn't there. Before this, I had recieved a rather disturbing call.
"Huh," I wondered, so I headed back to my dorm room, where I found him. The vibe from the room was awkward, as he and Tru were talking, if that's what you want to call it.
"Hey," I said, "What's up?"
They looked at me like.......I don't know what.
"What just happened."
"I'll see you later, Freed," Hunter told me as he left. I closed the door behind him, because it seemed as though he needed to be alone for a bit.
"What the hell just happened, Tru?" I asked my roommate.
"Nothing...." she replied.
"Tru...." I said sad and frustrated. She didn't even know about the call, although she did remind me several times throughout that call that I "couldn't use the phone".
I turned around and left again.
"Where are you going?" she asked me.
"Out," I replied and I ran down the stairs and went after him. When I did find him, I shouted for him to wait up. Thankfully he stopped, and as soon as I caught up to him, I fell to my knees beside him.
"I'm sorry for whatever she said to you," I told him. "It's just that I got an awful call this morning and I needed to talk to you. But then I saw," I swallowed hard, "You and Tru....I didn't mean for all this to happen. I don't know."
"Freed, what?" he asked me, "slow down. First of all, I'm not mad at you; second, she didn't say anything, least nothing that made sense. And last, what about that phone call."
"I-I don't know. Shane sounded so sad when he called. But he said he wanted me to go over to his dorm room." I stood up and brushed my knees off, and told him that I needed to get going.
When I got there, I knocked on the door, only to be met by a frazzled looking Shane.
"What, Shane, what happened?"
"I-Idon't know," he replied, getting jumpy.
"Ok, relax, where's Dus-oh....what happened? Tell me, don't tell me, I don't care."
Eventually he did tell me. Turned out that Dustin had crashed again, only he didn't escape with just a cuncussion. He was immideately hospitalized for a broken neck and severe internal bleeding.
All I could do was close my eyes, swallow and hope it was all just a bad dream.
"Thanks," I managed to say, "for telling me. "I know you must hurt."
"Yeah."
"Keep me updated."
"Sure."
"Thanks."
I knew it was selfish of me, but my b-day was coming up soon and he was always there in the past and I guess it wouldn't be the same if he.
I wiped the tears that threatened to fall from my eyes.
I don't know why
The good man dies
And evil gets away.
No matter where I go
From shore to shore
And sea to shining sea
I'll never know friends like these
And memories held dear to me.
I know I'll cry
When the good man dies
And evil gets away.
"Hey, Freed, why so sad?" Candy asked me when I turned in my poem.
I shrugged as she put it in anyways, and I left for my next class.
That week went by so slowly and when Saturday, my b-day, came I was in no means happy. Mostly because Dustin really hadn't gotten any better.
"C'mon," Hunter said, "the guys have a surprize for you, and I got you something."
"Hunter, you didn't--"
"I wanted to," and he handed me a small box. When I opened it, I saw a beautiful silver and crimson promise ring.
I smiled and thanked him as he slipped it on my finger. "It's beautiful," I kissed him.
"No problem," he replied.
A few minutes later, Shane came in and blindfolded me and lead me into a car and it drove off. When it finally stopped, a pair of hands grabbed my arm and I was being lead into a building.
"Guys...." I began, but then stopped.
After a quick elevator ride, we stopped.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"You'll see," Shane replied, taking off the blindfold. "Where-" I began as I turned to face the room to see the only personI needed to see all week long. As soon as I saw him, I was deathly speechless.
All he did was stood there and smiled.
"Hey," I finally said.
"Hey," he returned, "Long time, no see."
"You have no idea," I told him. Thankfully nothing seemingly bad happened. "Everything's ok?"
"Yeah," he replied, "Everything's fine."
"That's awesome."
As they say, "Time flies when your having fun", and boy did it. Just being with your friends makes it all worth it. Cam graduted top of the clas, though we all got some sort of honor.
I now have an awesome job as a magazine reporter, though it's not exactly what I wanted to do. At least it's something, and it does have its perks.
But, somewhere between graduation and the present, I lost touch with everyone, including Hunter, although I still wear the ring he gave me. I guess I kinda forgot about them until recently when I went through the old year book. I suppose maybe one day our lives would cross again.
Maybe.