"Breathe" I tried to calm down my nerves. What did she mean? Surely, I wasn't crucifying myself. I was totally contented with my life, with or with out a man for that matter. "I'm a changed person." I repeated over and over again in front of a mirror, trying to convince myself.
How was Peyton? I never saw her since she had gone to art school. I knew where to contact her .Though she was my best friend, I felt reluctant to give her a call. I missed her so much. I had been aching to confide with her for the past 2 years but I knew I couldn't just barge in and shower her with all my problems.
"Oh my God! Peyton, Brooke" a girl jumped up and down, screaming at the top of her voice. "Haley,are you on drugs?" Brooke ran her fingers through her smooth brunette hair as she shifted the weight of her bag to her other shoulder. "Haley, I swear, everybody is looking at us." Peyton whispered, glancing at the crowd that Haley had ,unintentionally, gathered. "I,I…"she stuttered with tears forming in her eyes. "Brooke, one moment she was so giddy and now I think she's going to cry. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Brooke winced at Peyton who was already evidently worried.
Ms. Davis, smiling deviously, handed her bag to Peyton. With all her might, she shook Haley as if trying to drive away evil spirits from her body. "Haley!Tell us what the freakin' hell happened to you ! Are you taking drugs ? "she shouted irritatingly, still shaking the now, almost coming to her senses, Haley. Cheerleaders, coming out of the dressing room, looked at them curiously. "Poor Haley" a cheerleader muttered. She looked disgustingly at Brooke who was still busy making her insane friend come back to reality. "What a horrible team captain!" another one exclaimed. "Brooke! I'm feeling dizzy now. Stop!" haley pleaded, finally back in her own body. "Fweh! that was tiring tutor girl!" Brooke wiped the sweat which formed on her forehead carefully,so as not to ruin her make up. "So?" Peyton asked with great anticipation in her voice. "The principle told me that I was class VALEDICTORIAN!" she exclaimed in an i-never-expected-this voice. The two worn out girls burst out into laugher, now drawing attention to all passerby's. "Damn! Brooke may look hot but she is one psycho mama!" a guy passed by ,suddenly, commented, looking disappointed at the hysterical brunette.
"Won't you even congratulate me?" the once giddy girl stomped her foot, staring at her two uproarious buddies. "Haley, have you lost your mind", they blurted out in unison, hands on their stomachs ,still, trying to control their laughter. "Huh!" that was all she managed to say. "I have my next class at the other side of the building. I'll see you later." Peyton said smiling widely. "Me too!" Brooke added as she tried to catch her breath. Unaware of the time, the bell rang and Haley was left standing on the corridor, looking dumbfounded. "What was that?" she asked herself ,appearing baffled as if trying to solve whether an egg came first before a chicken or vice versa.
A lot of drama happened before High School graduation. As expected by the entire graduating class, Haley was named Valedictorian and mind you, it was the first time, I saw her go bizarre. According to her, she never saw it coming. I wanted to whack her with all her encyclopedias but I, unexpectedly, controlled the beast inside of me. FYI, Haley was the sexiest nerd in the batch. Peyton and I put her under an extremely strict diet after gaining 10 pounds from her break up with he who must not be named. They eventually got divorced for irreconcilable differences. I pitied her because I knew she still loved him.
I remembered every single detail of our graduation. I wouldn't say it was eventful. In fact, it was pretty damn boring. It was Haley who made it very memorable for me. All it took was her speech to change my life forever. I couldn't forget the last lines of her speech, probably, because those were the only one's I heard and it really got through me. Reminiscing the past, I could still recall Haley's cheeks turning red, thinking, what she was about to say was pretty ridiculous. I smiled, remembering that at that time, I tried to conceal the fear and pressure throbbing in my heart. I did not have a plan after High School and everybody had their entire lives figured out. Through all these years, this was the only thing that inspired me. Tutor girl once said "What we truly and earnestly aspire to be, that in some sense, we are. The mere aspiration, by changing the frame of the mind, for the moment realizes itself." She said she only borrowed this from Anna Jameson but I didn't freakin' care. She did a splendid job.
After graduation, Peyton became distant from us, physically and emotionally.She studied in a different school. There was no communication in our batch ,maybe, because everybody wanted to leave their past behind. Fortunately, Haley and I still talked. She had become such an important part of my life. If not for her, I swear, I could've had committed suicide.
To this day,I don't really know where my life is headed. I'm only certain that Peyton knows pretty much everything that has been going on in my life. Question is, who the hell has been filling her in? Damn! Sam fixed me up on a blind date again. When will she ever stop!
A/N: I hope I didn't bore you with this one. Please keep your reviews coming. They sure mean a lot to me. Thank you very much. Keep on Reading!