Chapter III

The clock ticked closer and closer to the end of the day. Afni let her hair hang in her face, and she clutched her binder to her chest, as she approached the locker the principal had given her. She opened it, pushed in her book, and closed it. Christopher wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck. She giggled, and turned her head.

"Last class?" he asked, lifting his eyes.

"English, you?"

"Same…Come on…"

"And…what about the others?"

"Same, too…" He paused outside the door, glancing at his watch, and kissed her neck again.

"Christopher…Come on. First day back, I don't wanna be late…" He ran his hands over her arms, and smiled, kissing her cheek.

"Love you…"

"You too…" She walked in beside him, so he could block her face from everyone, and she stopped at the teacher's desk, smiling down at him.

"And you must be our new-old student…" She put a finger her lips, and nodded.

"That's me. I'm thinking I'll need a book, and can I pick a place to sit?" He nodded, pointing to a shelf against the wall. She moved over, taking a book, and walked back with Christopher.

"No one sits there, so go ahead," he said, pointing to the seat in front of him. She smiled, and stepped over the seat, setting her books down, and sitting, turning around to see him. "How're you feeling?"

"Kinda nervous, actually."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah…I mean…I haven't seen you guys since you left…how long has that been?"

"Three months…"

"Yeah. Three months, and I haven't seen any one of you guys…how would you feel?" The bell ran before he could answer, so he quickly kissed her, and sat back. She crossed her legs beneath the desk, and turned, hair hanging in her face. The door finally stopped opening, and closing, and the teacher stood, beaming.

"Alright class. I'm gonna guess now that you probably already know who she is, but I want you to welcome…back, Afni Waters." Everyone turned to see her, but David, Jalil, and Janet (who was going thru school to finish up) jumped up, laughing. When no one else seemed as enthusiastic, they dropped back into the desks, and just beamed, waving. She waved back, kind of blushing.

As the bell rang, David, Jalil, and Janet ran up.

"What are you doing here, I thought you were…" Jalil began. She smiled, stopping him.

"I was. But…I think the universe sort of collapsed into itself…"

"What?"

"There was an earthquake, then it was raining, the sun was shining, and the moon was out, all at once. I got knocked unconscious, and woke up here…"

"It must be great to be home," Janet said. She nodded, hugging her and Jalil. She stopped, seeing David, and a smile broke completely across her face. Afni handed her books to Christopher, and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly.

"I missed you, David…I missed you a lot."

"I missed you, too, Afni…so much…" They hugged, and then she stepped back, touching his cheek.

"How've you guys been doing?"

"Alright. It wasn't the same without you, though…"

"Yo, Afni!" She turned, and saw April walking up, hands crossed over her chest.

"Hi, April." April and Afni just stood there for a minute, staring at each other. Finally, April sighed, and hugged her.

"I'm glad you're alright." Afni, though surprised, hugged her back.

"Really?"

"Yeah…You saved my life…Thank you…" Afni stepped back, and smiled.

"Your welcome, April…"

She crossed her legs, her fingers playing with the seatbelt, watching the trees fly by as Christopher sped down the road.

"Christopher?" she asked, not looking over from her window.

"Yeah?" he asked, reaching down and turning the music down.

"You don't mind driving me out to see Jason, do you?"

"No, course not. I know you've been dieing to see him…"

"Does he know?"

"Nope. I figure, I can go in first, and find him, and talk to him a little bit. You can sneak up behind him, and surprise him…" She smiled, and glanced over at him. She had her hair pulled back off her face in a damp braid, and she wore a pair of rusty looking jeans with a black shirt on top of them that was sort of baggy, with a skull smoking a cigar wearing a bowler, and the words The Infamous on the front, and the words Before the Body is Even Cold on the back. She tugged at it a little, and reached over, resting her hand on his right hand, which was on the gear stick. He smiled over at her, and swung the car into a parking lot, skidding to a halt in a space right in front of the door. She reached down, pulling her seatbelt off, and climbed out of the car. As she closed the door with her hip, she moved her hands behind her head, undoing the braid, and letting it ripple as it fell down around her shoulders.

Christopher walked over, taking her hand.

"You look gorgeous," he said softly. She smiled.

"Thank you…" He kissed her cheek, and led her inside. Afni moved across the lounge, leaning over and looking at the vending machine, her finger to her lips, trying to figure out if she wanted something, and watched Christopher in the reflection on the glass meet up with a guy walking down the hallway.

"Hey, Jason, how you doin' man?" he asked, smiling. Jason shrugged. She saw that his brown hair had been shaved off, but it was starting to grow back in. He wore a baggy red T-shirt, and a baggy pair of black shorts. He had a bag over his shoulder, and he had a chain around his neck.

"Eh, I'm alright…I was actually on my way to the gym, you wanna come with?" he asked, motioning over his shoulder. Shooting a glance at Afni's back, Christopher nodded.

"Yeah, sure, what the hell…" Jason turned, and headed off, and paused, glancing at her back, too, but moved out the door, Christopher motioning to her to follow. She nodded into the glass, and waited a second, then turned to one of the guys on the couch.

"'Scuse me…" she asked. One looked up, and smiled.

"Hey, chick…" She lowered her eyes, taking a breath.

"Sorry, could you tell me where the gym is?"

"Course…About three buildings that way," he said, pointing. "It's got a sign on it, saying Gym. Can't miss it."

"Thank you…And I'm not a chick." She turned, and jogged out the door, her leather boots pounding against the pavement as she ran after Christopher and Jason.

Jason tossed his bag onto a hook inside the door, and headed across the room, to a closet.

"Who was that girl in the lounge, you know?" he asked, shooting a look over his shoulder. Christopher shrugged.

"There was a girl in the lounge?" he asked, playing stupid.

"Yeah…eh…whatever…You play basketball?" he asked, stepping out with the ball in his hands.

"Course." Jason bounced him the ball, closing the closet, and jogged out, standing in front of Christopher, back to the door. Afni walked in the partially open door, and leaned against the wall, watching them.

"Alright, ball…" Christopher handed it to him, smiling. Afni felt a tear in her eye, and then closed her eyes as it fell down her cheek. She sighed, and nodded her head, looking up at them. Christopher nodded his head behind Jason.

"Yo…was that the chick you saw in the lounge?" Jason raised an eyebrow, and turned around. Afni lowered her head, rubbing her eyes.

"Mmmhmm…Don't know if I've seen her before…" Christopher gave a slightly confused look to Afni as Jason glanced down at the ball. She shook her head, and waved her hand, letting him know to just start playing.

They played for about five minutes before she stood up straight, and whistled.

"Very good, boys, very good…" She crossed the gym, pulling her hands from her pockets, and slid them over Christopher's shoulders. Jason looked up at her.

"Who asked?" She flipped her hair over her shoulder, turning to see him.

"Who said anyone had to ask, bro?" His eyes widened, and the ball fell from his hands, rolling across the floor.

"A…Afni?"

"Hi…" He threw his arms around her, spinning her around in a hug. She laughed, hugging him back.

"Holy shit! What the hell? Where…I mean…What…How the hell are you doing?" he asked, setting her down. She giggled.

"I'm fine. Christopher drove me up…" she said, patting his shoulder. Christopher smiled proudly.

"But…where were you? And for so long?"

"You heard about what happened to Ciniya, right?"

"Yep…"

"Okay, well…I got kidnapped too…But…My kidnapper forgot I was there, and he moved, leaving me in a little room in his basement…I just…I got the chance to come home, and I took it without thinking twice. So, I've been home for a week…But I wanted to surprise you."

"And quite the surprise this is," he said, hugging her again.

"How've you been, Jason?" she asked, lifting his head.

"Good…Fine…Missed you a lot…"

"Missed you too…Any boyfriends?" she asked, smiling. He shrugged.

"No…"

"Prospects?"

"One…Works at the club downtown…I think he likes me too…but I'm working on it." She kissed Jason's cheek, and glanced over at Christopher.

"You look fantastic, Jason…"

"So do you…so do you…" She reached down, and rested her fingers on the chain around his neck. He glanced down. "What?"

"I can't believe you still have this," she said, pulling it up to look at him. It was a silver link chain, with a star hanging off the end, with initials at each point. Christopher leaned over.

"What is it?"

"It's a star I gave him for his birthday one year…each point has a pair of initials on it. This one is his, this is Ciniya's…this is Dad's, and mom's. And here's mine, right at the top…" He smiled.

"Yeah…I've been wearing it a lot lately…every day, actually…Thinking about you…" She smiled, and hugged him again.