Chapter 3
Standing alone at night and looking at a gorgeous, lush green park helped clear Anna's mind. Slowly she started to walk on the familiar jogging track where once Madalyne, Anastasia and herself used to walk, talk and spend there time together. Now that day will never come. Only Anastasia and she remained.
"Hey gorgeous, Miss me?"
A male voice asked cheerfully in her ear. Anna jerked her head towards the voice and saw herself face to face with her friend Stephen .He was also terrible at beyblade. With wavy brown hair and eyes, He was the funniest person on earth, or so she thought. He never liked to pretend and so he was not pretending to be sad on Madalyne's death. And why should he? He never met Madalyne. He only knew Anna and Anastasia.
Anna forced a smile and replied:
"Yes of course I did. Why are you here? How did you find me?"
" Well you know me. I came here on hunch thinking you might be here bawling and filling tubs with tears. Now I see you were not doing that. You were doing something else." Stephen raised his hand and shuffled his hair.
"What was I doing?" Anna asked, unable to stop herself.
"You were doing a far worse thing. You were thinking of how to lie to me and tell me with me with an angelic smile that you missed me!" Stephen half shouted.
A giggle escaped her and she said:
"I can't lie to you can I?"
"Nope. Absolutely not. That's one of the things you love about me." Stephen replied while grinning at Anna. He put his arm around Anna and, for once serious, tried to console her
"It's going to be fine Anna. You will see. AH! All these sentiments are driving me crazy! You have to be grateful to me after this."
Anna suddenly stooped, shaking Stephen's arm off her, and in the other second a heap of leaves, initially placed on the side of the track, fell on top of Stephen.
Anna laughed, for once forgetting about her friend's death, and screamed:
"Never!"
Stephen laughed.
"Now that's the Anna I remember."
He slowly advanced on to her scooping up leaves. Backing up from him, she started running towards her new house and warning Stephen
"Don't you even dare!"
Reaching the house, Anna at once sobered, remembering the events. Stephen noticed and sighed. Looking at Anastasia seated on one of the sofa's in the living room he stopped and exclaimed
"Ahhh! Geez! What happened here? You both suddenly look like fate worse then death! You know like two witches brewing a potion and preparing to murder us innocent people." Pointing at the thing in Anastasia's hand, he screamed" see? I told you! Preparing and planning!"
The two girls looked at each other and both began to giggle. Hitting Stephan with her hand, Anna said
"Stop being a jerk"
Looking at the heavens Stephen muttered:
"She hit me, she hit me… Is that all the recognition a guy can get?"
Standing up, Anastasia said without a smile
"This thing is an Album by the way."
"A …what?" Stephen asked confused.
"An Album. A. l. b. u. m" Anastasia answered slowly.
"I am sorry?" Stephen asked shaking his head.
"An Album you fool! In which pictures are stored!" Anastasia screamed.
"I am sorry I did not get you… Did you just say a zambum? What is that?" Stephen asked.
Anastasia advanced towards Stephen, put down the album on the table and clutched his neck. Shaking him, who started acting like she was really squeezing his neck, she said
"Not a zambum! It's a…."
Anna's laugh cut her off. Clutching her stomach, she gasped
"Aren't you used to his teasing yet? Cant you guess that he was trying to make you laugh?"
Anastasia jerked her eyes from the laughing Anna to the grinning Stephen. She slowly removed her hands of off Stephen's neck.
"You know if I do break your neck, you would deserve it don't you? Jerk"
But Anastasia was smiling as she said this.
Laughing out loud, Stephen agreed.
"I know"
"This seems like a merry group"
A male voice said from the door of the living room. Everyone looked towards the door and saw Ray standing in the doorway with his arms crossed and a suspicious look in his eyes.