Hey guys! Sorry about the long delay! I got a little busy. Work and stuff. And there was something else...oh yeah! I went to see RENT this weekend! First time seeing it on broadway and I'm in love with it. I'm already looking into seeing it in New York when I go to DC in July haha
Indigo Spirit - I'm so glad that you're enjoying this!
The Cardboard Moon - Thanks for reading!
BookJunkie10 - Oh, I definitely agree!
The next day, Mark got off the subway near Central Park and made his way to the area Willow told him they'd be. It didn't take long to spot the small group of girls seperated from everyone else.
He recognized Willow and Faith right away and he assumed the other four girls were students.
As he got closer he realized they were doing some form of martial arts kata. He got his camera out and started filming, hoping they wouldn't mind. He walked around them, filming from every angle, and he noticed that none of the girls even took note of his presence.
The students couldn't be more than 16 or 17, one of them even looked as young as 14. They all moved through the exersizes with an amazing grace.
Mark was fascinated.
Another thing Mark noticed was how different the girls all were from each other.
The first girl was tall and lanky with chin length black hair. Her clothes told him she probably had a bit of money. He was sure he saw that track jacket at a store on 5th Avenue when he was working for Buzzline.
The girl next to her was short. Probably barely hit five feet. Her hair was shaved on both sides, leaving a strip of long blonde hair down the middle, the ends dyed bright pink. He briefly wondered if she ever stuck it straight up in a mohawk. She had several peircings in each ear. Her jeans were a size or two too big and a chain hung from her hip.
The girl next to her couldn't have been more different. She had dark chocolate skin and curly hair, pulled back into a neat ponytail. Her clothes were stylish and her makeup neatly done. She looked a little older than the other girls. Maybe 18 or 19 even.
The next girl, however, looked the youngest of the bunch. She had longish curly brown hair and her clothes spoke of someone that grew up in the east village. Mark thought it was interesting that she moved with the same agility as the others, dispite her younger age.
They were all so different, Mark found it hard to believe they were part of the same group.
He turned his camera on Faith. She moved with an air of experience the others didn't have. Like she'd been doing it longer. After pausing on Faith for another minute, he focused his camera on Willow.
She moved with the same beauty as the others, but there was something different about Willow's movements. Mark couldn't put his finger on it. Her eyes, though open,held this far away look in them. He was watching her as they ended the kata, pausing at the end in the same position, breathing in unison.
Then Willow's face brightened with a smile when her eyes focused on him.
"Mark! You made it!" she exclaimed.
"I made it." he said, returning her smile.
"This is Mark?" "The Mark?" "You're Mark?" "He's cute." a chorus of four girls came from behind Willow. Mark felt his face flush. She talked about him? Willow's face began to turn an interesting shade of red.
"We live in a school with 40 teenage girls. Word gets around fast." Faith explained.
"Mark, this is Sadie, Cas, Megan, and Jen." Willow introduced.
"Can we see your movies?" Jen, the youngest, asked excitedly.
"Can I see your camera?" Cas asked, eyeing Mark's camera, her blonde/pink hair falling into her face. Willow looked at them, exasperated. Mark couldn't help but smile a little. Faith just grinned.
"Come on, girls. Let's leave the two lovebirds alone. Let's go for a run." Faith said. Reluctantly the girls followed Faith, leaving Mark and Willow alone.
"They're quite the bunch." Mark commented.
"Yeah, we get a big mix of girls at the school."
"What was that you were doing? It was beautiful. I hope you don't mind that I filmed it."
"It was a Tai Chi kata. And honestly I didn't even notice you were there until the end."
"You did look pretty focused." They sat down on a blanket Willow laid out.
"Actually, could I get a copy of that?"
"Sure. Where did you learn that?"
"In England."
"It looks relaxing"
"It is. I learned it right after Tara died. It really helped a lot. Helped me focus on getting through it." Mark gave her a supportive smile, his had instinctively going to her knee in comfort, leaving it there when Willow didn't object. She talked about that time after Tara died, though vaguely. Mark was curious as to what happened.
He had a feeling it was more than depression, but he didn't have the heart or the nerve to bring it up. Nor did he think it was any of his business.
"So, you guys just come here to do Tai Chi, or what?"
Willow smiled. "The girls tend to have a lot of excess energy, so on the weekends we come here to burn it. This'll probably be the last weekend this year though. It's starting to get too cold." Mark laughed at what Willow considered cold. It was nearly 60 degrees out.
"Kiss him already!" a yell came an they both looked to see the girls and Faith hiding behind a large tree, peeking out towards them.
"Some things that should remain private." Willow said, yelling the word 'private' in emphasis. Mark laughed and caught Willow's eyes. If it wasn't for their audience he might have leaned in and taken their advice. The girls came to join them.
"I'm starved." Sadie said, opening the cooler that was off to the side of the blanket.
Jen, Cas, Megan, and Faith started digging things out. Pre-made sandwiches, two
bags of chips, several water bottles, and assorted fruits and vegetables.
Mark automatically picked up his camera and started filming. The girls immediately started hamming it up, waving and smiling at the camera. Sadie even stuck her tongue out, her mouth full of food. Chaos continued to ensue as the girls talked and laughed, eating all the food they had brought with.
Mark got it all on film. He had found his new inspiration.
Hope you liked it! Oh, and check out my new little one shot, Almost Perfect, about Mark and Maureen, preRENT! (shameless self promoter ha)
