Innocent Dreams at The Shore of Inversion and the Cliff of Affinity
It had been ten years since she first left Lawndale High school and headed to college.
All those years away from her father, her step-mother, and her brother. She'd visit now and again, but sometimes she wondered what kept her away for months at a time, but she knew that answer in her heart.
I had never belonged here, this place kept me from truly being my own person.
Her first year of college was just like High school; with parties, boys, and beer, but something felt wrong or; to be honest, it felt right. It was right that was wrong. Her whole world was inverted.
Brittany contacted Jodie and told her how she felt, it took about a month for her to get a reply.
Jodie's letter was quick and to the point. It told her to try new things and get to know more people; to try and take something more than stories about parties from college.
Brittany began hitting the books. At first it all seemed so difficult so she consulted the brains for help. Soon she began to grasp thing; things she had never understood before. How is she hadn't understood before? It all seemed like second nature now. Brittany didn't dwell on that though.
Brittany was still lost in a sea off uncertainty. What did she want out of life?
Brittany consulted her friends; both popular and unpopular, and they all told Brittany what a wonderful person she was. Brittany didn't understand what they meant by it. She had always tried her best to help others; and recently she was able to read the mood better, but that didn't help her.
And now Brittany stood outside of her old school; her blonde hair left free to flow in the wind.
"I dont believe it. Hey there babe~" Came a voice from behind her. It sounded more amused than anything else.
Brittany turned around and saw a man with short black hair. He was reasonably handsome although, one could see he was condemned to go bald. Brittany didn't know him yet he seemed to know her and his face took on a forlorn expression at the idea that she didnt remember him.
This helped her to recall the distant memories of the person she had been.
"Kevin Thompson, how have you been?" She said with a certain mix of fondness for the past and worry for the person before her. Even so she shared a short hug with the man as he answered her.
"I'm good." His voice insincere.
"What have you been up to?" Brittany asked.
"Nothin~" A certain amount of shame was in his eyes.
"Kevin-" She just stared at him sternly. "Come on, nothing is not a real answer to my question."
He answer in shame. "I'm a Janitor- at the school."
"Thats wonderful! Brittany squealed sincerely."
"It is?"
"Oh course it is. Kevin, without janitors who would clean up. We'd wallow in trash every day and life would become unbearable."
"But I'm not a football star."
"And I'm not a model, life's full of broken dreams."
"Your not a model? I thought you wanted to be one."
"Kevin, I wanted to be a model in high school. People rarely become what they want to be in high school. Life may be full of broken dreams, but it's also full of new ones too."
"If your not a model then what are you?"
"Well, I'm a teacher- or at least I'm going to be a teacher. I took a few years off of college to see some of the world, on daddy's dime-" She shrugged a little at the thought of the way her father was wrapped around her little finger. She promised herself that would be the last time she took advantage of him like that.
"Where'd you go?"
"I visited Paris like I had always dreamed, I also got to see the Great Pyramids of Egypt, and I had a wonderful time in Germany. I say the most important thing I did was when Roger convinced me to visit a concentration camp, those poor people-" Brittany seemed to choke a little as she spoke, but she cut herself off with. "I dont want to talk about it right now, were supposed to be talking about happy things."
Kevin just stared at Brittany, she could tell what he was thinking. Her life is so together now. She seemed to sparkle in a way he never imagined. The only words that came out of his mouth were "Roger?"
"My fiancé, we met in college before I took my break. He works in computers, but I'm not really the computer savvy type. I mean I can get the job done, but I couldn't program one or anything. He's really quite amazing."
"So you're marrying someone and he's an egghead?" Kevin was obviously a tad bit jealous. Brittany; with considerable guilt, enjoyed it.
"Don't you think were a bit old for name calling?" Brittany said with a smile.
"Sorry. Its just- well youre so together. You seem to- I dont know. Sparkle?"
"Those books are awful."
"Huh?"
"A joke Kevin-" She shook her head. "Seriously though- Kevin, its that something special that makes people sparkle, She turned away from him as if no longer addressing him, but the world as a whole. and you have that! You have it in spades, and in clubs, and in diamonds, but above all," She turned back to him with a huge grin. "you have it in your heart."
"I do?"
"Everyone does Brittany said with a tear in her eye. "I have to go, I'll call you sometime."
The two exchanged phone numbers and Brittany left. Kevin felt strange after their meeting as if something inside him died, but something else was born.
"But above all, you have it in your heart."
A smile crossed his face....End?
