Chapter 4: The End of Farewell
She watched the sunset descend lower and lower into the horizon, her back resting lightly against the poplar. The fleeting rays of sunlight warmed her face and glinted brightly on the small diamonds of her bracelet. The soil was moist and grainy beneath her fingers, smearing on the back of her legs. She watched ladybugs fly languidly in and between the blades of grass. It was 5:25 on the last day of school and she waited patiently to be picked up. After-school Care had already been released and her mother was running late from work. A ladybug landed on her backpack. She gently touched her hair, twisting a few strands around her finger.
He walked out from behind the shed, his footsteps crunching along the gravel walkway. She watched him, his gaze never leaving hers, as he walked around the trash bin and sat down on the opposite side of the tree. He sighed as he leaned back, tossing his backpack beside hers. There was only silence between them, both relaxing in the company of the other. Sometimes silences said more than words.
As the sun dipped lower into set, she shifted against the tree and caught the petals that fell.
"This is my last day here," she said softly, twirling a petal in her between her fingers. When he did not reply, she continued. "We're moving to Los Angeles, where my dad's firm is going."
"Oh..." he said softly. He moved slightly, rocks grating against each other as he did so. After a long pause, he sucked in breath. "Jenna I'm—"
"It's okay Paul; I know you didn't mean it." she replied calmly. She carefully held the folded paper in her palm, its heavily creased folds like the ones in her heart. A tear drop escaped her eye and she watched as it fell onto the paper, leaving a small, rippled circle on the paper.
"Why do you always forgive me? I'm a bad person..."
"Because you're not a bad person. Everyone has good in them, Paul." she responded wisely.
"Not me," he replied, her words carving themselves into his heart.
"Yes, even you."
"Are you even coming back?" he asked, his hand gripping a small blade of grass.
"I don't think so..." she responded.
He tore the blade of grass in two, splitting it down the middle.
She heard the distant sound of a car beeping and her name being called. Standing, she brushed the dirt from her legs and tucked the folded paper into her pocket. She also heard Paul's friends in the distance and picked up her backpack, tightening the flaps so that it fit snugly. Paul turned around and watched her and she turned around to smile at him.
"I hope that we can still be friends." she said, her pretty smile glowing in the final light of day. Their footsteps stopped as they watched the exchange of words between her and Paul. She watched Paul as he looked behind her at his friends.
"Yeah right." he sneered, picking up his backpack and slinging it on his back.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered as he brushed past her, hitting her shoulder with his own rudely.
Clapping his friends on the back, he walked away from Jenna and towards the school yard. His words burned deeply in his heart and he let his mouth twist into a nasty scowl. But he really wanted to frown, a pain somewhere in his heart. He would never see Jenna again for a long time. Not for seven years, his senior year of high school. Though her memory of Paul disappeared in the promise of Los Angeles, he would never forget Jenna.
"... you're not a bad person."