Chapter Two: The Last Night

I gazed at the blackboard, waiting for our math teacher to walk into the room and give the class the exam and then I could get out of here. I could feel Amy glaring at the back of my head from her seat three rows behind me. When Sean had asked if I could come along, I could tell that she had wanted to explode with anger; either she didn't because she was worried that Sean wouldn't go with her at all, or because she couldn't breathe from her running to school.

I felt a smile grace my face as our teacher, Mr. Bernard, walked into the room and he smiled cheerfully. He set a stack of papers on his desk and turned to the rest of the class with a plastic bin in his hands and a roll of masking tape.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, today is your final exam and as usual, I want you all to put your names on the piece of tape I'll be giving you and stick it on your cellphone. I will come by before we start in order to collect your phones, and you can take your phone after you finish your exams."

I fished out my cellphone, which has a dangling pink butterfly charm, and waited to be given the piece of tape. I noticed that several students hid their phones in their purses or their pockets and I rolled my eyes slightly. When I was given my piece of tape, I pulled out a black marker from my backpack and wrote my name. I made sure that the piece of tape would stay on my phone before slipping the marker back into my backpack, and then waited for Mr. Bernard to place my phone in the plastic bin.

Once every phone had been collected, even from the purses and pockets, Mr. Bernard began passing out the exams face down. He seemed to take his time making his way back up to the front of the room, and after glancing at the clock mounted above the blackboard, gave us permission to begin.

"Man, am I tired!" I stretched my arms above my head as I walked down the hallway with my phone safely stowed away in my pocket, and my backpack extremely light on my shoulders. All I had to do was hand in some textbooks and a couple of library books, and then I could go back home. It seems as if I forgot to tell Auntie that I didn't need a packed lunch today; not that it matters, I'll just enjoy it at home before Auntie and Uncle get back. And then off to the cemetery to visit Dad, and then tomorrow is the movie date of hell. Well, technically I was the wingman.

I heard someone walking behind me and I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to see Amy. Instead I saw Terri Nash, another friend of mine, though she's not as close as Sean is. Her medium length chocolate brown hair was pulled into a loose ponytail and her green-yellow eyes seemed troubled. I slowed down my pace and gave her an encouraging smile; unlike Sean and me, Terri has an inferiority complex and Amy didn't really help either.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Kiara. I know today is one of the days that you don't like being bothered." Timidly she glanced at the floor as if the words she needed to say were written on the tiles. "Amy said that she needed some people to go see a movie tomorrow night and she invited me and Richard. She said you and Sean were going too, that's the only reason why I didn't argue with Rich when he said yes."

"Don't worry, Terri. Amy's not after Richard anymore, she's after Sean." I already knew why Terri was concerned. Richard Keyes is a member of the basketball team, and the guy the Amy and I had fought over. In the end, he chose Terri because she didn't terrorize any other girl who got near him. Amy shredded Terri's confidence to a near breaking point that Richard made it clear Amy would've never gotten with him because she was too vindictive and to respect his choice, because I did.

"So she's not trying to humiliate me again?" I felt genuine sympathy for her. I placed my hand on her shoulder gently.

"Nope, it's vengeance on me. Sean asked for more people to be there for him so then it would seem more like friend outing than an actual date, asked me to be his wingman so then she wouldn't flirt too much, then made it clear to her that he wouldn't go with her unless I was there."

"Oh, you mean you two haven't gotten together yet?" Terri smiled slightly as my jaw dropped. I shook my head and began walking down the hall again. "See you tomorrow!"

I stared out of my bedroom window as if in a daze. I had changed into a black sleeveless dress that came to my knees and slipped on the black cardigan again; I had eaten lunch and even had some time to watch a little television. Now I was waiting for Auntie and Uncle to come home so then we could go visit Dad, though Terri's words bounced around in my head.

"You haven't gotten together yet?" That phrase was all too familiar to me, I had heard it from almost all the other available 'bachelorettes' at school, from Amy, even Auntie and Uncle. Sean was like a protective older brother to me, a friend; maybe I could give him a chance when he's not being chased after by almost everyone else. I felt the annoyance well up almost immediately at the thought of being seen at the mall tomorrow with Amy. As far as the public knows, our friendship ended three years ago, and for the most part I'd say that it was a blessing. However, when Richard asked Terri to be his girlfriend, Amy realized all the people that were her friends were using her in order to get to Richard as well.

She came practically crawling back to me, even after she had publically humiliated me. I had made it clear that I wanted nothing to do with her, but then she noticed Sean always at my side and jealousy reared its ugly head. Why should I have a male friend who seemed devoted to me when she had no one? In the end, she wormed her way back into my life by forcing herself on Sean, and now she knows that she won't ever get with him. Tomorrow is going to be such a joy.

I heard Uncle David's car pull up into the driveway, and I shook my head slightly so then I could focus on what was happening. Auntie Sheryl had a bouquet of flowers and she waved up at me. I waved back before grabbing a pair of black pumps and after slipping them on, I went downstairs. I walked past the kitchen to the front door and left the house. Uncle David walked past me with a small smile before going into the house. I glanced at Auntie and noticed her slightly annoyed expression. She was dressed somberly for the visit and I'm assuming Uncle needed to change.

I walked toward the car to stand in front of her. She smiled tightly, like she always did on this day, and I held out my hand to her. She never disappointed me and gripped my hand lightly, giving each other comfort through the simple gesture. This had become a custom for each other whenever we went to go visit Dad.

Uncle David had come back from the house and he was striding toward us, wearing a dress top and a light blazer, keeping on his dress pants. He gave Auntie a quick apologetic smile before climbing back into the car, with Auntie and me following suit. After we buckled ourselves in, Uncle started the car and pulled out of the driveway.

From our house to the cemetery takes about twenty minutes by car; as usual, the ride was silent. I stared out the window blankly, watching the passing trees and other vehicles. I knew Auntie was watching me carefully, trying not to appear as if she was staring, while Uncle focussed on driving. From what I was told, Uncle never really got along with Dad, but he respects him enough to go to his grave for our sake. I thought I saw something blitz past the window and I whipped around to take another look, but whatever it was had disappeared.

I closed my eyes slowly, counting my breaths, knowing that something had been there or else it was a trick of the light. I stared back out the window, but it seemed like everything was normal. I felt the car pull into the familiar parking lot and I felt a little tense when I opened the car door. It took little to no time at all to find Dad's tombstone, and Auntie gave me the bouquet to lie on the grave. I missed him, losing him after seven years of living really didn't seem fair. Life took a turn for the worse after he was gone, but it seems as if things have gotten better since four years ago.

I felt my Uncle place his hand on my shoulder and I glanced back at him to see the strained look on his face. Glancing at Auntie, I understood why. She was crying, but she was staring at me, not Dad's grave. She blamed herself for my misfortune, because she couldn't get enough proof that she needed to save me from Mum earlier on. Everything that happened to me had to have happened for a reason, and deep down I don't believe I'll ever understand why Mum had done what she did. The only thing I know is that Dad's death had unglued her mentally and I was the only one around to take the abuse.

I felt my numb legs move toward her, knowing the only remedy that she needed now was something I could give her. She knew before I even got to her what was about to happen, and she didn't stop me. I pulled her into a hug and waited for her to stop crying. It took maybe ten minutes before she got a hold of her emotions. She patted my arm and I slowly let her go. I watched as she nodded to Uncle and we left shortly after that.

I ended up telling them about going to the theatre with Sean because Amy wouldn't leave him the hell alone until she got him to go with her. Tomorrow seemed like it would take forever to be done and over with. If I had known tonight was going to be the last night that I would ever deem as normal, I probably would've tried to appreciate it more. Because tomorrow, after the movie was the night that changed my whole life, forever.

A/N: Sorry about the bit of suspense there, don't worry though; the next chapter will explain what happened at the theatre and introducing some characters. For those of you who have never read/watched any of the aforementioned titles from the disclaimer, I'm afraid you are going to be a little lost. Rate and/or review please?