Another Life, JenniferNewman [short story to read .TXT] 📗

a car accident. The cab driver had skidded of the road and crashed into a tree I stopped listening for a bit because memories of my dads accident were coming flooding back to me I changed onto another gossiper who was talking about the youngest a girl named something like Maria or Marina who had started going to the same collage as me. There was something about a middle son but I lost interest and well I only listened because the was really nothing else to do and well I would surely find all this out soon enough from my Mum when we were cleaning all this ‘mess’ up later today.
“Hey there.” I swung around sharply to see Parker standing in front of me in shorts and a t-shirt with the same writing on it as he had the day he had walked me home. I could now make out what it said but was still none the wiser it looked like it was in another language maybe French since I had never been very good at it and had quit as soon as year nine. Well not very good was really an understatement I was dreadful my French teacher was glad to see the back of me.
“Huh what are you doing here?” I asked stupidly. Did my voice really go that high?
“Well you said your Mum was having a Garden party and well she invited my family so we could get to know the neighbors a bit better. She had no idea we had been living here for five years now.” He laughed. I didn’t really get what was funny but hey who cares. Wait had he just said my Mum had invited him. Wow thanks Mum even though you had no idea you had to warn me. Okay enough with the talking to myself I'm freaking myself out!
That was just like my Mum to invite new people to her famous Garden party’s so that everyone would know that she had known the ‘new people’ first. God!
“Right.” I looked down since I had no idea what to say. Okay I thought to myself maybe if I just don’t speak that much I wouldn’t embarrass myself. Okay I'm remembering the last time I saw Parker and he had been punching the air and whispering to himself. I think I’ll be okay after all.
“So I see the Garden looks nice. I'm gunna guess that thanks to your handy work?” Parker was obviously trying to make small talk but it was really not working. I smiled awkwardly.
So I'm still acting really weird but I don’t know this boy much and his talking like we have known each other for years. Freaky.
Okay I'm over reacting. I just realized that I still hadn’t answered Parker’s question. Oops.
“Yeah. Well not really it always looks like this. My Mum wouldn’t have it any other way.” I replied trying to sound normal about having to pause for so long. Something told me in his face that it was a wasted effort. He still looked like he was laughing at me. This coming from a guy who it seemed to me had an ‘imaginary friend’ worrying. I was still freaking myself out by having little convocations in my head. Maybe I really was going crazy and then again maybe not. I thought as I turned back to Parker after checking that my Mum was busy with her ‘friends’ still. I saw that he was yet again staring at fin air as if it had really offended him in some way.
When he noticed I had seen him doing this he smiled awkwardly but kept glancing back to the same spot every so often. Just when I think the boy might really be normal he stars acting like a crazy person again. Right.......
After about five more minutes of small talk Arlene South walked over to where I and Parker were standing and demanded my attention. Thank god!
“So who’s your friend?” she asked once Parker had made his excuses after hearing about two minutes of Arlene’s frantic chatter. If only it was that easy for me!
“His names Parker. Well that’s pretty much all I know to tell you the truth.” I was not the type to really gossip but this for a change wasn’t a lie that was really all I knew about Parker. Apart from the fact that he lived nearby. Well everyone would know that now thanks to my Mums inviting them. I groaned inwardly as more of Arlene’s friends came to join the convocation.
After about one minute of listening to their gossiping I blanked out and stated to think about whatever it was that was going through my head. Which if you asked I would never be able to tell you since it was pretty much just plain crap.
I gave up on that pretty fast and instead started to look around at all the people who had turned up to ‘admire’ our beautiful garden. All of them were basically dressed the same as Mrs. West. You would have thought this was the event of the year when really this kind of thing happened almost every week at some place or another what I wouldn’t give to get out of here and over to my friend Sophie’s where everyone else would be but of course I would have to be here till the end.
I closed my eyes for a second and before I knew it Arlene’s pale hand was on my shoulder with her ‘stylish’ green dress sleeve waking me in the face. I rolled my eyes before opening them again only to find one of Arlene’s friends that I could not be asked to remember saying something like,
“He’s so hot. Where did you find him Rose?” Huh find who? I followed their gaze over to where Parker was standing. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud please tell me that one of the ‘perfect five’ was really hitting on Parker. Well that was a new one since when did they ever have eyes for someone who didn’t wear suits all day long?
I was still laughing when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned thinking I was going to see either my Mum about to scold me for being so ‘rude’ to our guest or more of Arlene’s friends that I didn’t have the time to learn. Like I cared. Instead I found nothing just something that looked like mist. Okay...... now I was imaging things to. I stopped laughing and kept looking behind me in case I had missed something. Things just kept getting stranger.
Suddenly my thoughts came back to Tuesday when I had gone back to my old house. Where we had lived before my dads...... Accident. I was still thinking of it that and I would continue till I had no other choice in the matter. What I had heard could have been wrong. No I was sure it was wrong. Anyway this was not the place to be mulling over these things. I was meant to be acting happy.....
I made my excuses still not answering what’s her names question and made my way back up towards the house. My thoughts were everywhere I couldn’t make out anything of what I was doing so when I walked back into the house and walked up the many stairs it took to get to the 3rd floor landing and start walking towards the study where the main computer was. I was pretty surprised at where my thoughts were taking me.
I got into the room and went straight to the chair in front of the computer. I pulled it out and went to sit down but when I was meant to have reached the chair seat I kept going and landing straight on the floor. How the hell?
I got up of the floor think I that I was lucky no one else had seen me. Damn I hated chairs on wheels! How had I become so clumsy?
Oh well I laughed at my stupidity and went to sit done again this time making sure that the chair didn’t move. My back hurt a little where I had slammed into the chair on my way down to the floor and it was becoming more noticeable the more I sat here.
Ignoring the shooting pains I turned on the PC and waited impatiently for it to load. When the log in screen popped up I quickly typed in my password and waited again for it to log on. To think I used to think this computer was quick now it felt like it was taunting me with its slowness.
Suddenly the screen went black and all the lights go off on the screen border and looked under the table to see that the lights that told me the computer was on had switched off too. You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding!
I was really uptight when I heard someone coming up the stairs and swizzeld round in my chair to see Parker walking in with a slightly angry about something and looked around the room like he was looking for something in particular. He must have found it because he stopped suddenly and glared at the corner of the room. Okay here goes with strange behavior again.
“Umm Parker what are you doing up here?” I muttered looking at him as if he was mad. Which is true I was coming to the belief that he was.
“Are you okay?” He asked looking at me in a way that was way to caring for my liking.
“Yes. Is there a reason why I shouldn’t be?” what was he on about? And why was he even up here deciding to glare at the wall? Was that anywhere near normal!?!
“No sorry was just asking since..... Well you do look kind pissed.” He said the last part as if he was trying not to laugh. Here we go again. When I continued to frown at him he looked down and apologized as he should.
I looked again at my computer and decided what I was going to do was one way to rash and two not the time. I got up and walked over to the door were Parker was still standing awkwardly. Good, good. When I left the room I could hear Parker’s heavy footfalls behind me. Somehow this again reminded me of the night I had gone to my old house. Okay here we go again. I will not think about that now! Later.
“Sorry. Did I interrupt you? I mean you just looked kind of upset when you came up so I thought maybe...... umm I could help I guess.” Even without turning round in could tell that Parker had that stupid annoying self obsessed look on his face. I was walking at a really quick pace thanks to the fact that I wanted to get as far away from, one the computer and to Parker since he somehow seemed to know everything and was pretty much amused by it all. That I slipped on to edge on the stairs and had to try and catch hold of the banister before I fell head first down my full flight of stairs.
I could almost count all the stairs there were to the bottom when to strong hand grabbed hold of my arm and stopped me from toppling down. I looked up to see Parker no longer looking amused but looking really pissed off. I wasn’t sure if this was because of my balance of lack of it might be a better word but I thought I saw the same mist hanging behind Parker and got distracted