I Saw Her Standing There

It was Saturday morning, the second day of the youth rally. I woke up at 8 A.M. to get ready for church at 10 A.M. but getting ready didn't take nearly that long so I decided to stroll around the dormitory. There wasn't much to see, so strolling became more like walking up and down the stairs aimlessly. I must have walked up and down those stairs forty or fifty times before I finally stopped. And why did I stop? Because I got tired. . . No, but really when I was halfway down the stairs for the umpteenth time, I happened to look out the window. That's when I saw her. All this time I thought she wouldn't be there, but there she was standing on the sidewalk. The Girl in the Blue Hoodie was back.

     I quickly rushed the rest of the way down the stairs and was ready to burst out the door, but then stopped, checked myself, and then casually walked out the door as if I were just getting some air. I walked over to a tree not to far from her and pretended like I didn't notice her. Waiting for her to notice me. You know, because I didn't want to look like I had been waiting for her or anything. I didn't want to seem weird (because leaning against a tree looking every which way except in her direction isn't weird or anything.)

     She didn't seem to notice, so I just decided I would go ahead and say "hi." I started walking over when she finally did notice me. "Oh my gosh!" She said, "It's you! You weren't here last May like you promised."

     "Yeah, I got appendicitis." I replied.

     "Like that's an excuse." She returned jokingly. Just then another person walked up. He was the toolpick guy I saw in the dorm the night before. And yes, I said "toolpick." It's a word I made up combining the word tooth pick (which describes his features) and tool (which describes his personality.) Truthfully, toolprick probably fits him a little better. She introduced us: "Evan, this is my friend, Nash. Nash, this is Evan." I shook his boney hand. It never crossed my mind that this guy might be her boyfriend. My brain kept telling me he was her cousin or something.

     After some idle chit-chat she and I parted ways and said we would get together at breakfast. Then she walked away with Evan and the nagging thought that they might be dating grew a little stronger in my mind. I had to find out for sure. Thus began The Summer of Darkness. . .