KAHLAN AND DAMON "So how is school going?" Damon asked me, "I know you've gotten in to some trouble, but you've made friends right? And a boy likes you. How are your grades?" I chuckled to myself. It was like I was in therapy. I guess that would never change. After all, he was my therapist and we were going to be trapped in a car together all day. "One question at a time, jeez. Grades are good, so far, considering I haven't been going there for very long. I guess I have friends...mainly boys, but I think this is better, there is less drama." Less drama? Hmm, is that why you fought my sister Damon thought. "What about this boy who tried to kiss you?" I felt bad when I thought of him. "His name is Chad," I replied. "He's pretty cool. But I'm not really ready for a relationship right now. I think trust is a big issue." Damon looked over at me. "He's not Ryan Wingo." "Not exactly. But he's a man. He can still hurt me. He's stronger than me." "Anyone could still hurt you, but not ev
ROBERT Mr. Woods was always the last person to exit the plane. It was standard and respectful for the captain. He had left his daughter two days ago, and now found himself missing her, as he always did, but something was different. He had a gut feeling that he should call and check in. He nodded at future passengers, waved and gave out what few Captain stickers he had in his pants to the children. He loved his job. It was great pay, he met many people and got to see different places. It was a blessing to him, it seemed like a curse for Carly. All she wanted was her father to be home. He wouldn't lie, he had missed some of the important things a young girl goes through; first school dance to her first date, to cheerleading competitions. He wished his wife were here. She had died giving birth to Carly. A risk they were aware of when a child is breech, and having to go into an emergency c-section. The day his daughter was born, he lost the woman he loved. It was hard on him. He knew not
KAHLAN AND CHAD Chad and I sat in the waiting room, alone, in silence. Ashley had left to be at her best friend's bedside, just like I wanted her to be. Though I know it was best for Carly, I wished Ashley hadn't left us. The situation between Chad and I was a bit awkward. I tried not to look his way, as he sat in the chair beside me, but I could feel his eyes on me. He obviously wanted to say something to me, and I did want to talk to him...eventually. "So where did you disappear to?" He asked. Now I looked him in his face. It wasn't something I thought he would ask. True, I thought it would be something that he would ask later on, after we made up, but Chad was a man of many questions, and this one seemed to be at the top of his list. "I went to visit my parents," I answered. "Oh... Well I was looking for you." "Oh yeah, what for?" "To apologize... I feel like an idiot," he answered, "You're right. I'm not your boyfriend. Who you talk to, and what you do with them, and why isn
KAHLAN "Hey Kahlan," James said with a smile, "Can I talk to you for a minute." I had my answer. He was waiting for me. I had a feeling this wouldn't be a good talk. "No thanks," I responded, ready to walk right past him. He grabbed me by the arm, whirled me back around, where we could see each other face to face. He wasn't holding me as tight as he held Carly, but still, I felt discomfort and some fear. " I'm gonna need you to let go of my arm." "I just wanted to talk to you," he snarled lowly, "listen...I don't know what you think you know about Carly. Or about what happened to her but I'm going to need you to butt out before someone gets hurt." That was my idea of a confession. However, it was also a warning. "Before who gets hurt?" I asked, giving my arm a little tug, hoping he'd let me go, but he didn't budge. "Before I get hurt?" He just stared. "Who's going to hurt me James? Are you going to hurt me?" He pulled me at such a fast speed, so much closer to him, where I could fe
KAHLAN AND CARLY It had been 5 days since Carly's accident, and her father had yet to show up. But he was sure to call 5 to 10 times a day, with an excuse. It was odd to me, I figured he should have been moving heaven and Earth to get her but he obviously wasn't. After her cleanup and days of pain meds, she was up walking around, like nothing had happened to her. The doctor explained to me that the welts weren't that deep, and would take a few weeks to heal up, possibly leaving a few thin scars. She was lucky. It seemed she was more in shock than anything. Today was the day she was getting released and it was in my custody. "Hello, hello, hello," I said in song as I entered Carly's room, giving a little knock, just in case I was interrupting something. She sat at the end of her bed, smiling, already dressed and ready to go. "I have to say, you are a trooper. That has to be the fastest recovery I have ever seen. It's impressive." "Well, nothing can keep me down," she muttered, trying
KAHLAN AND DAMON "How are you today Dr Meir?" I asked, taking a seat in his chair as I did everytime I came into his office. He gave me a strange look, as if trying to communicate something with me. I disregarded it. I prepared myself for this meeting as best as I could. If Damon Meir wouldn't like my answers regarding James Blake or Carly Woods, he would have to get over it. "I'm alright, you?" I inhaled, thinking over everything that had taken place over the last few days. I had one answer. "Better." "Yeah, I recall you saying that." I smiled. "But what does that mean?" I thought about it. I got to see my home. I got to talk to my family and just get away for a while. Not just that, but I got to save a life. I got to help someone. That was the best feeling, now that I was really thinking about it. "It means happiness," I responded, "I feel happy. I feel like I've finally been able to let myself go." "Let yourself go?" He asked for clarification. I nodded my head. All of these
KAHLAN AND DAMON "Well I first noticed Ryan at a restaurant Angie's family owns. He was a bus boy." I chuckled at the memory. "A very cute bus boy, I might add. I mean, I had seen him around school, but we ran in very different circles. So we never really had a chance to get together and talk." Damon looked. "He was the first guy to walk right up to me in front of my parents and ask for my number, because I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. You should have heard it. It was the cheesiest line ever." I stood up and walked over to Damon's bookshelf, glancing at the books while I talked. I didn't want Damon to see my face as I talked about the old Ryan, because sometimes, those memories still made me smile. They were good memories, but I felt bad for having them. What would Angie and dad think? What would Dr. Meir think? "We dated for a year, my longest relationship yet. He would send me one single rose with all the thorns on it every day he didn't see me. It was really cute."
SANDINO Sandino was lost. That was the only way to describe what he was thinking and feeling. He was caught between two girls and the feelings of a close friend. There was something about seeing Brooke today at her favorite spot, he didn't know what it was. It brought comfort for him to know that not everything was a lie. He still, in some way, knew her. It also helped to know that she was thinking about him and that she did, to some extent, want to be with him. But then there was Kahlan. He didn't know her as well as he knew Brooke, but she just seemed so trustworthy. She seemed to be the person that you could count on when everything was falling apart. She seemed stable and strong minded, something about her just attracted him to her. She was gorgeous, no doubt. She was sweet and had a little bit of a humorous side. Sandino had somehow found himself outside of the Meir home. How did he get here? Why was he here? He had thoughts about walking up and knocking, ready to really talk to
~ELLA~ Ella rushed up to one of the cops on the scene. The waiting around was killing her. The cops had begun to clear out one part of the building. There was an automotive class-taking place, and their escape was out the garages of the North side of the building. Officers were planning on storming through there. That was the last that she had heard of their plans. There were two students hurt, but at least ten evacuated. That gave some hope. There were no fatalities. Ella wanted to help."I'm an off duty nurse," she stated, "I'm here to offer any assistance." The cop looked at her."Do you have your badge?" She pulled out her nursing badge and let the cop examine it. At least he was being thorough."Go on over to the par
~JUSTIN, EMETT AND MYA~ Mya snuck the guys into one of the pool exits. It threw them off course just a bit to get the front office, but as long as they got inside, Justin didn’t care. He would find a way to Kahlan."How did you know this would be open?" Justin asked quietly. He wasn’t comfortable with Mya leading them. As men, they should be protecting her. She should be behind them."They cut the electricity off," she whispered back, "That means that the doors that were usually on manual locks, would open." Justin never paid attention to things like that, so he was glad that Mya did, otherwise, they may have still been outside, trying to find a way in, or they would have given up."How did you know there were
~KAHLAN AND BROOKE~ "It’s been five minutes!" Brooke shouted at me as quiet as she could when I returned to her side. She had gotten loud as if she was angry, but she was scared. She was sweating bullets, her face looking as if she had gotten caught in the rain."I know, I'm sorry," I said, "Did anyone text back?" She shook her head. "Damn it." Brooke looked at me. She wanted so badly for me to have good news for her, but I didn’t."What are we going to do?" she asked as she placed a hand over her belly. I stared down at her stomach. It was more than out lives at stake, it was the life of this unborn child. I couldn't give her an answer; so instead, I looked around, trying to come up with our next move.
~AMY, CHAD AND JASON~Jason looked, asking himself the same question. What was his problem? The fact that his friend and girlfriend lied to him… yep, that was it."I don't have a problem," Jason answered softly."Well you sure do stomp around like you do," Chad said."I'm upset," Jason replied. "I don't know how I should feel, but I know I don't hate you. Most of me misses you guys, but there is still a part of me that can't get over the fact that you two lied. And when I think about it, I can see you guys in my head, and it just makes me sick to my stomach.""Let us help you get over it," Amy said getting to her feet, "trying to avoid us and staying mad at us obviously isn't helping." Jason looke
~JUSTIN~ Everyone got to their knees outside, at the sound of another gunshot. The group was pushed back further from the school as more people escaped. Now officers had arrived on the scene. They had begun pushing everyone back across the parking lot, closer to the street and the surrounding homes. Justin couldn’t just stand around and do nothing. He was not the type to feel powerless."I have to get in there," he demanded, pushing past Carly. He didn’t even get a few feet, before he was thrown to the ground. He landed on his left knee pretty hard, feeling the pain of the pavement. He looked up and saw Coach Myers on top of him."Where do you think your going boy?" the coach growled."I ha
~KAHLAN AND CARLY~“So you have a date tonight?” Carly asked as we made our way to the front of the school. I glanced over at her as we walked down the hall. I had to stop by my locker to drop off my textbooks. We agreed that to car pool for a while. It saved time and gas money.“Its not a date.” “Yeah, but you want it to be.” She grinned. I looked over at her. It seemed that Carly might have knew more than I did. Justin and I had discussed going out together. As far as I was concerned it was just as friends. Though I wasn’t sure exactly what we were doing. Justin just said it was a birthday surprise.“Its two friends hanging out.” I responded. She looked at me. &l
~CARLY AND JUSTIN~Justin rushed through the crowds of teens pooling into the lunchroom. He was chasing one particular person down, and wanted to get to her before she reached their lunch table. He reached out and touched Carly’s shoulder, pulling her back.“Hey,” she said with a slight chuckle, his force a bit surprising. The last time she was grabbed like that, James was the one with the force. She was able to push the thought away from her mind rather quick. “What’s going on?” He seemed eager.“What do you think I should get Kahlan for her birthday?” That wasn’t a question she thought he’d ask.“Well, what do you think she wants?” She questioned, “besides you naked in a bow?”
~BROOKE AND SANDINO~ Brooke knocked on Sandino’s door. She had heard that he didn’t go to school, and figured now would be the best time to go over, since his mother would be at work. Dino opened the door, looking at her through the screen."What do you want?" he asked. She looked. So far, this was going better than expected. She didn’t even think that he would open the door, let alone speak to her."Just to talk.""I don’t want to talk. Not to you anyway.” He looked as if he had been sleeping the day away, hiding from the embarrassment that she caused."I don’t want you to hate me," she spoke out. Hate was a strong word, but if anyone was going to
~KAHLAN AND JUSTIN~ I stood at my locker, putting away my books when Justin walked up to me. I could feel his presence before I saw her. He stood behind me."Hey," he said. I turned around to look at him. We hadn't talked since what happened in my pool, and since I blurted all my thoughts and feelings at the lunch table. It seemed that our time had now come. I was ready to talk to him and it seemed that he was ready to talk to me."Hi," I said quietly."How are you?" he asked."I'm good," I answered, "You?""Not so much," He responded, putting his hands into his pockets. I looked at him. He did look a mess, as if he were losing sleep