No Guidelines

Chapter 12-3

  Darkness surrounded her and flooded her senses until her cries were all that she could hear. The arms reached out to hold her, rocking her back and forth in the water. She could still hear her music, echoing as if it were from another room. It was practically inaudible but the sound was still there.

  The water began to ripple, then turned into waves pushing Audrey. Something massive splashed but she couldn't see it, only feeling the tiny remnants of water that fell on her face. She knew what it was, she wasn't clueless. It splashed again out of her sight—its force, reverberating, dissipating the arms that held her. Her safety net was gone. Her body drifted along with the powerful waves.

  She closed her eyes, only opening them once, slightly. The darkness looked like it was getting lighter—bluer. She could have sworn she saw fish swim past her, but the details flew by too fast. It was enough to terrify her. She kept her eyes closed, even as she slowed to a crawl, seemingly floating in place. That's when she could hear it more clearly. The song that echoed miles away earlier was now audible.

~Oh I'm ready to be somebody else~

  One of her songs. Why did the lyrics come to her at that moment? For no reason at all, memories of Natalie came to her mind; the time they tried on dresses together, sitting in the rain together, singing with her—even the very cardigan she wore was a reminder of her. Thoughts of Adrian followed suit; them walking to his house, watching movies together, holding his hand. Suddenly Audrey felt warmer. She opened her eyes and she was back in the nurse's bed. She sat up, wiping her eyes. They felt so heavy and sunken but she was smiling. Laughing to herself at the memories her friend gave her.

  She left the nurse's office, ready to see her friends at lunch. But it wasn't lunch anymore. It was the end of the school day. I slept through the whole day again!?

  She pulled out her phone. A text from her mother let her know she had about five minutes only. She ran to the spot Sam and Looz would normally be and thankfully, they were still there. Adrian was too, a much need addition to her day.

  "Dri, where the hell have you been?" Looz asked, her voice nearly cracking with the amount of worry she had.  "What's wrong, you've been crying."

  "Where's Natalie?" She asked, dodging Looz's concern.

  "I think she left," Sam said.

  Adrian turned on the bench he was sitting on, it now between his legs. "You were crying, Audrey? Are you okay?" He asked.

  "Yes, I'm fine, I just realize now what I want to do," she said. She took a deep breath, her hands still trembling at the thought. "I'm going to do the Talent show."

  Sam was outspoken in her encouragement of the idea, grabbing Audrey for a hug. She squeezed her tight and swung her side to side.

  However, Looz was vocal about her concern. "Dri are you sure? You puked in our biology presentation for Drucker's class back in 8th grade."

  "Don't remind me," Audrey said, cringing at the memory. She shook her head. "But I'm sure about this." Looz looked at Audrey's hands, prompting her to look down. Not only was she picking her thumbs, but they still trembled. She quickly hid them in her cardigan pockets.

  "Look, I'm just cold, okay, but I need you to trust me, I want to do this," she said.

  "I say you should do it! I'd love to hear you sing!" Adrian said. He was ecstatic at the idea. Audrey blushed at how cute and happy he was about it but the thought of him watching her sing made her simultaneously not want to do it.

  Oh, Adrian please don't make me change my mind, she thought.

  Looz still looked at her, a look that dug into Audrey's mind. Audrey could tell when Looz was really trying to understand her. She was the only person that went that extra mile. After a couple of seconds, she finally asked the question. "Why do you want to do it?"