Love Is A Shining Star

CHAPTER ELEVEN

More than a week had passed since Walter and I have been volunteering at the society together, and I had been thinking of him as a friend. But the event of the night before last pierced my heart. It was no more than a nightmare now, and I didn't want to think about it, but I hated the thought of having to see him again. I was wrapped deeply in my thoughts when Jennie called me down for breakfast. My face looked pale and my eyes, swollen from crying, felt as if they were burning. I quietly picked at my breakfast and did not say a word.

"What's the matter?" Jennie asked, looking concerned, "You look ill and pale. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, trying to avoid eye contact.

The weather was dark and gloomy. It looked like it was going to rain in a few hours, and it probably would result in more snow and chilly weather. The temperature had fallen quite low and it was colder than yesterday. It was freezing outside and the roads were covered with snow. I sat alone and warmed myself for half an hour by the fire before leaving for work. Jennie was already gone and didn't say a word to me because she was angry at me for being silent, and ignoring her; she just left quietly and quickly with Paul.

When I reached my office, I talked to Raven about the upcoming appointments. Then Dr. Sarah spotted me and asked me to join her for a cup of coffee. I didn't want to be with her, but I had no choice except to join her at the cafeteria. We sat down and she first talked about her tour to Turkey, and then kept asking me a whole bunch of different questions. When I felt that she was about to bring up the subject on Walter, I excused myself from her company and left. I bumped into Dr. Sam, and he congratulated me for my dedicated work at the hospital, and my hard work at the society.

As I eventually left the hospital, the weather was turning rough and it seemed like it was about to rain. I left about a half an hour earlier than usual, and I reached the society early. I tried not to look at Walter, although I could feel that he was continuously gazing at me. I ignored him completely and I consulted our senior worker, Miss Diana, to sort out the problems and other issues of children and co-workers. When I came out of the office, I still ignored him and didn't speak a word until Andy asked me to take everyone to the amusement park. I gave Andy a hug and told him that unfortunately we couldn't go. I gave him chocolates instead, and told him that we would all go later. Neither Walter, nor I, spoke to each other until we found ourselves in a situation in which we had too.

I had been searching for an extremely important file, but couldn't find it. And just as I was leaving, I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Miss Laura, I think I found the important file you were looking for," he said, holding out the file towards me.

I took the file and mumbling a half-hearted thank you before I quickly walked away. I could not look at him. What he had said the day before was too much for me, and I didn't even want to see his face. I left without saying goodbye to anyone.

I wanted to go to a CD store that was far away, but had the best selection. It was quite a dangerous place due to gangs and ruffians frequented that area, but I had to buy some new CDs, and that was the best place. I took a cab; the driver was a nice man, but he dropped me on the main road about 300 meters away from the CD store. He left after I paid him, and I felt very alone. I looked around and I didn't see a single person on the street. I pulled my coat tightly around me as I felt a shiver run down my back, and started walking quickly towards the store.

I took more than half an hour selecting the best CDs, and when I finally finished and left the store, there were dark, threatening clouds in the sky, and it looked like it was already late in the evening. While I walked along the road looking for a cab, I shivered because the temperature had dropped dramatically. I had my coat on, but it wasn't enough for this type of weather. It was windy and it felt like it was about 15 degrees colder than it was in the morning.