Stuck at the Galleria

Intermission: The Division (part 2)

I slumped a little and looked for something to change the subject. Gosh. All the time before it felt like being around girls was just like being around anyone else, but Nora? Whoo, that was being in the presence of The Girl. Not just any girl, but one that makes everything awkward and tense and hilarious. The one that smiled at your jokes even when you think you botched them up, and the one who was willing to gloss over your stumbles for the good of your relationship-- wait, maybe not a relationship, since that would be like marriage or something (eugh) but just, your connection. Let's call it a Thing.

Nor was willing to gloss over my stumbles for the good of our Thing. A bit informal, but hey, it works.

As I pondered that, it dawned on me. This whole night I'd just seemed to have ignored that one important detail: I knew the old Nora before I knew the Nora of now, and I tried to remember what she was like. But all that I could recall were those scissors.

"Nor, can I ask you something? Sorry if it's personal or anything, don't answer if it'd be stepping over a line."

She rolled her eyes. "Shoot."

"Why'd you run away?"

For the first time ever Nora was dead silent, and not intentionally. The question almost seemed to break her flow, and I was guilty for it. I almost stated my regret when she whispered, "It was my parents. They wanted a divorce."

I gulped. "I'm sorry, Nora, I didn't mean to--"

"Shh. You should know."

"Okay," I solemnly replied with a nod.

"They wanted me to pick a side. I was only nine, and I knew I loved them both. There was nothing in the world that could make me choose one over the other, so I took a third route. Yeah, I know, I was a coward, but there wasn't a thing in my little head that could make me feel like life would be complete with just one. So I picked none."

"Do you think you'll pick?"

"I dunno. But if not, I can just bunk with Noah, he'll let me in if anyone will."

"Well, I guess you can figure out when the time comes. Maybe then you might get to look around the outside."

"I think I might have to look forward to that. The Galleria can even get stale after a while. A long while, but a while, nonetheless."

"Yeah, it's wonderful. I especially like the summers, when the parks got to the point when everything as far as the skyline was all green. It's always fantastic to look at even though you feel like you may be cooking under the rays of the sun. Hot, but heavenly, I used to call it."

Nor reacted with a smile, and those good ol' chartreuse eyes glowed with a certain charm I'd never seen her show. I think she might've realized I was staring a little, so she turned away, but still, it was that one second of felicity that I noticed that changed things.

She was a complicated one, that Nora. Those irises weren't able to utter a single phrase, and yet, it felt almost as if they told the most of all about who she was. Always, there was something deeper to be found within, and it was nearly like she used them to lure me into that world that lied beyond its verdant portals.

Problem is, I didn't know how to fit myself in. But surely I could try, and if that didn't work, well, time well wasted.

"Hey, Nora," I said, not thinking at all but still feeling like I knew what I meant. "If you wanted to, I'd show it all to you up close."

"You'd do that?"

"Yeah. If you decided to leave, that is. I'm not saying you have to or anything, but I'll be out there, you know?"

Nor smirked, and I broke into pieces but kept myself composed just long enough.

"I'd love to, T," she said. "But first, I have to show you something."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Just a thing. You'll like it."

I blinked a couple of times. "Alright."

----

"Come on, genius, we've got things to see!" Nor said, her tone more perky than usual. I dragged behind her as she pulled me forward, and as I attempted to keep up I started to notice that my feet sometimes hit the ground with stumbles and other times they impacted like cinder blocks on pavement, bam, bam, bam.

"Bluh!"

She stopped. "Whatever, I guess we don't have to rush too much. Besides, we're here."

I pulled myself up to find a long footbridge over a watery rectangle down on the first floor.

"Hehe. I used to love it here," I said. "It's too bad they stopped the old waterfall. My mom probably was glad they did. I would always ask to go there even if all she came to the Galleria for was a book or to return a movie to FilmStock."

Just then, a set of bold green lights showed up on either side of the boardwalk, and out of the walls came nature's shower (or an accurate depiction thereof). I smiled.

"I didn't forget everything about you, Trevor," said Nora with a smirk. "All I needed was a little reminder."

"Dude. How'd you get this?! I thought they took it out!"

"Grassy has his methods," she said, taking a key card out of her pocket. "and I have mine."

It had the photograph of Carl Weisgerber's mug imprinted over the black and sky blue Westland logo on it. I looked at it with awe and snickered a little.

"That is amazing. This is amazing," I said, sitting down on a bench. "Thank you, Nora."

"Eh," she said, plopping down next to me. "I try."