Unfinished

Seven

The worst part of school was waking up early. Or maybe it was the noise, or perhaps the homework. Or maybe, Soren thought as he trudged into the building on Monday, it was the stupidity and uselessness of it. Most of what school taught you was useless outside of school. For instance, who really cares about the similarities and differences between Fahrenheit 451 and modern society? He sure didn't. Not that Mrs. Meyers would think that was a valid excuse when he told her he hadn't written his essay. But there were other things to worry about. Like the fact that one of his only friends was dead.

Soren sighed. It's going to be a long day, he thought, and headed off to class.
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By the time lunch rolled around, Soren was at the end of his rope. He couldn't stand the pitying glances and hushed whispers that followed him around school. And he was more than done with all the "I'm so sorry"s he was getting. Now he just wanted to be left alone.
Sitting at the same lunch table he used to share with Becca, he let out a sigh. Every where he went he was bombarded by memories of her, of them. And every time something new came up it was like all the wind was knocked out of him because it made him realize all over again that she was never coming back. He'd never see her again, hear her laugh, listen to her voice of cool water rush over him in a cascade of words. And after he finished her manuscript, he'd never be lost in any of her worlds again.

"Heya!" Someone said cheerfully, sliding into the seat beside him. Soren turned to see who it was, and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

The girl sitting next to him was Ella Ross, straight-A Honors student, top knotch swimmer, quiet good girl, reader, fellow people watcher, carelessly pretty, hopelessly romantic, believer in magic, and all around nice person. She was also a friend of Becca's, they were critique and writing partners, and Ella had hung around with Becca often enough that she'd become Soren's friend, too.

Soren didn't really know why he was surprised to see Ella, sitting with him after their mutual friend died was exactly the kind of nice person thing Ella did. He supposed that he'd assumed that she was more Becca's freind than his, and wouldn't really care about him after Becca had passed on. Which was stupid, of course, Ella would never do anything like that. He immediatley felt bad.

"Hello," Soren said cautiously, hoping she wasn't going to talk about Becca. He changed that thought. If Ella had to talk to anyone about Becca, he preffered it to be him, but he was really not doing all that great in regards to her himself.

"So, I have this book you absolutely have to read. It's sort of sci-fi, sort of dystopian, but mostly it's a romance. It's called For Darkness Shows the Stars. It's brilliant."

"I bet it is," Soren chuckled, relieved that he was having a normal conversation.Well, it was a normal conversation with Ella, book recomendations and rants and deep philosophical musings. That was Ella, really. Books, frustration with other human beings, and retreats deep inside herself, or far outside of herself, to ask unanswerable questions. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it, missed her, until now. If Becca were here, everything would be perfect. If Becca were here.

"Soren? Are you okay?"

"Not really." He couldn't look at her, but he could tell that she was looking at him. "It's just, I keep thinking about her and how she's never coming back. And, you know, I even have this story she was working on. It was like halfway between a novel and a journal, and I've been reading it and..." He trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't cry , especially here, in front of the entire school. Then he felt a hand on his arm.

"I know. I know what it's like missing her, and I know how hard her life was. And I even know what story you are talking about. She asked me to write a chapter. Soren, what I'm trying to say is that I get it. But perhaps it would be better if we didn't talk here. What do you say to coming to my house after school?"

He looked at her, and she looked right back, and he said yes.