Mirror to Ilithia

Multicolored leaves feel off the giant twisted trees landing gently on the cold grassy path as my best friend, Holly and I walked down it on our way to school.

“I can’t wait to see Cole today!” I said excitedly as Holly and I glided past the blue berry bushes that surrounded the first half of the path.

“You can never wait to see him; if you don’t see him for five minutes you have a freak attack.”

“Holly, you’re just mad because Cole always has better comebacks when you bring it on yourself.”

Holly always hated it when I was right, I just always laughed. It’s not like it was always right, I mean she told me that Cole was going to call me, and I doubted her, but he did. Then, we both had this ‘talent’ I guess you could say; Holly would bring the people together, and I would give advice on love. It was something Holly and I both enjoyed, and not to brag, but we were both very good at it. The weird thing about it all is that she hooked 9 out of 10 people up and I was 9 out of 10 times right, but no matter how many times we are right, we never can seem to get ourselves guys; especially when those guys are our best friends.

“Well, he should be more like Jerry, very kind and loving, with amazing eyes,” Holly said sighing.

I just laughed and looked at her, “His amazing eyes,” I repeated laughing.

“Yes, he has amazing eyes, as well as his butt.”

I began to laugh even harder, “You look.”

“Uh Yea, you can’t tell me that you don’t look at Cole’s,” Holly said stopping me.

“I don’t,” I said pushing forward.

“Phoebe!”

“Fine, sometimes.”

Holly only looked at me with that ‘yea right’ look she had going on, and that clearing the throat sound.

“Fine! A lot, but you do to,” I said trying to make some kind of brainless excuse.

“Yes, but I admit it,” Holly said proudly. We just laughed and continued on down the path, twisting and turning as we got past the rest of the blue berry bushes and the numerous short branches that we ducked and moved around. After a couple minutes of silence a twig snapped behind us which made us turn completely around and scream.

“Did I scare you?” Jerry said smiling.

“Yes you did,” I said.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Jerry said ignorantly.

“Well, excuse me!” I said turning around.

“Boo!” Cole said as his eyes met mine. I could hear him take a breath after saying it; I could almost hear his heart beat as fast as mine.

“Nice one dude!” Jerry said high fiving him as I started to get over the shock.

“Thanks Cole,” I said pushing him out of the way as I walked before everyone.

“Hey now, it is just a joke, and Jerry put me up to it anyway,” Cole said grabbing me by the arm.

“Aw,” Jerry and Holly said looking at Cole and me with his hand still holding my arm.

“Ok, I forgive you,” I said not even hearing him; I was just so happy that he is touching my arm. “You on the other hand, are very annoying,” I said punching Jerry in the arm. “Well sorry,” he said rubbing his arm.

“Holly, give me your iPod.”

“No, Cole, you need to get your own.”

“Just give me that iPod.”

“Say please, Cole,” Holly said holding it in her hands.

“No,” Cole said grabbing it and quickly putting the earphones in his ears as he fell behind us, getting lost in the music.

“Ugh….I don’t know how you can like him,” Holly whispered into my ear.

“I don’t know how you can like that,” I said pointing to Jerry who was back with Cole with one of the earphones in his ear dancing like no one was watching. Holly and I just laughed as we peered over at shoulders frequently to see Cole and Jerry dancing. Holly and I continued talking until Jerry came up behind us and began tickling Holly. I just silently laughed as I looked back at Cole was still listening to Holly’s iPod. When he seen me looking at him, he called me back to him and I put one of the earphones in my ears. To my surprise, he wasn’t listening to some loud rock song; he was listening to Whatever it takes by Lifehouse.

“You like this song?” I looked at him shocked and kind of confused. Cole never really seemed like the kind of guy that would listen to a song so insightful and majestic.

“Yea, this is a good song.”

“Phoebe likes Cole,” Holly sung.

“And Cole likes Phoebe,” Jerry sang along.

“Shut up!” We both screamed to Jerry and Holly who just cracked up laughing.

Cole and I looked at each other and blushed as we continued on the path. It was times like these that I really believed we could be together, as a couple, but there are other times where he lets sports control his life, and lets all kinds of girls lay all over him, and it really gets me thinking if we could ever be together. I am pretty sure that he likes me, at least in some way, but as soon as someone (other than Jerry and Holly) says something about us he loses it. He starts off by saying he doesn’t like me, and we’re just friends, then he says stuff to me that just hurts. He is an amazing friend, and is an amazing guy, when it is just the four of us, but around everyone, he is a different guy.

“Do you guys want to meet here after school?” Holly said interrupting my thoughts.

“I’ll come,” Jerry said. It figured he would answer first. I giggled under my breath at the way Jerry would jump at an opportunity to spend time with Holly, “I’ll come to.” We all looked over to Cole who was still listening to Whatever it takes and had this depressing, apologetic look on his face.

“Cole, are you coming here after school?” I said as I tapped him on the shoulder.

“Yea, I’ll be there,” he said as he quickly put his headphones back in.

“Ok, so we can meet her at like 3:30,” Holly announced. Jerry was the only one listening to Holly, I was to busy staring at Cole who still listening to the same song; our song. At least that is what Holly and Jerry said it was, and they thought it was funny, as for me, I loved having a song, as long as Cole saw it the same way.

“So what are you doing this weekend, Holly?” Jerry said fiddling with his hair.

“Nothing, I guess, why?” Holly said casually, while screaming with eagerness on the inside.

“Well, I was wondering, if maybe you would want to go to the movies, or something,” Jerry said. It was obvious that he was nervous by the look on his face, and the fact that he was sweating like a pig.

“I would love to,” Holly said letting go all her enthusiasm. Jerry and Holly just smiled at each other as they both felt stupid about how they reacted. I just giggled silently and smiled. I was happy for Holly, she really liked Jerry, and I could tell that he liked her back. I fell behind them to let them talk and hang out, and looked over my shoulder at Cole who was still repeating Whatever it takes. I decided to just let him go as well, if he wanted to really talk to me, he would.

Everything was just a big mess in my mind. I mean not Jerry and Holly, but Cole. I don’t know what to do, it isn’t just Jerry and Holly that picks on, everyone does. One day, I think that things are going to get out of hand, and he either is never going to talk to me again, or he will end up hurting me. Everyone knows that I like him, even his own family, and no one will shut up. His family is not bad, but when it comes to people at school everything falls apart. Jerry even gets to annoying sometimes, I just don’t want to lose Cole, and at the rate everything is going, I might. Then there is my school work just seems to keep getting worse by the minute, and the family that makes me feel lost. Sometimes I just think things would be better if there was a place, a place that is indescribable because it is so right, some days I would just trade anything for it.

“Phoebe, are you coming?” Holly called for me as I apparently fell far behind everyone else.

“Yea,” I said joining them.

They were not out of the deepest part of the woods, and the school was right ahead.

“You guys ready to go back to prison?” Jerry said.

“No,” I said turning to look back at the path we just came from hoping that I could run back before Miss June, the teacher on patrol in the parking lot, saw me.

“Well then, let’s go,” Holly said grabbing Jerry’s arm as we all exited the woods. Cole’s face had the same expression mine did: regret.