Luke, Ramona and Death

Chapter 1 - Ramona

'My best friend of over seven years died today and I still haven't shed a single tear. What is wrong with me? Am I truly this heartless, that I can show no signs of grief for the loss of the brightest, most genuine girl our sleepy town has ever seen? And not just that, the girl who has lent me her shoulder after many a failed relationship. The girl who has endured my many rants about our school peers. The girl who has calmed and soothed me whenever I lose my temper, which unfortunately is a usual occurance. But most of all this girl understands me in a way that noone else ever has. My parents have no clue how to deal with the angsty drama queen I have become and I have no brothers or sisters to relate to. All the rest of my friends are frightened of me. Namely my famous temper. But Lottie, my empathetic best friend knows how to reach me. I try not to analyze why because it takes away the magic of our sisterhood. I guess that...'

"Ramona? Dahhling? We're going out your father and I. We'll be back at eleven. Heat up the left over spaghetti if you get hungry!"
The door slams.
The red headed girl bent over a plain diary rolls her eyes and drops her pen. She glances down at her watch. Numb eyes register the time as...
"Lottie time!" she cries.
All memory of death is drained as she flashes around the room. Shoes, coat, keys, and she is out of the door. The warm summer air floats around her head and she has a slight spring in her step. Through habit she lets her feet guide her down the road to the park and onto the bench where eveyday she would meet her friend. She collapses onto the rotten wood and sighs.
Five minutes pass. Lottie has not come.
The girl glances once again at her watch. She frowns. Lottie is never late for their sessions.
Another five minutes pass. Lottie still has not come.
The wind begins to pick up. It blows a newspaper towards her. She bends over to pick it up and there, on the front page is a bright picture of her friend. GIRL 17 KILLED IN CAR CRASH the headline reads.
It takes a moment for her to connect the picture to her memories.
Best friend. Killed. Best friend. Killed.
Her mind screams in denial. Not the only person who ever understood. Not the girl she could talk to whenever and wherever. Not the one friend she cared about above all others.
Sitting there on the bench in the familiar park, a tear slides down her pale cheek. It is followed by another and another, until Ramona, the beautiful red head has her head in her hands and her jeans have been soaked through by tears.

Chapter 2 - Luke

"Lottie, Lottie, Lottie... and another just for luck. Lottie."
A tall dark haired boy stands in a grotty male bathroom. He whispers the name to the mirror, staring at his reflection.
"Damn it Lottie. Come back."
His eyebrows draw together.
"Lottie! You can't leave me!"
He slams his fist onto the mildewy countertop, closing his eyes in torment.
"Lottie. When I open my eyes you will be standing right on front of me. Smiling, of course, like you always do. I love that about you. Even when it annoys me... annoys the hell out of me... I still love that you smile at everything, everyone and every possible eventuality. Well, I love it later. At the time, I just get really pissed off, because I'm angry I can't see the good that you can. And you used to just listen. Maybe you didn't understand what I was going through, but you would listen no matter what."
He opens his eyes again. Slowly. He puts out his hand, as if to reach out and touch something in front of him.
"I love you Lottie."
His hand touches the counter. A tear slides down his cheek. The door squeaks open.
"Luke?"

Chapter 3 - Ramona

When she finally lifts her head, the sun has hidden itself behind the hills, and the park in front of her is totally deserted.
It was that time of day, just after the sun has set, when the world is readying itself for night.
Like a ghost, Ramona lifts herself off the bench, and begins to trudge back to her house. Her feet drag, but not half as much as the weight in her heart. She sees nothing pass by her. Not the friendly postman on his bike, or her favorite neighborhood cat. It curls itself around her ankles, nudging her legs for attention. Ramona walks on. A local mother gazing out her window sees the spectre of a girl walk past. Her pitying eyes soften.
"How awful," she mumbles, closing the blinds.
Ramona looks up some two minutes later and realizes she is steering towards the mall. A mere thirty second walk from her house, it was Lottie and her's other favorite hang out. She realizes that a small part of her heart thinks that she is going there to find Lottie. Supressing the common sense she knows is true, she holds on to this hope. Her feet shuffle faster. Her head snaps up and her heart lightens.
The mall is dark, but Ramona is unhindered. She walks around to the back. There, behind a garbage can that she rolls to the side, is a ventilating duct. Removing the cover, which had been Lottie's idea in the first place, Ramona climbs into the familiar tube. Crawling along the dark passage, dust filling her nose, she finally reaches the end, clambering out into a dark corridor. To her left is the female bathroom and to her right the men's. She is about to walk off when she hears a dull thud to her right. Her heart skips with fear as she realizes there is light spilling out from underneath the men's room. Gulping, she pushes open the door. It squeaks with antiquity. She looks into the dim room, squinting, and there standing at the mirror is...
"Luke?" says Ramona.

Chapter 4 - Luke

"Lot??-oh. Hi Ramona." He turns back to gaze at his reflection, his eyes dead.
"I thought I would find her here too," says Ramona softly.
He turns back. "Why'd she go?" he whispers.
Ramona merely looks back at him.
"I mean, why did she have to go to BALLET class? Why couldn't she have walked, or biked? Why didn't her mom avoid the highway? And why the fuck did she swerve into that treeeee...?"
Luke sinks to the floor.
"And why did the FUCKING airbag fail?" adds Ramona. "And why the hell did it take the ambulance team half an hour to get to the car?!? And why oh whyyy did her heart stop on the way to the hospital??"
Ramona walks over to the wall and slides down it. She begins to cry again, but this time her sobs are filled with anger.
"It's not fair," they say in unison.

----WORK IN PROGRESS----