I sighed as I looked out the window of my small room in west Tulsa, trying
to memorize the landscape I had grown so fond of over the last four years.
The trees swayed as a gentle breeze flowed through them; the grass was a
deep emerald green, and the sky azure. Occasionally, the low rumble of a
car's engine would enter my consciousness, and the sweet laughter of
playing children would come to my ears. It seemed so peaceful; like none
of the things that were reported on the news about all the evil in the
world could exist here; this place seemed so innocent. Most things look
perfect when you're staring at them from afar, though they never are.
There was a small drizzle showering the earth from the rainstorm that had
pounded the white of our house last night, neglected clouds blocking the
sun from heating our neighborhood. Summer wild flowers and migrated birds
began to come back into life; new scents surrounding every corner you
turned. My eyes scanned to the grass in which my house resided on, and
they fell on my father clipping the flower bed my mother had planted over
two years ago. It was a bit odd: my father, a man with a slight muscular
build with large, lean shoulders, trimming the petite daisies. The falling
moisture seemed to have no effect of my dad.
A soft knock on my door shook me from my thoughts. I turned my head in
time to see my mother's slim figure enter my room. She smiled at me
quickly, acknowledging me in her way.
"Meggie's here, Hannah," she told me, a cherry ring in her voice. She had
had this tone for a few days now, especially when she was speaking to me.
As of three days ago, Thursday, I was informed that I had the best grades
in my senior class -- so far. My grade average could go down at any minute.
I didn't really see the big deal in it. But, my mom was another story.
She was proud, even though I couldn't really find anything to be that proud
of.
"Okay. Tell her to come up," I said, walking to my closet to find my
jacket. Meggie was one of my closest friends. She had been the first
person to welcome me my first day of my freshmen year at Nathan Hale High
School. She had an aura about her that made me feel as if I was back home
in North Carolina.
My mom nodded her head, before exiting to let Meggie up. I quickly pulled
on a wind breaker to shield me from the drizzle. I took the brush resting
on my night stand, and pulled it through my hair a few times, before I
deemed myself presentable. Another knock came; this time I knew it was
Meggie.
"Hey!" was Meggie's exuberant response. She was always like this, ditsy
but in a smart way. She had her brown banana curled hair pulled up into a
high ponytail, accompanied with a pale green sweater. "Ready to go?"
She and my friends were throwing a small party for God knows what, and they
wanted me to come. "Uh-huh," I told her, running a hand through my hair.
It took us all of ten minutes to reach our destination. I spent most of
the time listening to Meggie ramble about how perfect Randy, her boyfriend
of two years, was. I swear, those two were joined at the hip. Wherever she
went, he was there. Wherever he went, she tagged along. They were
hopeless. The topic of this conversation was how perfect his toes were. I
could never see myself bragging about how perfect someone's feet were. If
that's what love does to you, I don't think I want to fall into that spell.
I'm being cynical as I think this, and I feel for bad for doing so.
Meggie has found something special; something I have yet to find. No
matter what I say, I know I am a little bit jealous of what Meggie and
Randy have; something I have yearned to happen to me since I was old enough
to recognize the opposite sex as someone more than a six year old carrying
"cooties".
The car pulled to a halt in front of a large brick house: Nate's house.
The drizzle pestering us had evaporated moments before arriving at the
country style home. I noticed Alley and Marc sitting on the porch swing
talking, while drinking a mystery substance from large, red, plastic cups.
The soft bass of a song emanated from inside, along with the slight chatter
of people talking. My friends weren't the party animal type; they didn't
throw too wild of parties. I liked that though.
Randy appeared walking around the corner of the large home, and made a
beeline for Meggie. He scooped her up quickly in his arms, as a feeling of
envy settled in my stomach. Spinning her around like a mad man, they said
their mushy hellos.
"Get a room, will you?" I shouted over to them, a hint of laughter in my
voice, despite the jealously.
"Yeah, yeah," Randy's rough response said in my direction. He kissed her
once more on the tip of her nose before turning to look at me. "Hey,
Hannah-Banana." Randy had deemed me with that nickname for me a while ago,
and thinking himself a comedian, found it hilarious. To this day he refers
to me as Hannah-Banana. I hate it.
"Hi. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see who else is here," I said,
leaving the two alone and walking quickly to the house.
I nodded my hellos to Marc and Alley on my way in. The house smelled of
strawberries and peaches, a smell I had grown fond of over the very many
visits I had made to Nate's house. The walls were painted a pale cream
color, the hard wood floors were stained a dark mahogany, and scattered
windows decorated the walls, allowing light to shine through. A picture
perfect home if you ask me. Teenagers of all ages were scattered about the
living room; talking and dancing were among the activities taking place in
the expansive room.
"Hey, Hannah," I heard echoing voices throughout the living room as I
passed the entranceway. I nodded my greeting to them. Up until this point,
I had figured this would be a party just for my high school friends. My
guess was found wrong when I saw the familiar faces of the seniors I had
known last year and the year before. Matt, Nate's older brother, was here
with his friends from college. The universities and other colleges around
the country had just let out, and Tulsa, being the highly family oriented
town that it was, was littered with surviving college students all ready
for a relaxing summer in the sizzling hot weather of Tulsa. The added
threat that their parents would cut them off if they didn't visit also
brought them running.
I walked through the house till I found the kitchen, a big bright room with
bleach white cabinets and floors. I could hear Nate's rusty voice rattle
down the hall as I neared the kitchen. Styrofoam cups occupied the
counter; bags of Dorito's chips lay on the island in the middle of the
kitchen. Nate was sitting in a latter back chair talking on the phone. I
turned on my heels preparing to exit the room, when the mechanical beep of
the phone being turned off echoed in the kitchen.
"Hannah, you made it!" He sounded a bit surprised at my presence, and it
made me feel awkwardly uncomfortable.
"Yeah. Meggie wanted me to come, so I did," I said turning back around.
My original plan was to stay home, filling my night with popcorn and a
movie I had rented from the video store. "Who was on the phone?" I asked,
gesturing to the cordless thrown precariously on the counter top.
"Just some old friends. They called to tell me they would be late. I don't
know if you know them, in fact you don't, I'll introduce you when they get
here." Nate was the kind of guy that could ramble on about a yes or no
question for ten minutes. "They're really nice. We've been friends since as
long as I can remember, and they've just been out of town and I haven't
seen them, so when I heard they were back in town, I immediately called
them up and invited them over. You would probably get along with them,
they're easy people to get along with-"
"Nate!" I exclaimed, grabbing his wrist. "You're rambling!"
His cheeks turned a light pink color as he blushed, realizing that he had
been rambling. He ran an embarrassed hand through his copper colored hair
that just barely passed his ears.
"What are their names?" I asked, once his cheeks returned back to their
regular color.
"Oh, their names are-" the rest of his response was cut short as the
blaring of the stereo droned out all sounds.
I just rolled my eyes, and exited the kitchen to go find Meggie.
**********
I sat languidly on the porch steps, the fireflies lighting above my head,
wind blowing gently at my hair, with the soft hum of a love song whispering
in my ears. I had come out here when the love song had come on. I didn't
have anyone special to dance to it with, so why be in there? I would
eventually wander back in there after the song had ended. Until then, I
sat, watching the stars, a habit I had picked up when I was fourteen. I
didn't know the constellations, except for a few, but I just like to watch
the beauty of them.
The soft rumbling of a car came from down the narrow street. I pivoted my
head in the direction in which the noise was coming from. A late party
member, was my guess, maybe the ones Nate was talking about earlier. My
guess was concluded right as the dark colored Expedition came to a halt in
front of the house. Three blonde heads exited from the vehicle. I
couldn't get a good look at them, for the darkness shadowed their faces.
I didn't recognize them, probably the friends of Nate's. The slow song had
ended, and I decided to make the small trek back into the house.
Couples were uncoupling themselves as I walked back into the house. I saw
Meggie and Randy, lost in each other's eyes, arms still wrapped around each
other, swaying to the fading melody. I sigh. I wanted to fall in love.
It seemed as if everyone around me had someone to love, with the exception
of me. When I was sitting outside, I felt a strange presence of
loneliness, like there was a void waiting to be filled, and there was
nothing I could do to fill it. Someone else had to fill it, because it was
nothing I could obtain by myself. That was the conclusion I had come to at
least.
Creaking wood made me look up from my position on the couch, sitting next
to Ann, who hadn't had anyone else to dance with either. Maybe I wasn't
alone. I heard someone gasp, and a winded, "What are you guys doing here?!"
soon followed. Excited much?
A small crowd had gathered at the doorway entrance, blocking my line of
sight. I saw the three blonde heads that had been outside with me only
seconds before. I still couldn't see their faces, though. An up roar of
noise now existed in the once quiet living room. My curiosity was getting
the best of me; I wanted to see what everyone was freaking out about. For
this kind of reaction it had to be something good. A pathway began to
clear, as the bodies hovering these guys began to dissipate.
My breath caught in my throat as the most beautiful pair of crystalline
blue eyes bore directly into mine.
My heart stopped, caught directly in my throat, or so it felt like. The
most gorgeous human being known to man stood in front of me. His shoulder
length blonde hair was tied up at the nape of his neck. The blue shirt he
was wearing made his blue eyes look even brighter. From the few seconds of
looking - more like staring- at him that I did, I could tell that he had a
confidence about him that was undeniable. He was beautiful.
"Nate! They're here!" Emily yelled from across the room. Nate soon appeared
in the doorway.
A small reunion took place in front of me once again. Hearty smiles and
handshakes were exchanged. I didn't avert my eyes from the beauty of a man
standing in front of me. He even seemed to be staring at me with an
intensity I thought only I had.
I wanted with all my life to go up to him; to touch him, to see if he were
real or just some imaginary perfect being my mind made up to tease me. I
stood up; almost ready to start the task that had crossed my mind only
second before. Instead of walking toward him, I walked quickly to the
kitchen to grab a drink.
**********
I sat, legs tucked tightly under my body, sipping at my unnaturally colored
yellow Mountain Dew. Ann was perched next to me, talking a mile a minute
about some cheer leading convention she had recently attended. Boring was
the only word that came to mind. I had kept my eye on the mystery boy all
night. I hadn't been introduced to him just yet, but if someone didn't
soon, I was going to track down Meggie and make her introduce me.
Someone upstairs must have been listening, because at that exact moment,
Meggie walked in, Randy's hand residing loosely in hers, and walked
straight up to him, and pointed in my direction. He glanced my way, before
quickly turning his head in the other direction.
What was she up to? Meggie was still talking to him. My curiosity was
getting the best of me, and it took all I had not walk right up to Meggie,
and demand what she was saying.
"Hannah! Come here!" Command was evident in her voice. She was definitely
up to something.
I excused myself as politely as I could from the incessant chirping voice
of Ann. I sat the cup on the wooden coffee table, as I slowly raised my
body from the sitting position I was in. Walking slowly to Meggie, I gave
her a questioning look. She just smiled, waving her arm to direct me
toward her.
A smile found its way to the corners of my mouth, as I came closer to him.
He was now mere feet away.
"Hannahlynn," she hadn't called me by my full name since I first met her,
"this is Taylor. Taylor, this is Hannah."
"Hi," I was so nervous, my voice barely reached a whisper. I wasn't sure he
had heard me.
"Hey," he said it with ease, like this was an every day thing. Maybe he
didn't feel the electricity I felt. "Nice to meet you."
"You too," I offered a brighter smile.
"Well... will you look at the time. Randy I'm thirsty. How 'bout you?"
Meggie said, tugging Randy in the direction of the kitchen. "Have fun,
Hannah!"
She knew me too well.
"I've never seen you around here before. Are you new in town?" He was
actually trying to start a conversation.
"Not exactly. I've been here for four years, since freshmen year," even
though I could barely contain the twisting of my stomach, I found it easy
to talk to him; that is, after the initial introduction.
"Really?" his blue eyes seemed a little confused. I found it funny and a
small chuckle escaped from within me.
Taylor just smiled. Taylor... where had I heard that name? With a strike
of lightning, it hit me. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and his name is Taylor, I
listed to myself.
"You're Taylor Hanson, aren't you?" I don't know where I found the courage
to ask this question. I had done the teeny thing when they had first come
out. I had bought their album and pinned up a poster or two. As I grew
older, my infatuation with them had died down a bit, and I found myself
more interested in other things then waiting for their next television
appearance.
"Yeah," he sounded a bit disappointed that I had found him out.
"Oh," sounding as casual as I could muster, I shrugged my shoulders,
telling him physically that it was no big deal. "What are you in town for?"
"Just a break," he said, looking down at the black boots that covered his
feet.
I didn't like the road this conversation was going down, so I decided to
change the subject. "How long have you known Nate?"
He raised his head, eyes searching my face. I could feel his gaze, and I
smiled a self-conscious smile. I hated it when people stared directly at
me. Not that I minded him doing it or anything, I just didn't find myself
the type to be stared at a lot.
"Um... since I was... about... a while," he finally answered after choking
on his words.
I smiled warmly, amusement painted across my face. He couldn't seem to
finish a sentence, which I found odd. He was Taylor Hanson of Hanson; he
should be used to answering questions on spot.
"Okay... " I said slowly, letting my voice trail off, smile still present
on my lips.
More and more people seemed to wonder into the living room, as our
conversation continued. It was pointless, but I didn't care nonetheless,
as long as he was in my presence, it didn't matter.
"Why don't we sit down," Taylor said, leading the way to the sofa in the
corner of the room.
"Sure," I mumbled, even though I was sure he hadn't heard me.
We spent the night talking, about everything and nothing all at once. I
was so intrigued by this beautiful human being sitting in front of me, a
war could have been going on in that room, and I wouldn't have noticed.
His laugh was magical, music lingering in the depths of his chuckles. His
eyes danced with self-assurance and confidence, and when I said something
stupid or silly, they danced with amusement. And his thoughts were
amazing. He looked at everything as a chance for something better. He
believed what he believed and no one could change that about him.
As Meggie took me home, Taylor's phone number scribbled on a piece of paper
in my pocket, I could tell this was the beginning of something beautiful.
Segment Two
******
Go back
"The Writings on the Wall..."
