Moonshine(16)

Watching her was like seeing a deer in the road when your lights are shinning straight into his eyes. It’s a bad look. Come on Shine, you can do it. Put one foot in front of the other. I finally took a breath when I saw her walk towards me. God, I miss this girl so much.

When she finally sat down, I relaxed in my chair. Leaning back, I couldn’t help but stare at her. I didn’t want to take my eyes off of her because I was afraid she wouldn’t be there if I did. I watched as she nervously fidgeted with her pen and tapped it on her desk. She seemed so off, so different than I have ever seen her. I looked away only to find myself looking back. Just watching her was making me nervous. Something wasn’t right. I swear that I could hear her breathing. They were coming out fast and loud. She rubbed her good hand on the desk, while the other one was clenched tightly in a fist. It was almost like she was trying to keep herself together. Her face was as white as a ghost.

“Shine, are you okay?” I asked but she wasn’t responding. I leaned in a little closer and noticed that her eyebrows were scrunched together real tight. “Shine Baby, can you hear me?” I saw her eyes look up to meet mine, but there wasn’t anything in them. Her stare was blank and empty. What the hell? It scared the shit out me. I didn’t know what to do. Can I touch her? Can I help her? She put her head down on her desk and I jumped up from my seat. I kneeled down next to her and tried to talk to her once more, but still nothing. When her arm fell limply from the desk to her lap that was the last straw. I picked her up out of the chair and ran out of the room. I had to get her help, fast. I took her straight to the school nurse.

Mrs. Allen, the school nurse, had me lay her on the hard table in her office. Then she sent me back to her closet to get some cloths. I heard her yell back to me while I was in the closet to make sure that I wet them with some cold water from the faucet. I did what I was told as quick as I could. When I got back to Shine’s side I could already see the color coming back into her face. She looked better, way better. I handed Mrs. Allen the wet cloths and backed away a couple of steps. She was coming around and I knew she would be upset if I was the first person she saw when she opened her eyes.

“Why don’t you go on back to class? She will be fine now.”

“I don’t want to leave her here alone, and I don’t see how she can be fine after what I just saw her going through,”

Mrs. Allen looked at me through hooded eyes. “Honestly, it looks way worse than what it is. Okay?” She nodded her head in the direction of the door. “Now back to class.”

There was a slight hesitation in my step, but I did what I was told. I left her once again. Turns out I am pretty good at walking away.

I couldn’t go back to class so I texted Josh.



Moon- Hey man. I’m so over this day. I am ditching want to come?

Josh- I don’t have practice today. Hell yeah I do.

Moon- Good let’s get out of here. Meet you by my car if ten minutes.

Josh- Sure thing



“I take it that your first day back wasn’t a success?” Josh asked. He hopped in the front passenger seat of my Mustang.

My head rolled on the headrest until I was facing him. “You don’t even wanna know.” I let out a strangled sigh and started the car. “I need some fresh air, Man. I feel like I can’t breathe here.”

Josh was always there for me and has always had my back. He’s the type of person who would know what to say and when to say it. He never sugar coats anything. I can count on him for the most honest advice, but he wouldn’t tell me unless I asked. Good friends seem to be hard to come by, and I am sure as hell going to miss him being around after graduation. Who will keep me on the straight and narrow? Don’t get me wrong, Josh could party and he fights like a boss, but he has always tried hard to take the high road. Talent like his is hard to come by and he has big dreams.

“I got an idea,” Josh startled me out of my crazy thoughts. “Let’s stop by my house and grab some beer, and head out to Ol’ Man Rucker’s pond and get toasted. What do ya say?”

“We haven’t been there since last summer. You think we’ll get run off again?”

“I don’t plan on fucking with his cows again.” We laughed. “We were so drunk man. You remember Mr. Rucker running around and waving that fly swatter at us like he was gonna hurt somebody? It was so funny.”

“Yeah it was.” I remember it like it was yesterday. “He was searching for cows for days.”

“I knew that they would be scared of the air horn, but I didn’t think about them getting out of the fence. I didn’t even realize that the fence was broken. I thought they would just run but,” he was still trying to speak but could barely talk through his laughing.