Indigo: Abraham, Preceding the Storm 11th step...Polarities

11^th step…Polarities

            There they sat in the cafeteria, only two things in common.  Firstly, they were both blondes.  Secondly, they were both waiting for Alex.  One was taller and fleshier, her frame being quite shapely despite her youth.  The other was slight, looking almost like a fairy.

            “So,” Shana said.  She sat cross-legged, her back straight, her posture perfect.  Her dislike was clear, but she still made effort to be open and inviting, if for nothing else to make it less awkward.

            “So,” Carolyne mimicked curtly.  She sat with her body pointed away and made her dislike apparent.  She waved her foot anxiously.

            “You were planning on hanging out with Alex tonight?”

            “Yup.”

            “Me too,” Shana said, and she laughed politely, as if it were funny how they competed for Alex’s time.  “Though, that was probably a little obvious, huh?”

            Carolyne’s lips curled.  “It was more than a little obvious.”

            Shana became quiet and shifted uneasily in her seat.  She glanced around the cafeteria.  All of the tables were empty.  The kitchen was closed, and she could see tired employees preparing for supper.  Outside the sky was pale.  Snow was coming.

            Shana uncrossed and re-crossed her legs a few times.  Then, when the tension was too much, she said, “I probably shouldn’t have come up today, it being a school day and all,” and she laughed away her anxieties.  “But, today is the anniversary, you know?  So, I wanted to spend it with her.”

            Carolyne twisted her brow and gave a sideways glance.  “Anniversary?”

            “You…You don’t know?”  She seemed honestly surprised, and Carolyne shook her head. Shana did too.  “Ten years ago today, Alex lost her older sister.  She never really recovered.”

            Now Carolyne shifted in her seat, and she looked at the ground.  For a while they were quiet.  The words were weighty and required time.  Then, after processing it, Carolyne lifted her head and said, “I see.”

            Alex’s class let out, and she came around the corner.  Seeing them both, she waved and put on a strained smile.  Shana stood, becoming suddenly animated, and waved back.  “So, I decided,” she said through a smile, “That I am going to give her a lot of good memories on this day to make up for it.”

            Once Alex was close enough Shana promptly snatched her up in a hug.  She barely let go for the rest of the night.