The days following her river excursion passed by like a haze. She possessed a little zest for life and the only hope she kindled was the hope of seeing Chris again. In the meantime, she wandered through her life aimlessly. Even the hurtful words hurled at her by her Aunt Lydia, and her nieces, were not enough to penetrate the trancelike state she was lost in.
During all her classes, she merely stared out of the window into oblivion, unaware of what was happening around her. The teachers tolerated her behaviour with a touch of sympathy and understanding that she wished her own flesh and blood would show her. Dismissing her morbid thoughts, and without much of a fight, she continued to stare into the insufferable void that was now her world, a world devoid of light, love, or hope.
One morning, as she stood in the gym hall on the far end of the hall, refusing to join in the games, she glanced at some of the photographs hanging on the wall. When she spotted a certain photo, she froze. Her heart stopped beating and her breath solidified in her lungs. She took a closer look at the photo. Chris. Just the sound of his name rolling on her tongue instantly ignited a fire of excitement within her and heated her blood. She hadn't realized he was at this school. The thought revived her. Of course, he's at this school, dummy. Where else would he be? She was finally free of her trance and she felt alive again.
She looked eagerly around the hall, hoping he was in her class. After scanning every face, which was all still new to her, she realized with disappointment that he was not among her peers. But at least she now knew he was in the school. With brimming excitement, she had a mission - find Chris.
The following day Milli approached her, a little cautiously at first. "Hi, Charli. How are you doing?"
"Hi, Milli. I'm okay, and you?"
"Good."
"Good."
An awkward silence enveloped them but after several minutes passed Milli found her tongue again. "So you – like - really scared the whole town last week. I'm just glad they found you and that you're okay," Milli smiled sheepishly, not sure what sort of mood Charli was in.
Charli did seem a lot friendlier today. Maybe she should try and befriend her again. Perhaps the tragedy of her father had influenced her previous mood swings, but she was now coming to terms with her loss. From the moment she met Charli she liked her. She not only had a slim, athletic build but was really pretty, but down-to-earth look about her, and had the most beautiful long rose-gold coloured hair. It was hard to believe that she was a family of the Moores. Nadia was the taller of the twin, skinny and bossy, and Esmeralda was short, plump, and cowardly. Both had charcoal black hair – whether dyed or natural, Milli was uncertain - but it did absolutely nothing to enhance their looks. They were as ugly as they were unkind. And they were so mean towards Charli, that it sickened her. They didn't even consider what Charli must be going through after losing her father.
"Well, I wasn't lost!" Charli felt a certain animosity towards Milli and for no good reason but immediately made a mental note to chill. It was obvious that Milli was making her best efforts to be kind and she was probably the only decent person in this town, aside from Chris.
Charli sighed, "Sorry, it's just...I've been going through a hard time and..."
Milli interrupted her, "you don't need to apologize. I understand," she said sweetly, which made Charli feel ten times worse.
"Thanks," Charli replied, awkwardly.
"Listen, I was wondering - if you'd like - you could come over to my house after school and I could help you catch up on your schoolwork," Milli offered.
Charli regarded her thoughtfully, then nodded, "thanks. I'd like that."
Milli's eyes lit up. "Wonderful, I'll let my mother know."
In the days that followed, Charli enjoyed the company of her new friend, despite her talkative diarrhoea, and she also came to adore Milli's parents. They were down-to-earth and friendly people, a complete contrast to her aunt and uncle. It's not that her Uncle Richard was bad – it's just he was too weak of a personality to stand up against his brutish wife and daughters. Charli felt sorry for him, the way they shouted at him and disrespected him. But then again, if he continued to allow them to treat him in such a manner, then he deserved what he got. It made her angry even thinking about it.
Despite their growing friendship, Charli still had no desire to open up to Milli, especially about her feelings for Chris. Not that it mattered, she had been unable to find him, which threatened to revive her sense of despondency and deplete her spirits all over again.
A few days later, in the gym hall, Milli ran up to Charli, who stood staring at a photograph hanging against the gym wall again. "There you are, I was looking everywhere for you," she blurted breathlessly.
Charli quickly pretended she was merely glancing at the photos, with little interest.
"What is it about that photo that keeps you so hooked?" The fact hadn't gone unnoticed by Milli.
"I don't know what you mean?" Charli nearly choked. How could Milli know?
"Every time we're at the gym, I see you staring at that photo."
Charli wanted to deny the allegations but instead, she shrugged her shoulders and walked off, feeling embarrassed. There was no denying it, it was the truth, yet she hadn't realized she'd been so obvious about it. Where was he anyway? Why couldn't she find him? Her heart wanted to break. She shook it off and tried to pull herself together. She didn't even know him. He could be a jerk like the rest of the people in this town, for all she knew. Besides, he was obviously popular at school, with those gorgeous looks and that beautiful dimpled smile, he would probably ignore her if they bumped into each other here at school. This forced conviction was an attempt to lessen the pain that simmered within her, but it was futile. No matter how hard she tried to push the image of Chris aside, his smiling face and captivating eyes kept popping up. Even when she was immersed in her schoolwork his face would suddenly pop up in her mind and with it, throbbing pain in her heart.
If only she hadn't seen the photo of him, then at least she could have pretended that he had just been a figment of her imagination during her time of need, just like the image of her father she had seen on that fateful day when she almost drowned in the river.
A sudden thought occurred to her. Perhaps the guy in the photo was not even the Chris she saw. Maybe she had seen the photo prior to the incident in the river, and her mind had conjured his image and turned him into a boy named Chris in an attempt to save her life and then again at the hospital. It made sense, didn't it? It had to, then at least then she could plead insanity and be free of the yearning she felt when she thought of him. She couldn't wait for gym class again to run and check the names engraved on the plaque beneath the photo.
As she walked toward the photo her heart pounded in her throat and her palms began to sweat. Was she ready for this? Was she prepared to admit that her feeble imagination had conjured Chris up? The more she thought about it, the more she hoped it was the truth because the opposite was a harder truth – that he really did exist and turned out to be a jerk.
As she reached the photo she shut her eyes and took a deep breath.
"CHARLI!" The gym teacher's shrill voice echoed throughout the hall, chilling Charli to the bone. She flung around in surprise and looked at the teacher.
"I think it's time you join us, Miss Thompson. Come, enough of your moping. Get over here."
"Yes, Miss Small." Charli reluctantly dragged her feet towards the other students, some of which eyed her with disdain Perhaps it was a good thing that the teacher had insisted she participates. It gave her an excuse not to confirm her suspicions about Chris or her mental state, or perhaps, she was just a coward and didn't want to know either way.
During her lunch break, Charli sat beside Milli under her favourite tree in the schoolyard, nibbling unenthusiastically on her cheese sandwich. She was still preoccupied with her hope of spotting Chris among all the students, even though she tried to convince herself otherwise.
"Who are you looking for?" Milli asked curiously.
"What? No-one."
"Charli, we're friends, aren't we?"
"Of course." Charli shrugged her shoulders, still not eager to divulge her secrets, not even to Milli.
"Don't think I haven't noticed how you're always looking around as if you're searching for someone. Maybe I can help you. I know everyone in this town. I mean, I've been here all my life, I should know."
Although Milli was honest and sincere, Charli was still not ready to open up to her.
"Is it someone in that photo you keep looking at? Is it a guy, perhaps?" Milli got excited as she connected some of the dots when Charli blushed.
"Stop it, Milli! There's no guy! I'm just looking around, familiarising myself with all the students and faces."
When the bell rang, Charli jumped up and grabbed her bag, hoping to avoid further Milli-interrogation.
She was just about to start walking to class when, all of a sudden, she froze. Her heartbeat started to beat dangerously fast and the breath that remained lodged in her lungs screamed to be released. But still, she stood, unmoving, not even able to blink for fear that his image would disappear again. There, on the far side of the schoolyard, Chris stood - watching her.
"Chris..." She whispered his name.
"Chris? Oh my gosh! Do you like Chris Randall? No ways! You must have really hit your head hard on those rocks after your fall in the river." Milli was totally flabbergasted.
"What? No, I don't like anyone!" Charli's frozen state instantaneously melted.
"Of course! He's one of the boys in the photo in the gym hall that you're always glaring at. Oh my gosh!"
"Cut it out! You don't know what you're talking about."
"Charli listen to me. You clearly don't know him – not as I do. Of all the people you could like – why Chris? OMG Charli, he's just awful, trust me!"
"Just stop already." Charli wanted to throttle her friend just to keep her quiet. Why did she always have to rattle on like that? She was so irritating.
She tried to spot Chris again, but he was gone. Her heart sank. He had looked directly at her. Did he have feelings for her? Her hope fluttered. Then she remembered her previous suspicion that he might be a jerk. Could that be true? He might not be the person she thought him to be. That thought pained her.
As they moved towards their classroom, Charli's steps became languid and her mood was perilously low and the rest of the day passed by like a blur.
When school was finally over, Charli couldn't be more grateful.
"Are you coming over to my place to catch up on the work you missed today in class?" Milli asked, teasingly.
"But I was in class," Charli protested.
"You could have fooled me." Milli gave her a knowing, mischievous smile.
"Fine!"
"Come, there's mum now." Milli grabbed Charli's hand and pulled her towards her mother's old Chevy station wagon.
After lunch, the two girls went to Milli's room and flopped onto her bed.
"Okay, spill the beans," Milli blurted. "And no denying it! I'm not blonde."
"Really...going with the blonde jokes now, are we?"
"Come on, Charli. Tell me. I'm dying here."
Charli sighed and confessed, "fine, I kind of like Chris."
"OMG! I can't believe it! – Okay, tell me more. How did this happen?"
"I'll tell you if you stop with this OMG thing. And lower your excitement levels or I refuse to say another word."
"Okay, okay – just spit it out, please – the suspension's killing me."
Charli frowned. Her friend could be so annoying at times. "You know that day I nearly drowned in the river?"
Milli nodded, her green eyes wide open with anticipation.
"Well - Chris was there. He was the one who encouraged me to get out of the water. He spurred me on to fight for my life. I doubt I would have been able to find the strength if it hadn't been for him. He also sat by my bedside through the night when I was in the hospital."
"Whoa, miracles never cease to happen. I mean, I would never have believed that Chris had it in him to care about anyone but himself. Sure, he's a pretty boy – or so he thinks - but I've always thought him to be rather shallow - not very bright if you know what I mean. Yes, he's popular – I don't know why. As far as intelligence goes – well, that's a definite none."
"It doesn't matter Milli. He was there for me when I needed someone."
Milli didn't comment further on this. Her teeth gnawed on her inner cheeks as she dissected and disassembled the information she had just received.
"Can we just forget about it," Charli urged. "If he does care about me like I thought he did, then let him prove it," she added.
"I agree! Let's wait and see," Milli responded, still trying to digest the idea of Charli and Chris. Something just didn't feel right. Maybe Charli's cousins were up to no good - playing a prank on her, perhaps. She decided she would keep a close eye on Chris and the perverse Moore twins. There was no way she would allow them to hurt Charli, not if she had anything to do about it.