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My friends and I got to the mall around 12 and decided to get some lunch. Since lovely Central Mall has but 3 restaurants, we were forced to eat at Chick-Fil-A. Not the best food in the world, but hey, it works. We sat and talked for a while about just stuff. Mostly pretty stupid stuff even. But that’s what we do. Ha. So, after lunch, we decided to make a trip to the music store. Of course, Marie and Elizabeth went straight to the Hanson section even though they already owned each and every one of the CDs that they knew would be there. Adriann and Lucile went off to look at different CDs while I stood at the edge of their chatter, simply nodding at comments sent my direction. I knew whenever Hanson was involved, bad luck wasn’t far. I was on the lookout. They had just found a new single that had been released and were, of course, freaking out completely and totally, when I saw him. It was like a dream, a bad dream. A nightmare playing itself over and over. But this wasn’t a dream. This was real life, unfortunately for me.
“Guys,” I said quietly, “I’ll go get Adriann and Lucile and let’s go pay, ok?” I quickly ran to get my friend as he approached. “C’mon you guys, we gotta go. Let’s go!” I urged. He was getting close.
“Ok, ok, jeez, Anna. What’s your major malfunction?”
“Nothing, let’s just go.” My head was starting to hurt. It always did when I knew bad things were about to happen. As we started to walk away, I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“Jessica?” I gulped, but didn’t move. My face got hot. Adriann and Lucile were looking at me strangely. He recognized me. He saw me. Finally, I looked up, but averted my eyes from his. Elizabeth and Marie were now completely silent as they realized who was talking to me. They were really starting to wonder, I could tell. I was starting to feel nauseous. My mouth was dry as I tried to speak.
“I-Isaac,” I stammered. “What are you doing here?”
“I didn’t know Aunt Kate and Uncle Tom moved to Arkansas,” he commented. Oh, my God, this was really bad. My friends were really really, incredibly confused now. I had to get out of here. It felt like the walls were closing in on me.
“When did you dye your hair, Jessica? I almost didn’t recognize you,” he said.
“Yeah, that was the idea. Listen, I gotta go. Call me, okay?”
He nodded. “Okay.”
I hurried out of the store as fast as possible. I didn’t even look to see if my friends were following. I went and sat down on a bench in the mall. I guess after Elizabeth and Marie bought their CDs, they thought they should come after me.
“Anna,” Elizabeth said, “who was that? And why did he call you Jessica?”
By now, I could feel tears on my face. I let them stay. I had to find a pay phone. I dug out 35¢ and dialed my aunt’s number.
“Hello, Lawyer residence.” I heard my “mom” answer.
“Aunt Kate?” I asked desperately.
“Yes, Jessica?” she said surprised. I had called her Mom for about 2 ½ years now.
“Aunt Kate, can you come pick me up at the mall, now?” I wiped my face and waited for an answer.
“Sure, honey. What’s wrong? Are you crying? Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Thanks,” I said, and hung up. We found our way to the door, and after a few minutes of waiting, Marie spoke up. “Anna? What happened back there?” My aunt pulled up. I walked over to the door and grasped the handle.
“It’s a long, depressing story. I don’t wanna tell it right now, and I don’t think you wanna hear it either. I’ll see you guys later.” I got in the car and sped off with my aunt, leaving my friends there completely clueless.