Saint Joseph School

"What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? — it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-by. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies."
- Jack Kerouac

Bryan sat outside the University; next to him Nennya sat close. Their hands intertwined between them, resting lightly on the marble, which they sat on. They talked quietly to one another, alternating between staring into one another’s eyes and watching their friends and classmates dancing the night away.

The young man in the white tuxedo smiled at her again. “I can’t believe you were worried I was going to stand you up.” He chuckled and she smiled in return, looking slightly embarrassed. “I figured it was something really important.” She replied.

“I promise next time, I’ll let Recluse’s goons blow up the dam if it means making you wait.” Bryan said with a laugh. Her giggle at his bad joke was music to his ears. A peaceful quiet fell between them as the warm night wind carried the sounds of techno music, teenagers laughing and shouts of greeting out away from them. He starred at the young woman, resplendent in her rose pink silk, her fur shiny as dark branches. He quietly smiled to himself.

They chatted for a long while about what was happening in their lives. Bryan asked about her brother. She spoke of Drix and her concerns for him. She chided her boyfriend that she thought he was starting to get a soft spot for her flamboyant sibling. A smirk crept across his face, “I’ll never admit to that, even under oath.”

Nennya nodded, her teeth flashing in her dark face. She sobered suddenly, taking a sip of punch. She twiddled with the fringe on her wrap, and then looked up at Bryan. "I'm apprehensive. About our trip."

Bryan felt a stone sink in his belly. "Have you changed your mind?"

"No," she said, looking out at the sea of couples dancing in their formalwear. "It's not that. I'm looking forward to it. But I'm a little scared too. And excited. And nervous. I don't know."

Bryan nodded slowly in quiet agreement and understanding. "It was great to be able to quit City of Gyros. All those night shifts were killing me." Bryan put his arm around her shoulders; she cuddled next to him in response.

"Mr. McGuffin has let me take a vacation. He doesn't need me that much, with Billy around. But he said he'd take me back. I've been spending all my spare time making sure the car will work. And thinking about you."

"You still want to go?"

"Yes." She put a hand on her hair for the fifth time that night, simultaneously disturbed and pleased by the hair sprayed fluffy concoction Renn had helped her tease up.

“It’s going to be fantastic! I’ve got a million great ideas for things for us to do.” Bryan beamed. “How about you and I, flying through the Grand Canyon? Plus, I always wanted to see the monster of Boggy Creek, like that movie. I found there’s a museum dedicated to it in Fouke, Arkansas.” His excitement was growing by the minute as they talk about the places they wanted to go and the things they wanted to do. Each of them had been making lists of destinations they wanted to reach as they made their journey.

"But," said Nennya, interrupting, "That's not what frightens me. It's you. And Me."

"You're scared?"

"Aren't you?

He echoed her gesture, squeezing a lock of her hair between his finger and thumb. "Yeah. But you're so ... beautiful, to me."

"And you to me. Every time I see you, it's like the first time." She wrapped the ends of her scarf around his arm."

The couple talked for a long time, oblivious to the party going on in full swing around them. Slowly the conversation dwindled, when surprisingly Bryan stood up from his date’s side. Nennya looked at him, confused. “What’s wrong?”

Bryan returned the question with a shy smile. “Let’s just go. Right now!”

“What? Are you serious?” Nennya was shocked by this thrust of spontaneity from her normally reserved companion.

“Absolutely. If we go back to the dorms and get packed now, we can be in the car in twenty minutes. We can just start driving now, we can stop somewhere and watch the sun come up together.” He offered her his hand. “What do you say?”

“Bryan… I've been ready to go for weeks. Weeks! The young girl took his hand with a giggle. "Do you really want to? Shall we say our goodbyes?"

"Not this time. Let's just ... slip away." He took her hand and they walked quietly to the train, to the school, scribbling quick notes to roommates, and were gone, moving to the west. They were in Pennsylvania before they found a rest stop suitable for changing out of their formalwear.

Bryan stood next to the car, the passenger door ajar and the seat folded forward as he rummaged through the backseat of the car. It was littered with the camping supplies, a huge duffel bag, Nennya’s hiking pack and other assorted bags and cases they had packed for their long journey. He groaned as he pulled his backpack out from the center of the pile.

It was still pitch black; the slightly purple light from the overhead streetlight casting long shadows, which pooled around his feet. The rising and fading hiss of the cars making their way down the interstate sang in concert with the rhythmic chirping of crickets that made their home in the long grass around the rest area.

The young man smiled as he took out his mp3 player and his cell phone, placing both on the passenger seat. Bryan admitted to himself that he was worried about the reception they might (or might not) get with his cellular phone. As he was packing, he had more than once thought about slipping his comm unit into the bag with his electronic devices, in the end though he left it hanging in his closet along with his uniform and costume. Bryan tossed the phone into the bag, just in case of an emergency.

“You aren’t asleep, are you?” Nennya’s voice called out from behind him. She had changed out of her pink formal dress, which she had on a hanger over her shoulder, into a t-shirt and jeans. He smiled broadly at her approach, that soft familiar ache returned to his heart when she stepped up next to him. She was even more attractive in this relaxed state than she was in the revealing satin outfit she had been wearing moments before.

“Not yet, I was just looking at your atlas. There is a state park not much further from here. Promised Land State Park, it’s up in the mountains and there’s a lake. We could stop there to watch the sun rise and catch some early morning Z’s. How’s that sound?”

“I think that sounds like a plan.” She replied to him with a grin. “I’m thirsty. How about you?”

He reached into the car and removed a plastic bottle with a chuckle. “I got some from the machine when you were changing. Mountain Dew and Water, I didn’t know which you’d prefer. So I got both, just to be safe.” He punctuated with a wink.

“You are adorable.” She flung her arms around his neck and planted a loud kiss on his cheek. A flush crept up his cheeks as he smiled. “I love you too.” He quietly replied to her, speaking the words like a secret despite the emptiness of the parking lot.

Nennya held on to him a moment more, letting the embrace last longer than they would have dared on campus. “Let’s get going; there is only an hour or two before daybreak. We should get moving if we want to be at the lake in time to enjoy it.”

The warmth of the sun heating his body was the first sensation that he was aware of. That warm sensation seemed to radiate across his body, slowly waking him up from his peaceful sleep. Bryan kept his eyes closed as he slowly became more and more aware of the world around him.

He lay on the blanket in that warm sun and picked out sounds of the peaceful lakeside spot.

The loudest and easiest to recognize was the rhythmic hush of the small waves making their way across the surface of the water to the beach.

In woods nearby, the eager chirps and squeaks of squirrels were clear. Seemingly battling amongst each other for the spoils of the forest floor.

In the distance, he heard a jet ski or a boat of some kind. It was far enough away for it’s deafening roar to seem more any annoying buzz.

Then there was a softer sound, this quiet noise made him smile. He was sure that though others may be around them, each capable of hearing the other sounds of life in this quiet place. This sound was his alone to enjoy.

It was the melodious rhythm of Nennya’s breathing as she slept beside him on that blanket in the warm late morning sun. Quietly, the rush and sigh of her relaxed breathing whispered into his ear.

As Bryan lay there with his eyes closed to the world, he felt the slight weight on his chest that was her slender arm draped across him. Her velvet cheek rubbed against his shoulder, tickling him slightly, as she shifted her head. She snuggled alongside him, she was waking too it seemed. Bryan moved underneath her loving embrace turning over exposing the colder side of his body to the summer sun and lying face to face with the beautiful young woman he had spirited away with.

She was wide-awake, her yellow green eyes starring back into his. Her smile, made his heart skip a beat. “Good morning.” Nennya whispered in a low tone, Bryan smiled at her and moved his head towards her until their foreheads rested lightly upon one another.

“Morning.” He replied with a broad smile. “How’d you sleep?”

“Fine.” She returned. “It was nice to sleep out under the stars again. How about you?”

He chuckled and quickly answered. “Never slept better in my life.”

Bryan brought his hand up to her spotted cheek and her kissed her there on that blanket, lying at the shore of that lake, underneath that bright and warm summer sun.