In The Living Room

The old furniture was stored in an empty wing of the house. The whole reason for getting new furniture was well justified.

The old furniture was drab and dark. It made both Trio and Hector fell small and unwelcome. They replaced the dark red drapes with light blue ones that made the whole room feel welcome to sunlight (unlike the red drapes, sunlight seemed to want poke through). The couch and matching wingback chairs were covered with the old drapes and put into storage. In their place Trio and Hector put two Laz-Z-Boy recliners. Hector’s was made of a cloth that could be two colors. If you petted it one way it was dark blue, the other way it was light blue. Trio’s was black leather. He didn’t really care about its color as long as it was comfortable. The couch was put between them and the chairs turned slightly toward one another. The couch was dark blue with throw pillows of almost every color. They left the antique coffee table in the middle for setting drinks on, as well as a few magazines. If you sat on the couch, to the right front of the room was a fireplace with a huge mantle. On it were old pictures of family and an antique clock. Directly in front of the couch was the entertainment system; T.V., DVD, stereo, and surround sound (they were especially proud of the surround sound as they installed it themselves though the instructions were in Japanese.) They left a few tall lamps for lighting. It was a whole new room.

Hector was trying to compose himself as Trio sat down. They sat in their usual places.

“Would you stop laughing! ” Trio said almost laughing himself.

“That’s got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!” He had put a soda on the coffee table and leaded forward to pick it up. He took a huge gulp of it and thought it was refreshing. He then reached down and pulled the lever that released the footrest with a ‘blop-ding’. He had situated himself to look at Trio, in doing so; he looked straight into Trio’s eyes. What he saw gave him a feeling of unease. He saw ‘the glitter’. This is what Hector called the sparkle in the eyes of children, something he had noticed all his life. It didn’t bother him when he looked in the mirror and didn’t see ‘the glitter’, mostly because Trio didn’t have it either. “So tell me why you’ve got ‘the glitter’.”

“Well, I was at the library.” Trio began, while Hector got more comfortable because he knew this was going to take a while. “I was sitting there minding my own business when these two girls walked in. I couldn’t help but notice because the drab one was yapping like a new puppy that couldn’t find a place to suckle. There she was. Wearing a white shirt and jeans. All the curves were perfect and I’ve never seen such grace and beauty. I was almost done re-reading my essay for Mr. Mullen’s class for mistakes, so I decided to walk by them. I dared not look at either of them. My heart was pumping so fast I could feel the collar of my shirt move with it’s beat. As I walked by I heard her say her name. It’s Sam. I noticed that she had started forming a welt on the side of her head and I had to think fast. I rushed over to my things and went digging for my ice water bottle. When I finally found it I got all my things together and went to the water fountain where I poured out the water to leave the ice. I went right up to the table and offered her the ice. Then our eyes met. They are a shade of blue that would make Kurt Russell jealous. I was sure she could hear the pounding in my chest. It’s all I heard. Her hair was brown and I could smell it; it smelled of lavender. Then I noticed I was shaking and handed them the ice. I left as soon as I could and completely forgot to tell them my name.”

“All that and you forgot your name?” Hector was beginning to laugh again.

“Keep laughing and I’ll kick you out, smart ass.”

“Oh, like I don’t have a place to go.”

Trio thought for a moment. “Well, I doubt you’d go back home to that house with smells of roses and nobody else will take in your spoiled-brat-ass. So, I suggest you stop laughing.” His tone was confident and strict.

Hector had leaned forward to the coffee table and picked up the remote for the T.V. “So it was love at first sight, huh?”

Just then, Trio threw a magazine at Hector that had been on the table. They began to laugh a hearty laugh. It was welcome and broke the tension and the need to say anything further. After they composed themselves Hector turned on the T.V. to watch a football game. Neither one of them paid it any attention. Hector was feeling uneasy and left out because he still didn’t have ‘the glitter’. Trio was consumed with thoughts of Sam and their encounter at the library. He could hardly wait to find her again tomorrow and introduce himself properly. Thinking of Sam was much better than watching football.

Back At The Library

“Wow! He left in a hurry, didn’t he?” asked Brooke.

“He didn’t even give his name! I didn’t even get a chance to thank him for the ice!” Sam held the ice on her head and melted ice began to drip from her hand. It felt good and she could feel the knot beginning to subside. She could also feel the stares of people as they walked by and felt embarrassed. “I’ve got to go.”

Brooke noticed the stares and how uncomfortable Sam was becoming. “Them? Is that why you want to leave? Or is it me?” Brooke looked over the rims of her glasses, “Screw them! If it’s me, well it was nice to met you.”

“Oh, it’s not you. It’s the stares. I don’t like to be looked at as though I’m a side show freak or a piece of meat.” She was putting her things together with one hand and lifted herself off the chair to leave.

“Just stare back!” Brooke giggled and the next person that walked by she stared at them. Brooke didn’t just stare, but more glared at them, practally begging them to say something and keep starring. She was a smart-ass and bet she could take any of them down. Growing up with brothers, you had to learn to fight. If you didn’t you became the family punching bag. Brooke knew how to take a blow as well as give it. “I wonder who the guy was.”

“Me too.” Sam had abandoned the thought of leaving after watching Brooke stare down a huge guy. “There was something about him. His eyes. Those brown eyes, the black hair. He looked so familiar but I’ve never seen him before.”

“Yeah and judging by the way he looked at you it was a mutual feeling. It was intense.”

The ice was melting into a stream running down Sam’s hand. She gave up on holding it there and wiped her hands on her jeans. Her hand was numb from the cold, for the most part, so was her head. “So why do you think Ms. Underwood cancelled Trig today?”

“Maybe she’s sick or has a hangover. I hear she’s quite the party animal sometimes. I know a guy in one of the fraternities on campus who said she showed up for a party once. He said she drank and danced on the coffee table. I thought it was against the rules for factuality to do that. Maybe she finally got caught.” They both giggled at the thought and decided to get lunch.

At The Restaurant

Sam couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity with the stranger. She ordered a Chef Salad and sat in a booth with Brooke. Brooke got the hamburger and fries. Brooke took a big bite of her burger and Sam thought Brooke was going to pass out. Then after chewing and swallowing, Brooke began a conversation.

“This burger is so good. It’s nice to break away from the usual ‘Raman Noodles’. Ya know?”

“Yeah. That and scrambled eggs. My refrigerator is like a cold desert. I can’t wait to get a good job and actually buy food.”

“Ya know, some people say that meat is evil…………..
Brooke just kept talking barely coming up for air between eating and speaking.

Sam ate her salad and tried to think of a nickname for Brooke. Deep in her thoughts she barely heard a word Brooke said. Nothing came to mind, then when they were almost done, it hit her like a done of bricks. “C.B.!” she thought and smiled to herself. It stood for Chatter - Brooke.

“Are you listening to me?” asked C.B.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Sam began in a almost shocked arousal of awareness, “I’m thinking of real food.”

“I asked you where you work”

“It’s a little hole-in-the-wall place called Vid-N-Go. The video store nobody goes to…”

“Oh yeah, the one that always has sales!”

“Yeah, the one with poor pay and no hours. But it does put eggs on the table and pays some bills.”

After they were done eating, it was time to go home. Sam went back to her place and C.B. went to her dorm room. The day was done and a friend had been made, it was a good day.