Rain Storm Rain slouched in her hard red chair as she rubbed her sore gluteus maximus from sitting two hours straight and noticed the newest assignment for English. She had to write a ten page fictional story that included fifty metaphors and a detailed story line, on top of reading Pride and Prejudice, and composing an anthology on friendship. Along with all her English homework, she had a chemistry test the next day and hadn’t studied for it yet. It was such a luminous day outside and she didn’t want to be sitting any longer, much less, doing homework. The weather in Shelby Indiana that August day was bright, sunny, and steamy. It was so blistering that the concrete’s heat melted the rubber on the bottom of Rain’s brown sandals. She hated days when she had to shave her legs to wear shorts. She was all for being “natural.” That day in particular, she had, what seemed to her, a skimpy white skort hemmed ten inches below her fanny, with a bright flaxen colored smiley face tank. She had decided that if she was going to go to the trouble of shaving she might as well show off her slim body. She did, after all, wear a size zero. With each step, Rain’s shoes stuck to the concrete a little more. Taking a break, she sat on the bench next to the “Bus Stop” sign. She was replacing the disintegrating sandals with her pink flip-flops, when Kyle Anderson seated himself next to her. “What’s up, Rain? What happened to your shoes?” “O… hey. They melted.” Rain said unenthusiastically, trying hard not to have a conversation with Kyle. She loathed him; he was in all of her classes and was the only person who had better grades than she did. She hated not being the top of sophomore class. Kyle also liked to ask a lot of questions. “Are you taking the bus today?” Kyle asked hopefully. “Nope. I just sat down to change my shoes.” Rain responded. She could take the bus, but she didn’t want to ride past the bad side of town which is where Kyle lived. There were always men patrolling the streets with Cuban cigars looking for young women to rape. She didn’t want to be one of their victims. “Cool! So … I was wond-” Kyle couldn’t finish what he was going to say, because Rain cut him off. “Well, I’m done. See you tomorrow.” Rain flopped down the street as fast as possible. She didn’t want to hear what Kyle was wondering. She didn’t need a boyfriend right now; she had to devote herself to church and school and especially could not date Kyle Anderson! He was her natural enemy. Kyle was in all of her classes and talked at her constantly (she hardly listened). Kyle was exactly her height (she had to date a taller guy), lived in a bad part of town, and was Agnostic (she had to date someone who was Christian). “Ya comin’ kid?” The bus driver yelled. “Yup. Just a sec’!” Kyle hollered. He was so busy reminiscing about the conversation that he had just had with Rain; he hadn’t even realized the bus had pulled up. He grabbed his backpack and climbed aboard the city bus. There weren’t any vacant seats so he had to stand. He still had twenty minutes before he could relax on the couch and watch his favorite television show, “That 70’s Show.” All his friends told him he looked like Kelso, but shorter. He had medium length brown hair that accented his face, large sea-green eyes and a six-pack. They also told him he acted like Fez. He had no experience when talking to girls, despite his fine looks. He always managed to say the wrong thing or look at them the wrong way or called them too much. “Maybe,” he thought to himself, “that was why I couldn’t get a girlfriend.” He had been trying to ask Rain Fields out since the beginning of the school year. He just couldn’t get up the courage. He knew everything she liked, her hobbies, the guys she liked, the classes she took (he was in all of them), and what she would say if he asked her out. Kyle knew she would say “No.” He almost thought she hated him. Rain never looked him in the eye when they talked and acted like she could careless that he was speaking to her. She often twirled her wavy golden-strawberry hair and rolled her dazzling aqua eyes every time he asked her what she was doing on the weekend. He was so determined to get her to like him, he asked her best friend, Amy, for advice. He asked Amy what Rain liked, what kind of guys she fell for, and what music she listened to. He was crazy about Rain, and would do anything for her. Amy told him he was a stalker, but he knew differently. He would never follow her around; Rain was just his secret crush that only Amy knew about. The bus stopped in front of Kyle’s house on Franklin Street. He tipped the driver as he bound down the steps. He was overjoyed to be home. The day seemed like it would never end. He had to read a novel, write a short story, and compose an anthology for English. He pulled open the front door to his blue, one story house, and lay across the living room with his books spread out in front of him. He was home alone. His sister Jen was in detention and his mom and dad were still at work at their teaching jobs. Kyle was on his own for dinner: Macaroni and cheese for the third night in a row. Rain strolled up to her house around four o’clock. In the hour it took her to get home, the sky had turned a light gray with a few cirrus clouds drifting above her. She punched 9-5-1-2 into the electric garage door opener. As the door rose, Rain saw not one, but both of her parents’ vehicles in the garage. Why was her father home? He usually did not get home until seven. She explored her house until she found her father seated peacefully in the dining room with a newspaper in hand. “Why are you home?” Rain asked bluntly. “My boss said there was thunderstorm warnings and sent me home early.” Her father, an assistant manager, worked the second shift at the electrical plant. “Wow! We haven’t had any precipitation for a month. I love when it rains, it’s like God is calling me.” “I have to agree with you there, you were born to be a water child. All you ever do is swim.” Her father took one last glance at the outline of his daughter and returned to his newspaper. He hadn’t said a word but yet, all conversation was dismissed. That night while Rain was doing her homework, the sky turned a slate black and lightning carried on through the night. When Rain woke up Thursday morning, she opened her double glass doors to her balcony. The balcony was white and about four-times-six foot in perimeter, with white, carefully crafted spindles all the way around. The lighting had subsided around three a.m. The sky was still accented in a light gray hue. The air had a strange smell to it, almost like sweet morning dew. She had a sixth sense for knowing when it would rain and today was one of those days. Rain dressed, gobbled her peanut butter toast, and headed off for school. Right when she walked in the double doors of her school, the rain started. First it was a light rain but an hour later it had escalated to a hard, powerful, windy rain. From inside, she could hear the forceful wind whistling and saw the trees dancing synchronistically to the storm. Storms made most people of Shelby cooped up indoors. For Rain, it always came as a chance for her to be in the storm, not a victim of it. She danced with the wind and trees. She counted one, two, three, and four, in her head. In class Rain daydreamed of being outside, instead, she had to listen to teachers’ lectures. That day in particular all of her teachers made new seating charts to coincide with the newest semester. She knew her teachers were out to make her life miserable since she just happened to be sitting by Kyle in each class. The logical explanations, Amy told her, was that A and F were close in the alphabet but Rain refused to differ. The only good that came of the new seating chart was that she also sat close to Amy in most of her classes. Rain did not know what she would do if it were not for her best friend Amy. Amy had been her best friend since pre-K. She had black, curly hair that extended to her shoulders and sparkling crystal blue eyes. Amy was a bit on the chubby side, but in no mean, fat. Almost anytime they were not at school, they were inseparable. Amy kept her sane. Amy was often the pushier in their friendship, always trying to get Rain to do something “new and exciting!” Her most recent “brilliant idea!” was to get Rain to date Kyle. She was always telling Rain how cute they would look together. To have the two smartest students in the school dating was, to Amy, a perfect match. Lately, Amy had been whispering comments about things that Kyle said or clothes he wore that day. Rain appreciated Amy’s attempts, but Rain really did not see the two of them together. While Rain was daydreaming, she drifted into a quiet sleep. Soon she saw herself with Kyle, walking in the park. They were holding hands, tossing breadcrumbs to the gray ducks in the undersized pond. They meandered along the edge of the pond and sat on the nearest bench. She was laughing at one of his jokes when all a sudden, someone called her name. “Rain, Rain!” Kyle tapped her on the shoulder. “You fell asleep, the bell just rang.” “Oh. Sorry. Thanks!” Rain gathered up her books, pencils that had her name scribed into them, and notebooks, and headed out the door. As she sauntered to her next class, she analyzed her dream. In her dream, she was having fun with Kyle. How could that be? She could barely stand him! Was Amy right? Was Kyle actually a decent guy? Maybe she should give Kyle a second chance. She did tend to be narrow-minded. Kyle did not care much for the rain. Every time the weather changed, he developed migraines. His head would throb for hours on end. Once Kyle arrived at school the rain started and so did his headaches. He tried staying attentive in first period, but gradually drifted off into outer space. Near the end of the period he woke up and found the perfect opportunity to talk to Rain. Rain was snoozing too. He figured he could wake her up and see if she would actually carry on a conversation with him. Right when he went to tap her the bell rang. Kyle missed the conversation, but Rain did say thank you. Maybe the acknowledgment was all the reassurance Kyle needed. Almost immediately the migraines subsided. During Kyle’s next class, he lightly flirted with Rain. He asked her about her weekend, pets, family, and even complimented her on her hair. Kyle really did think Rain was beautiful. She just glowed with enthusiasm, joy, and spirit. He always liked the girls who enjoyed every bit of life. He loved that she worshiped the rain. It suited her, being her name, it only made sense she loved rain. The best part of his flirting was that she was making conversation back. It was light conversation, but it was still a step in the “like” direction. Rain asked questions that ranged from what he did the past weekend to his hobbies. In mid-class, the tornado siren went off. Kyle was so startled by the noise; he leapt two feet above his chair. His heart started pounding one hundred beats per minute. He hated storms; they gave him the “he-bee-g-bee’s”. In reaction to his giant leap, Rain fell out of her chair from laughing so hard. She was clutching her side from laughing pains and snorting like crazy. In response to her laughing, Kyle began cracking up too. All a sudden their chemistry teacher slammed a book forcefully onto Kyle’s desk. “What do you think you are doing? This is a real tornado siren, not a drill. Get under your desks, quickly!” Their teacher scolded them with bulging eyes. Rain and Kyle scurried under their desks in the “crouching tiger, hidden dragon” position (that’s how Kyle referred to it). Kyle and the rest of the class were on their knees, abdomen pressed to their legs, and their hands covering the back of their heads. This position, of course, caused everyone’s butt’s to be shot up in the air. Kyle immediately noticed Rain’s very formed bottom. He knew she developed it from all the dancing and swimming she took part in. While looking at Rain’s butt, Kyle realized someone was probably looking at his too. He could feel his Finding Nemo boxers sticking out of his low jeans for all to see. “Dang!” He thought to himself, those were his ugliest and tightest pair. They were ocean blue and florescent orange colored. Hideous. All of a sudden, he heard a thunderous noise. Kyle thought it was the rain, but as he felt for the back of his pants, he realized, his boxers had ripped! “Dang it!” He thought again. Once again, Rain burst out laughing hysterically. Her giggles and Kyle’s blushing were interrupted by a voice over the school intercom. “Attention all teachers and students, I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but it looks like we will be in this warning state for a few hours. You do not have to be in the standard position unless further noted. Sorry for the inconvenience and stay safe.” The principal recited over the speakers. Kyle was immediately relieved he did not have to worry about mooning Rain and the rest of the class. Switching positions, Kyle made sure his boxers were safely hidden behind his jeans. He turned to face Rain and Amy who were still slightly giggling. Looking over at Amy, Kyle saw her wink at him and nod towards Rain. Today must have been his lucky day. Rain had never paid this much attention to him in all their years of school together. Kyle looked Rain in the eye and saw an inner fright in her gaze. Amy had not even noticed the nervous petrified look Rain gave off. “Are you all right?” Kyle asked Rain, concerned. “Umm, yeah, I’m all right, just a tad freaked out. I may like storms but I definitely can’t take tornados.” Rain confessed. “O come on. You, afraid?” Amy laughed. “Honest.” “It’s all good. We’re here for you.” Kyle said, a little too flirtatious. Rain and Amy armed their eyebrows in pure amusement. “Right, what are you going to do? Hurl yourself at the tornado in attempts to save us?” Rain aked sarcastically. “Yeah, actually. Got a problem with that?” Kyle asked hoping he had not gone to far. “Nope, not really.” Rain said. “Whatever floats your boat!” Amy laughed. “Good luck though; we’ll be rooting for ya!” Rain, Kyle, and Amy were all about two inches away from each other. Kyle could hear Rain’s frightened breathes. She was definitely more afraid than she was letting on. Rain noticed Kyle starring at her. “Stop staring at me, you freak!” She yelled in her head. He was a nice guy, but apparently his parents never taught him not to stare. The window in their class room suddenly shattered, causing glass to be spread all about the floor. Rain jumped in fright. When her hand came back down from her miniature panic attack, it rested on Kyle’s knee. She quickly slid it onto her own knee hoping he had not noticed. Rain was already holding Amy’s left hand when she felt a hand atop her left hand. Looking over she saw Kyle staring at her with flirty eyes. Rain in mere amusement, let Kyle keep his hand there just to see what would develop. Once again, the teacher came on the intercom. “Would everyone please get back into the state of emergency position, please? The winds are picking up and many of the trees on our lot have up rooted and are now horizontal. Remain calm; it will all be over soon. Thank you. Carry on.” The principal announced calmly. How could the principal be so calm? Rain was about to have an aneurism. Crouching in the drill position, she thought about everything she had yet to do with her life, what she had done, and what she could have been a bit more adventurous in. She never went to the “cool” parties and strayed away from anything that was harmful to her body. She wasn’t much of a risk taker. Kyle could see the fright in Rain’s eyes. He gradually began rubbing her back to calm her down. Looking over Rain, he saw Amy wink at him. Rain had finally given him a chance and it was all because of the weather. “Maybe there should be more storms in this town.” Kyle thought to himself. The wind outside had picked up and was blowing about sixty miles an hour. From inside it sounded like a dairy cow had slammed against the brick building. The roof in their classroom was sounding weaker by the second, trees were falling on it and it seemed it would give at any minute. “Aahhhh!” Kyle and Rain screamed in their heads. This was not the time for them to die. The roof was lifted off the classroom. Rain began screaming at the top of her lungs. The rain was coming in from the open roof. There were bits of barks and leaves falling in through the roof, landing on their backs. She looked at Kyle; they were both drenched in water. Maybe he was the guy for her and she was going to die so she would never be able to find out. Rain moved her hand from behind her pony tail to Kyle’s hand. He grasped it and looked her in the eye. She nodded and closed her eyes to wait out her death. She could feel the wind pressure trying to knock her over and the rain soaking her clothes. Kyle was holding Rain’s hand as securely as he could. More than anything, he wanted to make her feel safe. For the final time, the principal came over the intercom. “The storm has now drifted northeast. We are safe from the tornado although, a few classrooms are missing ceilings. Please remain in the drill position for clarification that the storm has died down. Thank you for being so patient. Just another ten minute wait and we will dismiss you from class.”
Copyright © 2005 Kaitlin D Fest |