Making Circles - Vanessa Gilbert (recommended reading txt) 📗

both nodded our heads fiercely in agreement and said, “Let’s go!”

Kitty nodded and then just like that Rose, Kitty, Mark, Kyle, and I both raced off towards the building. Rose at the back, Kitty right behind me, and Mark, Kyle, and I at a tie. I slowly lost my energy and soon I was at the end and going from a sprint down to a jog then down to a fast walk and then down to just a slow pathetic attempt of a walk. I stopped walking completely and began to breathe heavily and pant. I starred at my group of friends who were already at the top corner of the building and stopped to look back at me. Damn them and their amazing ability to run faster than me. What do they do train for the Olympics? “Hey slow pokes pick up the pace,” Mike called at me and Colt.

Colt walked up beside me and asked, “Are you okay kid?”

I looked up at him and nodded, “Yea just really out of shape.”

Colt raised an eye brow then let out a laugh, “Kid you’re in shape you just need to get your muscles back.”

I nodded then let a out of breath laugh and said, “Well…hopefully my muscles will come back…soon.”

Colt laughed then pat my back and began to walk with me up to my friends who starred at us with smiles on their faces…they are enjoying this too much. When we finally made it up to them they grabbed our arms and began to pull us to the front door of the building. They opened the door then pushed us inside the building. As soon as we walked in memories of my Four-H Club began to play around me. I remember all of the meetings, I remember all of the faces, I remember all the cruel jokes, and I remember all the stares I got. I remember all of the girls taking one look at me and deciding I was just some kind of white trash. I remember my cousins lying telling everybody that they didn’t know me and that I was just some kind of loser.

I looked around and sighed. It looks just like last time I was here. White tiled floor, white walls, and a black board up front. I starred at the inside of the building and felt memories come and play as if though they were going on this very second. I sighed and took a deep breath that was a long time ago; I’m grown up now I can handle this. I felt a cold hand grab my neck and begin to sway me back and forth with their grip on me. “You okay,” Colt asked.

I looked up at him and nodded solemnly, “Yea…just…bad memories here.”

Everyone looked at Colt and me in confusion waiting for someone to shed some light on what happened here to make me go so…cold. “Arien, what do you mean by bad memories,” Mike asked.

I looked at Mike and everyone and sighed, “Um, I used to be in Four-H and in Four-H we had to have meetings and most of the meetings were held here and well…I wasn’t really popular in Four-H. A lot of the kids thought I was just plain weird which was true, but because I was so strange none of them wanted anything to do with me. So I became the outcast of the Four-H group.”

Everyone’s eyes softened and each one of them starred at one another in disbelief. Yes we were outcasts but we were outcasts together…in Four-H I was the only outcast. I was the weird kid that no one dared to talk to and if you did you were sentenced to the outcast island. Of course though if you were sentenced to the outcast island with me the only way to get off was if you stopped talking to me and treated me like I was dead…which of course happened twice. I remember my first friends in that “club” one day talking to me as if though I was the coolest person there…and then in the next moment treating me like I was trash that they needed to throw out. I remember the last thing me and my “friends” did was play musical chairs with everyone…I won.

I sighed and shook my head trying to shake out the bad memories trying to shake off the feelings that I felt…the feelings of betrayal, of loneliness, of helplessness. I whipped away the tear that slipped from my eye and crawled its way down my cheek. I felt two arms suddenly close around my body and soon more arms appeared and soon I was covered neck to hips in arms and hugs. I smiled and let out a small laugh and said, “Thanks guys.”

The arms all disappeared and left me bare and cold. I smiled at all of them then walked over towards the TV that is now up and ready to run. “Well, let’s get everything up and running,” I said.

Kitty nodded then walked over towards me and the TV and began to plug in the game system and the controllers and things we’d need. She lined up all of the games she brought and then turned to the guys (Rose, Kyle, Mark, and Colt) and asked, “Which game do we start the game competition off with?”

They all shrugged then looked at me. I leaned over and looked down at the game then picked the one that Mike and Colt haven’t played it…Rock Bank. “Okay guys I think it’s time you got informed about Rock Band,” I said as I handed the game case to Kitty.

Kitty popped the game out with a smile on her face and gently put the game into the game system and turned it on. She grabbed the controller and clicked all the necessary things to get the game up then turned to everyone and asked, “Who’s going first?”     

Everyone looked at me and Kitty and then all in unison they said, “You two.”

Kitty and I both looked at each other and shrugged. “Well okay then let’s get the game competition going,” I said to Kitty.

Kitty nodded then plugged in the microphones, the guitars, and then the drums. She grabbed the two microphones then turned to me and asked, “Singing right?”

I nodded then took one of the microphones from her and waited while she signed in. Kitty and I usually never compete against each other because we know that we both are competitive and when it comes to losing we both can get a little angry. Kitty smiled at me and said, “You can sign in now.”

I nodded then clicked and did everything I needed to do to get signed and said, “Okay, may the game competition start.”

Kitty nodded used the controller and clicked on multiplayer then against. Kitty picked her “avatar” for the game and then looked at me. I chose my “avatar” and clicked okay. We both checked out our characters then gave the a-okay for the competition to start. Kitty clicked start and began to scroll through all the available songs that we could sing. “Okay Abby you pick the song you want,” Kitty said.

“Okay Kit-Kat,” I said.

I looked at the songs and then found the song I love to sing. “I think I’m paranoid,” I said.

Kitty smiled and shook her head then clicked on the song and then went and chose her song. She clicked on Don’t Fear the Reaper by a group that I forgot the name of. “I should have guessed,” I said to her.

Kitty smiled her enthusiastic smile and asked, “Okay so who goes first?”

“You,” I said.

“Why me,” she asked.

“Because it’s your game and because I like to go last.”

“Well maybe I want to go last.”

“Do you?”

“No,” Kitty admitted sheepishly.

I laughed and said, “Well go sing your little heart out.”

Kitty nodded then clicked go and began to sing her song. I remember the first time Kitty and I heard this song together, well it was my first time hearing it, her third or fourth millionth time. I remember we were writing for our story, Emotionally Wrong, and she grabbed my laptop, typed something in and it magically began to sing it. Kitty sang along with the song  and bobbed her head also. I remember laughing so hard at her and saying she looked so adorable. She blushed bright red and ever since then she blushes every time she hears or thinks of the song. I smiled at Kitty then closed my eyes and let my imagination and the song dance together to create something fascinating. Colors streamed across my mind and painted a scene. It’s dark and gloomy and there are three people standing on the edge of a cliff. A guy that looked kind of like Kyle and a girl that looked kind of like me and then there was a strange figure wearing a grim reaper rope and he was moving his hands around.

It took me a while before I figured that the grim reaper is the one singing right now. The two normal people leaned over and starred down the cliff then without even a second glance or thought the boy jumped. The girl backed up then when about to jump she stopped and backed out of the jump. She starred down at her beloved man and began to cry silently into her hands. The music kept playing and the girl kept crying. Then the scene changed and she is standing at his grave flowers in hand and tears strolling down her face. She got to her knees and gently stroked the side of the grave marker and began to sob. She stood up and stepped away from the grave then walked away. The scene changed again and now she was standing at the cliff again this time a bit older and she looked like she has been crying all her life. She starred down the cliff and towards where her love had died then she jumped no hesitation.

The song slowly ended and I slowly opened my eyes and looked at Kitty. Kitty smiled and finished the song then said, “Arien, your turn.”

I nodded then stood up, grabbed the microphone and waited for my song to start. The introduction began to play and then I began to sing. “You can look but you can’t touch, I don’t think I like you much. Heaven knows what a girl can do, heaven knows what you’ve got to prove I think I’m paranoid,” I sang with the song.

As I sang I remembered my first time singing it. Kitty was playing guitars and I was playing the singer and as soon as it was my turn to sing Kitty missed a note and starred at me in surprise. She didn’t know I could sing that low and that good. I remember also her family was surprised as well. I smiled at the memory and began to throw all myself into the performing of the song. I jumped up and down, bent down and pointed out towards the fake audience and then brought back my hand and jumped back up. I kept singing and performing then soon my song slowly began to end. I stopped singing and performing then starred at my score. I got a ninety seven percent and so did Kitty.

“Wow, it’s a tie,” I said to Kitty.

Kitty smiled and said, “Yay.”

I laughed and then embraced Kitty and then turned my attention to our audience. “Okay who’s next? Remember you don’t have to sing you can play guitar or drums but your opponent must do the same instrument,” I said to everyone.

Colt looked at Mike and said, “Hey me, you, guitar.”

Mike nodded and said, “Yes be warned I have excellent hand and eye coordination.”

Colt laughed then they both stood and walked towards the TV screen and towards their controller. Colt picked up one of the guitars and began the long process of making his character. I remember when I first played and it took me about