Characters: Jesse, Sophia, Alyssa
Location: East Shore High
Time: Day 4 - 3:40 PM
Raindrops pelted the parking lot of the school as Jesse and Sophia hurried through a maze of cracked puddles and makeshift creeks. Both their faces were staring down at the asphalt, but Jesse had taken off his coat and thrown it over Sophia’s head to keep her dry. They walked in silence. A flicker of lightning illuminated Jesse’s eyes for a moment as he looked up, squinting through the falling curtain of rain to find his car. What he saw was something completely different.
“Alyssa…”
Even through the dark rain, he knew it was her. Her body, her shape, her blonde hair turned black in the downpour. She didn’t need to say anything. She just needed to stand there, bookbag swung over one arm, textbook in the other, and it was enough to turn Jesse’s feet to stone. He stopped, no more than a couple yards away from her, and tightened his grip on Sophia’s shoulder.
“…I thought it was you,” Alyssa said. She didn’t seem to mind the rain. Her face was frozen forward and her pale yellow shirt clung wet to her skin. “I saw your car. I thought you had come back.”
Jesse licked his upper lip. He could only stare at her and try to forget, but it’s hard not to remember when your past is standing in front of you. The only sound was the rain, falling long, hard, and forever. Their hair draped over their solemn faces.
“Alyssa…” Jesse said at last. “This is my girlfriend, Sophia.”
Slowly, Sophia raised her head, allowing the rain to splatter against her cheeks as the wind blew it her way. She shivered, but tried to smile. Her dry lips were washed away in an instant. Lifting her arms, she grabbed the sleeves of Jesse’s coat and pulled it tighter around her head like a hood.
Jesse cleared his throat. “Look, Alyssa, this is a really bad time. Couldn’t we—”
“I miss you, Jesse.”
Now it was Jesse’s turn to shiver. He did so, but not visibly, and glanced over Alyssa’s shoulder at the front end of his car. “Alyssa, we really need to be going. We’re right in the middle of something very important.”
“So were we. Don’t you remember?”
A clap of thunder echoed over their heads. The rain fell harder, pelting the roof of the old school and pouring down the gutters in a great big waterfall.
Feeling the awkwardness around her so much that it was soaking through her skin, Sophia raised her hand and started walking forward, away from Jesse’s warm touch. “It’s okay. I’ll go wait in the car.”
“No, Sophia…” He tried to stop her, but Alyssa got in the way. She didn’t even need to move. It was almost like Sophia had passed through her, like a ghost, and Jesse’s fingers found their way around Alyssa’s wrist. For a second, he had forgotten. For just a second, he had remembered. Then another flash of lightning made it all too clear.
“Damn it, Alyssa,” he said, releasing himself from her sodden flesh. “You never did come at the right time.”
The rain quickly replaced the dry spot on her arm and her eyebrows sagged under her damp hair. “You never gave me that time, Jesse.”
“That’s because there was never a time for it! Never, Alyssa. There was never a chance of you and me.”
“That’s not what you used to say.”
“Things have changed.”
“You can’t change them, Jesse. You never could. You could only walk away and try to forget. But you never did forget, did you?”
“This is really not the day for this, Alyssa.”
“What’s wrong with today? The same thing that was wrong with yesterday? And the day before? How about tomorrow, Jesse? When is a good day for you? When does His Majesty find time to say good-bye to me?”
Jesse clenched his fist. Rain squirted out through his fingers.
“Is it so hard? One word? Just one day? Just one moment, again, to remember, to forget everything?” She stepped closer and peeled away his strong fingers one by one. “You could’ve made that time for me. I’m worth it. I’m worth a moment of your precious time.”
“You’re not worth half of the crap that comes out of your mouth,” he grunted, pushing her away. It was a light shove, but she stumbled further back than she should have, trampling through a deep puddle and then standing there, alone in the rain.
Jesse didn’t look back. He walked over to his car, which was still parked in the grass, and threw open the door.
“I’m sorry,” he said to Sophia as he dropped into the driver side seat.
She had his coat wrapped around her like a blanket and shivered, but said nothing through her chattering teeth. Turning her head away, she looked out the window at the black figure that was moving closer to the car.
Jesse put his arm behind Sophia’s headrest and put the car in reverse. The wheels started to roll over the damp grass. Suddenly, the back door opened and Alyssa dove inside, throwing her bag and textbook on the messy car floor. Settling herself in, she shut the door, turning off the hum of falling rain, and buckled her seatbelt.
“What the hell are you doing?” Jesse asked as the car backed into the empty street. He put it in neutral and stared at the stowaway in the back seat.
“You’re making time for me,” Alyssa said with a faceless expression. “Wherever you go, I’m going too. So let’s go already.”
“You don’t know what you’re getting into, Alyssa.”
Sighing, Sophia put her hands to her temples and closed her eyes. “Just go. She can come along. I don’t care. I really don’t.”
“Listen to her,” Alyssa said. She took the collar of shirt and wrung it, causing a cascade of water to pour down her sleeves. Then she smiled, faintly, and wriggled her hips to get comfortable in the seat.
Jesse turned back to the wheel, flipped the windshield wipers, and put the car in forward. He tried to avoid contact with Sophia’s eyes as he pulled out into the street and began driving through the downpour. Eventually, the car turned away from East Shore High and the old school became just a memory of the past, disappearing in the endless wall of rain.
Giantess World
