#clickeh

put a video game in my ask

never played | want to play | terrible | boring | okay | good | great | a favorite

I feel like this might be a reference to lord of the rings, but unfortunately I am the wrong person to make those references to, since I have never seen it.

7. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever experienced, be it just reading about it or experiencing it in the flesh?

I’ve found myself in a lot of bizarre moments, but for some reason I can’t think of any real interesting ones right now. One weird feeling, though, is having someone lead you by the arm through pitch blackness with no glasses on, and then once the lights are up you’re forced to sing and dance in front of an audience and pretend like you’re not still basically blind.

My memory of that musical is fuzzy, to say the least.

8. You can choose any world to go to… etc.

Already answered. (:

9. What is one thing in this world you’d get rid of if you knew it’d be erased from the entire history of the human race?

Mannnn I can’t answer questions like this because I get all paranoid about causing time paradoxes, or doing something that seems beneficial at first but ultimately results in a worse timeline, or creating a timeline where my parents aren’t born, or something. 

Riley laughed, giving him a playful punch before retreating before her brains could be devoured. “That is the exact reason why I will eat your brains now,” he informed her. He tried to get up from the bed but cringed and fell back down.

“You broke some ribs,” she told him as she sat back down in her chair.

“I hadn’t noticed.” He put his head into his pillow and sighed heavily. “I guess I’m done swimming this year.” He frowned up at the ceiling, stretching his good arm up. “Can’t really swim with only one arm.”

“You came back from the dead,” she reminded him. “So there’s that at least.” He was always such a happy person, full of life, jokes, and was always carefree. Seeing upset wasn’t something she wanted to deal with. Things needed to go back to normal, like her books. Unchanging and always ending well.

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “That was pretty cool.” Rolling his head to look at her, he gave his best zombie moan then burst into laughter. He winced and the laughter didn’t stay long, but it was good to hear. “You should have been there,” he said, his smile returning. “I woke up really cold, but when I started moving I heard this really high pitched scream. I think it was a guy,” he said laughing. “I don’t remember much besides that. I was kind of out of it I guess. Coming back from the dead takes a lot of energy.” He glanced over her shoulder out the window. His eyes had a far way look for a second and he said, “It was weird though. I don’t remember anything when I… died I guess, but just before waking up again, I felt something pulling me back.” He looked back at her, watching her carefully. “I could have swore I heard you…”

Riley didn’t reply to that, met his stare before looking down at her hands awkwardly. She wasn’t sure what that could have meant. He shrugged when she looked back at him but they sat silently. The doctor came into the room not long afterward, breaking the silence.

“Ms. Hemingway,” she said, tapping her clipboard with a pen. “I know you probably want to talk more with your friend, but I’ll need you to leave for now.  Sorry.” Riley grabbed her things from the floor.

“It’s no problem.” She smiled at them and gave Oli a light hug. “Don’t let him eat your brains Doc,” she said laughing as she left. Oli’s moans and groans with the word brains drawn out followed her out the door.

  Riley continued, despite her mental protests, to go to school for the rest of the week. Her note taking doubled, which wasn’t much in the first place and she had to make up for Oliver’s. No one knew when Oliver would return to school, or even get out of the hospital, so the teachers had let him off on the homework. Still, she brought him notes when she went to visit him; his parents were with him everyday, and often Patrick was with them.

Riley would drag a chair in from another room or the hall and sit in the corner after tossing Oliver some notes that he would skim over, occasionally asking questions. He actually liked to learn and keep up with class. Riley was more selective in the things she took note of, which was why Oliver became her school notebook, since he would always take detailed notes.

“Is this all?” he would ask after reading them. She would nod saying he may have left out a few things, but they were organized and had the important parts. She could take decent notes when she wanted to, but they were never up to Oliver’s standards. He didn’t complain though.  

At the end of week, when he had planned on returning to work even though Su had told her not to, Oliver convinced her to go to the swim meet instead. So, after school, she stayed with Patrick and watched the meet, her notebook in hand writing down the results and some hasty notes that later she forgot what they meant. Oliver thanked her, then balled up the paper tossing at the garbage can in the corner.

“I ever tell you that your notes are quite shit?” he said laughing. “No surprises in those results. I wasn’t there.”  She sat down and they talked for some time. Oliver was growing restless, she could see and he asked her dozens of questions. He was a more active person, and he needed to be out and see things for himself. He wasn’t like her, where she could read something, absorb it, and be there.

She worked on a short story as he talked about the vacation his parents were trying to set up. He was excited just to leave the room, so leaving the state to him would be a godsend. They hadn’t picked a spot, since they wanted somewhere that would be exciting but that wouldn’t be too much for Oli. He would be getting out sometime soon, the doctor had told him, but since soon could be a long ways away, his parents couldn’t pick a place yet. Plus, the doctor had told them when they mentioned their plans, to be careful about traveling just in case something happened.

Riley tossed her friend one of her short stories she had already finished to fight off the boredom and because she needed feedback when she was leaving. His parents, as they often seemed to do somehow, were coming in just as she was leaving. Cathy stopped her just outide the room where Oli could not see them.

“So, the doctor said he should be good to leave here in a few days,” she whispered. “We’re going to tell him if you want to come in.” Riley shook her head with the excuse she had to get home and eat dinner; since the Hayes had been at the hospital every day, there had been no shared dinners between the two families, and Riley’s dad cooked for just the two of them. She told Cathy to pick somewhere nice for Oliver and left.

Oli closed the notebook and looked up when his parents walked in smiling. “The doctor’s have said you are perfectly fine to leave this weekend!” He smiled back at them.

“Just in time for school.” he exclaimed in a sarcastic tone.

“And to celebrate,” she smiled at her husband. “We are taking a vacation. We thought we’d let you help us decide where!”

“Oh…” Oli said, less thrilled than his parents probably expected of him. “That’s... “ He considered it, it was something he would have done, but something in him said no. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” he admitted to them. His parents faces fell, so he quickly added, “But you two should totally go. I just want to stay here with my friends. I just need out of this hospital.” His mother nodded.

“We could always invite Riley along. I’m sure she’d love a vacation.” Oli shook his head again and the matter began to fall. They sat down with him instead and just talked.

When Oli finally left the hospital, he returned to his home and instantly went next door to find his best friend. Her father let him in, telling him she was up in her room. Riley was on her bed, reading a thin book.

“Yo.” He took up the seat at her desk after she acknowledged him. On the desk in the corner, was the book he had bought her for her birthday. He picked it up, rubbing his thumb over the symbol that had been pressed into the leather. An odd symbol he had trouble making out, but it seemed old. “You like your gift,” he asked holding it up. She muttered something not looking up from her book. He opened it up flipping through the pages, only finding writing on the first one. He smiled when he read it then found Riley standing over him. He set the book down quickly, knowing if she wanted someone to read her writing, she’d let them.

“Yeah…” she said staring at it, ignoring that he had looked through it. “I forgot about it. I opened it when I thought you had died.”

“Look like you wrote me back to life,” he joked. She nodded still staring at the book.

“What if I did?” she asked after a while, picking up the book.

“Uh… I was joking. You know that right?” She nodded again, saying nothing, but reading through her writing. “I’m not sure a book can bring things to life. Unless it’s the book of life,” he said, trying to be as unserious as possible.

“Yeah…” she said again, spacing out. She took one of her pens then looked up at him smiling. “That’d be really cool.” She laughed, sitting on her bed and putting the pen to the second page. “I’d bring a plague of frogs down on you!” She laughed again, losing whatever had been weighing down on her.

  Riley knew no book could do that. Stories didn’t change once you opened them a second time, she knew. She wrote in the book about frogs jumping around Oli, their tongues shooting out to stick him in the face. “A plague of frogs,” she said smirking at him as she tossed him the book for him to read. He laughed and placed it back on the desk.

“So are you coming to school tomorrow?” she asked. He shrugged.

“Probably. I’ve missed enough classes. Plus who is going to take my notes for me?” She threw her pen at him. He feigned a cry of pain holding his arm. “Ow! Don’t you know the pen is mightier than the sword?”

“Leave!” she yelled at him. “That was terrible.” He stood up to bow at her.

“As you command. I need to get home and get some sleep anyway. I have school in the morning.” She shook her head at him, still thinking of the stupid jokes he made and got ready for bed.

This is a short piece that I did when I was bored. I might turn it into something eventually, but for now it'll just make a good sample. 

Word Count: 893