Letting my imagination run wildly..

I sighed in frustration. I could already feel my sweat glands working up; no surprise there, really, since it is summer. But I'm in a mall, for crying out loud! What happened to the airconditioners? I had a fleeting image of Frozone from "The Incredibles" sweeping into the atrium, blowing out ice and snow; but alas, this is reality so I pushed those foolish thoughts away before they get the best of me. I glanced at my watch; it said 2:55 p.m. And she said that we should meet up at 2:00, sharp. Well, sharp my ass!


This is what I hate about people. They set a certain time, you show up, and where are they? Not wherever they need to be, that's for sure.


I've known Jel since we were in sixth grade. We were the popular kids from then to high school. She'd run for Student Council, I'd be the most active member of a certain club; she'd be the host of a program, I'd be the one who makes sure that everything goes well, and vice-versa. And no, I never got jealous of her because we both had our share of the spotlight; it never lingered too long for either one of us, which I am so grateful for.


We parted ways for college, but we've been keeping in touch ever since graduation.


I felt my cell phone vibrate, and to my surprise (yeah, right), it was Jel, saying that she was near. I was beginning to think that her definition of "near" was that she just left the house which was approximately fifteen to eighteen kilometers away, and that was still traveling. Looks like I'm gonna be waiting a little longer. Oh, happy day.


The local mall wasn't so big, compared to the malls I know in the city, so I didn't have a lot of stuff to do. So instead of wasting my energy in wandering around aimlessly, I leaned against a pillar and let the people pass me by. I turned to the side, and my eyes landed on a music store. There was a grand piano on display; I could see its white keys gleaming against on what seemed like the non-existent black keys. I wondered if anybody could ever have teeth as white as those; I shook my head. There's my imagination again.


I then turned my attention to a bunch of teenagers, probably about my age, sitting at the bottom of the stairs near the store. One of them was telling them a story, with matching animated hand gestures and all and I caught a snatch of their conversation.


"And you know what he told me?" said the speaker excitedly.


"What? What?" came the eager reply of his listeners.


"He said,"--he paused and cleared his throat; his voice came out raspy and scratchy--"M'boy, you will most likely end up in a gutter with the rate of partying your doing. Why, in my day, we had no such thing! We'd stay at home, do our chores, help our parents, and blah blah blah. I was waiting for him to say that they would feed the dinosaurs (his voice was back to normal) or something. I swear, that man talks like he's lived for that long!"


There was a burst of laughter from his peers and many of them agreed to his final statement. Normally, I would have gotten offended at the disrespect they were showing towards their elders, but who am I to tell them off, right?


"I knew I'd find you here".


I turned so suddenly that I felt my neck crick; I haven't been staying that way for that long have I? I massaged my neck and looked at the unfortunate person who cause me such pain.


And there in front of me, was a tall, dark, rather skinny girl; with a blue top and khaki pants. She had her long black hair braided in a plait and was smiling widely at me.


"Hi Jel", I said.


"Is that all I get? After not seeing each other for ten months? Come here!" she said indignantly and enveloped me in a bear hug. I rolled my eyes but I returned her hug anyway.


"Well, you did make me wait so I have every right to hate you right now", I said.


"As if you'll ever hate me", she said knowingly. I had to admit, she was right. I could never hate anyone for more than ten seconds; it's simply not in my nature. Sometimes I think that she knows me better than I know myself. Oh well. That's what you get for being friends with someone for almost all of your life.


"So, how have you been?" she asked as soon as she let me breathe again. "I know it's a stupid thing to ask but I'm sure that you haven't been telling me everything I need to know when we talk".


"Need or want to know?", I said half-seriously, half-jokingly.


"Oh, you know what I mean!" said my friend as she laughed. "Come on, let's go get something to eat. I'm starving!"


And before I could even say a word, she pulled me by the elbow and dragged me away.


I sighed. "I have a feeling this is a gonna be a long day.."