Oh gosh. Whew. Whata rollercoaster. Update tomorrow guise! It's 1:00 AM now, gotta crash. THANK YOU COOKIE. COOKIES ROCK. PERIOD.
Sorry for not updating! School's coming up, and I've got to prepare! Puzzles. I like puzzles. If not, love. I have world puzzles, Mickey Mouse puzzles, Epcot puzzles, all the puzzles you can think of. Mom would frame them, with the wooden frames Dad would make, and she would hang them on the walls around the house. I wonder what became of the puzzles. I love how when I pick up a piece, the colors vivid and mysterious, the image clicks in my mind, and when I gently push the piece in place, it snaps perfectly, and a sense of relief and satisfaction washes over me. Now this was a different version of puzzles fitting together; it was a dawning, a sicking feeling bubbling inside of me. The feeling of dread; of worry. Mixed emotions were jumping inside me, as I listened to Desiree's tale. As she retold it, I felt like I was drifting, drifting back to summer camp. I could almost hear the laughter, the cries, the screams. And slowly, like puzzle pieces, the memory reformed in my mind, and played it's scenario. "Let's take five," the instructor in a red shirt that was WAY too tight on him shouted across the river. Young Desiree sighed, and tugged at the scrunchie in her hair, letting her blond curls flow. (This was young Desiree; she hadn't dyed her hair yet nor straightened her curls) Young Desiree then pulled the old rope connected to the kayak unto the dock, when a clear, familiar voice called out to her. "HEY LOSER!" was heard, followed by a giggle, and the rhythmic thumping of feet. Before she knew it, two shadows loomed over, and she looked up, shaking. "H-H-Hi Tiara," she choked out, "H-H-Hi J-Jasmine." The two girls smiled at her, with a sinister gleam in their eyes. "HELLO DES!" Young Tiara smirked slightly, "Do you see what this is?" she pointed to a scab in her arm, covered by a Band-Aid. Desiree's eyes widened as she stared at the girls in horror. She shook her head; a swift motion. "Well," Jasmine said, her voice high-pitched and challenging, "That's wound Tiara got...from the horseback riding competition!" Desiree gulped as she backed up closer to the water, her feet splashing in the shallow liquid. "It would've been okay, you know, if she won, but..." Jasmine's tone dropped to something more dark, "She didn't." A dead silence weighed over them for a few seconds, before Tiara spoke again. "You are going to regret this, Desiree." Tiara hissed, and poor Desiree cowered in fright. The girls rolled their eyes together before turning heel and walking away. Desiree stood there, obviously shaken, as she watched the retreating backs of the girls. She could hear her heart thumping in her ears, and the rope in her hands scratched her shaking flesh. The instructor's whistle broke her from her fear and she snapped out of it. "You can do this, you can do this," Desiree repeated to herself, taking deep, shallow breaths. She grasped the yellow paddle tightly, putting one shaky foot into the kayak, hesitating. She sighed, and muttered her mantra again, "You can DO this." with one last push, she leveled herself to a sitting position. "Everyone ready?" the instructor paced back and forth in the sidelines, his sneakers crushing against the gravel. Desiree tightened her grip on her paddle in her hands, planting her feet firmly on the floor of the kayak. "Set!" By chance, she looked to her right, and groaned inwardly to herself as Jasmine and Tiara smirked at her from one kayak. "Don't have a partner, DES?" Tiara said menacingly. Des glanced at the empty seat behind her with a bit of worry on her face. "GO!" The whistle sounded, and Desiree's skills kicked in place. She padded and padded with all her might. She felt a splash beside her, and next thing she knew, she was soaked in water. "Argh!" she gave a strangled gasp and glanced at the culprit. The two girls smiled sweetly at her before give a heave and pushing forward. No they won't, Desiree thought, giving her own boost of energy and surged forward, catching up to them. The race continued on like this for five minutes, until Desiree could see the red flags of the finish line. Her arm muscles groaned in protest, but Desiree kept paddling. The two contenders continued. Desiree grinned as she realized that she was going to win. And then. A yellow object came hurling into Desiree. She gave an, "Oof!". Ridden by the force, she flew backwards an into the water. Young Desiree hit the water head first, and she remained airborne long enough to take a breath. Gasping for air, she scrambled to emerge, kicking with all her might. She managed to do the doggie paddle, and her vision blurred for a second before hazing over, revealing the spectacle before her. Jasmine and Tiara at the finish line, holding the trophy up and smirking at her. Reminder. 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