BARRIERS OF A FIRST LOVE
Chapter Twenty
June 7, 2004
Rose drove the rented car away from the
airport.
It was weird to be back in California.
Shortly after being released from the hospital, she had moved to New York
because, after discussing it with her mom, they decided a new beginning would
be good for her. The last time she had been back was to testify against Cal and
Spencer. They had received time for assault with a deadly weapon but, since the
death hadn’t been intentional, they had never paid for Jack passing away. Rose
wasn’t bitter about this, because she knew it wouldn’t make her feel any better
to see Cal and Spencer suffer.
By now she had reached her old high school.
She got out of the car just as a bell rang. She checked her watch and smiled at
her perfect timing; second period had just started.
Rose walked into Mr. Kells’ science
classroom, much to the surprise of everyone present. She gave him a polite
smile, handed him a single sheet of lined binder paper, and said, "I’m
here to turn in my Study of Human Life report. It was due today, wasn’t
it?"
"Yes. Thank you."
"The pleasure’s mine."
*****
After school, Mr. Kells sat in the very seat
at the lab table that Rose had sat in at the beginning of the year and read her
report.
While doing my Study of a Human Life
project, I learned one thing--that there’s no such thing. You cannot study a
person; you have to see them, hear them, and feel their true spirit. Human
beings are fragile and strong at the same time. They love and hate spontaneously.
And only in their finest hour, when they bare their souls and continue to love
and strive and hope, can you see the real person. I didn’t write this to seem
philosophical and smart. I wrote it to tell you a little more about a person.
Just by caring and loving, he touched my life. He taught me to rise against
barriers and prevail over hardships. So now, with this in mind, I wonder what
the world would be like if everyone was a little more like Jack Dawson.
The End.