MY STORY
Chapter Twenty-Six

I can’t believe I slept that long! I woke up this morning later than usual, and now, I’m running to the bus stop. I’m always early. I am Rose DeWitt Bukater, and I am Miss Punctual! I’m never late for anything! So, I keep running and running. My legs are not made for running. I’m almost to the bus stop when I see the end of that yellow thing. I just miss the freaking bus! No!

I stop running. My stomach hurts, and I am out of breath. I can’t believe I am this out of shape…well…er…I’m not surprised. I don’t exercise, and the last time I ran this long was during physical education class. I am not some athletic chick, but I got an A in the class because the teacher was also my health teacher, and I used to help her grade her papers, but anyway, that’s not the point here. The point here is that I, boring Rose, don’t run. And now, I’m coughing and choking…I feel like throwing up. I can’t breathe. My legs are giving up on me, so I sit on the pavement all of a sudden, and my surroundings are getting darker. My head feels light. What is happening to me?

I close my eyes and let the morning wind touch my face. Sigh. Ah…the touch of Mother Earth. So clean, so fresh, so peaceful, so relaxing, so…

Honk!

What the…?

Honk!

I quickly open my eyes to see what is happening. I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting here on the pavement, but my heart finally calms down, and I am no longer out of breath after that intense running. Intense, eh? There’s sarcasm there, if you don’t realize that yet…hee hee hee…

Anyway, I open my eyes to see where that sound comes from. Of course, it’s from a vehicle! I know that. I am not dumb, okay?

What kind of vehicle? Well, it’s a red truck, a huge one, may I add, and the front of it is about a foot away from me. I stand up quickly and face the driver, who looks familiar. It’s a guy, and it is…not a dark blond-headed guy, but instead he has very dark hair. I watch him as he rolls his window down and sticks his head out. He signals me to come close to the driver’s side, and stupid me, I slowly walk towards him.

"What’s a pretty girl like ya sitting on the ground like that?" He smiles, but it doesn’t make my heart beat with excitement. It’s beating normal. "Wanna ride to school, Rose?"

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa! Stop there! How does he know my name?

I say something quickly to him, but I think he doesn’t understand it. Well, I don’t even know what I just said.

He laughs in a menacing way, like a bad guy in a really cheesy movie. I am starting to feel uncomfortable, and it’s not in a blushing and shy way, but in an unnerving way.

"Oh, come on, Rose. You’ve just missed the school bus. Let me take you to school." He is talking to me like I was his friend or something.

Well, I take a moment to analyze what’s happening to me right now. I missed the school bus. I can walk to school, but I will be late, and I don’t want that. Then, there’s this guy who I really don’t know offering me a ride. I know him, but not exactly know him, if you know what I mean. Okay, you don’t know what I mean, but bear with me here, okay, dear? But anyway, I can ride with him and not be late. Anyway, he goes to my school, and he plays football. Oh, gee, why does he have to be a football player, hmm? So typical. His name is…

"Cal! Let’s go!" a high-pitched, irritated voice says, coming from inside the truck. I didn’t even notice that there was another person in the vehicle. "I want to stop by at Madeline’s before we get to school. Why waste your time on her?" She says the word her as if she is referring to a baby’s diaper full of poop--so stinky even flies won’t go near it. But for your info, I am not a diaper. Just a metaphor, you know?

I move my head a little to see whom that voice belongs to, and to my surprise, it belongs to Laura. Yes, it was Ms. Laura Bitch McGee. Did I just mention that B word? Oopsy daisy! I need to wash my mouth now for being dirty! But anyway, what is she doing with Cal? Or better yet, what is she doing in my neighborhood?

"Just get inside the damned car, Rose," Cal pronounces slowly, and I can tell he’s getting annoyed. I look at him again and realize that his eyebrows are well arched--way better than most of the girls I see at school. That shape of his eyebrows gives him a feminine look around the eye area. I’ve never been this close to Cal Hockley; I always see him from afar, but it’s not that I pay attention to him, mind you. "There’s nothing to be afraid of." I don’t recall saying I’m scared, but he just keeps going. Why is he acting like he knows me? Why? "I’ll take you to school so you won’t be late. Plus, I won’t let Laura hurt you." He grins at Laura, and she utters something I don’t understand. Probably something mean, because that’s all that comes out of her mouth.

Okay. I don’t really want to be late, but if I have to sit next to Laura, I’d rather be late to school. I guess I will have to say no. Actually, it’s a hell no. Forgive my language, but we are dealing with the cheerleader here, who’s been making me feel like crap ever since.

So, I politely refuse Cal’s offer, but he tries again and I decline again. At the end, he just shrugs his shoulders and rolls up his window while Laura complains something again about they have wasted enough time on some corpse girl with frizzy hair or something like that. So, here I am, almost late for school, and once again alone in this quiet neighborhood.

Wait! Hold on! Did Laura just refer to my hair as frizzy? Oh, heck no, ma’am! First of all, my hair is baby soft curls, not frizzy. There! Leave my hair alone.

I look at my watch and see that I have ten minutes left before the first bell rings to start the classes. I stand in the middle of the road for ages until I decide that I don’t want to go to school today. I will skip! I know it’s bad, but hey, I am a senior in high school. This is supposed to be the year where I need to slack off a bit, and plus, I’ve been working hard ever since I was born. I just have this feeling of…emptiness right now.

I start walking and not thinking where I am going. What is happening to me right now? I feel like I am in no man’s land. I feel complete loneliness that I have never felt before. I’ve always been a loner, but I’ve never minded it because I’ve been used to it, but now…everything’s different.

Why?

I think it is because of different things. Things? Like what? Hmm. I don’t know. Okay. Here we go again. Gosh! I should just shut up and not make things complicated again.

So, okay, I’ve been walking, and guess where I end up? I arrive in front of my dream house. Come to think about it, I haven’t been visiting this house for a while. Things just have happened, and now, here I am. I look at the button next to me, should I push it and ask for the owner? The owner? Well, Jack lives here, dummy!

Have you forgotten about my gorgeous Jack Dawson? Before I forget, I am still upset because he cancelled our supposed date, or whatever you want to call it. He hasn’t communicated with me since he cancelled it over the phone. I can’t really call him, since I don’t know his number. So, there’s only way to reach him right now, and that is to ring this button thingy and ask for Jack.

I take a deep breath and raise my right hand to push the red button. My heart starts pounding against my chest. Why am I feeling nervous right now? Okay, probably, I won’t know what to do when someone answers and tells me that Jack is here. What will I say to him if he is here? Gosh! Okay, okay, okay. I’ll just push this button. And just go with the flow.

So, I push it once. I count one to ten and no answer. Probably I didn’t push it correctly. Let me try again.

Then, I hear something, and a voice inquires, "Yes? May I help you?"

It belongs to a female. Why was I expecting a male voice? Because I’ve always thought that a butler will answer since big mansions always have butlers. Those two go together. Butlers equal mansions. Just like ham equals cheese. You get the point, right?

I clear my throat and speak in my usual soft voice, "Good morning, ma’am. My name is Rose Daw—er, I mean, Rose DeWitt Bukater." Gosh, I forgot that I am talking to a real person. Stupid brain, stop daydreaming. "I’m friends with Jack Dawson, and I am wondering if he is home right now."

I look at the house, and there is no vehicle parked there. I am starting to regret this. I think Jack is not home. I’m just making a fool of myself.

"He is at home right now, Miss Bukater, but I’m afraid you can’t see him because he is occupied at this moment."

So, he is here! That bastard! Oops, that’s no way to refer to the love of your life, but right now, I am starting to get angry. I need to see him!

"Can you please tell him that I am here? Please?" I stress the please word, but I am still polite.

"Sorry, you’ll have to wait. You can call him later."

"No, you don’t understand. I really need to talk to him." This time my voice is getting persistent. The lady is going to refuse again, but I won’t be as polite this time. "Look, lady, I need to see Jack. He will be mad at you if you don’t tell him I am here. He told me to come over when I needed to talk."

So, I didn’t tell her the truth, but let’s see if it pays off. She tells me to wait, and wait I will. I’ve been waiting for Jack for a long time, and a couple of seconds won’t hurt.

The gate automatically opens and scares the oopsy daisies out of me. The voice tells me to come to the front door, and so I walk towards the house. I breathe in and realize that I’ve never been this close to my dream house. I’ve always seen this from behind the gate or the wall, but never this close.

Before I can push that doorbell, the door opens and a man with gray hair in a gray suit greets me. He’s a butler! Okay, there’s no need to be excited about it, but this is the very first time I am meeting a butler.

He greets me and lets me in the house.

Wow! What greets me is something that I’ve never expected. Sure, I’ve always fantasized that my dream house will have a big staircase in the middle, but man, my fantasy has nothing on what I’m looking at. Everything screams extravagant. Even though the entrance is low lit, the staircase that is located in the middle still shines and is well kept. My head turns so much that I hear my neck making the cracking sound, and my eyes are about to pop out because of this gorgeous surrounding. I would probably be here in the same spot for hours, just looking around, if the butler hasn’t interrupted me.

He clears his throat and states in a clear voice, "Master Jack told me to take you to his room, Miss Rose."

So, he leads the way, and I follow him like stray dog. I can’t believe I am inside this house. It’s so pretty!

I’ve been so busy eyeing everything on my way to my destination that I don’t realize that I’ve reached it.

The butler faces me, and says, "This is his room, Miss Rose. Would you like me to bring you anything?"

I quickly decline, and then politely say my gratitude, but he hasn’t left yet. I guess I have to go in first. I face the room, and the pounding of my heart increases. I am nervous again. I take a deep breath and softly knock on the door. Nobody answers, and I guess I’ll go in since Jack let me come inside the house. I give the butler a smile before I let myself inside the room.

My eyes are closed, and I swallow a lump of spit--ew! I know you don’t want to read that! That would have probably killed me if I don’t get rid of it now.

I slowly open my eyes, and the room is dimly lit. I stay in one spot for a moment and let my eyes wander around the room. It is such a big room, and I wonder if this is a hotel suite instead, because it has its own living room, a breakfast table, and bookshelves.

I walk slowly forward until a big bed greets my sight. The sheets are some shades of blue. So masculine. So…

Then, I stop breathing completely. Everything around me disappears, and I hear no sound; it’s so deafening.

I do not blink. My eyes are wide open.

It’s him!

I see Jack for the very first time since last week. It felt like it’s been a century. And now I really know why I’ve been feeling this emptiness. It is because I’ve missed him. So much.

Ooh! Jack is back in the story again! You thought he is not coming back for me? Okay, I practically force myself to see him, but hey, it’s my story! My happy ending is coming soon. Or tragic end? Hmm, I wonder which one. Muhahahahhaha!

Love,
Rose Dawson

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