Teej

Thank you, everyone! :D Okay, you have to help me out again. Does this part seem kind of... off? Let me know if you think so.

Immediately, TJ withdrew her hand from my back and we both stood up. It was like slow motion as the door swung open, blocking our view of the person entering. TJ glanced at me, puzzled. I shrugged back at her with a confused look of my own and hoped things would speed up a little. Who would be coming into our house in the middle of the morning, besides my parents who would be gone all day? And the slow-mo was getting to be a bit of a drag.
“Uh, hello? Jen?” The voice was coming from the doorway, as if the intruder hadn’t actually come in, but was standing on the threshold or even outside.
Once again, TJ and I exchanged glances, but this time they were looks of surprise. Yes, we knew that voice, even though we couldn’t see who it belonged to.
That was Aaron’s voice.
TJ was looking at me as if asking me what I was going to do. I cleared my throat. “Um, we’re in here, Aaron,” I called. “Come on in.”
Quickly, Aaron entered and closed the door behind him. “I… I knocked a few times,” he explained nervously as he came toward us. “No one answered.”
He was wearing jeans and nice T-shirt, and suddenly I was aware of my very frumpy-looking pajama-clad self. Instinctively, I crossed my arms over my stomach.
“Oh, yeah, sorry about that,” I said awkwardly. “We were just…” I glanced at TJ, whose expression was a mix of pity for me and curiosity for what I was about to say. “Talking. We were just talking,” I finished, then tried to change the subject. “What’s up?”
Aaron gave me a strange look, but before he could answer, TJ cut in. “I think I’ll go get some breakfast now,” she announced, giving me a look before she escaped into the kitchen.
“Don’t you think it would be lunch by now?” Aaron asked, but TJ was already gone. Turning back to me, he answered my question. “I came by because… uh, this was left at the church, and Jake was wondering if you knew whose it was.” He held out a leather bound notebook. “It was left in the van we rode in, but I… my specialty is not diaries!”
“Have you checked with Lindsay?” I asked, stepping closer and taking the book from him. It was beautiful, with exquisite designs on the cover, but no identification.
“Nope,” Aaron replied. “Jake said you’d know what to do with it.”
“Well, did you look in it? Read any of it to see who it belonged to?”
Aaron looked disgusted. “Uh, no. I’m not gonna to look in some girl’s diary! Jake said you’d know what to do with it,” he repeated.
I raised an eyebrow “You were just the messenger, weren’t you?”
“Yup.”
I laughed. “Okay, well, I’ll take a look at it. Thanks, Aaron.”
“Yep. No problem.” He paused. “So, uh, are you planning on getting dressed at all today?”
I smiled sarcastically. “Get outa here,” I told him. But he was already out the door, before I could hit him.
 
*does dance* I know who's diary it is, i know who's diary it is, i know who's diary....
:D
Good job KK. Keep it comin. Further up and futher in...
 
Lol! Thanks, everyone. I'm terribly sorry about it coming so s-l-o-w... The next part is... a bit different and I had to write two different things for it, besides the fact that is seems I am never home... :rolleyes: I will have it up ASAP!
 
Nice updates. Don't worry about things going slow, you can change the pace later. It's actually kind of nice to read a story that doesn't have a twist in every new segment. lol
 
.:Out.of.the.Blue:. said:
there used to be a member here named teej...
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Really? But you say used to be... are they gone now?

And, Amy? I meant slow as in at least a week before I post again. I'd really like to post sooner!
Amy said:
It's actually kind of nice to read a story that doesn't have a twist in every new segment. lol
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I imagine it's nice to not have a new post every time you turn around, either. :rolleyes: ;)
 
Kalakali said:
And, Amy? I meant slow as in at least a week before I post again. I'd really like to post sooner!
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Hahaha....whoops. :eek: :D The pace you're going for everything, as in what you said as well, is fine.

Kk said:
I imagine it's nice to not have a new post every time you turn around, either. :rolleyes: ;)
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Yeah, that's true. This way I don't have to spend three hours trying to keep up with everything. O.O
 
Lucy_QueenofNarnia said:
huh, that's um, interesting..

*whistles* I wonder what will happen next!
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Lol. Poor Steph! Well, I have good news. I'm posting!!! [LD: :rolleyes: ]

Laughing, I watched Aaron jog down the driveway and hop on his bike.
“What’d he want?” TJ’s voice sounded behind me.
I turned. “Oh, just dropping off something left at the church. He thought- well, Jake thought- I could figure out who it belonged to.” I held the book up. “Do you recognize it?”
TJ glanced at it. “Mm-mm.” She shook her head, mouth full of cereal. She was leaning on a crutch as she ate.
“By the way,” I started, “what were you going to say before he came?”
TJ finished chewing before she answered. “Oh, uh, I forgot.” She was avoiding eye contact, and I could tell she was lying. But maybe she wasn’t ready yet.
“Okay,” I shrugged. “Whatever. I’m gonna go up to my room for a while.”
TJ nodded. “Sure. I’ll be fine.”
I gave her one last long look before heading up the stairs to my room. Her stance was relaxed; like she was more at home than she’d been for a long time. It was a nice look on her, one that I hadn’t ever seen. TJ was comfortable here.
Making my way up the steps, my fingers tingled at the feel of the leather diary in my hand. I was anxious to get to my room and examine it, see who it belonged to. I wasn’t sure why I was so excited; there weren’t many candidates. It belonged to someone in the youth group, but who? There were a few newcomers; if the diary had no identity, I may not be able to place it. Why did Jake want me to figure it out, anyway? I thought. Why not give it to Deidre or someone? Yet there was certain energy to the diary and I quickened my pace up the stairs.
When I finally got to my room, I closed the door behind me and padded over to my bed. I crawled up on my bed and sat cross legged, placing the diary gingerly on the comforter in front of me. Slowly, I opened the cover. The pages were cream colored and flowing blue penmanship filled its pages. There was no identification on the back of the cover. I bit my lip. I didn’t want to read someone’s diary, but how else would I figure out who it belonged to? Sighing, I fell back on my pillow and tried to decide what to do. If Jake sent it to me, he obviously trusts me, I reasoned. But… I can’t just read someone’s personal stuff! I debated for a few moments before telling myself I’d just read the first page, and if there was no identity there, I would stop. I sat up and slowly started reading, a guilty feeling settling in my gut.
“It’s cold. Like, real cold. The pen isn’t even working right. The wind snaps and bites at me as I huddle against the brick wall. What little light there is comes from back doors of the shops and restaurants, and I almost can’t see to write this. Cleveland winters in alleys are not fun.”I stopped. This didn’t sound like a diary entry- it sounded like a story, except for the last line. And who was from Cleveland? Only one person came to mind. A new girl had showed up a few times; she was from out-of-state, but I didn’t know where. And she hadn’t come to the lake with us, but it still could’ve been left at the church. But, I told myself, this could be from a few years ago. My eyes went to the top of the page. There was no date. I went on.
“But I can’t go back. Mom’s stoned again and if I stayed, she would have hurt me real bad- even worse than last time. So I don’t have much choice of where to go. Mom doesn’t know about this alley being my hideout, so I’m safe here.
I don’t know who would leave such a pretty, empty book in a dump like this, and I don’t know how I found it. I mean, of course I know how I found it- it was on top of a pile of garbage. But why did I find it? Fate, maybe, or destiny. Or maybe it’s even a miracle, like Josh (my Jesus freak neighbor) is always talking about. But whatever. I don’t want to think about that stuff right now. However I found this, it doesn’t matter much. I ain’t real good with words, but since there’s no one else to talk to, it’s kinda nice to let my thoughts out.”Okay, so the girl wasn’t a Christian, either. I didn’t know much about the new girl, Lynn, and it was certainly possible she came from out-of-state as well as being an unbeliever. But I had the sinking feeling that the words I was reading belonged to TJ. The guilty feeling grew as I found my place again.
“Oh man. I think it’s 12:17. I can’t see my watch real good, but I think that’s what it says. It’s a new record for me. Mom should be passed out by now, so it ought to be safe to go home. But it wouldn’t be smart to bring this with me. Mom might find it, or worse- her new boyfriend. I better leave this thing here and write when I come back.”The first entry stopped there. I looked up, puzzled. The author hadn’t given any identity; no clue of what her name was- only hints to her background. Could Teej have come from Cleveland? Why would she go from Ohio to Minnesota, just for a foster home? I shook my head. It just didn’t make sense.
 
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