Back to the Dream Page
Chapter 2
Mel turned at the sound of her name being called. "Mona! How are you?" Mel forced a bright smile onto her face as she turned to face a former best friend. True, Mel was still a little jumpy from feeling what she had earlier and here, at the hotel, the oppressive feeling of having her senses invaded had heightened to its worst. Still, she knew an old friend deserved more. Unfortunately, she couldn't just give it right now. So instead, she hid her wary eyes behind her sunglasses as she stepped forward into Mona's embrace. Mel listened half-heartedly as Mona recounted the last few years of her life from when they'd separated after high school while she unloaded her car trunk, taking the two suitcases easily. Mona continued her prattle, oblivious to Mel's inattention as they walked into the grand hotel named for the Indians who had lived in the area hundreds of years before. She checked herself in and moved into her room with Mona in tow.
As soon as she had put her stuff away, the two went back downstairs to wait it out in the lounge while the rest of their small class came in. It didn't take long for Sherie and Elizabeth to find their ways over. Their own, tiny clique complete, Mel listened with a deaf ear as the other three caught up with their news. Surprisingly, Katherine, Stephanie, and Lindsey made their ways over as well. It was apparent that they still considered Liz part of their own clique and Mona and Sherie did their best to hide the hatred they felt to the three newcomers. It was true, that Stephanie and her lot had done a lot of backtalking, gossiping for all that they were worth. Mel'd learned to forget about it and smiled sweetly, acknowledging them and assuming the role of the innocent kid they'd remembered her to be.
Mel grew increasingly bored with the unending gossip of everyone else that was coming in now. Many came with their new families, most boasted about their jobs. She politely excused herself from the group and mingled with the others, finding it amusing to see that everyone pretty much stuck with their old clique. There was, of course, her own group of four. Then the girls who had been all into fashion and guys, the ones who now tried to steal Liz away from Sherie and Mona. Then there were the 'bad' boys, huddled in one corner, laughing a bit too loudly at their old jokes. The sporty ones who had always played basketball or football during recess stood in another corner to themselves. That left only one group left, by far the largest and most influential out of any: the Asian clique. It wasn't their fault the school had been dominantly Asian and they found a weird sort of pride in boasting about it. This highly selective group always put on the gracious face to those not one of them, and it had hurt that although she herself was Filipina, just like more than half of the group, Mel was still considered an outcast. She could have blamed it on the fact that she had come into the school when the standards had been set in this family, but then again, she had come in with two other Asians. They had been welcomed with open arms; she hadn't.
It was this group, the group that had shut her out that Mel found herself drifting herself to, talking among the more friendly of the group, Janelle and Rachel. The former mentioned had been the valedictorian of the class, representing them in their proud moment of graduation. Rachel was a fellow singer, although they had long since sung together in a group. Whereas Mel had flourished under the choral director's control, the same teacher had regarded Rachel as unworthy of being put into the more elite group in high school. Although Mel felt a little guilty for leaving her friend behind, in a way, she felt justified. She'd found her niche in high school, not caring whether or not she was one of the popular crowd. She'd been happy and remained so as she continued to circulate through the crowds. As each minute passed however, Mel found her gaze wandering more and more often toward the main door to the hotel lobby. Their group grew closer to their number of thirty-five but one face was still missing.
Mel hid back a shudder when she heard a voice whisper confidentially into her ear. "Looking for Don?"
Turning to the one who had just asked her a question, Mel put on another smile. "Joannah, how nice to see you again," she said, trying to bite back the bitterness from her voice.
Joannah returned her smile with one of her own. "And it's wonderful to see you again, Mel. What have you been up to these past few years?"
"Not much, actually. I'm still in school, trying to learn the ways of being a surgeon."
"Oh, wow! That's pretty intense."
"Yeah, it's a lot of work but I always loved the challenge. But enough about me. What about you? How have things turned out for you?"
"Nothing special, really. Not unless you call meeting the man of my dreams special. Don't look at me like that. I'm telling you the truth. See this?" She lifted her hand gracefully to show off a huge wedding ring. "We've been married for four years now. He's so romantic and he's so protective of me. I wasn't even sure I'd be able to come for this reunion but I insisted. He doesn't like me exerting myself too much. He says it's too unladylike for women to be going out so much. It's a man's world and frankly, I couldn't care less. He's taking good care of me."
"So, I see," Mel replied. She'd been sorry she even asked. No doubt she would be hearing more about this wonderful man for the next two weeks. This time though, she wasn't going to let herself be caught up in Joannah's lies. She'd been used by her and her kind before and she wasn't going to let it happen again.
"So are you looking for him?" Joannah asked again.
"Him who?"
"Who else, Mel? Aren't you wondering where your Don is?"
"He's not my Don, Joannah. He never was."
"You still believe that, don't you? I told you he liked you! The evidence was right there, especially after that field trip! Remember?"
How could she not? On the bus ride back from gold-panning country, Mel had sat near the front with Mona, just talking as usual. When they were pulling into the school lot though, Mel heard her name being called. She'd turned around and saw Joannah sitting up in her seat, signaling to her and pointing to Don in front of her. Don had refused to meet Mel's eyes when Joannah had called out in that loud bus that Don had a crush on Mel. Of course, Mel'd dismissed the idea although she'd found it amusing that Don hadn't bothered to contradict her. When Joannah had pulled her aside afterward, she told her how she'd gotten out of him that he had a crush on a girl in the class. When he'd revealed that he did, she'd pressed her luck, naming each one in the class. Each time, he'd yell out a definite no, but when it came to Mel, the denial had come quietly. Mel still refused to believe it. Until the words came from his own mouth, she'd have her heart shielded from the pain of bringing up her hopes. "That little incident? That was a long time ago. I've moved on," Mel found herself saying.
"Yeah right." Joannah gave a knowing grin and Mel wished she could just wipe that smug look of that face. Instead, she did the next best thing and excused herself for some fresh air.
Outside, Mel closed her eyes and breathed in the cool air of the mountains. She forcefully pushed out all thoughts in her mind and let herself become at one with nature, letting the air flow through her, the sounds of the wild taking over her own senses. She tilted her face up to the sun to let it warm her face. Her reverie didn't last long though, because someone else started to call her name.
Opening her eyes to the unfamiliar, male voice she found herself watching as Don easily made his way over to her. She flashed a bright smile, the first genuine smile she'd given since she got there and he grinned back happily at her. "Do you need help with your luggage?" he teased, recalling the day when she'd needed help carrying her suitcase to and from the cabin in Crane Flat and the bus twelve years earlier.
"Who? Me? I told you that was my parents' fault. I managed quite well on my own today."
"Oh, really? What did you pack? A backpack? We all know you can't carry anymore than that."
"Very funny, Don. As a matter of fact, I have a couple of suitcases with me. You can ask Mona."
"I'll take your word for it," he smiled and the pair turned toward the main entrance to the hotel. "So who's here?"
"Most of us are here. I don't know who else is supposed to be coming."
"So the entire gang's not here, I take it."
"Of course not. You expect that all thirty-five of us can fix our schedules for this?"
"You did," he pointed out.
"So? I wanted to see all you poor, pathetic fools again," she grinned.
"It's so heartwarming to know that you regard us so highly."
Mel hung back while he went to check in and put his things away, sitting in an unoccupied chair to watch everyone else interact. Despite the warm feeling she'd received from being around Don, the knowledge that something was still not right settled inside her again. Mel forced herself to relax. There was nothing she could do at the moment and worrying wasn't going to stop the inevitable from happening. Still insecure, she got up and walked back over to Mona and the others, hoping to keep her mind occupied for now. She trusted her instincts would tell her when the time was right.