Chapter 16

I woke up early that morning. Sarah and Gabi were still in bed sleeping. I quietly got up and changed (with difficulty) into a new pair of shorts and a new shirt. The cast I had on wasn't that big. It started at my foot and ended just below my knee. It wasn't immensely thick, either. I slipped on a flip flop, grabbed my crutch and wobbled out of the cabin. I went to the waterfall place. I didn't really want anyone to find me, so I went to the far end. I got to the beginning of the entrance type thing and heard music. I went about half way through when I saw a figure by the waterfall, strumming a guitar. The figure had curly hair.

"Nick?" I said quietly to myself. He couldn't see me, because he was facing the other way. I got closer, trying to be as quiet as possible. I didn't recognize the tune. I decided to get closer and then hide in the forest and listen. He started to sing:

It's a little bit funny this feeling inside
I'm not one of those who can easily hide
I don't have much money but boy if I did
I'd buy a big house where we both could live

If I was a sculptor, but then again, no
Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show
I know it's not much but it's the best I can do
My gift is my song and this one's for you

And you can tell everybody this is your song
It may be quite simple but now that it's done
I hope you don't mind
I hope you don't mind that I put down the words:
How wonderful life is while you're in the world

I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss
Well a few of the verses well they've got me quite cross
But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song
It's for people like you that keep it turned on

So excuse me forgetting but these things I do
You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue
Anyway the thing is what I really mean
Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen
[end]

For some reason, my heart was a flutter, and I smiled. Could he have written that song for me? I couldn't help but wonder. Suddenly, I heard a weird noise, like a quack and a roar mixed. A... Quoarck. I saw Nick jump up in surprise, and yell, "Woah!" He looked around strangely and started walking back to the camp grounds. But I noticed he left his guitar. So after he was gone I got out from hiding and went over to where his guitar was and picked it up.

"Okay... let's see if I remember..." I said to myself and started playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I smiled and laughed a little. Then I remembered something.

FLASHBACK
[3rd person point of view]

A church sanctuary had its pews filled with people. The crowd was hushed as the lights dimmed and a spotlight shone on a twelve year old girl. Keila Thomas sat on a stool holding her accoustic guitar. She was very nervous as she looked at the crowd staring at her and waiting. She swallowed hard and adjusted the microphone. She took a deep breath then started playing the tune to a song she wrote herself. She started to sing a verse.

Everyone Knows
that I'm ten feet under
Till you come along
and brighten my day
Everyone knows
that you kill the thunder
The roaring in my brain
You've given me the strength
To see right through the haze


When she messed up on a cord, she stopped and cleared her throat. She continued her song.

Shine
Come on and let it shine
Light me up,
Make me feel alright
You've got what it takes,
Shine on me today

Shine
And only you know how,
To lift my spirit off the ground
And chase those clouds away
Shine on me today

She stopped and the crowd roared with claps. Keila, the extremely shy girl, couldn't help but smile. She didn't want to embarrass herself or puke, so she quickly left the stage.

END OF FLASHBACK

I smiled at the sudden memory. I started playing my song. I hadn't played it for a long time so I messed up a lot on the notes and cords. I started singing my song. When I finished, I smiled and played it again, but this time I did it almost as perfect as the night I preformed. I only did the first verse and the chorus, because that's all I could remember. I tried hard to remember, but I was completely blank. It was as if the mini Keila's in my brain that filed and stored all my memories had shredded the rest of my song, and didn't have any extra copies. I sighed and started to just strum the guitar strings. I didn't notice after a while that I had been playing a song that I had written when I was eleven and bored. It was meant to be a sad song, and it had no words. I promised myself that when I was fifteen I would add words. I remembered as I was playing the song that I only had until March next year to add words to the song. I started thinking as I played. But my mind was blank in that area. I kept playing, though. Then I heard footsteps, but I didn't care.

"Wow." the person said. "I didn't know you could play guitar."
I turned around to see Nick.
"Um, yeah. I can play." I stopped playing at that moment. "Um, you probably want your guitar back..." I handed to him.
"What song was that? I've never heard it before."
"It doesn't have a name. I wrote it when I was eleven. I didn't add words because I thought they would be better when I was older."
"Well, it's very good. I can't believe you wrote that when you were eleven!"
"Yeah, well, you could say I was very... creative then."
"And you're not creative now?"
"Well, I don't know. I haven't written a song since I was thirteen."
"How many songs did you write?!"
"Um... I remember... at least 3... most likely more than that."
"All by yourself?"
I nodded.
"Wow."
"Yeah. I had a lot of time on my hands then."
There was silence for about a minute. Then Nick broke the silence.
"So how did you get here? I came here at 6:10 and left at 7:00. It's 7:28 now. When I left I passed your cabin and peeked through the crack in your door and you weren't there...."
"Oh, I got up at 7:50 and came down here to think. But I saw you were down here playing a song, so I... um... well..."
"What?"
"I went into the forest and... looked at.. leaves." I lied.
"You didn't hear my song that much, did you?"
"What? Oh.. no! No, only a bit of the beginning tune." I lied again.
Dangit, stop lying, Keila!
"Oh okay." he let out a small breath. Apparently he didn't want me to hear the song... oops.
"Well, Keila, is now a good time to tell me what you needed to tell me?"
Crap. I forgot all about that!
"Um..." I swallowed. "Sure. But... promise you won't take it the wrong way?"
"Promise."
"Pinky swear?" I stuck out my pinky.
"Pinky swear!" He laughed and grabbed my pinky with his.
"Okay. So..." I was thinking of a good way to put it. "You know how you um, kissed me... the other night?"
He nodded.
"Well... how do I put this?"
"Did you not like it?"
"No! No. It's.. it's not like that, it's just... I.." I thought some more. "I didn't... feel anything.. sp-special. You know?"
"Oh. I see. And..?"
"And.. what I'm trying to say is.. I don't.. like you.. like that."
"You don't?" He looked a bit hurt.
"Not.. not really.. at the moment anyway. There's still a chance."
He nodded slightly and looked down at the sparkling lake.
"Okay. ...I understand." He swallowed hard.
"Oh and the night after that I had a dream about you..."
"You did?" He looked at me, his face unchanged.
"Yeah, um... see, weweregettingmarriedandastheguysaidkissthebrideyouturnedintodraculaandbitmyneck." I said it fast and sorta quiet. Nick burst out laughing.
"Thanks a lot!" I said playfully as I laughed along with him. I stopped and smiled at him. He stopped laughing and looked at me smiling. He started to slowly lean in when...
DONG! DONG! DONG!
"Saved by the bell." I muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing!" I faked a grin.
We sat there and talked.
"So, do you need help with your song?"
"What?"
"Your song. The one with no words. Do you need help writing the words?"
"Oh. I um... promised myself I would write it by myself." This was technically a lie. But I wanted to write it by myself. I thought I could make it about Nick or something. But how could the creativity come back to me before camp ended?