Start a Fight - Begin a story with two people in a hotel room having an argument. Who are these people? Why are they together? What are they arguing about? What’s at stake?1,200 words
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“Well?” Cindy turned and looked expectedly at Derek. She twitched her nose and avoided the smile that was forming on her lips. Dinner was an hour ago and she was still getting used to seeing Derek in the same room as her. She shouldn’t be acting like this, not after all this time.
“Uh, I just wanted a place we could talk.” Derek glanced out into the hallway and then closed the door. He turned to face Cindy. “The music’s loud in the main room.”
Cindy nodded. “Can’t beat high school reunions.” She paused and the quiet moment fueled her sarcasm. “People who haven’t been together in ten years. Avoid the awkwardness by blasting the music.”
Derek laughed, his white teeth flashing, and dimples appeared on a normally serious-looking face. “You could always make me laugh, Cindy. I miss that.”
Cindy’s eyes glanced over his soft brown curls, strong jaw line, and slim body. He hadn’t changed much in ten years. She wondered if she seemed different to him. Cindy looked around the room. She had seen small parlor rooms like this in other hotels. The color scheme echoed past decades with whispered greens and fading tans. A small wooden table and two chairs. A large cushioned chair in the corner. The soft glow of the antique lamp gave the room a hazy, warm feeling. “What did you want to talk about?”
Derek gestured to the chairs and he and Cindy sat down. “I wanted to catch up. I know we haven’t talked in a while.”
“Huh.” Cindy let out a breath. “Not since high school.”
“Yeah, so we have a lot of ground to cover.”
She shrugged her shoulders and leaned her elbows on the table. “Derek, not to be rude, but why now? We haven’t said a word to each other since graduation.”
Derek nodded and looked at his clasped hands on the table. “I know. I’m sorry about that. I missed you, Cindy.”
Surprise flashed over Cindy’s face but she controlled the emotion immediately. Derek had missed her? All the times she wanted to email him, to pick up the phone and call, but she thought they weren’t on speaking terms and he missed her?
Derek must have sensed her confusion because he asked, “Is something wrong?”
“Wrong? No. I’m just confused. I tried to stay in touch with you, Derek. Facebook. I.M. I tried, but you never responded.”
“I know.”
“Well, why not?”
Derek shrugged. “I...don’t know. I’ve always had a problem with staying in touch with friends.”
“Even when they make all the effort.” Cindy hadn’t meant to speak so bluntly, but it was true--she had put forth the effort. All Derek had to do was respond, and just once would have been enough.
He frowned. “I was getting used to college life, and I didn’t know if I wanted to keep up with friendships from high school, that’s all. That’s why I didn’t respond to your messages.”
“I thought we were good friends.”
“We were.” Derek reached across the table and held Cindy’s hands. “You were one of my best friends. I’m sorry. For some reason, I thought it was best to leave high school friendships behind.”
“Except for your buddies on the soccer team.”
“That was different.”
Cindy shook her head and pulled her hands away from him. “How was it different?” She stood up and walked to the far wall, leaned against it, and looked at Derek. “You like your friends, you talk to them. It seems pretty simple to me.”
Derek rubbed his hand through his hair. “I know. I was being stupid, okay?” He sighed, stood up, and spun on his heel before he spoke again. “How many times can I apologize, Cindy? I shouldn’t have ignored you. I should have realized that we could still be friends.” He walked over to her. “The truth is, I was hoping you’d come to the reunion so we could talk. I’d like to start over and see if we can be friends again.”
Cindy pursed her lips and moved her head to the side. She took the moment to think about her response. All through college, she had wanted to be friends with Derek. She wished she could tell him funny stories about her classes and friends. She wished he would tell her how the soccer team was and what he was studying. She wished she could have called him when she was having a bad day. For a long time, all that wishing blinded her from the friendships she could have developed in college. Other people were there for her, but she longed for him. Now he was offering that friendship, and she wasn’t sure she wanted it anymore.
She had learned to live without him, despite relapses where she could hardly bear the memories that flooded back to her. Memories of how he made her feel. Feelings that he awakened again tonight.
“Derek...I would like to be friends again. Very much. But I don’t know if that’s a good thing for us.”
“Why not?” He backed away from her and his whole body slouched, as if he suddenly bore a heavy weight on his shoulders.
“Well, something about our friendship didn’t work the first time around. Or else, we would have stayed in touch. What if we have the same problem again?”
Derek sighed and turned away from her. “I thought you might over-analyze this.”
“What?” Cindy pushed off the wall, walking after him.
Derek shrugged. “You did it in high school all the time. Over-thinking. I remember sitting in the library with you, and this look would come over you face.” He turned back to her. “I could tell you were thinking out every possibility. Figuring out all the variables. Too much analyzing.”
“I’m not over-analyzing this. I don’t want to get hurt again, okay?”
“Hurt?”
Cindy tilted her head back and clenched her hands into fists. “Hurt. Yes.” she growled out the words. She unclenched her hands and felt a rush in her fingers. “The first two years of college when I tried to still be your friend. It hurt when you ignored me. You could have at least written back to say that you didn’t want to stay friends, or whatever. But instead you did nothing. You left me with silence.”
Derek opened his mouth, closed it. Then: “Cindy, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you cared that much.”
“Huh, yeah.” Cindy wiped her finger over her eyes. She wasn’t going to cry, not in front of him like this. “I know you didn’t know.” She sniffled. “Still, the decent thing would have been to write something back, even to ask me to stop.”
“So let me make it up to you,” Derek said. Cindy saw the determination, the pleading in his eyes. “Please. Give me another chance.”
Cindy shook her head. “I’m sorry, Derek. No. I just...I don’t know what changed that got us talking again, but I don’t think this is a good idea. I’m sorry.” She looked at him one final time and then stepped past him. She opened the door and walked back to the blaring music.