Blue Memorabilia
The red sun rose gently over the dark mountains. The light radiated over the shadowy peaks, and streamed through the dusty windows of the bunker. The room became much warmer, and Claire tossed and turned in the flannel sheets of her twin sized bed. She rolled onto her stomach and heard the faint noise of a turning knob, an opening door, and curtains clattering open. Claire opened her eyes, her pupils dilated, and she started to yell. “Wake up, Buttercup.” said a voice with a very rich and deep tone. Claire moaned with irritation, and grabbed the pillow she was laying on. She smashed it on top of her head, and covered her ears. “Breakfast’s on the table. You have ten minutes Claire.”

The door shut with a bang, and Claire layed there for a while longer. After a minute or two of troubled breathing, she removed the pillow from her head, and her nose was rewarded with sweet, easy breathing. She propped herself up on her elbows, and stared at the door. ‘What time is it?’ she thought to herself. She turned to glance at the two hands of the clock, but couldn’t read it very well, because all of her clocks were digital, not analog. "7:04 am...THANKS FOR THE WAKE UP CALL!” Claire yelled with her scratchy morning voice.
Claire let out an exasperated sigh, and collapsed onto the floor. She made her way to the rickety old dresser in the corner of her room, and foraged around for some decent clothing. She resulted with a pair of dark washed, fairly long skinny jeans, and a bright blue and black flannel shirt. She had to roll up the sleeves so she could actually see her own hands, but other than that, it was moderately comfortable. She added a sparkly blue clip into her hair to hold back her bangs, and realized this was definitely a stretch from her usual outfit of an elaborate dress, priceless jewelry, a Prada clutch, and highly coveted Jimmy Choo’s, but for some reason, Claire felt more comfortable.

Claire left her bunker, and headed out towards the dining hall. As she walked across the gravelly road with her snug fitting boots, she glanced at the forest around her. Even after a week out here, the scenery still seemed to leave her breathless. As far as she could tell, there were no similarities between these comforting and piney woods, and the hustle and bustle of LA. There was an alluring aspect the trees gave off, and Claire couldn’t help but be pulled into it every time she gave it a glance. Her short attention span wasn’t helping anything, either.
She didn’t mean to get caught up in her own thoughts, but Claire tripped on one of the dusty stones in her path. She landed hard on her hands and knees, and winced as she looked down at her bloody hands. She wiped them off on her jeans, and quickly checked the clip in her hair. Claire let out a long breath she didn’t even know she was holding when she realized the clip wasn’t broken. That clip held more memories, love, and regrets than a clique of giggly pre-teen girls. Claire felt her heart beat faster as she thought back to her sixteenth birthday.
Being a spoiled rich girl, Claire had one of the most fabulous Sweet Sixteenth birthdays of the year. The popular kids were all there to celebrate, but they weren’t necessarily her friends. There wasn’t a single flaw, and it was more unsettling to her than a spider on an arachnophobic’s face. Claire was far from perfect. With her prissy attitude, it was hard to make real friends, other than Suri. Claire and Suri were best friends, but Suri was home schooled. They had known each other since birth. Suri finally showed up to the party with one single box about the size of an iPhone. Claire knew she had a real friend, a real gift, and someone she would never forget for the rest of her life. The bright blue clip was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
Claire opened the door to the dining hall, looked around and saw, to her dismay, that breakfast had been cleared from the table. Her boots clicked as she walked across the dark wood floor. The resemblance between these boots and her high heels was immaculate. She pulled out a chair from the table, and sat down.
She tried to come up with a plan on how to win over some breakfast, but knew that meals here were like a balloon. Once they left, they couldn’t come back. Claire heard a faint ringing, and stared towards the kitchen. A young girl answered the ranch’s only phone with a sweet “Hello?” It was rude to stare, so Claire played with the ends of her hair. She heard someone clear their throat, and looked up to see the girl motioning for her to come to the phone.
“Thank you so much for calling...Yeah, I love you too, Vanessa.” Claire gingerly hung up the phone, and sat down. She stared at the table with a terrified look, and began to wail. Claire pulled the clip from her hair, held it in her cracked and calloused hands, and clutched it against her chest. Sobs wracked her entire body, and what she needed right now was her best friend. But Suri couldn’t be there, because she was dead.
She shut her eyes, and tried to make the tears stop. A small thud on the table made Claire open her eyes, and she saw a steaming plate of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. Claire looked up at the girl’s kind face, and gladly accepted the fork. As she started scarfing down her eggs, the girl sat down beside her. “I heard about what had happened to your friend. Suri, was it?” Claire nodded a bit, and laid down her fork. “My name’s Amelia. I thought you needed some comfort.” she gave Claire a smile, and placed her hand on her shoulder. Claire immediately wrapped her arms around Amelia’s neck, and cried like she had never cried before. “Things will get better, Claire.”
“I know...I just don’t want to know she’s gone!” Claire’s tears dripped onto the flannel shirt Amelia had been wearing. The dining hall was now filled with Claire’s distressed sobs.
Claire smoothed out her silky black dress, and made her way to the coffin. She stared into her best friends face. Trying not to cry, she kneeled down, and placed her forehead on the stone cold wood. “Hi Suri...I really miss you...At least you’re free of cancer now...” she stood up, faced the crowd, took one deep breath, trying not to let the scent of calla lilies rattle her, and she opened her mouth. “Suri Nay was the most beautiful, caring, relentless person I have ever met.” Claire placed her hand on the coffin. “Suri Nay, you were my best friend, and you will be thoroughly missed.” Claire raised her glass of non-alcoholic champagne. “To Suri.”