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[color=800000]"Every god damn morning, Nickie. Every morning."[/color] Keisha sighed as she rummaged around the cluttered purse. She could hear footsteps heading in her direction, but chose to keep fumbling around in her bag; it was probably just the janitor. When her fingers finally found the loose key, she smiled in triumph and quickly stuck the key into the door, turning the knob and shoving the door open with her hip. It was then that she heard the noise: a boot squeaking noisily against the tile floor. Keisha quickly jerked her head up, only to meet the gaze of a pair of bright green eyes. [color=black]"Oh,"[/color] the young, redhead woman said before clearing her throat. Keisha glanced down at the woman's boots, realizing that she had to come to an abrupt stop to avoid running into her. After taking another look at the woman's face, however, it only took her a few seconds to realize who she was.

[color=800000]"Kaitlin O'Connor,"[/color] Keisha said incredulously, and almost instantly, her palms began to sweat. Keisha swallowed the lump in her throat before breaking the silence, [color=800000]"Wh-what are you doing here?"[/color] She stuttered, mentally slapping herself afterwards. The last time the girls had been face-to-face was ten years ago, just hours before Kait had been shot, and the first thing she thought to ask was why she was there?

Kaitlin met Keisha's gaze, and failed to hold back a wince. Without noticing, she tightened her grip on the papers she was holding, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. Never in a million years did she think that Keisha would choose to work in the very place where her own brother got shot. Apparently, Kaitlin should have learned ten years ago not to underestimate her.

[color=black]“I, um, I work here now. I took the open teaching position in the English department”[/color] She said, breaking her gaze from Keisha's. It was cowardly, but she wanted a way out. [color=black]“Apparently, you work here too. I didn't see that coming.”[/color]

Kaitlin would be lying if she said she hadn't pictured reuniting with her former friend many times over the years. It played out in her mind so many different ways; a friendly embrace, yelling, crying... but this, this awkward stammering? This had to be the worst of them all.

Keisha nodded her head and tapped her index finger on her coffee cup, her mind swirling with this newfound information. Of course, she'd been aware that there was a teaching position open, and she did know that someone had gotten the job. What she didn't know, however, was that it'd been taken by Kaitlin. [color=800000]"Yeah, I've been working here for some time now,"[/color] Keisha said with a tight-lipped smile, [color=800000]"I'm one of the guidance counselors. I guess I just...wanted to help out. Give the kids around her a person to talk to when they go through rough times, you know?"[/color] Keisha held her gaze on the young woman even after she'd looked away, her heart beating uncomfortably fast. After all these years and everything they'd been through, Keisha had no idea how to interact with Kait.

[color=800000]"I want to hug you,"[/color] Keisha said, [color=800000]"and I would, but my hands are kind of full..."[/color] She looked down at the over-sized bag, papers, and coffee mug that she managed to carry at the same time. [color=800000]"Would you like to come in?"[/color] She asked as she motioned towards her office door.

Keisha becoming a guidance counselor actually made plenty of sense to Kaitlin. She couldn't count the number of times that she had gone rushing to Keisha with her own problems. That time was long over though. Now Keisha was a problem for Kaitlin. It was in this moment that she realized that despite all the time that had passed, a part of her blamed Keisha for what had happened. The blame wasn't rational, Kaitlin knew she had caused her fair share of problems for herself and others, but the truth of the matter still remained. Those bullets that so many had taken had been meant for Keisha.

It was crazy, holding onto the emotions from that day. Ten years had passed, and she didn't wish any harm on her former friend but...well, grief and blame didn't play by the rules.

Keisha motioned towards the office door, and Kaitlin took a small step backwards.

[color=black]“No,”[/color] she said too quickly, her throat going dry. [color=black]“I mean, no thank you. Look, I wasn't expecting to see you. I mean, I figured you might show up at the memorial....”[/color] she let her words trail off as her thoughts drifted. Kaitlin shook her head to clear it, then rambled on. [color=black]“But, no. I don't know what to do about this. I'm not sixteen anymore. The woman standing in front of me, truth is, I don't know her. I'm not sure I want to know her. I'm sure you're great, and I hope you are doing well. Truly I do. But... no.”[/color]

The words tasted sour as they left Kaitlin's mouth, but they were honest. She was trying the whole honesty thing out for size. So far, it sucked.[hr][hr]

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Destiny grinned so widely as she hugged the young man, that her face started to hurt. For some reason, Destiny didn't realize just how much she missed her old friends. They'd all grown and matured together while working on set. Tiny was amazed that she hadn't burst into tears the moment she saw an old face. [color=thistle]"Yeah, I'm glad to be back."[/color] Destiny said once they'd pulled away. [color=thistle]"I didn't realize how much I missed everything, you know? Edenridge, acting, friends..."[/color] 


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