Yeah, her (Mara Ravenellâsounds like a Sword of Mawrth name!) She could develop a whole Save the Human-Flesh-Eating Cats Program.
TUESDAY/07:55 PMCDT
WARRIORGUY: Hey, Gylindrielle. If I lived three or four states closer to New York, *l'd* take you to that dance. You're just the kind of girl I've been looking for!
TUESDAY/08:59 PMEDT
GYLINDRIELLE: That's very sweet, Warriorguy.
But don't forget that after the first time you propositioned me, I read the background information you have posted on the Sword of Mawrth boards, and I know thatâbesides living in Warrensburg, Missouriâyou're twelve years old. I'm sure that you're very cute for a twelve-year-old stalker; but this just isn't going to work out.
TUESDAY/08:04 PMCDT
WARRIORGUY: C'mon, Gylindrielle! Being stalked by a 12-year-old stalker is better than being stalked by a 53-year-old stalker!
TUESDAY/09:09 PMEDT
GYLINDRIELLE: Be still my heart! Warriorguy, you need to bear in mind that I do not look like my Sword of Mawrth avatar.
TUESDAY/09:11 PMEDT
COMET GIRL: NOBODY looks like their Sword of Mawrth avatars. Manga art exaggerates everything. Even *Barbie's* boobs-to-waist ratio would improve in manga.
TUESDAY/08:13 PMCDT
WARRIORGUY: You could post a picture of yourself as Raquel.
TUESDAY/09:14 PMEDT
GYLINDRIELLE: Good night, Warriorguy. :)
current mood:
greatly improvedâthanks
TUESDAY/09:16 PMEDT
GYLINDRIELLE: BTW, the second-run theater around the corner is playing that animated film festivalâlost track and 9:30 is the last show. Join me, Hayley?
TUESDAY/09:18 PMEDT
COMET GIRL: Can't, cause *l* would need someone to drive me. And my parents are definitely not in a Good Mood. But enjoy!
TUESDAY/08:19 PMCDT
WARRIORGUY: Have a great time. And think of me.
TUESDAY/09:20 PMEDT
GYLINDRIELLE: GOOD NIGHT Warriorguy.
Hayley Evenski, Best Friend (Part 2)
I keep thinking: What would have happened if I'd gone with her?
The thing is, I don't love those animation festivals the way Raquel does.
Did.
There are usually a couple of funny or moving features, a few Very Strange ones from Europe that I have no idea what they mean, and a whole bunch of really lame stuff that I'm pretty sure I getâbut I'm left thinking: So what?
Then again, was my avoiding ninety minutes of animation worth Raquel's life?
Because in the end, I probably could have worn my parents down; I probably could have gotten one of them to drive me to the theater. They always liked Raquel, and they knew it was hard on us, being assigned first to different middle schools, then going to different high schools. So they
might
have driven me.
And if they wouldn't haveâbut I had triedâthen I wouldn't feel so much that it was my fault.
Not that, if they'd said no, it would be their fault.
But...
I don't know. It's just too confusing.
I want to blame someone.
But I seem to be the only one around to blame.
Could
I have stopped whatever it was that happened from happening?
Shouldn't a best friend be able to do that?
The police say she stepped off the curb into the path of an oncoming car.
At 11:10 on a Tuesday night on Poscover Road there isn't
that
much traffic, so there was some speculationâyou could tell by the way the first reports were wordedâthat she
may
have done it intentionally: suicide by second-party driver.
That really made me mad, because there's
no way
Raquel would have done that. She had too much respect for herself, and besides, she would never inflict that onto some poor driver, someone she didn't even know. It must have nearly killed Mr. Falcone to hear those insinuations. Finally, though, the police told him there was no reason to declare her death a suicide.
My brother, Tyler, who loves a good conspiracy, pointed out that knowing Raquel the way we doâwe know she wouldn't commit suicide. But since there wasn't much traffic, we had to assume either that Raquel had been darn unlucky to step off the curb
just
as
TUESDAY/07:55 PMCDT
WARRIORGUY: Hey, Gylindrielle. If I lived three or four states closer to New York, *l'd* take you to that dance. You're just the kind of girl I've been looking for!
TUESDAY/08:59 PMEDT
GYLINDRIELLE: That's very sweet, Warriorguy.
But don't forget that after the first time you propositioned me, I read the background information you have posted on the Sword of Mawrth boards, and I know thatâbesides living in Warrensburg, Missouriâyou're twelve years old. I'm sure that you're very cute for a twelve-year-old stalker; but this just isn't going to work out.
TUESDAY/08:04 PMCDT
WARRIORGUY: C'mon, Gylindrielle! Being stalked by a 12-year-old stalker is better than being stalked by a 53-year-old stalker!
TUESDAY/09:09 PMEDT
GYLINDRIELLE: Be still my heart! Warriorguy, you need to bear in mind that I do not look like my Sword of Mawrth avatar.
TUESDAY/09:11 PMEDT
COMET GIRL: NOBODY looks like their Sword of Mawrth avatars. Manga art exaggerates everything. Even *Barbie's* boobs-to-waist ratio would improve in manga.
TUESDAY/08:13 PMCDT
WARRIORGUY: You could post a picture of yourself as Raquel.
TUESDAY/09:14 PMEDT
GYLINDRIELLE: Good night, Warriorguy. :)
current mood:
greatly improvedâthanks
TUESDAY/09:16 PMEDT
GYLINDRIELLE: BTW, the second-run theater around the corner is playing that animated film festivalâlost track and 9:30 is the last show. Join me, Hayley?
TUESDAY/09:18 PMEDT
COMET GIRL: Can't, cause *l* would need someone to drive me. And my parents are definitely not in a Good Mood. But enjoy!
TUESDAY/08:19 PMCDT
WARRIORGUY: Have a great time. And think of me.
TUESDAY/09:20 PMEDT
GYLINDRIELLE: GOOD NIGHT Warriorguy.
Hayley Evenski, Best Friend (Part 2)
I keep thinking: What would have happened if I'd gone with her?
The thing is, I don't love those animation festivals the way Raquel does.
Did.
There are usually a couple of funny or moving features, a few Very Strange ones from Europe that I have no idea what they mean, and a whole bunch of really lame stuff that I'm pretty sure I getâbut I'm left thinking: So what?
Then again, was my avoiding ninety minutes of animation worth Raquel's life?
Because in the end, I probably could have worn my parents down; I probably could have gotten one of them to drive me to the theater. They always liked Raquel, and they knew it was hard on us, being assigned first to different middle schools, then going to different high schools. So they
might
have driven me.
And if they wouldn't haveâbut I had triedâthen I wouldn't feel so much that it was my fault.
Not that, if they'd said no, it would be their fault.
But...
I don't know. It's just too confusing.
I want to blame someone.
But I seem to be the only one around to blame.
Could
I have stopped whatever it was that happened from happening?
Shouldn't a best friend be able to do that?
The police say she stepped off the curb into the path of an oncoming car.
At 11:10 on a Tuesday night on Poscover Road there isn't
that
much traffic, so there was some speculationâyou could tell by the way the first reports were wordedâthat she
may
have done it intentionally: suicide by second-party driver.
That really made me mad, because there's
no way
Raquel would have done that. She had too much respect for herself, and besides, she would never inflict that onto some poor driver, someone she didn't even know. It must have nearly killed Mr. Falcone to hear those insinuations. Finally, though, the police told him there was no reason to declare her death a suicide.
My brother, Tyler, who loves a good conspiracy, pointed out that knowing Raquel the way we doâwe know she wouldn't commit suicide. But since there wasn't much traffic, we had to assume either that Raquel had been darn unlucky to step off the curb
just
as
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