Experimental pt.4/ Her lips almost appear as if in a flirtatious dance, like two lovers in the midst of passion.

 
    The brush still sparkles from last nights rain, while the slight opening upon the canvas above the road allows a chaotic freckling of light stream through. An with Jules at the wheel, Alice sits with her feet upon the dash, while music pulsates from the radio like an oscillating neutron star. Salmon arm has always been a undiscovered jewel in the middle of the Amazon. Like a lost city uniquely known by the locals, but completely lost under certain standards from the outside world. Just driving there seems as though one is trekking through an endless forest, that only gives the impression of going in circles, like the lost woods in the Legend of Zelda.  Once you reach the city, the forest opens up to an endless array of small buildings, houses, an other such artificial objects. You can almost see the forest break apart into small groups like a military faction guarding a combine of some sort, as the trees are now sporadically placed throughout town in a carefully planned design, as if to further disintegrate the artificial nature of the city itself. Once you begin the descent in, the silence breaks off into a confusing attire of random noise;  screeching tires, the endless sounds of speech, or even the roar of the river as it races past, like a b-line bus that shoots past all other stops. The air though is thick, sweet, like a forest right after it rains. You can smell the distinct aroma of cedar, an sap, coupled with the cool breeze that brushes off of the water at the edge of town. On the whole way down, Jules has all but failed to think of none other than recent events, as it has permeated every grain of her psyche, an no manner of struggling will allow otherwise, like trying to break a chain with ones own hand. Even the music, that sounds as though it oozes off the radio like fog rolling down the side of a hill, is of no solace, as each song reminds her in some way of either Daniel himself, or the circumstances that has lead her to this very spot. But on that drive, as the wind rustles her hair ever so gently, she has realized one thing, a glimmer of hope perhaps, or maybe to be more precise, a sliver of reality. Its an idea so simple, she fails to grasp the reasons behind her not fully understanding it prior to these events, as it suddenly dawns on her, as though a crack has formed upon an otherwise darkened room, letting a small fracture of light in. An at that moment, like being gently slapped upon the forehead, that the last conversation she an Daniel had comes at once rushing back. She now knows, that no manner of explaining on her behalf will undoubtedly change Daniels mind, that is something that he has got to do on his own,
   "Is everything okay, you've been oddly silent?"
"Yeah everything is fine. Actually.. I was thinking about the conversation we had the other day, about what you said of you an Steve."
"Oh! About how much an idiot he can be at times."
"Well not exactly!" She laughs." Just how no matter what, you let him be, the bad for the good right."
"Well I realized, that there is just no changing people, that is something everyone has to figure out on their own."
"Yeah.. that just got me thinking, you know."
"That maybe you can actually let loose, an have a little fun tonight." She smiles, slouching over unto the passenger seat, with her legs clenched together as if making a fist. Her hair seems to effortlessly drape over the nape of her neck, as well as her shoulders, like the falling rain, or a waterfall cascading over the side of a cliff, as if it was made out of silk, or satin. You can see the slight glints of sunlight as it traces down her all but blackened hair, making it seem as if the light itself is emanating from her very being. The collar of her blouse, modestly dancing in the trifling of wind, seems to be waving, as if in a flirtatious spirit. Jules has never been as slender, or frail as Alice, but is an object of quiet beauty no less. Her hair is short, barely touching the brim of her shoulders, an is of a light brown color, like the muted sunlight passing through the curtains on the window. Her skin, is pale, white, as newly fallen snow on a cloudy day. Her lips, humbly quivering in the slight cold of the wind, are imperceptibly pursed, as if to be skirted on the edges of laughter.
"So where exactly is this place anyhow? its not some bar I hope."
"No no, nothing like that. Its at this woman's house, one in which I don't know the name of."
"Don't know the name, how could you not know her name, we are heading over to her house you know."
"I know, I know, its not that I don't know it.. technically speaking, its just that I can't remember it."
"Well do we actually know this person?"
"No I have never heard of her before, must not have been part of our circle I guess."
"Is Daniel going to be there." Jules cautiously asks.
"No your fine, apparently he declined the offer."
"Well isn't that a stroke of good luck."
"Yeah.. you can call it that."
   The sun is now peaking over the backdrop of the mountains, which gives the outlines of the sky a golden hue, which seem to trail down the sides of said mountains an onto the outlaying plains that lay just on the cusp of town. There is one part of town that slopes downward towards the river, which is mostly made up of shops an services of relative kin. At the bottom is a small row of houses, after that, on the other side of the street, lies a type of makeshift fence, with certain sections already toppled over now covered with the tall grass that grows underneath it. At the end of said road, lies a tall green house, that is taller than it is wide. The garage is like the mouth of a whale opening up to catch its prey. An on the right hand side the earth rises up as though trying to slowly suffocate the house itself, an after that, once more, lies the fence. Only this section appears tall, fertile, like a bouncer at the local clubs. Out front a row of cars surrounds the place as if in the middle of a police raid. An as Alice knocks upon the front door, producing a low thud, as if hollow, they are welcomed by a woman they haven't had the pleasure to meet as of yet. She is tall, lanky, well endowed, an the long white dress she sports flows freely upon her legs getting ever slimmer the closer it gets to her ample bosom. She greets them both with a hollow gesture, while quickly making her way up the stairs to the main floor. As Alice walks up behind, she gently nudges Jules, whispering to her the very fact of how she resembles that of a plastic doll, while Jules gives of a faint chuckle, like the rushing of air slowly exasperating out of deflated balloon. On top of the stairs the house opens up unto the main floor, with the living room taking up most the area. The kitchen sits on the far left, with a single wall blocking the way, that in turn has a large window carved out with bar stools laying in wait. There are two couches perpendicular to each other, that sit on the wall that cuts the stairs off from the rest of the room. The two couches are of an off white, like an eggshell, or a thin line of clouds that cover the sky on an overcast day. A long wooden table stands before them, covered in glasses an trays, that are they themselves covered in various assortments of food and drinks. The place is full, an you can hear the sounds of various conversations pop in an out like particles in the ether. Suddenly out of the crowd, like a rhino charging through the thick bush, comes Eliza, greeting us with open arms.
"Alice, Jules.. I am so happy you two came, welcome. How was the drive up?"
"Not so bad, the weather was with us the whole way, which was good."
"Do you two want a beer or anything, something to eat maybe?"
"A beer would be good, thanks.." Jules says in a soft tone. Following Eliza into the kitchen proves to be somewhat difficult, like forging a trail through the thick bush of the Amazon. The house is a fair size, but the crowd still seems to push up against each wall, spilling out into every other room in the house. In the kitchen there is a large light colored wooden table, with a variety of chairs encircling it. An upon each chair a crowd of people sit as if fighting over each one. After grabbing a beer, they lean onto the counters at the end of the kitchen, which at this point is one of the few safe havens in the room, an as they clink their glasses together, Eliza goes on to ask.
"So.. how is Daniel doing lately, I am surprised he declined the invite."
"Oh! We aren't together anymore".
"Well that is too bad, I always liked him".
"Yeah well.. we just couldn't make it work, you know how things are sometimes."
"I guess some things just are not meant to be."
   Outside the rain has started to fall, an the slight tapping against the front window is barely audible over the overbearing thump of the dance music that encompasses the house. Looking around the room, seeing all the people they went to school with, brings back all the memories of high-school, as all significant events, an otherwise, flash before her at every moment an old face shows itself from the crowded darkness. Jules has always looked back with nothing but mostly fond memories, hanging out with friends, partying it up each weekend, or just studying in the school library. But now, as she sees all these faces she once knew, a different feeling begins to come over her, sadness, a sense of despair perhaps. Its as if a cloud has resided over her memories of said events, an now, as if suddenly, the sky has cleared, an she can at once see the blue of the sky for the first time. But as things start pouring in, Jules begins to question the validity of any given event, as we well know the power of the mind to change things at will, an oversimplification, but true nonetheless. How after all this could one remember such things, that are not exactly far off, in a different perspective than originally happened. It is not that things didn't progress the way she believes they did, its more the fact of if she was wanted, or needed if you will at certain intervals, or more of a background noise to everyone else she thought were good friends. Maybe after all this time, Jules realizes that it wasn't her that was the popular one, that in fact it was Alice all along, an she was more of the basic plus one to all the fun that was being had at any given time or place. Like ancient protozoa branching off into two distinct evolutionary tracks, one could always quite possibly have an advantage over the other.
  "Do you know any of these people, I don't recognize most of them." Jules tells her, while trying to break through the noise.
"Not everyone, but I know most."
"Do you still talk to them at all."
"Yeah of course, in one form or the other, why do you ask?"
"Its just that I don't really know many of them, I am starting to think I wasn't as popular as I first believed."
"Its not the quantity Jules, just the quality."
"Yeah I guess, but I still wished I knew a few more people here, even if to be a Tad less awkward."
  Making their way downstairs, they find a more relaxing of atmospheres, an ebb an flow if you will from one floor to the next. There is a large red couch planted in the middle, with a small wooden table in front, an a hand full of chairs throughout in an disorderly fashion. But everyone talks in such a demeanor, as if being organized from some outside source, as to take turns as to make there opinions more accessible. There appears to be at least three factions of people crowded together to make their own group, but even then you could still quite easily distinguish one conversation from the next. Its as though they act as particle's being cooled down to freezing temperatures, an there for rubbing off our chaotic nature.  Seeing that there are less bodies, Jules can at once can finally make out a few faces she recognizes from school. As Alice an Jules take a seat across from the couch the first person to chime in is Susan. They first met each other in gym class, on a rainy summer day playing soccer in the field out back. They were on opposing teams, Jules the left wing and Susan the defence. It was about mid game, an the first half was all but done. Jill, a center field man that sits upon the couch before her , was running down field on the far right, an right before being tackled she passed over to Jules, which only served to allow her to slip on the wet grass. This is technically how they first met, as Susan had the same idea, an they drove into each other with such force that the gym teacher took them out for the remainder of the game. Sitting on the sidelines, with a small but inefficient wood ceiling that shielded them from the torrent of rain, minus a few drops that happened to find their way through the cracks. They started to talk, at first asking each other if they are okay, an after they mentioned a few bruises, a slight headache, an a heightened effect of embarrassment, they started their journey to becoming friends.
   Susan has always been the athletic type, like an Olympic speed skater, so she never had any problems with the male part of the species, which is how they ran into problems later on. It was about a year into Jules an Daniels relationship, during gym class at the end of the day. Daniel was in the locker room getting ready to go, an being the only one around meant he had no worries about the other boys attitude towards such childish aggression. The locker room was set up like any other, row upon row of lockers set against another row of benches that spread each apart in a perfect harmony. As Daniel stood there, staring into his locker picking through his belongings, he began to feel a presence standing before him, an as he quickly turned around to ascertain the situation, he found Susan standing there, leaving hardly a breath between them.
"Susan!" Daniel calls out." You scared me a bit, didn't hear you come in."
"Well I wanted to surprise you." She says, pushing her body before his." Aren't you.. surprised?" As Susan stands there, with a slightly unbuttoned white shirt precariously giving Daniel the impression of what lies beneath. She raises her hands upon the cold metal of the lockers, as the warmth of her moist lips begin to graze his own. An Daniel,  unable to move, as if in a trance, begins to hear a ghostly voice off in the distance, as if emanating from his very consciousness.
"What are you kids doing!" The voice echoes." Class is over, that is your cue to leave!"
  It just so happened that this particular piece of news didn't find its way around school, as the gym teacher, Mr. Roth, wasn't one for schoolboy gossip. But Susan was embarrassed by her actions nonetheless. An so being, was the last time she tried anything so daring.