A Million Golden Pennies Worth

He Knows Them That Trust Him

"Well, what was he looking at when he let this happen to me?" The young man said gloomily 

Stacy looked at him pitifully, she had been trying for weeks to get her friend out of the dark clouds he had been hiding himself since the accident. She also knew how he felt about her being unhurt but she was sure he would not mention it. 

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"So are you going?" Richie turned to her smiling Catching her eye before turning his attention back to the road 

"Nah" 

"Why?" 

"I won't be able to explain right now." 

"Oooh mysterious" 

They were both classmates at their new University. They had taken to each other's company easily. Even though it was the same for Stacy, she had some ulterior motives for being friends with him. She wasn't sure when to bring up the subject that was foremost in her mind and farthest from his. Right now he was pressuring her about going to a party. It has always been the tradition that a wild party is thrown every year to welcome the freshers into the school. 

"You have to tell me why." He pressed 

"Like I said you won't understand." she persisted. Nudging him to concentrate on his driving with a look that says 'don't get us killed' 

Then it turned to a warning look when she saw a mischievous glint in his eyes. She has only known him for three weeks but she was already well acquainted with his carefree and even careless nature. She did not expect that look to be the result of a good idea. 

"So, I know you are not stuck up, 'cos you're fun" she would have said thanks at the compliment but was feeling very wary of him now. "I know you're not shy because, well you are ... fun. I can't think of anything. Come on Stace what could possibly.......

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He never got to finish the sentence and he never got to go to the party. Try as she may, Stacy could not explain how the accident happened. One moment they were driving on a relatively free road, next they were rammed in from behind by some haywire bus. Maybe faulty breaks. It had all been so surreal. They were just having a casual conversation next their car was skidding and toppling on the road. Stranger still the car had been completely damaged and the driver pretty terribly but she had escaped with negligible scratches and bruises.  

He envied her luck and she had not found the chance to tell him that it had nothing to do with luck. 

Firstly, he had been so unconscious, there was doubt that he would survive. Then he had woken up to hear that he may never walk again and had to be confined to a wheel chair, he also had to defer his admission a year. 

He had retreated into himself so much that no one could reach him and somehow she felt that if anyone could it was her. 

She had religiously kept to her regular visits to his home and it almost seemed hopeless, he was too busy wallowing in self pity. 

Which was understandable since from one moment to the next his entire world had turned upside down and that, in the middle of a very mindless conversation. Maybe it would have made more sense if they were in the middle of some deep destiny defining conversation. 

But she still had to resist the urge to beat him upside down the head especially because he acted so childish sometimes, even to the point of pretending to sleep whenever she came around. He really felt cheated because they were both in the accident and she was unhurt, why not him?