I Can Not Tell a Lie But I Kind Of Have To
The Rain Can Change
“Wow did you see her on the news?”
“Yeah, she’s so cool.”
“Lucky we’ve got her.”
“Where was The Wonder?”
“I bet he got tired of saving us.”
“Do you think he left town?”
“No way, he wouldn’t do that.”
“Who is he anyway?”
I’m right here! I wanted to shout out as the same conversations taking place in the halls, outside the library, in the cafeteria, during class swirled around my head. But if I did, my “secret identity” would be blown.
I took a deep breath to prevent myself from doing something stupid and carried my lunch tray over to Kyle. I noticed Ashley Hall was sitting across from him, chattering away to Kyle, who seemed to be off in his own world. I don’t really blame him, the way Ashley’s always talking. I sat down next to Ashley, clearly to Kyle’s relief.
“Hey Neil!” he shouted over Ashley’s jabbering. Much to my surprise, she stopped talking.
“What’s going on?” I asked her, picking up a French fry.
“I was just reminding Kyle that the protest is going on tonight and that it would be amazing if he came- if all of you came because Timber Park is such a wonderful place for all the children and birds and butterflies and flowers, and there’s no reason for it to be paved into a parking lot,” she said quickly. “I remembered when I was a little girl I would swing on the swing set forever and try and jump as far as I could without hurting myself but I did get hurt a lot. One time I…”
Her voice drifted away as I traveled to Neil Land, where our motto is “You’ll Never Be Bored Again!” I imagined myself driving a Ferrari, a really nice Ferrari, down a completely deserted rode. And boy was I going fast. Good-bye old, crappy car that breaks down way too much. Hello open highway! Just listen to that engine! It’s amazing! Oh, better pull back into reality. It looks like Ashley’s almost done.
“…and that’s when I realized the squirrel was staring at me. I’ve hated that squirrel ever since. I even named him so I could yell at him. His name is Joe. I have a cousin named Joe and--”
“That’s great Ashley,” Kyle said, silencing her. “So I’ll see you tonight then.” She stared at him star-eyed.
“Um, hello?” I said, waving my hand in front of her face. Nothing. No response.
“This one’s a dud,” I told Kyle.
“You’re coming!” she squealed excitedly, jumping out of her seat. “I’m so glad you’re coming Kyle! I can’t wait! We’ll have so much fun! Maybe you and I could start our own protest group! Just you and me! That would be fantastic! I’ll go make the fliers now! See you tonight!” She stood up, blew Kyle a kiss, and walked out the door.
“She’s a little too perky,” he said.
“So she still has that crush on you?” I asked.
“I guess so,” he shrugged. “You’d think after ten years she’d get over me and move onto the next guy.” Eric came over and sat down next to me.
“Life’s unfair,” he grumbled, laying his head on the table.
“And just why is life so unfair?” I asked.
“The lunch lady took my lunch away!”
“Why?”
“Something about me not have a healthy diet,” he said, stealing my container of French fries.
“Did I say you could eat those?” I asked. Too late; he was already wolfing them down. I sighed and stood up with my tray.
“See you guys tonight,” I said.
“Whabobite?” Eric mumbled with a full mouth.
“Swallow Eric!” Kyle yelled at him and Eric gave a large gulp.
“What’s tonight?” he asked again.
“Honestly, I’d think that you would have marked it on your calendar,” I said walking away. “You’re turn to explain it to him, Kyle!”
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
“Take an umbrella!” mom hollered as I walked out the door.
“Mom, it’s the nicest day we’ve had since… since the last nice day we’ve had,” I yelled back. “I don’t need an umbrella.”
“I would prefer it if you would sweetheart,” she said, coming into the kitchen. “I would hate to see you come home drenched--” I slammed the door shut and got in my car just as my cell phone rang.
“And then you’ll get a cold and who do you think is going to take care of you young man?’
“Mom, I’m fine! I’m all grown up now!” I said, pulling out of the driveway and driving towards the park.
“Grown up! You don’t even know how to work the washing machine!”
“One scoop of powder detergent. Add darks or whites. For darks, use cold water. For whites, use warm water,” I recited as if reading from an instruction manual. She paused.
“Okay, so you do know how to do that but that still doesn’t mean that--”
“Just hang up son!” I heard Dad yelling in the background. “Just hang up and save yourself! Oh stop whining Karen!” I took his advice and shut my phone as I pulled up at the park. I parked the car on the side of the street and walked over to the swing sets where I saw Leah and Charlotte.
“Oh good, you’re here,” Leah said, walking up to me. “I was hoping you’d come.” I felt my face burn red. I looked at her sweet crystal eyes, thinking hard of what I could possibly say. I was tongue-tied.
“Oh hurry up!” Charlotte shouted, making us break our silent gaze. Charlotte shoved a sign in my arms. SAVE TIMBER PARK! CHILDREN CAN’T PLAY ON ASPHALT! Thirty minutes later, Kyle, Daniel, the entire cheer squad, environment club, and volleyball team had shown up, along with a slowly growing audience, all giving us an apprehensive look.
“Okay guys, just follow my lead,” Charlotte whispered to us and then turned to face the now very large crowd and picked a megaphone
“Attention! Attention please! I feel its necessary to bring a horrible truth to the public!” she shouted into the megaphone. “Our beautiful Timber Park, that has been a part of our town since the mayor’s grandparents were children, is to be closed off, all the playground equipment torn down, the bike trail erased, as if it never even existed, and paved over into a parking lot!”
A murmur went through the crowd at that point. Whether it was of shock at the news or disapproval of our actions, I wouldn’t know. But I did see a tall, black-haired girl standing under a tree a little ways off. She was wearing a dark blue raincoat and was holding an umbrella in her hands. As I looked closer, I saw it was Millie.
I took a step away from our group, unsuccessful in trying to avoid looks of criticism, and joined Millie under the tree.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked me, her eyes focused on the crowd behind me.
“What?” I asked. “This?”
“Yeah,” she said. “You, Kyle, and Daniel are the only guys, and I’m assuming that Eric was the only one who was really interested in coming because of the girls and then he probably forgot. Kyle is too nice to be another blood sucking leech, and Daniel… hasn’t really got a chance with those girls. So, let me guess; you told them to come because you wanted to get closer to a girl.” I stared at her in disbelief.
“And I’m going to guess on the girl too, seeing as I’m so good at this guessing game,” she said, pressing her finger to her lower lip and staring at the group. After a few moments of silence she said, “Leah Little.”
“No,” I said too quickly for her to believe it. “No, it’s not her. I mean-- I’m not here for a girl. If I was I might be here for her but-- I’m not here for her or anyone.” She smirked at me. Behind I could hear Charlotte still ranting on about the park.
“Where are your children going to play? They can’t play in the streets. They’ll get hurt. What about the playground at Breezy Point Elementary, you’re thinking. They can play there. But what happens come summer time when the school is closed and no one is allowed on the school property?”
“What are you, psychic?” I finally said to Millie.
“Something like that,” she said with a smile.
“Why do you have a raincoat?” I asked, changing the subject, “and an umbrella? The forecast called for a clear day with zero chance of precipitation.”
“You never know,” she said with an airy look on her face, “Mother Nature tends to change often when she’s here in Minnesota.” She pulled open her umbrella and walked off, leaving me to mull over everything that she said. Above me, I heard thunder rumbling and rain beginning to fall. I turned my head and watched her walk away from the park, completely dry under her umbrella as the rain pounded away on my back.
“Yeah, she’s so cool.”
“Lucky we’ve got her.”
“Where was The Wonder?”
“I bet he got tired of saving us.”
“Do you think he left town?”
“No way, he wouldn’t do that.”
“Who is he anyway?”
I’m right here! I wanted to shout out as the same conversations taking place in the halls, outside the library, in the cafeteria, during class swirled around my head. But if I did, my “secret identity” would be blown.
I took a deep breath to prevent myself from doing something stupid and carried my lunch tray over to Kyle. I noticed Ashley Hall was sitting across from him, chattering away to Kyle, who seemed to be off in his own world. I don’t really blame him, the way Ashley’s always talking. I sat down next to Ashley, clearly to Kyle’s relief.
“Hey Neil!” he shouted over Ashley’s jabbering. Much to my surprise, she stopped talking.
“What’s going on?” I asked her, picking up a French fry.
“I was just reminding Kyle that the protest is going on tonight and that it would be amazing if he came- if all of you came because Timber Park is such a wonderful place for all the children and birds and butterflies and flowers, and there’s no reason for it to be paved into a parking lot,” she said quickly. “I remembered when I was a little girl I would swing on the swing set forever and try and jump as far as I could without hurting myself but I did get hurt a lot. One time I…”
Her voice drifted away as I traveled to Neil Land, where our motto is “You’ll Never Be Bored Again!” I imagined myself driving a Ferrari, a really nice Ferrari, down a completely deserted rode. And boy was I going fast. Good-bye old, crappy car that breaks down way too much. Hello open highway! Just listen to that engine! It’s amazing! Oh, better pull back into reality. It looks like Ashley’s almost done.
“…and that’s when I realized the squirrel was staring at me. I’ve hated that squirrel ever since. I even named him so I could yell at him. His name is Joe. I have a cousin named Joe and--”
“That’s great Ashley,” Kyle said, silencing her. “So I’ll see you tonight then.” She stared at him star-eyed.
“Um, hello?” I said, waving my hand in front of her face. Nothing. No response.
“This one’s a dud,” I told Kyle.
“You’re coming!” she squealed excitedly, jumping out of her seat. “I’m so glad you’re coming Kyle! I can’t wait! We’ll have so much fun! Maybe you and I could start our own protest group! Just you and me! That would be fantastic! I’ll go make the fliers now! See you tonight!” She stood up, blew Kyle a kiss, and walked out the door.
“She’s a little too perky,” he said.
“So she still has that crush on you?” I asked.
“I guess so,” he shrugged. “You’d think after ten years she’d get over me and move onto the next guy.” Eric came over and sat down next to me.
“Life’s unfair,” he grumbled, laying his head on the table.
“And just why is life so unfair?” I asked.
“The lunch lady took my lunch away!”
“Why?”
“Something about me not have a healthy diet,” he said, stealing my container of French fries.
“Did I say you could eat those?” I asked. Too late; he was already wolfing them down. I sighed and stood up with my tray.
“See you guys tonight,” I said.
“Whabobite?” Eric mumbled with a full mouth.
“Swallow Eric!” Kyle yelled at him and Eric gave a large gulp.
“What’s tonight?” he asked again.
“Honestly, I’d think that you would have marked it on your calendar,” I said walking away. “You’re turn to explain it to him, Kyle!”
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
“Take an umbrella!” mom hollered as I walked out the door.
“Mom, it’s the nicest day we’ve had since… since the last nice day we’ve had,” I yelled back. “I don’t need an umbrella.”
“I would prefer it if you would sweetheart,” she said, coming into the kitchen. “I would hate to see you come home drenched--” I slammed the door shut and got in my car just as my cell phone rang.
“And then you’ll get a cold and who do you think is going to take care of you young man?’
“Mom, I’m fine! I’m all grown up now!” I said, pulling out of the driveway and driving towards the park.
“Grown up! You don’t even know how to work the washing machine!”
“One scoop of powder detergent. Add darks or whites. For darks, use cold water. For whites, use warm water,” I recited as if reading from an instruction manual. She paused.
“Okay, so you do know how to do that but that still doesn’t mean that--”
“Just hang up son!” I heard Dad yelling in the background. “Just hang up and save yourself! Oh stop whining Karen!” I took his advice and shut my phone as I pulled up at the park. I parked the car on the side of the street and walked over to the swing sets where I saw Leah and Charlotte.
“Oh good, you’re here,” Leah said, walking up to me. “I was hoping you’d come.” I felt my face burn red. I looked at her sweet crystal eyes, thinking hard of what I could possibly say. I was tongue-tied.
“Oh hurry up!” Charlotte shouted, making us break our silent gaze. Charlotte shoved a sign in my arms. SAVE TIMBER PARK! CHILDREN CAN’T PLAY ON ASPHALT! Thirty minutes later, Kyle, Daniel, the entire cheer squad, environment club, and volleyball team had shown up, along with a slowly growing audience, all giving us an apprehensive look.
“Okay guys, just follow my lead,” Charlotte whispered to us and then turned to face the now very large crowd and picked a megaphone
“Attention! Attention please! I feel its necessary to bring a horrible truth to the public!” she shouted into the megaphone. “Our beautiful Timber Park, that has been a part of our town since the mayor’s grandparents were children, is to be closed off, all the playground equipment torn down, the bike trail erased, as if it never even existed, and paved over into a parking lot!”
A murmur went through the crowd at that point. Whether it was of shock at the news or disapproval of our actions, I wouldn’t know. But I did see a tall, black-haired girl standing under a tree a little ways off. She was wearing a dark blue raincoat and was holding an umbrella in her hands. As I looked closer, I saw it was Millie.
I took a step away from our group, unsuccessful in trying to avoid looks of criticism, and joined Millie under the tree.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked me, her eyes focused on the crowd behind me.
“What?” I asked. “This?”
“Yeah,” she said. “You, Kyle, and Daniel are the only guys, and I’m assuming that Eric was the only one who was really interested in coming because of the girls and then he probably forgot. Kyle is too nice to be another blood sucking leech, and Daniel… hasn’t really got a chance with those girls. So, let me guess; you told them to come because you wanted to get closer to a girl.” I stared at her in disbelief.
“And I’m going to guess on the girl too, seeing as I’m so good at this guessing game,” she said, pressing her finger to her lower lip and staring at the group. After a few moments of silence she said, “Leah Little.”
“No,” I said too quickly for her to believe it. “No, it’s not her. I mean-- I’m not here for a girl. If I was I might be here for her but-- I’m not here for her or anyone.” She smirked at me. Behind I could hear Charlotte still ranting on about the park.
“Where are your children going to play? They can’t play in the streets. They’ll get hurt. What about the playground at Breezy Point Elementary, you’re thinking. They can play there. But what happens come summer time when the school is closed and no one is allowed on the school property?”
“What are you, psychic?” I finally said to Millie.
“Something like that,” she said with a smile.
“Why do you have a raincoat?” I asked, changing the subject, “and an umbrella? The forecast called for a clear day with zero chance of precipitation.”
“You never know,” she said with an airy look on her face, “Mother Nature tends to change often when she’s here in Minnesota.” She pulled open her umbrella and walked off, leaving me to mull over everything that she said. Above me, I heard thunder rumbling and rain beginning to fall. I turned my head and watched her walk away from the park, completely dry under her umbrella as the rain pounded away on my back.
♠ ♠ ♠
hey people! i'm going away on my church mission trip on sunday for a week and i get back on saturday. then i get to do laundry all night and go away to camp the very next day for another week. any one out there go to Camp Willow Run in Littleton, North Carolina? well, that's where i'm going... my home away from home (which is good cuz right now my home sucks) so it might be awhile before i can update. but while i'm gone... COMMENT!!!!!! SUBSCRIBE!!!!! COMMENT!!!!! and did i mention COMMENT!!!!!