Summer Love
I
Summer. The time of year when families everywhere can pull their BBQ pits out of their garages after storing them in there for winter. It’s the two months out of the whole year where people can rid themselves of clothes and spend all their time on the beach soaking up the sun so they can have the perfect tan for when they go back to school. This is the time where kids are released from school and allowed to sleep in late, and hang out with their friends from morning until night, just gossiping and some getting in their last goodbyes before they go their separate ways and head off to college.
Too bad I couldn’t experience any of this. The last month of school my parents told my younger brother, Max, and I that we were moving. So for the last week of my junior year at Oak Breeze High School, I spent my days packing away my memories into boxes and shipping them away to my new house. The only things left inside were the air mattresses my family and I slept on and small bags of our clothes that we’d wear tomorrow and carry with us onto the plan.
Tomorrow morning at 8:30 I had to say goodbye to my friends that I’ve known since preschool. I was going to have to uproot from my comfort zone and start over in some other state. At noon tomorrow I’d no longer be a resident in my hometown of Denver, Colorado, but instead starting a new life in Huntington Beach, California.
Xxx
“J.D, wake up,” my 15 year old brother Max said.
“Give me five minutes,” I mumbled and turned over on the air mattress.
“Okay, but that’s it,” he said and walked out of my empty room.
Five minutes felt more like three seconds when Max came back. “J.D, mom said wake up or else we’re not going to make it to the airport on time,”
“Good,” I mumbled.
“Get up,” he said and yanked the thin blanket off of me. “Gross, put some clothes on,”
“Shut up,” I groaned and sat up.
Max left the room and I stretched the knots out of my muscles. I got up and grabbed my fluffy white robe and walked down the hall to the bathroom I shared with Max. I quickly brushed my teeth and threw my toothbrush in my small traveling case. I shed my clothes on the floor and got into the shower. In the middle of washing my hair someone pounded on the door.
“Hurry up! We’re leaving in an hour,” Max said.
I sighed and rinsed out the conditioner in my hair. I shut off the water and put on my bath robe before going back in my room. I combed out my hair and let it air dry because I wouldn’t have time to blow dry and straighten it. After drying off I pulled on my clothes and packed away everything and grabbed my carry on bag. Downstairs by the door the rest of my family’s bags were sitting there, waiting to be stuffed inside of a trunk, and I threw mine on top, and walked into the kitchen.
“Hey sweetie,” mom greeted and took a sip of her coffee out of the Styrofoam cup from Dunkin’ Donuts.
I mumbled a good morning and grabbed a doughnut out of the box. “I’m going to the park to say goodbye to my friends,”
“Okay, do you have your phone with you?” dad asked.
I flashed him my phone and walked out the house with my doughnut still in hand. It took me five minutes to walk to the park where I could see two out of three of my best friends. The closer I got, the more I could see who they were.
“Hey guys,” I greeted my friends, Stacie and Mary.
“Hey,” they both said.
“Where’s Taylor?” I asked and stuffed the rest of my breakfast in my mouth.
“Probably still sleeping,” Stacie rolled her brown eyes from behind her glasses.
I sat on the swing next to Mary and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Come on Mary, don’t be sad,” I begged.
“I can’t help it. I mean you’re moving all the way out to California,”
“I know, but we still have the phone and computer to stay in touch,” I tried reasoning with her.
“It’s still not the same J.D. We always talked about graduating together and going to the same college,” Stacie pointed out.
“Guys, we’ll still be friends okay? It’s not like I wanted this,”
“Hey guys, sorry I’m late,” Taylor said running up to us.
“It’s okay,” I grinned and hugged his tall muscular frame.
The four of us sat around on the swings and goofed off while taking pictures one last time with each other. In the middle of our conversation my phone started ringing, silencing everyone.
“Hello?”
“Sweetie, we’re going to start packing up the car so you need to come home,” mom said.
“Okay,” I said and hung up.
“Time for you to go?” Stacie asked.
“Yeah,”
We got off the swing set and began walking back to my house. The walk was too short for my liking and I swallowed the lump in my throat when I saw my family packing up the back of the taxi. We stopped in the driveway and the gentle wind blew my now wavy hair out of my face.
“I’m going to miss you so fucking much,” Mary said and pulled me into a tight hug. I felt her tears soak part of my sweatshirt and I patted her back.
“Don’t worry Mary, I’ll keep in touch,” I promised.
We separated and she wiped her tears as Stacie pulled me into a bone crushing hug. The same thing happened with her and I felt her tears soak the other side of my sweatshirt.
My family looked on and I indicated that I needed one more minute. Taylor pulled me into a hug and I couldn’t help but cry this time.
“I got you something,” he whispered and pulled out a small box from his pocket.
“You didn’t have to,” I wiped my tears.
“I wanted you to remember me,”
I grinned and opened the box. I gasped as I took a charm bracelet out of the box. “It’s gorgeous,” I said as I examined each charm.
“You know, I was planning on asking you out on your birthday next month after I gave you that,”
Instead of answering him I crushed my lips against his. A flash went off and we broke apart.
“You’ll be the first person I call once we land,” I said to Taylor.
I gave him one last kiss and hurried to the cab before he could see me cry. I climbed into the back of the car and looked out the window of the cab as it pulled away. My friends and I watched each other until we couldn’t see one another anymore. I played with the little charms on my new bracelet and I turned my face away so no one could see my new batch of tears.
No one said anything on the way to the airport, which I was grateful for. If I opened my mouth, I’m sure I would’ve yelled at my parents for snatching me away from everything I’ve grown up around. We finally made it to the airport and dad paid the driver. We grabbed our stuff from the trunk and walked inside.
The whole time there I kept my head down, only looking up when I was required to go through the metal detector. We walked to where our terminal was and saw that hardly anyone was there. I took a seat facing the window and I propped my feet up on the seat directly across from me. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes whishing this was all some type of dream.
Too bad I couldn’t experience any of this. The last month of school my parents told my younger brother, Max, and I that we were moving. So for the last week of my junior year at Oak Breeze High School, I spent my days packing away my memories into boxes and shipping them away to my new house. The only things left inside were the air mattresses my family and I slept on and small bags of our clothes that we’d wear tomorrow and carry with us onto the plan.
Tomorrow morning at 8:30 I had to say goodbye to my friends that I’ve known since preschool. I was going to have to uproot from my comfort zone and start over in some other state. At noon tomorrow I’d no longer be a resident in my hometown of Denver, Colorado, but instead starting a new life in Huntington Beach, California.
Xxx
“J.D, wake up,” my 15 year old brother Max said.
“Give me five minutes,” I mumbled and turned over on the air mattress.
“Okay, but that’s it,” he said and walked out of my empty room.
Five minutes felt more like three seconds when Max came back. “J.D, mom said wake up or else we’re not going to make it to the airport on time,”
“Good,” I mumbled.
“Get up,” he said and yanked the thin blanket off of me. “Gross, put some clothes on,”
“Shut up,” I groaned and sat up.
Max left the room and I stretched the knots out of my muscles. I got up and grabbed my fluffy white robe and walked down the hall to the bathroom I shared with Max. I quickly brushed my teeth and threw my toothbrush in my small traveling case. I shed my clothes on the floor and got into the shower. In the middle of washing my hair someone pounded on the door.
“Hurry up! We’re leaving in an hour,” Max said.
I sighed and rinsed out the conditioner in my hair. I shut off the water and put on my bath robe before going back in my room. I combed out my hair and let it air dry because I wouldn’t have time to blow dry and straighten it. After drying off I pulled on my clothes and packed away everything and grabbed my carry on bag. Downstairs by the door the rest of my family’s bags were sitting there, waiting to be stuffed inside of a trunk, and I threw mine on top, and walked into the kitchen.
“Hey sweetie,” mom greeted and took a sip of her coffee out of the Styrofoam cup from Dunkin’ Donuts.
I mumbled a good morning and grabbed a doughnut out of the box. “I’m going to the park to say goodbye to my friends,”
“Okay, do you have your phone with you?” dad asked.
I flashed him my phone and walked out the house with my doughnut still in hand. It took me five minutes to walk to the park where I could see two out of three of my best friends. The closer I got, the more I could see who they were.
“Hey guys,” I greeted my friends, Stacie and Mary.
“Hey,” they both said.
“Where’s Taylor?” I asked and stuffed the rest of my breakfast in my mouth.
“Probably still sleeping,” Stacie rolled her brown eyes from behind her glasses.
I sat on the swing next to Mary and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Come on Mary, don’t be sad,” I begged.
“I can’t help it. I mean you’re moving all the way out to California,”
“I know, but we still have the phone and computer to stay in touch,” I tried reasoning with her.
“It’s still not the same J.D. We always talked about graduating together and going to the same college,” Stacie pointed out.
“Guys, we’ll still be friends okay? It’s not like I wanted this,”
“Hey guys, sorry I’m late,” Taylor said running up to us.
“It’s okay,” I grinned and hugged his tall muscular frame.
The four of us sat around on the swings and goofed off while taking pictures one last time with each other. In the middle of our conversation my phone started ringing, silencing everyone.
“Hello?”
“Sweetie, we’re going to start packing up the car so you need to come home,” mom said.
“Okay,” I said and hung up.
“Time for you to go?” Stacie asked.
“Yeah,”
We got off the swing set and began walking back to my house. The walk was too short for my liking and I swallowed the lump in my throat when I saw my family packing up the back of the taxi. We stopped in the driveway and the gentle wind blew my now wavy hair out of my face.
“I’m going to miss you so fucking much,” Mary said and pulled me into a tight hug. I felt her tears soak part of my sweatshirt and I patted her back.
“Don’t worry Mary, I’ll keep in touch,” I promised.
We separated and she wiped her tears as Stacie pulled me into a bone crushing hug. The same thing happened with her and I felt her tears soak the other side of my sweatshirt.
My family looked on and I indicated that I needed one more minute. Taylor pulled me into a hug and I couldn’t help but cry this time.
“I got you something,” he whispered and pulled out a small box from his pocket.
“You didn’t have to,” I wiped my tears.
“I wanted you to remember me,”
I grinned and opened the box. I gasped as I took a charm bracelet out of the box. “It’s gorgeous,” I said as I examined each charm.
“You know, I was planning on asking you out on your birthday next month after I gave you that,”
Instead of answering him I crushed my lips against his. A flash went off and we broke apart.
“You’ll be the first person I call once we land,” I said to Taylor.
I gave him one last kiss and hurried to the cab before he could see me cry. I climbed into the back of the car and looked out the window of the cab as it pulled away. My friends and I watched each other until we couldn’t see one another anymore. I played with the little charms on my new bracelet and I turned my face away so no one could see my new batch of tears.
No one said anything on the way to the airport, which I was grateful for. If I opened my mouth, I’m sure I would’ve yelled at my parents for snatching me away from everything I’ve grown up around. We finally made it to the airport and dad paid the driver. We grabbed our stuff from the trunk and walked inside.
The whole time there I kept my head down, only looking up when I was required to go through the metal detector. We walked to where our terminal was and saw that hardly anyone was there. I took a seat facing the window and I propped my feet up on the seat directly across from me. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes whishing this was all some type of dream.
