Crazy

I looked out the window, watching the people in my neighborhood interact and live. Kendall James, my next door neighbor, was jogging around the neighborhood. It was her ambition to be a model. We used to be best friends, but she let her dream take over her life. She bought all of those magazines, with the beautiful girls who’d been photo shopped to perfection. It was like she couldn’t see past the fact that on TV and in the magazines, the girls were beautiful. She wanted to be just like them. She wanted to be skinny and “beautiful.” She began taking over the counter diet pills when she was fifteen and stopped eating when she was sixteen. And when she did eat, she would throw up right after. I tried so hard to tell her what was happening, what she was doing to herself, but she wouldn’t listen. It tore our friendship apart and we hadn’t talked since tenth grade. I still worried about her. She wanted to look like the girls in the magazines, photo shopped and beautified. It wasn’t fair to her. It wasn’t fair to any girl who wanted to make it big. I tore my attention away from my former best friend.

I looked across the street where Mr. and Mrs. Johnson lived with their two daughters, Libby and Jess. Libby was the perfect poster child. Her hair was straight and blonde, her big blue eyes framed by thick long lashes. She made perfect grades and was a shoo-in to be valedictorian. Her parents loved her more than anything in the world. Jess was her polar opposite. Dark chocolate brown hair and brown eyes. Her grades were average. She liked music and playing her guitar. I could hear her a lot at night, playing on her roof. Her parent’s didn’t really care for her. Libby was their perfect daughter, Jess was just there. They had a horrible relationship with their youngest daughter. Everyday in that house seemed to be like World War Three. Her parent’s were her biggest enemies.

Next to them were Mr. and Mrs. Baker with their three children, Zina, Zack, and Matt. Zina graduated from college three years ago and visited occasionally with her new family. I’d come to realize that the only time Mr. and Mrs. Baker were home was when Zina was coming to visit. Matt told me that the rest of the time they were on business trips around the world. They wanted more money, even though they had plenty already. Matt and Zack’s parents didn’t care about them. All they cared about was money. It was their first and only priority.

I didn’t understand. Couldn’t anyone open their eyes and see what our lives have become? Couldn’t anyone realize how crazy the world had become? Rich people drove around in their big SUVs and went to eat in their expensive restaurants while kids starved on the streets. People spent money on useless things that they would never use, while some people would give anything to have that money to buy food. Had the world gotten to be such a horrible place that five year old children were living on their own in the streets, barely surviving the summer only to freeze in the winter? Couldn’t someone open their eyes and see that something is wrong?

The doorbell to my house rang and I jumped, the loud noise breaking me out of my thoughts. I pressed a hand over my heart and took a deep breath before slipping off the window seat in my room. The stairs creaked unhappily under my feet as I walked, my feet making a lot of noise on the old flooring. The doorbell rang again and I rolled my eyes, knowing it was Johnny. When I got over to the door, he was knocking impatiently. I grinned, knocking back.

“Damn it Krista, just let me in!” He whined, banging on the door.

I shrugged, “Okay.”

With that, I swung the door open, causing Johnny to fall through and into my house, landing flat on his face. I giggled to myself and quickly ran out of the room before he could get up, running into the kitchen. Only seconds later I heard his shoes slapping against the tile in my kitchen and his arms encircled my waist, bringing me tightly to his chest. I laughed loudly and slapped at his arms, trying to make him put me down.

“Apologize missy!”

I giggled loudly, “Never! I just did what you told me to!”

Johnny snorted, “You made me fall on my face!”

“Your point?” I asked cheekily.

Johnny rolled his eyes and set me down on one of the barstools. I looked up at him, still grinning. The happy looked slipped from my face as I noticed the look on Johnny’s. I frowned and stood up, grabbing his arm slightly to make him look at me.

“Johnny, what’s the matter?”

He sighed and sat down, pulling me down into his lap. His arm wrapped around my waist and he leaned his head on my shoulder, closing his eyes. My worry only deepened when he didn’t reply. I bit my lip and laid my hand over top of his, rubbing my thumb over his skin lightly. Johnny and I weren’t dating, contrary to popular belief. But we’d known each other for our entire lives, we were more like brother and sister than best friends.

“Johnny,” I prompted softly.

“Jimmy, do you remember him?” He asked.

I thought for a minute before nodding, “Yes, he’s the drummer in the band you’re in, right?”

“Yeah,” Johnny took a deep, sad breath, “Well, me and the guys just found out that he got kicked out of his house about three weeks ago.”

My eyes widened in shock, “He didn’t tell you?”

“He said he didn’t want us to worry,” Johnny shrugged, “He refuses to stay with me or the guys. It’s not like Zack or my parent’s would care; they’re barely home as it is. We think he’s been living in the Laundromat he works in.”

“That horrible,” I murmured, bringing one of my hands up to cover my mouth, “Why won’t he stay with you?”

“He says he doesn’t want to burden us,” I could almost feel Johnny roll his eyes, “Original, isn’t it?”

I stood up, allowing Johnny to stand up after me. I looked at him and sighed, seeing the slight redness in his brown eyes. I grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs to my room, grabbing some of his pajamas from my dresser and handing them to him. He protested for a moment, but eventually his exhaustion got the better of him. He changed and laid down.

“I need to run some errands real quick,” I stated, pulling the blinds shut on my window, “I’ll be back in an hour or two. I have my phone if you need me and there’s food in the fridge-”

“Shit Krista,” Johnny cracked a grin, “Do you hear yourself? You sound like a worried mother taking care of her sick child.”

I rolled my eyes and slammed my hands on my hip, looking at him in annoyance, “I might as well be. God knows you act like a kid. Do you think I should call a baby-sitter? Janie next door’s very responsible.”

“She’s twelve!” Johnny exclaimed.

“And still more mature than you,” I stated quickly, moving to my door and stepping out, “Okay, I’m going, love you, bye.”

I quickly shut the door and skipped down the stairs, hearing Johnny whining from my room. I snickered to myself and pulled on a red and black checkered hoodie before walking out the door. I locked it just encase, Johnny was a heavy sleeper and probably wouldn’t wake if there was a burglar in the house. I rolled my eyes and slipped the key into my pocket, pulling out my phone and going onto the internet, finding Google. I quickly found the location of the Laundromat Jimmy worked and made a route in my head before starting out.

It wasn’t a long walk, so I didn’t really have time to decide on what I was going to say to Jimmy. Hell, I wasn’t even sure he was going to be there. I really hoped he was or this little outing would be pointless. I took a deep breath as the sign for the place caught my attention. I would simply walk in, find him, tell him how much he was worrying his friends, and force him to come home with me. Good plan? Probably not, but by God it was going to work.

I pulled open the door to the store and walked in, looking for the six-three bean pole of a boy. I found him immediately, sitting behind the counter. His elbow was leaning on the counter, his head in his hand and his eyes closed. He was obviously sleeping on the job. I rolled my eyes and walked up to the counter, slamming my hand down on the small bell sitting on the smooth surface. Luckily, Jimmy and I were the only people in there, except for a middle aged woman who was watching the news while she waited for her laundry. Jimmy jumped a foot in the air, falling off the stool behind the counter and landing on his ass.

I planted my hands on my hips and cocked my leg, trying to decide what my first words were going to be as Jimmy stood up and looked at me. I could tell it took him a second to register who I was, but the look in his eye gave it away. He knew who I was and he knew I was probably here to kick ass on account of my “brother.” He stuttered a greeting, but I held my hand up to silence him.

“I’m usually a really nice girl, Jimmy,” I stated softly, leaning over the counter so the lady wouldn’t hear, “But when Johnny comes over to my house, blood shot eyes, exhausted as fucking Hell and worried about one of his best friends, I get a little pissy.”

“Look, Krista, I know you’re probably not happy with me right now, but you have to understan-”

“Shut it,” I hissed, “I’m. Not. Done.”

Jimmy’s mouth closed and he nodded, his eyes wide as I walked around the counter. He was a lot taller than me, but I didn’t let it faze me. I pushed him onto the stool so I could look him in the eye without having to crane my neck.

“You don’t want to be a burden,” I stated, “I understand that. I really do, Jimmy. But I don’t think you understand how much you’re worrying your friends. They don’t care if you’re a burden. They would rather you be a burden than have you living on the streets. Do you hear me?”

He nodded, “Yeah, I hear you.”

I sighed, “Well, good, keep listening,” I ran my hand over my face; “Zack and Johnny have plenty of space Jimmy. They would take you in in an instant if you asked. But you’re a guy. You’ve got enough pride to share with the entire city of Huntington.” This made Jimmy laugh slightly, “So this is what I’m going to do, as to not damage your ego.”

Jimmy sat a little taller in his chair, obviously a little nervous about what I was going to say, “What?”

“Since I haven’t invited you to live with me yet, it’s not like you’re crawling to me for help. Hell, I will drag you to my house if I have to.”

Jimmy’s eyes got wide, “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I’ve opened my eyes Jimmy,” I stated softly, “Have you opened yours?”