Off the Wall

Charlie’s heart nervously thumped against his rib cage. He silently wished that Olive wouldn’t answer the phone. Noticing his discomfort, Christie whispered good luck and went into his bedroom to give him some space and quiet. Waving a small goodbye to her, Charlie sat straight up with his back against the couch. His heart nearly stopped when someone picked up on the other line.

“Hello,” Olive said in a flat, monotonous tone.

“Hi,” Charlie squeaked in an unusual high pitched voice. He hated when he got nervous; his voice always went a few octaves higher and he sounded like a middle school going through puberty. It always made him feel awkward.

“What do you want?’ Olive said in a icy tone. “There’s no need to beat around the bush. You were always shit with stuff like that.”

Charlie gulped. He wasn’t expecting Olive to be amiable and friendly, but he was not expecting the harsh treatment that he was getting. “Look Olive, I’m sorry for all that shit I said the other day.”

“You should be.”

“Look,” Charlie said. His temper was flaring by the second. “You don’t have to act like a douche bag right now. I’m trying to be nice and polite right now and you’re just acting like a little pussy and it‘s pissing me off. Now you can suck it up and take it like a real man or you can keep crying about it. At this point, I’m fed up Olive. This is the longest we’ve gone without talking and I’ll be the first to admit that I really fucking miss talking to you. I hope you can say the same, but if not, it actually might just be fine.”

“Well, uh,” Olive feebly stammered over the phone.

Charlie smiled. He had just managed to make Olive feel like shit. He felt rather successful at that moment. “Now you can take my apology or leave it.”

“Fine,” Olive said with a heavy sigh. “I accept it and I’ll admit that I’m also sorry for all the stuff I said. But to be honest, I’d rather talk to you face to face verses being on the phone. If you know what I’m saying dude.”

“Yeah, I completely understand. Hey, what are you doing later on? I might can meet you then. But of course, Christie is here and she wants to go see the new Harry Potter movie, so yeah…” Charlie trailed on. He was hoping that Olive could make a suggestion or two.

“Oh I know,” Olive said. “Why don’t you and Christie come over to my house and we can either eat something here or go out and eat. Then we can go to the movies, as long as that’s fine with Christie.”

Charlie smiled appreciatively. “That sounds great and I’m sure Christie won’t mind. She’ll probably love to meet you.”

“Well okay dude. Just give me another ring when you two come over here or if there’s a change in plans,” Olive said. He and Charlie exchanged a quick goodbye before they hung up.

Feeling better than he had in days, Charlie stretched out his limbs and smiled. He decided to check up on Christie and tell her the great news. He got up from the plush couch and made his way into his bedroom. “Christie?” He called out. At first glance in his room, he couldn’t see where she was. Then he heard the distressed sounds coming from the floor. Panicking slightly, Charlie peaked over the side of his bed. The sight that met his eyes was not a good one. “Christie, I…” He tried to start, but whatever words he said wouldn’t make the situation any better.

Sitting in on the floor with her legs crossed and tears pouring down her face was Christie. In her hands, she had Charlie’s video camera.