Faded Memories

It was 11:59 pm. That meant there was a minute left until Cameron’s birthday. I was tossing rocks on his window, hoping he’d open it. I texted him four minutes ago, saying to open the window, but he didn’t reply in any way. Here I was tossing rocks at his window. I looked back at the time and there was 10 seconds left.

“Open the window, damn it.” I muttered to myself. As if he heard me, he turned on a light and opened the window 2 seconds before the clock turned twelve. I instantly lifted up a sign that said happy birthday and held up a cupcake with an unlit candle. In the slight darkness, I could clearly see his white smile shine. I saw him disappear into his room and the lights go off. Did he really just go back to sleep?

“Hey.” I heard him whisper. His voice made me jump and the hair on my skin rise up. A shiver went down my back causing me to tense up a little.

I dropped the poster and put my hand against my heart. “Don’t scare me like that. I nearly had a heart attack.”

“Sorry.” He apologized. “Is that for me?” He said, pointing at the cupcake.

“No, it’s for me to smash into your face.” I said in a sarcastic voice. “Of course it’s for you. You don’t happen to have a lighter do you?”

He held up a barbeque lighter and lit the candle. He closed his eyes and blew the candle out. I wiped a bit of icing onto my finger and onto his nose. He smiled again, but was even brighter, brighter than when the candle was lit.

“Happy Birthday, Cam. So, what did you wish for?”

“If I tell you then my wish won’t come true. Tell you what, if my wish does come true, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Sounds good to me”, I said, followed by a yawn. My eyes were becoming droopy and tired. Cameron noticed that I was getting tired.

“I think someone’s tired. You better go home; we have a lot of partying to do later.” He said, walking me to my car. “I’ll see you later.” He pulled me in for a hug and kissed my forehead. As I began to drive away, I watched him wave to me from my rearview mirror. He slowly began to disappear as if he was a faded memory.



“Something’s missing.” I told myself. I looked at the wrapping paper that was spread across the floor and the present I had made for Cameron. It was a scrapbook of all the memories we shared. The first photo was actually of Cameron trying to figure out how to use my camera from when I first went to their concert. I tried to think of something to add and that’s when it hit me. I grabbed my purse and keys and ran downstairs.

“I’ll be back in 20 minutes, Autumn.” I yelled, trying to put my shoes on.

“But the guys are going to be here in 30 minutes.” Autumn yelled back to me from her office. I could hear her typing away on her computer and talking on the phone simultaneously.

“I just need to grab something really quick.” And just like that I was out the door and pulling out of the driveway. I looked at the time that was displayed: 4:10 pm. The guys were going to be at my house in 20 minutes. I began to beep at a car that didn’t move once the light turned green.

I finally arrived at the place where I needed to buy his gift. I looked up at the sign that read Barnes & Noble, the place where I first met them. I entered the store and began to search for what I needed. I passed the table where Cameron had sat down, greeted me and smiled. I continued to look for the item until I found it. It was the book I was reading the day I met Cameron. He never actually bought the book so I might as well guy it for him. Once I got home, I ran up the stairs, skipping every other step. I quickly wrapped it and attached the card. Then, the doorbell rang. Just in time.

I opened the door the door, yelling, “Happy Birthday Cameron”, and jumped onto him giving him a hug. He stumbled back a little, but caught his balance.

“Thanks”, he smiled as we both let go. “So, are you ready to get your butt whooped in bowling?” He challenged me.

“Are you kidding? I bet I could beat you all.” I said with confidence.

“Is that a challenge?” Zach stepped closer.

“Here’s the deal: we’ll pair up and the pair that loses has to pay for dinner. Winners are officially crowned pro bowlers.

We all shook on it and paired up. “Abby and I are a team!” Michael announced and stood beside me, leaving Zach and Nathan as the other team.

“What about me?” Cameron stood all by himself.

“You’re the birthday boy so you can’t participate in the bet.” I stated.

“Fair enough.” We all left my house and piled into the van. Everyone was in their own little world. Michael was texting, Nathan was listening to his iPod, Zach was trying to write a song, and Cameron was driving. As we drove along, I took out my camera and started to shoot random photos. I was sitting at the front with the window down, taking photos whenever we stopped at a light. I put my camera down on my lap and placed my arm out the window, feeling the wind pass through my fingers. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, taking it all in. “So, are you sure you’re okay with missing out on your date with Daniel?” Cameron asked me, his eyes fixed on the road.

I breathed out and began to speak, “Of course, Cam. I’d ditch a date any day if it I meant I got to spend a special day with one of my best friends.” Cameron parked the van and looked at me, his green his brighter than ever.

“I’m lucky to have a friend like you.” He placed his hand on my shoulder and rubbed it a little. “Come on, you’ve got a couple of losers to beat at bowling.”

We all got out of the van and made our way to the bowling alley. Once we got there, the trash talking began.

“You guys are going down.” Zach made his first attack and pointed to the ground. Michael and I shook our heads as if Zach was some sort of joke.

“We’ll see Zach. We’ll see.” Michael replied.

The game was close; it was a tied game. Nathan and I were the only ones left to bowl. Nathan picked up a bowling ball and brought it up to his face.

“You can do this, Nathan. All you have to do is knock down all the pins in order to win the game. There’s no way Abby is going to knock down all of them.” We heard Nathan say to himself.

“Choke, Nathan, choke!” Michael tried to break his concentration.

“Don’t listen to him, Nate. Just knock down all the pins.” Zach tried to tell him.

Nathan took one step slowly and then a couple of more steps until he let go of the ball. We watched as the ball made its way down the lane, knocking down five pins. He waited for his bowling ball to pop up and picked it up once more. I watched him repeat his steps and let go of the ball. I got up from my seat and watched the ball knock down four more pins, making him miss one pin. Zach jumped up from his seat and gave Nathan a high five.

“Don't let me down, Abby.” Michael said, placing his hand on my shoulder. I picked up the bowling ball and brought it close to my face. I took a couple of steps and let go of the ball as it rolled its way down. I watched as I also knocked down five pins like Nathan. I picked up my bowling ball once more and repeated everything. Everyone got up from their seats, watching the ball knock down the rest of the pins. I turned around and saw Zach and Nathan in disbelief.

“We won!” I told Michael as we hugged and rubbed it in their faces. “Looks like you two will be paying for dinner.”

At the restaurant, Michael and I continuously bragged about winning the bowling match. Zach rolled his eyes at us and focused them back onto the menu.

“The least you could do is order something that’s not too expensive.” Nathan said. I chuckled and agreed to it.

Cameron placed his menu down and tried to get our attention. “I have an announcement to make.” We put our menus down and focused our attention onto Cameron. “I finally have a date tomorrow.” He said.

“Way to go, bro.” Zach gave Cameron a high five.

I congratulated him and refocused my eyes back onto the menu. I was happy for Cameron, but I could feel a piece of my heart die a little inside.