An Insomniac's Summer

“I think I saw you today.”

Jude saw me? I thought I hid well behind that book! I decide to pretend I don’t know what he’s talking about.

“Really? Hm… where did you see me? I don’t remember seeing you anywhere.” I feign ignorance.

“The Thumbed Passage, you know, the bookstore?” he replies.

“Huh…” I pretend to ponder this by taking a sip of one of the black coffees I ordered. Then, my face lights up, like I just had a revelation. “Oh, right!” I fake laugh. “Yeah, I think I saw you there as well. But I wasn’t sure if it was you… wait, was a girl there with you?”

“I knew it!” He exclaims with a chuckle. “I knew I saw you, Meili.” He smiles. “And yeah, that girl with me was my girlfriend.”

“Oh.” I return his laugh, but it sounds so hollow in my ears. “She was really pretty.” I say, trying to be nice. And she was, all beautiful and blonde and whatnot.

“Yeah, she is beautiful.” He smiles. Gag. “She’s the sweetest girl, too. You’ll have to meet her sometime.” He sips the other coffee. The one that I bought him.

“Yeah, of course!” I plaster a fake-enthusiastic smile on my face. “That would be great.”

“What about you, any boyfriends?” he asks, smirking.

“Nope. Jude, you’re the only person I know in this town.” I laugh. “And I didn’t leave anybody from where I was from, so...”

“Oh.” He returns the laugh, and then his mouth forms a big smile, an epiphany. “Ooh, I have an idea. Do you want me to set you up with one of my friends?”

“Uh… a blind date?” I’m not so sure about blind dates…

“Yeah! It’ll be fantastic. I have just the guy for you!” Ugh, he is really excited about this.

Dammit, I always like the unattainable guys. If any of Jude’s friends look like him, then at least I know they’ll be attractive…

“Well… I don’t know. Who is he? What is he like?” I need to know who this guy is before I actually agree to Jude’s matchmaking service.

“He’s a really cool guy. His name is Giovanni Mariano. We’ve been friends since high school. He’s this musician. God, he’s so talented. He plays the guitar and is lead singer for the band, but he plays a dozen other instruments as well.” Jude explains. “Their band is called Invisible Reality. They play a lot of gigs. Actually, they’re getting really popular.”

Hm… he sounds more or less good looking, I suppose... not to mention Italian, really Italian. Mmm. I wonder what he looks like. Plus, he sounds rather talented as well.

“Well, okay... Fine.” I sigh, defeated. “I’ll go along with your matchmaking service.”

“Yes! This is going to be great.” He looks like a kid at Christmas. I roll my eyes at his apparent vigor, but I can’t keep the smile off of my face. His enthusiasm cracks my indifferent façade. This might even be fun after all.

“Well, what do you want to do now?” he asks. I see a little over a half an hour has passed since we first arrived.

“Honestly?” I want to ride around on his motorcycle again.

“No, I want you to lie.” A teasing grin lights up his face. I roll my eyes at him, again.

“Okay, well I kind of… want to ride your motorcycle again?” I laugh, a bit embarrassed. He raises his eyebrows and smiles. “Ugh, never mind. I just-”

“Let’s go.” He says. I throw a ten on the table, a small tip for Trixie, and walk away from the table before he can protest, or refuse me paying for his coffee.



I wave goodbye as Jude turns the corner of my street at around four am. I loved riding around on his motorcycle. The same fantastic feeling from riding on the bike still lingered.

After riding around on the motorcycle for a while, I took him out to my backyard/the beach. We took a blanket and laid down looking at the stars. We talked mostly about music.

Jude and I both love a lot of the same bands and genres. We discussed our favorite songs, favorite band members, and the like.

He also arranged for our double date. Jude said that he’d text me the details tomorrow.

He asked for my number!

I know I shouldn’t be all excited, but I can’t help it…

Now, I grab a few blankets and lay two down on the soft sand about a foot away from where the concrete of the porch ends. I use the other blanket to cover myself.

I lay the pillow down and drift to sleep. Right before I drift to sleep, I realize: this is the first night I’m not plagued by memories of Corey; my thoughts consumed with Jude.



ALL ALONG THE WESTERN FRONT PEOPLE LINE UP TO RECEIVE. CAUSE SHE’S GOT THE POWER IN HER HANDS TO SHOCK YOU LIKE YOU WON’T BELIEVE.

I press a button on my phone to make the ringtone shut up, still groggy. I sleepily groan and stretch. Waking up to MGMT isn’t horrible.

I glance at the name on my phone. When I see who texted me, I do a double take.

It’s Jude… already?

The time is… oh. It’s a little after noon? God, I was sleeping that long? I squint and look up at the sky. It isn’t overly bright out, so the sun didn’t wake me up this morning at dawn.

I open the text and it says,

hai! meet at the thumbed passage at 1. mandy, giovanni & i will be waiting! C:

That gives me just about an hour to get ready. Not a problem. I text back,

okay, sounds good. should be fun! :3

I shower and wrap my hair into a towel. I go to my closet and spend a good ten minutes trying to decide what to wear. I decide on a patterned short skirt and a plain black v neck to compliment the colourful pattern on the skirt.

I unwrap my hair from the towel and run a brush through the long black strands. Letting it air dry, I go and brew a cup of coffee in the kitchen. I then go back to the bathroom to look in the mirror. My somewhat wavy hair is loosely cascading down my head. I cock my head to one side, then the other.

Whatever, we’ll go with the down and natural look, like most of the time. I’ve never been one for makeup. It’s always annoyed me, so I never got into putting it on. But today, I swipe a bit of mascara on my almost nonexistent eyelashes. They look a lot better now.

I slip on my TOMS, grab an apple and walk down my street, headed toward the city. I still admire the awesome scenery. There’s the beach to my left and the city in front of me.

I love the weather, as well. It isn’t unbearably hot, or bright out. It gets a bit chilly at night, but all the more reason to snuggle up in my blankets.

I throw the core of the apple in a trash bin. I turn forward and immediately swerve, barely missing a woman pushing a baby stroller. There is a lot of pedestrian traffic today.

I open the doors to the Thumbed Passage a little while later and begin to look around. I don’t see Jude, Mandy, and I don’t know what Giovanni looks like, so I grab a random book and sit on the couch to wait. I’m only reading for a few minutes when I hear,

“Meili!”

I look up and I see them walking toward me. Jude is looking good in his t shirt, dark skinny jeans, and black high tops. But he’s holding hands with Mandy and that’s ruining his attractiveness.

Mandy has on a white dresswith a small pink sweater and pink heels on. Blah.

The other guy, who must be Giovanni, is stunning. He’s wearing a Grateful Dead t shirt, and light jeans. He has thick, shoulder length hair and bangs as well as these beautiful chocolate brown eyes. His hair has unnatural, blonde highlights, but it somehow looks good on him. He has a guitar case on his back.

He’s kind of really good looking, I suppose…

“Hello.” I say, unusually shy. What the hell? I’m never shy.

“Okay, well Mei, this is my girlfriend, Mandy Lewis. Mandy, this is Meili.” I plaster a fake smile that’s as real as I can muster onto my face.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” I reach my hand out reluctantly to shake.

“So you’re the Mei that Jude has been talking about…” she says, a tad bit of suspicion in her voice, while shaking my hand.

“Mandy is also going to be a freshman like you, Mei.” Jude says.

“Oh… kay?” I shrug, a noncommittal smile on my face and look over at Giovanni. He catches my gaze and smiles. I smile too, a blush spreading across my cheeks. He is so good looking and he can make me blush by just looking at me… oh, God.

“Hey, there. I’m Giovanni.” He says and outstretches his hand to shake.

“My name is Meili, but you can call me Mei if you want to.” I reach out to shake his hand. His left hand is rough and calloused, no doubt from playing his guitar all the time. I like the feeling.

I look over at Jude and I see a flicker of something on his face before he smiles. I don’t know what it is though. It’s there and gone so quickly I don’t know if I was imagining the look or not.

“So, what do you guys want to do?” Jude asks.

“I thought you had something planned out.” I say to Jude with a bit of a chuckle.

“Me? Planning something? Psh.” We laugh.

“How about we go to the art gallery?” I suggest. “I haven’t been to it yet, and I’ve been wanting to for awhile.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Giovanni says. “Let’s check it out.”

“I’d love to!” Mandy squeals. Ugh. “Sounds fun!”

We walk to the art gallery, Jude and Mandy holding hands, and Giovanni and myself walking side by side. I learn about Giovanni: he’s twenty-one, but he didn’t go to college because of his music. He's very musically inclined and can play the guitar, trumpet, drums, bass, sax, piano, keyboard, and ukulele. He can sing, but can’t draw to save his life, though he appreciates art almost as much as I do. He supports local music and also likes the same type of music that I do.

Mandy on the other hand, she is seventeen. Her birthday is in December and she’s the youngest in her class. She likes country. I cringe when she says that. I look over at Giovanni and he has a grimace on his face as well when he learns this. Mandy is a good singer too, or so she claims. She’s obviously good at art, because she’s going to be a freshman at Hobson’s like myself.

When we reach the art gallery, there’s a huge sign at the door that says, Salvador Dali Showcase. Opening Saturday, June 5th, on display until September 1st. See information desk for details.

NO WAY. Ah! Salvador Dali is one of my favorite artists! I can’t believe there’s a Dali exhibit!

“Guys, look!” I point at the sign. “Salvador Dali is my favorite artist! We have to go.” Giovanni chuckles at my enthusiasm.

“Alright, then let’s go!” he says. I look at Jude and Mandy.

“I like Salvador Dali, also. You like surrealism?” Jude says.

“Of course! A lot of my paintings and drawings are surrealistic or abstract.” I reply.

“Well… I like still lives!” Mandy says. “That’s what I’m best at.”

“Oh…” I say, groping for some nice words. “Uh, well everyone has their own style?” I, personally, find still lives boring. Don’t get me wrong; I really respect those famous still life artists such as Henri Matisse, and Paul Cezanne. Dali even had painted a few still lives. I’m just not a big fan of then unless they’re abstracted in some way. Realism really isn’t my style, although I do draw or paint them occasionally.

“Yeah…” Jude says, an unreadable expression on his face. “So, let’s get going.” He says after an awkward pause.

We walk up to the information desk and I ask about the exhibit. The man behind the counter says that it’s on the third floor. We take the stairs and when we turn the corner, I am in awe of what I see.

There are some of Dali’s most famous paintings on display. Of course, there’s the Persistence of Memory. Classic. Then there are some of my favourites: The Enigma of Desire: My Mother, Moment of Transition, Atavistic Vestiges After the Rain, Sleep, Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach, and the Eye. Dali was a really messed up guy… but he produced great artwork. All artists are a bit messed up in their own way, though.

We walk around the gallery for a while, and then go down to the lower floors to look at the other collections. It was a good time, and I really enjoyed walking around with Jude, Giovanni, and even Mandy. The thing is, she just kind of pisses me off by breathing. Not to be mean, or anything, that’s just the way it is. I don't even know, there's just something off about her. She just seems far too... perfect to be real.

We leave the gallery after awhile and head to the park. We sit on the grass, Giovanni and I next to each other, while Mandy sits herself in front of Jude and he wraps his arms around her. I refuse to be jealous. I look at the good looking guy sitting next to me and I suggest,

“Hey, Giovanni, you should play us something?”

“Well, sure. What do you want to hear? I know a lot of songs.” He says while taking his acoustic guitar out of the case, and smiles at me.

“Do you know Wish You Were Here? That is one of my favourites!” I ask, excitedly.

“Yeah, I do.” He says, with a grin. Giovanni starts to sing,

“So, so you think you can tell. Heaven from hell? Blue skies from pain? Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell…” I immediately think of Corey. I still wish he were here. This was one of our favourite Floys songs. After the guitar interlude, I start to sing the next verse.

“How I wish, how I wish you were here. Cause we’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year. Running over the same old ground, have we found the same old fears? Wish you were here...” Even though I’m not a good singer, I still like to sing. I don’t really care if I’m good.

But, Giovanni… Giovanni is good. Really good. As in, I’d-buy-all-of-his-CD’s-and-be-a-spastic-fan-girl good. I cover my mouth, in awe. He has this rather distinctive voice; it’s beautiful.

“Whoa… I-wow. Giovanni, you’re… fantastic!” he laughs.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” he says, blushing a little. Funny, a guy like him, blushing. It’s adorable. “What should I play next?”

“Anything!” I say. “I want you to pick.” I smile at him.

He grins back and starts to strum a familiar tune... I know this song. I love this song.

“Today is going be the day that they’re going to throw it back to you. By now, you should’ve somehow realized what you going you do.” He sings the opening words to Wonderwall by Oasis. “I don’t believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now.”

Corey and I had two songs that were “our songs”. One was Two of Us by the Beatles. The second was Wonderwall by Oasis. Oh, God. I’m on the brink of tears. I feel the prickly feeling in my eyes I get before I cry. When Giovanni started playing the song, it brought back all of those memories with Corey. Sixteen years of my life were spent with him. my hair falls in front of my face like a curtain because I look away from the group. I don’t want them to see me crying.

“Cause maybe you’re gonna be the one that saves me. And after all, you’re my wonderwall…”

A few tears slip down my cheeks. I wipe them away with a swipe of my finger.

All of a sudden, Jude is by my side. Giovanni stops playing. Shit... Jude places a friendly hand on my shoulder.

“Uh, Mei? Are you alright?” he asks.

“Oh, yeah!” my voice cracks. I keep my head down. My eyes must be red-rimmed and glassy.

“I’m okay! Fine, really!” My voice is faltering. I’m obviously lying. Damn.

“Are you sure?” Jude isn’t buying it. “What’s wrong?” I don’t want everyone to know about Corey. That’s the past. There’s nothing I can do to change what happened. I don’t want to dwell on bittersweet memories, so I just give them the quick summary.

“Well, that was our song. My best friend and I, I mean.” My voice is shaky. “He… he died.” I take a breath. “That’s all.”

“Hey.” Giovanni says, motioning for me to come to him. “Come over here.” I scoot over to him. Jude’s hand drops to his side as I go. I kneel in front of Giovanni, looking away. He pushes my hair out of my face to look in my eyes. A single tear falls. He cups my face in his palm and brushes it away with his thumb. He wraps his arms and legs around me, hugging me to him, protecting me from the hurt. I loop my arms around his neck and lean against him.

Jude comes over and rubs my back, soothingly. I calm myself down quickly. I find my composure.

After a short time, I pull away. I feel much better and my foot was starting to fall asleep. Now, I just feel quite embarrassed. He unwraps us, but leaves a comforting arm around my shoulder. I look over at Mandy. Her lips form a pout and she looks uncomfortable.

“Wow. Uh, I’m sorry guys.” I say, sincerely. “I didn’t mean to put everyone in a bad mood. That was dumb. I just..."

“No, not at all.” Jude says. “Really.”

“Yeah, we’re here for you, Mei.” We were worried, but then as Govanni pulls me closer and rubs my arm. Mandy averts her eyes and looks away. ]

“Thank you.” I smile at Jude and Giovanni, disregarding Mandy. I’m so thankful that I have these two friends.

Jude goes back over to Mandy and wraps his arms around her, as Giovanni is currently doing for me. She instantly smiles, her dismissive demeanor changed.

I feel a twang of jealousy, but overlook it immediately. I have Giovanni here, as a friend; perhaps even more than a friend. I lean my head on his shoulder, grateful for what I have.

People can come and go so quickly...

I’m satisfied with this moment.