Seashells

July 4th, 2008

Matt said he had a whole thing planned our for us for Independence Day, and everyone was really skeptical about it. All we knew that it was going to involve our swimsuits and his backyard. It sounded bad from the start.

While we were getting ready for the event, it occurred to me that we had never been to Matt's house before. I wondered why he never invited us over before, and why we didn't think to just show up randomly at his house. Most likely because we didn't know exactly where his house was, but if Matt lived there, I was sure there was some way we could tell.

Sim came over to pick me up, because his house turned out to be pretty far away from mine. She was late, so I scrambled to get in.

"Hey Cass-Cass."

"What took you so long?" I asked, not even bothering with a greeting.

"Had to look good," she said, shrugging. "Besides, it doesn't matter if we're fashionably late, does it?"

"After a while it can't really be considered fashionable anymore."

I could tell she was rolling her eyes behind her huge sunglasses. "We haven't reached that point yet."

We drove for a little while after that. I guess it really wasn't that far, but it definitely wasn't walking distance. Especially not for a lazyass like me. When we got there and knocked on the door, no one answered. We thought maybe he was playing a prank on us, because that wouldn't be unlike him. Sim suggested going into his backyard and doing something to get back at him for this, but instead of trashing his yard, we found everyone there waiting for us.

"What the hell took you forever?" Matt asked. He looked at Sim and not me. At least he knew who was to blame.

"Calm your tits," Sim replied. "We're here now, so it doesn't matter. What are we doing today?"

"Well, since I have this huge yard, we're going to do a bit of running around." He did have a big yard. It was empty, also, other than the swing set that you and him were sitting on and the slide that was attached to it. I wondered why he had that, but then I figured it was Matt, so there was no explanation needed.

"Ew, no way," Sim said

"Well, it's run or die in this case..." Everyone else looked alarmed at that. I guess Matt kept it a secret from you guys too. "You guys know what oobleck is, right?"

I did, and so I nodded, but not all of you knew.

"Y'all are retarded," he said, exaggerating his words. "Anyway, it's the stuff you get when you mix cornstarch and water. You know, the solid liquid or whatever the hell they call it."

"So why does that matter?" you asked him.

He got off the swings at that moment and then climbed up the little ladder leading to the slide. Since there was a roof over it, we couldn't see what he was doing in there. We found out, however, when a balloon came flying towards your head and exploded in a white slimy mess.

"What the fuck?" you screamed.

"Water balloons are overrated," he said, with a huge smile on his face. "So I found something else to fill them with."

"That hurt like a bitch," you complained. "And this shit is nasty."

"It's because it's solid when it hits you, but then when it explodes it turns to a liquid. I'm such a genius."

"More like a psychopath," Des said.

Matt rolled his eyes. Then he pointed to a spot near his house, near a tree, and the corners of his yard. "Buckets of these balloons are located there. I suggest you start stripping now. You guys have ten seconds before I attack."

"I hate you so much Matt," you said.

"Aden, keep your clothes on," he said, as he was preparing to throw another one at you. "No one wants to see that."

"Fuck you," you said to him as you pulled off your shirt.

I decided it was a good time to get ready. I was lucky I didn't wear anything too nice. I pulled off my clothes until I was just in my bikini and shoved everything into my bag. I had no idea where to put it because I was pretty sure the whole place was dangerous. In the end I threw it against the side of the house.

Just as I was standing up again, a balloon hit me in the back and it did hurt. Maybe not like a bitch, but it was painful. I turned around to see that it was Halden, who was running away. I made a note to get him back.

I heard Sim scream at that time, and I noticed that Matt had gotten her with two balloons. So much for "looking good", huh Sim?

"I look like someone just jizzed all over me," she screamed.

"So the same way you looked last night," Matt said, laughing obnoxiously.

Sim stopped for a second and calmly walked over to one of the buckets. I saw Matt's "oh shit" expression as he started running, and I watched as Sim chased her ex-boyfriend.

While I was watching the scene in front of me, I didn't notice that Halden was after me again. I had to think for a second before I started running, and in that time you got him right in the back, the same way he had hit me before. Halden dropped all his balloons and you said, "Got you covered, Cassidy."

It was then that I joined the game. I wanted to carry a whole bucket around with me, but it was rather large and heavy, so I just carried as many as I could. I turned out to be pretty good at it, staying the cleanest of everyone.

The whole game was great fun, even though I was scared that someone would throw one at my face or something. Like Karen. Luckily it didn't get in her eyes, so we could continue the game.

At the end, you and Matt were predictably covered in the stuff. I wondered how we were going to get cleaned up without getting everything messy. Then Matt brought out the garden hose. "Who wants to go first?"

"Me," Sim said. When Matt sprayed her, she screamed again. "That's fucking cold!"

"Too bad," he said, turning it on full power. That turned into a game of him chasing her down as far as the hose could go.

At that point, you came to talk to me. "Cassidy, you barely got anything on you."

"I'm just that good."

"Here, let me help you with that." You then pulled me in and hugged me. I squirmed around, but you wouldn't let go. I will admit that I was feeling those feelings that I tried to get rid of. And I wasn't really trying to get away from you.

"Get off me, you asshole."

"No."

"He wants to get some!" Des shouted at us.

When he said that, you stiffened a bit, and I stopped moving though your arms were still around me. This seemed all too familiar...

Before I knew what I was saying, I asked you, "Aden, you're not the cheating type, are you?"

"No," you said after a second, letting go of me, "I guess I'm not."