The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows

I got to your house without any trouble, but all the lights were on and I didn’t want to chance your parents asking me what the hell I was doing coming over at eleven at night. That would also ensue in them calling my dad and him getting me in a huff and grounding me. That was solitary confinement in my house. Climbing up the tree and opening up your window, I thumped into the room and you were on your bed, eating cereal and watching some television show that had to do with making something.

“You could have knocked, I mean I could be jerkin’ it right now,” You said, chuckling as you set your bowl down. “So, what’s wrong? Dad in one of his moods?” You knew my life so well, which was hard for most people to do because of how quiet I was.

“Ew, you’re so gross.. And yeah, he put me through the wringer at dinner. I didn’t even eat really, lost my apatite and stormed into my room. Now I’m here..” I explained, sitting down on the foot of your bed. “Are your parents still awake?” The question serious, a different tone from when I came in.

“Yeah, watchin’ some movie. I think it’s that movie Taken, about the bitch that gets kidnapped. My mom’s passed out, my dad is so in tune to the movie so we can go make you a sandwich and then come back up here,” Was your reply.

“Aw, Joey, you don’t have to feed me, I’m not some pet that’ll die if I don’t eat for a day,” I laughed, lightening the mood some to get my mind off of things. You just rolled your eyes, got up, pulled me to my feet, and we were headed down the stairs into your kitchen.

“Joey, get me some chips, please,” Your dad had asked, arm around your very asleep mother who was pressed against his shoulder. If any married couple gave me hope, it was your parents. I smiled solemnly and waited in the kitchen, looking at all your happy family pictures displayed upon the wall. They were hung with pride, perfectly placed and lined up. You were the happy family, the family I’d never have. But I was okay with that, because whenever I was at your house, I always felt like I was with happy family. When you returned, you got a bag of Ruffles and then brought them back out to your dad, handing it to him. “Thanks, boy,” I heard your dad murmur.

“Okay, so… Sandwich? Or a bowl of cereal?” You asked quietly, standing close to me. My breath caught and I looked around, down at my bare feet, then up at you.

“Cereal,” I nodded, smiling wide as you began to move about the kitchen, going all over the place as you got my dinner for the night for me. I knew where everything was, of course, but you never let me make myself anything. You had said it was impolite to make your guest get their own food, whether it be an actual meal or simple snack. You were good like that.

“Alright, up to my room to watch a Alien Invaders marathon,” you murmured, not handing me the food as you wandered back up the familiar steps. They creaked under our weight, but your father was too engulfed in the movie to pay it any attention.

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After I ate and we had watched about three Sci-Fi movies, it was already two o’clock in the morning and I wasn’t even tired. You seemed tired, but you insisted staying up with me. “Wanna get high?” You asked after a while. I nodded, smiling.

“Sure, why not? But won’t it stink really bad in here?” I inquired, pursing my lips as I looked around your room.

“Nah, I’ve got a fan, a window, and some of that smell-good spray shit my mom uses whenever relatives are coming over,” You replied, smirking as you turned on the fan near your bed. You got up, opened up the window, and came back to sit next to me on the bed. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I rested my chin on top of them and watched as you got everything out.

We got high, and for the second time in my life I was feeling like the clouds.