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Airplanes
3
I swear if I have to see that fake smile wrapped around moms face one more time, I am going to scream. She is trying to be happy, but I’d rather have a house full of frowns than one full of phoney smiles.
“Ricky!” Amarelle yelled. I turned toward her. She held a water gun and soaked me from head to toe.
“Oh. I’m going to get you.”
I chased her around the backyard.
“You can’t get me.” She ran from the back yard and I sped up. I caught up to her and grabbed her up in a bearhug. She laughed and squirmed. I put her down and she continued running. Amarelle ran towards the street.
“Ella, don’t go in the street!” I yelled then took of after her. I swooped her into my arms again and led her away from the street. I looked towards the house and saw dad looking at us through the window.
Mom hasn’t allowed me into the room she designed for me yet. She said it is a surprise and I can only see it when it is totally complete. Now I sleep in the purple guest room.
It feels weird sleeping in a bed that is soft, I am used to brick hard beds and sand filled pillows. I put Amarelle down and told her to stay in the backyard.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to take a walk .I’ll be back.”
Amarelle smiled and waved. I walked with no destination. I passed the school, letting my brain wander to Darien. She seems almost perfect. Her life, her face, her body, everything seems perfect. But now she is my biology partner until the end of the year.
We were like two phantoms in class. I know she is mad at me. I called her life a game and it is. If it ain’t as rough as mines, it’s a game.
Has she been in jail? Denied by her own family? A stranger in her own home? Was prison better than her family? I highly doubt it. She hasn’t dealt with anything I have.
I continued walking. The trees started to look familiar. Then the houses. Then I saw it. The tree that swiped the side of dad’s car off then the telephone pole it was later wrapped around. I continued past it and noticed Darien and Ice’s house.
The ground was well kept up, the house looked like one in a magazine. Darien has it too good.
I stopped and looked a the perfect house.
“What are you doing here?”
I looked toward Ice.
“Reminiscing.”
“And you reminisce somewhere else?”
Ice and I used to be best friends. Until I went to jail. Now, her father and Darien’s mother disapprove of me. That is to be expected, right? I got arrested. I pled guilty. I didn’t care that I’d lose everything I had once those bars closed behind me. All I cared about was myself. Now I have nothing.
“Sure.”
I turned and started to walk when my eyes spotted Darien. She looked like a dream running down the street. Her long hair flowed behind her. She was covered in a thin layer if sweat even though it is cold out.
“Oh. That’s right, you are partners with her. She is very smart and her life isn’t a game.”
I snapped my neck toward Ice. “She told you?”
My heart started to beat quicker. If she told Ice, everyone will know before the end of the week.
“What? No. I heard you yell at her. He life isn’t a game. Ask her, she may tell you.”
Ice walked away. Darien looked over. Ice motioned for her to come over. She looked nervous.
She jogged over.
“Yeah?”
“Tell him.”
Her eyebrows twisted. “What the heck are you talking about?”
“Why your life isn’t a game.”
She looked just as shocked as I did. She looked from Ice to me then back. “How do you know?”
“I heard him yell at you.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Auburn’s song La La La played through her earphones. She placed them back in and jogged away.
“See? Her life obviously isn’t a game.”
Ice was right, Darien has something she is hiding.
I walked away. Club 20 below jammed on 22nd and Main. I stepped in, immediately enticed by the sweet smell of liquor.
Usher’s Yeah played through the speakers. Girls were shaking all around me. I danced with the girls but my mind kept rewinding to Darien. What could she possibly have to deal with everyday that makes her life just as hard as my own? A shoe sale gone crazy? I smiled and continued to dance with the girls.
After another two songs, I walked out. The expression in Darien’s face was etched on my brain. She was uncomfortable. Like what Ice was saying was true. But she doesn’t want to talk about it. It must be bad.
I continued toward my house. I walked through crowds of people towards my house.
My house looks very similar to Darien’s. Well kept up grass, a natural show-stopper. But what goes on inside would be the show.
I walked inside and inhaled the sweet smell of mom’s cooking. Dad sat on the couch, his gray eyes burning into me.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Where have you been?”
“Went for a walk.”
I could tell he didn’t believe me.
“Where to?”
“ I don’t want to talk about it.”
Dad grunted.
I don’t want to talk about how I ended up at the scene of the accident I almost killed myself in. Or about how much of an angel Darien looked like when she jogged over. Or how that secret she is hiding makes her seem like even more of a puzzle. Or how she is my partner until the end of the year. Or how my mind always runs to her. Is that so bad?
Dinner was more awkward than the one yesterday with Darien’s family. All you heard was forks hitting the plate. Dad kept his eyes focused on me. He was trying to burn through me. But I just got out of jail, eyes don’t scare me.
“There is a party at one of my colleague’s homes. The whole family is invited. It is on a Saturday. I don’t know exactly wether or not the entire family will be going but I will be.”
I shoved the chicken in my mouth to keep from cussing him out.
“So, Ricky, what is new?” Mom asked.
“Nothing much.”
“Nothing new in school?”
“Got a new partner.”
“What is his name?”
“Her name is Darien.”
Dad dropped his fork dramatically on the plate. “What?”
Amarelle looked up from her plate.
“The Shively’s Darien?”
I nodded.
Dad’s face turned red.
Darien’s mom is a very prestigious special victim’s lawyer. She is divorced for reasons unknown. Married Ice’s dad two years later. Darien was ten when all of this went down. I wonder if this is any part of the secret.
At school, Darien wore all white. It contrasted nicely with her dark features. She looked like a phantom wrapped in angel’s clothing.
Ms. Benson walked in and smiled at all the miserable groups. Her eyes locked on Darien and I. She smiled.
“Okay, the next project is getting to know your partner. I noticed who already got to know each other and who just did their work yesterday and I was not shocked at all. So look at your partner and find out all you can in thirty minutes starting now.”
Darien looked at me. “How old are you?”
“Seventeen. You?”
“Same.”
I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I wanted desperately to ask her about yesterday, but I didn’t know how to ask. Usually, I can ask any girl anything but Darien is different. She seems fragile but she is the opposite. A steel magnolia.
“Why did you think my life is a game?”
That question caught me off guard. “Because you don’t know how good you got it. You didn’t have to go to jail and hear males raping each other. You aren’t being disapproved by your own family. And you aren’t the butt of everyone’s jokes.”
She was quiet for a second. “How do you know? You don’t even know me and your telling me what I have and haven’t been through. I think you are the butt of everyone’s jokes because you judge everyone before you even know them. They are getting back at you.”
“So tell me, what don’t I know about you?”
“You don’t know that I am not this little prissy little high school girl. You don’t know that life has left me covered in scars. Literally and metaphorically. You don’t know the half of a bad life. Hearing men rape each other is a fraction of the crap I have been forced through.”
Silence.
What can I say to that? I don’t know her.
“It’s a shame. You called my life a game when your life is the game. You are the prissy little high school girl. You think the world owes you for living? Ha. You think you go off to jail and suddenly your life sucks. You try feeling like a jailbird when you haven’t stepped foot in a jail house. Heck, you are a spoiled little brat who got his phone taken away and you’re trying to say your life is so bad. You try being denied by your whole family. Not just your dad. But your grandma, your aunts your uncles....Everyone hates me. And I don’t know why. That is a bad life, player.”
I was speechless. He life does sound bad.
“Why didn’t you tell me this at first?”
“I wanted you tot think for yourself. I wanted you to think about someone else for a second not just your own self. For a second. But your so stuck up, you don’t even realize your head is up your butt.”
“What makes your life so bad? Why is your life so different from mines? Why couldn’t it be you that has your head stuck up your own butt? Why is it always me?”
“That is exactly what I am talking about.”
“Time’s is up. Now take what you just learned and make a conclusion.”
Darien is self-centered. She wants everyone to sulk over her. She demands everyone else’s pity and knows how to get it.
I was content with my mental conclusion but I wondered what she said of me.
“Ricky!” Amarelle yelled. I turned toward her. She held a water gun and soaked me from head to toe.
“Oh. I’m going to get you.”
I chased her around the backyard.
“You can’t get me.” She ran from the back yard and I sped up. I caught up to her and grabbed her up in a bearhug. She laughed and squirmed. I put her down and she continued running. Amarelle ran towards the street.
“Ella, don’t go in the street!” I yelled then took of after her. I swooped her into my arms again and led her away from the street. I looked towards the house and saw dad looking at us through the window.
Mom hasn’t allowed me into the room she designed for me yet. She said it is a surprise and I can only see it when it is totally complete. Now I sleep in the purple guest room.
It feels weird sleeping in a bed that is soft, I am used to brick hard beds and sand filled pillows. I put Amarelle down and told her to stay in the backyard.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to take a walk .I’ll be back.”
Amarelle smiled and waved. I walked with no destination. I passed the school, letting my brain wander to Darien. She seems almost perfect. Her life, her face, her body, everything seems perfect. But now she is my biology partner until the end of the year.
We were like two phantoms in class. I know she is mad at me. I called her life a game and it is. If it ain’t as rough as mines, it’s a game.
Has she been in jail? Denied by her own family? A stranger in her own home? Was prison better than her family? I highly doubt it. She hasn’t dealt with anything I have.
I continued walking. The trees started to look familiar. Then the houses. Then I saw it. The tree that swiped the side of dad’s car off then the telephone pole it was later wrapped around. I continued past it and noticed Darien and Ice’s house.
The ground was well kept up, the house looked like one in a magazine. Darien has it too good.
I stopped and looked a the perfect house.
“What are you doing here?”
I looked toward Ice.
“Reminiscing.”
“And you reminisce somewhere else?”
Ice and I used to be best friends. Until I went to jail. Now, her father and Darien’s mother disapprove of me. That is to be expected, right? I got arrested. I pled guilty. I didn’t care that I’d lose everything I had once those bars closed behind me. All I cared about was myself. Now I have nothing.
“Sure.”
I turned and started to walk when my eyes spotted Darien. She looked like a dream running down the street. Her long hair flowed behind her. She was covered in a thin layer if sweat even though it is cold out.
“Oh. That’s right, you are partners with her. She is very smart and her life isn’t a game.”
I snapped my neck toward Ice. “She told you?”
My heart started to beat quicker. If she told Ice, everyone will know before the end of the week.
“What? No. I heard you yell at her. He life isn’t a game. Ask her, she may tell you.”
Ice walked away. Darien looked over. Ice motioned for her to come over. She looked nervous.
She jogged over.
“Yeah?”
“Tell him.”
Her eyebrows twisted. “What the heck are you talking about?”
“Why your life isn’t a game.”
She looked just as shocked as I did. She looked from Ice to me then back. “How do you know?”
“I heard him yell at you.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Auburn’s song La La La played through her earphones. She placed them back in and jogged away.
“See? Her life obviously isn’t a game.”
Ice was right, Darien has something she is hiding.
I walked away. Club 20 below jammed on 22nd and Main. I stepped in, immediately enticed by the sweet smell of liquor.
Usher’s Yeah played through the speakers. Girls were shaking all around me. I danced with the girls but my mind kept rewinding to Darien. What could she possibly have to deal with everyday that makes her life just as hard as my own? A shoe sale gone crazy? I smiled and continued to dance with the girls.
After another two songs, I walked out. The expression in Darien’s face was etched on my brain. She was uncomfortable. Like what Ice was saying was true. But she doesn’t want to talk about it. It must be bad.
I continued toward my house. I walked through crowds of people towards my house.
My house looks very similar to Darien’s. Well kept up grass, a natural show-stopper. But what goes on inside would be the show.
I walked inside and inhaled the sweet smell of mom’s cooking. Dad sat on the couch, his gray eyes burning into me.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Where have you been?”
“Went for a walk.”
I could tell he didn’t believe me.
“Where to?”
“ I don’t want to talk about it.”
Dad grunted.
I don’t want to talk about how I ended up at the scene of the accident I almost killed myself in. Or about how much of an angel Darien looked like when she jogged over. Or how that secret she is hiding makes her seem like even more of a puzzle. Or how she is my partner until the end of the year. Or how my mind always runs to her. Is that so bad?
Dinner was more awkward than the one yesterday with Darien’s family. All you heard was forks hitting the plate. Dad kept his eyes focused on me. He was trying to burn through me. But I just got out of jail, eyes don’t scare me.
“There is a party at one of my colleague’s homes. The whole family is invited. It is on a Saturday. I don’t know exactly wether or not the entire family will be going but I will be.”
I shoved the chicken in my mouth to keep from cussing him out.
“So, Ricky, what is new?” Mom asked.
“Nothing much.”
“Nothing new in school?”
“Got a new partner.”
“What is his name?”
“Her name is Darien.”
Dad dropped his fork dramatically on the plate. “What?”
Amarelle looked up from her plate.
“The Shively’s Darien?”
I nodded.
Dad’s face turned red.
*******
Darien’s mom is a very prestigious special victim’s lawyer. She is divorced for reasons unknown. Married Ice’s dad two years later. Darien was ten when all of this went down. I wonder if this is any part of the secret.
At school, Darien wore all white. It contrasted nicely with her dark features. She looked like a phantom wrapped in angel’s clothing.
Ms. Benson walked in and smiled at all the miserable groups. Her eyes locked on Darien and I. She smiled.
“Okay, the next project is getting to know your partner. I noticed who already got to know each other and who just did their work yesterday and I was not shocked at all. So look at your partner and find out all you can in thirty minutes starting now.”
Darien looked at me. “How old are you?”
“Seventeen. You?”
“Same.”
I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I wanted desperately to ask her about yesterday, but I didn’t know how to ask. Usually, I can ask any girl anything but Darien is different. She seems fragile but she is the opposite. A steel magnolia.
“Why did you think my life is a game?”
That question caught me off guard. “Because you don’t know how good you got it. You didn’t have to go to jail and hear males raping each other. You aren’t being disapproved by your own family. And you aren’t the butt of everyone’s jokes.”
She was quiet for a second. “How do you know? You don’t even know me and your telling me what I have and haven’t been through. I think you are the butt of everyone’s jokes because you judge everyone before you even know them. They are getting back at you.”
“So tell me, what don’t I know about you?”
“You don’t know that I am not this little prissy little high school girl. You don’t know that life has left me covered in scars. Literally and metaphorically. You don’t know the half of a bad life. Hearing men rape each other is a fraction of the crap I have been forced through.”
Silence.
What can I say to that? I don’t know her.
“It’s a shame. You called my life a game when your life is the game. You are the prissy little high school girl. You think the world owes you for living? Ha. You think you go off to jail and suddenly your life sucks. You try feeling like a jailbird when you haven’t stepped foot in a jail house. Heck, you are a spoiled little brat who got his phone taken away and you’re trying to say your life is so bad. You try being denied by your whole family. Not just your dad. But your grandma, your aunts your uncles....Everyone hates me. And I don’t know why. That is a bad life, player.”
I was speechless. He life does sound bad.
“Why didn’t you tell me this at first?”
“I wanted you tot think for yourself. I wanted you to think about someone else for a second not just your own self. For a second. But your so stuck up, you don’t even realize your head is up your butt.”
“What makes your life so bad? Why is your life so different from mines? Why couldn’t it be you that has your head stuck up your own butt? Why is it always me?”
“That is exactly what I am talking about.”
“Time’s is up. Now take what you just learned and make a conclusion.”
Darien is self-centered. She wants everyone to sulk over her. She demands everyone else’s pity and knows how to get it.
I was content with my mental conclusion but I wondered what she said of me.