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Chapter 5
So there we were, the six of us, eating Kung Pao Chicken and Fried Rice in the living room because Garrett convinced us to watch a Star Wars movie. I think he does this a lot because the guys all groaned and sighed before submitting to the idea. Pat kept stabbing the chicken because he didn’t know how to use chopsticks, even though all of us had plastic spoons and forks. None of us really knew how to use chopsticks except for John, who wasn’t reluctant to teach me how even if I didn’t ask him to. He explained the proper way of holding the stick as he, one by one, took a hold of my fingers and showed me where to position it. We eventually gave up because I couldn’t get the hang of it. “Maybe you can just brutally kill your food again and again and again like Pat.” Kennedy joked to lighten me up. I swear that boy had the cutest smile.
Garrett was sitting on the couch arm for a better view of the TV screen, and to not knock anything off the table when he was reenacting the light saber fight scenes with his chopsticks. Pat was next to him and John was on the other end of the three-seater with me in between. Jared was looking all cozy with Chewie, his dog, on my uncle’s recliner across the table and Kennedy sat on the floor, looking mostly zoned out for the half of the movie.
“Holy shit this is the best part HOLY SHITTT!!” Garrett exclaimed.
“Shut up man! You’re always ruining the movies for us.” Pat said as he elbowed him on the side, earning a groan from his best friend. “Okay, okay- I’ll shut up but you guys watch this part. It’s-“
“‘The best part’ yeah we know, everything’s the best part for you.” Jared finished, and everybody laughed because it was true.
After about half an hour, the movie was over and Garrett was mimicking the tune played over the credits, the food was almost gone and so was the beer, and it was almost time a quarter to nine in the evening. Chewie jumped off Jared’s lap and snuggled into Kennedy’s as my cousin stood up to stretch. Then he took some of the dishes and made his way to the kitchen, Pat and John followed with the other plates and cups Jared left behind. Garrett was still singing when he stumbled over next to Kennedy’s to play with Chewie. As he was scratching the dog’s left ear he shifted his gaze to me and tilted his head. “I think I remember you from somewhere.”
“What?”
“Yeah, like, back in the days. Were you the one who played Wendy in the 5th grade play?”
“Yeah, that was me. That was the most fun I’ve had back when I lived here. You still remember that?”
“How can I not? Miss Monroe told me I was the best lost boy in the cast! Back then, that was the highlight of my pre-pubescent life.” Garrett said, and I could see him still being proud about it. Then he continued with a question “Why’d you even move?”
Jared, Pat and John all came back from the kitchen and joined us. With them, another six pack of bud lights, and I started to explain.
“My dad got offered a job there, better pay better space better hours and my mom liked the idea.“
Then the usual follow up question “Well then why’d you leave?”
Jared -being the protective brother-figure that he is- interjected. With an alarmed look and voice he said my name as to make me stop saying what I was about to, and I knew he was right so I did stop and I just smiled. I don’t know. I didn’t know what else to do but to fake it. He knew I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet so Jared cut the silence when he realized what was happening. “I guessed you just missed Arizona, huh?”
“Yeah. I definitely did.”
“So, how was Florida?” Pat asked as he was ejecting the cd from the player and putting it back into the cd case.
When most people think of Florida, they think about Malibu and the gorgeous beach fronts and the bikini babes and all that shit. Well, I lived in Tallahassee. It’s wasn’t the shittiest part of Florida, but pretty shitty nonetheless. Fortunately, my parents were lucky enough to have bought a house in a suburb that wasn’t filled with retired folks so I wasn’t entirely lying when I said Florida was “fun” and “kinda nice”, and to be honest, it really was. My friends were outgoing and random in a manner you could sometimes consider as insane. They like to go to basement gigs and weird authentic food chains and amusement parks and basically just anywhere you normally wouldn’t go to; they liked the fact that they didn’t know exactly what will happen and the thrill that went with it. Well, ‘we’ did. We managed to make something new and exciting out of the old and bland.
“Where do you like better?” Garrett continued.
Both place I left feeling sad and bitter, with the guilt of having to leave someone behind, even if I didn’t really want to and neither of which I had much say in. But, both had their ups too, despite the shitloads of steep downs, can’t lie about that. I honestly couldn’t pick.
I answered “I don’t know, well, I think it’s all about who surrounds you, not what. ” In which Kennedy replied “Well, you’re stuck with us. And I’ll make sure that you’ll like it better here. I promise.” And then he smiled at me. Again, cutest goddamn smile I’ve ever seen. “I think that’s most importantly my job, but yeah you guys are required to pitch in too.” Jared added, and they all nodded and smiled.
And I don’t know, I felt like I liked it better here already because of them. We spent the rest of the night trying to fill me in on everything that has happened in state of Arizona throughout all those years I was miles away. And every now and then they’d tell me embarrassing stories about Jared whenever someone said something significant would make them remember, like the time when he slipped off the stage, or when they barged in on him crying over a chick flick, and that one summer where they camped out and some weird but funny as hell thing happened or something because they all couldn’t finish the story due to excessive obnoxious bursts of laughter. Finally, the guys left somewhere at about eleven. I helped Jared clean up the empty bottles and I washed the dishes as he wiped them dry just like when we were younger. “You know I mean it, and Kennedy, and the other guys- about that promise.” He said as he was putting the final plates onto the drying rack. I blew dish soap suds off of my arm and nodded with a smile. “Arizona misses you too, Mae.”
Tomorrow will be the first time I’ll get to see my cousin play in front of a live crowd, and I’m pretty stoked. Something in my gut tells me that these following months will be different. Or at least I hope so, I need to feel something other than lost.
Garrett was sitting on the couch arm for a better view of the TV screen, and to not knock anything off the table when he was reenacting the light saber fight scenes with his chopsticks. Pat was next to him and John was on the other end of the three-seater with me in between. Jared was looking all cozy with Chewie, his dog, on my uncle’s recliner across the table and Kennedy sat on the floor, looking mostly zoned out for the half of the movie.
“Holy shit this is the best part HOLY SHITTT!!” Garrett exclaimed.
“Shut up man! You’re always ruining the movies for us.” Pat said as he elbowed him on the side, earning a groan from his best friend. “Okay, okay- I’ll shut up but you guys watch this part. It’s-“
“‘The best part’ yeah we know, everything’s the best part for you.” Jared finished, and everybody laughed because it was true.
After about half an hour, the movie was over and Garrett was mimicking the tune played over the credits, the food was almost gone and so was the beer, and it was almost time a quarter to nine in the evening. Chewie jumped off Jared’s lap and snuggled into Kennedy’s as my cousin stood up to stretch. Then he took some of the dishes and made his way to the kitchen, Pat and John followed with the other plates and cups Jared left behind. Garrett was still singing when he stumbled over next to Kennedy’s to play with Chewie. As he was scratching the dog’s left ear he shifted his gaze to me and tilted his head. “I think I remember you from somewhere.”
“What?”
“Yeah, like, back in the days. Were you the one who played Wendy in the 5th grade play?”
“Yeah, that was me. That was the most fun I’ve had back when I lived here. You still remember that?”
“How can I not? Miss Monroe told me I was the best lost boy in the cast! Back then, that was the highlight of my pre-pubescent life.” Garrett said, and I could see him still being proud about it. Then he continued with a question “Why’d you even move?”
Jared, Pat and John all came back from the kitchen and joined us. With them, another six pack of bud lights, and I started to explain.
“My dad got offered a job there, better pay better space better hours and my mom liked the idea.“
Then the usual follow up question “Well then why’d you leave?”
Jared -being the protective brother-figure that he is- interjected. With an alarmed look and voice he said my name as to make me stop saying what I was about to, and I knew he was right so I did stop and I just smiled. I don’t know. I didn’t know what else to do but to fake it. He knew I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet so Jared cut the silence when he realized what was happening. “I guessed you just missed Arizona, huh?”
“Yeah. I definitely did.”
“So, how was Florida?” Pat asked as he was ejecting the cd from the player and putting it back into the cd case.
When most people think of Florida, they think about Malibu and the gorgeous beach fronts and the bikini babes and all that shit. Well, I lived in Tallahassee. It’s wasn’t the shittiest part of Florida, but pretty shitty nonetheless. Fortunately, my parents were lucky enough to have bought a house in a suburb that wasn’t filled with retired folks so I wasn’t entirely lying when I said Florida was “fun” and “kinda nice”, and to be honest, it really was. My friends were outgoing and random in a manner you could sometimes consider as insane. They like to go to basement gigs and weird authentic food chains and amusement parks and basically just anywhere you normally wouldn’t go to; they liked the fact that they didn’t know exactly what will happen and the thrill that went with it. Well, ‘we’ did. We managed to make something new and exciting out of the old and bland.
“Where do you like better?” Garrett continued.
Both place I left feeling sad and bitter, with the guilt of having to leave someone behind, even if I didn’t really want to and neither of which I had much say in. But, both had their ups too, despite the shitloads of steep downs, can’t lie about that. I honestly couldn’t pick.
I answered “I don’t know, well, I think it’s all about who surrounds you, not what. ” In which Kennedy replied “Well, you’re stuck with us. And I’ll make sure that you’ll like it better here. I promise.” And then he smiled at me. Again, cutest goddamn smile I’ve ever seen. “I think that’s most importantly my job, but yeah you guys are required to pitch in too.” Jared added, and they all nodded and smiled.
And I don’t know, I felt like I liked it better here already because of them. We spent the rest of the night trying to fill me in on everything that has happened in state of Arizona throughout all those years I was miles away. And every now and then they’d tell me embarrassing stories about Jared whenever someone said something significant would make them remember, like the time when he slipped off the stage, or when they barged in on him crying over a chick flick, and that one summer where they camped out and some weird but funny as hell thing happened or something because they all couldn’t finish the story due to excessive obnoxious bursts of laughter. Finally, the guys left somewhere at about eleven. I helped Jared clean up the empty bottles and I washed the dishes as he wiped them dry just like when we were younger. “You know I mean it, and Kennedy, and the other guys- about that promise.” He said as he was putting the final plates onto the drying rack. I blew dish soap suds off of my arm and nodded with a smile. “Arizona misses you too, Mae.”
Tomorrow will be the first time I’ll get to see my cousin play in front of a live crowd, and I’m pretty stoked. Something in my gut tells me that these following months will be different. Or at least I hope so, I need to feel something other than lost.