Smiles Echo In My Memory

It’s been just over a month since I met Frank, and we’d gotten on like a house on fire. He’d also befriended a lot of my friends, and other people I didn’t really particularly like very much, for instance, Charley. I didn’t particularly mind, really, but it was just… weird. Frank had always tried to make me and Charley be friends again, but he’d always failed miserably. We’d be on talking terms, but that’s it.

I was standing outside my RE room, waiting for Frank to come back from Student Services (Student Services was the like the reception… its self explanatory). I was fiddling with my walkman, and I felt someone lean on the wall beside me. I looked up, and Charley was there, just looking at me.
“…What?”
“Nothing,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck.
Charley was quite tall, with a slender figure and was slightly tanned. He had dirty blonde, slightly wavy hair that was kept fairly short with a fringe, and these piercing blue eyes. He was good-looking, and everyone – as well as himself, knew it. He was the guy that everyone secretly fancied, and the one that wasn’t the jock, but the other guy, if you know what I mean. He was in the school samba, and a bit of a Drama geek. But then again, everyone in school was a bit of a Drama geek; it was the vibe of the school.
When Frank came, people started to link them both together. It wasn’t exactly unusual – they were both good friends, and now both the ‘buff guys’ of our year, although slightly different. Frank knew he was one of the two ‘fit’ guys, and let his ego grow over it. He had a little bit of an ego, but just turned that fact into humor. Charley, on the other hand, knew it too, but just kept it to himself. He was more modest over it. I suppose you could call them the ‘popular’ kids, but a different sort to the stereotype.
They were both into music, and making music – Frank played guitar (extremely well), and Charley just involved himself in the schools’ music scene – Samba, ‘Big Band’, and other parade-type stuff the school organized.

“Sazzy,” Charley mumbled, looking me straight in the eyes. “I, err… Where’s Frank?” I shrugged, looking down at the cassette player in my hands. “Student Services,”
“Oh. Why?”
“To get a lighter,”
“Oh.”
“What did you want?” I was getting a little irritated, he was just… annoying me. He hesitated for a while, and then took a deep breath. “I was wondering, if- I thought that we could, you know, kind of… Be friends again?”
I stared blankly at him, shocked. I didn’t think he’d ask to be friends again, I just thought that we’d kinda just form that bond again naturally.
“Um… Yeah, I suppose…” I mumbled, looking down at my hands yet again. He nodded, the corner of his mouth lifting in that trade mark lop-sided smile of his. I smiled a small smile back, and then turned to see Frank being squished by a bunch of Year 7’s and 8’s.
“Frank!” I called, beckoning him over.
“I’M GETTING MOLESTED BY CHILDREN!” Frank cried back, stretching his hand out to me. The kids giggled, and a girl looked up at him and said, “Are you that guy that turned Charley Woods gay?” Frank’s eyes widened in shock, and I burst out laughing. Charley started laughing too, and pulled Frank out of the sea of kids.
“I am not gay!” Frank cried, waving his arms around. “You!” he said, pointing at Charley. “Are, though,” he giggled, and covered his mouth quickly.
“You’re giggle doesn’t exactly portray the image of your masculinity,” Charley pointed out, laughing. I was still dying of laugher, clutching my side.
“Oh, shush up, Sazzy,” Frank said, smiling.
“They th-think you’re b-both gay!” I gasped, pointing at Charley and Frank and back again, and exploded into a fresh round of giggles. They both frowned, and rolled their eyes. Charley kind of just molded into the crowd after that, and left me and Frank standing outside D2, our RE room.
“So, anyways, Frankie,” I began, as his arm snaked its way around my shoulders. “Someone’s birthday is coming up soon,”
“Oh, yeah,” he replied, not really paying attention. “What did you want for your birthday?”
“Frank! I meant yours!”
I was exactly one week older than Frank, which was really pretty cool. And what else was cool? Frank’s birthday was on Halloween! When I found out, I thought he was joking. He just laughed at me and said, ‘no, seriously’.
“But yours is nearer and I have no idea what to get you!” he said, poking me in the shoulder. I pouted. “But I don’t really want anything!”
“Me neither!”
The bell went for third lesson, and we walked into RE together, arguing about our birthdays.