How He Came

Chapter Two

(Chapter One can be found in the Our Writing tab titled 2017-2018: Independent Writing Piece)

Emily

A boy with inky black hair and icy blue eyes is helping me pick up all the papers that fell from my hand.

“Oh my, I am so sorry,” he says to me. His voice is a bit raspy, as if he has been screaming for a while.

“It’s okay,” I say to him. I look at him for a few seconds. He’s studying me. Heart pounding, my eyes flicker back to the tiled ground of the hallway. It’s getting hot in here. Finally, he hands me the papers.When he spins around I catch sight of the familiar bomber jacket, the same type of bomber jacket that was the start to all my pain. My throat starts to close up. Tears well up in my eyes.

“Again, I’m sorry for knocking you over. I usually watch my step.” He starts to laugh, thinking it is funny. Then he stops abruptly.

He looks at me and asks, “Hey,”in a soft voice, “you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I say, but it sounds more like a croak to me. Tears blinding, I push past him. I start walking down the sudden, claustrophobic hallway. The blue and yellow lockers blurr by me.

“Hey, wait up!” I don’t. I just want out of this hall, out of this wing, out of this school.  Mind racing, I sprint out of the library wing. I stop when I reach the front door, thinking about all the times I used to walk out with a smile on my face instead of tears streaming down. I heave a strangled breath. I push the metal door open. I walk out into the vacant parking lot. I turn in a circle; it is as empty as my soul. I turn back to the direction of my bike and hop on.

           

～～～～～～～～

“MOMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Emy's home!!” Levin yells as I enter the house. He’s always home earlier than me. He attends Frazzleberry Elementary School. He loves it.

“Levin, come here, Buddy!” I stand in the bright, open foyer with my arms wide open, waiting for him to run into them. This has become our ritual for the last year. He always wants to cheer me up.

“Emy!!” he yells. Grabbing ahold of the hem of my shirt, he hoists himself up. Arms cradling, we walk into the kitchen. We walk like a mama and baby gorilla.

The kitchen is huge and wide open. When you walk in, all you see is the glossy island with all the chef appliances. All the light from the windows radiates almost a heavenly feel into the kitchen. Mother is baking cookies right smack in the middle, which makes her look almost like an angel.

“So tell me, Emily, how was school?” she asks as I walk in. My mother is covered in flour. She looks frantic, like a deer caught in headlights. Even though she’s a mess, my mother is beautiful. She has platinum blonde hair and stormy gray eyes. Her usual is her scrubs, lab coat and stethoscope around her neck. Right now in the kitchen, she’s wearing a worn out t-shirt and black yoga pants.

“It was okay.” I go over to my waiting mother and give her a light peck on the check. Her small smile grows into a full on grinn. I turn to go, but mother tugs on my arm. She pulls me toward her and wraps her strong arms around me. With a squeeze, she lets me go.

With a plate of cookies in hand, I walk up into my room ready to cry myself to sleep. Today’s events have taken a toll on me. I walk to my bookshelf to get a book, but as I see the picture frame, I neglect the book and go straight to crying.

Jaden

Running four laps around the football field after practice is just awful. My limbs and muscles are worn out. As we run into the locker room to finally change, take a shower and go home, Coach Matty Patty slapps our backs.

“Great job, boys, we got this game in the bag,” he says. Like always, the locker room is too full with all the guys. The locker room smells of cheap products and sweat. I wait almost a half an hour to just go take a shower. Then the waiting for Luke. He takes his sweet time, so I’m left in the locker room doing homework.

Seating on the rough, creaky bench, I plot a revenge plan on Luke. I vividly imagine all the things I could use to get revenge on him. Maybe scaring him and videotaping it. Luke screams like a girl. He screams like a girl who is finding out she’s wearing the same outfit as someone else. I smirk to myself, I’m going to have a good time with this.

“Jaden, man, how are you?” I look up, and standing there is my arch nemesis, Calvin Luther. There was a time in ancient history when we were friends. We would do everything together, soccer and football mainly. One day in middle school I had a girlfriend.  She has dark brown hair and chocolate color skin with bright gray eyes.  She was a very petite girl, but I loved the way she made me laugh and feel happy. One day Calvin was talking to her like any other day, but turns out he was trying to provoke her to cheat on me. With his golden hair and green eyes, any girl would do what he says so they can have a chance with him. Calvin’s known as the golden boy when it comes to girl groups. The next day I find a note in my locker saying she detests me and she found someone else that is much better than me. That was the day when he turned into my arch nemesis.

“I’m good. How about you?”

“Oh…. I’m doing amazing. Clara, she is just amazing. You should meet her. She’s beautiful too.” He throws a smirk over his shoulder and walks away.

           

～～～～～～～～

“Helloooooooooooooooo/It’ssssss meeeeeeeeeeeeeee/I’ve beennnnnn wondering/ If afterrrrrrr allllllllll theseeeeeeeee yearssssssssssss you’ve likedddd to beeeeeeee ………..” The windows are down and the fresh air is soothing, like always.The sun is going down and the birds are chirping. Luke and I have this thing were we scream song lyrics at the top of our lungs after practice.

“Boys, quiet down!!!!!” a lady yells at us from across the street. She’s watering her plants,  and her dog is running circles around her. That’s when we usually stop. I slow the speed down on my truck.

“Jaden….,” Luke says. He is a bit out of breath because of all the screaming. “Do you want to come in?” I stop at the foot of his driveway. Luke lives at the typical family friendly home. Clean cut lawn, flower pots, and white picket fences.

“No, it’s okay.” Luke’s deep brown hair is a mess. His face is flush red, which contrasts with his amber eyes. He jumps out of the car like a predator pouncing on its prey.

He goes up to his front door and hugs his mom with that look in his eyes. We almost lost his mother to cancer. She has been battling for four years, and finally she’s cancer free. I remember the dark ages; Luke would sneak into my house because he was all alone and he didn’t want to think about all the “What ifs.”  His mother now is healthy and strong. She has kept her head bald to showcase all the struggles she has been through. Her bald head also reminds her that life is too short. If you want to do something, then do it today and not tomorrow.

“Son, how was practice?” Luke is an exact clone of his father. The difference between them is that now his dad has some wrinkles around the eyes.

“Great.” Luke has that tight family that loves one another. I can’t say the same thing about my family.

“Jaden, Son, are you staying for dinner?”

“No Mr.Maddox. My momma is expecting me home soon.”

“Ok, Son. Drive safe.” Ever since I was a child both Mr. and Mrs. Maddox called me Son. They both want another child, but it didn’t happen, so I was their second child. They love me like I’m their own.

I always cut through neighborhoods to get home instead of taking the highway.  I love the feel of fresh air circulating through my truck. I love to see all the families sitting on their porches, reading or fighting with one another.

I see someone I recognize, so I stop the truck to the side and see if I should say hi. Out of all the people it could be, it’s Emily. I always liked her, not in the girlfriend way but in the friend way. She has that aspect about her before everything changed. Once her life took a different course, Emily wouldn’t smile, make jokes or laugh. It’s as if the light in her all of a sudden went out. I love the sound of her laughter. It’s as hardy as my momma’s green bean casserole. The Emily now is a distant and sorrowful person. She always had a glow to her, only one person brought that out in her, and that person is gone. She starts to walk by with a kid holding onto her hand. I finally risk the glance at her face. My mouth goes agape. It isn’t the usual scold or the tears she had in her eyes like the other day. It is a genuine a smile. The smile lights up her face. She is smiling with joy in her eyes. I can’t even remember the last time she smiled like that. It’s looks beautiful.  She then looks down at the kid and kisses him on the head. I decide, why not go say hi.

-Leah Punnoose