Five Years And One Right Turn (2) As much as I desired to be on the outside looking in, I was most certainly not. I was on my way to the place that had held me captive for four years of my life, and I was far from excited. We got into Alexis’s car and pushed the button to lower the top on her convertible. As usual, I supplied the music and she supplied enough happiness to count for both of us. We set off with a squeal of tires and two sighs, both of them varying in emotion. Hers was like a warm breeze on a summer morning, full of fun and hope, and then there was mine. It was more of a “Let’s get this over with…quickly” kind of sigh. I leaned my head back against the seat, being careful not to squish my ‘hawk. My head was aching a little from the slight hangover I was suffering and the anxiety over the dreaded reunion. I was going over a list of pros and cons in my head, and so far the cons were far outweighing the pros. Now, I never could help being a natural born pessimist, but in this case I was really trying to flip the switch to optimism. Trying, and failing. We had over two hours to kill before we arrived at HUHS so I initiated a game of Alphabet. That’s when you find the letters of the alphabet consecutively using only road signs. Alexis is quite the scary driver to begin with, and distractions turned out to not be such a good idea. After a near head-on with a semi, I forfeited the game and we drove the rest of the way only listening to music. It wasn’t long before I started recognizing my old home town of Hartford. I saw thirteen bars and one library so I finally knew I was back home. The realization of that hit me somewhat like I assume being hit in the face with a brick would feel. We drove slowly past Gib Mahr and then the softball fields, as we neared the intersection. Alexis seemed to be getting even more excited as we turned right at the stop sign and into the school parking lot. I, on the other hand, started to get nauseous. I saw the old, yet familiar, scene of a herd of people walking into those glass doors. Alexis shifted the car into park, unsnapped her belt and turned to look at me. I was still slumped against the seat, and apparently that scene was not pleasing to her because she poked me hard in the side and gave me a stern look when I squirmed to face her. “Cheer the hell up, Amy. This will be fun. I will make it fun and you will not hinder my fun-making abilities!” she said, in a fashion similar to a way a mother would discipline a two year old child who had scribbled on the walls. “Let’s get this over with,” I said and got out of the car. A flood of emotions clouded my head as I turned to look at the giant brick building of torture. I started to crack my knuckles and bite my lip. “Nervous?” I heard someone say, I turned around apprehensively to see who it was. “Remember me?” “Oh my God,” I breathed as I turned to see my old friend from band, Mark. “No, Mark, close though!” he said and smiled. I ran at him and gave him a huge hug. Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as I thought it was going to be. I hadn’t seen Mark since the day of graduation when I was crying in his arms, listening to him promise we’d see each other again. So much for that one, I guess. I put that in the back of my mind once again and focused on the fact that my heart was about to burst from how much I had missed him. I stood back and looked at him. Now that I look back, I guess it wasn’t so much looking as it was admiring. That boy had grown up. I’d say he was about 6’4” with dark brown hair, falling just below his ears. I wonder if he knew I was a sucker for guys in suits, because wow, he was pulling his off marvelously. Not in a literal sense, I disappointedly thought to myself. I blushed and smiled at him. “Wow, Mark, it’s been a while, how have you been? I’ve missed you so much,” I asked him, trying not to look like an idiot in front of my extremely attractive long lost friend. “Well, things have actually been pretty good for me. I’m actually working as a band director up in Eau Claire. It’s great, and I really love it. What about you? God, it has been a long time, I’ve been missing you too,” he cleared his throat and shifted his feet rather awkwardly. “Oh, me? I’m still in college, Lawrence University actually. I’m majoring in Psychology, thinking about becoming a school psychiatrist, believe it or not,” I said and nervously laughed. God, was I retreating back to my old high school self, nervous and chatty around cute boys? Stop embarrassing yourself, you idiot! I thought to myself as I once again tried my charming smile on him. “I do not believe it, but way to go! Who would have thought, you, the most anti-establishment girl I know would be working for The Man?” he said playfully, and I felt myself blush even harder, “Oh, I’m still very anti-establishment, don’t you worry. This is merely my way of fighting The Man from the inside, you silly boy. But this conversation never happened or I’ll have to have you taken care of, you understand,” I finished in a harsh whisper. He made a zipping motion across his lips and winked at me. It was at that point in time I decided that if my cheeks turned any redder than I could feel them turning, I’d probably explode. I heard someone clear their throat behind me. Oh, yeah, Alexis. I had forgotten about her in the midst of making a fool out of myself. “Hey Mark!” she exclaimed, and they exchanged a friendly hug, “Now that you two are done flirting, can we go inside?” I gave her an angry look but she just stuck her tongue out at me. Ah yes, the joys of high school. “Of course, ma’am, I’ll even give you two lovely ladies the pleasure of getting me as an escort,” he said and held his arms out, obviously intending for me to take one, and just as I was going to, I was pulled away by Alexis. “No thanks, Mark. We can handle it! Keep up if you can,” Alexis said, whispering to me, “Don’t get distracted so early, you can chat with him later. I want to go catch up with the girls.” Oh, right, The Girls, I had forgotten about The Girls. She dragged me inside, where our hands received our red “H” stamps upon entrance to the field house. I looked around and immediately noticed a few familiar faces, and thus decided that I needed to use the bathroom. I told Alexis that I’d be right back and rushed out to the bathroom. I walked in and looked in the mirror. What I saw was a teenage version of myself, wiping mascara that had run down my face. I was crying because of Drew and that girl from Hustisford at prom. “I thought vampires didn’t have reflections. Hmm…I guess I was wrong. There’s a first for everything, or so I’m told. What’s it like to still be a freak when you’ve been out of high school for five years already?” asked a cold voice from behind me. I snapped out of another one of my flash-backs and looked behind me, only to see Nikki. I hadn’t even thought of how I’d confront the inevitable sight of her. “Oh, hey Nikki,” I said in a very friendly voice, “Being a freak out side of high school is great. It’s called individuality. See, I never changed who I was to fit in, unlike some people; I’m like this because I’m myself. Speaking of being ourselves, how’s being a stripper working out for you? How many dollars did you get in your g-string last night? Enough to buy a gram of coke? Hopefully, otherwise you’ll have nothing to do in the stall, I don’t see any football players or pregnancy tests anywhere as second options either. Look it was really nice seeing you again, but I’ve got to run, I have friends waiting for me.” I said and turned to walk out after seeing the satisfyingly horrified look her face possessed. I gave myself an imaginary high-five. I’d been waiting for that moment for years. Instead of heading right back to the field house, I decided to wander around the halls for a few minutes, reminiscing. I walked down the global hallway, remembering all the hours I spent there. I must have had around 12 English credits, so this was where I spent most of my hours. Down the science hallway I remembered how I had passed out in Human Anatomy when I had to dissect a cat. I giggled out loud when I recalled the look on everyone’s faces when I woke up. I glanced up the stairs and decided against journeying up there. I left math behind as well when I left here. I made my way to the band room and stood outside the door for awhile. I’ll admit it, band was the only thing I did miss about high school. There were a lot of good times in the land of the band geeks. I felt myself start to tear up, so I decided that it was time to head back to the field house. I walked in and glanced around, trying to find Alexis, but instead saw Drew with his arm around some girl’s waist. I recognized her from prom. My moderately improved mood was shot to the ground as I saw him laughing with one of his moronic friends. I tried to trot past him unnoticed but failed as I heard him excuse himself from the bimbo he was with and the cave man he was chatting with. I kept walking, ignoring his calls from behind me until I was behind the bleachers. He came up to me, out of breath from trailing behind me. “Didn’t you hear me? I was calling your name! Oh well, how have you been? I haven’t seen you in so long,” he said with a stupid grin on his face. “Yeah I know, why ruin the perfect record? Go back to your trophy girlfriend, I don’t want to talk to you,” I said, and turned around to face the wall. “C’mon Amy, you know I never meant to hurt you that night,” he said, as I felt his arms being wrapped around my waist. “I never got a chance to make it up to you either,” I felt his breath on my neck and suddenly felt the urge to throw up. I instead turned around and looked him in the eyes. I put my left hand on his neck and moved in close. When I saw his eyes closed, I got close enough to whisper in his ear, “You know what? I never got a chance to do something either,” I said, and pulled away a little bit. Just as he re-opened his eyes to see what was taking my kiss so long, I held my left hand firm and brought my right straight across his face. “Thanks for the offer, but you had your chance,” and with that, I left him with a confused look and rubbing his red face. I walked back out to find Alexis. She was chatting away with some of her and my old acquaintances. I walked up to her and said a casual hello to them and Alexis looked over my shoulder to see Drew walking away, still rubbing his cheek. She looked at me questioningly. “What? There a bug on his cheek, a big lying, cheating, ugly bug. I took care of it though,” I said with an obvious smirk on my face. Alexis gave me a quick congratulatory hug. I excused myself again to go get something to drink. Coincidentally, Mark was also at the refreshment table. I cautiously approached him and got some punch. I took a drink and winced. “Did you spike it already? Wow, just like old times. I’m proud of you, I brought my own flask for that same purpose, but you’ve beat me to it!” I joked and drank the rest of my glass. He shot me a devilish grin and said coolly, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Now if you excuse me I’m going to walk away very inconspicuous-like. You are welcome to follow, as long as you are equally as inconspicuous as me.” He winked for the second time tonight, and for about the trillionth time that night, I felt myself turn a glorious shade of magenta. We both snuck out side and started walking out past the parking lot. We crossed the street and headed towards Gib Mahr. I hopped over the fence like the old pro that I was. Mark, however, tried, but tripped and fell on his butt. Instead of helping him up, like any decent person would have, I called him a ditz and started running. “Not fair! You’re more…uh…limber than me, you’re a girl!” he yelled and started running after me. I laughed back at him and yelled in return, “Oh, whatever! I’m wearing tights and a skirt! You and your lame excuses. Own up the fact that I’m just much more awesome than you,” I ran up the ramp and up to the top of the bleachers, where I waited for him to catch up. When he finally managed to climb up the bleachers without falling, I patted the spot next to me, “Calm down, take a rest, don’t pass out on me. I can’t carry you all the way down these,” I said, as I rolled my eyes at him. He sat down next to me and when his heavy breathing subsided, he turned to me and said, “I really have missed you, a lot. You were the first thing to go through my mind when I read the invite. I’ve beaten myself up every day for not calling you after graduation, and I’m really sorry. I just didn’t know what to say, I just…” he started rambling, until I put my hand over his mouth and replied, “It’s all right. Here,” I pulled a Sharpie out of my shirt pocket and wrote my number down on his arm, “You probably just forgot my number. Now, this is permanent ink, so you’ll have no excuses if I don’t hear from you again soon. Don’t you look at me weird, I always carry a Sharpie. You never know when you’ll have to write something unforgettable on something…or someone for that matter,” I smiled and clicked the cap back on and returned it to my pocket, “Remember when we did half-time shows here? Man, those were some good times, actually, the only good times. Sitting up here with you almost makes me miss it. Almost,” I said, and leaned my head on his shoulder. We sat there for maybe a half hour, before the sun started to disappear and the light in the sky followed it. “We better get going, I don’t know how well I can maneuver down these at night,” Mark said, nervously. I knew just how well he could, and it was definitely a good idea to start heading back. I had to find Alexis too; I assumed it was time to leave. When that thought crossed my mind, I was surprised to feel a little bit of disappointment along with it. As we walked back towards the school, Mark grabbed my hand and laced his fingers between mine. I smiled in the dusk as we approached the doors again. Before I could get close enough to grab the handle, the door flew open and Alexis flew out. The first thing I noticed was the red stain on her pink shirt. “Lex, what happened?” I started, but she only said, “We’re leaving, now, bye Mark,” she grabbed my arm and pulled me along with her. I held on to Mark’s hand as long as I could, but our fingers were pulled apart. I saw his face drop, but I mouthed call me, and for the first time tonight, I winked at him, and he was the one to blush furiously. All the while back to the car, Alexis was mumbling about how I was right and we shouldn’t have gone in the first place. Apparently her and her old friend Kelsey still had some things to discuss, and it didn’t go well. She floored her car out of the parking lot and didn’t speak again until we were well outside of Hartford. “So, Amy, how was your night? Was it as terrible as you thought it was going to be?” she said, seemingly much calmer. “Yeah, it wasn’t bad, I bitched out Nikki, slapped Drew, and Mark fell over a fence,” I finished. Alexis looked at me in awe, almost swerving into oncoming traffic. “You better tell me everything when we back to your place,” she ordered. ”Oh, I will, but remember, you still owe me a drink, you promised!” I said, and listened to her list off her excuses for why she can’t buy tonight. I laughed and leaned my head back against the seat, careless to the condition it put my mowhawk in. I wonder what our tenth reunion will be like, I thought to myself, I guess we’ll just have to see.
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Copyright © 2006 Cassie L Williamson |