No Matter What

Chapter Three

Misty:

During the summer before they started the fifth grade, their parents got the bright idea they should start taking camping trips together. While Misty didn’t mind being at the lake, she wasn’t looking forward to not having any showers nearby, but the trip turned out to be better than she was expecting. She and Jason had a great time together. They walked in the woods looking for pine cones. They also went swimming and built sand castles together. At night, they sat side by side roasting marshmallows and listened to their parents tell corny ghost stories.            

            Besides all the camping trips were the usual times their parents spent with each other. They still had game nights and barbecues and went out to dinner together, but they hung out on their own too. That summer they went bike riding and played video games and watched movies together. Of all the things they did, Misty liked it best when they just talked. Most of the time they didn’t talk about anything important, but that wasn’t the point. What she really liked was listening to him talk. She still loved to hear his stories about Boston. It seemed like such an exciting city that Misty never got tired of hearing about it, and she still loved his accent.

            “Why are you staring at me?” Jason demanded.

            “I’m giving you my full attention when you talk. That’s good manners you know,” Misty explained.

            “Staring is rude. Why are you looking at me like that anyway?”

            “Like what?”

            “I don’t know, like you like me or something.”

            “I do like you. We’re friends.”

            “Don’t act dumb,” Jason sighed. “You know what I mean.”

            “You won’t get it,” Misty said as she felt herself starting to blush. “You’ll laugh at me or something.”

            “I will not,” Jason insisted. “I’ve never laughed at you.”

            “Okay, fine,” Misty drew each word out slowly. “I like the way it sounds when you talk. It’s really neat.”

            It was Jason’s turn to blush. “Thanks.”

            “It doesn’t mean I like you like that though,” Misty said, thinking of the bet she and Evan had made last summer.

            “Okay,” Jason agreed.

            Misty definitely didn’t think of Jason as a boy she would like. They knew each other too well. Jason was like another brother to her. Since he didn’t have any brothers or sisters, she was pretty sure he thought of her like the sister he never had, and that was fine with her.      

A few weeks before the fifth grade started, Misty and Jason were out riding their bikes and enjoying summer. Riding bikes was one of their favorite things to do, and they did it every day. Like walking to and from school, they were allowed to ride as long as they stuck together. Sometimes they would circle the neighborhood. Other days, like today, they’d ride to the Quick Mart for sodas and candy.

Just as they rounded the corner that led to their street, the front tire of Jason’s bike hit a pot hole in the road. Rather than bounce over it and keep going, he came off the seat of his bike and fell end over end. It was over as quickly as it had begun. The moment he came to a stop and pulled himself to a sitting position, Misty could see that his right arm was broken. It was the most sickening thing she’d ever seen. Jason sat there looking dazed for a moment before she suddenly started to cry.

Jason looked at her fearfully. “Miss, what’s wrong?”

“Your arm’s broken.”  

“I guess it is.”

He was so calm that she only cried harder. It didn’t make sense that he wasn’t crying. In fact, he didn’t even look like he was in pain at all, but just looking at his jagged bones poking through the skin was enough to make her squeamish.

“Don’t cry, Miss,” Jason begged. “I’m okay.”

As if to prove his point, he stood and came to put his good arm around her. Misty gave him a wide eyed stare. She couldn’t believe how tough he was. If her arm looked like that, she wouldn’t have been able to stop crying.

“Help me get my bike, okay?” he said.

Misty pushed both bikes the rest of the way home, trying not to look at his arm. When they finally made it home, she dropped their bikes on her front lawn and ran into Jason’s house without knocking.

Susan rushed out of the house to see what was going on. Upon seeing Jason’s arm, she grabbed him up in her arms as though he was a baby and ran for their car. Mack barely had time to hop in the car beside Susan. As they sped off, Misty broke down in tears again. By then, her mother had come out of the house to see what was going on.

“Don’t cry, sweetie,” Angela soothed and hugged her close. “It’s only a broken arm. They’ll put a cast on and he’ll be right as rain. Come inside and have a snack.”

Though Misty did as her mother said, she didn’t feel any better. For the rest of the day, she sat on her front steps waiting for Jason to come home. Her mother and father even let her eat dinner out there, though she hadn’t given them much choice.

Jason:

It was nearly eight in the evening by the time Jason got home. The moment his father had the car parked, Misty flew down the steps. There was no time for him to react when she threw herself into his arms.

“Oh, Jase, I’ve been so worried.”

Taken aback by her display of affection, Jason finally hugged her back. “I’m okay,” he assured her softly.

 “We’ll see you inside son,” Mack said, smiling at them. “Don’t be too late.”

As if satisfied that he was going to be okay, Misty released her hold on him. “Does it hurt?”

“Nah,” Jason said as he cast his eyes downward. “It’s okay now, but it hurt when they had to straighten it to put the cast on.”

Misty’s eyes widened. “Did you cry?”

“A little bit, but don’t tell anyone okay.”

“I won’t tell, Jase. I’m sorry you got hurt. I feel so bad.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“I know, but I feel bad. Wouldn’t you feel bad if I broke my arm?”

“You know I would,” Jason said, and Misty smiled at him. “Well, I gotta go in and eat.”

“Okay, can you play tomorrow?”

“It’s only a broken arm. I can play. I’ll even let you sign my cast first okay?”

Her face brightened. “Okay. Night, Jase.”

“Night, Miss,” he repeated and turned and headed in.

Over dinner that night, his father teased him about Misty having a crush on him, but Jason knew it wasn’t like that. Even though she was a girl, they were best friends. That was the only reason for her concern. Still, the thought of Misty liking him as more than a friend gave him a funny feeling inside.