My Ex-Bestfriend

Friendship

That night, when my father returned, he wore deep scowl lines. He took an extra two minutes stomping the mud off his boots before he walked in the house.

My dad was not typically overzealous with affection but after a storm he always beckoned me in for a big burly hug. Maybe thunderstorms made him sad to. I wrapped my arms around him as my face smushed into his belly. I looked up to him with big pleading eyes and asked the one question that had been swirling in my mind all day, "What's white trash?"

My first sentence spoken to my dad in a long time. His face puckered together in disgust.

His jaw clenched tight. Through gritted teeth, "Where did you hear that darlin?"

I hung my head low cause I knew he knew. He patted my back and said, " It's nothing that concerns YOU sweetheart."

That was the beginning of the silent war between my Dad and Michael's mom. The next day my dad enrolled me in Michael's private school, granted I was there on a partial scholarship and my dad worked hard to afford the rest. I'm not sure if he wanted to solidify that I was not white trash or if he wanted my fierce protector to accompany me to class. Either way it was one of the best decisions he ever made. Well, at least at the time I had thought that.

Michael's mom planted rose bushes along the fence no doubt hoping the thorns would keep us away from each other. My dad built a hobbit door in the fence that Michael and I could crawl through. He sprayed poison on the other side so the rose bushes would die.

After a few thunderstorms where my dad caught Michael soothing me in our home he built a rope ladder for Michael that hung out my bedroom window to climb up so his mom wouldn't know.

My dad was sneaky like that and I loved him more for it. What he lacked in his words he made up for in his actions and he knew I needed Michael. He knew it wasn't a coincidence that I started to speak when Michael showed up in our life.

I wasn't a welcomed guest in the James household but I was invited to EVERY one of his birthday parties. His mother wouldn't deny her one and only sweet boy his best friend for his birthday but don't let that be confused with her wanting me over after school.

Most days would be spent at school or playing basketball til the street lights came on. The nights Michael would creep up the ladder and meet me in my room. If it was basketball season we would watch basketball games and cheer on our favorite team the Wizards. Other times we settled on being scared out of our minds with classic horror flicks. I always laughed when Michael claimed he didn't want me to be scared at night so he would stay over. When he was the one too afraid to climb out the window in the dark.

Middle school wasn't much different in our friendship. Except now when we watched shows with kissing/ sex scenes the room would grow quiet the air felt stagnant. Michael would wiggle and adjust under the blankets more. We would curiously watch the actors.
One night in 8th grade our curiosity got the better of us.

"Do you think they choreographed the kissing? Like you go left and then I go right?" Michael asked.

"You are asking the wrong person," I giggled.

"Have you ever had squid?" Michael asked as he looks off into the distance.

I laughed as my palette consisted of whatever was in the frozen food section or from a bar, " Ewww no."

Michael shrugged, "I bet that's what it feels like to have another person's tongue in your mouth."

I laughed til my sides ached.

My laughter halted with one sentence spoken by my mighty warrior, " Hey Allie Cat wanna give it a try?"

I loved the nickname he gave me. The personalization he gave me added a hint of playfulness to his question. My heart could have exploded out of my chest. My first kiss. His first kiss. It would be OUR first kiss.