Long-Distance Calls

4

He used to go to the gym, play guitar, and study a lot for university. I don't know how he managed to do all that, and, furthermore, be good at it, but he did.

"What's up, Petey!" he greeted me with his deep voice and a big grin on his face.

I smiled. "Hey, Ty-Ry!"

He tilted his head and smirked. "I told you to stop calling me like that."

We entered a bakery. The white of the room made his dark features stand out even more. I wondered if it did the same to me.

"So when are you coming to the gym with me?" he asked with a twenty percent of irony in his tone.

"Definitely not now," I smirked. "I have other things in my mind at this moment..."

"Like what?" He smiled, allowing a dimple to appear on the right side of his mouth.

"You know... School..."

"Riight, summer's ending, uh?"

"Don't make me think about it." I sighed.

"Well, that's not too bad, right? You're starting high school."

"I really don't know how to take it."

"Kids in high school can be mean," His smile disappeared, paving the way for his serious, kind of frightening, expression. "My advice to you is to choose your friends wisely."

"Well, now I feel better!" I gave him a look of despair.

His smile reappeared. "C'mon, Petey! You're a slugger! You'll do just about fine in there."

"Well, I would hope so... At least I already have a friend in Andrew..."

"For anything, you know where to find me. I'll always be there for you."

"Are you going to kiss me now?" His words warmed my heart but I felt like cracking a joke since the discussion was getting a little too serious.

He laughed before taking a bite of his pie.

"So what about you?" I changed the subject, "Something new with Eleanor?"

"Everything's going great" he said. Eleanor was his girlfriend. She lived in New York. They met via social network, before he started NYU, the same university as her. "She's spending some time with her family too right now. We'll hang out next week."

"You're so lucky. I wish I had something like that too..." I rolled my eyes.

"Hey!" He caught my attention back to him, "You're still a kid. I'm sure you'll have something great in your life!" And he made me think about the opportunities of high school, but also about that E-Fed.

"And how's university going?" I took a step back into the conversation.

"Not bad," he nodded and cleared his throat, "It's pretty demanding, though, and, unlike you, I don't have some pause during summer. So you better enjoy these next four years, 'cause after that it's work work work."

"Like if I'm going to university! As soon as I'm done with high school, I'll go to Hollywood and become a movie star!" I said in a proud yet self-mocking way.