The Daughter of the Sky // Wattys 2016

Chapter 2

When my dad told me to take my car for a spin, what he really meant was, "Go show your best friend what your cool dad got you for your birthday!" 

Granted, Danny was technically my only friend. My best friend. He was this witty, outspoken, lanky kid who looked like he belonged on the cover of GQ magazine. I was pretty sure he had a lifetime supply of hair gel, brown boots, flannels, and multi-colored sweaters stashed somewhere in his closet. The guy took fashion very seriously. He was never one to be shy or discreet about the way he felt towards a certain shirt or hairstyle, and some days he never seemed to shut up. During school hours one could usually find Danny fixing his hair in the nearest reflective surface, drooling over anything with legs or stuffing his face with grotesque cafeteria food. He was pretty remarkable.

The weird thing is, I don't remember a specific time or place I met Danny. He just kind of showed up out of nowhere. I just assumed I'd known him my whole life since that's what it felt like. But if you asked him about us and our friendship, he'd say I was his first friend when he moved to Santa Barbara from Long Island. My parents would never bat an eye when I'd bring Danny over to our house, considering he was a boy. In fact, they had practically taken Danny in as a second child, partially because I'd always wanted a sibling and partially because the poor kid's parents were never around. That never actually seemed to bother him, now that I think about it.

I even protected Danny like a sibling would. When we were younger, there were always instances where I'd have to stick up for Danny, like the time we went on a field trip to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the second grade. The she-devil in designer children's clothing, formally known as Stacy Knox, wouldn't stop making fun of Danny for his funny limp and crutches. The girl was four feet and and two inches of pure evil. I was convinced Stacy Knox was a witch disguised as a elementary school child.

"What a freak," she'd sneer, looking over to her coven of evil friends for support. "It's no wonder Orion's only friend is a cripple. No one wants to be friends with a loser like her."

I vividly remembered being mad at her for teasing him so mercilessly; it's not like he could actually help it. Danny had some sort of weird muscular disease that confined him to a wheelchair at a young age but by some miracle or something, he could walk again—partially, but he could walk. The anger I felt was unlike anything I'd ever experienced that day. There was this weird tingling sensation in the tips of my fingertips, and every hair of my body stood up straight. I even blacked out a little bit. Luckily, Danny convinced me not to go after her, for the sake of not ruining the three days I had gone without a detention. That didn't last very long anyway. I'd always managed to somehow get into trouble. It was in my nature.

"Whoa. You got a car?" Danny gawked at my birthday present. "Your very own car?"

"I know right! They won't let me have a phone, but they got me a car. How crazy is that?"

Danny chewed his bottom lip nervously. "Yeah, but you know phones are bad for the environment...and I hear they cause cancer too. Plus, a car is way cooler than some dumb old phone."

I rolled my eyes, avoiding Danny's usual 'save the environment' speech. "I think you've been watching way too much Oprah, Dan. You up for some tacos?"

Danny's eyes lit up brighter than fireworks on the Fourth of July. "From Taco Hut?"

"Obviously," I grinned as my best friend got in the passenger seat, and together we headed straight for the beach.

Four tacos and three refills of pink lemonade later I collapsed on the scorching sand beneath me, completely missing the towel I had laid out in preparation for my post-taco haze.