ISAIAH
In as much as coach is proud of us for our win against Bayside high he is not letting us slack. It actually feels like he is pushing us harder each day. I don't mind it because I am used to the pressure but it's quite the adjustment for some of the team members. No one is complaining though because for most of us seniors this is the most important year of our highschool basketball career. It's the year where our game will determine which college we get into. For me as long as it's an Ivy League I don't mind which one. I want to make my mom proud so I'm aiming high.
I want to do my best but I can't help but get distracted a couple of times by a particular red headed beauty. Whenever she is not tutoring or drawing in art class she makes a habit of coming to watch us practice. She is never actually watching us practice but using use as muses just like she did with Wesley. He's still bragging about the drawing she gifted him for his birthday. It was a sweet gift and if I'm honest with myself I'm a little jealous of him. I wish she'd draw me. I'd be so honoured.
A ball is thrown at me, bouncing off my chest and onto the floor. I turn to glare at the culprit and its Baron is who smirking at me.
"Stare at her any longer and she'll blow up." He teases.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." I grunt forcing myself to look away from Kennedy who's hunched over her drawing book in the stands.
"Yeah right. You could just tell her you like her bro." He insists.
The knowing look in his eyes let's me know that there's no need to deny what the two of us already know but it doesn't mean I'll outright confess to him.
"Says the guy who took three years to ask out the girl he likes." I retort.
He gasps, his hand landing on his chest like I've stabbed him. "Low blow dude, low blow. True but harsh."
I roll my eyes and laugh at how dramatic he's being. "Sorry man and for your information I did tell her."
His eyes widen at my revelation. He walks closer to me so as to make the conversation more private.
"And she rejected you?" He asks.
"No. She feels the same." I answer shaking my head.
"So you're dating! Congrats man." He cheers out loud attracting the attention of a couple of our teammates.
"Lower your voice." I demand.
"Sorry." He whispers. "So are you two dating?"
"No we agreed that we are better off as friends." I reply.
"What?! Really?"
"Yes."
"Why?" He asks sounding disappointed.
I expect such questions from Wesley since he is the nosy one while Baron is the quiet one but right now he's being too inquisitive."Don't you have a girlfriend to pester?"
"I do but I'd rather nag you." He grins at me.
Oh yeah that's right, he and Kristie are dating. After three years of pining after her from a distance, liking each other from across the room, they are finally a couple. I am happy for them, they are very cute together. Maybe Kristie is making Baron open up more. That would explain his many questions and newly acquired inquisitive nature.
"If you must know we talked and agreed that we're not ready to commit to each other. So rather than waste time dating only to break up, we'd rather try to be friends first." I explain.
"Wow, I admire that." He confesses looking proud of me.
"Thanks but it sucks, I really like her." I mumble turning to look at her again.
I find that she is already looking at me. She smiles and waves at me. I wave back unable to keep the grin off my face.
"Obviously." Baron chuckles watching our interaction.
"But it's for the best so I'm sucking it up." I grumble looking away.
"Do better then." He laughs before putting me in a headlock and pulling me away.
It's easier said than done but I do force myself to concentrate on practice. I cannot afford to slack off at this particular time. Being Kennedy's friend is hard but it's what we agreed so I'm all for it.
After the most grueling practice coach has ever put us through, we quickly shower and change back into our clothes. We join Kennedy in the library for a one hour study session. I do my assignments at this particular time while she tutors Wesley. Baron and Kristie study together but we kick them off our table when they start making out. We are happy for them but it doesn't mean we enjoy watching them swap spit.
Wesley is elated when our one hour is up and we leave the library. He is excited to get home while Kennedy and I have work. We say goodbye at the school gates before going our separate ways.
Kennedy and I walk together to the subway conversing about anything and everything that comes to mind.
Being with her is easy. We are good friends and anytime I'm with her I'm at ease. She makes me laugh and challenges me both as a person because next to Kristie and Baron she's easily the smartest person in our grade. She is also insanely talented and the drawing she made of Wesley is proof of that.
"When will you let me see what you're always drawing in there?" I ask her as I sit across from her on the subway.
I reach for her drawing book that she's doodling on but she puts her foot out knocking my hand away before I can reach.
"No!" She growls playfully at me.
She works on it for a couple more minutes before closing it and putting it in her bag.
"My work is private unless I decide to show it." She informs me.
"Why can't I see? I thought we were friends." I challenge her.
"We are and I will show you my work one day. I promise but that day is not today." She replies.
I raise my hands in a surrendering gesture not wanting to push her too far. "Okay fine."
When we get to Manhattan we exit the subway and have to go our separate ways. I feel sad to see her leave but then I remember that I'll be seeing her tomorrow at school.
I get to the hotel in time for my shift and quickly change into my uniform before joining Gary out front.
"Hey kid." He greets me with a fist bump as soon as he sees me.
"What's up old man?" I reply absentmindedly as I put on my name tag.
"Who you calling old, boy?" He demands ruffling my hair.
I step away before he can mess them up too much.
"You." I grin laughing at him when he scowls at me.
"I'll have you know that I am in the prime of my life." He defends.
"Whatever you say you old geezer." I laugh.
He smiles and laughs as well. "You're lucky I like you."
"I like you too pops. So how are my godchildren?" I ask referring to his kids.
"You're too young to be a godfather." He replies making me frown.
"Says who?"
"Says me."
"I'm responsible enough." I argue.
"True but still you're only a kid, being a parent is too much responsibility. Enjoy being young while you can." He advises.
His words sound a little bit too familiar. "Why is everyone always telling me that?"
My friends, family, teachers, co-workers and bosses are always commenting on how I push myself too far. I already know this without them pointing it out. I just don't know how to switch it off. Believe me if I did, I'd already have done it. I would also like the luxury of goofing off and pulling pranks like boys my age but I don't know how.
"Because we can all see how uptight you are. Do you ever just let go and have fun?" Gary asks.
"Yes." I answer confidently.
"Name the last time you had genuine fun." He challenges.
"This past weekend, I went to Wesley's party." I declare proudly.
"Did you drink?"
"No."
"Smoke?"
"No. I can't, it's game season." I explain.
The coach is very strict with what we put into our bodies and has us tested for drugs randomly so nobody on the team would risk it for fear of getting kicked off.
"Then did you at least make out with a random girl?" Gary hopes with an inquisitive look.
"No, I'm not that kind of guy but I did get a lap dance." I ramble out before I can take back my words.
Why did I have to tell him that? I know for a fact that he won't let it go until I tell him everything.
"Now we're talking. Tell me more." He requests.
See what I mean. For the sake of peace I decide to give him a few details.
"It was more of a dare but it was fun. The girl in question is a classmate and we also work together at Frosty Dream." I express.
His eyes widen as he leans against the wall looking at me. "Wow that's a lot to unpack. Why am I only hearing about this girl right now?"
"Maybe because I'm a private guy and I don't tell you everything." I retort.
"Now you have and I want to know more. What's her name?" He asks.
"Kennedy."
"That's a dudes name." He chuckles.
Now I understand why Kennedy is always insecure about her name. Reactions like Gary's must make it very hard for her to like it.
"It's gender neutral." I inform him.
"If you say so. Is she cute?"
"Yes."
Kennedy is more than cute. She's by far one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen in my life. She likes to hide her face with her hair when she's blushing or embarrassed. I wish she wouldn't do that so often because I like to look at her all the time. Not in a creepy way but in an admiring way.
"Is she white or black?" Gary asks.
"Why does it matter?" I ask getting a bit defensive.
Why would he ask me something like that?
"It doesn't but I need to create an image in my head." He explains and I relax.
I thought he was about to tell me that I can't date a white girl.
"I'll do you one better. Here's a photo of her." I say retrieving my phone.
I show him a picture of Kennedy on my phone from the night of Wesley's party. It was taken over my shoulder as she was laughing at something I'd said. Her blue eyes are alight in happiness, hair glowing under the fluorescent lights.
"Definitely out of your league. How did your ugly ass score such a hottie?" Gary asks peering at my phone.
I scoff at him and put it away. "First of all dude, you're married with kids so don't call her a hottie, it makes you sound like a pedophile and two she's only a friend."
"Sorry I didn't mean anything by it and that is not a look you give to a friend. There's something more there from the way she's looking at you in the photo and the way you're talking about her." He says.
It's like the conversation with Baron all over again.
"There were or are feelings but we both decided that we are better off as friends." I explain.
"She friendzoned you." He chuckles.
Same assumption as Mr. Johnson. Is everyone in my life meeting up to talk about me behind my back?
"I wouldn't put it like that. It was a mutual agreement that we are better off a friends." I defend myself.
"Okay if you say so but still you'll never be this age again, take advantage of being young and in love, trust me there's nothing like it. Take it from someone who is married to their high school sweetheart." Gary grins kissing his wedding ring.
"You and Nell went to the same highschool?"
"Yes, it was love at first sight for me but it took two years for me to gather the courage to ask her out. Junior year, homecoming, I finally got the guts to ask her to be my date. She said yes and we've never looked back. Our life has been great together. I love her and our babies to death but those initial years when it was just the two of us are some of the best of my life. I'm glad I met her when I did. I always do regret taking so long to ask her out. We wasted so much time when we could have been going out all along." He answers.
"It's different for us, I don't have time for a relationship right now and Kennedy has her own shit going on." I express.
I would love to have a cute love story like Gary and Nell but unfortunately life doesn't work like that.
"If you say so but when given a chance, love always finds a way. Just make sure you don't live to regret it kid. Time wasted is never recovered." Gary advises.
"Should have been a motivational speaker and not a valet." I chuckle.
"I wish kid but I'm not as academically gifted as you are. Heed my words though, you'll never be this young again." He insists.
"Yes sir."
"Good, now let's get back to work. The diner rush is upon us." He demands.
"Yes sir." I agree with a mock salute.
"Stop that." He scolds frowning at me.
"Yes ..."
"Complete that and you're dead." He threatens maling me step back.
"Yes sir." I grin at him and duck before he can hit me.
I run away in time to catch the keys from one of our regulars. He gives me a pat on the back and I give him his ticket before sliding behind the wheel of his Jaguar.
By the time I'm back, Gary is busy serving another customer and we're busy for the rest of the night.
After we clock out, I pick up my delivery from Mitchell to deliver to the homeless shelter. Ines informs me that Archer called her earlier to ask about his coolers. She hasn't had time to return them and asks if I can do it. There's no way I can say no to her so even if it means getting home a little late I decide to pass by Frosty Dream to drop them off on my way home.
I expect the place to be closed when I arrive but I'm surprised when I find the lights on. I walk in thinking it's been broken into but I find Kennedy behind the counter alone.
"Berry." I call out confused.
She jumps up and tosses a pencil at me that bounces my forehead and clatters to the floor. What's with people tossing things at me today?
"Jesus Christ Isaiah, you scared me." She breathes heavily clutching her chest.
"I'm sorry. Why are you still here so late?" I ask her.
She relaxes and sags back onto the seat she was perched on.
"Cove has an early class tomorrow so I offered to close up tonight. I'm almost done though" She replies.
"Oh, that's nice of you but you should have locked the door." I remind her.
"I know, sorry. I forgot."
"It's okay, no harm done but don't forget next time."
"I won't."
I leave her for a moment to put the coolers in the back before joining her once more. She already has her coat on and is switching off the lights.
"I'll walk you to the bus stop." I offer as I close the door.
"How chivalrous of you. But you really don't have to." She declines politely.
"I think you know me better than that by now." I reply raising my eyebrow in challenge.
"Of course. How dare I stand I deny you your gentlemanly nature?" She mocks dramatically.
We both laugh and I hold out my elbow for her.
"Thank you." She smiles taking my arm.
"You're welcome. Let's go."
"Yes please."
The night is quiet since its late but we both find ourselves walking slowly. We've been together for most of the day but it's like we don't want to go our separate ways. At least that's how I feel.
I'm about to break the silence but Kennedy beats me to the punch.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"I hope I won't be pushing you too far but now that we're friends can I ask why you got your semicolon tattoo?" She asks.
My steps falter and I nearly trip making us both fall but she catches me. Of all the questions, I didn't expect her to randomly ask me that. I knew it'd be coming sooner rather than later because I'd seen her staring at it a few times since I showed it to her at the party.
She notices my hesitation and keeps talking. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me." She assures me.
She's being so kind.
"It's not that, it's just a bit dark and a part of my life I hate remembering." I explain.
Very few people in my life know the true story behind the tattoo. I'm not ashamed of it, I've moved on past that time of my life. It's just not a story I particularly enjoy telling.
"I understand." She says giving me a reassuring smile.
She looks a bit disappointed which is completely understandable but she's trying to be nice about it. I know I can trust her so I decide to go for it and tell her.
"How about this, if you tell me why you got arrested I will tell you a bit about the tattoo but not in detail." I bargain.
She stops and turns to looks at me. "Not fair."
She tries to look offended but I can see her eyes swimming with excitement that I've decided to let her in even though it's at the expense of her revealing one of her secrets to me.
"Hey you're not the only one in this friendship with secrets." I defend.
She sighs and we resume our walk.
"Okay fine." She relents making me happy.
"You go first." I entice.
"Why?"
"Just because." I shrug.
"You're insufferable." She grunts before sighing and proceeding with her tale. "I went to a party and tried weed for the first time. The police were called and everyone else but me was arrested." She explains.
My eyes widen because I definitely didn't expect that. I have no idea what I was expecting.
"Wesley was right, you are a criminal. What about the other two times?" I ask wanting to know more.
I knew there were layers to Kennedy but I didn't know they were this thick and deep. I want to know more but she stops me.
"You'll have to earn those. Your turn." She asks.
I sigh because she's caught me. "Okay a deal is a deal I guess."
My pace slows down because we're getting closer to her bus stop and she slows down with me.
"I didn't have the best childhood, life was hard and my dad was a shithead. He's not in our lives anymore but before he left he'd already done enough damage. I was messed up for a long time and in an attempt to gain back to control, I tried to end my life. Luckily my mom found me and saved me." I express shortly.
The story is much longer and much darker but that's all I'm prepared to tell her for the moment. Maybe one day when I'm ready and we're much closer I will tell her the whole story.
"Shit I'm so..." She begins but I cut her off.
"Please don't say sorry. I'm good now, it's just a reminder that there's always something to look forward to and people to live for." I say lifting up my hand to reveal the tattoo.
She smiles and rubs her thumb over it. I have to suppress a shiver from her delicate touch.
"Thank you for sharing that. I for one am really glad that you're here and I got to meet you." She smiles.
"Thank you." I reply.
It was hard telling her that but she took it well and I'm grateful for that.
"Are you still bringing Ruby to show and tell tomorrow?" She asks bringing up a lighter topic.
"Yes." I nod.
"I can't wait to meet her." She gushes.
"She'll love you." I reply.
"I hope so."
"What are you bringing?" I ask her.
She shakes her head and smiles at me. "It's a surprise."
"Come on tell me." I plead.
"You'll find out tomorrow." She insists defiantly and I know she won't budge no matter how much I push.
"Aargh fine I'll let it go but only because tomorrow is in a couple of hours." I relent.
"Wise choice. See you tomorrow Iz." She says when we see headlights in the distance.
"Goodnight Berry." I reply
I hug her goodbye just in time for her bus to stop in front of us. She steps back from my embrace leaving me feeling empty and boards her bus. I stand there until it drives off before turning the opposite direction. I need to get home and get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day.