Tuesday, February 9, 1971
Madeline
Boom!
I was awoken by a loud thundering noise. I opened my heavy eyes after being torn from my slumber, instantly seeing my dark bedroom. As I laid in bed, however, I began to hear a low rumbling emerge from the Earth below. Within just seconds, that rumbling had suddenly become monstrous, and before I could process a thing, the Earth began to shake intensely.
Instantly, the sleepiness I'd felt disappeared into thin air as I watched my bedroom shake before my eyes. As the drawers of my dresser rolled open and shut continuously, I sat up in my bed, which began to glide across the hardwood floor due to being on rollers. While the unstable floor yanked the bed side to side, a few of my dinosaur toys tumbled off of a shelf that was bolted to the wall across the room. A bunch of books also tumbled off of the shelf, and an orange clock that hung to the right of me soon fell as well.
I looked ahead as my dark bedroom continued to wobble, and my eyes landed on the heartfelt birthday card that Mike had made for me about three months ago. It hung up on the wall in a frame, but after jiggling for some moments, the picture of Mike and me as wizards came crashing down to the floor. A large crack now stretched across the glass frame, but I was thankful that the drawing was unharmed. However, my relief flew out of the window when my bedside lamp—which had a glass frame—came crashing to the floor as well. I shrieked upon hearing the glass shatter harshly in addition to the rest of the roaring sounds. It was all so much. I quickly laid back on my bed and hid under the covers.
After pulling the covers over my head, I squeezed my eyes shut. I wasn't able to hear my own thoughts because of how loud the shaking was. Within not long, however, I heard my bedroom door barge open. "Pumpkin!" my distressed dad yelled out. After peeking out from under the covers, I discovered that he was rushing towards my bed while wearing a white t-shirt and boxers. When he reached my bed, he immediately snatched me up.
As the Earth kept shaking, I clung onto him, and he hurried out of the bedroom while holding me close. Dodging paintings that were falling off of the walls of the short hallway, he hurried to stand beneath the study doorway to his bedroom. When there, he held me with his right arm and held onto the doorway with his left hand. I looked towards the staircase that led downstairs, which was just ahead of us.
I watched the framed photos that hung on the staircase wall swing side to side. "Is this an earthquake, Daddy?" I asked.
"Yep," he answered. I spotted a nearby hallway clock, and I learned that the time was six o'clock in the morning. "A big one."
As we waited for the Earth to stop shaking, I listened to glass shattering and furniture thumping in other areas of the house, contributing to the roaring noisiness. When the earthquake began to subside at last, Dad released a sigh of relief. Soon, an eerie silence filled the house. While he remained holding me, Dad then began to take careful steps towards the staircase. Because there wasn't much glass on the stairs, he was able to walk down without cutting his bare feet. Within not long, we reached the bottom of the staircase, and after walking the short distance to the front door, he set me on the floor.
"Put your shoes on," he told me. Fortunately, I was already wearing socks. "Broken glass is all over the place."
As I sat on the floor to slide my new gold Converse high-tops onto my feet, Dad stepped into the dining area to the right of us. I was quick to follow him when my shoes were on. As I stepped behind him, he grabbed a flashlight from the open drawer of a small wooden table that was resting against the wall. After switching the flashlight on, providing light at last to our dark surroundings, I noticed that the blue vase that had once been on the center of our dining table was now shattered on the floor. Several framed photos on the wall were quite crooked as well.
I followed my dad into the kitchen, which the dining area connected to. As I held onto his shirt behind him, I halted my walking when he did. "Oh, jeez..." he muttered to himself as he shined the beam of light ahead of himself.
I peeked my head out from behind him, immediately seeing that the kitchen was an utter mess. Every one of the wooden cabinet doors had swung open, and most of the dishware and kitchenware that we owned had plummeted down onto the tile floor—shattering. Our white refrigerator hadn't been able to keep shut, either, and most of the items that had been inside were now sprawled across the floor as well. I was staring at various plates and bowls, pots and pans, and food and drink, and while raising my brows, I looked up at my father as he stood beside me.
Disbelief covered his face entirely: While frozen in place, his brows were both raised and furrowed, and his lips were parted. "Well, you'll be keeping out of here for a while," he then said.
"This is nuts," I breathed. "I wonder how the living room looks."
"Better than this, I hope," he replied. "Let's go see."
I nodded, and I began to follow him back across the house to the living room. When we reached the outskirts, we were quick to see that this area had also fallen victim to the turbulence. As Dad pointed the flashlight ahead, we saw that most photos and paintings that hung on the walls were now tilted, but every one of the frames that had been sitting on the fireplace mantle were now on the floor. Perpendicular to the fireplace, the television had fallen forward off of its wooden stand, landing face-first onto the hardwood floor. Glass was surrounding the now-shattered TV, and our stereo had fallen upside down as well.
I noticed that the two lamps that lit the living room at nighttime had plummeted from their tables onto the floor as well—shattering—and numerous plants had fallen over, spilling their soil all around them. Across from the fireplace, a tall bookshelf stood against the wall, and the various books that had once been standing along the shelves were now resting in a large pile on the hardwood. Thankfully, however, the mess in this room wasn't as bad as the kitchen's.
Dad released a slow sigh, and I looked up to him. "At least this isn't as bad as the kitchen is," I said, giving him a small smile.
Though stressed, a small smile filled his lips as well. He looked down at me. "You're right," he said. "Plus, all that matters is that we're not hurt."
I nodded. "I hope no one else got hurt," I said, my eyebrows furrowing in concern. Suddenly, my heart leapt. "What about Grammie?" I asked. "We have to call her!"
He pointed the flashlight at the floor to search for shards of glass. "I have a feeling we'll have to drive over to her house, instead," he said, stepping towards the rotary telephone that had, thankfully, fallen from a wooden side table onto the navy-blue couch chair.
"Why?" I asked as he arrived at the couch chair.
He picked the black telephone up from the chair before setting it back on the table. "I doubt the phone lines are working," he said. He then picked the phone up from its base to place against his ear, but after not hearing the dial tone, he set it back down. "Yeah, the line is dead," he resumed, and he began to walk back towards me. "We're going to have to go over there." When he reached me, he set his hand on the back of my neck. "Come on, let's get dressed," he said, and we began walking to the staircase.
I looked up to him as we climbed the stairs. "Do I have to go to school?"
He shook his head. "You'll stay home today."
I smiled before falling silent for a few moments. "After we see Grammie, can I go see if Mike is alright?" I spoke up.
"Yes," he said, and my smile grew. I hoped that my best friend was safe and unharmed.
Within fifteen minutes, I was dressed in a yellow long-sleeve shirt with black and white plaid pants, and my gold Converse were back on my feet. Dad wore black trousers with a dark-blue button-up dress shirt tucked in, along with black dress shoes. He never missed a moment to dress dapper.
We soon were walking through the front door to head out, but just as I took a single step onto the porch, the Earth began to rumble beneath my feet again. I froze, and just as the rumbling turned into the Earth shaking, I was swiftly yanked backwards by my dad. Standing beside him again, I embraced him beneath the front doorway. "Again?" I asked as our surroundings started roaring again.
"It's an aftershock," Dad replied as his arms held me close to him. "We'll most likely feel a few more of these throughout the day."
It was just twenty minutes after six, so darkness was coating the Valley since the sun hadn't risen yet. As I embraced my dad, I watched parked cars on our street shutter in place in the dark while power lines swayed high up in the air. Every one of the trees that decorated the neighborhood shook as well, and a few loose branches had fallen to the pavement. Fortunately, this aftershock wasn't as big as the earlier earthquake had been, but the shaking was still strong.
When the aftershock subsided, and the Earth was still again, I pulled from my embrace with Dad. "You alright?" he asked me.
I nodded as I gave him a small smile. "Yeah."
"Alright," he said, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we began to walk onto the small porch. "Come on, I'm sure Grammie is wanting to hear from us."
After shutting and locking the front door, we approached his black car, and I ran to the backseat door. "You think she's okay?" I asked him as he began to unlock the driver's side.
"I'm sure," he said as he unlocked the car, and I opened the backseat door up. "You'll feel better after we go." I nodded, hoping that he was right, and I hopped into the backseat. He then shut the door behind me. Within not long, we were headed to Grammie's house.
* * *
About an hour later, I was sitting on the top step of my house's front porch. Leaning against the porch's white post, I looked out to the street before me. It was nearing eight in the morning, and the sun had risen in the chilly blue sky. Hayvenhurst wasn't quite as tranquil as the weather was today, however. Los Angeles had erupted into a state of chaos, and my block was one of many that had fallen victim to the craziness.
When we returned home from Grammie's, who was thankfully okay, our neighbors started gathering at our house. Dad had become a leader amidst the chaos, for he had earthquake kits and supplies at the ready for those who were in need, and he proved to be reliable because of his sense of calmness and initiative. At the moment, while I sat on the porch, I listened to the chatter of the adults from the inside of my house. Dad had left the front door wide open, signaling to everybody that anybody was welcome. Everyone was currently listening to Dad's battery-operated transistor radio, which was set to KNX 1070, a local news station that was covering all developments regarding the earthquake.
When the commercial break was over, the neighbors' chatter vanished from the air as Russ Powell, the news anchor, began speaking again. "Welcome back, folks," he spoke. "It's 7:45, and quite a morning we've had so far. A 6.5 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale struck the Los Angeles area at 6 AM this morning, and seismologists are telling us that the epicenter was in the San Gabriel mountains—just north of the San Fernando Valley. They are calling this quake the 'Sylmar earthquake,' and numerous aftershocks have since been following.
"The LA area is seeing quite the frenzy at the moment, as numerous houses, buildings, businesses, schools, et cetera have been struck hard by the Earth's movements," he informed. "The Department of Water and Power has cut power across the county to prevent explosions or fires. Keep away from damaged power lines, nonetheless. Two hospitals in Sylmar—Olive View Hospital and Veterans Administration Hospital—have both suffered severe structural damage to their foundations. Fortunately, both disaster personnel and volunteers are on the scene."
Frenzy indeed. Driving to and from Grammie's, there was chaos everywhere. Roads and sidewalks were split wide open and large tree branches split onto the pavement, creating bad traffic. Shops that lined Ventura Boulevard succumbed to a ton of damage: Storefront windows were shattered to pieces, shop signs came crashing down, and merchandise was sprawled out in all directions. We'd even gone by a broken fire hydrant as well, which shot gallons of water high up into the air. It was a mess.
"It's best to stay at home for now, folks," Russ resumed. "But if you are out on the road, steer clear of the 5 and 14 freeways. The 5 southbound to the 14 northbound overpass—otherwise known as the Newhall Pass—has collapsed, creating quite the hazardous situation for that area of Sylmar. We have yet to hear if there are any casualties.
"A pressing issue for those in the western San Fernando Valley..." he then spoke.
"Turn that up!" I heard a neighbor usher. This was a pressing issue that everybody had been waiting for an update on, and the volume of the radio was quick to become louder.
"The Lower Van Norman Dam in Granada Hills has suffered severe damage as a result of the earthquake, and if a strong enough aftershock were to occur, the water in the reservoir might flood," he said. Granada Hills was a Los Angeles neighborhood that was north of Encino. "Well, the entire reservoir holds 3.5 billion gallons of water. If the dam were to fail, then just under a hundred thousand residents would be in the path of a ten-foot tall, half-a-mile wide wall of water."
I widened my eyes. Gee, that sounds serious, I thought.
"At the moment, the Department of Water and Power continues to assess the situation," he updated. "When the DWP comes to a decision, they will hand their recommendation over to the police, and KNX will update our listeners. But as for this moment, West Valley residents, there have been no evacuation orders issued."
"Great, more waiting..." I heard a neighbor mutter.
"You know those professionals are working as fast as possible, George," my father replied. "I'm sure we'll have an answer in no time."
I hoped badly that we wouldn't have to evacuate. Mike had been home for a little over a week after having been on tour for a long two months, and we'd been making up for that lost time by spending every possible moment together. If we had to evacuate, however, then we'd most likely be separated once again. I felt my stomach twist at the thought of that.
The Jackson 5 kicked off their Second National Tour in Florida at the start of the year, but currently, the tour was on a break and the brothers wouldn't resume performing until late March. We had missed each other unlike ever before across these past two months that we'd been apart. When we had reunited at last about a week ago, we'd been ecstatic. Lots of time had passed, but our bond was stronger than ever. I'd even noticed that his afro had grown bigger, and he'd noticed that I lost two more of my baby teeth.
Being separated from him as he traveled was still very hard for me, but I learned to think about our great memories when I was feeling upset. It helped me feel better. It helped me feel happier. Dad had been right, too: I had so much to look forward to when my best friend was away, and our time together after being apart was the absolute best. I'd learned to cherish the limited time we had together as well. I was now managing his absences a bit better than I had before—though, occasionally, I still got very sad—and I was starting to adapt to his life of fame, which had been previously so unfamiliar to me.
I hadn't been able to see if Mike was alright since the earthquake struck because my dad was busy tending to the neighbors, and he didn't want me going over to the Jacksons' house alone. I continued to stare out at the street ahead of me, hoping that Mike was okay. Suddenly, I felt the porch beginning to rumble below me again. Within not long, the aftershock reached its peak, but luckily, its shaking was nowhere near as powerful as the initial earthquake had been. I wrapped my arms around the post as my environment shook, and I giggled.
I heard numerous neighbors exclaim, "Woah. Woah!" from the inside of my house as the aftershock shook their surroundings. Helen, a neighbor who had two teenage sons, then began to wail, which she'd been doing every time there was an aftershock—even if the shaking was minor. Earlier, she'd been shouting that the world was coming to an end. I laughed as she said a prayer between her dramatic wails, and her husband was quick to say, "For God's sake, Helen, you can hardly feel this one!" Dad was fast to act as their mediator, however, and he gave Helen some words of comfort.
When the shaking subsided, Dad hollered, "You alright, Pumpkin?" from inside.
I nodded. "Yeah!" I hollered back. I leaned my head against the porch post, wishing more than ever to see if my best friend himself was alright amidst this chaos. I then stood up to go bother my father once more about walking me to the Jacksons' house, but just as I did, I heard a familiar voice call my name.
"Sunny!" the voice shouted, causing my heart to jump.
Quickly, I looked ahead of myself, only to see Mike running up my driveway. Immediately, I grinned as pure relief burst within me, and I took off running towards him. "Mike!"
Within seconds, we were standing before each other. "Boy, you feel that earlier?" he asked me, his gaze wide. He wore a white and navy-blue striped shirt, brown trousers, and white sneakers.
I nodded. "Yeah, my bed was rolling around my room!" I said. "How 'bout you?"
"Psh, yeah," he said. "You should see my house. All our stuff is on the floor."
"Yeah, ours too!" I said, widening my eyes.
He let out a breath. "This is all insane," he said. "I ain't ever been through an earthquake before."
"I haven't, either, 'til now," I said.
"You won't have to go to school, then, huh?" he then asked.
"Yeah, Daddy told me I can stay home today. We heard on the radio that my school's closed for now."
"You think that your school was destroyed or somethin'? I heard lots of places are in pieces."
I shrugged. "It's true, though, 'cause when me and my dad went to my Grammie's earlier, a lot of buildings were a mess! Like, their windows were broken and their signs fell and broken pipes were shooting water way up in the air."
"Gee..." he breathed, shaking his head. "Chaos." He paused. "Wait, how's your Grammie?" he asked, concern entering his gaze. "She alright?"
I smiled. "Yeah, she is," I answered. "Her house is a mess, too, but she's not hurt." He smiled and nodded. "How's your mom and the rest of your family?" I then asked.
"Everybody's fine," he said, which I was relieved to hear. "Janet ain't like the aftershocks 'cause they loud, but if she's held by someone, she's okay." For a moment, he was silent. "Oh, sorry I couldn't come here quicker," he resumed. "I tried, but uh, my mother wasn't lettin' me out of her sight."
I smiled. "I tried to run to your house, too, but my dad also wasn't letting me out of his sight," I said, earning a chuckle from him.
"Well, I'm real happy you're okay," he returned, smiling.
Warmth filled me as my smile grew. "I'm happy you're okay," I said, my tone softer. Feeling bashful, I then averted my eyes from his. "I was worried about you."
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said, looking down at my shoes.
"I was worried about you, too," he replied. A smile plastered to my mouth, I raised my eyes to look back into his sparkling brown gaze. "Hey, you hear that we might have to evacuate?" he then resumed, widening his eyes. "A dam is about to burst open!"
I nodded quickly. "Yeah! You know, I bet if the dam does burst open, we'd be safe at our tree."
"Oh, yeah," he smiled, nodding. "I bet we'd even be safe up there if another big earthquake hit 'cause there is nothin' taking that tree down."
"Yeah," I replied, giggling. "She was planted a long time ago and I don't think she plans on ever leaving."
"Why would she? She has the best spot in the world."
I beamed. "I know right," I said, and he matched my smile.
Just then, Dad stepped onto the porch. "Alright, Pumpkin!" he announced, and Mike and I turned to look at him from the driveway. "You ready to go to—" he began, but soon paused once he saw my best friend. "Oh, hello, Michael," he said, chuckling.
"Hi," Mike returned. "I hear that your house is also a mess after the 'quake. Sorry 'bout that."
Dad smiled, stepping to the edge of the small porch. "Oh, it's okay. All that matters is that we're not hurt." He rolled up his sleeves a bit. "How is your family? Everybody okay?"
"Yeah, we're okay," Mike answered. "We have a big mess at home, too, but you're right. All that matters is that no one got hurt."
"I'm relieved to hear that," Dad nodded, but he furrowed his brows. "Where is your mother or father?"
"At home," Mike said.
Dad crossed his arms. "Does your mother know you're here?"
A small smile then filled Mike's lips. "Well..." he started. "I needed to see if Sunny was okay. I love my mother, but she was gettin' in my way."
I blushed, and Dad chuckled before trotting down the porch's three-step staircase. "That's very sweet of you. But why don't we walk you back to your house before she has a heart attack?" he proposed, walking towards us. "That's the least she needs right now."
Blushing, Mike nodded. I looked up at my dad. "Can we stay with each other, though?" I asked, not wanting to separate from him.
"I'm okay with that if Katherine is," he said. "But you two have to stay in our sights."
I smiled, and Mike said, "We will." I nodded.
"Okay," Dad returned, and he placed his hands on both of our backs. "Come on, then." Mike and I obliged, hoping that we would remain together. Our hopes, thankfully, came true.
Though Los Angeles was disordered, I got to spend the remainder of the historic day with my best friend, which I was beyond thankful for: Being with him swapped the sadness and loneliness I once felt when he was away with sheer happiness. An earthquake might've rattled our area, but nothing would keep me from savoring every moment I had with him.
* * *
Saturday, February 20, 1971
Madeline
Mike and I sat on the edge of the brick fountain that was on the brick patio in his backyard. We were facing the house, but while I stared at the two sets of white backdoors, my best friend poked his fingers into my side to make me squirm. I was very ticklish, which he knew. As his fingers pressed my most ticklish spots, my body jerked as I giggled, and he laughed. Without taking my eyes off of the doors, however, I swatted his hands from my body, and I scooted a few spots away from him.
He was quick to take a seat right beside me again, however. He raised his hands to resume tickling me, but I raised my hands as well to fight him off. Our giggles were filling the air as we struggled against each other, and I took a moment to look at him. "Aren't we supposed to be keeping watch?" I asked.
His dark eyes twinkled. "Yeah, but this is funner!" he laughed.
I erupted into giggles just as he began tickling me again, but when I looked back at the white window-paned doors, my heart soared when I saw Bill through the glass. He was inside of the kitchen. "L-Look, there's Bill!" I exclaimed in a hushed manner.
Mike swiftly turned his head to look, and upon seeing Bill—our next victim—he smiled mischievously. Then, he met my eyes again. "Alright!" he cheered, whispering. "C'mon."
We stood to our feet, and we began to wave our hands. "Bill! Bill!" we called. Bill was leaning against the kitchen counter inside, and upon hearing us through the cracked-opened doors, he looked our way. "Bill! C'mere! C'mon!" we shouted, motioning our hands towards ourselves.
Bill spoke some words to Katie before standing upright and walking towards the backyard. I bit my lip out of anticipation, and I looked up to the top of the cracked door that he was heading towards—where Mike and I had set a bucket of water. Excitement burst within me.
"Watchu two want?" Bill asked as he approached the door. Just as he began to push the cracked door open, however, the bucket of water tipped over. Instantly, the water poured down on him, drenching his head and shoulders, and the bucket then bonked the top of his head before falling to the ground. He quickly scowled as the water trickled down his skin, and Mike and I burst into a loud fit of uncontrollable laughter.
We laughed so hard that our bodies became weak, and we had to lean on each other to keep from falling over. Bill snatched his soaked tan bucket hat off of his head while Katie chuckled from the kitchen. "Damn kids," he breathed.
Mike then took hold of my arm, and he began tugging me towards the side of the patio. "We gotta get outta here, Sunny!" he laughed. As our giggles remained filling the air, we then ran towards the side of the house, not stopping until we'd reached the front of the house. We stopped running due to our budding side-aches, but when we looked at each other, we just burst out laughing all over again.
Today, Mike and I were spending time together—which we had been doing quite often during the past few weeks. The Jackson 5 was still on their break from touring, and because of the earthquake that hit the city earlier this month, my school was closed. As a result, we were seeing each other far more. It was as though the stars had aligned for us to be together.
It had been quite the chaotic two weeks. Yesterday, our power had just been turned back on since the earthquake struck, but we were still without running water. Luckily, however, we never had to evacuate: Those who lived north of Victory Boulevard had to evacuate, but fortunately, Mike and I were south of Victory. Grammie had fallen into the evacuation zone, however, and she came to stay with Dad and me, which I'd been ecstatic about. But within a few days, she was able to return home, as the reservoir was emptied of its water entirely.
I didn't know when my school would be opening back up, but I was elated to be spending so much more time with my best friend. Although the Jackson 5 had been in the studio often for their upcoming album, Maybe Tomorrow, they would finish recording by the end of the month. We hadn't been able to be with each other this much since last summer, and I was so thankful.
Some minutes later, Mike and I walked back into the house through the front doors. We beamed and giggled as we chatted about our prank on Bill, but as we neared the living room, we went quiet as a conversation caught our attention. Quickly, we hurried to the wall that divided the foyer and living room, and with Mike hovering above me, we peeked our heads to look past.
Katie stood before Jermaine. "When Hazel gets here, you must keep your bedroom door open," she instructed. Immediately, Mike and I both looked at each other with mischievous smiles, and I fought the urge to laugh.
"Mother..." the dissatisfied sixteen-year-old trailed, looking elsewhere.
"Don't you 'Mother' me," Katie replied, narrowing her brows. "Consider yourself very lucky that I'm even allowing the two of you to be in your bedroom. That door will remain open. You understand?"
Jermaine looked back down to his mother, who was quite shorter than he was. "Yes, ma'am," he answered, offering a small smile.
Katie smiled satisfiedly, and Mike and I tip-toed from the wall to the curving wooden staircase in the foyer. When we began to climb the stars, we looked at each other as mischievousness beamed in our gazes. "Alright! Erms is havin' Hazel over," he said. Hazel, the daughter of Berry Gordy, was Jermaine's girlfriend. "We have to get 'em."
I nodded. "We have to get back at him for scaring us," I said. About a week ago, Mike and I were sitting on the couch when a screaming Jermaine burst into the living room, wearing a grotesque zombie mask. While screaming at the top of our lungs, we'd dashed out of that room faster than we had ever run before.
"Oh, we will. Come on," he ushered, smiling. "We need to come up with a plan before she gets here." I nodded, and we hurried ourselves to his bedroom to compose our scheme.
About a half hour later, Jermaine and Hazel were in the former's bedroom—and Mike and I were just outside, ready to strike. While I sat against the wall on the left side of the doorframe, Mike sat against the right side. We each had two mice on our laps, having taken them from their cage, and we had prepared a bowl of grapes and seeds. After nodding our heads towards each other, we peeked our heads to look through the doorway.
Hazel laid on her back on the brown-sheeted bed, and Jermaine laid on his side beside her. As he slowly stroked her clothed thigh with his hand, he kissed her—and immediately I was consumed with disgust. I looked towards Mike, who was just as sickened as I was, and I was quick to silently gag while wrapping my hands around my neck. Instantly, he burst into a fit of silent laughter, and he had to catch himself before falling onto the floor.
After collecting ourselves, we peeked at the teens again, seeing that they remained busy with kissing. We then nodded at each other a single time. Mike picked up a few grapes from the bowl, and he tossed them into the bedroom, landing them on a few spots across the tan shag carpet. I grabbed a few grapes as well, which I then tossed a bit further. I was pleased to see two of them land on the foot of Jermaine's short bed.
We tossed seeds into the room as well, all while Jermaine and Hazel remained clueless. Soon, there was a trail of both grapes and seeds that stretched across the carpet to the foot of the bed. Content with ourselves, Mike and I smiled before unleashing the mice into the bedroom. Each of them were quick to follow the trail of snacks, and my best friend and I watched out of eager anticipation from the hallway.
"Jermaine..." Hazel mumbled in between all of their kissing.
Gross! I thought. Disgust refilled my face, my brows furrowing as my mouth parted. "Is that all they can do?" I asked Mike, whispering. "They should play hide-and-seek or something."
Mike nodded, crinkling his nose. "They nasty," he commented. We then burst into another fit of silent laughter, but the teens stayed clueless.
When we calmed back down, we peeked back into the room, and I was elated to see that two of the mice had climbed onto the bed. As Jermaine and Hazel kissed, the two mice ate grapes and seeds while sitting on the foot of the bed, and the other two mice weren't very far behind them.
Within not long at all, the other two mice had climbed up onto the bed, and the first two mice kept following the trail that we had made for them. Excitement roared in my ears as we watched the mice move closer and closer to the making-out teenagers. I bit my lip quite hard when a mouse suddenly brushed against Hazel's black stocking on her right leg, and I looked at Mike, who wore an identical expression to me.
Mike and I both widened our eyes when we watched that mouse suddenly climb onto her torso. I covered my mouth with my hands, but Hazel wasn't noticing the curious little mouse that strolled across her tummy. She wasn't noticing the other mice that scampered between her legs, either. Mike then began to laugh, risking us being caught, but without hesitation, I leapt across the doorway to jump on him. He continued to giggle as I clasped my hands over his mouth from behind. "Shhh," I hushed silently, battling my own urge to laugh. "You're gonna reveal us."
"Oh, Jermaine..." she breathed between their kissing as the mouse remained strolling across her stomach. "That feels nice." I immediately widened my eyes, as did Mike, while my hands remained covering his mouth.
"What feels nice?" Jermaine asked confusedly. I held my breath.
"You touching my waist," she answered, smiling.
Quickly, he furrowed his brows, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from making any noise. "I'm not touchin' you there," he said, "'cause my only free hand's been on your leg."
Hazel then furrowed her brows out of confusion, and both Mike and I froze as she looked towards her stomach for the first time. Instantly, her eyes landed on the little white mouse that was sitting on her tummy. She saw the black mouse that was between her legs as well, along with the two remaining mice that were in between her and Jermaine on the bed. He even jumped back upon seeing the little animals—and within not long at all, Hazel widened her eyes in absolute horror before beginning to scream at the top of her lungs.
Mike and I were no longer able to keep our laughter to ourselves, and I removed my hands from his face before falling to the floor. He immediately fell beside me. Overcome by a loud fit of giggles, we laughed so hard that tears came to our eyes. Jermaine was quick to hear us, and his head snapped in our direction. "Michael!" he then shouted as a screaming Hazel scrambled off of his bed. We were both weak from laughing, but Mike somehow jumped to his feet. Amidst our giggling, he took my hands to pull me to my feet as well. "Michael! M! I'm gon' kill you both!" Jermaine resumed. We did not hesitate to start running.
As we hurried far from Jermaine, our laughter filling our surroundings, we almost ran into Jackie, who had been walking towards Jermaine's bedroom upon hearing the screaming. He jumped out of our way, standing against the wall. Mike and I continued to run past him, ignoring Jermaine's roars as we did. "That was the best idea, Sunny!" Mike exclaimed.
Jackie laughed as we flew by. "Shit, Mike really found his clone," he said.
Thankfully, we both busted through the house's backdoors and into the safety of the backyard within seconds. Having lost all of our strength from both laughing and running, Mike and I soon collapsed onto the green grass. "Y-You saw Erms face when he saw the mice, right?" Mike giggled. "I ain't ever seen him make that face before."
"Yeah!" I said between giggles as I looked up to the clear blue sky. "Oh my gosh, that was the funniest thing I've ever seen. I don't know if Hazel is gonna want to come over again after that."
"I'm never gon' forget her reaction, either," he said. He turned his head to look at me, and I met his gaze. "You're a genius for that idea, girl. For real. It's the best prank we've ever done."
I blushed, my cheeks beginning to hurt because of how much I'd been smiling, and I looked back up to the sky. "I'm happy we could do all this," I said. "It makes me really happy."
"Yeah," he returned softly. I met his gaze again, discovering that he was also smiling. "It makes me happy when you're with me. It really is the best to be with you."
I blushed again as warmth filled my heart. I nodded. "Boy, am I thankful for that earthquake," I softly giggled.
"I think Earth might be on our side," he beamed.
Smiling, I rubbed the palms of my hands along the grass. "That's real considerate of her," I said. Then, I looked back into his sparkling brown eyes. "Speaking of Earth, you wanna go to our tree?"
His gaze brightened. "You don't even have to ask, girl," he laughed. He jumped to his feet. "C'mon, I'll race you there!"
I was quick to grin before leaping to my own feet. When he began to run across the yard, I wasted no time before chasing after him—and pure gratitude and glee drove every one of my steps.
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hii! :D long time no see. i've really been really in the mood to write this story lately so i decided to take advantage of that! i hope you all enjoyed this chapter and i hope to re-write more soon :) you know, i realized recently that i started this story like 7-8 years ago when i was 16/17 and now i'm 24 😱 that's about sunny's age in their adult years. that's insane. can't believe how much time has passed!! and the fact that this story is still dear to my heart ❤️ anyway, let me know if i still have readers because i know i'm sooo inconsistent with updating, but i think more updates will be coming because with the biopic coming out next year i've been really in the mood! i'm so ready to get to the romance 😩 thank you for reading!! xo