After Ari unstuck me from his chest, he finished stripping down to his multi-colored boxers and went off to take a shower.
I took the chance to sit on his bed and look around the big blue, black, dark brown, and silver room that could easily fit four of my dorm rooms in it.
He had old high school football and basketball trophies and medals on a few shelves, a couple of pictures of he and Blaire, a few pictures of he and Charlie, even one of he and Remi. Then there was an acoustic guitar, plenty of books, both educational and non educational, and other things that interested him spread throughout the room.
I didn't see, however, anything of me.
I know, I know, there doesn't have to be anything in there that solidifies our friendship, but my room back at home definitely has stuff involving he and I. Not gonna lie, that stung a little.
I scoot myself to the head of his bed and continue to look around the room until he comes back out of the bathroom in black sweatpants and an old grey Blues Brothers t-shirt.
Ari glances at me like he can sense something in the air has changed since he went into the bathroom.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
I turned my attention to him and gave him a fake confused look, and shrug my shoulders.
"Who said something was wrong?"
"Me. I just did. That's why I asked what was wrong."
Gosh darnit Becky. He's good.
"Nothing is wrong, Ari."
"Nova, the air is thick and ripe with the pungent smell of something being wrong. Tell me what it is or there will be consequences."
"Consequences? Tha fuc? What are you gonna do Ari? Tell your mom you aren't getting your way?"
"No, I'm just gonna do this."
Ari walks over to me and I wait for him in anticipation, wondering curiously what the heck his plan is.
As he gets closer and closer, I start to become creeped out. Wtf is he doing?
He sits next to me and smiles. He sits that way for a few seconds and then pushes me over onto the bed and starts to tickle me.
This idiot.
I am extremely ticklish in certain spots and he knows each and every one of them.
I hate him.
I laugh uncontrollably and attempt to roll away from him to free myself from the unbearable torture, but he uses his strength to hold me in place.
"Stop! Please Ari, I have asthma!" I say pretending to wheeze.
He laughs at my lie, "No you don't! And I'll stop if you tell me what's bothering you."
"Nothing is wrong!" I barely get out before he continues.
I barely have any energy left and my stomach is in so much enjoyable pain from laughing so hard, but I am able to muster enough energy to kick Ari in his "goods" to get him away from me.
"AAAHHH!!" he yelps and doubles over in pain.
"Oh, come on, I didn't kick you that hard!" I say laughing and sitting up to see him continue to be doubled over, "Ari?" I say this time concerned.
I leave my spot on the bed and step towards him cautiously to make sure I hadn't actually done any real damage to him and his future children when he suddenly pops up and picks me up, softly tossing me back onto the bed and continuing to tickle me.
"NOOO!! OK, OK! I GIVE! UNCLE, UNCLE! AUNTIE, COUSIN, STEP- DADDY, BABY MOMMA, THIRD COUSIN ONCE REMOVED THEN BROUGHT BACK!!" I yelled.
"What??" Ari says laughing at me.
"You liar! You made me believe I really hurt you!"
"Girl please, I am made of steel."
I laugh and roll my eyes. Steel, sure he is.
"Now, please tell me what's eating at you," he says seriously.
Darnit, I was hoping that in all that tomfoolery he would have forgotten.
"Fine. I just happened to notice that there is nothing of me in your room. I know, it's a ridiculous thing to be upset about, but it's just something that I am noticing now. And now that I am saying it out loud, I sound stupid so please disregard me and my tantrum."
Ari smiles at me and chuckles a little.
"Nova, you're right, you do sound ridiculous. But, it's a valid thing to be upset about. We're best friends and most best friends have at least one item in their room to remind them of the other person. Most of my stuff of you is in my campus apartment in California. It's kind of like I took you with me."
Huh?
Now I really feel like a dummy.
"Ah. Uh. Sorry."
"Don't be. And I do have something of you in here. Walk over there to the window and sit down on the couch."
I do as told and walk over to his window that overlooks the large entertainment ready backyard and seat myself on the worn, but comfortable couch.
"Ari what am I doing just sitting on the couch?" I ask confused.
"Patience grasshopper. Reach over the back of the couch and pick up that book that is on the window ledge."
Once again doing as instructed, I reach over and pick up the thick book that is waiting for someone to pick it back up and continue reading.
Glancing at the cover, I notice that it's my favorite book!
"Hey! Romiette and Julio! This is one of my favorite books!" I open the book to the marked page and pull out the Elmer's glue crayon box made book marker, "Hey! I made this for you!"
I was so excited to see the book and marker. I thought he forgot about these things.
"Yeah, I like to sit over there and read and occasionally I'll read R&J. It's a really good book and I see why it's one of your favorites. I've read it twice now and was working on it a third time the last time I was here. And that's the only book marker I use now," he says laughing.
"I didn't realize you remembered it was one of my favorites. I didn't even realize you owned a copy."
"Yeah! Actually, "owned" it the wrong term."
"What?"
*2012: Senior Year*
It was such a boring day at school. We had a half day that was supposed to be a study day because the seniors had college prep exams starting the next day. No one wanted to be at school, but there was no way Ari and I were going to go home and risk one of our parents coming home and seeing us there. So, we stayed in the library in my favorite little spot that I liked to hideout in.
Correction, our favorite spot. Yep, since that first time in the library, this quiet hidden nook became both of ours. We came here from time to time to either skip third period together, or just to come hangout after school. This time was no different.
"What do you think that guy's story is?" Ari asks me. He was referring to a boy who currently had his nose in a book at a table two away from us.
"Hmm," I say contemplating, "Ok, so his name is Bernard."
"Bernard??"
"Bernard. Bernard is smart as a whip, never understood that phrase by the way, anyway, he's smart and he does everything to please his parents, but secretly he can't wait to graduate and leave this state to go to New York to join a male erotic dance company.
He wants to be the next Channing Tatum in Magic Mike. He loves to shake his hips and gyrate that booty to the beat and wants to make the ladies scream. He already knows his stage name too. It's..... Nasty Nard."
"NASTY NARD!?" Ari laughs out loud causing people to turn and glare at him.
We laugh together for a while and finally gather ourselves.
"How do you come up with this stuff?" He asks while still laughing.
"I read a lot of books and get creative," I say laughing back.
"What's your top two favorite books?" He asks.
"The Christopher Killer and Romiette and Julio!"
Ari stares at me blankly.
"Those are two very different sounding books."
"One is a crime mystery and the other is a take on Romeo and Juliet except Romiette is a black girl and Julio is a Hispanic dude. Both great books."
"Hmm, I'll have to see if the library has the Romiette and Julio one."
I agree and go back to what I'm doing: subconsciously fiddling with my self-made bookmark.
"Is that one of those old glue book markers that kids would make on their crayon and pencil boxes?!" Ari says taking notice.
"Yeah it is," I say laughing, "I found one of my brother's old crayon boxes and colored it and made one."
"Oh man! I totally want one of these!"
"I can make you one if you want one."
"Please do. I'd love to relive my childhood of these. I remember when kids used to make these to see who could make the best ones."
"Coloring them and putting the glue on and leaving them inside of the desks overnight to come back the next day to see that it was dry."
"And then the satisfying feeling of peeling it off the box and seeing your artwork. Fuck yeah dude! Man, things were so simple back then."
"I know right."
*Back to the present*
"I found it in the library," Ari says coming over to me and taking the book from my hands, flipping to the first page, "I checked it out and never returned it. I would always forget. I also didn't really like that librarian and just didn't care to return it."
Ari shows me the first page of the book and I see the name of our high school and a slip of printout paper with the expected return date on it. I couldn't help but laugh loudly at his "rebellion".
"You know I still make these little book markers occasionally," I say to him.
"Seriously??"
"Oh yeah, they're pretty popular on my campus. $10 for one. I'm the book marker plug," I say laughing and joking with him.
Ari sighs, rolls his eyes, and throws one of his pillows at my face before exiting his room, leaving me to continue my laughing fit.
Sooo, my friends and I used to actually make those glue book markers back in elementary school. 😂 Wasting glue and making those used to be the shit.
The Christopher Killer and also Romiette and Julio (neither on wattpad) are actual books and are two of my favorites. You should check them out!