Good-bye, with Love

by Niquel

  “Seriously? That’s so cool. Johnny invited me too.”

  “Are you for serious? We should totally double date!”

  “This isn’t a date, we’re going as friends. He was just being nice to me since I’ve been so nice to him the past few days.”

  “Uh huh, sure, and I have platinum blonde hair.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “He likes you. Don’t scare this one off okay? He seems like a good one.”

  “What do you mean scare him off? Who have I scared off?”

  “Reggie Miller.”

  “He doesn’t count. He was nuts.” Reggie Miller had been a borderline stalker. He followed me in the hallways, and would wait for me to come out of my classes. He was a total creep. His parents had transferred him to another school and I was so happy. I definitely couldn’t put up with Stalky Magee for another year.

  “Whatever. Anyway, just be yourself and don’t scare him off.”

  “I won’t. What time are you guys gonna be there?”

  “Around six. My big sister Vanessa will be there too unfortunately.”

  “Well after that stunt you pulled last time, I don’t blame your mom for sending her with you.”

  “Hey, you’re supposed to be on my side!” She had lied to her mom and said she was staying at my house, but when her mom came over to drop off her retainer, my mom told her she wasn’t there and she got into big trouble. She’d snuck out and saw a movie at a drive-in with some older high school boys. “Well, I’ll see you there,” she said as the bell rang for second period.

  I took my seat in science class and impatiently waited for Johnny to show up. I pulled my notebook and homework assignment out and laughed. He’d drawn a silly monster face on the bottom of my notebook and I’d forgotten about it until then.

  The teacher took attendance and Johnny still hadn’t shown up. I started to worry because he usually would be there by now. I hoped nothing bad had happened to him.

  After everyone said present when they were called, Mrs. Small moved on and gave us a new chapter on plants and animals to read silently. Hector came around and collected our assignments from the night before, then came back around to give us a packet to take home for the weekend.

  Johnny came flying through the door like a bird on a mission. “Mr. Gates, how nice of you to finally join us,” the teacher said sarcastically.

  “Sorry Mrs. Small, I was at the guidance counselor’s office, here’s my note.” He pulled a crinkled piece of paper out of his jacket and placed it on her desk. The teacher read it and gave Johnny the go-ahead to take his seat.

  “Is everything okay?” I whispered.

  “Yeah. A kid was being a jerk and we had to talk it out or we were both going to get suspended.”

  “That sucks, glad you’re here though.”

  “Me too.” He moved his chair beside my desk and we caught up on the chapter together. After we finished the worksheet, he went back to the teacher’s desk to get the homework packet and came back.

  “This one’s pretty thick. I don’t think we’ll be able to stay here and work on it and get to the fair on time tonight.”

  “That’s okay. I’m sure we can work something out over the weekend. We could always meet at the Turner Library.”

  “I have no idea where that is, but okay. Don’t forget to meet me at the fair tonight at six,” he said as the bell for next period rang.

  “I won’t.”

  Some jerk approached me in the hall before class and told me to stay away from his girl. I had no idea who his girl was and told him to get out of my face. He pushed up against me and I almost lost it. I was known for my fighting back in North Carolina, but I didn’t want my past to catch up with me here.

  “Janice is my girlfriend. I saw how she looked at you yesterday.”

  “Dude, I’m not interested.” This kid was a couple inches shorter than me, with a long ponytail and a black bandana tied around his forehead.

  “I’m watching you new blood!” he yelled as he pushed me back against the locker. I raised my fist to hit him but a teacher interrupted, which saved his butt, because I was going to knock him on it.

  “Mr. Figueroa, what’s the problem here?”

  “Nothin,’ I was just messin’ around, Ms. Gilbert,” he said.

  “Both of you come with me to my office, now.”

  I followed them down the hall to a small office next to the janitor’s closet. She made us sit next to each other in front of her desk.

  “What’s your name son? I’ve never seen you around here before.”

  “Johnny.”

  “Do you have a last name Johnny?”

  “Gates.”

  “Oh okay, you’re new here right?”

  “Yes. I transferred here a few days ago.”

  “I see. Well this is not the first impression I’d like to have of you Mr. Gates. And Mr. Figueroa, you of all people should know better. You two need to apologize to one another. I don’t know what you were fighting over, but I’m going to assume it’s a girl. Be that as it may, there is no need for violence in the school hallway. Got it? If I see you two at it again, I will be forced to report it to the principal and let him handle it. Okay?”

  “Yes.” We both huffed.

  “Sorry.” We both huffed again.

  “Thank you. Here’s a note for your teachers to excuse your tardiness. And I mean it, no more rough housing!”

  Ms. Gilbert wasn’t much bigger than me, but she was intimidating: long dark hair, thick eyebrows, broad shoulders, and thick frames pushed back onto her pointy nose. I figured out she was the guidance counselor by the sign on her door.

  I barely knew this kid and now the guidance counselor was breathing down our necks. I was trying to have a fresh start there, but I could tell my reputation would follow me if I didn’t stay out of trouble.

  I ran down to Mrs. Small’s class and gave her my note. I rushed back to take my seat with Mickey and confirmed our plans for that night.

  She wore another knit hat on her head and I was starting to wonder why. None of the other girls wore hats that often and I wanted to know the story behind it, if she’d tell me.

  “Mom! Where’s my shirt?”

  “Which one, honey?”

  “The plaid, blue, and black one!”

  “It’s in the dryer, JJ. I wanted to make sure it was clean for your date tonight!” she said, handing me the warm shirt.

  “Mom it is not a date. She’s been really nice to me and I wanted to thank her.”

  “Okay lovey. Whatever you say!”

  Mom had looked so much happier since we’d moved here. The first thing she’d done was cut off all her long dark hair and bought nice clothes for her new job.

  “So tell me more about this girl, JJ.”

  For the first time ever, I couldn’t come up with an answer. “I, uh—”

  “Oh, she must be important. You’re never speechless!”

  “She is Mom. I just don’t know why.”

  “You may never know why, JJ. Sometimes the universe is funny like that. It draws you to a complete stranger that you’d never think you’d be paired with. Sometimes it works out for the best, sometimes it doesn’t, but I can see her presence is making you happy and that makes me happy.” She smiled and kissed me on the forehead.

  “Aw Mom, I hate it when you get all girly on me!” I shouted as I ran back upstairs to my room.

  I tossed my shirt over my shoulders and quickly buttoned each button except for the top two. My under shirt was peeking out from underneath and I tossed my leather jacket back over my shoulders. I grabbed some gel and ran my fingers through the front of my hair to keep it still and somewhat out of my eyes.

  “JJ are you ready? It’s five thirty!” Mom yelled from down the stairs.

  “I’ll be down in a minute Mom!” I looked at myself in the mirror once more before I opened the door and went downstairs. Mom was staring at me with a huge smile on her face. I roll
ed my eyes before I got to the bottom step. “I know, I know, what a handsome young man I am.”

  “No. I wasn’t going to say that. I was going to tell you how proud I am of you. I hope you have a good time. Will you need a ride home? I don’t have to be there to monitor you, do I?”

  “No, I’m sure someone else will be there to watch us. I’ll call you before we’re ready to leave.”

  On the ride over there, my stomach started to flip. The sun was starting to set and I could see the bright lights from the fair straight ahead. The Ferris wheel was the first ride I saw and I knew that would be the perfect place to talk.

  “Mom!”

  “Yes, honey?”

  “I don’t know what to wear. Should I wear this or that?” I held up a long purple and white high-low shirt with butterflies on it and a multicolored striped long-sleeved shirt. Either way I was wearing my blue skinny jeans and flat shoes.

  “I like the purple and white one. Do you have a hat to match it?”

  Searching through my closet, I found a bag on the floor full of the last batch of hats my aunt had made for me before she died. Hats flew all over the floor until I found the one I was looking for: a white hat with a purple butterfly on it. Perfect.

  Mom put two huge twists in my hair on either side of my head and pinned the ends up. She put my hat on behind the tops of the twists and pinned it down. “Don’t want this thing flying off.” She laughed as she patted my head to make sure it was secure.

  After I finished getting ready, Mom handed me a small box. “What’s this?”

  “Open it.” Inside was a charm bracelet with butterflies on it. Yes, I have an obsession with butterflies. “It’s from your Aunt Carol. It was supposed to be for your birthday, but I think it’ll be perfect for tonight.”

  My eyes started to water and I felt a tear slide down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away and asked Mom to put the bracelet on. “You look amazing honey. I’m so excited for your first date!”

  “Mom, it’s not a date. We’re just friends hanging out on a Friday night, gosh!”

  “Okay, whatever you say.” She winked at me. “Anyway, let’s go! It’s after five thirty! Don’t want you to be late.”

  On the ride over I felt butterflies in my stomach. I was starting to freak out. We’re just friends, why am I feeling like this? Keep calm Mickey, it’s not a date. It’s just . . . friends hanging out. Right?

  I looked down at my Elvis watch and it was six o’clock. My hands were getting sweaty and I couldn’t sit still as I waited for Mickey to show up.

  “She’ll be here JJ, relax a little.” Mom and I were waiting in her silver Mazda by the entrance so we could catch her going in. We’d agreed to meet at the ticket counter, but Mom told me to wait in the car just in case. A few minutes later a black van pulled up on the other side of the entrance and I saw someone slip out of the front seat. As soon as I saw that hat I knew it was her.

  “Mom that’s her. I’ve got to get out of here.”

  “Wait, JJ.”

  “What?”

  “Here, take this.” Mom handed me two crisp twenty-dollar bills. “Show that girl a good time!”

  “Thanks, Mom,” I said as I shut the car door. I tried to walk slowly to the entrance; I didn’t want to look too anxious. She was standing right by the ticket counter and she looked even better that day than the first time I met her. Our eyes met and we both smiled as I made my way over to her.

  “Hey, you look nice.”

  “You too,” she said, reaching her hand out. We shook hands and her skin was so soft.

  “Where would you like to go first?”

  “Um, let’s play basketball. I’d love to win that stuffed purple hippo over there.”

  “Let’s do it. Are you any good?”

  “Guess you’ll have to wait and find out!” she said, running ahead and beating me to the game.

  “Hello and welcome to the basketball toss. The first one to score ten points wins any animal of their choosing from this rack. For the grand prize, this huge stuffed hippo on my right, you have to make it to twenty before the buzzer goes off. You have twenty-five seconds.”

  “How much?” I asked.

  “Three dollars each.” I pulled out a couple of ones that were stuffed in my pocket and handed them to the man. “Good luck.”

  “You’re going down, Johnny!” she said with an intense glare.

  “We’ll see butterfly princess!”

  The bell rang and the baskets moved back and forth in front of us. I grabbed the ball from the table and sunk a three-pointer then two two-pointers. “That’s seven princess, three more points and I win.”

  “How cute.” She hit a three-pointer before the buzzer went off.

  “The winner! The pretty lady with the butterfly hat.”

  What the? I’d been so caught up with trying to score ten points that I hadn’t noticed her score: she’d scored twenty on the first round.

  “I’ll take the purple hippo please, but can I ask a favor?”

  “Sure.”

  “Can I come back for it? We just got here and I’d like to play some more games.”

  “For you, absolutely. What’s your name dear? I’ll put it in a bag and put your name on the tag.”

  “Michelle. Thank you!”

  The girl had skills, and I was impressed, but she wasn’t going to beat me like that ever again. I was being nice and she’d gotten lucky. The next time it would be game on.

  “I have to use the bathroom.”

  “Okay, there’s one over there by the fried dough cart,” I pointed out.

  On our way over, I recognized a few people from our school.

  “Mickey!”

  “Hey Sarah! I have to go to the bathroom. Come with?”

  Why do I feel like this was a set up? Oh well, I’ll get us to be alone again somehow.

  After I used the bathroom, I was starting to feel a little warm and sick to my stomach. I washed my hands and splashed a little cold water on my face.

  “You okay, Mick?”

  “I’m not sure. Are you hot? I feel like it’s gotten so warm in here.”

  “No I’m okay. Let’s go get you an icee and some fried dough. Maybe that’ll help you feel better. Did you take your medicine today?”

  “No, but I have it with me just in case. I’m glad you’re here. Johnny doesn’t know about me being sick yet. I was gonna tell him later.”

  “Oh. You sure you want him to know?”

  “Yeah. I feel like he should know. I mean, why not?”

  “You don’t know much about him, but I could see the disappointment on his face when he saw me and Jared walk over to you guys.”

  “Me too, but it’ll be fine. So how’s Jared?”

  “Honestly, he’s kind of boring. He’s not anything like I imagined. I’m hoping his nerves have gotten the best of him and maybe he’ll open up later! Or else I’m leaving.”

  “That’s a bummer. I’m sure he’ll come around.”

  “Hey teeny boppers,” Sarah’s older sister Vanessa interrupted.

  “Hey Vanessa,” we said together. Vanessa looked exactly like Sarah, just more developed, and her hair was brown instead of red. She had a nose ring in and wore tons of rings on her fingers. She was a lot taller than us too, especially with her thick boots on.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t breathe down your necks, but I will keep an eye on you all. Mickey I saw your mom before she left and I told her I’d keep a close eye on you.”

  “Thanks?”

  We walked out of the bathroom and Johnny and Jared were both cracking up. “Looks like you two are hitting it off!” Sarah said.

  “Yeah, you could say that. His stepbrother James went to my old school in North Carolina.”

  “Oh, that’s cool!”

  “So where to lovely ladies?” Jared said with his deep voice.

  “And who are these two gentlemen?” Vanessa interrupted again.

  “Jared and Johnny,” Sarah sighed.


  “Okay, well you guys better keep your hands to yourself, got it?”

  “Got it,” they said together.

  “We need to grab something to eat and drink real quick. I’m starving!” Sarah said, trying to change the subject.

  I grabbed Johnny’s arm and Sarah grabbed Jared’s, and we all walked over to the fried dough cart with Vanessa right behind us.

  “Can I have four, I mean five fried doughs?” Jared asked.

  “Hey you didn’t have to do that man,” Johnny said.

  “It’s okay bro. You can get the drinks!”

  “What would you guys like to drink?” Johnny asked.

  “Sarah and I would like a mixed icee.”

  “All right, and you big man?”

  “I’ll have a blue razz, thanks.”

  “I’m good, thank you though,” Vanessa said.

  “Cool, I’ll be right back.”

  I could sense the slight tension in the air between the two guys. They both wanted to be in control. Johnny went over to the next cart and I followed him. “Hey,” I said, placing my arm around his shoulder.

  “Hey.”

  “Figured you could use some help.”

  “I think I could manage, but I’m glad you came anyway,” he said with a big smile on his face.

  As we stood in line things started to get a little hazy and I felt my body falling. “Oh crap, Mickey are you okay?” Johnny said, catching me in midair.

  “Yeah, I lost my balance for a sec. I need to eat something sweet and then I’ll be okay,” I said, staring into his eyes.

  Crap, I don’t want him to see me like this yet. Please body, let me enjoy this one night out.

  Holy crap! I didn’t expect that. Lucky for her my reflexes were quick or she would have eaten the cement. I felt like she was hiding something from me. She seemed to be okay, but deep down I felt something was wrong, and maybe that’s why her friend had suddenly showed up there with us.

  I grabbed the drinks and made sure she was holding onto my arm firmly. I didn’t want to risk her almost falling again.

  We rejoined Jared, Sarah, and Vanessa, and I could tell by the look on Sarah’s face that something was up. “Mick, are you all right? You don’t look so good.”