Good-bye, with Love

by Niquel

  “Yeah, I just need to eat something. I think my blood sugar is low or something.”

  “Let’s all sit over there. There’s a little picnic area,” I said to the group.

  “Good idea,” Jared added.

  While I took a bite out of the hot dough, I couldn’t keep my eyes off Mickey. She did start to look better as she ate, but I still felt like there was something she wasn’t telling me.

  “So what ride do we all want to get on next?” I asked.

  “Let’s get on the pirate ship thingy!” Sarah yelled.

  “Sounds good.”

  We all threw our trash away and headed for the pirate ship. Sarah snatched Mickey’s arm and they ran to get into line, leaving me and Jared together again. Vanessa stayed on the sidelines.

  “So Jared, are you two going out?”

  “Nah, I just invited her out. She looks a lot better this year and I think she could be my new arm candy.”

  “Ah, I see.”

  “What about you and Mickey?”

  “We’re out as friends.”

  “Sure you are.” He nudged me in the side with his elbow.

  “Seriously, bro. I barely know her. I just met her earlier this week and she’s been cool to me, so I wanted to repay her by taking her out.”

  We caught up with the girls and I was happy because I was so done talking to that clown.

  The line for the ship was pretty much dead and we were next in line. The ship was huge. There was a mermaid on the front of the boat with fake wooden paneling on it, a short crow’s nest with a fake pirate in the middle holding a telescope, and a huge pirate’s head at the top of the metal support beams. A patch covered his eye and above him it said “Pirate’s Booty” in bright lights.

  Sarah and Mickey sat next to each other and I sat as far away from Jared as I possibly could. The ride assistant walked to my row and pulled the metal bar down across my lap so I wouldn’t slip out and then did the others in front of me. I just wanted this ride to start and get it over with. This was my least favorite ride in the whole place, but if it made her happy, I didn’t want to be a jerk.

  The assistant gave the operator the thumbs up and then the ride started to move. It calmly moved back and forth, climbing higher and higher and catching in the middle to pick up speed. It went so high that I could see the entire fair from it. There was a bar in the middle of the boat and its flashing lights were changing colors. I felt like I was weightless for a while and could feel my body slightly lift out of the seat as we went as high as the metal beams would go. The girls were screaming and raising their hands in the air and Jared looked just as bored as I did. I can’t wait for this to be over.

  Before the ride was over I saw the Ferris wheel again, and I wanted to find some way to get Mickey over there without her friend and her friend’s older sister tagging along.

  The ride stopped and the bars released from our laps. I slid out and waited for all of them at the exit.

  “Where would you guys like to go now?” Jared asked.

  “I’d like to get on the Ferris wheel.” Jared looked at me and I thought he caught my drift.

  “That’s cool. Hey Sarah, let’s go check out the bumper cars.”

  “Are you sure? Mick—”

  “I’m fine, Sarah,” she interrupted. “We’ll meet back up in about an hour by the tilt-a-whirl.”

  Finally, we’re alone.

  As much as I loved my friend and her sister, I could see Johnny was getting kind of upset. I was glad he suggested the Ferris wheel because it was one of my favorite rides. I used to get on it all the time as a kid and I was so happy he wanted to get on it. You could see the whole park from the top of it and it kind of felt romantic to me.

  “Let’s go!” I said, eagerly yanking on his arm to get in line for the ride.

  It was one of the biggest wheels I’d seen in a long time. There had to be about forty seats on it or more and each were color-coded differently with flashing lights that ran from the middle of the ride in an X shape up to each of the bucket seats. I felt like we would definitely be on it for a while and that was okay with me; I could get to know more about him while we were on it.

  It was the only ride we didn’t need to pay or have a ticket handy for and I always liked that. “Step right up,” the assistant said.

  We climbed into a red bucket seat with a blue umbrella above us. The assistant made sure we were safely seated and then closed the little door and locked it. There were two metal poles that ran around the top of the seats and stopped before the door.

  “This is one of my favorite rides, Johnny.”

  “Yeah? Mine too.”

  I jumped a little as the ride started to move because I’d been too busy staring at Johnny. We slowly started to rise into the air and he slid over next to me. He pointed at the parking lot and the cars were starting to look smaller the higher we went.

  “So, Mickey, tell me more about you.”

  “What would you like to know?”

  “I don’t know, what’s your favorite thing to do for fun? Please say video games or I’m jumping!”

  “What? You’d better not!” I said, slapping him on the arm.

  “I’m just kidding!” he said, slightly turning his head. I didn’t know what changed between us then, but I was starting to like being around him a lot. I felt like I could trust him. I felt safe. “I’d never do something that stupid.”

  “I love to write.” I paused to see how he’d react. “And play video games.”

  “What’s your favorite thing to write?”

  “Random stories and junk in my diary.”

  “Really? I’d love to check them out sometime.”

  “No way! Those are private! My mom hasn’t even read them.”

  “Oh. Well maybe you can write one that doesn’t go in your diary and let me read it then?”

  “Maybe. So tell me something embarrassing about you, Johnny.”

  “Hmm. My middle name is Jacob.”

  “Okay, what’s wrong with that?”

  “Well, when I was younger, in preschool, we used to sing this song called John Jacob . . . You know the rest.”

  I started humming along and then started cracking up. “My middle name is Rose, but I don’t have a funny story about it.”

  “Boo. You’ve got to come up with something, it’s only fair!”

  “When I was younger, my dad would dress me up like his favorite baseball player, Wade Boggs. He would put a fake mustache on me and everything. I’m sure the neighbors got a kick out of it.”

  “Wow, that beats my story!” Tears fell from his eyes from laughing so hard.

  “You’re such a jerk, Johnny!” I hit him again, this time in the chest.

  I felt like we were on the ride for hours. I looked down and we were nearing the ground again. “Johnny I have to tell you something.”

  “What is it?”

  “This isn’t easy for me to tell you, but there’s a reason I almost passed out earlier.”

  “What is it? You can tell me anything, I won’t judge you.”

  “I . . . have . . . cancer.”

  “Wow. Are you getting treated for it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Is that why you’ve been wearing hats? Have you started losing your hair?”

  “No, but if I do I don’t want to randomly start showing up to school with them on my head, so I wanted to make it my thing now.”

  He placed his arm around me and pulled me close to his chest. “Well no matter what you’re going through, I’ll be here for you, and that’s a promise.”

  Johnny was definitely different from any other boy my age. He almost seemed like he was too old to be in the eighth grade, but I was happy he was there. “Thanks, I appreciate that a lot.”

  The ride stopped in front of the assistant and he opened the door. “Watch your step,” he said as he assisted us out of the rocking seat.

  “Thanks.”

  “What would you like to do now?
”

  “I’d like to go some place a little quieter. My head’s starting to hurt.”

  “Okay. I know the perfect spot.”

  I followed Johnny through the noisy crowds, up a small hill to a small quiet area. We were still inside the fair grounds, but the rides and people weren’t as loud there. I couldn’t stand what the cancer was doing to me. I’d felt fine when I woke up that morning and hadn’t felt sick all day. Stupid body. You’re turning on me!

  We sat down beside each other on a small metal bench. Johnny placed his arm around me, and I cuddled into his chest and closed my eyes for a second.

  “Mickey, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “You’ve been asleep for a half hour.”

  As she put her head on my chest, she got real quiet. I figured she was just looking at the rides, until I looked down at her face and saw her eyes were closed. I decided not to bug her since I knew she wasn’t feeling well. There was something about this girl that was special. I actually wanted to be around her and felt like she felt the same.

  I looked down at my watch and thirty minutes had passed. I knew her friend was probably worried sick, so I woke her up.

  “If you’re feeling up to it, let’s go back and find Sarah and Jared.”

  “Okay, but Johnny,” she said, looking up at me with her eyes sparkling.

  “Yes?”

  She kissed me on the cheek. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Not being a jerk. Most guys would have probably bailed on me once I mentioned the ‘C’ word.”

  “Well I’m not most guys. My grandmother died from it and I know how hard it can be, so you have my full support,” I said, kissing her on the forehead.

  “Thank you.” Her voice cracked because she was trying not to cry.

  “Don’t cry.”

  “It’s just, we’ve only known each other a few days, but I feel like I’ve known you my whole life. I feel like you’ve always been there, but I’m just now finding you. I sound crazy, right?”

  “No, you don’t. I told my mom you were special and I’m finding out why right now.” She looked up at me again with her eyes full of tears and smiled.

  “Let’s go and meet up with them before they send a search party for us,” she said.

  “Good idea.”

  She grabbed my hand and we walked back down the hill.

  I couldn’t describe what I was feeling as we made our way back to the tilt-a-whirl to meet Sarah, Jared, and Vanessa. I felt so relieved and happy that he was so accepting of me and my sickness. I’d thought for sure he’d run away and I’d never see him again.

  I could see Sarah waving her hand in front of the ride and she looked like she needed to be rescued. Jared wasn’t standing next to her as we caught up to them and Vanessa was nowhere to be found.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Come with me to the bathroom,” she said, grabbing my hand.

  “Be right back, Johnny.”

  She pulled me behind a tree near the bathroom so she could talk to me without seeing Jared’s face. Jared was very cute. He was tall with spiked dark brown hair and green eyes, and his voice was so deep. He was in really good shape, too.

  “Spill it, Sarah.”

  “He’s awful! We had a good time with the bumpers cars, then he wanted to take a walk by the water, which was fine, but then he tried to kiss me.”

  “Wow, without saying anything? Did your sister see?”

  “No, but I wanted to puke. Vanessa was too busy talking on the phone with her boyfriend Derrick to notice.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “I’m ready to go home to be honest with you. Anyway, enough about me, how is Johnny treating you?”

  “Fine.”

  “Just ‘fine’? I don’t believe it.”

  “It was more than fine, but I didn’t want to rub it in.”

  “Did you kiss him?”

  “On the cheek. I’m not ready for all that real lovey dovey stuff yet. I fell asleep on his chest before we came here. My head was starting to hurt and then I closed my eyes and passed out. He let me sleep for a bit before waking me up.”

  “Aw, that’s so sweet! Did you tell him about . . . you know?”

  “Yeah, he knows, and it didn’t change a thing. I cried and he didn’t run away.”

  “Aw, you two are meant for one another! I’m so excited. I’m gonna call my mom to pick me up after this ride. Do you need to call yours?”

  “Not yet, thanks though. She gave me her spare phone to call her if I need her.”

  I felt bad for Sarah. Jared had turned out to be a total jerk and she deserved so much better than that. She was such a kind person, so it sucked that all he wanted was to kiss her without getting to know her. It made me sad that he didn’t live up to her expectations.

  We met the guys back at the ride after she called her mom and all got in the same cart. It could fit four or more people, and I knew with the two guys with us we could spin a lot faster than we would if it were just the two of us.

  We rode it twice and then Sarah made an excuse to leave. Jared and Vanessa followed her and it was just me and Johnny alone again.

  “So what now?”

  “I’m hungry again. That fried dough wasn’t enough. Let’s go get some chicken and fries. Then I want my rematch for the hippo!”

  “You’re on!”

  Age: Twelve

  Diary Entry: Magical

  Dear Diary,

  I went to the fair with Johnny last night and OMG it was magical. He was so nice. He did basically anything I wanted and I never felt uncomfortable around him. Sarah didn’t have that great of a night and I felt bad for her. That guy she’s always talked about named Jared was such a pig. I guess it wasn’t hard to believe for a fourteen-year-old basketball star. Her older sister was also breathing down her neck, which I know she wasn’t too happy about.

  Anyway, back to Johnny. He looked so nice last night. He wore this nice black and blue plaid shirt under his leather jacket, and his hair was swept across the top of his eyebrows. I swear it never moved. He must have used some heavy duty gel. He smelled amazing too.

  The sucky part of the night was that I kept feeling nauseous and weak, but he stayed with me the entire time! He let me catch a nap on his chest. Most people would have freaked out, but he didn’t. I learned so much about him too. He’s thirteen and his birthday is before mine. He lives with just his mom, and he didn’t mention much about his dad, but I’m sure I’ll get it out.

  Oh, I also told him about my cancer and it didn’t scare him off. He told me that his grandma passed away from it and that he’d fully support me. What a nice guy. I can’t wait to see him at the library to do our homework today! I could totally be around him every day if it didn’t make me seem creepy. I felt comfortable with him and I hope that never changes. I hope he never leaves.

  Later!

  Mickey

  P.S. I totally kept my hippo. He couldn’t beat me at basketball even on my worst day! ;)

  There were not enough words to describe what happened between me and Mickey that night. Everything went great and fell right into place. I learned a few things about her. She was twelve and lived with both parents. She was sick with cancer, but it wasn’t a big deal. I could tell she’d beat it. Don’t ask me how, I just knew. When my grandma was diagnosed with it, I could feel she was giving up, but Mickey wasn’t. Mickey was the strongest twelve-year-old I knew.

  We were going to meet up at the library so we could do our packet for our science class together.

  “So did you have a good time last night?” Mom said, interrupting my thoughts. “You were smiling so hard I thought your cheeks were going to explode.”

  “Haha, Mom. I had a great time. Her friends met up with us and we had a decent time. I didn’t really care for the guy that was with us. He gave off a jerkish vibe.”

  “I see. So you wanted to be the only alpha male, right?” />
  “Righ—wait a minute. I just wanted to be alone with her. I wanted to know more about her.”

  “Aww, JJ. I’ve never seen this side of you before.”

  “I’ve never felt like this before.”

  “Well, did you get to learn more about her?”

  “I did. More than I could’ve imagined.”

  “Are you seeing her again today?”

  “Yeah. We got this thick packet from our science teacher and she’s going to share her book with me again.”

  “Oh that’s right. Do you need the money so you can order them on Monday?” she asked, reaching into her purse.

  “I, uh—I guess?”

  “We’ll wait on it honey.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  I didn’t know what I was hoping for, but I knew I wanted any excuse I could get to be near her.

  The Turner Library was a short walk from my house. I told Mom I didn’t need a ride and that I’d be back before lunch. “Bye, Mom!” I yelled as I went down the wooden steps to the front door. “I’ll be back in time for our lunch date!”

  I opened the front door and a cool breeze blew in my face. The air felt so good against my warm skin. I decided to wear my hair down and pin my hat down to my head, of course. As I walked through my yard, most of the green grass was starting to turn brown. Orange and red leaves were scattered around, and the wind blew my hair all over the place. I’ve got to fix this before Johnny sees me.

  As I made my way up the cement steps and through the big white doors with huge windows, I saw Johnny inside. He was distracted by the librarian and I quickly ran to the bathroom to fix my windblown hair.

  I grabbed my brush out of my bag and quickly untangled my ends before going to meet up with him.

  “Hey, Mickey. I didn’t see you come in.”

  “I know. You were busy with the librarian.”

  “I wanted to apply for a library card. I know I may not look it, but I love to read.”

  “That’s awesome! I love to read too.”