The Maple Effect

by Madeleine Cull

  “Come on, help me look.”

  “Mm’kay.”

  June was talking to Angie, and judging by the closeness of their heads and the hushed sound of their voices, Aaron assumed it was a more private matter. He hung back, sitting in the opening of their tent with mild curiosity. He was watching the stars again; getting lost in all their splendor and glory. Trying to make up for the time he’d lost over the last ten or so years.

  He wished Arco could be here to see him. His cousin would be ecstatic when he found out Aaron had managed to shake the fear. Finally, after so many years of hoping and wondering if things could change, it had happened. And while Aaron still averted his eyes to the deepest areas of forest surrounding the lake, he found the chaos of teenagers to be a kind of peace he’d never known existed. The loudness of it all, the energy, the…sense of belonging. All this time he’d wondered what kind of pull this mountain had over June; why he adored it so much, why he ran away from home to be here, why it seemed to flow as freely through his blood as the wind did through the trees. Aaron hadn’t understood until now.

  It was surreal; how easy it became to find yourself when surrounded by the right people.

  Aaron looked down the shore toward a huge standing tent that was full of buttery light. His eyes landed on a girl sitting at the entrance to it, much the same way he was. He had to squint to see the details of her face but recognized the ponytail and slender shoulders of Ellie, the youngest member of the girl entity. She was alone.

  Without a thought, Aaron pushed himself up and made his way over to her. Sand stuck to him in all kinds of uncomfortable places. He took a moment to brush himself off before clearing his throat and meeting her eyes.

  She looked horrified first, and then just as miserable as she had after asking him out in the pizza parlor. She brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. Settled her chin down to really sulk.

  “Ellie, right?” Aaron didn’t wait for an invitation; he just lowered himself next to her and folded his hands neatly in his lap.

  “Mmnhm.”

  “I want to apologize,” he began, although he’d never really done anything wrong. “I know it sucks.”

  “When you said you were in a relationship, I thought you were blowing me off,” she admitted, her button nose scrunching up slightly. “But you’re…dating June?”

  “Yeah.”

  Their eyes both wandered to the water where June was sitting. He looked like he was lined with silver under the glow of the moon. Bare torso and ink black hair slicked back to reveal his handsome features. Water droplets looked like stars on his skin. Aaron didn’t know if he looked as beautiful to everyone here tonight, but he did know he didn’t have words to explain how looking at June made him feel. Like the world stopped turning.

  “I love him,” Aaron whispered. He didn’t have to tell her—in fact, he didn’t know why he felt compelled to—but it felt good to get the words off his chest. He swallowed. There was something about this girl that made him open up. Maybe it was because he didn’t like hurting people’s feelings, but maybe it had more to do with the fact that she’d never patronized June the same way any of the others had.

  She was different. She was muted and quiet and…strangely enough, just like he’d been when he first got here. How had Aaron not noticed before?

  “I can see that.” Ellie sat up a little straighter. There was no malice to her tone. Just a gentle understanding. “Can I tell you something, though?”

  “Uh…sure?”

  “I wasn’t as upset that you turned me down, as I was that I just really wanted to be your friend. You know, you’re just a really nice guy. You’re not like anyone else around here.”

  “I’m not from here.” He smiled. “Maybe that’s it.”

  “Regardless, I was just getting tired of all the girls. They’re not very nice to me.”

  Aaron knew it. He’d seen it himself from the very beginning. Knowing she’d been trying to get out of that particular circle made him feel worse for not asking her outright to be their friend.

  “Why do you hang out with them, then?” he asked.

  She snorted, something sad and amused. Her round eyes turned to meet his. “You really don’t know?”

  He shook his head.

  “She’s my older sister.”

  Aaron didn’t have to ask, to know she was referring to the leader of the pack; the one that had always seemed hardest on her. They didn’t look much alike, so there was no reason why he should have noticed, but their dynamic certainly made sense now. Ellie had been unphased by the jeers and the orders, no doubt because she’d been putting up with it for her whole life.

  He thought it was a damn shame siblings didn’t all have the same kind of mutual love and respect for each other that he and Arco had. He hated that she had to feel trapped or peer pressured into tagging along with a group she didn’t feel comfortable with.

  “You don’t have to hang out with them just because she’s your sister,” Aaron said flatly. “You can hang out with us any time you want.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, well I mean…summer is just about over and then we’re all going in separate directions, but you can while it lasts.”

  “Maybe…just for tonight then.” Ellie’s face lifted in general. A small smile tugged at her lips; flash of braces over her teeth. “Thanks.”

  “No problem,” Aaron assured. It felt good to make someone feel welcome. Felt like he was passing along some of that energy the mountain had given to him.

  He was going to suggest they go for a swim just so they didn’t have to sit there in silence for too long but was abruptly cut off by the growing presence of none other than his boyfriend marching their way. He didn’t look angry, but definitely confused and sober (thank God).

  “Here comes Hurricane June.” Ellie shook her head in amusement. Aaron wondered if all the girls called him that.

  “How come every time I turn my back on you, you end up conversing with the enemy?” he mused, setting his hands on his hips and twisting his mouth in a frown. It didn’t look very serious. Angie was a few paces behind him, and Charlie just at her side.

  “She’s not the enemy.” Aaron rolled his eyes. “She’s on our side.”

  Ellie was smiling wholeheartedly now. Almost proudly.

  “Oh, cool!” Angie shoved June out of the way with her hip. “Finally decided to ditch the bitch clique?”

  “Ahah…well…”

  “Wait, wait, wait! Don’t we get to vote on shit like this?” June argued. “We can’t just go around taking in stray girls!”

  “I vote, we do.” Angie clasped her hands behind her back and smiled cheekily.

  “Same,” Charlie noted.

  “You don’t get a vote, because you’re not part of this group,” June tried but failed. Despite himself, he looked like he was having fun. Even he had to know Ellie alone was no threat to them. Charlie certainly wasn’t.

  “Let’s let her in.” Aaron leaned back on his palms and stretched his legs out in front of him. June looked at him suspiciously. “I vote, yes.”

  The four of them stared at June with varying degrees of pressure until he blew out a noisy breath and muttered a grumpy fine. Aaron grinned, shifting forward to get to his feet. He brushed off the sand again and then reached out to grab June by the cheeks. Kissed him softly once—just a peck—and then linked her hands together.

  “Come on. I want to try something.” He tilted his head toward their tent a little farther down. “All of us, let’s go.”

  “This isn’t going to be an orgy, is it?” June sneered.

  “You’d like that too much.” Angie slapped him on the ass as she passed them. She caught Charlie by the wrist and dragged him into a jog. “Come on! I’ve been waiting all night for this!”

  “What is it?” Ellie bounced to her feet.

  “You’ll see!”

  June sat impatiently in the dirt surrounding one of the larger campfires. He listene
d to it crackle and watched it billow up into the sky with muted interest. The smell of it was strong, potent, and rich like the forest. Angie had instructed him to sit right there, and not move while she went to gather as many of the other teenagers as she could. She was yelling at people in the water to put their suits back on, then making a point to turn off everyone’s music as she passed by their tents.

  One by one, every familiar face started sitting around him. Boys that worked at the docks, the seniors that had graduated with Angie this year and the heinous group of girls June was secretly kind of fond of. They made a wide, half-circle around the fire, chattering amongst themselves at first and then slowly melting into the other cliques or groups. June watched as people who didn’t typically hang out together started laughing together. He watched boys who (in the previous summers) beat each other into hamburger meat, bump knuckles and offer forgiveness in the form of slight nods.

  He watched in quiet awe, as the people that had grown up here with him, all suddenly looked older. Their hair less shaggy and unkempt. Their skin less blemished. Their faces less round. Every one of them a living, breathing piece of June’s memories—clearer than he’d thought.

  It hadn’t occurred to June until that moment, that regardless of his condition, his time left on this Earth, or his broken heart, all these familiar faces were moving on to bigger and better things. They had futures to look forward to. Universities to go to and families to raise. Dreams both big and small.

  This wasn’t just his last summer; this was their last summer—all of them.

  Charlie and Aaron came out of the tent holding respective armfuls of marshmallows and thin metal skewers. They began passing them around to everyone. June hadn’t remembered seeing Angie pack those things, so he wondered if Charlie had been the one to bring them when he showed up late. Either way, it was a welcome treat to the crowd. Someone else was going around with a cooler, offering cans of cheap beer too. Another dude lighting up a fat joint and passing it to the left.

  June wondered, for a very brief—but monumental—moment, if he’d made a big enough impact on these people. If they would remember his name years from now when they thought back to their own summer memories. Would they tell their kids about him? About the way he’d been opinionated and irritable? How he’d stood up to adults and gotten himself into trouble more times than they could count? June hadn’t gone to school with them, but he’d been here like clockwork to experience the California heat with them. He’d fought with them. He’d laughed with them. He’d grown with them.

  He wasn’t going to forget their names or their faces, or the hell he’d gone through to deserve them.

  Angie sat squished into the tiny space between him and Ellie, and Charlie sat just behind her because he was tall enough to see over her shoulder. There was a place to his right where no one had bothered to sit, and he imagined that was because Aaron was going to be there.

  “Where did Aaron go?” he squinted past the glare of the fire.

  “He’s coming right now,” Angie breathed, and sure enough he was backing out of the tent again. This time holding the shabby guitar from the thrift shop in his arms and smiling nervously. By the time he’d stepped around numerous people, muttering soft apologies, June completely understood just what was happening.

  Aaron stopped at his side and stalled. His chest rose and fell slowly, his eyes trailing the crowd until they were all vaguely aware of him there. He was one of the new faces, sure, but June noted how simply everyone seemed to accept him and let him in. The chatter died down until all that could be heard were crickets, the water, the fire, and the distant howl of the wind.

  Aaron cleared his throat and spoke loud enough that even the people in the back would be able to hear him. There were probably about seventy teenagers in total.

  “H-Hey, everyone.”

  June could see his fingers were trembling ever so slightly against the wood of the guitar.

  “I uh…well, you might not know me, but I just wanted to say cheers, and good luck after this summer.”

  “We love you, Aaron!” A few of the girls sitting on the other side of Angie cheered.

  “Fuck off!” June yelled back at them, sparking a reaction of snorting laughter and hooting. He looked over and saw the entire group (minus Ellie) flipping him the bird. He shot it back twice as hard.

  “Anyway.” Aaron nudged June with his sandy foot. He strummed the guitar once to get everyone’s attention back. “You guys will know this song. Everyone knows this song, so sing along if you want.”

  He strummed the thing a few more times and adjusted one of the pegs before sitting down beside June and settling it in his lap. The mahogany wood looked as red as the fire in this light, and Aaron’s eyes looked furiously emerald in contrast.

  When he played the first few notes of Greenday’s Good Riddance, everyone had the same delighted and surprised expression. A ripple of appreciation flowed through them but soon faded into something collectively softer. June felt his heart hiccup in his chest, then the crickets in his stomach as Aaron’s voice melted into the first verse.

  He’d heard Aaron sing so many times, but never quite like this. Never without the static of a radio behind him, or the volume of car speakers. His voice was smooth and flawless; controlled. He sounded like the wind and the water. Sounded like he’d been practicing this song for months when June knew damn well he hadn’t played a single thing up until now. His fingers were crisp and fast against the neck of the guitar. More talented than June had ever seen them before. It was like Aaron was born to play music. He was brilliant, intoxicating, wholesome, beautiful… Maybe June was just sentimental. Who cares?

  Angie was the first to start singing along, but once she did the rest of the crowd joined in. Even Charlie, who was usually cautious about things that could make him awkward. Their voices together created a hollow sound that echoed around the lake. Rose with the strength and tenacity of every one of these individuals. June, smiling so big it hurt his cheeks, raised his hand to give Aaron’s shoulder a scratch of approval. He was proud of him. No one had ever done this at a bonfire before. People were going to remember this.

  Their eyes met for a sliver of a moment, but there was so much love between them; it could have lasted a lifetime.

  Sometime between the beginning and the end of the song, someone came up behind June and tapped him on the back. He turned to peer over his shoulder and saw Ellie’s older sister, looking pensive for once. In the flickering glow of the fire, she was vibrant. Warmer than usual. She pressed her slender hand to his head and gave him a harsh ruffle in the same movement that she squatted down behind him.

  “Will you please tell your sister I said hi?” Just a hint of desperation in her tone.

  There were a lot of things that happened between June’s sister and this girl in the previous summers they’d spent together, but none of them had ever ended in anything but messy, juvenile dysfunction. June didn’t know the half of it, he was sure, but he had no room to judge at this point. It was fine before when he hadn’t fallen victim of a summer fling, but now he was just being hypocritical. Hard as it was to set aside his protective-brother instincts, he knew it was time.

  June shoved her leg, so she collapsed onto her ass in the sand. Admitted defeat. “Fine,” he allowed. “I’ll tell her you’re hopelessly in love with her and want her back.”

  “That’ll do.” She scoffed. “Thanks, asshole.”

  “Whatever…”

  As Aaron finished, a chorus of cheers and clapping began, followed by the insistent pleading for more. Aaron’s face burned deep pink, handsome smile small and thankful. He fussed with the pegs on the guitar a little more, throat moving up and down like he was trying not to get too emotional. June leaned on him. Linked their arms together and pressed his cheek into his bicep. Angie lurched to her feet and collapsed over their shoulders with tears in her eyes. Charlie followed, then Ellie and the rest of the girls, all piling up together in one big, sloppy group
hug. Someone who was not Angie planted a lip-gloss-wet kiss to the side of his face, but he didn’t mind.

  June had had a lot of great summers around his lake, but he thought, with a smile and quiver on his lips, that this one, the summer of 2004, was by far his favorite.

  It’s funny how storms liked to strike at night.

  Perhaps they were the embodiment of a moody teenager? Unleashing rain like harsh words and wind like the raising of their voice. The flash of lightning was comparable to throwing a punch and the roll of thunder like the tussle that would ensue in the dirt. June imagined because no one had bothered to fight last night, the storm had swooped in to provide a dose of adrenaline. Wicked and loud as it battered the material of their tent and drenched the campfires into nothing but trails of smoke dissipating into the early morning.

  Angie, Charlie, Aaron, and June lay neatly side by side, hearts pounding with excitement as the storm blew over the mountain and threatened to pounce on them. They could see the bolts of lightning as they split open the sky and rocketed down to the earth. They were counting the seconds between them and the thunder; trying to see just how far away it was. They were laughing a little nervously—especially, Aaron, who had quite literally not watched a lightning storm like this since he was a small child.

  They should have known, that as history tends to repeat itself, their good luck and high spirits couldn’t last.

  A voice interrupted them from outside of their tent, maybe an hour or so before the sun was due to rise. It was still dark, but not pitch black. More of a milky, deep blue promise of dawn. From outside their tent, you could start to make out the individual shapes of the pines, and the sprawling dead tree that had fallen into the lake centuries ago.

  “What was that?” Angie sat up, leaning forward to catch the zipper and tug at it. It stuck at first, and then came undone with more effort.

  A dock boy poked his head in, brow creased with worry.