There isn't a day that goes by in my life. When I dion't think about the seasons of my senior year. They were seasons that were composed of nights spent in a room with a girl who always had a smile on her a face. A boy who wore a Vader mask every were he went and a guy who though he was the Marlon Brando of the world. We were also group of ragtag of teenagers partially joined together by the common interest of playing a board game and partially joined by the times we were in. It was 2009 and the world around us was changing as fast as we were. Obama was in, Bush was out and for a bunch of seniors that year. It marked the end of High School and the beginning of college. Goodbye senior year I sang to myself as the months grew closer to graduation and prom. I wanted to graduate and the time waiting at the time. Just made the urge grow.I mean no one had a greater desire to graduate than me to graduate.With the exception of course maybe of Vader and Marlon Brando. They were also seniors. But Marlon Brando didn't go school and Vader was in the same class as me. But I never noticed him. I doubted he had the same desire to me graduate. But I guess at the time I didn't care because all I had thought about was graduating. It was such a great desire that it couldn't even be called a desire because it was became a want. I thought I wanted it more than anything in the and I guess I did for a while until two things happened in my life. First I my mom enrolled me into the company of that rag tag group of teenagers I mentioned before. She said it was a program which helped teenagers to do better socialy in academicly in school. By providing them a game to play and interact with kids who would be a possitive support for them. Ironicaly it wasn't a chess game. It was a game called Risk. The program directors had found worked better to develope the intellegence side of the teenage brain and mom being mom had decided to enroll me in it. So I took it. I mean it was senior year and I was almost out of High school so what it didn't matter. Except that it did when the program cordinators put me in Vader and Marlon Brando's group. I didn't know Vader. I mean yeah he had been in school with me since I was in 9th grade, but he had always just been that guy. That never took off his Vader mask.It didn't matter at the time what his personality was. It just mattered that now every friday I was playing agianst a guy and girl who always won. If marlon Brando didn't win than it was blonde and at first it was realy awkward to play agianst these kids. They didn't speak much and when they did it was usualy to say it's your turn or roll the dice. It was the longest three weeks of my life.
Until Marlon Brando decided to make the first move and cross the Berlin Wall of our silence. It took ten words and a firm handshake to take down my wall from Marlon Brando to change this cold war isolation and all they had to say was.”Hey dude, my name is Mark and this is Sarah” Those ten words had opened up that day to a new flurry of conversation.
I learned that Marlon Brando now known as Mark was a senior like me who went to school with smilie. I mean Sarah. Vadar also decided open up that day. For the first time I learned that day. That Vaders real name was Jared Dawson and that he and I had shared almost every english class from freshmen year to senior year together since entering Maywood High School. Which truth be told, was a total suprise to me. I had never paid Jared much attention so it shouldnt have been a big deal to me.
Since I had now discovered that me and Jared shared a same class though I decided to inquire more. The next day. I went to school and spoted Jared walking to his locker. Had he on his Vader mask and a black V-neck with dark blue jeans and Black convses. He said hey simon and walked away as though I wasn't there. He had his jacket so I there was only place one could assume he was going and that was home. Jared I called out as he walked out the doors. “Wait up.” Jared turns his head to me and say's Simon I don't think you want to speak to me. Please let me go home and I”ll see you friday.” Jared doesn't say much after that. He walks a few paces to the door. When I decide to follow tail of him. He is taken off guard and knowing Jared at the time I assumed he wouldn't like it. But he doesn't mind so neither did I. I tried to engage him in conversation but he just didn't say much. He stays quite till an unexpexted visiter passses me. Victoria Lively has been in many of my classes till freshmen year. But never once had paid any attention to me. For it was worth that year I could have been a dead fly and she wouldn't have noticed me. So she walks by me and I blush because I think she is gorgouse. Vader notices and starts to giggle. He hadn't said anything real to me that day. But finaly he says your a kidster and laughs. I assume that this is a good thing and after a glance at my phone which says I'm going to miss jepordy I give Jared a pat on the shoulder and walk away.
The next friday comes around and everyone in the group is now on friendlier terms when out of the blue a seemingly friendlier Jared says.
“So hows druewll girl?”
“How did you know I droull over her?”
“Because you did.”
Jared gives a quick laugh and than says its your turn. I role the dice and attack Western United States but I lose and because Mark was the defender he smiles and says “kid you have alot to learn.” By now since I was on friendlier terms with Mark. I respond. “Hey marlon Brando how about you learn to play better first.” The board say that Mark is spread thin but he responds he's not. He looks at his partner in crime Sarah and she says he's not weak he just looks it on the board. She than goes on to start explaining how as a guy the one I need to do is start being more confident in myself. This causes Vader to giggle once more, so I gently punch Vader on his shoulder and he says “hey what can I say the truth hurts.” Vaders become more of a wise crack now. But I guess it's opening up. I reason to myself as Sarah places her moves next. Her move is next followed by Mark. Who ends up being the winner at the end of the night. Sarah say's it's because more Mark knows his game but I disagree but what can I say. I'm was just a newbie and the game would just be starting for this newbie.
This newbie probably didn't have much game the first time he started in April. For a good month. I think I lost more times in risk than Jared and Sarah and Mark did combined. Jared unlike me picked up the game faster than I did. He even close at times to beating Mark. Who seemed to own the strategic movement of the game. Risk was my chess that year. I breathed it on Fridays. Dreamed it on thursdays and cried about it on Sundays. I lived risk those months. Not because I cared for the game. But because it provided me a challange.I didn't need to play chess to stratagy. I was learning it every friday and for a while I played it online to. I didn't go far online. But I guess I figured anything was posible.My game needed me to focus more. So I decided to start paying more attention to the way Mark would play. I deducted that Mark knew well how to ballance and that therefore to win I would need to be ballanced. I took other various notes also but that was the one note that struck out to me as unique because it came during a time. When I over the course of a week I earned a 90 in my math test over my standard 65. I couldnt believe it. Mom said it was due to the game I was playing on Fridays. Which i was starting to no longer doubt.
Even Jared was doing better. Three weeks after first speaking to Jared I noticed that he tended to be more happier in his speech. He was also less lonesome. Which meant that I saw Jared with more people now. He still wore his helment but that I believed woudlnt last long. Jared or vader as I saw him had just like me made a small change through observaion and he was now happier. If only I wished I could be happier and have the courage to talk to Victoria. But Victoria wouldnt ever look at a guy like me. I reasoned to myself oneday as I walked to my locker. My head was low as I walked to my locker. Which was the reason why when I did walk to my locker I hit slightly with my head. I apoligized imidaitely and she said it wasn't an issue. She then pointed out that I she noticed my pink floyd T-shirt and loved that bamd. A conversation was made and with this conversation I found that May would be my spring flower. The start of May for me started with what I believed was another lost to Mark. Even though Jared had pointed out that I almost won. It was still a lose. Since the weather was nice by the way. The gang and I as I liked to call them now played on the lawn of central park north. The weather was becoming more fair and so was our game. I picked up on marks moves fast. Even as Mark being t he smart mouth that he was also noted that it had taken me long enought. I didn't care. Jared also was slowly making increasingly good progresss and I could have sworn that i thought I saw him take off his Vader cap. Even though he claimed he didn't. My math grades contrinued to rise even as I believed they weren't. It was also around this time that I also had my first set back with Victoria.
Everything that day had been spellled out as beautiful. The weather was a nice. The homework was light and it was the first time in while that I would be able to hang out with Victoria. We had made plans in advance to hang out and it seemed that things might just fall into play. It was 5:00 when Victoria got out of her cheerleading session.I could tell by the way she batted her eyes in an almost inocent nothing will bother me look. She gave no impression toyour average on looker of the stress that seemed to weigh on her mind as cheerleading finals drew close. She just smiled and walk my way as I waited for her outside the Gym Hallway. I greeted her with a formal hug and hello as she walked to me. She replied with a hug and hello back and than asked where we would go to. Don't worry about I responded as I lead her out of the school. Were we walked south along the outskirts of Central Park West. It was a short five minute walk. But as I talked to Victoria time just to go at another pace. Words became new and in the
during lunch time when I had this set back. I was talking to her about colleges I was probably going to attend. When a small bit of pasta from her lunch plate fell on my shirt. I imidaitely reacted by saying can you ecuse me. She thought it was a joke and said whats a litttle bit of pasta and touched it. I reacted in kind and said stop. I think I shouted though because she looked at me and in an equaly mad voice said just go. To which I ran out of the lunchroom and to the bathroom. My white shirt cannot be dirty. I think to myself as I try to take it off as fast as i can to beat the stain.I press the shirt along the water which is jetting through the faucet and I scrub and I scrub until my fingers are red and I my shirt is drenched. Why did I do this I think to myself as I scrub. But the thing is i can't stop because I just can't. But I want to. So I close my eyes and count to ten and at ten I pull my shirt away. Its drenched which water. But it easily comes off and what ever doesn't just get's air dried as I walk to class. After school I call Victoria. But she doesn't respond. So I do it agian and agian. But she ignores me. So I ignore her for a week when she see's me in the hallway and pulls me over and says can we talk. So I noded in agreement in hopes that maybe I could tell her I'm sorry. But I don't because all she tells me. Is how she knows I'm different but the way I responded during our conversation makes me say nothing. She tells me first that she found that to be quite odd and that also she has been asked out by Johnathen Kinder and wanted to make sure that as a friend I knew this. I respond no problem and she says great and walks away even as underneith my breath. I whisper but It's because I have.... Victoria leaves and for the first time in a while everything feels like April once agian. Except that it's not.
It the last friday of May and its my last day of having this friday risk night. I still havent won a game. So I am not in the best move. Jared however who has gotten alot friendler is. He even starts playfully hitting sarah. Sarah takes this with stride and laughs also. But I don't laugh so Mark says. “Bud why aren't you laughing and I respond “shutup.” So he says someone has an attitude and that just fires me off. So i tell him. Mark you have no idea what i've gone threw. I'm been hanging out with the same lossers now for 3 months now and what does that get me. Mark tells me to roll my dice so I role. What a seat at the loser table well i hate this table. Mark says role. I role. All i've been doing is working hard and what do I enjoy. Mark says role. I role and move. I mean not even jared has lost his vader helmet. I look at Jared and to my surprise his helmet is off. Mark smiles and says and O by the way you just won. Sarah and jared are by this time looking at me. When Jared says the one world I thought I would never hear. Go get he tells me and I do. It's 10:00 in the night and its raining and I know the prom is over but I run to were I know I will see her waiting for her bus home. When I arrive the bus is just driving off.But I run to it. I run as fast as I can and on the next stop I enter the bus. I'm drenched and wet but I don't care because there she is. I look into her eyes and she says don't apoligize. She just holds my hand and just as we are walking out of the bus to her stop she looks at me. Her hands are colder now. But she whispers the words I've been dying to here since I first met her. Everything is going to be all right.
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