Chapter 25 #2
“She’s really talented,” Mrs. Shepard said in an admiring tone. “She’s been wanting to win against this girl all semester.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I’m sure the victory is really sweet right now.”
Mr. Shepard nodded. “She works hard. It makes me happy when she sees the results of her efforts.”
I was glad to know that the football team was not the only one having an obsession with beating their rivals. Today’s meet was taking place at McKinley High, so a victory against their best swimmer was no doubt even more satisfying.
Back home, we ditched the Shepards’ dinner invitation and decided to hang out at the park at the end of our street.
My phone rang when we stepped on the turf. The name Peters, a guy on the team, flashed on the screen.
“Hey, Cap. Throwing a rager tonight. Interested?”
“Tonight?”
“Yep. Nine. We have the whole basement to ourselves. My sister Jenny will be there too with some of her friends. Sheldon and Jax are already in.”
“Gimme a sec.” I blocked the speaker with my hand to address Melinda. “Peters is throwing a party. Wanna go?”
“Huh… Would you be mad if I said I’d prefer a laid-back night? You can go, though. I’m sure all your friends will be there.”
“I’ll pass. I’m not in the mood to be social tonight. I prefer hanging out with you.”
We exchanged timid smiles.
“Hey, Pete. Not coming. I already have plans. Raincheck, okay?”
“Sure, Cap.”
Melinda and I climbed on each side of the teeter-totter, and every time I pushed up with my legs, she only went halfway down because she wasn’t heavy enough to balance my weight.
“Name something that grosses you out?” she asked, suspended in the air.
“Easy. People who chew with their mouths open. You?”
“I can’t decide between oysters and snails. Equally disgusting.”
I grimaced. “I agree. Clams and caviar. Just thinking about them and I want to barf.”
“Favorite season?”
I didn’t have to think about it. “Summer. It feels like everything is possible when the weather is perfect.”
“True. Something from your childhood you miss?”
“Huh…That’s harder. I’d say feeling like you can achieve anything. Like no dream is impossible and summer lasts forever.”
“Oh, I like that. I was about to say, the ice cream truck. You know that creepy clown-like song that gave you the chills and brought excitement at the same time? There was one where I used to live in New Jersey that came every Tuesday night and Saturday morning. It was the highlight of my summers when I was little.”
“Craig was convinced ice cream truck drivers were serial killers targeting children because he watched some scary movie once. We never neared one after that.”
“No. Ohmygod, this is terrible. You missed out on all the fun.”
“For the longest time, I thought it was Dad who made him watch that movie so we would stop annoying him about letting us buy ice cream.”
She laughed. “That would have been a genius plan. Diabolic, but smart.”
“Only he saw it at one of his friends’ place, so my theory was proven false.”
“Who knows? It must have been their parents who put that movie on.”
I joined in on the laughter. “Yes. That makes perfect sense.” I lowered the teeter-totter so she could climb off and motioned to the swings. “Come on, I’ll push you. Maybe you can touch the sky with your toes.”
“Oh, I used to love doing that. With my friend Jolie, we tried countless times to go all the way around.”
“Craig broke his arm when he jumped from as high as he could get and landed badly. He was nine, I think.”
“Ouch.”
“He had the best-looking cast in all of Elk River. Let’s just say it was full of penis drawings and genital and sex words we thought were funny.
Mom was so desperate that she painted over it at some point.
Only, black marker bleeds through paint after a while—we learned it that day.
There was no way out of it for the six weeks it lasted. ”
“Boys are terrible. Nobody draws vaginas on girls’ casts.”
“I have nothing to say in my defense. We are indeed terrible.”
We both burst into contagious laughter once again.
I sat on the swing to her left and pulled at the chain to close the distance between us, using my legs to swing us back and forth.
The sun was low on the horizon, the sky a fading mixture of pink and orange paint splatter.
The wind picked up, and soon scattered snowflakes danced around us.
They melted as soon as they touched the ground.
We both stared at the sky, the white specks of snow glistening against the darkness, thanks to the park’s lighting.
“It’s beautiful,” Melinda said with awe. “I love snow.”
“Me too.” A snowflake landed on the tip of her nose, and I captured it with a finger. “Make a wish.”
“Isn’t it something you’re supposed to do with eyelashes?”
“Yeah, but let’s pretend it is. C’mon, Shepard. Play along.”
She closed her eyes and breathed out before opening them again. I presented her my digit, and she blew on the melted ice crystal.
We remained silent as we swung back and forth for a little while. The snow stopped, and it felt as if we had been the only witnesses to the very first flurry of the season.
Melinda chewed on her thumbnail as I set the pace. “Can I tell you something I’ve never told anyone, not even Paige?”
“Sure.” My heart hammered in my chest at the thought she was choosing me to confide in.
“When I was ten, I was the only girl in my class wearing a bra. I was an early bloomer as they call it. One day, I removed my sweater during lunch hour, and my T-shirt got stuck to it, and I flashed everyone. Mean girls started calling me perky boobs. I would feel sick before school in the morning because I was so stressed out. It lasted for about two months. Some other kid did something stupid, and it diverted their attention from me. After the winter break, most girls were wearing bras and suddenly, I wasn’t so awkward in their eyes. ”
“It went down before you moved here?”
“Yeah. It was the most humiliating experience of my life. I thought I would die of shame for the time it lasted. For some reason, I never told my parents. I kept it a secret. Now I wished I had involved them so I wouldn’t have felt all alone and afraid to go to school.”
“Kids are stupid. Is that why it hurt you so much when I put you on the spot on the first day of seventh grade?”
“Kinda. It reminded me of that episode of my life, and I really didn’t want to be in the spotlight anymore.
I usually prefer when I’m behind the cameras than the main protagonist. Except when I’m swimming.
Then I like to win, be in control, and succeed.
It’s like another part of me takes over when I’m in the water. ”
“I’m sure I look like I crave being the star of the show, but I swear, I do not. I understand what you mean.”
“Why are you always so…so exuberant at school? It seems like you love the fuss.”
“It’s a role I play. People love that guy, but he’s not me. Not entirely.”
“Why do you do it then? Why pretend to be someone you’re not?”