Chapter Three
Old Friends with New Voices
Song: With A Little Help From My Friends—The Beatles
Rocks flew in every direction as I strolled down the gravel road.
My flip-flops made a clacking noise with each step I took.
Whenever pebbles stuck between my foot and the sole, I would stop and shake them out.
The sky was bright blue, and white fluffy clouds hung in the distance.
It had been a year since I saw any of my friends.
My stomach leapt as I got closer. I didn’t feel like a lot had changed.
The only things that were different about me were that I grew four inches taller, my hair got longer, and I dressed myself with more style.
I saw the old play structure and the pavilion we liked to sit under.
I scanned the park with my eyes for someone, and that’s when I saw him.
Darren was standing on the basketball court shooting hoops.
He wore a black band t-shirt and holey light flare blue jeans.
His hair was slightly longer, causing strands to stick up in opposite ways.
He was engrossed in dribbling the ball while humming some song.
I was too far away to make out the title.
Darren was my best male friend. We didn’t care about how one another looked, yet it was impossible not to notice how his shoulders were broader and that he was over a foot taller.
I approached him from behind by tapping his shoulder with my pointer finger.
He snapped around and looked at me up and down like I was a stranger.
Breaking the silence, I said, “Did you miss me or what?”
Darren picked me up and jumped, laughing, “Of course I did, Copper Penny. I didn’t recognize you.” His voice became deeper since the last time I saw him. He went from being a falsetto to a baritone, gruff and smooth at the same time.
I tried acting like I did not notice his new voice, so I browsed the court.
I ran up to a bright orange portable 8-track player lying by the base of the basketball hoop.
“Darren, is that the new portable 8-track player? I can’t believe you got this.
We can listen to music all summer long!” I exclaimed.
Portable 8-tracks were the newest way to listen to music on the go.
I was jealous of his access to recently developed technology.
If I wanted something new, I would have to wait months until it went on clearance, or when Momma would give in to my nagging.
He leaned against the basketball hoop pole. “Yeah, I saved up all my money from mowing lawns to buy it. It’s pretty sweet. Isn’t it?”
I nodded in agreement. The hot pavement scorched the bottom of my feet through my flip-flops.
“We should go sit down,” I told Darren, trying not to make direct eye contact with his slim face.
When I got off the concrete, I slipped off my sandals and sprinted to the gazebo through the lush green grass, taking great pleasure in feeling the feathery blades against my toes.
Darren gathered up his stuff and met me at the picnic table.
When he sat down, I asked, “Where are Zach, Thomas, and Betsy?” Darren’s head fell into his hands. I pried his fingers away from his face and asked again, “Where are they, Darren?”
His pupils dilated as he pleaded, “Please don’t be upset. They all went to some camp in Walla. I tried to convince them not to, but their parents forced them to go. If you knew it would only be me this summer, you might not come.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “You should have told me. Seriously? Summer camp?”
“Yeah, I know. I hate disappointing you. I promise to make this summer fun. We will jam out, go swimming, and I will even go to the library with you. I really am sorry.”
I hit him on the shoulder. “Okay, we will make it work. I guess you’re not too awful to be around.”
He laughed, and we sat there until the sun started to go down.
We chatted about the past year and how our first year of high school went; it was embarrassing and productive at the same time.
Darren spent most of his freshman year in band while his friends got to play sports.
It was interesting to see how Darren had grown up in just the span of nine months.
I wondered if I changed that much, too. I hoped he didn’t think I was too different.
The sky turned from blue to bright yellows and pinks.
Sunsets in Moose Creek remind me of multicolored dahlias.
I loved growing flowers and planted them at my house in Butterfield under our kitchen window every spring with my momma.
Gardening was a passion project I rarely discussed around my friends because it was one of my spring activities.
There were many parts of my life that my friends in Moose Creek didn’t know about since they only saw me from June to early August. Like a tree, I was a separate person during the other seasons.
“I should get back to the cabin before my grandma rolls over and croaks. Plus, I should take Fawn out to go potty,” I teased Darren.
He giggled. “Look, I know she looks old, but she is not that old. You really should take Fawn out, though.”
I gripped my flip-flops between my toes and held up the five-dollar bill I took out of my pocket. “James got me out of her stories by giving me this to get him something at the store. I better run and grab a candy bar before they close so I don’t come back empty-handed and our lie is revealed.”
We went around the corner to the Peach Pot. The Peach Pot was a narrow log cabin turned into a store. The store contained five short aisles, one wholly dedicated to Peach-themed gifts.
Tammy stood behind the register, doodling on a notepad.
Tammy and her husband, Paul, ran the store for the past fifteen years.
They were dedicated workers aside from when business was slow.
When there were little to no customers, they became burnt out and bitter.
She glanced up at us as the doorbell dinged.
“Welcome to the Peach Pot. Please let me know if there is any way I can assist you,” she said in a robotic tone.
Darren hung around me as I looked at the new peach merchandise.
Tammy experimented with selling jackets, peach candy, sweets, and other small miscellaneous items. Whatever sold more, she would continue to make.
The glass case in the aisle contained more delicate things like jewelry and keychains.
There were beautiful peach charm bracelets and earrings in various metals.
I liked the way they looked, but I wasn’t carrying enough money to buy anything extra.
My grandma would have questioned James if I brought back a pair of earrings anyway.
I approached the counter. “Tammy, it is me. We got into town a couple of hours ago. Can I get a peach chocolate bar?”
She realized who she was talking to, blinking herself out of a trance.
“Oh, sorry, Penny. How have you been? The town has been dead for weeks now. Do you want just the candy bar? We got some new peach taffy, and I will throw it in a bag for another fifty cents,” she said, turning around to grab the bar off the shelf behind her.
Darren muttered under his breath, “Don’t. It tastes like bubblegum. I don’t know what they were thinking.”
I thought about it briefly. “I will pass on the taffy. Thanks for the offer, though.” I never liked the taste of bubblegum. It was too sticky and potent for my liking, and I trusted Darren’s opinion.
Tammy told me my total was twenty-five cents, so I handed her the five-dollar bill James gave me.
She counted back my change, and I threw it all in the back pocket of my jean shorts because I didn’t want to deal with organizing it.
Motioning for Darren to follow me out the door, I grabbed the bar off the counter and said, “I should walk back to the cabin for the night. You better have something spectacular planned for tomorrow. You owe me for not telling me everyone went to camp. You know I would have come either way. Moose Creek means a lot to me. I will see you later.”
“I don’t know why you are saying goodbye. We have to walk in the same direction. Your grandma’s cabin is on the same street as mine.”
“I know, but I did not expect you to walk with me. I thought you might stay out longer.”
Darren started walking toward our houses. He put his hands in his back pockets as he wandered. “Copper, do you think my dad would let me stay out late alone? Being the oldest of seven does not come with any fun benefits other than being a free babysitter.”
“I’m sorry. At least you aren’t left alone all the time. I love my parents, but they are too consumed with their stuff and think I should be too. James works and my mom, I don’t even know what she does anymore.”
His pace slowed as we approached his house.
“That’s true. My parents don’t have a life.
Their kids are their life. It’s like instead of practicing the drums, I have to help with dinner, do the laundry, or make sure my sisters don’t scratch each other to death like in cat fights. They expect me to be a parent.”
I chuckled. “They are fighting for attention and love. Every girl wants to feel special.”
“There’s only one girl I know is special, and I am looking at her.”
I knew he had to be joking because he liked to poke fun at me. “Yeah, and you are the boy of my dreams. Go to sleep, Darren. I will see you tomorrow.”
The glow of my grandma’s cabin windows brightened the path. I snuck back up the front porch, attempting to avoid the spot that makes it creak. I opened the door slightly.
My grandma fell asleep on the couch watching reruns of M.A.S.H., and my mom and James were already in bed.
I let Fawn out and entered the bedroom to remove my pajamas from my cramped suitcase. I slipped into my loose plaid pants and pulled the shirt I had packed over my head. Crawling into the moose quilt, I got snug and imagined what the summer would be like with just Darren and me.