Ever since we graduated Middle School, I have been enjoying the summer sun as much as I can. I put on a tank-top and athletic shorts, my headphones, my go to pair of teal sunglasses, and a lawn chair to lay out in the driveway of my house. With Lara in Nigeria visiting her family, like they does every summer, it is just AJ. and I.
Every few days he’ll ride over on his bike to make sure I put on sunscreen. And we’ll hangout. Just the two of us.
The Fourth of July is the one time of the whole summer I spent with Brady, Ryan, and Leo. We have our annual game of baseball, but the other team won their third game in a row.
Alexander told Mom and Dad about Natasha, but he refused to bring her home to let us meet her. I ended up following her on Instagram, and as far as I can tell. That was the only picture I ever saw again of PDA between them. Maybe he told her about how he felt about all of that publicly because in a small town like Barepoint, Indiana. If someone gets 1.5 thousand likes they are basically a celebrity.
Everyone gathered on the street in front of their houses, facing the park. Mr. Martin and my Dad are always in charge of firework displays. Every year Leo and I have to help, and we have been since we were old enough to walk and follow commands. When our dads were ready to light everything up with a lighter they would make us wait under this old tree near the baseball field.
The fireworks are awesome this year. There is a cool fountain that is bright blue. And a bunch of colors explode in the sky. I look over at him out of the corner of my eye so he won’t notice. He is wearing a white tank with an American flag vertically, just random black shorts, and neon yellow flip-flops. His hair gets really blonde in the summer, and looks a lot like mine or Alexander. Seeing him there was I think where it all started.
It was July 30th, I woke up around 11 am. Took a shower, and put on my normal tank, shorts, and sandals combo. Outside I sat in my lawn chair and was scrolling through my Instagram. A bunch of FRIENDS fans were wishing Lisa Cudrow a Happy Birthday. I saw a photo Giuliana has posted a few minutes ago of her new makeup look. I like it just out of courtesy, we are friends after all. I see a photo Lara took from a Safari she went on. I spend almost 3 hours mindless scrolling through my feed, not really in the mood for music.
Then Leo pops out on his dirt bike, but he doesn’t come over to me like normally does. Instead he rides down the block in a hurry wearing the nicest thing I have ever seen him put on in my life.
He came back a few minutes late, but not alone. Believe when I tell you that it almost impossible to fit one stupid teenage boy on that thing, but is even more improbable for there to be two. The girl has on only a bikini (smallest one I have ever seen) and sandals like he plucked her right out of the pool. She sits on his lap both her legs wrapped around his waist, and her cinnamon red hair hides most of her face. The rest is hidden by Leo’s face against hers. They are too busy kissing, I am surprised they haven’t crashed into the road or bushes in someone’s front yard yet.
I pull out my phone text AJ. first, sending a picture.
Me- howww on earth can someone kiss that idiot? And how on earth did he get someone so pretty???? 😱😱
AJ- shoot! Idk 🤷♂️ why are you showing me this? You have a great view
Me- him riding back to his house, do you know her?
AJ- no, damn that’s funny. Have they crashed yet 🤣???
Me- nope 👎🏻 I am waiting for her to fall off or something. Lol 😝
With that I switch over to the gossip queen, Giuliana. If she didn’t already know then this will be all over her story on Snap. I sent her the photo.
Giuliana- Is that Kate Matinez and Leo Martin doing it?
Me- who is she? And no they are just kissing 😽
Giuliana- Her Dad is loaded. He owns a company in Chicago, but him and his family live here. Kate goes to our school. You don’t know her?? Ps. If they weren’t doing it then she would at least be wearing something more than a bikini.
Me- suuurrrrrrreeeeeee😒😏😚. Anyway, did you know they were together?
Giuliana- nawww. Can I post this pic?
Me- Sure just don’t say I sent it to you, say like provided gossip by an inside source.
Giuliana- will doo 🤣🤣
And with that in a matter of seconds I got the alert from Snapchat that Giuliana Armanio has updated her story. And then from Instagram Giuliana has posted a new photo. I laugh, so hard.
It was the next day that Leo called me. I let it ring four times before answering. “Hey Leo, what’s up?” I say cooly, putting it on speaker phone so I could talk while eating the popcorn from the bowl I had in my lap.
“Don’t act like that with me! You were the only person who could have gotten that clear shot of us.” He says yelling into the phone. I was sitting on my coach with my family watching America’s Got Talent. So I took the call off of the speakerphone, and left the room.
“Who is us?” I ask, trying to sound as much as a oblivious stupid blonde as I can.
“Don’t pull that stupid blond act with me Marley. I saw you sitting right there when I left and I assume you were right there when I came back. Giuliana and you are like BFF’s now so it doesn’t surprise me that you probably took the picture and sent it to her for some petty fun. And please like anybody can believe ‘inside source’. What kind of idiot do you think I am Marley?” He yells the whole time like some crazy person. I start to think he knows me too well.
“Well before I saw that I thought you were one that would at least wait to kiss her after he got off the mini death machine.” I fire back with a low tone of jealousy. He doesn’t hear it though, I hope, or he just ignores it. That undertone is new, and makes me gag a little at the thought.
Mini death machine is what I have always called his dirt bike. On the other end of the phone I hear him laugh a little, but quickly clears his throat. “So you admit it?”
“Sure, whatever, what are you going to do about it?” I ask playfully. Suddenly music begins to blare from next door and the phone. “The music won’t stop until you tell Giuliana to take the photo down!” He yells over the music.
And I knew then that this would be the start of all out war when I hung up the phone.
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Neighbor Wars
Ficção AdolescenteMarley Papadakis, lives in a small touwn in Northern Indiana. She lives a pretty normal life. She goes to school. Comes home. Does her homework. Eats dinner. And listens to her annoying neighbor, Leo Martin, rev up the engine of his dirtbike in his...
