The Moments I Recall

THEO MILLAR

"If you do end up, you know, dead, can I have your Chevrolet Camaro Jessie?" Willjay asks as we enter Andy's. "You won't need it anymore, plus do you know how many girls I could get with a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro?" Harper hits Willjay on the back of his head.

"No Willjay." J.P smiles.  Willjay laughs as he rubs his head.

"Jeez, I was kidding."

"Yeah right." Harper dismisses rolling her eyes. I watch Will pick her up in front of me. She laughs as he places her down on one of the maroon booth tables on the far left side closest to the light mustard colored wall. At the booth, I sit besides Ly, opposite to Harper, Will and J.P. I haven't really been inside Andy's for a while. Never had the time to sit in. Clearly renovations have been made. New stone countertop where the old wooden one used to be, and maroon leather seating at the booths replacing the old cushioning. It still has the florescent lights that dangle from the ceiling, and the old wall of fame filled with old newspaper stories on the far-right side near the bathrooms. The whole atmosphere smells of food cooking and new paint.

I turn to Ly. Of course she's fixated on the window, but she senses me looking at her and turns to me and smiles.

"I'll go order." J.P says sliding out of the booth. I look up at him to tell him my order, but I stop when I notice he's looking at Ly. He stands at our booth for two more seconds then leaves, striding up to the counter. I look back a Ly, who's busy fiddling with the straw she's trying to open. I take it from her and rip off the plastic casing with ease.

"Thank you." She grins taking the straw.

"He was looking at you, of course you didn't notice." I want to tell her, but instead I smile. She's beautiful, she's different.

"Don't hang around that dark girl too much." My foster mother says. If she saw me here I would never hear the end of it, but I love Xylia, and there is nothing that would ever change that fact. Even if I envy her some days. Even if he looks at her that way. J.P strides back, sliding into the booth besides Willjay. He looks at me, with a blank expression with his stupid turquoise eyes.

"Maybe we should start a band after this." I grin placing my arm over Ly. "What do u think Reeves?"

"I have never played an instrument in my life." She laughs.

"Wait, really?" Willjay asks.

"Not exactly enough time to pick up an instrument when you are stuck at summer camp for eight years." Harper shakes her head.

"Well you learnt how to drive out of nowhere, maybe you could play an instrument Ly." Willjay suggests.

"Do you play anything Price?" I ask him.

"No, never tried." He says blatantly holding our eye contact but then turns to Ly. "My mom played the bass, I can lend it to you Lia."

"Lia." I tell myself. He says her name in his sleep. My mind flashes back to the morning after we snuck into the library. I woke up lying next to him on the ground at Willjays. I couldn't help but watch, we were only inches away. He slept on his back like a weirdo. Only dead people sleep on their backs. I happened to notice his dark lashes sat perfectly as he slept, the tiny freckles on his nose, his lips slightly parted.

'Lia' I thought. Is she all he thinks about? Of course she is. She's different and he's perfect, and he doesn't even try. I forgot about it all for a moment, the reason as to why I was trying to be me, that version of me at least. I can never be him, that version of me that is, but I realized Jessie was the reason.