Dodge Mason // Mystery Boy

1

"1... 2... 3!"

—

"I am so proud of you, Delilah," my mom says pinching my cheek.

"You're setting me up for failure, ya know," my brother, Kai, says. "I still have 3 more years and now mom is gonna expect to see me actually follow through."

"Shut up you're not THAT lazy," I say while I ruffle his hair.

I spot Heather Nill and tell my mom i'll be home later before I make my way over to her. She sees me and walks over to me from her mom and sister as they leave. "Look at us," I say.

"Look at us," She responds with a smile. "Ready to have the summer of our lives?"

"Oh yeah, I was born ready." I nod.

Heather was one of my only friends growing up along with Bishop and Natalie. We were all pretty much inseparable and insufferable to those around us. Heather was usually my rock. After my dad died and hers left we stuck together for support. We also made a lot of "no dad" jokes but that's what made us best friends. Our dark humor and understanding of each other that went beyond words.

"Giddy up bitches we're free!" I hear Natalie's voice from behind me as she grabs my shoulders. I turn laughing and see Bishop approaching from behind her.

"We got the whole gang here," Bishop says with a cheesy grin.

The group gets to talking about the summer, all the plans we have, and how much we will not be missing high school. I look around and see everyone with their families and friends all laughing and smiling. As i'm scanning, my eye is caught by that new kid. He's with his mom and he's got his arm around her and they're kinda rushing to leave. Strange.

"Hey let's get out of here," Natalie says elbowing my arm. I take off my cap and everyone follows. Then I count "1..." the gang joins me "2... 3!" Our cheers fill the air along with our black caps.