Telegraph Ave (Author's Edition)

Chapter 14: Liquid Sunshine

| 2 weeks later... |

Time flies when you're having fun.

I've been able to appreciate the breath God has bestowed upon me, to cultivate more memories. Delicate memories consisted of spending substantial time with myself and the people I'm surrounded by. My friends demonstrated what it means to be a teenager. Having free will and wild exhibitions, yet still dependent upon our parents. That's the best part about it though.

You have time to mess up, understand your shortcomings, and still be able to enjoy your final years as a minor. Some days we'd mellow out under the shade of the porch, walk the neighborhood sidewalks, go into town when all the hot spots are lit up at night, or even have meals at each other's houses. Well, a few houses anyways. The more time I've spent with my peers, the more I've been able to learn about them. They're full of leisure, excitement, humor, manner, and devotion. I find it weird that I haven't yet introduced them to my mom, however. She's busy mostly throughout the week, but I talk about them all the time. So, she's conscious of who they are.

When my mother isn't working she and I tend to spend a fraction of time together. She allows me to go in the kitchen to help cook, I'll sometimes massage her scalp, on a good day we'd go out for ice cream, or we'll sit in the living room to talk among each other. Even this past weekend we were able to take a trip to the Redwood National State Park up Northern California. I've never seen such Goliath-sized trees in all my years. It was almost as if when you placed your hand along its burgundy bark, you'd feel the pulse coming from its root-beating in the same place that's thrived for hundreds of years. We stayed for 2 days. It was a 6-hour drive back and forth from Oakland, but even being on the road passing by various landscapes, prevails an adventure.

It's been graceful for mom and I since our first week.

Besides everything else that's been going on, Stacy and I have been getting close. Since the night at the movies, she's been my right-hand girl best friend. We share the same comedy, same view on reality, and soul. I'm a goofball when it comes to us being alone, but she's quieter. I do most of the talking per se, but she opens up eventually. Our time inspired me to do a digital painting in the same theater. It's more of a silhouette-type image, with blushing neon letters glowing off the building.

The facility is noticeable and the people's faces are hidden by the shade of the evening. The red highlights take the shape of their bodies, as they wait in a line that stretched a mile in the far city. Stroking my apple pencil along the glass screen, I add definition to the sky above. It was clear, but the dark navy blue took the color from the lights of the city. I'd usually add rain to a piece like this, but the painting speaks enough volume. From the use of warm pigments, you can tell the season is Summer. Summer with a fantasy significance, yet introduced with reality.

Ding Dong!!!

The sound of my doorbell rings throughout my home. I'm alarmed when my phone only read the time of 3:38 pm. My mother doesn't get home till 7 o clock and she doesn't even ring the doorbell. No texts, nor phone calls revealed in my notifications-just unread emails stacked upon each other.

I have to get those checked...

Ding Dong!!!

The doorbell rings again, this time I'm up on my feet. Placing my pencil on the charging magnet of my iPad, I remove the smudge glove from my hand. My footsteps are muzzled by the socks that thumped the wooden floor beneath me. Surpassing the living room area my house is silent, with an apple cinnamon candle lit up on the mantle. Blessing the house with its immaculate sent. I reach my door and the glass is obscured, not able to reveal who stood at my doorstep. Twisting the lock, I open it to finally reveal a close friend of mine.