althea - josh kiszka

chapter 6

Looking up above her, Althea saw the light green leaves softly flutter in the late spring air. It was a perfectly comfortable seventy degrees, and Althea was lost in the warmth of the golden sun above. She'd survived the cold Michigan winter - and her senior year of high school. A loud voice extending from the stage in the center of the football field pulled her back into the moment, and before she knew it red graduation caps were being tossed into the air. Althea quickly threw hers up before the moment was over. She looked down the row of folding chairs until she met a pair of grins that she'd become very familiar with. Jake and Josh rushed towards her, hitting her with a rowdy bear hug.

"We did it!" Althea mused as she pulled away from the hug.

"Just barely." Josh laughed as his twin waved over their parents, Sam, and Danny from the bleachers. After an excessive number of pictures and 'congratulations' from people they'd hardly spoken to in the halls, the posse started making their way towards the parking lot. They walked a good fifteen paces in front of the Kiszka parents and Mr. Maier, who were talking about something that was deemed unimportant by the kids.

Althea's ankles ached as she made her way across the pavement. She'd bought the heels she was wearing just the week before and hadn't had time to break them in, so she had more than a few blisters gracing her feet by the end of the ceremony. Her graduation gown brushed across her lower calves as she walked in tandem with the other two graduates, who had become her very closest friends.

"Where to now?" Sam asked, always looking for the next party.

"Anywhere but here," Althea laughed under her breath.

"Or home," Jake added.

"Or Henry's grad party with half of the senior class," Josh said, earning a grimace from the others. After looking forward to moving on from high school for the past few months, the last thing they wanted to do was see the familiar faces of their classmates from Frankenmuth high. That, and Henry was insufferable.

"How about the river?" Danny asked. The rest of the group perked their ears up at this suggestion, agreeing upon it instantly. Within the next twenty minutes, they'd dropped by Althea's house to grab her swimsuit and film camera and made a stop at the Kiszka house for swim trunks, towels, and two six packs of beer and they were now on the road.

'Ventura Highway' wove through the air from the worn-out speakers of the van as they bolted down the empty road leading to the river. Jake was in the driver's seat, shirtless (per usual) with his hair whipping in the air from the rolled-down windows. Josh sat in the passenger seat beside him, wearing an old light blue t-shirt with paint stains and very loud red swim trunks. He smiled into the breeze, his right arm hanging out the window comfortably. Althea snapped photos of them from the backseat as she tried to push her own hair out of the way with her left hand, which was decorated with silver rings and chipped teal nail polish. She wore a forest green bikini with denim cutoff shorts pulled over her tan legs. On either side of her was Danny, who had a white t-shirt with the sleeves cut off and navy blue bottoms, and Sam, who was wearing absolutely nothing but a pair of teal and coral swim trunks adorned with palm trees. It was a statement outfit, that's for sure.

Jake pulled to the side of the road and turned the car off. The four van doors opened and the teenagers piled out, heading towards a narrow clearing in the trees. They followed the lightly beaten path to the river. The Kiszka's father had shown them this secret entrance many summers ago, and it made for a much better river experience than the busy main beach.

As they reached the riverbank, they threw their stuff down and instantly started peeling off their extra layers, throwing them onto the nearest trees. Sam was the first to cannonball into the river from the rope swing they'd assembled the previous summer, followed closely by an energetic Josh. Meanwhile, Jake, Danny, and Althea cracked open a few of the cold beers and sat down on a fallen tree. Althea brought her knees up to her chest and placed her beer bottle on the tree to take pictures of Sam and Josh crashing through the water. As Jake and Danny settled into conversation, she got up to photograph the forested area. Colorful wildflowers grew at the base of the trees, their petals reaching up high as if asking to be appreciated and photographed. Althea crouched down with a smile to focus her camera.

The peaceful moment was cut short as she felt water droplets hit her back before being tackled by a drenched Josh.

"Get off, asshole!" Althea shouted through her laughter while trying to wiggle her way out of Josh's ill-intentioned hug. Just as she thought he was loosening his arms, she felt herself being hurled over his shoulder as he sprinted towards the water.

"Oh, you motherfucker!" She shouted as he skidded to a stop just before the edge of the river. He brought her down from his shoulder to the ground right in front of him, keeping both arms around her waist.

"That water looks kinda refreshing, eh?" She could hear the smile in his voice.

"Don't you dare, Kiszka."

Before she knew it, he was bringing one arm up to pinch his fingers over her nose before launching the two of them into the river below. With her back pressed to his chest, they crashed through the cold water. As soon as they reached the surface, Althea pushed away from his chest, cursing him out - with a grin on her face. She flicked water onto his face as Jake, Danny and Sam belly-laughed from the shore. She made her way out of the water and grabbed a towel before sitting back on the tree trunk and taking a swig of her beer. Josh followed her out and was still laughing as he grabbed his own bottle and popped it open.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

"Watch your back, Josh. I'll get you when you least expect it," she said with a smirk.

"I'd love to see you try," He replied, leaning on the tree behind him.

"Alright you two, we don't need another prank war this year," Jake advised, clearly referencing the series of pranks that had taken place over the winter months. Sam had started it, but no one was safe from the attacks. The war finally ended when Jake's plan to booby-trap Sam's room backfired and Sam ended up with a broken toe. He milked it so much that they all came to a truce, thus ending the war.

The prank war had actually been what had brought Althea and Josh together. They were often partners in crime as they wreaked havoc on the rest of the group. Planning attacks quickly became exploring each other's record collections, which became record shopping together, which became hanging out almost every day. On top of that, the band had been working on writing new songs and playing gigs whenever possible, so they were essentially always together. The pair now considered themselves best friends, and for this reason they were both committed to erasing the memory of their kiss from their memories. So far, they were unsuccessful.

It was clear to see that they had natural chemistry, and their affectionate stares and giddy energy around each other made it very obvious to the rest of the band how they felt for each other. However, they maintained the message that they were strictly best friends, and nothing more.

The band had enough to worry about without that drama - they were working on writing the last few songs on their first album. Their goal was to sign with a label by the end of the summer so they could record and release the music they'd been working on. They all approached the thought of the end of the summer anxiously - depending how the next few months went, their lives would be changed forever. But right now, they were just five wild kids, full of plans and dreams, putting their fate in the hands of the future.