everything about you •• jj maybank

forty two

I sat on the bench for a while, waiting patiently for Pope to finish his interview. Time moved slowly as I sat there in silence, anxiously anticipating the moment Pope would come out and tell me how it went.

I kept imagining the moment in my head, scenario after scenario.

Though, every single one ended with Pope getting the scholarship and us rushing together into a celebratory hug.

Surely, that's how this would end, right? After all he did to get to this moment, and the incredible intelligence this boy held, it was only right that he did.

I tried to close my eyes and imagine the questions they would ask him, and how he would specifically answer each one.

I wondered if when asked about his friends, if he would mention me - or at least think of me.

My feet eagerly tapped against the wooden porch floor, the warm summer air kissing my skin and causing little beads of sweat to form on my hairline. Every few moments I'd look at my watch to see how much time had passed.

It had only been eleven minutes since Pope had gone inside. The minutes were going by painfully slow, and I knew I'd grow more eager every second.

To say I was surprised to hear the door slam beside me, and Pope sprinting out of the building only thirteen minutes after he had gone inside, would have been an understatement.

He was already yards away before I could process what was happening. But before I knew it, my legs were carrying me behind him, taking long strides as I chased after him.

"Pope! What the hell happened?" I shouted after him, arms pumping fasted and faster as I attempted to catch up.

"I'll explain when we get there!"

"Get where? Where are you going?"

I didn't get a response, only getting the sound of Pope's grunting and intense breathing, running like his entire life depended on it.

I struggled to understand what in the world could have possibly compelled him to rush out on his interview. I could only come up with two logical conclusions.

A) They loved him so much that they offered him more than a scholarship- a full ride to whatever dream school he wanted, because they were so impressed by his intelligence and ability.

B) Pope froze up and they told him to get out, resulting in Pope spiraling and me having to pick up the pieces when he inevitably had a breakdown.

Considering my circumstances, and the fact that there had been no celebratory hug, I was leaning more towards option B.

"Dude! Can you slow down and tell me what's wrong? Why are we running?" I looked behind me, trying to see if we were possibly being chased. Wouldn't have been the first time, so that seemed logical. When nobody was coming up behind us, I pushed out a frustrated groan, pushing myself harder when he got further and further from me.

"I'll explain when we get there!" He yelled again, forcing me to roll my eyes.

"Quit saying that!"

My lungs were beginning to burn, my mouth tasting like metal and my legs aching with every step. The blazing heat was making this run much harder, the humidity and shining sun causing this to feel absolutely miserable. And I was wearing shorts and a shirt, meanwhile Pope is doing this race in a full suit.

When we got to the Cut, I quickly understood where we were heading to. Clearly, Pope was in a hurry to find the Pogues.

We quickly stopped at the Chateau, unable to find them, but when he darted to the dock, I knew he had found exactly what he was looking for.