Secret Memories

I was having one of those days. One of those days that would turn out to be a foreshadowing of events to come, events that I couldn't even imagine at that point. One of those days that I wouldn't recognize the importance of for more than a year. No matter how important it turned out to be later, at the time I saw it as one of those days that would be a test of my sanity and a mess of teenage angst. Not that that was unusual for me, I seemed to have way more than my fair share of them. However, today I was supposed to be enjoying the beautiful hot sunny day in the great outdoors with my beloved family and friends. At least that's what my Mom told me... in those exact words. In those exact words while lecturing my brothers and I of the importance of today despite the protests we muttered getting out of bed. She meant well. She always meant well, but that didn't make me any happier about rolling out of my fuzzy blankets at what should be an illegal hour.

Not to mention that I had a few problems with her suggestion. First, I'm not a big fan of "the great outdoors". In fact, there are very few outdoor activities that I enjoy... picnics, backpacking, hiking... yuck. Second, even though I love my family, my immediate family, there are some members of my extended family that I'd prefer not to even acknowledge much less spend time with. It seemed like the ones I least wanted to see were the ones that always showed up to these gatherings. And finally, Mom's use of the word friends was a huge overstatement since Lexus was the only one of mine that had come. Whatever. The touch on my shoulder startled me out of my thoughts.

"Where were you just now?" was Mom's quiet question. "You'd think I'd be used to it after all these years, but I always wonder where you go when you disappear inside your own head." I did what I always do, shrugged my shoulders and smiled as I tucked my hair behind my ear. She gently squeezed my shoulder as she returned my smile.

"We're getting a softball game going, why don't you come and join us? Get out of your own head for awhile, have some fun... get some exercise." That made me chuckle. I shook my head as I slowly massaged my left temple.

"Sorry, I have a headache coming on, so I think I'll just stay in the shade and relax. Maybe it'll go away." She looked at me more intently for a second before turning and heading back toward the open field.

"Maybe you can use the time to make a few plans?" Mom threw over her shoulder as she headed toward the group gathering for the game. I sighed. Mom never gave up, gotta love her. I sat in the shade of a huge maple tree watching the comedy of errors that they were calling a softball game for several minutes. Even though all of the fumbling, innovative cursing (much to Mom's disgust) and running into each other, were mildly entertaining, I rapidly began to lose interest. I'm not a sports fan, don't like to watch or participate. As my attention began to wander, I suddenly realized that I didn't see my friend Lexus anywhere. And if there was one person you'd find in a competitive game it would be Lexus. I didn't know anyone more competitive and concerned with winning than her.

Needing a cure for my boredom I decided to try and find her. I checked the picnic area first. If there was another activity that Lexus enjoyed it was eating. I swear you could make a drinking game out of the number of times she complained about needing food. Not that you could tell by looking at her slim and athletic build. To my dismay I didn't see a sign of her food filled face. I considered my options and hurried toward the pathways to the left side of the picnic area. I quickly followed the one that looked like it led deeper into the woods, hoping I could escape the mini mob rapidly congregating around the food. I slowed down as soon as I left the picnic area behind me. As I started around a curve, I spotted them.

They were practically smashed together, although they were separate from everyone else. Their bodies close, their foreheads nearly touching appearing as intimate as the hard look that they shared. And that's how I knew something was wrong. My brother never simply talked to Lexus. No, he bantered, he fought and just plain tried to irritate away one of the few good friends I had, every chance he got. Knowing that, I knew this couldn't be allowed to go any further. After all, they might be trying to quietly tear out each other's throat with their teeth for all I knew... they were really close together. So I crept forward hoping to drag my brother back to what he was supposed to be doing, saving me from our psychotic family and their ceaseless attempts to weasel my plans for the future out of me. As if I knew. My family's attempts had gotten way more relentless now that I was going to be a high school senior. So even if he'd somehow managed to call a truce with Lexus, (and in no way did I want to know what that entailed), it wasn't allowed. Not now anyway. Nope, I was going to drag him back with me before everyone finished devouring the food or finished their game, or whatever they were doing and I became their main focus again.