Forgiving

                                                                 Chapter One: Memories

Last day of school, finally! Next year I'll be a junior along with my brother Tyson or Ty, for short. I can't wait till summer starts, our uncle promised us we'd all go somewhere this year. We've never gone anywhere on vacation and this should be nice.

"Last class of the day, Ivy" says a voice from behind. I turn around and see that it's Gale, who's basically my best friend. He's not in this class, but the English teacher likes him and she let's him stay here often.

"Last time you get to ditch History," I say, with a smirk.

Gale gives a little laugh and says "Mr. Stevens is probably happier when I'm not there, especially since it's the last day of school.This is a bit of a gift to him." It's true, Mr. Stevens never really liked Gale. They're both really sarcastic people and bump heads when it comes to things. I remember once hearing shouting coming from the class before the bell even rang, and two minutes later Gale was being dragged to the principal's office. You can usually find him at the principal's office during the last hour, if he's not here of course. Gale usually doesn't have to tell me why he gets in trouble. It's often because of some sarcastic comment he makes or because he gets mad at some sarcastic comment Mr. Stevens makes.

"You two should just get married already," teases Ty as he took a seat next to me. Gale and I both scowl at him. "Gale and Mr. Stevens, I mean," he adds, realizing what we thought he meant.

I burst out laughing after I pictured the two wearing suits and getting married, one of them holding a bouquet of flowers.The idea was so outrageous I couldn't help but laugh. Gale shot me a look that made the joke that much more funny.

"You guys think your funny," Gale mutters.

"C'mon, Gale, you know we love you," I say to which Gale sort of blushes at me. That was odd.

"Yeah, I know" he says, staring me straight in the eyes. I never noticed his eyes were a deep green with gold specks. I'm getting a little uncomfortable with him staring at me like this.

"Okay everyone, you've had enough time to talk. Pull out a sheet of paper" booms Ms. Weathers. I'm glad to have an excuse to break from Gale's stare. "We have five minutes," she continues "I want you all to write a theme of the best memory you have, whether it's from this school year or any time in your past. Be descriptive and have fun with it."

Have fun with it. Ms. Weathers always says that about any assignment, even the most exhausting ones. "Oh, Gale, you can write another theme if you'd like," she adds.

I look over at Ty, whose already writing. As brother and sister, we share a lot of memories. I wonder what he's writing about. What am I going to write about? I run through any memories I have starting from when I was a kid. I think I'll write about a childhood memory, but what? I think about the day Tyson and I went fishing with our dad.

It was summer and we were probably about six. That would make our dad about twenty-five. We started off the day by going to eat pancakes at a diner. Dad let us order our pancakes however we wanted them. I got a pile of strawberries on mine. Ty ordered his pancakes with chocolate chips, and Dad got blueberries. He loved blueberries. Mom stayed home that day, but I wondered what she would have gotten on hers. Maybe peaches. With whipped cream. It was the most delicious breakfast I'd had in my entire life.

After that, we headed to the bait shop and then finally to the lake. It was beautiful. The way the sun was hitting made it sparkle and gleam as the water lapped against huge boulders. Tyson and I tried fishing for about an hour, but lost interest after one of us only catching a single fish. We soon found ourselves climbing boulders and walking to the sand to build sand castles. Ty even found a few treasures in the sand which included a silver necklace and an old pocket watch. I think he still has them.

Dad called us in and we found him grilling the fish he had caught. We ate the fish along with salad Mom had prepared for us. Tyson gave the pocket watch to Dad and let me wear the necklace, although it was too big for me. We headed back home, but both Ty and I fell asleep in the car.

I wanted to go fishing again, but it never happened.

After class, I learned Ty wrote about a Christmas when we got our first bikes and met Uncle Jeff and Aunt Elle for the first time. I don't remember that day too well.

The way Ty told the story to everyone would have made anyone who wasn't there feel as if they were. He described everything like it was happening at this very moment. He used every word to make a person smell every scent, hear every sound, know every voice, and see every person and object in full detail. Ty's theme allowed me to relive that day with every word he spoke.

The entire class was listening so intently that no one noticed the bell rang. Ty's words can do that to you. He speaks so intelligently and knows exactly what to say. He knows how to get a certain reaction out of anyone. It always amazes me that Ty can go from being a sarcastic joker to a deep, intelligent person. He can be whoever the hell he wants through every word he carefully chooses.

The very last sentence captured everyone, "That was my first of many memories with Elle and Jeff, and without them I don't know where my sister and I would be."

I didn't realized how much he appreciated them- how much I appreciated them- until now. They've done a lot for us whether they're buying us bicycles or providing a home for us. I couldn't ask for more from them.

Gale reached forward and tapped my shoulder. "They must be really great people," he says with a smile "Do you wanna go get pizza after we leave?"

"Yeah, that sounds fine." We usually go out to eat about once a week, sometimes with a group of friends or my brother. It's always nice to hang out with Gale alone though.

The pizza place is about a block from school and we walk there Gale and I talk about the school year. More so, the stupid things that happened.

"You remember when Rob went out with Angie? And then they broke up the next day!" Gale says, laughing.

"That was stupid! He knew he couldn't stand her! Rob was just trying to get into her pants!" I respond. I don't think anyone can actually stand to talk to or even be near Angie. A lot of guys think she's pretty which is the only reason people bother to be around her. I don't really know much of Angie and I don't think anyone else does either.

Gale and I walked into the pizza place and were hit instantly with the scent of pizza. I didn't know I was hungry until now. We ordered our food and Gale offered to pay, and I let him. He's not one to give in easily. We took a seat near the windows, where we usually sit.

"What did you write your theme about?" Gale asks me.

"I wrote about this time I went fishing with my dad and Ty,"  I respond with a bite full of pizza. I don't remember if I finished writing that theme or not. "What did you write about?"

"I wrote about the time we first met." Gale and I first met in fifth grade. Our class was assigned a project where we had to pick a US state and give details about  it. I didn't know many people since I had just transferred there so the teacher assigned me with Gale. I didn't think much of him. He was a scrawny little boy, and he hung out with a bunch of other scrawny little boys. I didn't think he would be as funny. He's a natural charmer I'll give him that.

He's even more of a charmer now that he's older and not scrawny. It's actually weird to remember how skinny he was compared to now. He's more muscular and taller than I expected him to turn out. Gale's a handsome guy, and a lot of girls have crushes on him. I don't know why he hasn't dated any of them.

Gale reaches for my hand and says, "If it was anybody else I might have forgotten that day."