Ginny and Noah

Orchids When I Die

It was a week later, and Noah invited me and two of his only other friends, Gyalsten and Thomas, to a sleepover in his apartment the next day. Being a crazy party animal, I could not wait to dance to loud music and chug down gallons of root beer at Noah's fourteenth birthday celebration. But of course, that wasn't going to happen because of Noah's mother. She can't except the fact that Noah, a biological male, is friends with me, a biological female, so she prohibits anything fun and enjoyable whenever I'm around for "safety reasons". Noah doesn't seem to mind but I always feel as if he's missing a major experience of every teenager's life because of his revenge-seeking mother. (Did I mention that I snuck into their apartment on Halloween night last year and TP-ed everything, from her wardrobe to every utensil in their drawers because I hate her so much?)
Mom was making me a hearty dinner of  kool, a seafood and tamarind broth with a variety of seafood, long beans, and cassava, and homemade roti before I went to Noah's house. Once she gave me a bowl of the kool with the warm roti, I quickly began to devour every morsel of food she had given me.
"I didn't know you liked Sri Lankan food so much, Guinevere!" she said gladly as she released a long gasp of giggles.
"I don't, but I am really hungry. I didn't have breakfast this morning and the cream cheese on my bagel for lunch was moldy so I couldn't eat it. All I had were some of Noah's Dunkaroos and Gushers."
     As I ate, Mom packed my duffle bag with all the things I would need to survive a night in Noah's bedroom. She left the bag by the door so I would forget to bring all the stuff with me.
     "What did you put in the bag, Mom?"
     She didn't answer, so I decided to open up the bag and see what was inside for  myself. Board games, Pjs, flip-flops, a shirt with a matching pair of shorts, my toothbrush, and a heating pad. Why would I need a heating pad? Was my mother officially going insane when she packed my bag? I took the heating pad out of the bag and threw them into the bathtub, praying that Mom didn't realize that I threw a lot of money in a wet tub. Mr. Light-Headed realized and I ran out of the kitchen/bathroom area as quick as I could.
     I left my apartment and went upstairs to Noah's place. He heard me coming up the stairs, so he opened the door for me, like any gentleman would do.
     "Ginny, how are you doing?" Noah's father asked with enthusiasm as I walked into their kitchen. "Long time no see."
     "Do you want anything? Song made iced tea with Meyer lemons she brought back from Florida." Song is Noah's mother's first name. If she were an actual song, she would be the one that gets one million "thumbs down" on YouTube.
     "No thanks," I politely say as I try to carry my heavy bag without dropping it on my foot. "I'm just going to put this in Noah's room." After putting the heaviest thing I had ever held in his room, I met Noah, Gyalsten, and Thomas in the living room where they were playing Twister.
      Gyalsten sprained his ankle after two rounds, so we decided that we should play a safer game, for Gyalsten's sake.
     "Seven Minutes in Heaven?" Thomas asked as he stared at Noah with a grin of disgust.
     "As long as I'm not stuck in a closet with Gyalsten and his wart, I'll play," I foolishly said once Gyalsten left the room. He came back with a glass Coke bottle clutched in his hand.
     "Ready?"
     Thomas declared that I was the first person to go in the closet with the person who the bottle pointed to. Gyalsten flexed his wrist, twisted his arm, and let go of the bottle; he watched the bottle turn around and around as if it was on a roller coaster. And then it landed on Noah.
     Thomas started cracking up once he figured out I would have to spend seven minutes with a boy in a closet. (First of all, I'm a skolio. Second of all, even if it didn't land on Noah, I would have to spend seven minutes with a boy anyway.) Gyalsten began writing a list of things to do once "Goah" was an actual couple name.

1. Laugh a lot.
2. Laugh some more.
3. Go with them on a threesome date.
4. Laugh a lot more.
5. Get a jelly donut from Dunkin' Donuts. And eat it.
6. Lose weight

     Ok, maybe he didn't write number six down, but he does need to shed a few pounds. Quick.
     Noah and I slowly walked to the closet as if we were the snails in our school garden. Thomas placed a lock on the handle of the closet and started his stopwatch as he laughed a little more.
     "This is going to be a long seven minutes, don't you think?" Noah asked as he played on my Tamagotchi (and killed it).
     "I don't think so. Maybe we should do something to pass the time. Reveal our darkest secrets? Talk about Skolio Magazine? Afifa? Suffering? Crushes? What?"
     "Heaven isn't for skolios. Everyone says that LGBT+ people go to hell, so I guess we are going there. But I don't mind. I will always remember the amazing life I had on Earth, with you. Let me tell you this, when I die, make sure that you put orchids by my grave."
     "Why orchids? Why not lavender or tulips or a cheaper type of flower that I can actually afford?"
     "I never told you this, but here it comes. My Aunt Gretchen on my father's side loved orchids. As a kid, she was my role model. I wanted to be happy just like her. She would always play with me and support me, no matter what I was doing. She killed herself when I was 7. That's why I want orchids by me when I die."
      "Don't worry, I'll plant them for you; I promise."