For a summer night you would think it would be warm, fireflies out, and about as calm as a Tai Chi warrior meditating. Just like the movies. Well, it certainly was warm and the fireflies were still doing their usual thing of zipping around illuminating the trees in subtle flashes with their golden luminescence. The only difference this time around was that instead of there being little kids running around with sticks and parents laughing by the fire with glasses of champagne, everyone was huddling inside their houses under tables afraid of being struck by balls of fire falling out of the sky. Virginia was experiencing their first meteor shower.
Some people say that I'm a pretty chill guy. Others say that I am downright psychotic. I agree with both parties. I like to call myself the "Black Buddha". Ridiculously long story short it basically means that I am a nerd who enjoys doing stupid things. For example, the nerd portion of myself wanted to get some great shots of the meteor shower for my photography class. The stupid portion of myself was okay with the idea of being outside during a meteor shower. The compromise between the two was that a helmet is worn.
Suddenly my watch starts vibrating and I twist my wrist glancing at the display to see I have an incoming call from Caitlin. Pulling the phone out of my back pocket I plug in some headphones, stick one ear bud in, swipe to the right, and put my phone back.
"Sup?"
"Are you doing something you're not supposed to be doing right now?" she asks out of nowhere.
"I just went out of my way to take my phone out of my pocket and answer your call. The least I could get is a greeting before you start interrogating me." Playfully rolling my eyes I zero in on the glistening trail of one of the meteors.
Chuckling she informs me that apparently a T-mobile tower was struck multiple times and now there's no service at all for their users in our area.
"Oh well, that must suck for them" cringing at my last shot from it being too blurry I readjust the camera's settings.
"What's wrong with you Maxi Pad?"
I roll my eyes, "We've talked about this, we don't use that name."
"Yeah, and on a typical day, you would've taken this opportunity to make fun of Jacob. He has T-mobile so I'm sure he's losing his shit right now. But instead, you're just sighing uncontrollably over there like you've dropped the remote and can't reach it without getting up."
Well, she wasn't wrong exactly.
"Chill Caitlin. As much as I would love to dm Jacob since I can't text him and tell him how godawful his yearbook photo is I have more important things to do. Capturing this shot. This once in a lifetime shot."
In the background, I can hear the creak as she gets up out of her bed.
"It is really pretty out tonight, huh? Virginia is certainly starting to step up its game. I have to ask, though, haven't you already gotten pictures of meteor showers before?
"Yes, but this one is different."
"How?"
"Well, the thing is I have seen other meteor showers before but this one is strangely different from all of those ones. Unlike balls of fire screaming through our atmosphere this one feels more like clusters of fairies painting golden-white streamers in a sea of dark blue."
"Very poetic. Well, I just called to tell you I got a general yes but I'm going to need a lot more details."
I move the camera one more time and press the shutter one time. Two times. Three times. Smiling to myself I unhook the camera and start folding up the tripod.
"My mom will get all of those details to you tomorrow. We are still working out a good midway point to stop and rest. But I was thinking of changing the entire trip to Myrtle Beach. It's a lot more doable."
"That would be really nice actually. I'll talk to my Dad tomorrow. I'm sure he will be happy to hear that I am no longer crossing three plus state lines without him."
Circling around the pool I make a break for the back door. Even with a helmet on the idea of getting hit in the head becomes more and more unsettling the longer I'm out here. When I'm in the safety of my room I set my camera gear down and lay down face first on my bed. It's the first time I had really laid down all day. Trying to figure out how to frame my next question I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling only to be stared back at. Sighing I ask what has been on both of our minds for the last few weeks.
"So this is our last year of high school, huh?"
"It's the middle of summer Max. Are we really going to have this conversation now?"
"I mean it was bound to come up eventually."
"Well, you want to know my thoughts? It is scary. The real world is scary."
"Of course being an adult is scary. You have to wash your own dishes and schedule your own doctor's appointments." I tap the Bluetooth button making the speaker on my nightstand beep telling me that the conversation is now actively being passed through that. I take my shirt off, toss it onto the bed, and climb under the covers. "I also think that being an adult is a great way to really be yourself and do you."
"I'm sure everything will work itself out in the end. I've just got to take my time and figure it out one step at a time."
Raising my eyebrows I say, "Ooh look at you being optimistic and mature. You have learned much young padawan," glancing at a quote on my wall I add, "and as a wise man once said 'The wisest man I ever knew taught me something I never forgot. And although I never forgot it, I never quite memorized it either. So what I’m left with is the memory of having learned something very wise that I can’t quite remember.'-George Carlin"
"What does that mean?"
I shrug. "I don't really know but I like to think that it means don't forget about those you care about as you move through life. Each one of them taught you something different that made you the person you are now but those lessons are only as useful as the memories of the person who gave them to you." I quietly smile to myself. Yeah, I like that.
"You seem to have some wise words yourself, huh?"
We continue to talk but this time, the conversation has shifted from edgy to something a little more lighthearted as we began to reminisce over old memories. "Oh come on that was 3 years ago!"
"Nope! I am never letting go that your very first thought of me ever was 'oh she has nice boobs'! Nope. Nope. Nope." The sound of her hysterical laughter was loud enough that I had to turn down the speaker just a tad even though I was laughing pretty loud myself.
It wasn't until around 2:45 in the morning that our chat began to wind down. Turning my phone over to face me I took a look at the call log. 6 hours 22 minutes and 56 seconds. I wasn't surprised in the least by this number.
"So," her voice all of a sudden became quiet, "are we going to do the whole 'we promise to stay in touch after high school'?"
"Ew. No. It's already a given that you're coming to my dorm or apartment during breaks and making food for me. That's not going to change anytime soon so of course, we're staying in touch." To be absolutely honest I had no idea how long our friendship would last outside of high school. The more I thought about it the more I started to doubt that it would last more than a year or two. However, I plan to be optimistic and do my best to see it through. "Besides we both kind of have a garbage track record when it comes to promises so why jinx it?" I could tell that made her smile a little.
"True that. Well, I think I'm going to go now. I have to wake up early. Goodnight. "
"Goodnight." Hah, so much for her getting actual sleep. The speaker beeped twice indicating the call had ended. Smiling, I turned onto my right side and closed my eyes. Immediately, I drifted off to sleep.
One hour later I was ready to die.
