Flipped

Freddy

Summer likes Ben.... Summer likes Ben.... Summer likes Ben....

And she doesn't like you anymore. 

I shoved the note deep into my pocket. The thoughts pierced through my head. I couldn't take it anymore. I had been keeping a steady walking pace, but out of nowhere, I started running. I ran all the way home. I ran more than a mile home, not even wearing workout clothes. I arrived at my front porch. I felt as though I would throw up and then faint. I needed water. I went in the garage and went to the kitchen to get water. I filled up my cup all the way and downed it in three seconds. I filled it up again and started to walk through the house to see if anyone was home. Nobody was. I ran downstairs and pounded it out on my drums for about an hour, when my mom got home. I stopped playing and went upstairs. My mom was unloading groceries. 

"Freddy, I wasn't expecting you to be home. Did something happen at the party?" 

"I really don't want to talk about it right now. I really just need to take a shower, and maybe a nap too."

"Ok, well I'm going to start dinner in about twenty minutes." 

"What time is Diana gonna be home?"

"Probably in the the next half an hour, why?"

"No reason." I smiled at my mom. She gave me a suspicious smirk and went back to unloading groceries. I ran up the stair and took a shower. A cold shower. I needed to be clean and I needed to clear my head, the way to do it was taking a cold shower. 

Twenty minutes later, I stepped out of the shower and got re-dressed. I peeked into my sister's room to see that she was, in fact, home and she was working on homework at her desk. I stopped in her doorway, drips of water ran down my face from my floppy wet hair. 

I cleared my throat, "Got a second, sis?"

She spun around in her desk chair. "Yeah, what do you need?"

"I need to ask you something, about Summer. Well, actually it's more like telling you something."

"Just say it." 

I walked into her room and sat on her bed. 

"I pushed Summer in the pool..."

"So wh-"

"I pushed her in the pool while he was still wearing her clothes and right before she was about to kiss another guy, who happened to be Ben, the host of the party. And then I got kicked out of the party."

Diana stared at me dumbfounded. "Oh no."

"I know, I know. What I did was terribly wrong."

"Very, very wrong. Why would you even do it?"

"Out of jealousy. I was would have done anything to stop them from kissing."

"And pushing them in the pool with their clothes on was your only option."

"Probably not, but it's all that I could think of at the moment."

Diana took a breath through her teeth. She made a soft whistling noise. 

"What do I do?" I asked. 

"Well, first of all, you need to apologize to both Summer and Ben."

I nodded. 

"Then, you need to stay out of their business period. Only talk to them when you have to." 

I took a breath, "Alright. But Diana, there's one more thing."

"Uh oh, what now." 

"I sort of saw Summer put this one her gift for Ben. She didnt notice I was there. On my way out, I stole it."

"Let me see it,"

I dug it out of my pocket and handed it to Diana. She flipped it over, it must've been upside down, and started reading it. She took another breath once she was finished. 

"And this matters to you how?"

"Summer likes Ben."

"And..."

"She doesn't like me anymore."

There was a pause. 

"And I like her." 

Diana didn't say anything. She stood up and came over to me. She hugged me for a few seconds, and then pulled away.

"You've got it bad little bro." 

"I know." 

I stood up and walked out of her room and into mine. I sat down and looked at the note again. I can't even believe she likes him. She just met him. 

Maybe if I hadn't been such a jerk to her... 

And that's when it hit me. 

This whole thing was my fault. My fault. I ruined it with Summer. 

Maybe if I hadn't told her to leave me alone she wouldn't have lost interest. Maybe Ben wouldn't have showed up to the school at all. Maybe this was my punishment, all for breaking Summer's heart. 

It wasn't worth it, but it sure was at the time. Now I need to get her back. And it all starts with an apology. 

And this won't just be an apology for pushing her in the pool, this will be an apology for everything that has happened in the past few months. 

To win Summer over, I needed to make things right. 

I ran downstairs, and almost right into my mom. 

"Mom, I'm going to miss dinner, please don't be mad." 

A stern expression crossed her face. "What could possibly be so important that you feel the need to miss family dinner. 

"I'm making things right."

Even though my mother had no idea what was going on, she stepped aside and let me pass. I noticed Diana upstairs, she probably nodded to mom or something to make her let me go. Diana gave me a thumbs up and I gave her one back. She smiled and I smiled back to her. I broke the moment by running off. I grabbed my helmet and skateboard and made my way to Summer's house.

Step one in making things right.