You Killed Him

Quality Time

Colin asked if I was feeling ill a couple of times the next morning. I nodded weakly, feeling groggy and really tired. I didn’t get much sleep the night before. Startled from the nightmare, I spent the rest of my time browsing through songs on YouTube until it was time for me to get ready for school.

During Physics lesson, I sat next to Nathan. I could feel him staring at me, watching me. I didn’t have the energy to say anything about it until I heard a giggle from him. I shot him a look while trying my best to stay awake. “Are you laughing at me?” I questioned him.

“No, why would I?” he said, holding his laughter. “It’s not like you’re funny.”

“Come on, Nate. It’s really not a good time to joke with me. I’m really not in the mood”, I said.

“I’m pretty sure everyone can tell.”

“What?” I said, probably a little too loud. The teacher looked at me and put a finger to his mouth, gesturing for me to keep it down.

“You’ve been falling asleep every half a minute. You can barely keep your head up. I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one noticing” Nate whispered.

“Is it really that bad?” I said, raising my eyebrows.

He nodded. “But you know what? I can help keep you awake.”

I frowned. What was he planning to do? I didn’t think it would have been wise to go along with his plans. “It’s okay. If you don’t want my help, you can go ahead and sleep. Maybe start snoring and embarrass yourself when everyone finds out it’s you”, he said nonchalantly.

 “Fine.” I gave in after deciding that trusting him was better than being caught sleeping in class. “What crazy plans do you have for me? Throwing paper balls at other people? Writing anonymous love letters? Or! Ditching class?”

“Calm down, Kayla. I was going to suggest having a little conversation. Just the both of us, no paper balls, no love letters”, he said with a smile.

“Aah, I see.” I replied. I gave it some thought. Just a harmless conversation to keep myself awake. “Why not?” I said to him.

“Let’s start with the reason you’ve been like a zombie today”, Nate said.

“Really?” I groaned at the thought of it but I started telling him all about my nightmare. As I spoke, he rested his head on his hand and seemed to be listening intently. He was a good listener, constantly nodding his head in acknowledgement.

I continued talking to Nate for the rest of the lesson as the teacher told us to do our own work. By the time we finished our conversation, the bell rang. “Later? Around 8p.m.?” Nate asked before leaving the class. I nodded. “Thanks for keeping me awake just now. I’ll see you later”, I answered.

I walked home with Colin. He was kept to himself and was really quiet since we left school. “So can you make it tonight?” I asked, breaking the silence. Colin had his gaze upon the path we were walking on and didn’t bother looking at me when he answered, “Yup.”

“What’s up? Is there anything wrong? “ I asked.

“I’m just tired, I’ll probably feel better after some sleep”, he replied while turning into the lane leading to his house.

“Okay. Rest well.”

I walked up to Nathan, clutching my purse in my hand tightly and using my other hand to sweep my fringe to the side. He asked where Colin was because he thought we were going together. But Colin cancelled at the last minute. He told me he had to meet a friend to discuss homework.

“I guess it’s just the both of us then?” Nate said.

We were strolling in the park for a few minutes and then made our way to a mini gelato stall by the roadside. I had the strawberry one whereas Nate ordered citrus gelato. He insisted that I tried the citrus one because I told him that the strawberry gelato was the best and of course, he insisted otherwise. I refused to try his because I didn’t like sour stuff but I didn’t want to tell him that. “I don’t really like mixing my food”, I told him instead.

“So, Nate. Tell me more about yourself”

“Well, what do you want to know?”

“What’s your favorite snack?”

“Cheetos and chocolate cookies.”

“Cheetos? Really? That’s Colin’s favorite too!” I said.  “But he’s not here.”

“He hasn’t been around much lately, has he? Was it always like this?” Nate asked.

“Not at all. We would hang out almost every day. I guess he has been really busy lately. Instead of Physics, he’s taking Economics classes. He probably has more assignments and homework to complete since summer holidays start tomorrow”, I said.

“Oh, really? Today was the last day of school? And we’re not celebrating?” Nate asked.

“Does gelato count?”

“No! You need to throw a party. A massive one to mark the start of summer”

“Are you out of your mind? It’s not going to happen.”

“Why not? That’s how we do it back in my previous school. Come on. It’ll be fun. I’ll help you. I’m pretty sure Colin will too. It’ll be the party of the year. Everyone will remember it”, Nathan said excitedly.

“Tomorrow? Even if I agreed, we wouldn’t have time to plan.”

“Trust me, Kayla”, he said, smirking.

Back home, I was going through the stack of mail I retrieved from the mailbox earlier that morning, thinking about how crazy it was agreeing to Nathan’s idea of a party. I came across a letter from a ‘Mr. Carson’ and immediately opened it. I felt butterflies fluttering inside of me. Why would my father write to me? The last time he did, it was 2004. The letter was quite heavy and I felt something hard in it. I tore the envelope open in a few seconds and unfolded the piece of paper in it.

“ My dearest sister,

This is the first time I’m writing to you but do not be alarmed, nothing bad has happened. I am in an area with no service thus I can’t call. How have you been? How is school? It has been so long since I’ve seen you. I’m pretty sure my baby sister is all grown up now.

We certainly have a lot to catch up on. I’m really looking forward to our brother-sister bonding in a few days. I’m guessing you’re feeling upset that dad couldn’t make it back for the summer. I’m feeling the same way too. But let’s not let that ruin our summer.

I haven’t been back for some time. Has the city changed much? Are there any new malls? You have to bring me around! And it’s a must for us to visit the ice cream shop at least once.

I think that’s all for now. I’ll save everything else for when we finally meet up. I hope you like the picture.

                                                                                                                                                                                Love, Vincent.”

I emptied the envelope and found a photo frame with a picture of Vincent and I when we were young. I couldn’t wait to meet him. I bet Colin would be excited to get together with him too. “The trio, REUNITED”, I said out loud. It sounded really good to me. I planned to tell Colin about the party and Vincent’s letter the next morning. I went to bed thinking of all the things we could do together. It was going to be the best summer ever.

----------check out the artwork at the side >>>> Kayla and Nathan at the gelato stall. credits to my brother.