[ lowercase intended - the entire story will be written like this ]
november 3rd, 1999
ages; 5
bringing my feet to the ground, i heard some loud applause. i saw ashton clapping, a wide smile on his face as he watched me do my final cartwheel. it was always fun to do my gymnastics, but i especially liked doing it in front of him. it seemed like he always clapped the loudest.
two dimples on either side of his face popped out on his cheeks. "you're so good, maely," he exclaimed as soon as i landed softly on his lawn. ashton giggled and plopped down on the grass, bringing me down with him. "gymnastics looks so fun, but it's for girls."
"it's not just for girls," i protested, reaching for my foot and stretching it above my body.
ashton shakes his head. "i'll stick to footy," he muttered, sitting up suddenly. i fixed my tank top that was sliding slightly to the right. my small frame stood up when his did and i followed him into his house, brushing the pieces of grass off my bum. all i focused on was his blonde bushy curls as i trailed behind him into the kitchen where ms. anne was sitting at the counter, cutting some celery sticks. "hey, mummy, can we have some celery and peanut butter?"
she nodded happily and slid over the plate, which ashton grabbed, and then handed me the peanut butter, to which i cradled like a baby. we walked around the one story house like soldiers to his room, finally plopping down in front of his television where a show was playing. "ashton?" i asked, and he looked at me. "where's your daddy?"
he shrugged his shoulders and i looked at him in confusion. "i don't know where he is," he said. "my mum says i don't have a dad, but i don't know. how would i be here, then?" i nod and pop a celery stick in my mouth, chewing with all the teeth i have left - i gave them to the tooth fairy. "i love this show!" then he starts singing the theme song and that's when i realize that ashton has a very pretty voice.
"ashton, do you like singing?" i ask, and he nods excitedly. "sing for me!"
for a moment, he blushes and shakes his head, not wanting to do that in front of me. but after a bit of persuasion, he was singing a song i don't know, but sounds really nice. even though his voice was high pitched and a little shaky at times because he was only five, it was smooth and melodic. i couldn't wait to hear more. when he finished, i clapped a lot and told him how fantastic he was, but he only shook his head bashfully.
i giggled and laid on my stomach, leaning on my elbows and demand that he sings another. "you're so good," i gushed, making his cheeks pinken and him shake his head. "you are! i think you're gonna' be famous one day. and when you're famous, you're gonna' take me on tour across the world with you." but because of my lisp, it sounded like wiff you. he didn't notice.
"my mum told me i should try out for the x factor and try to win," he said, but shrugged. "i don't know about all that, though. i think i wanna' be a music teacher." i shook my head and stood up, gathering my bookbag from atop his bed where we threw it. "are you going home?"
i watched him frown. "yeah, ash, i have to," my voice is small, but i buckle on my shoes and walk around his room. i stopped at him and gave him a big hug, to tell him i love him and i'd see him tomorrow at the bus stop where we usually sat together on the big yellow bus and talked about what kinds of dreams we had last night, or the latest episode of our favorite show. we could talk about anything and everything, make a game out of nothing, but without saying anything at all. i think he understood.
"can't you stay for dinner?" he pleaded, but i shook my head.
"i think my gramma's coming for dinner tonight and i can't miss it," i said truthfully, sliding my bag onto my back. before i leave, i take another celery stick and eat it plain, walking out of his room. i said a quick goodbye to ms. anne and walk out of the house. my house was only a few doors down, maybe six or seven. not that i cared. i hum the song ashton was singing for me until i get to my house, to find my dad grinning at me from the sofa. "daddy!"
i run to his outstretched arms. "hello, pumpkin," he smiled widely and i giggled as he pulled me onto his lap, smelling the putrid smell of wine on his mouth. i curled up my nose, but ignored it. mummy and daddy always had wine with dinner. they let me try it once, it was disgusting and bitter. "how was it with your little boyfriend?"
"he's not my boyfriend," i gasped, but my heart did a little flip-flop. "ashton is my bee-eff-eff."
daddy cocked his head to the side in confusion. "bee-eff-eff?"
"best friend forever! duh," i said before climbing off of him and going into the kitchen to find my mum sipping a wineglass whilst cooking, singing like she always did. i smiled at her before climbing up, with some struggle, onto the island. her back was turned, so when she whipped around to grab the bowl of carrots and potatos from next to me that's yet to be cooked, she pretended to be surprised. i giggled and took a carrot, popping it in my mouth. "i hope the tickle monster doesn't get me for that!"
before i knew it her fingers were poking into my sides and at that very moment, i think i knew the meaning of happiness and bliss. it was when you knew all your family and friends loved you unconditionally and that everything in life was good. when you had a smile on your face that spread around to everyone else's cheeks as well. that was what being happy was. and i think i never wanted to lose that feeling again.
. . .
the next morning i woke up in my disney princess pajamas, stretching my arms high over my head. my mummy smiled at me, scooping me onto her back so she could drag me into the kitchen for my bowl of cereal. we had a teeny tiny television on top of the little window separator between the living room and breakfast nook, so i watched my morning tv shows with breakfast.
i laughed at something my favorite character said and picked my bowl up to put it in the sink, running to my room to get dressed. my mum already picked out my outfit of the day; a pretty pink checkered dress with white anklets and black mary jane's. i pulled it on and raced to the bathroom where my mum usually did my hair after i used the toilet and all that. after i washed my hands, she came in and brushed out my straight brown hair, pinning some back with a pink dragonfly clip.
ashton was outside at the bus stop when i got there. he grinned at me, the holes in his teeth prominent and cute, and said, "hey, maely!" i threw my arms around him and asked him why he smelt minty. "my mum gave me this pack of gum. want some?"
i nodded and when i put it in my mouth, my eyes widened. "woah! that's strong," i cried, giggling as i chewed on it. "so i had a dream and you were in it." i felt sort of awkward saying this dream, but we always shared everything.
"really? i had a dream about you," he replied excitedly. he decided he would go home with zero consent towards me, not that i cared. i was glad i didn't have to say it. "we were in a zoo and a dinosaur came and we rode it all the way home, and then it tucked us in in a tent in my backyard." i laughed at his dream, it was funny. "what was yours?"
i chewed on my lip. "um, never mind."
he wouldn't take no as an answer, though, and he pushed and pushed until finally i gave in. he had said, "please?" with a cute little pout. cute enough to make me cave.
"okay, well," i began, looking at him nervously. "we were at my house and, um, you kissed me." i scraped my shoe against the cement, something my mum would reprimand me for in the long run, and watched his eyes widen. his cheeks pinkened and so did mine, and we both just looked at each other.
he crinkled his nose. "i don't want to do that with you 'til i'm older," he said and i asked him what he meant. ashton shrugged. "mum always says when you like a girl you should be their boyfriend. i like you, so i think we'll end up kissing like our parents when we're older." i thought about his words for a long while. like when we got on the bus, three words echoed over and over in my head, sending a goofy smile on my face. he held my hand as we walked into school, and those same words screamed themselves into my brain.
i didn't know much about boys, but i like you sure has to mean something.
