SEVENTEEN years to Live

27 ●○► ANNOUNCEMENT

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

●○► ANNOUNCEMENT

 

“You’re 3 minutes late,” Jamela informs us as we arrive in the dining room. From the table, she looks at us with narrowed eyes and a small smile.

I take a deep breath. “Sorry,” I say automatically.

Then, “Take your seats,” she says to us, motioning her hands to the vacant seats beside Mrs. Tessa opposite her.

I can feel every pair of eyes following me as I walk toward the chair. I look down at the floor and try not to glance at the table. Bryan is walking a foot away behind me. When I reach the chair I’m going to seat, Bryan pulls it backward so there’s a space for my feet.

“Thank you,” I say, glancing at him over my shoulder where he is. I meet his eyes and he bows his head a little.

“You’re welcome,” he replies.

When we’re finally seated, a throat is cleared loudly in Jamela’s direction. We all look at her and wait till she speaks.

“Dad,” she begins, her tone questioning. “I was just wondering about this thing I heard from Sixto.”

“What is it, Jamela?” asks Mr. Abcde curiously.

“It’s about a camp at the lake.”

Camp? I think, narrowing my eyes at the familiarity of the word. I have heard about it a few years back. I heard it from a group of boys in our neighborhood who were leaving their house. Each of them carried a large bag. They were wearing the same clothes as if it were their uniform. I had no idea where they were going. Then they mentioned “camp” and I knew that it was going to be fun.

“We’re going on camping, Dad?” asks Ghislaine from the opposite side of the table. My eyes fall upon her but it only takes me a few seconds to look at her then I glance away to the Mayor.

Mr. Abcde nods his head in reply.

And Ghislaine mutters under her breath, “Yes.”

After a second, James speaks. “Just the whole family?”

“No,” Mr. Abcide says. “The whole town is going to participate.”

The whole town? My eyes widen. Excitement fills my chest and I feel my lips spread across my cheeks. Oh, yeah! I think, and the thought of my friends surfaces inside my head. They can join! They can join! The whole town’s going to join.

I wonder how many people are living in Town Redlight. I wonder if the lakeside’s going to be large enough for the town’s population. Or is it too small? I don’t know. Maybe it’s too big enough to fit all people in Town Redlight there.

Suddenly I glance at Bryan, smiling and my eyes bright with excitement. He smiles at me too, the kind of smile that says “Oh, our friend’s going to be there and it’s going to be fun.”

“When is it going to be?” asks Jamela enthusiastically.

Mr. Abcde takes a deep breath then announces, “Next week,” with a smile.

Next week. Next week. The words echo in my head and I feel my jaw fall open. My lips spread into a huge smile and more excitement rise up to my chest.

I can’t wait to tell this to my friends.

***

That night, Bryan goes to bed early. He says he’s too tired and needs plenty of rest. I come with him as dinner finishes and stay with him until he falls asleep on the bed. I’m sitting beside him, running my fingers through his hair while staring at him. His mouth is open a little, sign of exhaustion, I think. After a few minutes of watching him, he is now starting to snore.

I smile at how handsome he looks when he’s asleep. I wish I had a camera to take a picture of him. But poor people never have a camera so I now shrug the thought out of my mind.

After another few minutes of watching him sleep, it gets a little boring. The silence inside the room is deafening. It rings in my ears like a high-pitched sound. Then my eyes become heavy, and suddenly I feel tired of blinking. I just want to close my eyes and sleep.

For a moment I lie down, facing Bryan in front of me. I have finally quitted staring at him because this time I have closed my eyes and gone to sleep.

***

When I wake up, Bryan is no longer beside me. I blink my eyes many times to clear the murkiness in my vision then struggle to sit up. I yawn twice before I jump out of bed. My feet lead me to the bathroom door and as I open it, I see Bryan standing in front of the mirror and brushing his teeth.

“Goob morming, sweepharp,” he greets warmly, his voice changing because of the bubbles in his mouth.

I smile a little, my eyes closing as my lips stretch across my cheeks. “Good morning,” I reply after a moment. Then I make my way toward him as he rinses his mouth.

When he spits the last mouthful of mater he gargled, I put my hands on his waist and kiss him. He tastes like toothpaste. His mouth is warm and soft as they curl into mine. I don’t care what I taste like, and Bryan seems to not care as well.

“Mmm,” he says when our lips separate. “Mary, I guess you need to brush your teeth.”

***

In the afternoon, Bryan and I go to visit our friends again. I’m going there because I’m going to announce what’s going to happen next week. I get more and more excited as we get nearer to the house. When we’re finally fifty meters away, I invite Bryan to race toward the house.

He gets there first. And I arrive there just a few seconds later. We climb the porch steps after a moment and I ball my hands to knock on the door.

I knock thrice. I wait for 5 seconds and then there is a click. The opens slowly and Beth appears behind it. She smiles at us enthusiastically and I smile back at her with the same smile.

“Hi, Mary,” she says softly. “Come in.”

I don’t hesitate. I’m too excited to announce the camping to them. Bryan follows me as I enter the house and there on the floor/bed sits the girls and Sephred. When Bryan stands beside me, I hear the door close behind me.

“Hey, Mary!” Heather calls from the floor/bed, shooting her hand up to make me notice her.

It seems that they’re doing something over there. A game, I think.

“We’re playing ‘truth or dare,’” says Beth, who appears beside me after closing the door. “Wanna join us?”

“Well, that’s great,” I say, my voice sounding patient and impatient. My lips spread into a smile. “But before that, I have some good news.”

I glance at Beth beside me to Kate, then to Heather, then to Janine, then to Sephred, and then back again.

“What is it?” asks Janine, her eyes narrowed at me in curiousness.

I press my lips together and take a deep breath through my nose. “There’s going to be a camping next week at the lake.” My voice carries a tone of excitement. “Isn’t that great? It’s going to be fun.”

For a split second, the girls give me a huge grin and everybody starts freaking out—screaming and jumping in excitement. The look of surprise is entirely visible on their faces. Sephred is smiling and he has the gentlest expression among them. Janine gets to her feet. And all of them seem to forget about the game.

“Are you serious?” Kate asks me, as if she doesn’t believe what I said.

I nod fast in reply.

Then a scream escapes her lips and the entire place is filled with excited noise.

I can’t wait until next week!