Lemon Boy

Because I Could Not Stop for Death

Prologue

To the outside world, Esmeralda didn't seem too troubled by the fact that we were standing at the edge of a 30-foot cliff and were about to jump.She was scared though, her smile was awkward and uncomfortable. It wasn't too noticeable, just a slight glitch on the side of her mouth that formed a bump; I should have noticed it.

"You sure you still want to do this?" I asked reaching out for her hand. She nodded and grabbed my hand, tightly, in response.

She went first. Her arms swung out gracefully forming a v-shape next to her head. I went next. Except I wasn't as skilled a she was. I hesitated and panicked while in the air, only allowing a short bracket of time for me to position my hands correctly. My ears muffled and then there was water engulfing me. I felt a hand grab my waist and tug upwards. Gasping for breath, I looked up to see Esmeralda. Her hair was thick and coily, I hadn't seen it like this before. She held me close to her, our chests pressed against each other. I reached out and touched her hair, it was wet, obviously. I noticed how the coils mixed into each other, randomly and confidently.

She began to swim back towards the land. I kicked my feet alongside her. She was still holding on to me as if my life depended on it, because it did; I didn't know how to swim. She pushed me up onto the grass and I pulled myself up until I was a distance away from the stream. Esmeralda was next to me before I could gather my thoughts.

"That was fun!" she signed, gathering my thoughts for me, as she always did. I waved my hands in the air signing the word for "yay" in response.

"I didn't think I was going to be scared," I said out loud, "but then once I was in the air I was basically shitting my pants."

Esmeralda laughed, her curls bouncing with her. "I told you," she signed "You never know whether you like something until you try it."

"Fine, it was fun, you win," I responded, putting my hands up in defeat.

"You know that I love you, Leo," Esmeralda signed quickly as if she regretted it the second her hands moved.

"Of course I do." I responded,"I love you too, Esme," I signed back. I should have noticed.

We laid there for an hour, her head on my abdomen and my hands twirling her hair. We spent most of the time in silence, just appreciating each other's company. Esmeralda stood up abruptly, killing the mood. "We're going to get in trouble if we don't leave now," Esmeralda said, her hand movements sharp and hurried. I gathered my clothes and tried to rush them on, but my skinny black jeans delayed my attempt to hurry. Esmeralda already had her olive green dress on and was strapping her sandals by the time I had managed to get my jeans on; my foot had gotten stuck in the ripped holes of my jeans more times than I cared to admit.

Esmeralda reached her hand back and pulled me along with her as she skillfully navigated us through the woods. She knew them too well for someone that had only been there for two days, I should have noticed. We made it to the main cabin minutes before Mr.Reyes came in with a clipboard.

"Line up to sign the attendance sheet." He called out with disinterest. He passed the clipboard over to all the other students without care, that was until he got to Esmeralda and me. "Leo! Esmeralda!" he said with a snarky grin on his face, "Didn't see ya at dinner. Ya didn't, by any chance, leave the grounds, did ya?"

My face cracked immediately and I began to stammer. "Um-well-we-um-uh..."

"I wasn't feeling well, so Leo took me back to my room," Esmeralda said, her voice strained from underuse. Mr.Reyes was, to Esmeralda's luck, the only teacher that didn't understand minimal ASL. So Esmeralda had to twist and trip her way through her conversations with him.

"Hrm, is that true?" He said suspiciously, "Ya feeling better now, missy?"

Esmeralda nodded, not yet confident enough in her speaking skills to express herself.

"Heh," he grunted, "Speak up, missy."

I flinched, I gave Esmeralda a look that could only be translated to mean, "What the fuck is wrong with this little shit?"

Esmeralda ignored me and smiled at Mr.Reyes, "Yes, sir." she stumbled out. I should have noticed.

"That's all I needed to know. Next!" he said, passing the clipboard to the student behind us.

I grabbed Esmeralda's hand and walked with her towards the rooms. "Ignore him, Esme, he's just a stupid bigot." She smiled at me, that awkward, unsure, smile that created a bump next to her lips. The kind that I should have noticed.

"Thanks." She signed, as we made our way to the big wooden door that was her room. Esmeralda reached behind me into my back pocket and pulled out a silver key. She'd put it there before we left for our little escapade, her dress didn't have pockets. Esmeralda unlocked her room and stepped inside, she didn't bother with turning on the lights.

"Meet me before breakfast?"

She nodded, her eyes sad, and closed the door behind her. I should have noticed she was acting strangely. But I didn't know that would be the last time I'd see her. The first and the last time I'd see those big black curls before they would be standing in front of 30 foot cliff, with no intention of surviving the fall.