Another Now

May Belle Aarons

Having had a front row seat to what happened in 2016, everything Leslie eventually explained to me felt like nothing. It was almost as if I'd been expecting this, like there was no possible way resolution could last an entire month. Even though I had only turned 9 years old this past February, I already knew what happened with Leslie and my brother the previous year stretched my maturity and innocence beyond return. I really did grow up 5 years in only one. And now, it was 2.

On August 10th, Leslie knocked on our door. When I answered, I nearly called for Jess, assuming she was there for him. She grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me suddenly from the house and slammed the door shut. Leslie hadn't spoke much to me since June, when she and Jess reunited. I knew that if this really was the real deal, she was slowly going to drift off from me. I didn't know how I felt about that; feeling real, raw emotion became strangely difficult over the last year.

When Les dragged me out down by the creek she nearly drowned in almost four years ago now, I knew something had happened. Most likely something bad, and most likely to do with Jess since I was here, and not him. Some might say the fact that it took over a month for me to be informed about what happened on July 4th is really surprising, but at that point, it wasn't. I hadn't been kept up on what was happening with my brother's friend these days. I was just finding my own circle of friends again, in my own grade, when Les dragged me out that day and told me everything that happened. I was also slowly becoming okay with being far more emotionally mature than the rest of my friends. It looked like that was about to be diminished and I knew at some point, most likely when school went back, I'd have to rebuild that all over again.

Jess hooked up with someone else? Unbelievable! Jess hooked up with Grace Jacobs? I was surprised it hadn't happened sooner. I could see from a mile away, always could, over the last year they way that girl looked at my brother. And I knew also, to some degree, he was attracted to her too. Maybe it wasn't love, just some physical sensation, but it was something.

After catching up with Les, she took me to Dairy Queen for ice cream. It wasn't until after we ordered that I told her about my recent diet restrictions. In 2016, Leslie gained an excessive amount of weight as a factor of coping with the events of April 17 and what followed after. Being by her side almost every second, I followed in her footsteps and gained a gross amount of weight as well. Months earlier, when I stopped hanging around Leslie so much, my mom put me on a strict diet plan to slim down to a healthy weight again and I'd already lost 5 pounds.

Leslie and I sat together in the restaurant, reluctantly eating ice cream when she got a call from Janice Avery. Apparently the news of Jess and Leslie's breakup had only recently gotten around to her also and the older girl was looking to confirm the rumors. They were mostly all correct.

"Grave Jacobs? Dang, that chic is too much for me even" Janice said the following day as she, Leslie and me all sat on the saucer swings of the playground Leslie discovered on April 17, 2016 when she went missing for four hours. The park has been our go to place ever since.

"I know, but she's had it for him for years. I found it easier to pretend it wasn't happening, honestly. I didn't think he returned any of the feelings. I just hate how it went down" Leslie sighed, still comprehending it.

"I wondered why you weren't at our house all the time anymore but I thought you and Jess found some other things to do or something" I added, having just really noticed the distance between them over the last month.

"Well, you'll be at my school next year. I've got your back, and the best part is you're leaving Grace behind at that dump of an elementary school" Janice said, more than willing to take Leslie in with her. The solution we needed.

"I know, but poor May Belle is stuck in that school with her. I hope she doesn't bother you." Her last comment was directed at me, and I shrugged.

"I'll stalk her or something and tell you if she's writing Mrs. Jesse Aarons all over her notebooks" I half-joked, but the look on her face told me she might believe this possible.

"Don't worry, she's like our little spy" Janice winked at me.

"Thanks, Jan. Both of you" Leslie smiled, giving us both a warm look.

"Don't you worry, child. We will be triumphant in this high school. We will render them all speechless" Janice insisted. Leslie smiled at this.

"Nothing crushes us" Leslie half-whispered, clearly amused by the statement neither Janice nor I understood.