Two hours and four yoghurt pots later, i was feeling slightly squeamish and deathly bored. There was still snow outside, but most of it had melted into a gooey slush that even the cat wouldn't walk into. There was no sign of Dad inside, so I took that to mean he was fiddling around in his shed. I would probably visit him and see what he was up to. Suddenly my phone vibrated and sung a cheesy ringtone that could only mean one thing: Ethan was calling.
"Hey ET, what's up?" I asked, calling him by his nickname that I had used since forever.
"Hey Tree, just wondering if you wanted to hang out later today. I'm so bored at home and my brother is practicing for his piano recital but he is ATROCIOUS. Please, save me," Ethan answered, calling me Tree because apparently I was tall. Hm. Okay.
"Well where do you wanna go?" I questioned.
"Dunno, just out of here," he replied.
"Okay well I guess we can work that out later. Meet up at like 2 or something?"
"Yeah ok, see you later then Tree."
"Bye then."
Putting down the phone, I decided to go have a shower. I chose my favourite pair of jeans and a tattered, black shirt. I needed new clothes, seeing as my closet was full of t-shirts that were either too small, too graphic, or too boring. My pants collection was lacking too: jeans, jeans and jeans. And maybe one pair of khakis that I'd wear to special events. Maybe I could convince Mum to give me some money. I couldn't trust her to buy me clothes, as she had the same fashion sense as a duck. Not that ducks looked bad or anything. I fed a few ducks down by the lake once, they violenty murdered each little piece of bread given. Ducklings however, were the fluffy, cheerful opposite, and as Lily had once so perfectly put: "They're so CUTE!!"
Anyway, after lunch and a couple minutes of failed arguing during which I somehow incorporated ducks, cheese and hobos into my speech, I left the house with a full belly but an empty wallet. I took a fairly uneventful bus ride through the countryside and arrived half-asleep at Ethan's door. At once I could hear a horrible combination of notes that could only come from one person: Tom, Ethan's brother.
After being let in by Ethan himself, we sat in his poster-covered room, blasting out punk songs and pretending we were part of a rock band, until his mum came up and yelled at us. Well, at him, not me.
"Ethan! Tom's practicing very hard downstairs and this noise is distracting him. Turn it down before I throw your speakers out! Oh and hello Tristan, I didn't see you there. Would you like a drink or something?"
Both of us replied at the same time: "Yeah whatever Mum, it's not as if he'll turn into Mozart overnight," Ethan said with a wave of his hand, but turned the volume down anyway.
"Um no thanks Mrs Weathers, I've just had lunch," I answered nervously. She always somehow convinced me to eat one of her many prized baked goods (prized to her, they were awful) and I had to quickly think of an excuse to avoid another battle with my intestines later on. "Alrighty then, but feel free to take anything from the kitchen whenever you like! And Ethan, if I have to come up here one more time about the volume..." She left an unsaid threat hanging, but we both knew it wasn't anything particularly scary. She literally could not hurt a fly, and would probably forget about this whole thing after about two and a half minutes.
"We're leaving anyway Mum," Ethan said as he stood up.
"Alright, but make sure to be back before 6, Auntie Olivia is staying for dinner and I will not have you barging in at an improper time," Ethan's mum answered.
I stood up too to let Ethan out of the room as he mumbled something unintelligible and shuffled downstairs, with me following. Tom was still banging keys on their piano, and was somehow managing to make a masterpiece by Bach sound like a cat's wailing.
We left the house as the sun came out of the clouds, only for Ethan to appear surprised and scurry back in for his sunglasses. The bus arrived just as he came back out, and another boring bus ride was had as we rode to the centre of town. There wasn't much there; a few shops and cafés, a small cinema, and a park behind the school. As we headed for the park, I glimpsed a few other people walking about. Mrs Williams had her young son in a pushcart and was enjoying the sun, strolling down the sidewalk. Mr Lawson was walking his dog, a playful labrador retriever puppy that had way too much energy for a body its size. A couple of students from our school were in the park too, sitting on the swings. As we got closer, I recognised them and my breath caught in my throat. Becky was there, with...Evie.
My face suddenly heated up and reddened, and I instantly hated what I was wearing. I mean, t-shirt and jeans in this weather? My steps were carefully measured, I was taking no chances on tripping over a loose stone or something. I couldn't say a word, nor could I take my eyes off her. She was chatting animatedly to Becky, hands gesturing and eyes twinkling as she re-lived a comedical moment from earlier. Becky chuckled, and as I looked at Ethan to see if he had noticed my face turning into a tomato, I saw that he had jammed his hands in his pockets and was staring intently at the cracks in the pavement. He too, seemed to be measuring his steps and purposefully was looking everywhere but the swings. Wait. What? He and Evie got along really well together, and there was never any sign of any romantic interest from either one of them towards the other. But Becky...they never really talked, but at times I would catch one looking at the other. I had always assumed she was just shy, but judging from how loud she had just laughed and how comfortable she seemed around Evie, I began to wonder if there was anything between Ethan and Becky.
Suddenly, Evie spied us and beckoned us over with that cute little smile of hers. We couldn't back out now, and so gingerly we made our way towards the swings, trying to look as 'cool' as possible while somehow keeping an eye on the ground. My legs stiffly obeyed the commands of my brain, and soon we found ourselves face to face with our biggest fears, and our largest dreams.
