Waiting For Summers

CHAPTER 1

I've only had two best friends in my entire life and it has been six years ever since Marco left. It has been six summers.

Marco was my first best friend. We have known each other since we were in kindergarten. His family moved into the neighbourhood when I was six years old and not only did we live next to each other, we also had been classmates ever since kindergarten.

I remembered the first day they arrived. My parents volunteered to help them unload their things from their moving truck. It was a weekend anyway so we were not going somewhere or there was nothing on my family's to-do list that day. I was playing on our front porch when my Mom called me to help. Well, I was annoyed since why would a six-year-old need to help adults do their stuff? I lifted my head and saw a boy, just a bit taller than I am. I decided to bring the toy I am playing with, just to show off. It was the latest Dinobot during that time and I was sure this new kid would know I am super than him. "Marco, this is Jared. Jared, this is Marco. He is the same age as you. I bet you'll be best friends," my Mom introduced as I reached her side.
I wish she was wrong but man, she's right.

I played with my DinoBot, a blue triceratops that transforms into a robot, expecting to invoke envy. "Oh, I have Tyrano!" Marco exclaimed.

"But that won't be released until next month! How?" I asked, my eyebrows meeting each other.

"I don't know about my dad but you can borrow mine. I prefer Topsy over Tyrano anyway!"

He let me borrow his red tyrannosaurus robot until the next weekend — and that is how our friendship started.

Some weekend nights, Marco would be left with us since his parents mostly work out of town. During those nights, we would watch movies like Robin Hood and Tom Sawyer until such time I requested my Dad to build our treehouse between our backyards. We would keep our stuff there and that's where we would read our books. We would pretend that's our hideout and where we keep all our "stolen money". Sometimes, we were pirates looking out to the vastness of the sea to find the Treasure place. The treehouse is our hiding place. Up until now, that was still where I felt the safest.

It was two weeks before summer ends when I noticed Marco was feeling different for the past few days. "I heard Mom and Dad talking about moving to another town," Marco admitted. I had been bugging him why was he feeling down since that morning and only got the chance to ask when we're on our way home. "Oh, I'm sorry. You know, we're Tom Sawyer and you're Huck. They can't separate us. We'd run away!" I reassured Marco.

I spent the next days planning on how to stop them from moving away. It was the last week of the first month of summer, I woke up too late that morning because we arrived late last night from a weekend getaway. I waited for Marco to come out of the house. After an hour, I realized nobody was meeting me out on their porch. They had already moved out.

That was the first summer I ever felt alone. As you can see, I am an introvert so I spent the whole summer either going out-of-town with my parents or spending some alone time up the treehouse. I didn't have a lot of friends. I knew eventually someone would move in but I wasn't sure who and when. I was just hoping to have a new friend.

******

It was the second Monday of summer. It was too hot to go outside so I spent the day lying inside my treehouse. I was almost finished with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and my large cup of lemonade was halfway done. I wasn't trying to finish the book so quickly but what can I do? The book was really enjoyable to read. Another summer of nothing to do. I think I should plan for my college life now, I sighed. I put down the book and closed my eyes. I felt the gentle summer wind brushing on me. Sunlight peeped through the leaves of the tree. This fall, I'm going to be a junior and I felt like — like someone was peeping on me! I opened my eyes halfway and I was right! "Whoa! How long have you been there?!" I stood up, startled. A girl's head popped out the entrance of my treehouse. A head sticking out of a square hole on a floor was both creepy and terrifying.

"Well, well not long enough, Red. I am not a creep like you!" Laura answered as she make her way up and inside. 

"Looks like you are, Laura," I teased. 

"Ya wish nerd," she smirked."Why are you here by the way? You are disturbing me as I contemplate my life, Laura," I complained.

"I have been calling you and texting you and you made no response. So I decided to hunt you on my own!" she said as she poured herself a glass of lemonade.

"I told you, I don't feel like going. That party is not for people like me," I rolled my eyes, "Besides, it's only been two weeks since the school ended and you guys already have parties to attend? How do you do that?"

"Well, I don't know, you can ask Paco. He's the one from a0 rich Spanish family. Not to forget that his parents aren't always there so he has the capability, you know?" she shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know..," I hesitated.

"I don't care what your answer is, I'm going to pick you up at 5:30 and we're going to Paco together!" she gulped her lemonade and started going down the ladder. "See you at 5 pm, dork." She winked before leaping down."I.. I.. don't waa.. ugh!" I screamed as I looked out the window, almost falling.

Now I have a party with the people on top of the social food chain. And I can't do anything about it.