The End of Our Stars

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

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When Isaac phoned me that Saturday afternoon, I was sure enough he’d invite me to play videogames. But putting on the Gus-thinking hat, he had other ideas.

He asked me to drive to Monica’s place, the car of his ex-girlfriend still in the same place as it was the last time we did this. We had two dozen eggs, a blindfold (for me) and a sign taped to our front and backs saying ‘ignore us.’

We might look like a couple of rowdy teenagers looking for trouble but I guess if you can see a ‘rowdy’ teen with an oxygen tank and the other with a cane (or was it a stick?), you’d tend to just look away and obey the sign.

Yes. It was a total cancer perk.

“I am blindfolded and ready to aim!” I said to Isaac with so much readiness and passion that I bet he grinned. God, it was hard to really not see. I felt the eggs on the carton held by my left hand and took one. “Are you holding one up?” I asked him loudly.

“Jesus, Hazel,” he laughs. “I didn’t know that making you blind will make you deaf, too.” His teasing made me conscious and I gave him the quickest and most reasonable response I could think of;

“Shut up,”

“Ready?”

“Aim—”

We both yelled. “FIRE—” I don’t think we even hit anything. Monica’s precious car didn’t even made the alarm and I can hardly hear any eggs hitting the hood or the trunk or the glass.

Man, I really am deaf when I’m blind! After a while I was exasperated with the energy and pulled off my blindfold. And there, standing with fury and deadly disapproval is who I suppose is Monica’s father.

“What the hell are you trying to do?” He snaps. “Disrupting the peace and quiet of this neighborhood, you stupid ignorant teenagers with your hormones and your drugs, I will report you to the police!”

“We’re sorry, sir.” Isaac says quickly. I see now that he’s beginning to sweat and it was my turn to put on the Gus-thinking hat.

“Please sir, step away.” I sighed. “We are creating a masterpiece for the ill-fated victims of—of—”

“Heartbreak, like me,” Isaac steps in again. “Monica, my beautiful yet heartbreaking ex-girlfriend, made me suffer not only blindness but severe incurable heartache.”

“I think if you let us continue, we would find a cure for people like him who are so mistreated especially during their darkest moments.” No pun intended.

The man, who looks confused and disturbed, gave us a shake of the head and throws his hands in the air. “I don’t know what to do with the lot of you!” He started walking away and I quickly guided Isaac back in the car.

“That was close!” Isaac breathed. “To think we’ll do jail time for that,”

“You’ll have the luck of not seeing how that went with your ex-future-dad-in-law.”

“Dad-in-law, what do you mean?”

I rev the engine and gave Isaac a weird look. Yeah, he wouldn’t see it. Damn it! I keep forgetting. “Wasn’t that Monica’s dad?”

“For all I know, her dad’s in Chicago. And I met him once but I can never forget a voice.” His tone was implying something I didn’t quite catch. When I didn’t reply, Isaac added. “I think that was her mother’s new ‘beau.’”