Evergreen

Chapter 21

Don't wait. The time will never be just right – Napoleon Hill

*

Rain fell liberally from the ominous grey sky as Everett hopped out of the car. It instantly drenched his neck with uncomfortable thrills that made him feel alive. Despite the cold of the rain, Everett delighted in how it dropped onto people without a care, simultaneously making and breaking people's days, bonding them together in the endless goal of getting out of the rain.

"Come on in, Ev," said Marty as soon as he opened the bright blue door of his house, stepping aside to let Everett in (and to prevent more rain from invading the house).

Everett knew this place like the back of his hand. The kitchen on the right was where he and Marty had hidden from Marty's mum Tina that time they broke the vase; the living room on the left was filled with random, multi-coloured bric-a-brac that resembled Marty's brain; the second stair had a ketchup stain on it that Everett was told he'd made by squeezing the bottle too hard. Though why he was using ketchup on the stairs was beyond him.

So he swiftly noted the piece of paper in a wooden frame in Marty's bedroom.

"What's that?"

"Oh, that? Nothing much, just some award from my Drama school. You know that I was playing Kenickie in Grease? They thought I deserved the best supporting actor award."

Ev was agog. How had Marty kept his mouth shut about this? "That's amazing!"

Marty went on to detail his rehearsals, the mishaps, and the time he put a whoopee cushion on stuck-up Sandra's chair. Then the other friends arrived.

They set off on a long walk in the nearby fields (for the rain had been replaced by a rainbow), talking of gossip and grades and grenades. Even with all the hours of break and lunch at school, that time was never enough for them to really know each other or get into the flow of unrestricted conversation. Here, however, they could talk without teachers telling them to get to their classes. So they listened to Jade's tales from the Philippines, Marty's commentaries on fresh films, Hassan's news concerning his siblings and more without stopping or wanting to stop, for they treasured their time together much more than they'd ever admit.

When they returned to Marty's house three hours later, Tina gave her son a good telling off (she was very experienced at this).

"Marty! You're sunburnt from head to toe! Why didn't you put on sun cream, you silly billy?"

"Because I'm not ginger," replied Marty coolly, "would it ease your troubled mind if we put sun cream on now?"

"No, you're going to stay inside for the rest of the day. You'd better put some after-sun on, and Everett too."

All of Everett's hopes of getting a tan were in vain as he noticed his alarmingly pink arms and neck. How was it even possible to get sunburned in April? There were some things he'd never understand.

Being bound indoors dashed Hassan's hopes of playing football, but all were content to while away some time in the gaming world. Gaming was something that everyone seemed to agree on in their friendship group. Unfortunately, agreeing on a game was another matter.

"Let's play Rocket League!" said Everett.

"Oh, not that, we always play that," said Jade.

"Well, do you have a suggestion, smartypants?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Anyone up for Team Fortress 2?"

"Nah, that game's lame," said Hassan.

"What about Call of Duty?"