Graveyard Shift

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER ONE
I've realized that people choose to live because there is usually something to live for for them. Some people love music, so they live for music; others love movies, so they live for movies; a few love people, so they live for that person. I mean, don't get me wrong because all of those are great things to have, but it just seems like there is nobody out there who lives just for the sake of living. It's just a little sad that people don't decide to live simply because they want to live in the moment. And the people who seem to be living in the moment usually are living for the moment, which is not the same thing. Well, at least it isn't to me.
What's even more depressing is the fact that people who don't find something to live for usually end up killing themselves. And I know it will seem really messed up and heartless for me to say this, but in my opinion, that's really stupid. There's always a reason to live; like I said, people could live just for the sake of living in itself. I mean, you shouldn't kill yourself just because you can't find something to give you a reason. You're your own reason to live.
This is what Eleanor had told me. Beautiful, sexy, intriguing, daring, intelligent Eleanor Trip. I completely agreed because it made sense when she said it. And it was me who was totally enthralled with her, but really, there was no way to not be enthralled with Eleanor Trip because she was a kitschy girl who lived in the moment, which frightened people and made adults believe that she was helplessly reckless. Most didn't realize that she was not reckless at all and, in fact, everything she did actually had solutions if there were any problems that came along at all in her plans. Most also did not see that Eleanor Trip had intellectual conversations with people who actually had evidence to support themselves in order to prove her wrong. And she did not mind if she was proven wrong, but she liked to get her point across and also liked to hear when the other person actually had something intelligent to say for their side, and I guess that was what I liked about her.
And, as the summer's stale, hot air surrounded us until our heads beaded with perspiration for no reason except the heat and we were all sitting in our own sweat and malodors of body stench, she stood seventeen feet away from me inside of Mr. Derachi's history class, talking to her friends as I sat with mine quietly. She was laughing and brilliant as I sat at my desk, awaiting her company once the last bell rang and Mr. Derachi told us to have a great summer because we happened to hang out after school most days until my mom wanted me to get home. But, she lived just across the street and I couldn't help and feel a longing as she took the hair tie from her hair and let the waves fall loosely and the clock ticked as slowly, it seemed, as possible. The hair caressed her shoulders and face.
"Will," I blinked at my name. "Did you even hear what I said?" Daren asked. I pursed my bottom lip and my eyes narrowed as I tried to recall anything that could've met my ears, but was completely unable to. He rolled his eyes with a smile, though. "Classic Will; always got your head in the clouds." He followed my gaze and raised his brows knowingly. "Should've guessed." He added before continuing on. "Are you going to really invite her to Mitchell's party this time?"
I rolled my eyes and gave a hint of laughter as I pushed him from his sitting position upon my desk. "Are you going to ask Anna?" I threw. He scoffed.
"Yeah," he said wearily. "As soon as the bell rings, I'm gonna go up to her and ask." Daren smirked and glanced over at Anna who stood with Eleanor and Kris before looking back at me. "Come on, man. Are you actually gonna go to the party for real?"
I shrugged, "I dunno; I'll think about it."
He pushed me lightly and sucked his teeth, "Dude, you aren't going. You do this every year. You say you're thinking about asking El to the party, you wait and wait and wait, then you bail on the party."
I shrugged with a smile, "The party scene just isn't really my whole thing. You know I'm more of the nerd who sits on the side of a building reading."
"You're missing out, man, I'm telling you." He said. I rolled my eyes with a chuckle. "I'm serious, Will. You can't wait your whole life to do something amazing and spectacular. You just gotta take charge and do it, man."
I sighed out and the bell finally rang. Mr. Derachi told us to have an awesome summer break as people opened the door and nearly ran out. "I'll think about it." I repeated again. He raised a brow disapprovingly, but nodded before walking over to Anna. Eleanor waited as her friends left and she smiled as I made my way toward her.
"William," she greeted me. A broad smile crossed my face at the sound of name. There was nobody else who could make something so simple sound so magnificent.
"Eleanor Trip," I replied back. She scrunched her nose at my response happily. "What do you wanna do?"
"River," she automatically said. She smiled gloriously large, too large for her face, and I grinned right back. "Come on," she grabbed me by the elbow.
***
We walked through the park, her speaking fast and loud about how Teresa Mildred was ridiculous and she never wanted to have a debate about Charles Dickens with her ever again. I listened intently to her voice as we traveled downhill and met at the bottom, in front of the river. She looked behind at me and gestured me forward as she walked and then sat on the dirt. That was another thing I liked about her. She didn't mind sitting where she might get messy because she lived in the moment and if messy was part of that moment, then so be it.
We sat quietly. The river was completely abandoned as we sat there together. And as we sat on the dirt and crossed our legs, she let her elbow rest upon her knee and her chin upon her palm. She looked out at the water and took a breath in before huffing out through her nose. I had a small smirk playing at the corner of my lips because I was just looking at her and I wondered if she knew just how great it was to stare at her thinking; if she knew that her brows furrowed and her nose wrinkled a bit as her lips went in a thin line and she breathed, seeming very focused on whatever object was before her.
"William, I have a dilemma," she finally said after minutes of silence. She turned her head to look at me and squinted her eyes as the sun hit her face.
I nodded, "And what can I do to help and solve this dilemma of yours, Eleanor?"
We liked to use each other's names when we spoke to one another because we both felt that nobody appreciated using anyone's name after gaining the knowledge of it. "Maybe it over exaggerates us when we have a conversation, but to Hell with what others may think if I use your full name when I am speaking to you, William Taylor Martin, because I plan to address you properly whenever I damn well please." Eleanor had told me once we first began to hang out with each other after school. And afterward, she let her head fall backward, and put her arms up, shouting, "I AM ELEANOR DEMETRIA TRIP AND THIS IS WILLIAM TAYLOR MARTIN!!!" After shouting this, she gave a small, close lipped smile toward my direction and I couldn't help and smile right back.
She was thinking as she squinted at me and tried to form an answer to me. Finally, she sighed from between her chapped, pink lips and shook her head. Eleanor looked to the river again and stared intently, actually looking at the water this time as if it may disappear if she looked away. "I don't exactly know just yet." She took a breath. "I just know that I need to make this summer special; different; extraordinary." I tilted my head and she took that as her cue to stand up and go into a glorious monologue. Eleanor's monologues were my favorite thing about her because I knew she was passionate and intelligent, but hearing her voice speak on something that was stuck in her mind was like nothing you could compare. "It is the summer before our senior year and that means this is our last, official summer of being in high school. Everybody knows that after senior year, the summer will be amazing simply because of the fact that we made it through. But, William, I've realized that this means we only have this one summer to last; to be teenagers; to be those kids that think we're extremely different when everyone else acts as douchebag jerk offs." I stifled my laughter as she paced in front of me. "This is serious. We mustn't laugh at such serious matters." I nodded with widened eyes and she went on. "Now, I have only a few things in mind that have just now popped into my brain." She paused her monologue and pacing momentarily then glanced at me with mischief taking place inside her eyes. She then fell onto her knees in front of me as I still sat cross-legged and her big, blue eyes looked into my dark, hazel ones. "And it's so crazily teenager that it just may work." Eleanor then rolled her bottom half to sit on her bottom, next to me again. A smile was spread across her face and her eyes held a secret as she stared out at the river once again. "I want to do something spectacular, Taylor Martin - to have the best summer ever." She then turned her head to look at me. "And I think you just helped me figure out what we are going to do."
I looked at her with raised eyebrows and narrowed eyes. I was intrigued by now. "And what did I just now help you find out?"
"We will go on a road trip, and we will be heading nowhere." The corners of her lips turned upward in the slightest, "Now the only question is: who will we be bringing on this immense voyage of teenage exploration?"
I thought about it, as did she. And, really, the only other person that was my actual friend was that damn ginger who kept telling me to take charge and do something awesome. A road trip was daring and fun and long and nearly reckless. So, I quietly piped up and suggested, "Daren." She thought about it.
"We do need a ginger in on our quest, otherwise we would be hopelessly unfinished," she nodded. "Okay, Daren; now who else?" She thought.
I chewed my lip before saying, "A-Anna?" I mean, the least I could do was bring somebody that would motivate Daren to have some fun with us losers. I mean, we knew we were losers, so it was all good to say it. It wasn't like that reclaiming stuff, it was just that we knew it. Eleanor changed my whole perception of things. She was this fascinating creature that understood how the world worked.
"Taylor Martin, it is true that great minds do think alike." She smirked and I smiled widely. "Alright; and I nominate Kris whether she wants to or not - whether any of them want to or not. That will be enough for us to fulfill our road trip." She smiled proudly.
"So now we just let them know," I questioned. She gave a laugh.
"Oh, William, you're so silly," she shook her head. "We just take them and head north first."
I raised my brows. "We kidnap them?" I asked. She smiled.
"Kidnap is such a strong word, William Taylor. We are simply bringing them against their wills and going nowhere." She crossed her legs again. "Meet me at the playground tonight at ten." She instructed. I smiled wickedly. "I'll help you kidnap your ginger before I kidnap my pink ladies."