Suburbia ◇ Owen P Joyner

Chapter Two.

The first snow was what made me feel alive again.It's what made me love this state again and want to stay but whenever it melted like it always did, I would grow tired of it. But the snow of when it was suppose to be Christmas is different. When that snowfall hits during Christmas time or even better the morning of Christmas was better. But it was only the eighteenth of December. It was a small little fraction of what it would be during the Christmas morning. This year has been hot so the snow we have had hasn't lasted to long. I hate years like that. Where it was so hot and so it feels like there is only two seasons and not three. Two seasons being summer...and spring. Not much winter but what winter you do see is freezing. 

"Owen!" Charlie hits me in the face with his pillow and I roll over to look at him. He is sleeping in my bed and you know what, the first time this happened I was a bit freaked out not going to lie but Charlie has grown on me during the couple of years and so when I turn over for him to be only inches from my face I give him my sleepy face back, "we have been sleeping for like ten hours, man. How do we even do that?"

I rub my eyes and yawn a little as I sit up. I look around and notice he has opened the curtains. I look over at him and then he got the same idea as me, "snowball fight?'

He nods his head slowly and smiles big afterward, "oh hell yeah."

I fist bump him and then we make our way over to my closet. I get some hats for us but other than that we wouldn't have to change anything. We aren't pus-wimps. We are not wimps. 

We make it downstairs and then go to the front door. When we make it outside Charlie makes a head start to the mailbox at the end of the driveway. He starts rolling up snow together and rolls it then flattens it. I watch him aqs I find it so amusing that he is out of breath already, "you stay on your side Joyner. I have this side."

"Okay, Charlie, whatever you say," I tell him softly and then roll up some snow in a ball. I make a few more and we look at each other at the same time. That's when it starts. We throw little balls of snow like it was World War III and quite frankly that might have been what it sounded like too. I am starting to roll up a couple more when Charlie is throwing one straight to my face. I duck and when I duck I hear an "ow."

I turn around and see Ma has been hit straight into the face with the snow. I quickly go to her and sort of smile a bit. It wasn't funny that the snow was really cold but it was her expression when it her. Charlie chuckled a little, "sorry Miss Joyner. We can blame Owen on that He can't just bit a sore loser and get hit."

Ma smiles at him and then rubs the snow the rest of the way off, " I am glad you are having fun boys, do you maybe want to come back in. You have been out here for what seems like an hour. We are making hot cocoa."

"Well why didn't you say so?" I tell her. Charlie starts walking to me to follow me inside but instead I push him into my boulder of snow. He hits it hard and splats face first in the fluffy snow. 

"Not funny," he muffles and he gets up. He brushes the snow off his pants and I laugh. 

"I don't know it is pretty funny to me.'

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Hot cocoa was nice before Charlie poured some onto my lap as payback. It kind of stung a little and it probably stained my pants but it probably will go away. When I take the mugs over to the sink I hear Charlie in the living room and I could just hear his smile through his voice, 'so are we going over to that library or what?"

I wash off the mugs and put them into the dish water, "I don't know. What time is it?"

"Like two or three."

"Damn," I curse under my breath and then make my way over to the living room. We are suppose to be there at three thirty or something right?'

Charlie shrugs his shoulders and then gets up,"come on lover boy.'