"YOU'RE WHAT????! WHEN!!"I had gotten used to this reaction.

When you tell people you

are moving, it tends to make you feel loved and somewhat guilty at the same time for leaving
them. Either way I had been dreading this one. Roselyn Nojaline was a beautiful little girl at the
wondrous age of 16. We had met one day when I took one of my many lonely walks at night on
the football field by my house. She was busy trying to hop the fence to the stadium. She had
casually asked for a lift, because according to her, ‘a lady doesn’t wear shoes when she’s nature
walking’. Deciding that the situation was too curious, we opted to hang out with each other at
10pm at night on a foot ball field. Since then we were pretty close. She was the last person for
me to tell I was moving. Her name was Roselyn. And I liked her lots.

"I’d say probably sometime in December, Roz.” I said with a sigh.“My mom has told me more
than once. I know she has, but I just don’t …want to hear it. You know what I mean? I keep
thinking it would...disappear." She leaned up against me and sighed. "So how is that working out
for you, Kirbs?" I buzzed a little inside, just like I always did when she said my name..Or looked
at me, or touched me…Or breathed. So far she was the only person I let call me by my middle
name. "Well actually, I have several escape plans-” I stopped mid sentence. Sometimes you
don’t need to be funny or use sarcasm, when direct honesty is best. “Not so well." She shifted
and I could feel her silence, which usually was the sound of her displeasure. Roselyn never hid
the fact she was upset from anyone, and made it a point to inform others, just in case they didn’t
get the hint. I chuckled to myself as she pulled her hands up into her flannel shirt that she always
wore, cross her arms and had a fun time trying to sit up at the same time. "Well I think that
maybe we should have a huge party or something…We need to do a party for you! Right?
Something" she blurted. I felt kind of hollow when it hit me that the guest list would be pretty
low. I couldn’t help but appreciate the fact that she wanted people to care. I half smiled and
looked around the cafeteria where the rest of the school was having lunch. I had been with these
kids since I was in kindergarten. I knew where most of them lived, their brothers and sisters,
what they were for Halloween the year before. No more than eight or nine of the five-hundred
kids I saw were my friends. I turned back to her and smiled. "Tell you what Roz," I said in a
bargaining tone."If you can find more than 10 people in this room who have any interest in
something like that, I will….." Holding my hands up side by side, I implied I was giving some
sort of small measurement I finished my sentence with “Insert impossible thing I would never
do, here.” Apparently she didn’t find it funny. But at the same time it was clear she understood
and felt kind of bad, until her face lit up. "What about the theater people? Aren’t you bonding
with them? I always hear you talk about the people in there that you have fun with. Would they
come?"

I had to think about that one. I had joined the theater club and was working on a production with
them. I didn't see a theater kid saying no to a chance to mingle. Yet at the same time, my
negative side said to forget it because they were probably faking their kindness. They were
actors, after all. Raffling through the faces of people in my head I figured that I could manage it.
That's when I realized the silence and she wanted an answer. I shrugged and looked up into those
beautiful brown eyes. "Yeah maybe, I could ask around. Dramatic people love a party right? I'll
propose the idea to them at rehearsal tonight. Sound good?" Not really one to be fooled, she just
nodded knowing that my heart wasn’t in it. "Then you and I will do something. It’ll be fun. I
always take care of you, right?" she said smiling. I nodded along not really wanting to fight
about it. She gave me a hug as she stood up. "Look, don’t worry about it. We have a few weeks
to figure it out. Just…. don’t disappear JUST yet okay? I'll call you after I get home from
practice tonight. And we'll meet under the bleachers per usual." I stood up and brushed my
scruffy hair down and cracked my back. "Sure thing. Always always."

It was then that the bell rang signaling the undeniable end to the snuggle fest. She picked up her
dirty green back pack she had used since 5th grade. It belonged to her brother, Rick. He had
given it to her before she started middle school. It was around the Christmas of that year he had
died in a stupid wreck. Since then it never left her side along with a few other side effects. As she
walked away I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous she was. She had been playing softball and
taking ballet since she was a little girl. She had the strong build of an athlete, and the subtle grace
of a dancer with the attitude of a cartoon tomboy. Even though she had never taken any kind of
self defense, she was tough, as she had been in a few scraps herself. Not one for fashion, she
usually was seen wearing some combination of a small tee shirt, torn jeans, with her dirty
converses and that green flannel shirt. Roselyn was beautiful. And anyone with eyes could spot
it.  It tended to boggle the guys around her why she hung out with me. Her friends were a lot
more understanding about it. I had hung out with them on a couple of occasions, and even
befriended a few. I was on good terms with them, but I knew for a fact they wanted her to date
other guys. But nevertheless they were always kind to me. Two of her gazillion female friends
stood up and went to her side to escort Roz to class. One of them, Katy who was always social
with me stuck her tongue out at me and winked. I gave an amused look and waved back,
eventually losing sight of all three of them in the sea of people that was the sophomore class.
After cleaning up the trash from my lunch I debated whether or not I wanted to go to my last
class. English class was possibly the easiest thing I had encountered. Besides the fact that once I
sat down and shut up, I could read, write and recite better than most, My teacher had a hard on
for me, and I could get away with pretty much anything. So it was easy for me to justify
skipping. The girls in the class weren't cute enough to make me want to go and on top of that,
one of the guys in my class was desperately trying to sleep with Roz, and hated the fact that we
were so close. He didn't like it. Maxwell Tanner was the guy all girls liked. He was very
charismatic, admittedly a "pretty boy" and one of the biggest attractions when it came to the
Track & Field events our school. Little spoken of but commonly known fact, Max wore a belt
with a bunch of notches. And he had a spot picked out for Roz, word had it. We
had....disagreements on the matter. Seeing as it was a beautiful fall day, I figured why waste it on
the lesser mortals and went into the bathroom to wait for the traffic to die down to plan my
escape.

 When I entered the bathroom, I was greeted by that lifelong smell of unflushed toilets and wet
paper towels that always smelled to me like warm glue. I walked over to the mirrors with the
same old dried water on it and looked at myself. My hair was getting longer. I had always worn
it short so whenever it touched my ears, it was considered long. My mom was also fond of this
form of measurement, and was kind enough to alert me to when she decided it should be cut.
Then again, parents and their kids generally tend to have a different idea of what’s "too long".
Reference to this debate has been seen on early cave-paintings. I looked into my eyes and
thought how people always told me they were "absurdly blue" and thought nothing of it.
Overall I wasn't terrible looking. I usually was dubbed "handsome" rather than cute or hot. Being
a 16 year old male, the term “handsome” is not the most desired description, as it sounds like it
came from grandma. Also it was not nearly as desired as cute, sexy, hot etc. But at this point in
the game, I would take it. Growing up I had been a very tiny kid. I’m sure people had wondered
if my parents had fed me (they tried too). Around middle school I was put on a medication that
caused me to gain MASSIVE amounts of weight, and being fat in middle school is something
nobody soon forgets…Needless to say, it had left a dent in my mind and self esteem. Being the
male that I am I flexed and turned nonchalantly to look at myself in the mirror. My build was
deceptively small. But underneath I was getting bigger in the arms. I had never been a guy who
worked out, as I was a little too self conscious to start. But on my late night walks I would go
running and such and sometimes practice my limited selection of fighting moves I taught myself
after dropping out of Karate around the brown belt level. Plus I had found plenty of people that
were perfectly willing to pick a fight with me. Maybe it’s the fact I keep my head down. Or that I
always seem to look pissed at the world…or more recently, hanging out with a girl that someone
likes.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!

After my ears stopped ringing I noticed that the silence was getting louder and that people were
no longer in the hallways. Time to boogie I thought to myself. I checked the hallways to make
sure I wasn’t about to walk into some elaborate failure. Made even more possible as my getaway
and the main office were literally 20 feet from each other. I nonchalantly looked at my phone
like I was in my own world, because then I would be able to at least look like I was just stupid,
and not skipping. Walking back up to the courtyard I noticed that the door was open to the class
that I skipped, and felt that if I breathed loud enough the teacher would burst out the door and
magically hate me and I guess beat me or something. It’s interesting to point out that in this
school they won’t really make you go to class. There is just a huge incentive not to get caught
period. I am the youngest of three kids, the oldest two being the King and Queen of the school in
their respective eras before I was there. Being the obvious black sheep of the family didn’t need
to be followed by chronic class skipper and fight starter. So I tried not to get caught. So far
blending into the walls has served me well in this regard. As I turned the corner to head out to
my exit in the student courtyard, I bumped into someone which immediately made me run
through excuses as to why I was not in class. Until I looked up to see petite little girl lying on the
floor dressed in a black wife beater that didn’t fit her right. Her constantly shifting legs were
covered in jeans that seemed more like cheese than pants, as the holes in them were numerous.
Sadly, they never appeared where they shouldn’t. I reached out without even thinking to help her
up looking only at her hands. It was then that I saw the numerous bands and bracelets adorning
her wrist. Recognizing the layout, I began to slowly piece together in my head as to who it was.
Her name was Casey Dalton, and she was quicker than I was. “Hey Stephen! I-I’m sorry I didn’t
see you..” I looked into her face to see I was right. Tiny little brown eyes were surrounded by a
very small but round face and framed by very pretty, straight, black shoulder length hair. It
didn’t hurt that it made her eyes seem all that much brighter. “Howdy, Casey. Sorry I was
making my get away again” I said jokingly. She was so cute, but seemed to fidget and sort of
sink into herself like she was uncomfortable at all times. Other than the awkwardness she was
actually very cute. I know this because I looked at her in English class a lot. Unbeknownst to her,
I know she did the same thing with me. She was always seemed to be in her own head, and only
became uncomfortable when she was forced to leave it and interact with people other than the
teacher. Otherwise when in her world her body language was oddly confident and pronounced. I
watched as she bobbed her head, alternating between avoiding and making eye contact as she
spoke to me. “O-oh, I didn’t mean to stop you, ha-ha! You’re lucky you can skip so much and
not get in trouble. I kind of wish I could do that you know?” she said meekly. I narrowed my
eyebrows like I was thinking really hard.  “Well you know, I’m pretty sure you could fit through
the door if you wanted to.” She looked down at the floor and gave a small laugh. “No, I’m not
really that ballsy. I wouldn’t really have anywhere to go. So maybe I should just stick to the
normal routine, ha-ha.”

I watched as she just kind of let her head wander up to look at me and I just smiled at her and
nodded. “Making changes is a habit. If you want to be brave, start by doing something that scares
you. Who knows, maybe you can start by putting your feet on your desk, or wearing pajamas to
school or something.” She slightly nodded as if she was hearing more words than I was saying,
until her eyes got wide when she realized I had finished talking. She blushed. “Y-yeah, I think I
will do just that! Well I-I kinda need to scoot so I’ll forgot I saw you okay?” she said with a wink
that was so awkward and over-elaborate, it was adorable. I gave her a nod and held up my hand
for a high five which she did after a few seconds of staring at and missing slightly.”Case, I’m
going to catch you probably sometime tomorrow. Go learn something for me okay?” As I
watched Casey turn and wave slightly, I realized that the minute I stood there was probably too
long and turned on my heels to walk to the courtyard door as quickly as possible. Figuring it was
too much time in the open, I had to make up for it with a semi mad-dash. Walking out into the
courtyard was always an awkward moment when the light changed from indoor lighting to the
friggin Sun. It was more or less a giant concrete terrarium for the kids who stayed out there. With
a big open space made for hacky-sacking, dancing, music playing or simply to lounge outside, as
well as a perfect place for year book pictures. The “terrarium” was housed by four giant glass
windows on all four sides that all were essentially different parts of the school. So I pretty much
walked into a giant glass box. Over in the one of the corners was a tree that was put pretty close
to the building, and behind that was a pipe that was used for runoff. I discovered it one day when
I tried to climb the tree to help some cute girls with a paper airplane that had gotten stuck. I had
slipped and hit my head on the pipe. The disorientation caused me to fall with a less than
graceful THUNK. Needless to say, they were less than impressed with the landing. But I counted
it as a victory that they were amused.

Climbing over the stone bench I put my backpack on both shoulders and looked up the long path
to the top. In reality it wasn’t that far, but most things seem farther up when you are not only
looking up from the ground, but also when you had already fallen a majority of the distance.
Checking to make sure my feet were in position, I looked around to see if I was being observed
at any of the windows. I smiled at the image of being watched like a monkey in cage trying to
make his escape. Finally I heaved a sigh to act as starting gun and looked up. It was beginning to
drizzle so figured I needed to make it quick. Pulling myself up I started to climb up the pole
using the tree behind me if I needed to rest. Fortunately I didn’t need it too much. Climbing this
thing about once a day was giving me some strength. As I got to the top I reached around the
brick to get a decent grip. I felt the clay dig into my palms and finger joints and took
some pleasure in feeling it burn a little. I counted to three and lifted with my upper body and
swung my left leg up to the roof. After my foot made contact with the siding I placed it on top
and put all my weight on that foot and pressed down. Instantly I threw my right hand over the
side and got a better grip and pulled. Slowly my whole body began to rise and go up and over.
As I rolled over the top I stared up at the sky that was slowly starting to turn grey with
approaching rain clouds. So much for the beautiful day worth screwing up my attendance. I
thought. The air was cool and you could feel the encroaching dampness. That, coupled with the
fact my body was slightly heated from my climb mixed beautifully. I sat up, not only because I
need to go, but my backpack was not a comfortable thing to lie on. I looked around at the mostly
white and barren rooftop of the school. I had always intended to make myself feel cool and spend
all day up here, but eventually realized that I would get bored by the blandness. Also I simply
forgot to do it. Hearing the birds chatter in one of the many pine trees around the school made
me realize my escape was incomplete, and therefore needed to fix it. I stood up and turned
completely around to head towards the east exit of the gym, where it was lowest. I could climb
up the actual building and go directly to a blind spot but decided against it. Because despite
having a ladder; it was much too tall to climb, as it put me in clear view of one of the many
baseball fields on the school grounds. And judging from the sound of aluminum bats
reverberating through the air, the closest one was in use.

As I listened to the whirl of afternoon noises consisting of the buses arriving an hour early, the
kids having gym outdoors and the late bell scaring the crap out of me I looked to my left at the
parking lot. The path that led to my house was in the woods along the side of the road. It took me
past the football field that I spent a lot of time on. Once I got passed the parking lot I was home
free. I made my way to the edge of the building near the gym exit and sat down on the edge. I
extended my legs to be able to reach the metal awning that would take me closer to the ground. It
was then that I smelled the very recognizable scent of marijuana. My sister had introduced me to
it essentially. We were at a performance my brother had done and pointed out that the guy in
front of us, who was a brother of her friend and my brothers’ age, reeked of it. I remembered for
some reason thinking at the time that it smelled purple.

Listening carefully, I couldn’t really hear anything. Knowing I didn’t have the time to stay up
there and chill, I dropped. As my legs caught the brunt of my weight I heard an exhale and
smelled it. More purple. I slowly turned around to find a startled looking kid with long curly
blonde hair looking at me. His eyes were wide but pretty red. I laughed knowing I just scared a
stoned kid by dropping out of the sky. His ‘Alice in Chains’ shirt was faded and had a few burn
marks I assumed were from cigarettes. He looked like his arms were too heavy for him and had
to lean against the pillar for support. “Sorry to drop in on you like this man. Just got out of class
and figured I’d take a fun way home.” I said like falling from the sky was part of my daily
routine. His face slowly went from astonished to blank to a stupid grin. Very Slowly. “Nah
man,” he said like he was half asleep. “It’s cool, everyone here is chill so we won’t rat out on
you! My name’s Caleb.” I looked around quickly to make sure that I wasn’t going crazy, and
after a quick scan realized I wasn’t. There wasn’t anyone else there with him. “Aren’t you going
to introduce me to everyone else?” I asked pretending I was offended. Caleb the Vegetable
looked confused.”What do you mean everyone? I’m the only one here, bro.” I shook my head at
the moron and waved simply saying “Nice to meet you, Caleb. I’ll see you around.”

As I started walking towards the getaway point I heard him cough and say “Who’s Caleb? I’m
Mitchell!” but kept going. I didn’t feel like getting into a debate with him over this. Also it
would be best NOT to get caught skipping with the only stoner stupid enough to smoke by the
baseball field where a gym class was taking place. Walking from the exit I looked around at the
place I had spent a vast majority of my child hood. The Elementary school most people in this
area attended was located directly next to the High school. Separated only by a hill and two roads
for buses, you could hear the kids at recess if you were in the right classroom with open
windows. So being the kid who rode his bike to and from school all of his elementary school
career, I knew this area pretty well. This was of course not counting the times me and my
neighborhood friends had come up here to roller blade, ride bikes, etc.

Walking past the tennis courts I looked through the surrounding fences to the softball field
behind it. It was at the bottom of a steep hill, and also backed up to the student bleachers for the
stadium, whose entrance was directly next to the courts as well. I remembered sneaking in the
back as little kid. Who am I kidding…I was planning on doing that tonight. On my walk I came
up to the entrance to the stadium. The brown and orange paint was faded, but still holding strong.
I remember walking up there with my dad and brother when I was a younger to see the games.
Other times we would simply walk up to the fence near our house and watch from there. The
gates were open and I saw the backs of about 10 people walking away from where I was, and
saw more people on the actual track of the field. Realizing I had just missed them, my heart
slowed down. Hurrying past I came up to the first of three paths. The one closest took me to a
trailer where I guess the football players hung out during games. The fence behind it led all
around the entire stadium and essentially guided me home. It would be best to avoid that one as
it would put me in plain view of the classes. The next path was a little bit further but had a minor
trail in the woods that kept me covered till about halfway through to where I needed to be. The
third path took me to a neighborhood that was only recently finished a few years ago. It was a
place my friends and I frequented, to mess around the construction sites. I chose the second path
because it was most familiar. Walking past a tree that I often daydreamed of jumping out of at
people I began to hear hushed laughter. I didn’t worry too much about it because at the end of the
day they were doing what I was. I walked down the small hill to the trail having a small flash
back to the bridge that covered a little creek. That bridge wasn’t always there.  One day I and my
friend Mark were riding our bikes home from school. The area was wet from rain and I didn’t
think about the fact there would have been mud there this time. I had been wearing 3-D glasses
from the new Johnny Quest computer game I had bought from a book fair, so I was paying less
attention than I normally did. I rode down the hill and got stuck and toppled over the handle bars
and fell in the mud, officially ruining my visual enhancements for the wondrous future
adventures in Quest-World. That was a grim day for all, I am certain.

As I came up on the bridge the sound of my feet on the wood caused the small group of guys to
turn and look at me, one by one. I smelled cigarettes, and more purple. Most of them didn’t seem
to care and returned to their joy. But one looked at me and seemed to recognize me, causing him
to nudge someone I couldn’t see from where I was standing. Getting the feeling it wasn’t a good
sign; I kept my eyes down and kept walking. It wasn’t until I had the group next to me that I saw
a cigarette go flying past me, and the unaccounted body moved into view. “Hey Arnold!
Skipping are we? I didn’t think you were that hard.” said a voice who was clearly taunting me.
And I knew it. I turned to see a chiseled face covered in dark black hair smiling at me. It was
Max. Apparently, I wasn’t the only person to skip class today.

“Yeah I figured it was such a nice day I’d just head home, so take it easy.” The group moved
behind Max and a new face emerged from it. It was a guy buy the name of Andrew. Andrew was
a kid I had scuffled with on and off with since I was in 6th grade. He and I were those guys who
never really liked each other since we met, but if asked more than likely didn’t have a real reason
as to why. However, it never stopped us from pounding on each other. Eventually I started
getting better at the game we played. In fact our last bout a few days ago ended with him losing a
tooth. It suddenly hit me that Max and Andrew hanging in the same circle wasn’t a good sign for
me. Max sauntered up to me and put his arm my shoulder. I tensed up and tried to slow my
breathing. I had a feeling that he felt it. He confirmed this by tightening his grip and smiling.
“Like minded fellows are we not?” he said looking at the group of boys, most noticeably
Andrew. “You should stay and smoke with us!" He said cheerfully while nodding. "Yeah, yeah I
think that would be best. Besides! I think you and Drew here should have a chat. I hear you
might have offended him recently?” I looked to Andrew to see he what his reaction was to this,
and was surprised to see him smiling. I saw his new gap and smirked on the inside. You’re
welcome, I thought. I looked around more at the boys who were here. Most of them I didn’t
recognize, and the ones that I did weren’t the type to stand up for me. I felt slightly comforted
knowing that I could take most of them simply by looking at them. I pulled away slightly
wanting more room if what I felt was coming, did. Max let his grip go and weaved his legs
elegantly, bringing him around in front of me. The other kids started moving, slowly but surely
to form a circle. Andrew, last but not least slid into line. Which told me that what was about to
happen did not include him. I started running through my mind, trying to figure out if I wanted to
walk into this and let it happen, or if there was even a choice in the matter. My house wasn’t
much more than a long sprint from here. If anything I could just make noise for the nearby
classes to hear us. But I didn’t really want to pussy out. In the immortal words of Marty McFly,
“Nobody calls me chicken”….Worked for him right?

I settled down in my head and just accepted that this was going to happen. I dropped my back
pack and rolled my shoulders and got myself into the part. Didn’t want them to know I was
nervous. Max backed up a foot and tossed his hair."I have heard some fun stories lately" he said
as he put his hands in his pockets, slouching his shoulders. “And I have a question, what is it
about you two that seems to cause so much trouble, Drew? What exactly did Mr. Arnold here do
to upset you? Hell, the same question goes to you Stephen.” I smiled while looking at Andrew
and just kind of shrugged.  “Not really sure, I remember meeting him on the bus one day and just
got a feeling he would blossom into a fat loud mouth who loved to be smacked around, and just
embraced it. Now look at him!” I pointed at him slightly and made sure everyone knew I left my
mark on him. Andrew shifted and became less confident visually, and said with a weak laugh
“For me it was because your mom gave me a bad blow job, and I decided to take it out on you.”
Everyone kind of snickered save for Max who only smiled slightly and kept his eyes trained on
me. While staring at him I responded with “Hey, I’m sure she tried real hard to find it, man. But
I’m sure your mom would do a better job, seeing as she is seasoned with dicks. She could do
something with one your size I’m sure.” The circle let out with an “ooooooohhhh” mixed with
both humor and the tone that let me know how personal that was. It was a sad but commonly
known tale that Andrews mom was caught having sex with one of the elementary school teachers
when we were all kids. It didn’t hit full circulation till about middle school when we all had an
idea of what it really meant. I used to feel bad for him, but it got in the way of hitting him, so I
let the pity slide. Andrew dropped all facades and glared. As his foot stepped forward Maxes
eyes moved in his direction pulled out his left hand pointed it at him as he spoke. His tone
showing he was all business.“Now Andrew, you brought that on yourself dude. Stay back and
shut up.” Andrew did what he was told but nevertheless clenched his fists. My eyes caught the
slow movements in front of me and I spread my feet apart slightly. Max looked at me with a
steady gaze. “It seems Mr. Arnold, that as my friend is not physically or mentally able to settle
his score with you at the moment, I will have to help him out this one time. No hard feelings, you
know” he said flatly was he cracked his knuckles. I was warm and vibrating on the inside, but the
shortness of breath came from excitement. I spread my legs more, cracked my knuckles, and
raised my hands slightly. Max put his hands up tightly around his face and smiled. “I’ll try not to
knock your ass out.” I had a feeling that this confrontation was not about Andrews’ honor.
Grinning with false and exaggerated appreciation I said “Thanks man, that way I will be awake
to hang out with Roselyn tonight.” Max was not pleased with this response as I had expected . So
he took a quick step forward, and swung.