Chapter One: Adolescence and Forgotten Anniversaries

Susie sat on the steps in front of the school. Almost everyone was gone and she could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. She knew it would rain soon. It always rained in New Jersey.

“Bye Susie,” Ashley called over her shoulder. And her last friend was gone with the sound of her mini van’s engine rumbling off into the distance.
Susie sighed. Her mother was late again, and she would probably have to wait another hour before she actually got there. She glanced at her watch. It was 4:30, an hour after school let out.
The sky darkened all of a sudden and she looked up. A black, ominous cloud hung over her head. She could almost see the rain making a bulge in the bottom of the cloud, just waiting to pour down on her head.

She pulled out her black baseball cap, just as it started to rain, and shoved it over her black and blonde hair. She thrust her sweatshirt hood over her ball cap for added protection and zipped her backpack as the rain began to fall heavier.

“Susie!” She turned to see her brother’s best friend’s mother in her car, waving at her to come over. Susie ran over and opened the door. The rain followed her in as she slammed it shut behind her, shaking the curls off her face.
“Hey darlin’! Your mother asked me to pick you up and to tell you that she would need to spend the night away from home, so you would need to stay with me. All your stuff is already in the back,” she explained.
“Oh, okay,” Susie numbly replied. She couldn’t wrap her mind around why her mother needed to stay away from home. She had promised that they would eat ice cream and watch Peter Pan. She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, like she always did.
She had been left, she knew it. But she wasn’t alone in her left behindedness…Patrick had to be spending the night too. So she wouldn’t completely be left alone…for now, anyways.

Just as she was about to give up and walk home, she saw headlights approaching. She thankfully jumped into the car, soaking wet, and slammed the door shut.

“Thanks for being on time,” she said sarcastically as she buckled her seat belt.

“You know how Jeremy is. He likes to keep me late when Sarah is working the evening shifts,” he explained.

“Well, Jeremy needs to get his head and his ass wired together, is all I have to say,” Susie replied, pulling down the visor mirror and wiping away the smeared eyeliner and mascara off her face.

She would never let Johnny know it, but she had been crying. Ever since her mother had left her at school that one day when she was in first grade she had always become afraid when someone was late to get her. Especially Johnny.

“Susie!” She ran and jumped into her brother’s arms and hugged him tightly. She smelled his hair; the smell of his hair always comforted her whenever she was hurt. It smelled like her father. Her theory was that he secretly wore their father’s cologne…just for her.
“You’re all wet. Did you get caught in the rain,” he asked, pushing her so he could get a good look at her face. She nodded, a tear slipping down her cheek, mingled with the rain that was still there.
“Well, we can fix that. Hey, Johnny,” Patrick yelled over his shoulder.
“Yeah?” Johnny’s voice came from upstairs.
“Could you throw me down a towel? Susie’s all wet,” he called back up to him.
As he towel dried her a couple minutes later, she sniffled.
“Mommy’s left us, hasn’t she,” she asked thickly through the towel.
“Why would you think something like that,” he asked.
“B,because, she-she promised that we would w,watch Peter Pan tonight…and eat ice cream,” she said, her throat constricting with tears.
He stopped towel drying her and looked her in the eyes.
“Well, we’ll watch Peter Pan tonight,” he said smiling.
“And eat ice cream?”
“And eat ice cream,” he said reassuringly.
That night, as far as she could remember, was the best night of her life. She sat in Johnny’s lap through the whole movie, and she even had strawberry ice cream with sprinkles on top.
She remembered looking up at Johnny one time and he smiled down at her. She smiled and laughed. She didn’t know why, but she got butterflies in her stomach and she felt very happy. He rubbed her shoulder and continued to watch the movie.

For as long as she could remember, she had loved Johnny. She had loved him deeply. And she was scared to death that she would lose him one day…just like she had lost her mother.

She snapped the mirror closed and flipped the visor back into its place on the roof. Just like her reflection faded in her mind, so did her memories of that night. But she still smiled inside. She was okay again. She was with Johnny. He hadn’t forgotten her after all.

Peace began to flood her, and the knot in her stomach loosened.

“So, how’s Kemp? Is he gonna be there tonight,” she asked.

“He won’t be at my house until later. He told me to tell you that he’d call you,” he replied.

“Where’s he gonna be?”

“I’m not sure. He said he had something to take care of,” Johnny said, turning right at the stop sign. Old oak and magnolia trees whizzed by her passenger seat window. Rain streaked down the sides, forming a slanted pattern of tears on her window. The clouds tears, she thought.

“Then he’s probably going to be bringing weed. God, that stuff makes me sick! I don’t know how you guys can stand it,” Susie said, bringing out her cell phone to check her messages.

“F.Y.I., I don’t smoke it, Kemp does,” he replied irritably.

‘One point to Johnny,’ she thought, smiling at his honest retort.

One missed call was recorded. She only half listened to it, knowing who it would be from. She frowned as she did.

“Yep, he’s bringing weed. He went over to Sam’s house,” she explained, snapping her phone shut and slipping it into her back pocket. She heard Johnny not-so-silently curse as they pulled into his garage.

“I don’t know how you got mixed up with him, Susan, but if he brings one more joint into my house, I’ll kick his ass,” he said.

Susie smiled and got out of the car. She knew Johnny was serious, and that was partly why she loved him. He kept his word…in most cases.

She marked the use of her full name in her mind. He very rarely used it, and when he did, she always liked to remember it. She loved the way it sounded coming out of his mouth. It sounded as if it belonged there.

Her stomach rumbled and she noticed how empty it felt. Like there was a big fistful of air sitting there. She wasn’t surprised, though. The last time she ate was this morning, and that was only a measly power bar. She hadn’t been hungry for lunch. That, and it was fish sticks day. Yuck.

“Hey, do you have any skittles,” she asked, following him into the small, dank kitchen. As if on cue, he tossed a bag over his shoulder to her.

“I knew you would ask,” he said, grabbing two Pepsi cans out of the fridge for them.

She hoisted herself onto the main counter, the one with more butt room, and opened her little red treasure bag. She felt like a little kid again. She even remembered the first time she ever ate a skittle. Johnny had given it to her.

“Johnny, what are you eating,” Susie asked one day as she worked on her arithmetic homework. He looked at the red bag and held it out to her.

“It’s candy,” he said, “Try some. They’re called Skittles.”
“What do they taste like,” she asked, taking a green one out from the bag and looking at it.
“Well, the one you picked tastes like green apples. What are they called…?”
“Granny Smith apples,” Patrick said from across the room. He was watching television.
“Yeah, Granny Smith apples,” Johnny repeated, smiling at his memory problems.
Susie popped the little green candy called a Skittle into her mouth and chewed. She looked up at Johnny, a puzzled look on her face.
“They don’t taste like apples,” she said. Johnny turned the bag over, looking at the flavors on the back.
“That would be because they are lime, not Granny Smith,” he said, laughing. Patrick laughed from the living room.
“Way to go, Johnny, lying to my sister,” he called.
“Can I have another one, please,” Susie asked.
That time, she picked a red one.

Red had always been her favorite. She smiled as she picked out the green ones and set the on the counter.

“Would you like a Granny Smith flavored Skittle,” she asked, holding out the handful of greens to Johnny. He laughed as he set the Pepsis on the counter.

“Are you ever going to let me forget that,” he asked, taking them and throwing them all into his mouth.

“Never,” she cried dramatically, popping a purple skittle into her mouth. “I love you Johnny,” she said, ruffling his hair from her high point on the counter.

He smiled cheesily with the skittles in his mouth.

“Yeah, I know,” he said, through all the skittles.

She sat back against the cabinet and admired the beautiful truth behind her lighthearted statement. Kemp was only a filler. She really loved Johnny. But, as she often told other girls who crushed on him hopelessly, Johnny was “un-own able”. He wouldn’t own anyone, and no one would own him. For Johnny, it was easier that way. Don’t get attached, and there’s no pain. No pain, just like his tattoo said. No pain, no regret, no guilt.

It made him sick to see them together, holding each other like they were. Susie deserved so much better. She deserved someone who didn’t do drugs, someone who didn’t abuse her fifteen year old body when he thought no one was listening. Susie deserved…

“Johnny,” Susie called out. He looked up to see her eating her half empty bag of skittles, sitting on Kemp’s lap, surrounded by people smoking joints. She looked hazy in the smoke, and he could hear her coughing.

“Yeah,” he answered.

“Come in here with us,” she called back to him. He caught the underlying meaning in her voice. Don’t leave me here all alone with these guys! He jumped off the counter, battling his way through the dense fog of smoke, and situated himself between Kemp and some other dude. Kemp was obviously trying to ignore his approach. Had it annoyed him that Susie wanted him there? Johnny could only shake his head in wonder at the thought as he watched Kemp reach for the remote.

“Anyone up for a little movie,” Kemp said, holding up a tape from some random rental store.

“What kind of movie,” Johnny asked, noting the sly look on his face. He saw Susie tense up.

“A grown-up movie,” he replied, laughing with his friends. It was amazing how quickly he got hi.

“I…think I’ll pass,” came Susie’s voice from beside him. Johnny was thankful for her response.

“Oh come on, baby! You might learn something,” Kemp laughed, putting his free hand on her hip. Johnny heard his implied tones and rage filled him. For God’s sake! She was only fifteen!

“Seriously, Kemp, I think I’ll pass this time. Besides, I need to walk. Gym calls, you know, got to build up my endurance,” she said, getting up and walking into the kitchen. Johnny followed her, his gaze lingering for a second on Kemp’s disgusted face.

“Fine, piss off,” Kemp said as Johnny turned. He shook his head and found Susie slipping into his too-large-for-her-feet shoes.

“Would you come with me,” she asked, clutching her skittles bag and coughing from the smoke.

“Yeah,” he answered, and followed her out the garage door. They walked for a while in silence, on towards the community park which was only a mile from his house.

Susie personally dreaded about half of this walk, since it reminded her of her brother, Patrick. He told her once how much he loved the majestic appearance of the oak tree and the sweet smell of the blossom on the magnolia tree. Both lined the first section of their walk. She also remembered the very afternoon he had confided his dreams to her on one of their many lonely walks home from Johnny’s.

“Do you know what I love about these trees, Susie,” Patrick asked, breaking the steady silence. She followed where his finger was pointing with her eyes and thought for a moment.
“The low hanging branches,” she replied, thinking of how they would climb trees at their grandparent’s house during the summer.
“No,” he answered, “but that was a good guess. The oak’s mighty trunk reminds me of God’s strength, and it’s winding branches reminds me of the promises He spreads for us throughout the Bible, and how strong each one of them will stay until the end of time. And the magnolia…” Here he stopped and picked a plate-sized blossom off of a low hanging branch and handed it to her. She sniffed the blossom and hummed in delight. It smelled just like Mom.
“When I breathe in its scent, like you just did, I think of the green pastures God has promised that He will lead us to. I see the Living Stream we’ll all drink from and the rolling clouds painted against an azure blue sky…”
At this, he gazed hopefully towards the sky and smiled. Susie stood up on the tips of her toes and felt Patrick’s forehead.
“Are you feeling okay Patrick? You’re talking all funny. Is it because of that book you’re reading,” she asked, watching him as he smiled wider.
“Yeah, I think it is,” he answered, walking on, and smiling as he watched his feet. “You know what else I think is cool…”
“What,” Susie asked, looking up at her brother. Even though he acted crazy sometimes, she still loved him. He was all she had left.
“I was reading my science book in class today and it was talking about a process where you can attach a branch of one type of tree to another type of tree, and they would make a half-and-half type of tree. Wouldn’t it be awesome to do that to an oak and a magnolia? Like, have the oak’s strong trunk and branches and the magnolia blossoms,” he said, excitedly. Susie smiled up at him in a condescending way.
“Whatever makes you happy, I guess,” she answered. Patrick laughed and picked her up, holding her over his hip and walking on down the street.
“Someday,” he said, “we’ll both be happy.”

“Are you all right, Susie? You’ve been quiet for a while,” Johnny said, looking down at her. Did he see tears in her eyes?

“Yeah…I’m fine,” she answered, looking up from the sidewalk and brushing her eyes. Now he knew he had seen tears. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed tight, in an older brother kind of way.

“So, how are things with you and Kemp?” That had to be the reason she was upset.

“You heard him back there. All he wants is sex and drugs,” she replied hotly, pulling a purple skittle from the little treasure bag and jamming it into her mouth.

“But he’s not like that all the time, right?”

“No. Only when he’s hi,” she answered. He let his smile fall. What she said disturbed him, because every time he saw Kemp, he was hi.

“Isn’t your first year anniversary coming up soon,” he asked, trying to direct the conversation onto a different path.

“Like Kemp remembers shit like that. I’ve learned to stop hoping…but I still keep up with it,” she said, a small smile coming to her lips.

He loved it when she smiled. It made her often solemn face more beautiful. He squeezed her arm again and whispered in her ear,

“I’ll celebrate with you if he forgets.” That made her smile more, and she did a little dance with a skittle in one hand and the bag in the other. She ended it with a twirl and popped the skittle into her mouth. He laughed heartily.

“Sometimes it’s so easy to forget that you’re fifteen. And then it’s moments like that, fifteen-year-old-jigs, that make me laugh the most,” he quipped. Her eyes crinkled with her adolescent delight.

“I enjoy being fifteen,” she replied as they entered the park gate. She emptied the remaining skittles into her hand and threw the paper “treasure bag” into the trashcan. She turned to him and held up two orange skittles.

“Let’s make a toast,” she said. He grabbed one of the skittles and held it in the air, alongside hers.

“We should make it a good one,” he said.

“I’ve got it,” she said, smiling. She cleared her throat and held her skittle proudly, saying, “To adolescence and forgotten anniversaries!” Johnny laughed, toasted his skittle, and popped the orange ball into his mouth.

Author’s Note: Hey everyone! This is the first chapter to a story that I started writing sometime earlier this year. It has a lot more work left on it, but I thought y’all might enjoy reading what I have so far.

As soon as I get the second chapter typed up, I’ll post it. :D I hope you like it, and please REVIEW! I like hearing feedback from my readers. Tell me what you think could have been different, what you like the way it is, and any grammatical critiquing would be appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Skittles or Pepsi.

Always, Irony