I threw myself on the couch and scrolled through my phone. Being home alone a lot this summer is fun. Seven months from now...not so much since I'll be a big brother. I guess I'll just have to make the most out of it before I have to watch a crying potato everyday. I take a bite into my sandwich as I watch a youtube video about some guy correcting people's grammar on the internet. For a middle-aged white guy, I would think he'd being something with his life. No offense to him, I mean. Two week have passed since I last saw my friends.
Janet went on some summer trip out of state to visit some family and Alice went on a birthday bash for her seventeenth birthday. I think she went to Disneyland or something. And as for Leo...he recently went on a camping trip with his dad, so that they could get closer again since the divorce last year. I heard his dad hasn't been well since he found Leo's mom was seeing someone already. I hope Leo is doing alright. I can't message him because of him being in the middle of nowhere.
Before Alice left for her trip, I don't think I can forget what she told me the night before. We were at her house on the front porch. I went over to hand her a gift before she took off.
"Awww, Henry. You shouldn't have." She punched my shoulder. As I rubbed it, she opened up her gift, "Oh...it's a book."
"Take a better look at it." I tell her. The book I got her was the third book to the story Stolen Puzzle Pieces. A crime investigating type of story.
She turns the book over to the front and her eyes grow wide. "HENRY! How did you get this book?! It doesn't come out for another three months."
"Believe it or not, my mom's friends with the friend who's a friend of the manager who does all the book tours for the author. It took her awhile with my help to get it for you."
She gave me a tight hug and thanked me for it. I tell her no problem and for her to have a great trip. I get up from the steps and grab my bag. Before I left, she told me to stay for a bit. She had something to tell me.
"Look...I wanted to tell you this back at your house a few weeks ago."
"Nobody's dying right?" I joked.
"No. Not that at all, but it does have to do with him."
I roll my eyes and begin to walk away. She runs up behind me and grabs my shoulder. "Henry. I spoke to him about this stuff. Stop ignoring him."
"This summer Alice. This summer all I want to do is just enjoy my life for a bit and not think about anything else. We're going to be seniors and then officially adults. I want to focus on myself."
"Can you stop it?" She asks.
"Stop what?"
"Stop putting everything aside. Think about what's happening now. Not what's going to happen in the future." She stares at me. Looking at me, eye to eye. I look down at the grass.
"Just get whatever you need to say quick then Alice. I'm only supposed to give you your gift and go."
She nods her head and we sit down at the steps again. I sit and wait for her to say something.
"When I had a crush on Dylan. I thought he was everything, but of course I had to get over it after I found out he's not into girls. It's really upsetting to find out the person you care so much about doesn't at all with you."
"Alice, I'm sure Dylan cares about you. We're all friends."
"You know what I mean!" She yells, but simmers down in a flash.
"Anyways, I spoke to him awhile back. It didn't feel good when he spoke about someone else so much, the same way I thought of him."
"Who was he talking about?" I ask.
"Gosh, Henry. You're really not that bright." She gives me a look, but it doesn't process yet. My mind was trying not to think about it, but I really do know that Dylan was talking about me, "Henry, Dylan really likes you. And you're messing with his feelings unintentionally. He deals with a lot at home and you make him feel better about himself. I don't know what he sees in you, but there's obviously something there between the two of you."
"Alice...I....I don't know. I'm not--"
"It doesn't matter, whether you are or aren't, be his friend. Talk to him about it. Be there for him. At least I had the guts to plan a fake hangout in order to go on a date with him. Even though it was a disaster. Henry Wilhelm, you have to talk to him. End it off or start something new."
I stared at my shoes and picked at my laces. As she spoke, everything went mute. Her voice drowned out by every other noise in the world around us. I could hear the crickets cricket, the birds chirp in the trees, and the cars passing by. I then felt a push that almost knocked me over. I zoned right back into the conversation Alice and I were having.
"Helllooo? Were you listening to what I was saying?"
"Ya...yeah I was. Hey, I'm gonna go. Thanks for telling me this." I grab my bag again and take off. Alice yelled for me as I walked off quickly. Thanking me for the gift one more time.
To be honest, I left quickly just to get out of there. I'm sure whatever she was talking about, was important. I didn't forget the last part I heard from her though before I zoned out. I stop scrolling through my phone and stare at Dylan's number. Our last text was forever ago. I open up our messages and begin to type.
Hey, it's been awhile
I send the message and wait for a response. With every notification I get my phone, I immediately glance at it. Each one being a big disappointment like the time I was in baseball little league. Waiting for Dylan to text back was hell. Plus being in this house almost everyday was killing me. I should've asked Leo if I could've gone camping with him. I get my earbuds and put on some music to keep my attention somewhere else. I grab my bike from the garage and take off. It was only two in the afternoon and my mom won't be home for another three hours. I really needed this.
As I bike down the street, I head towards main street. Where most of our stores and actual fun places to go to are at. There was an ice cream shop at the end that sold the most amazing chocolate ice cream ever. Shiri's Ice Cream Parlor will never fail my taste buds. By the time I get there it's already almost 3. I live pretty far from main street, but if I knew how to drive, I'd get here in a matter of minutes. Pretty exhausted from the ride, I lock up my bike and head inside the place.
"Hey Henry." A voice from behind the counter greets me. It was Shiri herself. The late thirties woman was friends with my mom for quite awhile. Apparently they went to high school together. My mom as so proud of her when Shiri opened up her own store on main street. Since I was a close friend of hers, I would and will always get free ice cream from her.
"What's up Mrs. Stevenson?"
She laughs, "Henry, I keep telling you. You can call me Shiri. It's nice of you to be more formal though. Your mother, Adaline, is raising you well. How is she by the way?"
"She's doing good. Still making pancakes at the diner."
"That's good. You have no idea how much everyone loves her pancakes Henry. Best in this boring, old town. Anyways, it's been awhile since you've been in here. Been long past the beginning of summer. I usually see you here the day summer officially has started."
"Yeah, stuff has been going on. Getting my favorite ice cream hasn't been on my mind lately."
"Speaking of ice cream. You want your usual?"
"Yes ma'am."
Shiri scooped up three scoops of chocolate ice cream. It's the most plainest ice cream there is, but I'm a sucker for chocolate and chocolate only. As she helped the next customers I sat down at a table. Shiri told me to wait for her, so that she can serve the next customers then she could take her break and speak with me.
I stared at my message to Dylan and ate my ice cream as if it was the end of the world. Eating too fast gave me way too many brain freezes. The one time I wanted to talk to him, he doesn't respond back. I'm assuming this is how he feels when I ignore him. I turn off my phone and set it aside, so that I can actually enjoy my ice cream. I'm glad I have Shiri to talk to. I never told my parents about this, but I would sometimes come over here to talk to Shiri about personal stuff. She was the only one I knew I could trust and feel okay.
Ten minutes later and I'm almost done with my ice cream. Shiri was about done with her last customer, so she took break and let another employee take over. She came over to my table and sat across from me.
"So? What do you want to talk about? That's what you usually come here for. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah I think so." Finally I got a message from my phone. She looks down at it and notices the name from the message. It was from Dylan. I smile at her as I open up the message. What's up? It says.
"Does he have anything to do with this?" Shiri asks.
I sigh and tell her that it does. That's when I tell her mostly everything about what's been going on.
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