It was around one o'clock in the afternoon, mid-September; the sun was out, with some small clouds in the sky. What stuck out to me on this day was the rain pitter-pattering on the windows. It was kind of hypnotic; I couldn't really explain it in any other way. How it was raining on an almost clear day was beyond me. Anyway, I was in class taking notes on algebra, and I was so close to ripping the notebook paper in half after trying to erase my misspellings. It was my dumb eighth-grade teacher's fault. He had on a white dress shirt and a black tie; his black hair was a combover—it didn't help with his bald problem.

Did I say I was taking notes in my class? Well, I was taking notes, but right now, I was drawing a cobweb with Spider-Man's head on it. The rest of the class went on with my teacher being a bumbling idiot. I think I saw some of my classmates fall asleep on their desks. I looked at the clock over the wooden door; it needed to go faster.

Then, the bell rang. My classmates got up from their seats, rushing out of the classroom. It was like an animal stampede. I worked on my other drawings in my notebook, nearly covering the entire white page.

###

The school bathroom was like a ghost town; the warm water drenched my hands from the shiny faucet, and soap bubbles formed in the sink, popping one by one. The white walls had some fingerprints on them. Gross. In the mirror, there was me. I wore a red and blue striped t-shirt; my hair was a little long, kind of messy; and there were some pimples on my face.

My parents, especially my dad, weren't happy with my choice. Last summer, I'd told them that I wanted to grow out my hair; they looked at me funny. Dad had crossed his hairy arms over his chest, saying, Why? You're going to be a rock star? Truthfully, they believed rock stars were a horrible influence on me; they went on about how they were good-for-nothing slackers.

While I liked rock stars, it wasn't because of them I wanted to grow my hair out. When I was outside, one of my neighbors, who was a couple of houses down, had his hair long and a little messy. It looked cool, so what the hell? Eventually, they decided to let me keep my hair like that. As long as I kept getting good grades.

After I cleaned myself up, I headed toward the wooden bathroom door and opened it, exiting. The halls were packed, kids talked to each other, and football players in their black and white jerseys gave a thunderous roar far down in the distance. At my green locker, I fiddled with my lock, hoping my locker wouldn't jam like the last time. It opened, thank the lord.

"Heya!"

My eyes landed on a familiar person—my hazel-eyed friend, Jason. He was wearing a long-sleeved blue t-shirt and dark blue jeans that nearly covered his black Chucks. His Afro was small; no strands of hair were out.

"What's crackin', dude? Are you heading' over to Rebecca's fourteenth birthday party? Heard it's goin' to be far out." He said.

"Rebecca, huh? I don't know. Ever since I spilled my drink on her at lunch, she was giving me the hairy eyeball."

Jason chuckled.

"Oh, yeah, I remembered. The way she looked at you, man, I thought she was going to slap you."

"Same here," I sighed. "I don't know if I can ask her."

"You haven't asked her yet?"

My mouth was clamped shut as Jason raised an eyebrow. He waited for my answer, but I couldn't provide him with any. Damn it. He opened his mouth slightly.

He said, "Hold up... do you..."

If a mirror were in front of me, you would see a sweaty hog. Like last time, when I'd bumped into one of our school's football players. Dad had a name for men who were big in size and strong like bulls. Strongmen, that was it! One of them had picked me up by the shirt and shoved me into a random locker.

I didn't know how long I'd been inside, but a janitor who had been in the halls heard my cries and was able to get me out. Anyway, my eyes were looking back at my locker, not facing my friend. Even without looking at him, I imagined his eyes drilling into the side of my head.

"You have a crush on Rebecca," Jason smirked.

Well, he figured it out. He is smart after all.

"C'mon. Man up and go talk to her. It might be your last chance."

"I don't know," I met his eyes. "What if she's still mad at me for--"

"I said it might be your LAST chance. And besides, she probably forgot what you did. So, go look for her."

And so, I took Jason's advice and went to find her in school. Through a sea of kids, it got too difficult to find her; you know how someone would throw a needle in a haystack, and you tried to find it. Trudging through them, there she was, at the locker near the school's double doors. She was talking with another girl as she held her books. Now, I'm not a poetic type of guy, but she was like a rose flower in a bush, easy to see.

Taking a deep breath, I walked over to her and her friend, I think, saying hey. Both of them looked at me; Rebecca's brown eyes and my eyes met. I couldn't care less about the other girl.

"Hi," Rebecca smiled. "Not dropping anything on me this time?"

"No," shaking my head, "I have nothing on--"

"I'm playing with you. What do you want to talk to me about?"

"I heard you're throwing your birthday party at your pad. I was wondering if I could come?"

I had to admit I wasn't paying attention to what her invites looked like. I'd seen other kids holding rainbow-colored cards in the halls. Maybe those had been from her; it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Okay," she put her hand into the left pocket of her pants. She took out a rainbow-colored card and handed it to me. I was right! "It's six-thirty; don't be clumsy when you get there."

Rebecca grabbed her backpack from her locker, placed her books and other stuff in there, and closed it. She headed out through the double doors. Man, she looked good in her tie-dye shirt and bell bottoms. Maybe, maybe I have a chance.

"Dude, dude." A voice called out.

To think that she wouldn't forgive me, the angels sang hallelujah, and the bells rang. My heart beat faster than any drummer; it was about to explode. The girl Rebecca had been talking to gave me a look before she walked out the doors, but I didn't care. Other students started leaving through the doors as I stood there, eyes shut.

"Dude!"

My eyes quickly opened as Jason stood on my left, wearing his black backpack.

"You really are a space cadet today, aren't you? So, did you talk to Rebecca?"

"Yeah. I got invited."

"Did you tell her how you feel?"

My mouth closed before I stumbled to answer.

Jason shook his head as he closed his eyes. He must have had a field day with me not doing my part.

"Remember, I said this is your LAST chance. Luckily, you got another shot at her party. Don't screw up."

A grumble came out of me while Jason grinned ear to ear. He walked over to the double doors and pushed one of them open. Turning his head, he looked straight at me.

"I'll see ya at the party," Jason showed two fingers at me. "Peace out, buddy."

###

My footsteps dragged closer to my light yellow house. The wood creaked as I walked up the stairs, closing in on the front door. The keys jingled in my hands as I took them out of my pants' pocket. Dad was in the living room, on the couch, as he watched TV. It seemed he was watching M*A*S*H; I know for certain it was M*A*S*H because a commercial had come on when I'd been watching The Brady Bunch.

"Hey Dad, I'm home." I waved my hand.

"Hi, Sport," he turned around and smiled at me. "Learn anything new at school?"

"Nope, just some same old boring stuff. Is that M*A*S*H you're watching? The first episode?"

"Yep." He turned around to face the TV, "Reminded me of the time when I served in the war. I'm liking it so far."

Humming, I walked past the living room, straight past the dining room, and headed into the kitchen to see my mom cleaning the dishes.

"Hi, Mom."

She turned around and smiled.

"Hi, honey. How's school?"

Shrugging my shoulder, I said, "Eh, the usual. I got invited to a friend's birthday party."

"A friend's birthday party?" Dad said from the living room.

"Oh, that's great! Who's this friend of yours?"

I said, "It's--"

"It's not the Benedicts, is it? John needs to pay for nearly hitting my precious car."

"Oh, Harold. The Benedicts are nice people. They even gave us a gift basket to show how sorry they were."

From the kitchen, I heard Dad grumble a bit. I nearly forgot he had a grudge against the Benedicts.

"Anyway, whose birthday party are you going to?" Mom tried her hands on her red apron.

"Rebecca Lashley's."

"The Lashleys?!" Dad nearly fell off the couch. "Those rich folks down Avon Avenue?!"

I nodded.

He rushed toward the kitchen and placed his hands on my shoulders, a bit tightly. "That's where my boss lives, and you got invited by his daughter?! Son, how did you do it?"

"I just asked her?"

Dad's hearty laugh filled the kitchen as he patted my back. His grin was ear-to-ear.

"You're becoming a man! See, honey, he got his charms from me. Hah!"

"What time are you supposed to be there?" Mom asked.

"Six-thirty." Shoving my hands into my pockets.

Dad walked back into the living room as he laughed just as loud as thunder during a storm. He sat back down on the couch, adjusting himself. "You should go to the party, sport. Be proper! When my boss sees how wonderful a kid you are, he will do a lot of good things for you."

As you know, Lashley's dad was my dad's boss. Never met him before; Dad mentioned him once or twice during dinner. According to him, Lashley's dad was hard to impress; hell, when he told me and my mom that his boss had announced to him he was getting married, he said his face was as blank as a piece of paper. I mean, who doesn't get happy about that?!

"Remember to be yourself; girls like honest boys." Mom placed her hand on my shoulder with a small smile.

There was a time when I was honest, and it was bad. When I was in fifth grade, my classmates and I had been talking about what they were afraid of, and let me tell you, I was a laughing stock. Squirrels. Those brown demons scared me to death when I was seven years old. When I went up to one to pet it, it looked at me with its black eyes before shrieking and jumping at me. Snot had run down my nose as tears mixed in like gooey green soup. 

###

Seeing the mansion for the first time felt like a dream. Its white color stood out in the cloudless night sky; the lights from inside gave a haze through its large windows. Maybe, just maybe the Lashleys had a miniature sun inside. As I walked up the stairs, which felt like centuries, two men in black suits put their hands at the same time. They reminded me of a bunch of men Dad had talked about being with the president; I think they are called Secret Somethings; I don't know. Anyway, they were tall, well-dressed, and had no wrinkles on their suits; one of them looked like Mr. Olympia himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. One of them held a clipboard in hand.

"Name?" The left guard's deep voice startled me.

"Jeremiah Wales."

The right guard's eyes moved up and down the clipboard as he coughed. He looked back at me, no smile, eyes now half-opened.

"Come in."

How he opened those ginormous double white doors with one hand was impressive; I wouldn't be surprised if he lifted weights like Young Arnold. To say paradise was an understatement, it was far out! Booze, kissing, dancing, and Aerosmith filling my ears, you name it. Dad was wrong; this was the exact opposite of proper!

"Wales, you made it!"

Jason pushed his way through people and slapped me some skin. "I've been waiting for you. What took you so long, man?"

"I was just trying to find something nice to wear. No, I wasn't looking for a suit to wear. Just some nice clothes, that's all. Anyway, where's Rebecca?"

"She's outside, near the pool. Just go straight and go through the patio door where the living room is."

The strong scent of beer and vomit filled my nostrils as I walked by everyone. One dude in the crowd danced, swinging his arms out like he was a cartoon character walking, like some buff guys in old Looney Tunes cartoons. Once after I swam through the sea of people, I opened the sliding door and stepped outside; if you've ever seen how large a football field is, that was Rebecca's backyard. There were probably around hundreds of people standing around the big pool, looking up at someone on the diving board, preparing to jump. Rebecca was at the back, away from the pool, near the bushes that looked like giant shadows, readying to pounce on her.

The person jumped off the diving board and did several twists before diving into the pool. The water splashed on everyone, not really on me; a little bit went on my pants and shoes, but not on my red shirt. Taking all the guts that I had, a breath of air escaped my mouth as I clenched my fists. I didn't waste time going up to her; this was my opportunity, and I couldn't afford to screw it all up by not striking first. Rebecca's eyes spotted me coming; it seemed to me she had a smile on her face. This was good.

"Hey!" she waved her hand. "You came! Didn't trip yourself getting here, huh?"

"Oh ha ha, very funny," I snorted.

Rebecca wore a yellow bikini; the glow from the pool gave her brown hair a light-ish blue touch. There were some water droplets around her abs; honestly, they looked like square pillows, but skin.

She's a brick house!

She stared at me with her brown eyes as she tilted her head to the left, a small smile on her face. "Are you going to say something, or are you going to stare at me without saying a word?"

I stepped back a bit; hands were up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to--"

"It's okay, I'm just playing with you. At least I know now."

"Know what?"

Rebecca covered her mouth as she laughed. She grabbed my wrist, leading me into her mansion. Some people around us as we walked were whistling; I think I saw Jason drinking a full bottle of beer before seeing me with Rebecca and shouted "YEAH!" at me with his fist pumped in the air. The twisted stairs that I'd seen first, when I entered, almost made my head fall off.

###

Her room had a lot of posters, mostly peace signs and some artists like Elton John, Deep Purple, and Bee Gees. Her lava lamp was on top of her small wooden drawer, which was next to her bed. I'd already sat down on her bed, hands on my lap; what I didn't notice before was the red cup, which she had placed by the lava lamp. Thoughts ran through my head as my eyes remained on the red cup until I reached a conclusion. She was drinking. 

How did I miss that? She was outside of her room, back facing towards me, shouting at someone before laughing up a storm. Rebecca walked in before shutting the door from behind. She then walked towards me and sat down, right next to me.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked. 

"I want to tell you something I never tell anyone," she closed her eyes before sighing.

"Okay, what is it?"

Before she had opened her eyes to face me, a tear rolled down her cheek, dropping to her bare thigh. Her eyes were red; part of me thought it was from the drinking, another was from her... crying hard?

"All my life, I always felt like I was a fraud," she sobbed, rubbing her eyes with her wrist. "At school, I have to act how I'm supposed to act, like a snobby rich girl born from her rich parents, who must hang out with football players and other rich people like me. Every time I tell them I don't want to, they always say I have to behave like a Lashley. I don't even know what that means. The people I've met have always been fake."

"Rebecca---"

"Call me Becky."

"That's funny, Becky. My dad told me that I have to act properly when meeting with you guys. But, obviously, your folks aren't here, so... I guess he wanted me to act fake too..."

We both chuckled for a bit before we stared at each other in silence. She looked down at her lap, then she looked back at me; it was like she was expecting an answer or something.

"You know, you're the only person who acts real to me. Some time when we've talked to each other, I don't feel like I have to act like another person. I always have this... warm feeling towards you, and I want to thank you for not being fake towards me."

Again, I didn't know if this was her from drinking or her being honest. But I don't want to ask; at least from my experience, I had gotten a rude awakening from a stupid stranger. Nodding my head, I felt a grin coming on my face. 

"Of course, after all, we're friends."

Neither of us spoke a word for a moment; heck, we didn't even look at each other. Once our eyes met again, her head moved towards mine as I did the same. Her eyes slowly started to close as she inched closer. Was it the moment I had been waiting for? I should have felt good!

###

The party had finished, and everyone stumbled out, tripping over themselves. Some of them, I think it was some seniors, drove out of there. Jason was outside, puking his brains out on the grass. I, Rebecca, and a few others offered to clean up her mansion, which took an eternity to finish. There weren't any broken windows, so that was good. 

Rebecca and I walked up to her giant double white doors, and then we stared at each other. 

She smiled at me, "Thank you for coming, Jeremiah."

"No problem, it was the best party I have ever been to," I shrugged my shoulders.

"Heh, at least you didn't act clumsy."

Holding back a snort, I looked back at Jason, who had finished up throwing up his chunks. My hands were shoved into the pockets of my pants before I glanced back at her.

"Well, I'll see you on Monday, Becky. Have a good night."

She waved her hand before turning around and walking up the forever twisting stairs. Outside, Jason found himself next to me and blinked a couple of times as he straightened himself. He dusted her shirt off with his hands and patted his pants.

"So," he coughed, "did you make your move?"

Saying nothing, I simply walked away from him, humming to myself.

###

Jason and I walked on the sidewalk as he tried to get me to budge. If you didn't know, Jason lived close to me, so, we decided to walk each other home. He bugged me if I kissed Rebecca,  I wouldn't tell him or you. For now, I just needed some rest. As we walked, flashing red and blue lights from far down the street brightened the nearby trees and houses we were at.

"Damn," Jason rubbed his left eye, "I forgot how bright the police's lights are."

"Maybe, it was from you drinking," I chuckled.

"Shut up."

We continued walking until something didn't feel right. Jason leaned his head forward to get a better look, eyes squinted.

"Wait a minute," Jason straightened his back. "Why are they doing near your street?"

My heart skipped a beat before I stretched my arms to calm myself down. Giving my friend a side-eye, I couldn't let his words get to me. I said, "It's not for me, Jason; maybe it's for one of the neighbors."

"Well, let's see."

We got closer to the police and ambulance cars; some police officers were off the sidewalk, and others were on the road a bit. But what I did notice was they were talking to each other on the front yard of my house. Something wasn't right; my body immediately felt cold all of a sudden. One of the officers noticed we were coming close to my house and walked up to us.

The officer said, "What are you kids doing out here this late?"

"We are coming from a party, sir."

The officer muttered something under his breath as he looked away. He looked back at us and said we couldn't be near the crime scene.

"Crime scene?" My breath hitched. "I live here; what are you talking about?"

The officer's eyes widened as he stepped back, closing his eyes. From the corner of my eye, Jason looked at me, then he stared down at the ground.

"Son," the officer said quietly, before running his fingers through his hair. "Please don't go inside."

"Why, what happened?"

The officer said nothing.

"What happened?" I asked again, harsher.

"Son," the officer took a deep breath. "Your folks got murdered."