8/12
Surprisingly I didn't wake up with a huge headache or stomach. It felt like any other morning, and I was surprised I made it through the day before. Today was going to be harder though. Immediately thoughts and questions storm into my mind.
I wonder if he's Ok. When's the next time he's going to be on Vim? It could be a while couldn't it? Of course, it's not like the first thing he thinks of in the morning is Vim. Should I get on? I'm not really in the mood and it probably won't help if I did.
Before I could decide I got a text from my friend: Hey Alexis! Yesterday was fun! Few of us decided to go watch a movie at the mall & stuff, wanna come?
I have to admit, yesterday was a lot of fun. After the park, we went over to the crossroads less than two blocks away and got some snacks. We just talked there and mostly complained about how school started in a little less than a month.
Ugh, don't think about school...It was the 12th of August and school started on the 6th of next month. I was too lazy to do the math, so it started in a few weeks. I looked over at the clock, it was 11am meaning I slept in a little too late.
I thought about my friend's offer and decided not to get on Vim until much later. I texted back: Sure :) What time?
I got out of bed and went into the bathroom to take a quick shower but before I could even find a towel I got another text: the mall around 12:30, the movie starts at 1 & then we can just hang out for a few hours :) Sound good?
I texted back a quick 'Ok.'
12:30, that means I have more than enough time to take a shower, good thing I didn't sleep in too late.
My dad was reading the 'Comics' section of the newspaper downstairs while having coffee. He likes starting with the funny stuff and then goes to the more serious stuff in the newspaper. I always thought that was smart since I wouldn't want to start my day with bad news. He used to work for the newspaper in college, which is when he met my mom. He married my mom two years after they graduated and he moved on to advertising.
When I was eight I used to think that my dad had the coolest job in the world because he was always coming up with these cool logos and it amazed me that he got paid to do that. I still think it's pretty cool because sometimes he asks me and my friends if something is too cheesy or boring since kids are the ones watching all the ads.
"Good morning! Feeling better?" he asked with a smile as I walked into the kitchen.
"Much better! Is Mom at the hospital already?" I answered. She volunteers there on the weekends but it was kind of early for her to be gone.
"Yeah, they called her earlier. Something about extra help," he said still reading the comics. "Any special plans for the day?"
"Yep, going to the mall with a few friends at 12:30. Going to watch a movie and just hang out after that" I said with a yawn. "Can you drive me please?"
Right then, Jade walked in and said, "I'll drive you, and I need to go there anyways."
"Fine," I answered, still pretty tired. "I'm gonna go take a shower."
I love taking a shower in the morning because it wakes me up and it's a great way to start the day. I was out sometime around 11:45 meaning I had another 45 minutes before I had to go. I dried my hair and put on some makeup. I actually don't like wearing too much makeup because then people don't see the real you, they see the person you want them to see.
The next time I went downstairs my dad was watching the news and my sister was talking to her friend, Jenna, in the kitchen.
"Hey Jenna," I said. she's been friends with Jade since 3rd grade so I've known her for a long time. "I haven't seen you around much."
"Hey Alexa!" She answered with a big smile. "I know I haven't seen you around either, but we're going to be in the same school next year!"
Jenna prefers to call me Alexa, I don't really mind though. A lot of people have different names for me like Alexis or Alexia. Some of my friends even call me Lexie. I think it's cool how different people call me different things. My parents usually stick to Alexis though.
"Yeah, you're finally going into high school Alexa," my sister added. "E-excited?"
"I guess, but more nervous I think." I answered.
"Well don't worry too much Alexis," Dad entered, "You'll get the hang of it really fast."
"Uh, Dad? High school is a little different now than it was in the day," Jade joked as she looked for her keys. "Come on guys, we need to leave now if we're going to make it on time."
"Where exactly do you need to go?" I wondered.
"We need to look for birthday decorations and awesome birthday presents for Haley and Jake, their birthday is next week and we're throwing them a party," Jenna said enthusiastically. Haley and Jake were twins and really good friends of Jade and Jenna.
"Oh cool, where's the party going to be?" I thought the idea was really cool and Jade was really good at planning parties.
"At our house on the 19th so exactly in a week," Jade said as we got in the car. "You can invite your friends if you want, the more people the better. For the past two years they haven't done much on their birthday, so this year is going to be big."
"Wait a second, why at our house?" I asked curiously. Usually the parties were outside or something.
"Because, it's summer and the party's going to be at night. There're moths and bugs at night, so we can't have it outside." Jenna answered as we pulled out of the driveway, "Your house is bigger than mine, and your parents agreed, so why not? And if there are too many people then we'll use your backyard."
"Oh, it sounds cool!" We don't have many parties at our house so this would be a lot of fun. "How many people?"
"No more than maybe a hundred and fifty, but it's like she said, we can use the backyard too." Jade answered.
"Wow, that's a lot of people for just our house Jade!"
"I've been thinking about that...Oh! Maybe we could have it in two different houses!" Jade exclaimed. "We could use the neighbor's house if they didn't mind and then we can invite even more people!"
"Yeah! Isn't Aaron your neighbor and he's invited to the party too so he wouldn't mind. And you're friends with his brother Kyle, right Alexa?" Jenna said in just a voice just as excited as Jade's.
"Yeah I am," I said, starting to get excited too. "You know, this sounds like it's gonna be really cool."
"It is!" Jade said pulling into a parking space, "Ok we're here, what time are you going to be done? We're gonna be here for a while so just call us when your done."
"Ok, I'm gonna head over to the movie theater. Bye!" I said walking towards the theater.
Wow, a party at our house and maybe even Kyle's house. And more than a hundred and fifty people! This is going to be big...
I was still thinking about the party when I heard a voice behind me yell "Alexia!" I turned around to see Kyle himself jog next to me. "Hey!"
"Hi Kyle! What're you doing here?" I asked, kind of surprised to see him. I've lived next to Kyle for about my whole life, he moved to his house a few months before we moved there. We've also been in the same school for as long as I can remember. His brother, Aaron, is Jade's age, so they've been friends for a while too. His parents are really good friends with my parents and I used to see him every day when we were kids, so it was natural that we became friends.
"Watching a movie with some of the guys, you too?"
I nodded; maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised since I saw him yesterday at the park too. Yesterday…the day I found out about what really happened to Joshua.
Oh my god, Joshua! I almost stopped in my tracks when I realized that Joshua probably still hadn't woken up. I was out here, pretending like everything was okay while Joshua was hurt and his family was probably worried sick about him! How could you Alexis? How could you forget about what happened to Joshua?
"Alexia? You ok?" Kyle's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and back to reality. "You seem a little out of it."
"Oh...no I'm fine." I answered, still a little dazed.
"Are you sure? You were the same way yesterday when we went to the park. It's like your mind's somewhere else. What're you thinking about?" Kyle asked in a worried voice.
"Nothing, trust me I'm fine. I was just thinking about...the party!" I said, a little too loud. "Yeah, Jade and Jenna are throwing this party for Haley and Jake's birthday and it's going to be at our house."
"Oh really? That sounds cool, my brother's friends with Jake and I think he mentioned it yesterday."
"Yeah, but there's going to be a lot of people there, more than a hundred and Jade wanted to know if you guys wanted to throw the party at your house too, since we're neighbors." I explained, glad I could change the subject. "So it could be this really big party in two houses and we could invite even more people."
"That's sounds awesome! Aaron would go crazy over that and I'm sure my parents would be okay with that." I could tell by Kyle's voice that he was getting excited too.
"What sounds awesome?" asked a familiar voice.
I looked up to see my best friend Lena, smiling. "Hey Lena!" I said and gave her a quick hug.
"Hey Lexie! Hey Kyle! Come on, the movie starts in a few minutes!" Lena said walking towards the others. Aly, Tiffany, Ryan, Chris, and Tyler were there too.
Lena and I have been best friends since Kindergarten. Lena is one of the best, happiest, perkiest people you will ever meet. She's a great friend and she's always there when you need to talk. Another thing that makes Lena an even dearer friend is that she's the only one who knows about Joshua. I told her a few months ago and she completely understood how I felt. She never made me feel stupid for liking Joshua or told me that he was just a guy and that I didn't even know him. We've never fought over anything silly like guys or something someone said. We've always told each other the truth, probably because we find it hard to lie to each other. I swear you can't get a better friend then her.
I've known Aly since 2nd grade and we've been friends ever since. If you want the definition of three best friends who will do anything for each other, you get Aly, Lena and me. Aly probably uses her common sense more often than any of my friends. She always looks at things in a logical way and even though sometimes that's different than how Lena and I look at it, we still love her. She's the one that keeps our heads straight and would never let us do something stupid that would get us in trouble.
Tiffany moved here last year and we became friends with her really fast. I can't say much about her since I've only known her for a year. It's hard to talk about her since she's so many things. She's one of my smartest friends and she's from New York City. But what surprised me about her was the fact that she was so down-to-earth. She always listens to your problems and tries her best to help you and she's a lot of fun to be around. I guess she's different than everyone else because she has that vibe that's hard to decipher.
Ryan...you know, I'm not sure how we became friends, but I'm glad we are. Ryan and Kyle have been the best of friends for as long as Lena and I have. I guess they're like the guy version of Lena and me, just different. I guess I became friends with Ryan through Kyle. Ryan is definitely the crazy one of the group. He's willing to do anything just to have fun but he has enough common sense not to do anything stupid. Sometimes he does get in trouble for stuff, but it's never been too bad and that's why we're here. He's really a fun guy with a lot of energy and that's why everyone loves him.
Chris is the biggest music fan you'll ever meet! He's always listening to music and he plays the guitar, he's pretty good too. Chris lives for music and it's what a lot people know him for. The thing I love about Chris is how open-minded he is. He's always willing to try new things, usually new music, but he never decides something before he tries it. He's the first and last person to give someone or something a chance. There's no doubt that Chris is going to be a famous musician when he grows up. I hope he never loses his love for music, because he doesn't just listen to music, he listens to the words in the music. He sees a song in so many different ways than an average person would which is awesome!
There are so many things to say about Tyler. Everyone loves him! He's the nicest, sweetest, all-around-good-guy you'll ever meet. He's smart and definitely talented in a lot of areas. He loves playing sports but he also loves staying home and reading books. Tyler really amazes me so many times because you never know what he's going to do next. When I said everyone loves him, I really meant everyone! He's friends with everyone because there's something about him that just makes you want to be friends with him. He might not know this, but he's actually kind of popular. I don't think there's a single person that doesn't like him but he would never let that go to his head. Tyler's so down-to-earth and he doesn't let others affect the way he thinks or change what he believes. How could you not love someone like that?
I guess I should say a little more about Kyle since I didn't say much before. Yeah, he's my best guy friend and I've known him for just about ever. He's the guy you go to when you need to talk and I'll bet you he'll understand. He doesn't judge you no matter what you do and he would never say anything bad about a person. Once in 3rd grade, Lena and I had a fight and it was so crazy since we never fought at all, ever! But thank goodness Kyle was there because he literally made Lena and I sit in a room together and say good things about each other until we completely forgot why we were fighting. For that I'll always be thankful to Kyle. He always gives people another chance and I can depend on him for anything and vice versa.
After saying 'Hi' to everyone, we went inside the theater. It was already dark and some of the previews were playing.
The movie was a little confusing so I couldn't tell exactly what it was about. It was two and a half hours long but I stopped paying attention after an hour. I looked around at my friends and saw that they were all caught up in the movie.
"I'm going to go to the restroom for a sec," I whispered to Kyle and Tiffany. Tiffany nodded but Kyle gave me a weird look, a mix between suspicious and worried, but I ignored it and walked towards the restroom.
He still thinks something's up. How does he always know that? I looked in the restroom mirror and thought of something to do to stall for time. Usually I have no trouble paying attention to movies, but today wasn't just any other day. I stopped myself before I started thinking about Joshua again. Not now and definitely not here!
With that I walked back to the cinema and sat down. Kyle gave me another look knowing I'd been gone for a while. "Let it go, I'm fine," I said as I sat down, hoping he really would.
I know he didn't believe it but he still looked back at the screen. I sighed. I have to think of something before he gets too curious.
"Hey Alexia, do you wanna come get some snacks?" I turned my head to see it was Kyle who had asked the question.
Uh oh...I thought as I answered, "Um, sure," knowing what was coming.
We got some candy and refilled some soda cups. We were on our way back when I noticed Kyle starring at me.
"What?" I asked.
He waited for a while then said, "Well even if I asked you, you wouldn't tell me the truth." I could tell he was worried but I wasn't about to just tell him everything.
I would have replied but by then we had reached the cinema. I glanced over at Kyle but he was paying all of his attention to the movie once again. He's kind of mad, I know he is. But I can't just tell him everything, Lena is the only one that knows and she's the only one that will ever know. There's no way I'm going to tell him about Joshua or anything that happens in Vim.
I thought about that for a while. Why can't I tell him? It's not like he won't understand. Vim is a big part of my life; shouldn't he know since he's my best friend?
But it would just be too weird and what if the others find out? It's not that I care about what other people think about me, it's more that I don't want to complicate my real life because of my Vim life. Kyle wouldn't tell anyone, he knows that I trust him and he won't do anything to lose that trust. Then...why don't I tell him?
Then, all of a sudden, the credits song started playing and everyone got up. "Over already?" I asked jokingly as we got up.
"You weren't paying much attention were you Alexis?" Tyler asked.
"Not really," I said with a small laugh, "I just found it hard to concentrate on the movie." I stopped there before anyone got any ideas.
"Well where do you guys want to go now?" Lena asked as we walked outside.
"I'm hungry, can we go get ice cream or pizza or something?" Ryan asked.
"Typical," Kyle and Chris laughed.
We walked around for a while until we came across California Pizza Kitchen. The smell drew us in immediately and we all went inside. The waiter was a little surprised to see all of us there, but he found us a place inside because it was getting hot outside. We ordered two large pizzas and sodas and while we waited Lena asked me, "So what were you talking about before about something being really cool?"
"Oh, it's this party my sister and Jenna are throwing for Jake and Haley, the twins. Their birthday is next week and they don't usually do much on their birthday so Jade wanted to throw them a huge party. It's going to be at my and maybe Kyle's house in exactly a week and everyone's invited," I explained.
"Wow, that sounds so cool!" Aly exclaimed as the pizza arrived.
"Wait. So, it's going to be at your house and Kyle's house?" Chris asked.
"Maybe, if my parents are cool with it. They probably will be since Jake and Aaron are good friends and we don't have that many parties," Kyle said taking two slices of pizza.
"I met Haley at the graduation last year. She's so nice! She even welcomed all of us to high school!" Lena said.
"Yeah, Jade and Jenna are at Party Corner right now looking for decorations," I said taking some pizza for myself.
"Oh! Can we go there and like help them look for decorations or something? Do you think they would mind?" Aly asked, getting hyper.
"Yeah that's a good idea," Tyler added.
"Maybe we should, I don't think they would mind since we only have a week before the party," I answered as everyone continued talking about the party. It was 4pm meaning they would probably still be there.
"Maybe we should get them an awesome present from all of us," Chris' eyes twinkled like they always did when he got excited. "Something really great that they'll both love."
"That's a good idea! Then we don't have to worry about each of us getting something different," Kyle pointed out. "But we need something that we know they'll really love."
We talked about that for a while. The more we talked about the party the more excited I got. This is going to be a great party, but a lot can happen in a week.