I had been going to the cemetery every night for a week and there was no sign of the girl anywhere. At this point I felt like I hit my head some how and imagined it. Maybe I fell off my bike or my dad smacking me around has caught up to me. But I wouldn't believe it, I knew she was real and I knew I was going to see her again. It was the last day of the week and I had been avoiding somebody all week. His name was Mathew Branson and for some reason I guess I just pissed the guy off. Ever since highschool had started he was giving me wedgies, shoving me in lockers, taking my lunch money and calling me names. His favourite name for me was "ass face," I guess that's the best the big, dumb, reject could come up with. I don't know why I never stood up for myself, I just never liked confrontation. I never wanted to cause anyone harm no matter what they had caused me to feel. Maybe if my dad was there to teach me how to stick up for myself things would be different. He's too busy being the biggest bully I ever had to do that though. As I closed my locker the bell rang for first period.
"Shit I'm going to be late" I said trying to hurry down the hall. Last time I was late to first period Mr. Anger made me stay an hour after school. Mr. Anger was my English teacher and his name suited him quite well. He was usually a calm and fairly nice guy but his patience and temper were very short. I still remember the sound of him breaking a metre stick over his knee when he saw someone had drawn in a textbook. As I turned the corner checking my watch for the seconds I was missing class I ran into a wall. I got back up off my ass when I realized it wasn't the wall. It was a big, B.O. smelling, sweaty, greasy, dog faced douchebag who had it out for me. I was avoiding him for four days and I couldn't make it just one more day not seeing him.
"Well look who it is, I've been looking for you all week ass face. I've been having to steal lunch money off of Tommy Wilson and he gets two dollars less than you. You're going to have to pay me back for every day I didn't get your lunch money" he said poking my chest.
"Look man, it's the last day of the week. Just let me go and you can have my lunch money Monday."
"Oh okay and what do you suggest I do right now? I'm pretty hungry Billy, sorry I mean ass face" he said poking me harder now.
"I didn't get lunch money all week, my dad's been pretty pissed at me Mat-"
"And what part of this is my problem?"
"I can see what I can do Monday alright?"
"But...I'm hungry now ass face. I need food" he said still poking me, with his face two inches from mine. I could smell his breath and it was like being inside of a barn full of cow shit. I don't know what happened next or why I said it but it just happened.
"I think you could afford to miss a few meals fat ass" I told him and instantly regretted it. My stomach dropped and I wished I could rewind time - I sat there in my head wishing I could as if I was telling a genie it was my only wish. He looked as if he just seen a ghost, I don't think he could digest what I just said. His face went red and he picked me up by my collar throwing me up against the wall.
"I better have that money on Monday ass face, or you're dead" he threatened. He put me down on my feet and punched me in the stomach so hard I thought for sure I was going to puke. He knocked the wind right out of me and I laid on the ground gasping for air as he walked away laughing. I didn't even want to know how late I was going to be to Mr. Anger's class now or how he would punish me. The pain died down and I ran into class interrupting the lesson, Mr. Anger got so mad he threw his piece of chalk to the back of the room. It broke into three parts and he stared at me with eyes that told me he wanted to hurt me. Saying nothing he just pointed at my desk so I sped walked to it with my head down. Taking my seat he still hadn't taken his eyes off of me and it felt like they were burning a hole straight through me.
"Okay, let's continue with the lesson that was so rudely interrupted" he said turning back to the chalk board. By the way, I was only four minutes late to get that reaction and I wouldn't ever dare to be ten. At the end of class Mr. Anger told me he'd be expecting me an hour early to class on Monday.
"You stand me up Monday morning and you'll stay two hours Monday night" he said. The rest of the day dragged so bad it felt like it would never end, then finally it was over. I was able to avoid Mathew and got on my bus - I still regretted taking it that morning. I always preferred riding my bike over the schoolbus any day. No one ever bugged me on it but it was so loud I couldn't hear myself think. There was gum stuck to every seat and they were so low you were practically sitting on the floor. Then there was the bus driver who drove like he was ready to die everyday and didn't care about taking us all with him. It was my stop and I almost tripped down the stairs I was trying to get off so fast. I ran into my room and fell on my bed exhausted. I didn't even bother taking my shoes off and my backpack was still halfway hanging on my body. I could barely keep my eyes open and my head was too heavy to keep up. I fought the feeling for a few minutes but couldn't win, I was out like a light. I was dreaming again and I was back at the cemetery only I was wearing a suit. I thought I was alone before I heard weeping behind me and I turned to see my parents. My father held his arm around her as she wiped her nose and eyes with a tissue.
"How could you do this to us, look what you did to your mother!" my father shouted. He then started to come at me and I flinched as he walked passed me. He continued yelling when I realized they were at my funeral. "Billy Johnson" my tombstone read, "1968-1984." I looked around as my father shouted and my mother cried and it was only us. My funeral was so depressing but what could I expect when we have no close family and I have no friends. I turned around and around in circles panicking until I seen her, the mystery girl. She stood in the distance at the tree line watching me. I started to run after her but she quickly ran too and fast, way faster than me.
"What is this? Come back here!" I shouted at her before tripping over a rock and hitting my head. I woke up back in my room and couldn't be more relieved that I wasn't dead.
"It was just a dream Billy, relax" I said trying to calm myself. I checked my watch and it was ten o'clock.
"I have to try and see her just one last time" I said jumping out of bed and opening my window. I left the house and rode my bike in a hurry, that was the first time I dreamt about her since the night I met her. I took it as a sign and I knew it meant something, it had to. I rode past the cemetery gate and up towards the willow tree where I first encountered her.
"Please, please, please be here" I begged getting off my bike and searching the area. I looked around the whole cemetery and back to the tree and there was nothing, not even a single noise.
"Dammit!" I said hitting the tree and then took a seat up against it. What was I doing here at night in the cemetery like an idiot anyways. Then it started to rain, it was the first time it rained since the first time I came here.
"What did that tree ever do to you?" someone said beside me. I stood up expecting the caretaker to be standing there leaned on his shovel starring at me like I was crazy. It was her, it was the girl standing here in front of me and I wasn't crazy.
"It's you, I-I've been looking for you all week. You don't even know how hard I've been searching."
"Searching for me, why?"
"Because you never told me your name" I said. She laughed and then blushed a little before saying
"It's Allison, did I not tell you when we met?"
"Allison? That's a nice name and no, I asked but you disappeared."
"Oh yeah...sorry about that. I had to get home or my father would've killed me" she said getting closer to me.
"Don't be sorry, I understand. Thankfully my father hasn't paid much attention to me this week. Except for when I took a Tupperware with left overs out of the fridge and dragged one of his beers along with it" I said.
"SMASH! The stench of alcohol filled the kitchen and glass was everywhere. He ran into the kitchen to see me trying to scrounge up the shards of glass with some paper towel. Then he told me it'd be the last time I wasted one of his beers and locked me in my bedroom for the night without dinner" I explained.
"Yikes, your dad sounds just as bad as mine. Only instead of beer it's if I touch his record player I get a smack."
"Wow, that's horrible....You could always come over and use my record player."
"Really, you mean it?"
"Yeah of course, anytime" I told her with a friendly smile.
"Do you have The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, or maybe Paranoid by Black Sabbath?"
"Those are some older records, I figured you to be more into the latest stuff like Let's Dance by Bowie or Synchronicity by The Police."
"What, the police have an album? Like the guys in blue? And I've never heard of that record by Bowie" she said with a face of confusion.
"No, no" I said trying to hold back my laughter.
"The Police are a band and really? Your dad must only play seventies stuff."
"Yeah...You're probably right."
"Well, I can always show you some new records if you ever want to come over."
"Sounds great" she said with the biggest smile I had ever seen. She was sitting beside me now as we both leaned up against the tree. We talked for hours about our father's, our taste in music, food, movie's and shows.
"I can't believe you've never seen Knight Rider or He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. They're both such amazing shows, I guess I'll have to show you those too when we hang out" I said. We talked about memories good or bad, our favourite holidays, books, places to travel and our hobbies.
"I'd love to see some of your art sometime."
"Sounds like a plan, and I'd love to read one of your stories one day."
"Well most of them are drafts, there's no good copies."
"I'm sure they're amazing" I told her as I checked my watch.
"Crap it's almost two AM, I need to get going. I can't believe we talked this long" I said standing up and wiping the dirt off the back of my jeans. She hopped up quickly and asked
"Would you like my number....So you could call me?"
"I'd love that" I said pulling the pen out of my bag and ready to write on my palm.
"Here I got you" she said taking the pen and writing the seven digits down. I uncontrollably smiled ear to ear and said
"I can't wait to call you."
"I can't wait to answer, but only call passed eleven PM. That's when my father will be asleep and I'll be able to answer" she informed me. She started to walk off -
"Wait, wait. Do you want to meet here again tomorrow night?"
"Of course" she said smiling then turning and walking again. I felt great riding home that night, I finally had a friend and it was a girl friend at that.