I wasn't looking forward to this day as helping me prepare for the first day of school was a tradition in my home, but the repercussions of handling the "first-day jitters" without my mom and dad would be the most challenging. Around this morning, the digital clock on my stove would read six a.m., and I would have awoken to my favorite "back-to-school breakfast" buffet, as my mother would call it. Such breakfast would consist of chocolate chip waffles, crispy turkey bacon with sausage, eggs, and a refreshing pineapple and mango smoothie topped with fresh strawberries and mint leaves.
I recall spending my childhood days with my mother, planting different vegetables and fruits in our garden and playing in the sun for hours. She was severely health-conscious, and I missed her cooking when she cut all carbs and fat from our diet. As I stumbled out of my room with a long stretch, I moved my sluggish feet into the living room to turn on the morning news. As the house was too quiet, I enjoyed listening to the TV while I got ready for the day and to put my mind at ease, so I wouldn't have to think much. Before my parents died, the kitchen was always a place of laughter and joy. A place where everyone gathered to chat, gossip, and just spend time.
The long wrap-around granite countertops had always been with food, cups, cookbooks for days, and regular kitchen appliances. As I rubbed the little sleep, I had gotten from my eyes, I turned on the coffee pot. One obsession I have is coffee, and I think I got it from my mother, who drank it like water. I remember that she would have at least five cups a day. I smiled at the thought as I opened the blinds to the long window above the sink to bring in the light.
The kitchen was nearly clean, aside from the few cups and bowls in the sink that I had to remind myself to put in the dishwasher later in the day. The kitchen flooring was covered in beautiful white tile with a flower pattern around the middle and edges. I remember the day my mother and I picked it out and how excited she was because she was obsessed with flowers and gardening. She always had to have the last word when adding new pieces to the home, almost like this old house was her castle. It always made me admire her more as a homemaker.
The stove has become more of a decoration, considering I don't cook; the fridge was almost bare except for a few water bottles and pop cans. I always ordered from the new burger downtown because they delivered, and I hated to drive. My rambling thoughts distracted me. There was a rasping on my door - a sudden jolt of noise that left just as quickly as it came. In its brevity, I dropped my mug on the floor, and little ceramic chips scattered across the tile flooring.
"Lovely," I muttered as I stepped over the mess.
The news continued to play in the background as the reporter began to explain the report for the week, what kind of weather to expect, etc. I wasn't paying enough attention at that moment as I unlocked the door, opening it slowly as I poked my head out to find my lively best friend, Silas standing on my doorstep. He playfully blocked his face with the front page of the SilentGrove times. Moving the paper down from his face, he laughed a little. It was too early for this, but I giggled anyway.
"Brought you coffee." He said as he handed it over with the now folded paper. He looked nice and spiffy today with his blue collared shirt over his dark blue jeans and black boots. His hair had minimal product, but it was enough to give it a little spike in the front. His favorite camera, a vintage Olympus Zuiko with a worn leather strap, hung around his neck.
I took it from him, knowing I would need it later, "Thank you. I was just making a pot, though. Did you want a cup before class?"
He smiled and nodded. "Sure! I also brought you a breakfast burrito from the new food truck downtown. I figured you'd want some grease to go with your hot chocolate. Sorry. They had no coffee left to make this morning." He laughed as he moved past me, making himself at home. I always thought he was too nice to me, even though we had been best friends since our toddler years. He could always be that shoulder to cry on, at least for me. No matter when I needed him, he was always there. I was never good at making friends, and when I met him, I didn't like him at first. Mostly because I thought he was annoying. I envied him. His family was my own family now. His little brother is the cutest kid, though. I thought he called me "big sis, June," which was adorable.
Silas had a big family. He had two amazing parents, an older brother who was in college already, his ten-year-old brother, a year-old sister, and his parents had their last child on the way. Last I heard, she would give birth to another baby boy soon, and Silas was happy he had another sibling to torture, even though he loved his family. When my parents died, they came to the funeral and filled my fridge with all his mother's homemade food. She was of Mexican descent, so she cooked a lot of tacos and enchiladas. Pondering the thought, I hadn't realized how much time had passed since I had had some decent homemade cooking.
The day they died was the worst of my life, and even after the funeral, I could never answer the question everyone else had been asking. The how and the why was something I may never get the opportunity to find out for myself—a pity. The morning of, I had left the house for school early that morning to take my junior final exams, and the last thing I can remember saying to my mother and father was that I loved them and would see them after school. Throughout the day, I was texting and calling to let them know how my finals were turning out, and once I couldn't get ahold of them, I knew something wasn't right. In fact, at that moment, I had no idea how wrong I was.
The loneliness tends to wear on my emotions from time to time. I no longer get the choice to hug my parents, tell them I love them, or have them there to watch me grow as an individual, and I will forever be tormented by the memories left behind and doomed to walk the streets of SilverGrove alone forever. The funeral was unique. Everyone in the town seemed to gather and hold me while I said goodbye and watched their caskets lowered six feet underground. It shook the entire city and made people scared to walk out at night alone for most of the summer. While the TV continued to play the morning news, I pulled a plate down for my breakfast while pounding down my hot chocolate. "Thank you for coming over this morning. It's been hard all summer with you being gone while camping." I took a bite of my burrito, smiling at him.
"I had fun. My mom had a hard time, and being pregnant and all." He set his camera down on the counter, walking around to grab a bowl and a box of frosted flakes. I nodded in agreement, turning my head to the living room, and my eyes nearly bulged out of my head as I ran to turn the TV volume up. "Juniper, what is it?" He grabbed his completed bowl and shoved a spoonful in his mouth. At the bottom of the screen, I could see big red and bold letters moving quickly across and a tall reporter with blond hair and polished nails standing in front of a burning and destroyed building.
BREAKING NEWS, BREAKING NEWS, BREAKING NEWS, BREAKING NEWS…
When she spoke, I moved to the couch and sat, leaning forward to watch impatiently."I'm standing in front of the brand new SilverGrove bookstore and coffee shop built and opened two weeks ago downtown and is now just a pile of rubble and debris due to severe internal termite damage. The shop owner says he had no idea how this could have happened, and the tragedy is currently under investigation." Silas dropped his spoon in his bowl. "Jesus…" He said quietly.
"Shhh…" I said sharply.
She continued." There were reports of four individuals in the building when it collapsed, and they were SilverGrove high school beginning seniors. They were pronounced dead at the scene. Our hearts go out to the friends and families of the four victims; Maddie Sanchez, Tony Hernandez, Melanie Valez, and Jason Theodore…."
I put a hand over my mouth in complete disbelief, realizing the names immediately. I turned to Silas, who was still and white as a ghost. "Silas? Weren't all these your friends on the paper and the Doomsday off-campus book club with you?" I asked with concern. He said nothing as I turned up the volume on the TV. The reporter moved over to let the cameraman show the damage. There seemed to be dust still settling down from the debris while taking the image of all the emergency and police personnel in the surrounding areas still going through the rubble and checking through everything on the street.
Taking a deep breath in the silence, I continued to watch."Building collapses and increasing crime rates are among the many travesties plaguing our little town of SilverGrove this summer. Could all of these travesties be a plot of terrorism, or could this just be one big coincidence? I am Amy Butler, SilverGrove morning news." I turned the TV off when Amy finished her report, almost shocked.
I hadn't realized things had been so bad in this town, but I worried for my friend, who hadn't said a word in nearly five minutes. I could see tears drying up. "Silas?" I asked, and he said nothing as he sunk into the couch. He was distraught, and I spoke up again.
"Silas?" I repeated it with concern.
He stayed silent, walking into the kitchen to put his bowl in the sink. I followed behind him and leaned up against the island. I wanted him to talk to me when he was ready, but I knew he was taking it hard because they were not only his friends but also built something good together to make everyone's lives better. After a few more moments of silence and him staring blankly out the window, he finally spoke up;
"It could have been me, Juniper. I was getting texts from them all morning about meeting them for coffee and pastries so we could brainstorm the Back to School Newsletter. I told them I would be there, but when I left my house this morning, I remembered how bad you were going to manage today and wanted to be here for you." He said, choking on his tears as he stared out the window. "I decided not to go so that I could sit and eat breakfast with you because I knew you needed me. How does a brand-new coffee shop just collapse like that? Termite damage? They had to have that building inspected, right?" He looked at me then, tears pouring down his red cheeks. My friends are dead now, Juniper. Dead. Gone." He spat angrily.
I went over to him and hugged him tightly. He squeezed and sobbed into my shoulder for a moment before pulling back and looking into my eyes. He took a deep breath while he wiped his eyes and relaxed shoulders. "I know how hard you worked to start the paper, and we will find a way to rebrand and rebuild it. I'll help you, okay?" I put my hand on his shoulder and smiled. I downed the last of my hot chocolate before placing the breakfast dishes in the sink.
"Would you like to skip the first day? We can just play Xbox or something." I said with my back turned to him, starting the morning dishes.
Silas smiled, jumping up on the counter beside me, his camera back around his neck and swinging his legs. "That is incredibly sweet of you, but I will be fine. We both need each other today." My mind went elsewhere as I stared at the empty garden while soaping up plates. Everything then became hazy for me, almost as if I was in some sort of a dream. I was being shaken repeatedly, and the last voice I heard was clear enough to listen to.
"Juniper!" That was the last thing I heard before everything turned to darkness.