Latest Nostalgia
One
Attempting to tuck loose strands of hair behind my ear, I managed to drop half of my bag’s contents onto the sidewalk. Luckily, it was late, and the usual busy haste of Baltimore had fallen quiet as the barely-visible stars appeared. I sighed, bending to stuff my random belongings back into my bag, suddenly wondering why I carried so many useless things.
“Hey, you missed a quarter,” said a voice, and I looked up to see a young man with a nice face, smiling and holding out a quarter to me. His dark hair was sticking up in different directions, and his goofy features were familiar to me.
“Thanks, I’m a klutz,” I smiled, dropping the coin into the bag on my shoulder. “Thanks,” I said again, turning to walk away, but he stopped me.
“Wait, I know you…” I turned to face him, his expression one of curiosity. Of course I knew who he was. I wouldn’t have considered us close friends in high school, but it was impossible to be ignorant when kids you graduated with became famous. “We were friends in school”
“We were,” I nodded, smiling a tight-lipped smile again. He looked at me pointedly.
“I don’t remember your name,” he gave an apologetic smile, his eyes wide with something I couldn’t quite place.
“I’m Presley,” I smiled, and I opened my mouth to tell him my last name, but he interrupted me.
“Presley Hadley!” he said, grinning widely. “I remember you; I cheated off of you in physics junior year. I saw your name every day for a year, how could I forget? I wouldn’t have graduated without you. Yeah, I remember!” We both laughed loudly. During junior year I’d developed a small crush on him after our teacher had insisted I help tutor him, when in reality he’d been cheating off me all year anyhow. The crush, however, faded over time and he and his band moved on to huge things after graduation.
“Oh god,” his smile faded and his eyes were wide, “I felt so bad when I spilled that Coke on you at lunch that time.” He looked apologetic, but I simply laughed again, feeling an odd sense of refreshment at remembering good times from my high school years.
“I was so angry at you,” I said, laughing harder yet, causing him to giggle slightly.
I remembered it vividly. I was taking my tray to the front of the cafeteria, walking with one of my friends, and I felt a spray of liquid on the back side of my body. I turned, my mouth wide, and saw Jack standing a few feet away, a half-empty bottle of Coke in his hand. “Oh my god,” he had said, putting his hands out apologetically as his friends rolled with laughter. “I will fucking kill you!” I screamed, throwing my tray to the ground and pulling the bottle from a dumbstruck Jack. I poured the rest over his head, storming out of the cafeteria, the sound of laughter ringing in my ears. The next day, however, after a few minutes of angry silence in physics (most of the anger had come from me, as he kept making puppy dog eyes in my direction), Jack and I had gone back to our usual acquaintanceship. Sometimes I had even considered us decent friends.
“You got me back pretty good, so it’s okay,” he laughed, then turned when Alex, who I recognized instantly, clapped him on the back.
“We gotta go, dude!” Alex looked between Jack and I, smiling at me.
“This is Presley, we went to school with her, remember?”
“Yeah, the one who poured the Coke on you!” Alex laughed, then slapped Jack’s butt. “We gotta go! Hey, good to see you again, uh, Presley.”
“Yeah, see you,” I smiled at him as he retreated, then looked back at Jack.
“Hey, come to the show tomorrow, you never came to see us in high school when I told you to, you owe me!”
“I have work, but I’ll see what I can do,” I smiled. “It was good to see you again, Jack.”
“Yeah, you should definitely come,” he said excitedly, his features animated. “It was great to see you, too, Presley. Alright, I gotta go or they’re gonna kill me. Please come!” he called over his shoulder as he ran in the direction in which Alex had left.
I smiled to myself, remembering high school, as I walked to my car in the warm summer air. It was really odd that I had run into Jack when I had. Just that day, my mom had found my yearbooks in the downstairs living room and we looked through them, laughing and also smiling sadly. I was taking online classes and working my butt off, though I still lived at home. I was mostly okay with living at home, though, because I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and I knew it would be a while before I was ready to figure it out. I kept a few friends from high school, but most of the people in my group of friends had moved away and gone to universities in other parts of Maryland or in other states. My best friend, Blakely, had stuck around as well, and she was my constant.
Blakely and I had met in preschool when I spilled the box of macaroni for our project and she helped me clean it up so the teacher didn’t know. We had been best friends practically our whole lives, and she was the one person I could count on.
My family had already eaten dinner when I got home, my sister already back in her room and my 5-year-old brother playing on the floor in the living room while my mom cleaned up the dishes.
“When does dad get back?” I asked mom as I sat on the couch, watching Nathan drive his trucks.
“Tomorrow,” she answered from the kitchen. “How was work?”
“Eh, it was work,” I smiled. “I saw two kids from school, the ones who are in that band.”
“Oh, did you? That’s nice…”
I bit my lip, then made my way to my room. I lay on my bed, thinking of all the ways life after high school could have turned out. I wasn’t so sure I was content with how things were. Sure, I was making money I needed to start my life, but I wanted… more.
I poured coffee into the mug of another grumpy customer. 7 o’clock seemed to be everyone’s least favorite time of the morning.
“Ma’am, this coffee is too cold, can I please get another cup?” asked a middle-aged woman, barely looking up from her phone.
“Sure,” I answered, a pseudo-smile on my face. I handed her the cup and she stalked off with an agitated exhale.
“C’est la vie,” I muttered to myself, the greater portion of the morning rush was over.
“La vie,” I heard a voice behind me, and turned to see Jack sitting on one of the stools, smiling at me.
I snorted at his joke, but was distracted by the approach of another customer. I held my finger up to Jack, who nodded in understanding, and serviced the woman who had appeared.
“So, what’s up?” I asked, smiling nervously at Jack.
“I have these,” he drug the word out, “for you. Now you have to come. And you’re working early, so I know you won’t be working.” He smiled triumphantly as I inspected the backstage passes he had handed me. “I’ve gotta go for sound check, but you better come! Bring Blakely,” he smiled again, this time widely and sincerely, and left the small coffee shop I worked at.
I sighed in annoyance, but couldn’t stop a smile from forming. He was charming, I’d give him that much.
“Hey, you missed a quarter,” said a voice, and I looked up to see a young man with a nice face, smiling and holding out a quarter to me. His dark hair was sticking up in different directions, and his goofy features were familiar to me.
“Thanks, I’m a klutz,” I smiled, dropping the coin into the bag on my shoulder. “Thanks,” I said again, turning to walk away, but he stopped me.
“Wait, I know you…” I turned to face him, his expression one of curiosity. Of course I knew who he was. I wouldn’t have considered us close friends in high school, but it was impossible to be ignorant when kids you graduated with became famous. “We were friends in school”
“We were,” I nodded, smiling a tight-lipped smile again. He looked at me pointedly.
“I don’t remember your name,” he gave an apologetic smile, his eyes wide with something I couldn’t quite place.
“I’m Presley,” I smiled, and I opened my mouth to tell him my last name, but he interrupted me.
“Presley Hadley!” he said, grinning widely. “I remember you; I cheated off of you in physics junior year. I saw your name every day for a year, how could I forget? I wouldn’t have graduated without you. Yeah, I remember!” We both laughed loudly. During junior year I’d developed a small crush on him after our teacher had insisted I help tutor him, when in reality he’d been cheating off me all year anyhow. The crush, however, faded over time and he and his band moved on to huge things after graduation.
“Oh god,” his smile faded and his eyes were wide, “I felt so bad when I spilled that Coke on you at lunch that time.” He looked apologetic, but I simply laughed again, feeling an odd sense of refreshment at remembering good times from my high school years.
“I was so angry at you,” I said, laughing harder yet, causing him to giggle slightly.
I remembered it vividly. I was taking my tray to the front of the cafeteria, walking with one of my friends, and I felt a spray of liquid on the back side of my body. I turned, my mouth wide, and saw Jack standing a few feet away, a half-empty bottle of Coke in his hand. “Oh my god,” he had said, putting his hands out apologetically as his friends rolled with laughter. “I will fucking kill you!” I screamed, throwing my tray to the ground and pulling the bottle from a dumbstruck Jack. I poured the rest over his head, storming out of the cafeteria, the sound of laughter ringing in my ears. The next day, however, after a few minutes of angry silence in physics (most of the anger had come from me, as he kept making puppy dog eyes in my direction), Jack and I had gone back to our usual acquaintanceship. Sometimes I had even considered us decent friends.
“You got me back pretty good, so it’s okay,” he laughed, then turned when Alex, who I recognized instantly, clapped him on the back.
“We gotta go, dude!” Alex looked between Jack and I, smiling at me.
“This is Presley, we went to school with her, remember?”
“Yeah, the one who poured the Coke on you!” Alex laughed, then slapped Jack’s butt. “We gotta go! Hey, good to see you again, uh, Presley.”
“Yeah, see you,” I smiled at him as he retreated, then looked back at Jack.
“Hey, come to the show tomorrow, you never came to see us in high school when I told you to, you owe me!”
“I have work, but I’ll see what I can do,” I smiled. “It was good to see you again, Jack.”
“Yeah, you should definitely come,” he said excitedly, his features animated. “It was great to see you, too, Presley. Alright, I gotta go or they’re gonna kill me. Please come!” he called over his shoulder as he ran in the direction in which Alex had left.
I smiled to myself, remembering high school, as I walked to my car in the warm summer air. It was really odd that I had run into Jack when I had. Just that day, my mom had found my yearbooks in the downstairs living room and we looked through them, laughing and also smiling sadly. I was taking online classes and working my butt off, though I still lived at home. I was mostly okay with living at home, though, because I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and I knew it would be a while before I was ready to figure it out. I kept a few friends from high school, but most of the people in my group of friends had moved away and gone to universities in other parts of Maryland or in other states. My best friend, Blakely, had stuck around as well, and she was my constant.
Blakely and I had met in preschool when I spilled the box of macaroni for our project and she helped me clean it up so the teacher didn’t know. We had been best friends practically our whole lives, and she was the one person I could count on.
My family had already eaten dinner when I got home, my sister already back in her room and my 5-year-old brother playing on the floor in the living room while my mom cleaned up the dishes.
“When does dad get back?” I asked mom as I sat on the couch, watching Nathan drive his trucks.
“Tomorrow,” she answered from the kitchen. “How was work?”
“Eh, it was work,” I smiled. “I saw two kids from school, the ones who are in that band.”
“Oh, did you? That’s nice…”
I bit my lip, then made my way to my room. I lay on my bed, thinking of all the ways life after high school could have turned out. I wasn’t so sure I was content with how things were. Sure, I was making money I needed to start my life, but I wanted… more.
I poured coffee into the mug of another grumpy customer. 7 o’clock seemed to be everyone’s least favorite time of the morning.
“Ma’am, this coffee is too cold, can I please get another cup?” asked a middle-aged woman, barely looking up from her phone.
“Sure,” I answered, a pseudo-smile on my face. I handed her the cup and she stalked off with an agitated exhale.
“C’est la vie,” I muttered to myself, the greater portion of the morning rush was over.
“La vie,” I heard a voice behind me, and turned to see Jack sitting on one of the stools, smiling at me.
I snorted at his joke, but was distracted by the approach of another customer. I held my finger up to Jack, who nodded in understanding, and serviced the woman who had appeared.
“So, what’s up?” I asked, smiling nervously at Jack.
“I have these,” he drug the word out, “for you. Now you have to come. And you’re working early, so I know you won’t be working.” He smiled triumphantly as I inspected the backstage passes he had handed me. “I’ve gotta go for sound check, but you better come! Bring Blakely,” he smiled again, this time widely and sincerely, and left the small coffee shop I worked at.
I sighed in annoyance, but couldn’t stop a smile from forming. He was charming, I’d give him that much.
9/5/13