Remembering Sunday

"Here, pull in here!" Alex quickly pointed, and I did as I was ushered to, pulling into what I instantly figured to be a bus loop of a high school. One that's name I managed to miss from the sign I quickly flew passed before I circled by a string of dingy red doors and headed into a parking lot. "Pull up towards those doors and park in the corner by that baseball field."

"Alright..." I dragged cautiously. Looking at him with pure uncertainty at his directions and slowly rolled into a parking spot, throwing the Chevelle into park. Sitting in the near silence I listened to the ticking of the engine cooling down for a second, just staring at Alex who was staring at the large brick building outside. "What are we doing here?" I finally asked.

He turned to me then, a deleterious smile tugging at his lips. "I have an idea." He said simply.

"Which would be...?"

"To help you remember!" The sloppy haired boy said, as though taking me to some high school was supposed to magically help remember everything about my life I'd forgotten. Which seemed incredibly unlikely if my previous memories were accurate seeing as I had only spent four full years in this town of my twenty-one or so yearlong life.

"What is showing me this school going to help me remember exactly?" I prodded, lofting a single brow. But instead of an answer I had low expectations of receiving to start off, all the boy responded with was laughter. Followed closely by the sound and sight of him swiftly unbuckling and getting out of my car.

"Not just show," He started, slamming the door before leaning back in his still open window and folding his arms over the frame. "More like tour, an adventure into your high school education really!"

Both my brows leaped upward as I tilted my head down at him. "How are you planning on doing that exactly?"

"Just shut up, trust me, and get out of the car." He said, slapping the door panel and rolling his eyes even harder this time. And for some reason, I did. Pulling the keys from the ignition entirely, I slowly climbed out of the car and slammed the door behind me. "What?" He asked when I didn't move for a minute or two, and instead stood there staring dumbfounded at the sparse key ring in my hand.

"How do I lock this thing?" I asked, wondering if I really went all these years using the key in the door like this actually was the seventies.

"Oh, you don't!" He chuckled, walking around the back end of the car to stand beside me. His chuckle turned into a chortle once he took in my facial expression.

"I never lock my car?" I asked then, he shook his head and shrugged with lips pursed. "Ever? I never lock my car that's probably worth like what, fifty-thousand dollars now?" He shook his head again, rolling his eyes at me. "I'm weird."

"Yes, yes you are." He agreed, tossing his arm around my shoulders and beginning to tug ever so slightly. "Now let's go fetch a memory!"

With a sigh from me and even more laughter from him, I let him continue to drag me across the remainder of that incredibly vacant parking lot, around the back corner of the building to a small red door with a metal tab stuck to it which read, 'BOYS LOCKER ROOM'.

"Wait a second." I stuttered as realization struck. Halting my steps allowing Alex to fall a few strides ahead of me before he too stopped and turned to me with a pointed look. "Are we breaking and entering into a high school?"

He simply laughed at me again and wrapped his hand around door's mildly rusted handle. "It's not breaking and entering if the doors unlocked!" He said as his only defense. Smiling one more troublesome smirk before yanking the door wide open and disappearing into it. "Then it's just opening and entering..."

"Great!" I breathed a small chuckle, watching the door swing open and knock ever so slightly into the brick wall behind it. "Glad I just left my expensive car unlocked in this parking lot!" I exclaimed, tossing my hands in the air.

A hefty sigh escaped my lips just a second before I was forced to follow Alex's laughter into the darkness, through the disgustingly stale smelling locker room, and out into the equally as unpleasant scented gymnasium. Waxed hardwood panels beneath us and sky-high red bleachers all around sent the hollow sounds of our footsteps echoing across the empty basketball court.

This space felt familiar in a way. Not like my house or the car or Alex's porch. Maybe that was just the way walking across a gym floor and out into the main corridor at the ripe old age of twenty-one would make anyone feel. Nostalgic of days trapped right beyond the state of remembering, a hazy fog of what I assumed to have happened in those halls years ago. But nothing known for certain.

We passed several classrooms before coming to an intersection in the corridors where Alex stopped and turned to me. An utterly indescribable smile of joy and mischief coming into view. "Now to execute the probably poorly devised plan I conjured up on the car ride over here." He informed me, as I stared back at him blankly.

The spindly boy didn't even give me a chance to question his statement before he turned on the rubber heal of his filthy sneaker and began to wander down the hall of tall gray lockers. Leaving me there for a moment, not even glancing back where I stood. I looked around for a moment. Examining the strangely vacant halls for a Monday afternoon. I honestly didn't know and probably would not have remembered on normal circumstances the school's academic calendar and whether or not they were still even in session at this point in the month. But still, I watched and listened closely for any sign of administration staff lurking around that may catch the two of us who both clearly do not attend this institution anymore.

Only, of course, when I peeked my head around the corner I was instantly drawn back to the hall Alex had just vanished down. The sound of metal crashing and clanking at a boisterous volume caused my head to quickly snap back around. "What in God's name are you doing?" I hissed, turning around and following him. The tall male clearly cared very little about any risk of getting us caught as he caused a large ruckus in the abandoned hallway.

Running his hand along every locker, metal padlocks clanging and rattling through the hollow hall till suddenly he stopped and so did the sounds aside from the fading echoes of those he'd disrupted just before. He stood now in front of one I could see to be missing a lock as I scurried towards him. "You can't just break into a locker!" I scolded as I watched him press the small plastic tab upward and released the metal door from its tight frame.

"No one's here, finals are over." He brushed me off, "But locker clean out day isn't until Friday!"

Lo and behold, inside the now wide-open locker which was stuffed to the brim with books and photos the lock hung on the small silver hook in its center. "What are you doing?" I asked again when I continued to get zero useful answers. Only this time I was met with yet another one of Alex's devilish sneers from his profile and the sight of him beginning to pull every textbook and sheet of scrap paper he could hold from this kid's locker.

"I'm borrowing." He shrugged, folding the notebooks and folders into his chest as though this was normal. Like this was something he did on a regular basis. And all I could do was stare at him just then, completely dumbfounded and totally bewildered. Slightly worried he might not just have a drinking problem from my first memory, but also now a tendency to commit petty theft. "Now follow me."

Wrapping his hand around mine, he gave it a yank. Still shocked, confused and taken aback, he didn't bother waiting for any form of agreement or approval before once again dragging me off through this high school. Down the hall and to the right, then the left and then another right. I stumbled over myself the whole way trying to keep up with Alex's long strides as he pulled me in every which direction. Not stopping till he seemingly found what I wanted and halted on a dime sending me into his back with an 'oof'.

"Come on" He whispered now like I hadn't been right behind him that whole time, oh-so suddenly caring to keep his voice down. We passed under a large 'A' on a red plastic square over the entrance to the hall and headed into this small connector wing. I could hear him counting softly under his breath as he walked before he stopped at a single locker and turned to me, shoving the books forward and grinning widely. "Now take these books, go down there and come walk into me." He instructed and I stood there, staring back and forth between the extended stolen belongings and his giddy smile.

"What?" I laughed at his ridiculous order. "How is doing that in anyway going to help me remember jack-shit, Alex?"

"Just trust me, okay!" He all but whined and pushed the books even closer to my crossed arms. "Start back at the end of the hall, I'm going to stand right here at 327 and I want you to walk into me. But don't look as you do it! Just walk- okay?"

I bit down on my lower lip as I stared at the hopeful look in his eyes and couldn't help the sigh I huffed from behind my teeth. "Fine!" I growled, taking the random kids' books with a pointed look and raised brow. "But I still don't see what good this is going to do!"

"You will." He tried to reassure me as I tucked the stack of books into myself and turned. Not even being able to ignore the soft 'I hope' that fell from his lips as I began to walk away back down that hall as he'd so specifically requested.

Uncertain and highly suspicious of this boy and his rather strange plan, I reached the end of the hall and turned around, letting my head fall down to watch the tips of my sneakers peak out from the edges of my books as I walked. I wasn't sure what the hell doing all this was supposed to bring back or help me remember, but Alex seemed certain about me doing this. And one of the few things I was certain about myself at this point was that Alex knew me pretty well for at least some part of my life. And this is all I had to go on.

It wasn't long till I guess I reached him without even realizing and genuinely did run into his side. The books he'd swiped from the unlocked locker flew through the air and spilled to the floor at our feet. Alex didn't move. And he seemed to just be waiting there in silence, watching me as I blinked at the books now scattered on the floor. But nothing happened. Not even a hint of a headache appeared to my demise and I was left to roll my eyes and began to kneel down and collect the books.

I was all but ready to have to reluctantly tell Alex it didn't work when I began to crouch down. The dim lighting of the corridor slowly began to brighten with each inch I sank. And the previously silent hall slowly began to rawer to life all around me before I knew it.

"Shit I'm so sorry!" I quickly spilled as my cheeks flooded with blood at the sight of my books scattered across the floor of this strange high school's corridors. I hadn't been inside the building for all of twenty minutes and I'd already managed to make an ass of myself.

Oh, how I wished so badly that wasn't exactly like me to do.

Keeping my eyes on the floor, I squatted. Trying as quickly as I could to gather my belongings so I could take off in any direction at all in order to never meet the eyes of the poor kid I'd just collided into at full speed. Thinking maybe now would be the proper time to keep my head down since doing so walking through a crowded hall was clearly a poor decision-making choice on my part.

But of course, it wouldn't be that easy. It never was, not for me.

"Here, let me help," The voice ushered. And a jean-clad knee suddenly hit the linoleum tile just beside my brand-new math book. A large tan hand reached out not even a second later to fetch it off the floor as I scrambled to grab everything else I'd dropped. Cringing when the mysterious boy slid the corner of it onto the stack. "Here."

"Thanks..." I whispered, taking the book with a beet red face and watching as the knee disappeared only to be simultaneously replaced by the same hand as before. Extended out to me now. Reluctantly, I took it and clambered to my feet with his assistance, never once looking up. "Sorry again..." I quickly hushed out.

I attempted then to take a quick side step around him, without ever meeting his gaze when a hand came up and softly clasped my boney shoulder halting my efforts to flee. "Are you a freshman?" The boy asked, and I quickly nodded, looking down at the bright orange textbook he'd just handed back to me. "Oh cool, me too!" He tried to continue, clearly either oblivious too or choosing to ignore the coloring of my face which I'm sure resembled Elmo by this point in our awkward exchange. "Did you go to Dumbarton Middle, I don't recognize you?"

"Uh, n-no." I stuttered out, cringing at even myself. "I'm not from here." I dared to lift my eyes just slightly, large stress filled pupils falling on a tightly fitted black t-shirt. I could see his chest ripple from underneath it as he laughed quietly to himself in the small space he'd created between us.

I watched in the narrow opening between my books and my eyelashes as his torso leaned back against his still open locker door. Giving me an opening to run my feet were suddenly to frozen in place to take and I cursed them vividly inside my brain. "That's cool!" He said again, tone speckled with amusement. "do you know where your first class is?" He asked.

I shrugged for a second, panic flowing through my body as I realized I had no idea where my schedule or the map of the school the vice principal had handed me no more than minutes before had wound up in the disorganized pile in my arms. "No, not really" I admitted, turning my head away from him and watching the other bodies around us scurry through the halls, greeting and hugging old friends in loud proclamations of how long summer was without them.

I bit my lip in the brief silence, not being able to help but think about Emily in that second. If she had managed to get caught in as an uncomfortable predicament as I was without me there beside her. Knowing deep down she'd probably make out just fine with Gracie by her side.

"I could show you, you know..." The boy slowly added. Causing my head to whip back with the utmost look of shock and confusion painted in the irises of my eyes. Blue orbs finally met his stare and I took in the features on his face. Light brown locks were fluffed on top his head, swooping across his forehead and concealing the tops of his bright golden eyes. Small wrinkles slowly formed in their edges as he pulled the corner of his lips upward in a warm and welcoming grin. Putting the deepest dimple I'd ever soon on full display. "It's the least you can let me do after walking into me." He teased.

His playful words only caused my head to fall back down and my dark brown bangs to swing into my face. But almost as swiftly as my head fell, his hand found his way back between my nose and my books yet again. Waiting to be shaken.

"The names Alex by the way." He informed me, a smirk evident in his tone."Alex Gaskarth."

Shifting my books under a single elbow, I pushed my bangs back behind my ear nervously before sliding my probably clammy palm into his own, giving it a shake. "Kennedy," I told him, looking up to see caramel colored eyes grinning widely down on me. "Kennedy Murphy."

He smiled and nodded, whipping his head to rid his stare of the ends of his hair before he leaned over slightly to examine the books in my arms. "Let's see where you're going!" He sang, expertly pulling my schedule from the stack by the corner of the page and examining it quickly before looking up at me with a cheeky grin. "Oh, and by the way," he said putting his teeth on full display as a loud bell sounded through the hallway. "Welcome to Dulaney High, Ms. Kennedy Murphy."

I opened my eyes, back now in the dark and vacant hallway staring at the books I'd just dropped on the floor, hand on a math book I hadn't just imagined. This one purple and blue in color – the one Alex had stolen from the stranger. I flinched at Alex's bare knees and baggy shorts slapping the floor in front of me, giving me an overwhelming sense of deja vu – which was the point of all this, after all – before I looked up at him.

"You okay?" He asked softly, concern filling his eyes.

I nodded, a small smile playing on my lips. "I'm okay," I told him, my smile growing even wider as I rose to my feet, leaving the books on the floor where I dropped them. "I remembered, I remembered meeting you!"

He grinned back at me now as excitement swirled through his brightly colored eyes. "You do?" He asked, the blatant joy in his tone making me smile even wider if that were possible.

"I remember walking into you and dropping my books – just like you made me do – and I remember you helping me pick them up and talking to me," I explained to him, biting down on my lip when I thought I'd finished. "But that's it... It stopped there, with you offering to show me around."

"Hey, that's okay!" He said smiling, stepping around the books and placing a hand on each of my biceps. Probably seeing the small hint of disappointment, I felt flash across my face. I was glad I'd remembered anything at all from this attempt. But I wanted to remember more. More of Alex, more of myself, more of the years I'd spent in this town. "You're still remembering things, even if they're small." He assured me, giving my small frame a light shake.

"Thank you..." I whispered under my breath as I looked up at him through full lashes.

Alex smiled gently at me before pulling me sharply into his chest with a thud. And I couldn't help my body as it sunk into the comforting warmth of his embrace. Taking in the subtle scent of his musky cologne, I let my cheek mold to the structure of his chest. One of his hands found the small of my back and the other entangled itself in my short hair holding me close.

I could feel his smile on the top of my head as his thumb rubbed gently at the spot in the back of my skull that would usually ache at this point in time.

"It's the least I could do Ms. Kennedy Murphy."

Notes