The next few days were crazy.
I had to find a suitcase that would fit all my shoes and clothes, make an early withdrawal out of my bank account for a couple hundred dollars, and plan my own going away party. Just kidding, my family doesn’t love me that much.
I was in the moment and it felt too surreal. I must have been dreaming, but as I stood in the SeaTac airport with some family and close friends, I opened my eyes for what may have been the first time since school ended. It was about twelve o’ clock in the afternoon, but I’ve been awake ever since the night before, unable to sleep. My flight was about to leave; I was really going to Alaska for the summer.
“Have fun in Alaska!” My cousin, Nahrya, said, incapable of holding back tears. “Don’t get involved with too many girls.”
I almost laughed but realized she was completely serious. I turned to my step brother, Peter.
“Hold on!” He said. I looked at him, waiting to hear what sadness he had to express. “Tell Rochelle ‘hey’ for me!”
Standing there still, I was waiting on much more. When nothing came, I coughed a little. “Do you have anything else to say?”
“Uh,” Peter paused. “Don’t let a penguin bite your nuts.”
I squeezed him hard in an attempt to half-hug, half-kill. “You’re a punk bitch.”
Friends gave me their hugs goodbye and right when I picked up my suitcase my uncle came up to me.
“Here,” He held out an envelope. I opened it up and found a lot of green; all cash. “It’s three thousand, five hundred dollars. That should last you maybe… a month?”
I was awed. “Where did this come from?”
“That’s your savings for college.” My uncle and aunt looked at each other and laughed. My over-excited smile disappeared quickly. They weren’t joking. “Have fun!”
Family these days, I swear. An announcement for my flight sounded through the intercoms. “Well, okay, bye then!”
I boarded my plane and got a coach seat. I should have made my family pay for first class. I guess I got too caught up. The distance between Seattle and my destination, Anchorage, was about a thousand five hundred miles, which, flying at five hundred miles per hour on average, meant the flight would last about three hours. After about an hour, I fell asleep listening to more Lupe Fiasco.
Now here comes the march of the boy brigade/
A macabre parade of the toys he made/
And in shimmer shades who looks half his age/
About half the size of the flags they waved/
And camouflage suits made to fit youths/
‘cause the ones off the dead soldiers hang a little loose-
A baby’s cries are heard somewhere nearby.
Cute, smile-less, heartless, violent/
Childhood destroyed, devoid of all childish ways/
Can’t write their own names or read the words on their own graves/
Think you gangster popped a few rounds/
These kids will come through and murder a whole town/
Then sit back and smoke and watch it burn down/
The grave gets deeper the further we go down-
I woke up to the howling of an infant or toddler in the seat following mine.
Dang, my earphones were blasting and I still heard the little brat. I checked the time and realized I’ve only slept for fifty minutes. My seat was in the middle of the plane, so I was unable to look over the other passengers through their windows. What was I going to do for the next hour? How can I think of anything to do with the kid whining so loudly? I got up and looked down at the little Caucasian child. A woman, supposedly his mother, was trying hard to control her youngster, also, in a desperate attempt to save herself from embarrassment. She just about tried everything; burping him, changing his diaper, and yelling at him. I finally snapped and took a close look at the shrieking little dude.
“Yo,” I said. The dumb bitch of a mother thought I was referring to her. The whole coach section of the plane stared at me. “Little dude, you okay?
The boy shook his head, still sobbing. “Want some juice?
The question was answered by an excited nodding. It looked like he was head banging to a hardcore rock concert. “Hey, flight attendant? Can I get some apple juice, please?
The boy started slurping.
“Apple juice in a cup with a straw, please,” I corrected myself.
A minute went by and a female flight attendant gave me exactly what I asked for. I should write a little letter of appreciation to the big boss of this airline. I thanked her, got up, and gave it to the little boy who graciously snatched it from my hands. I was just about to go back to listening to my Lupe songs when the mother stood up and turned around.
“How did you know?” She must have been new at this.
Without looking up, I replied, “Well, you spent about half an hour changing his diaper, and I noticed it was as dry as an unsatisfied sex partner. It was obvious the dude was thirsty.
With my chin raised, I stared fiercely at the mother in the eyes, extremely annoyed. “You’re welcome.”
The mother stood there in awe for about a minute, but when she realized I didn’t give a shit about what she thought about my attitude and that I wasn’t saying anything else, she sighed, ‘How rude’, and remained in her seat for the rest of the flight. Some people in the flight continued to stare.
For what seemed like an eternity, I finally got off the flight into Anchorage International Airport. The first thing I did was rush to a window. Wow, I was in Anchorage, Alaska. I noticed unfamiliar mountains in the distance. Maybe while I’m here, I should get to know the landmarks. Kristel could help; I remember her telling me something about a place called ‘The Point.’
After I found my bags, I approached a large crowd of people, assumingly ones who picked up their family and friends from the airport. It’d probably be a while until Beaut came to get me so I sat down. Not even five seconds passed when I heard the shouts of a young girl.
“Bo!!”
I looked up to find Kristel and Beaut running towards me. I chuckled. “Hey guys, how’d you recognize me?”
They ignored the question and gave me big, tight hugs. “I can’t believe you’re really here!”
“Well,” Why do I always have to be so shy when I met new people? “I’m here.
That was lame. But that was all I said.
“Let’s get going!” I exclaimed in excitement.
There was a long line of cars waiting on the curb, but Beaut got into hers; a big, red truck. Very Beaut style, oh, actually that was her father’s ride. I got into the back and fastened my seat belt, leaving Kristel and Beaut in the front two seats. I didn’t complain one bit. How could I? With both girls laughing and smiling mischievously, I was too scared I would make a fool out of myself.
“Hey, we’re going to stop by Rochelle’s house first, okay?” Beaut said laughing again. “You know, just to let her know you’re in the neighborhood.”
“Uh,” I started. “Shouldn’t I find a place to stay first? I heard there’s a Motel 6 around…”
“3.2 miles away from here,” Kristel finished for me. She turned around and smiled.
“Yeah,” I avoided eye contact. “What she said.”
“Okay, but Ro’s house first!” Beaut assured. “Aren’t you two like best friends, anyway?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” It was obvious that I was nervous about the whole thing.
“Of course I am,” Beaut replied. She and Kristel continued sneaking peaks at each other and sharing mysterious laughs. Dang, what was so funny? I had this uncomfortable feeling I was the reason for the humor filling the car. I had no idea what I was doing; I was new to all the responsibility I was recently given and department-store-sized room of choices. The sun was shining brightly in Alaska, so I tried to keep my mind optimistic.
I looked out the window thinking of Rochelle. We were best friends, as Beaut said. Automatically, soon after I met the girl, I opened up my deepest thoughts and feelings. Who knew she would be such a great listener? Through all the troubles I’ve had the past few weeks, confusing family, confusing friends, confusing love life, she’s been there. Sure, she’s been there online about fifteen hundred miles away, but nonetheless, she has been there. Damn, I sounded like a loner.
We drove into a nice neighborhood with kids running around in every direction. Very different than what I thought Alaska looked like. Months ago, I would have expected penguins and polar bears running amuck with families huddled in igloos. I made very bad judgment.
We pulled up to a cozy-looking house. It was Rochelle’s. I got out of the car and felt the all-too-familiar breeze. The climate wasn’t all too different from Washington’s on a cold day. I took a look around. Either Alaska was beautiful or I never took the time to see Washington through tourist eyes. I was caught up in the moment.
“Hey, Bo, are you coming or not?!” Beaut called out.
I shook my thoughts away. “Huh?”
She laughed. “Hello… we’re at Ro’s house.”
Oh shit, we were. All of a sudden my knees started buckling, I started sweating, and my arms were twitching. I was about to see one of my best friends! I tried to shake the feeling of being nervous away and it might have helped, but who knows? I couldn’t even think straight. Beaut smiled and knocked on the door. Footsteps were slowly approaching and Kristel pushed me out of sight. At first I heard laughter. Then I heard Rochelle’s voice.
“Why are you guys here so early?”
Beaut and Kristel had to calm down before answering. “We have a surprise for you!”
“What is it?” asked Rochelle impatiently.
“Come on out,” Kristel called to me.
I walked into view slowly, not realizing I was looking down. When I finally stared up I saw Kristel, Beaut, and the reason why they were laughing. Rochelle was in plain sight, in a t-shirt and red boy shorts. Oops, bad timing. I turned around and laughed. I couldn’t help it; her jaw was straight up open. It was too cute; outfit, reaction and all. I felt arms quickly surround my body.
“Bo! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” Ro said.
I turned around and hugged back. “I don’t know; I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, I’m surprised,” She wouldn’t let go. It felt kind of weird, her being one-third naked and all. Rochelle hugged tight with her smile in my chest. “Hey, you smell good.”
I pushed her away. I never took that compliment seriously, who knew if the girl was lying or not, you know? “Well, I have to find a place to stay; Kristel said there was a Motel 6 by the airport…”
“What are you talking about?” Rochelle looked at me with as much surprise and confusion as if I turned green and gained three hundred pounds in two seconds.
“A motel,” I said nervously. “I have to find somewhere to stay and there’s a motel…”
Kristel and Beaut laughed hysterically. Rochelle started, too, after a few seconds. “You know you have to be 21 years old to rent a place, right?”
“Uh…” My stomach sunk about twenty feet. Why didn’t Kristel and Beaut tell me this? Wait a second, rushing to Rochelle’s house first, convincing me to go afterwards. Oh my Buddha. How embarrassing. That’s why they were laughing so much in the car! I turned to the two girls. “You guys set me up!”
“What!” Kristel said. “We saved you some major embarrassment.”
“Plus,” Beaut started. “We knew that Rochelle would be more than willing to let you stay at her house.”
I turned to Rochelle again; she was still chuckling a bit. “You will?”
“Yeah, of course, I think my parents will be cool with it.” It took her a while to settle down. Well, I was right about one thing; Kristel and Beaut did set me up. “Come on in, Bo.”
Rochelle reached for my arm and pulled me into the house. For the first time, I stepped into what would be my home for the next two months.
