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We chat for a bit more and finish off our meals. When we’re ready to leave, I zip off to cover the bill and return to the table to find Cleo on her phone.
“Hey,” I say.
She smiles up at me, and we walk out into the night, the cool autumn breeze brushing over us. “Would you like me to transfer you half for dinner?” she asks.
“That’s okay. It was my treat.”
Her shoulders relax. “Such a gentleman. Thank you.” She laughs, which warms my body. I can’t believe I’m pleasing such a pretty girl.
We wander down the street, and I try to think of something to say while Cleo checks her phone, puts it down, picks it up and types something, then puts it down again.
“Do you want to grab some dessert?” I ask. “I know a great place nearby.”
“Oh, I would, but I’m full,” she says. She frowns at her phone. “Actually, I better get going. My friend’s kind of having a mental breakdown.”
“Oh. Okay. That’s all good.” I force a smile.
“I’m really sorry,” she says and reaches out to touch my forearm. My stomach swoops at the contact. “Sometimes she can be so needy and…” she shakes her head. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. The point is, I had a great time. And thanks for dinner. Talk to you later.”
And before I have a chance to say another word, she’s gone.
CHAPTER TWO
Then
Lucas and I became friends in grade one. There was only one primary school in the small rural town I grew up in, and there were forty kids in our grade. The girls climbed the monkey bars or searched for fairies in the flower gardens, while the other boys played tiggy or ate mud. I tried it once — eating mud, that is — and promptly spat it out. I decided I’d rather play by myself.
The first time I spoke to Lucas, I was halfway up a tree. He stood on the ground, squinting up at me, and asked what I was doing.
“This is the crow’s nest,” I explained.
“Crow’s nest?”
“Of my pirate ship. And I’m the captain.”
“Oh,” said Lucas. His front two baby teeth had fallen out by then, giving him the slightest lisp. “Can I play?”
“You can,” I said, and thus began the adventures of Captain Charlie and his first mate, Lucas. We played pirates every recess and lunch. When it rained, we’d read books about Blackbeard and Anne Bonny in the library. Together, we created faraway lands and evil villains.
By the time we were in grade three, our pirate ship had doubled in size. One day, I decided I needed to climb the crow’s nest even higher to check for enemy ships. I pulled myself onto a thin branch that dipped with my weight. There was a crack, and then leaves were slapping my face, branches scratching my cheeks, and I landed on the dirt, my arm underneath me.
Lucas screamed. He ran over to me, shouting at the teacher on yard duty that I was dying.
I wasn’t dying. I’d just broken my arm.
When I showed up to school the next day with a cast, everyone wanted to sign it. That was the first and only time I’ve ever been popular at school. Lucas made sure he signed my cast first, though, and wrote his name so large, it spanned the entire length of my forearm. While the other kids said it was so cool and they wanted to break their arm too, Lucas never did. Instead, he asked me every day if I was feeling better. He would carry my pencil case for me and help me write notes for class, and he even shared half of his strawberry roll-up every recess (none of which was necessary, but I didn’t complain).
All throughout primary school, I could say with certainty that Lucas was my bestest friend. I was closer to him than my older sister, who always said I was annoying, or my younger brother Nate, who cried every five seconds and hogged all of my parent’s attention.
But then high school happened, and that’s when everything changed.
CHAPTER THREE
Now
Charlie: Hey, it was great seeing you tonight. I had a lot of fun :) Would you be interested in catching up again?
It’s been fifteen hours since I sent the message. I sit at the kitchen island, trying to finish my readings for this week’s classes, but I can’t help checking my phone every five minutes. She read it this morning, but she hasn’t replied. Why not?
