The next door neighbor’s name was Allison. We grew up together, more or less, and for this reason we got into trouble together.
like any other couple of pre-teen girls we made prank calls. it didn’t much matter to whom. just dial a number and say something totally stupid when they answer.
we didn’t, however, expect for them to call us back.
this was before caller i.d., before cell phones. Though i’m pretty sure pagers had just been doled out to everyone in the class the summer before.
Since you never knew who was calling, there had to be some way to call the number back if you got disconnected, etc. So, the geniuses at the phone company invented *69.
My family didn’t have *69 and to this day I’m not entirely sure if that’s true. it may have just been some bullshit our parents told us so as to not run up the phone bill or talk to strangers.
the day the phone rang on our end was when we met.
his name was jake.
jake was 13, same as me, about to start 9th grade, same as me. at mcdowell, same as me?! what a coincidence. was it? i mean, a coincidence? were we fated to meet? god knows if i even know what that means, but it was strange all the same.
the trouble came when i told my mother about jake.
“he could be a serial killer, or a rapist! what were you thinking?”
great, mom, fill your teenage daughter with thoughts of serial killing and rape. my mind wasn’t big enough to handle shit like that and there it was…forced into my brain by my own mother.
what had been excitement about this male prospect quickly turned into agitation and fear. i was actually afraid for my life.
the phone rang just as jake had promised, but i stopped answering.
days passed and he’d call. i’d even answer the phone and pretend i was my sister. ”jennifer isn’t here.” “I’ll tell her you called.” “can i take a message?” etc etc
he eventually stopped calling and the thought of jake left my daily train of thought just as quickly as he entered it.
homecoming that fall while walking to my seat in the bleachers amongst my peers clad in navy and white i passed a friend with a quick hello.
she found me shortly afterwards to inform me that someone wanted to meet me.
i was intrigued. curious. who could want to meet me?
walking over there to meet up with her my memory shares a slow motion montage now although i’m sure it didn’t go down that way.
the crowd parted and there he was. long hair tucked under a grateful dead baseball cap. brown eyes as large and searching as any i’d seen before.
jake. his name was jake.
(originally written on August 4, 2010)
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