Eighth Wonder

We were in a state of euphoria whenever we were together. That feeling that you’re floating above the ground, maybe on cloud nine or as close to heaven as living gets without drugs. I think I had a smile on my face for most of the day, which may have scared a few people. For the first time in several years I lifted my head up and looked above everyone, like the fog had lifted.

I knew it was superficial.
I knew that the feeling would be temporary and that my hormones and sugar & rainbow fantasy would come crashing down to the ground one day…but, I made a promise to my heart that I would ignore my brain and just go with it—to stretch it out the best I could.

“How have you been?”
“Great. I. I feel great.”
“Awesome,” Emily replied as we walked down the hall. “I have a volleyball game this afternoon, do you want to come?”
“Sure,” I said without even thinking about how I would get home that evening. Sure, I could call my parents after the fact-she wouldn’t mind too much, especially if I told them the reason…I feared that they would want to kidnap Emily and have her stay with us, so they could get a picture of me smiling in a family portrait for once.
“Coach promises no burn barrels.”
“Darn. I would have brought some marshmallows.”
“You know, that’s not a bad idea.”
“What about the junior class concessions?”
“Yeah, that could cut into their profits if we share with anyone.” The junior class ran the concessions booth at the football and basketball games to raise money for Prom and other projects, such as the Senior Trip. “So, we’ll keep it to ourselves.”
As I was a junior, I would have to—eventually, work a football game or three along with a slew of basketball games—both girls and boys. Strangely enough, the volleyball trams didn’t have concessions, or cheerleaders or a lot of crowds.
“I’m glad we don’t have a lot of people at our games.”
“Why is that?”
“I fall sometimes. Usually it’s on purpose when diving for the ball but other times I just swear I have two left feet.”
“Maybe it’s just your shoelaces?”
“I double tie them,” Emily replied as she kicked her left foot up and we both looked at it for some reason. “Maybe one day, I’ll find a way to fly around on wings or anti-gravity or something.”
“Hoverboard?”
“Thinking more of shoes.”
“Air Emily’s?”
She snapped her fingers. “We need to market that. Get a power source, wire some up and soon everyone can dunk like Jordan. Am I right?”
I nodded as the bell rang.

We parted ways but for a few seconds I wondered if I could just sneak into her class. Sure, it would be a class I already attended, as Emily was a sophomore, but hey, maybe no one notice me. I shook my head at the thought and continued to my own class where I didn’t speak much to anyone but, once again I actually raised my head, moved my hair out of face and out on my glasses—almost looking like a bona fide scholar.

At noon, we sat together in the hallway as it was raining outside. Emily had brought a small lunch consisting of an apple and a large bag of carrot sticks.

“We were out of cupcakes, or I would have brought one. My older sister came home from her job and made a few to prove that she could still cook.”
“Still cook?”
“Oh yeah, she used to make this stuff that was, while good, too rich. It was too good. You know, like someone makes a big dinner, like a Thanksgiving spread but all you want is a slice of pizza. Pizza would be great right now,” Emily said as she offered me another carrot stick. “She joined the army and dad said that she’d come back not knowing anything about living as a civilian. Her food was stuffed into a pouch.”
“MRE’s?”
“She brought some of those home. Truth be told, I preferred one of those to what she made last night. Except for the cupcakes. I don’t think the Army puts cupcakes in there. If they did, they’d be as hard as a rock.”
I only nodded.
“You should meet her.”
“Okay,” I replied.
“Tonight? After the game? She might be at it. She used to play so I’m pretty sure she’ll try to back court coach me,” Emily said as she threw the remaining carrots into her bag.
“Sure.”
“Cool. My parents may try to, like talk to you like a mile a minute. They just like to get to know people. We’re all like that.”
Emily family sounded radically different form my home, like a warped mirror image, where she went out to meet people, I stayed in the shadow; her parents sounded like they would donate the shirts off of their backs, while mine would be apprehensive to let strangers into their home, but then they’d all be talking like they were all friends, My sisters would join the conversation and I wouldn’t. Not that they would have invited me. No, usually I was left to myself in my room to play Nintendo or with my lego sets. Then the event occurred and after that they spoke little to me. I was the statue in the family: I was there, but everyone paid little attention to me.
I would sit in my room and feel this colossal pain in my chest—a breaking heart with no known cause. I never had a girlfriend and I didn’t keep any friends so maybe it was just the crushing loneliness of having neither. I cried at those times and remembered the birthdays where no one came; the time I wrote to a children’s magazine stating that I didn’t have any friends. Yes, one could say I could have tried harder. One could also say that children are cruel.
And to that I will say: they are indeed.

I waited in the gym after school let out. The bleachers were extended, and the volleyball net was ready for the upcoming game. There weren’t very many other people for a game that would start in less than an hour. Football and basketball games usually had a steady trickle of parents and fans, even if the games were already underway. Emily walked out of the locker room in her uniform: maroon shorts and a light grey shirt with the etching of our school’s name and mascot, “Reardan Indians” on the front and her first name and team number, which was eight.
“Make sure you cheer loud for us. All of us, not just me, okay?”
“I don’t know anyone else on the team.” Which was a half truth, I knew a few of them but I doubt they knew me from a shadow on the wall.
“I can fix that. There’s Bridget, Teri, Brenda, Hope, Danielle, Leslie, Jasmine, Crystal, and yours truly.”
“You may have to write that down.”
“Already done,” she replied as she handed a flyer to me. “And, my family said they would be coming, and I told them to look for you. Yeah, I said that before I asked if you wanted to come, because, well, I thought. Sorry, should have found out first.”
“You couldn’t keep me from coming. Are you going to need some ‘Air Em’s?”
“We are going to go over that idea tonight, okay?”
“Okay.” I replied as she gave a bright smile and walked over to join the rest of the team on the court.

Her family came in a few minutes later and immediately sat down next to me. Normally, a mental klaxon would blare in my head to get away, to run for the proverbial hills but her parents, older and a younger sister, sat around me like I was a part of their family.
A hearty handshake from her father
A small hug from her mother.
A high five from her little sister
A, “hey, good to you, don’t know you, but my sister likes you so okay” look from the older sister who liked to make cupcakes.

“Spike it like last year, Em!” Her father yelled.

I already felt like a part of the family.

-signed,
Kyle Jovankah