Written by Isaac Yebio of Walter Johnson High School
Hiss..crackle…pop!
I snapped off the soda can lid and lifted it high over my head. The carbonated drink fizzled inside the vividly pink can, and the neon lights above washed me in rainbows. Racks of cheap candy bars and freezers stuffed with manufactured drinks filled the air with a sickly sweet aroma. My nose sniffed at the familiar scent.
I knew every single aisle of this place—every overstuffed rack, every broken tile, every dingy light bulb hanging from the roof.
I let drop after drop splash against my tongue, before finally tilting the can over and chugging its contents. A river of sweet liquid bubbled against my throat, tickling its way down my esophagus. The taste reminded me of simpler days, but they drifted away from my mind as if they were centuries old.
“Hey, Cortez!” I whipped around and glanced at where the call had come from. Lennie, the owner of the corner store, stood behind the cashier, glaring at me. His long, grey hair was neatly combed to the sides. The growing forest of white curls suffocating his jaw made him look older than he actually was, but that didn’t seem to bother him. Stretched over his large stomach was a white tank top covered in ketchup stains. He raised his eyebrow and glared at the drink in my hand.
“You gon’ pay for that, boy?” He placed his hands on his hips and jutted them out. If I hadn’t known Lennie, I would’ve thought he was mocking me.
“Haha,” I shot back. “Just ring me up.”
The older man's irritated facade shattered, and his face broke out into a huge smile. He grabbed a bunch of candy bars from a rack and placed them on the counter, gently shoving them towards me. Chugging down the last of my soda, I marched over to the cashier to see what the old man was doing.
“Here kiddo, you deserve these.” He shoved the pile of bars towards me even further, “It’s not everyday you ge’ into one of them fancy colleges!”
My stomach sank into an abyss. I bit my lip and forced a smile.
“Thank you, Lennie, but it’s really not that big a deal.”
The older man simply shook his head.“Nonsense boy. You’re one of the smartest youngins runnin’ around in this damn city!”
I smiled sadly. “Yeah, sure.”
Ignoring my gloom, Lennie turned around and lumbered over to the side of his counter. A small carton of lollipops sat propped against the marble. He fiddled with them for a while, biting his lip as if he were trying to remember something.
Finally, he picked out a cherry red lollipop covered in a star-spangled wrapper.
He lumbered back over and handed it to me. “God, I remember when yous were just a youngin scamperin’ around in here.” He stretched out his other hand and gestured around the convenience store.
“I remember yous used to love eatin’ these little pops with that gal friend of yours; it was so sweet to see.”
His recount rekindled something within me, but I stamped it out before it could ignite.
“Yeah, thanks for the free candy, Lennie.” Before he could reply, I spun on my heel and thundered towards the door. I didn’t have the time nor energy to handle the flood muscling up my throat. Waves of nausea hit me like a boat as I shoved open the shabby metal doors of the store.
The swinging doors nearly hit a small girl who was entering the shop. She jumped back in time to avoid impact and shot daggers at me.
“Watch where you’re go–” Our eyes met and we both froze.
“Leta?” I gazed at the girl who had once been my childhood best friend, instantly recognizable. She gawked back at me and took another step back.
“Wow, hi Felipe. It’s been a while since I’ve last seen you.”
“Yeah…”
Before I could come up with something else to say, Lennie appeared behind me in the doorway.
“Leta?! Well, it seems the whole gang here! Come in, sweetheart, I’ll get some treats fixed up for you right away!” With that, Lennie turned around and skipped back to his cashier, plucking out more candy bars from the rack.
Leta stepped past me and started following the old man, “Well, I guess I’ll see you around.” She continued to walk past me, but I grabbed her arm before she could enter the store.
“Wait,” I said. “Would it be ok if I waited for you? I kinda wanna talk about something.”
Leta looked shocked by my request, her mouth visibly fell open. For a second, I thought she was going to say no, but she nodded her head and turned to enter the shop.
Like water collecting in a drain, relief settled in my bones and soothed my nausea. I settled on the side of a convenience store and slid my back down the wall. My butt collected dirt against the cold pavement, but I ignored the discomfort.
I stared at the empty parking lot which had once been my concrete oasis. The rusty bars collecting dust between the slots were my own personal monkey bars; I spent hours swinging dangerously between them. The old sign pole standing in front of the parking lot was the fulcrum of my childhood. I remember the days I spent climbing to the top. I, along with Leta, would watch from the top and marvel at how beautiful our neighborhood looked from there, ignoring Lennie’s screams for us to get down. We spent summer after summer playing in our own little concrete oasis—it was heaven.
But now it felt like an eternity ago.
Leta emerged from the store, carrying a fruit smoothie and bag of candy in her hands. She popped something into her mouth, probably a piece of gum, and turned to look for me. She spotted me on the side of the wall and stalked over to my seated figure.
She dropped down next to me. “So,” Leta said, “what seems to be the problem?”
I took some time before answering to examine the girl. My eyes eclipsed as I realized how different she looked compared to when we were younger. Her old array of neatly braided locks were now replaced by a fro of pink-dyed curls. She had donned a pair of black combat boots that contrasted heavily against her bright purple tights, and a bright pink dress to match. I remembered her mother, who was always so strict, and wondered how she managed to get out of the house dressed like that.
“Hello, Felipe?” She waved her hand in front of my face. “Earth to Felipe. You with me?”
I shook my head and got out of my thoughts. I turned my head to her and met her gaze.
“Sorry, I was just preoccupied with my thoughts.”
She nodded and turned to her bag of candy. Sticking one hand blindly into the bag, she reached in and grabbed a mint-choco swirl and began to devour it. Crumbs fell onto her leather boots.
“How do you deal with it?” The words came blurting out before I could stop myself.
Leta looked up at me in confusion.“Deal with what exactly?”
I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or genuine, but I pressed my lips together in frustration. Words bumbled around in my throat, but I couldn’t find the right thing to say.
Eventually, something within me snapped. I threw my hands up wildly and waved towards the entire parking lot.
“Deal with this! Doesn’t it drive you crazy that we’ll never experience this again? That we’ll never be kids like that again ever?!”
Leta looked at me like I was crazy. She blinked her eyes rapidly trying to process everything I’d said. She set down her mint-choco swirl.
“Felipe,” she began, “I don’t know where this is coming from, but I really don’t think I’m the best person to talk to this about. We’ve barely spoken to each other in the past four years.”
“I know, but that’s exactly the reason why I wanna speak with you.” Leta turned her head and pursed her lips.
“Look,” I started, “I know we kinda parted ways once we got to high school, and I never did much to try and connect with you, but that only fuels my regret.”
I turned to the sign pole we had once climbed in our youth and gazed at the top, as if we were both still gazing at the horizon.
“Now we’re both going to college, we’re leaving this place behind. And to be honest, I don’t know if I can handle the change. Nothing will be the same ever. No more convenience store, no more concrete oasis, no more city. Everything is just moving so fast. I want it all to stop.”
I rose to my feet and brushed the dirt off my pants. Leta stared at me while my eyes were still fixated on the sign pole. Before I could fully flesh it out, an idea erupted into my mind.
“Do you wanna climb the sign pole, like we used to do in elementary school?”
I turned around and looked to see Leta’s response. Her face was aghast.
“Are you crazy? We’re not kids anymore, Felipe, that thing couldn’t possibly hold our weight.”
I brushed her off. Ignoring her, I rushed straight across the concrete oasis and grabbed onto the pole. With all of my upper body strength, I started to yank myself up in mighty strides. Soon, I was at the top.
I pushed myself onto the rafter and stood for a second, catching my breath. I looked up over the city and towards the horizon. The setting sun seemed to paint the city in a thousand shades of pinks; roses bloomed across the building tops and built a garden from the cold concrete. The sight dragged all the air from my lungs.
I stood there, mesmerized. I didn’t even notice Leta pulling herself onto the rafters, even more worn out than I’d been. She huffed and puffed, then gave me a glare.
“Are you crazy?!” Her shout didn’t faze me. Instead, a small grin grew from my lips.
“It looks just like from our childhood. Perfect. Completely unchanged.”
Leta gave me a worried smile. She placed her hand on my shoulder. The physical contact jolted me.
“Felipe, I get where you’re coming from. But you can’t possibly think it’s healthy to hold onto the past like that.”
She waved her hand towards the horizon, “Yes, it was all beautiful. I miss those days as much as you do. But I’m fine with growing up and moving on with my life because I’ll always have those moments in my memories. Even if we go off to college, that doesn’t change.” I pursed my lips, my mind rolling over Leta’s words.
“Yeah, I guess,” I muttered. “Hey, where are you going to college anyway?”
“This school in France, you’ve probably never heard of it.”
I smiled sadly. “France is nice. I heard all the girls there are beautiful.”
Leta rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Please, I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up surrounded by a bunch of stuck-ups and prisses. Plus, hell is other people.”
“Ah, that’s from Orwell, isn’t it?”
Leta scrunched her nose. “Satre.”
“All those old writers sound the same to me.”
Leta seemed annoyed by this, but she decided to let it go. “So, where are you going to college?”
The smile faded from my mouth. “Princeton.”
To my embarrassment, Leta’s jaw dropped halfway to the floor. She nearly lost her balance and fell from the rafter. I jerked my hand out and grabbed her arm.
She grabbed me back and looked me straight in the eye. “Felipe, that’s amazing! When are you heading over there?”
My eyes dimmed even more. “Tomorrow, actually.”
Leta’s shock doubled. “Tomorrow? But it’s still the middle of August?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a couple of things I need to do before school starts.”
“Oh,” she whispered. “Now I can see why you were so upset.”
I moved my attention back towards the sunset. My eyes trailed the now almost disappeared sun and desperately grabbed hold of it. But within my soul, a new sense of ease flooded through him. Leta’s presence burned away his anxiety.
“Enough talking. Let’s just enjoy the sky.”
Leta turned her own attention back to the setting sun. Even she was phased by its disappearing beauty.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Nights like this are a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
I smiled at her optimism. The feeling of ease continued to warm me, and the sadness plaguing me faded away.
Together, we watched as the sky changed and the setting sun finally disappeared into an ocean of sparkling stars.
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