Chapter Five -- Red, White, and Green

Autumn's first adventure of the summer! We'll miss you Greg!!

I ran to my room, threw my coat on the floor and floated to my bed. I was not tired, but I was beat from school. Not only that my stomach gave me trouble on the ride home. I should of gotten two of those comment cards. I laughed out loud but then went silent again when I heard a knock at my door.

"Come in!" I shouted, making sure I ran to pick my coat off the floor. Mom wouldn't want to see that. Turns out it was Greg. I let the coat fall back to the floor for a wasted effort. Greg smiled at me and I did too because he knew what I was doing. He always did. It was down right annoying at times. But Greg didn't push me over the edge.

"What do you want, Greg?" I asked calmly but interested.

Greg walked in my room, closing the door and sat down on my bed. It creaked with remorse, but Greg turned to me and patted it for me to come and sit down. I so I did. I flopped down, springing up ever slightly. Greg had brown hair like my Dad. Hard, rough hair like my Dad. I leaned over to his shoulder and wrapped my arm within his so that I could squeeze his hand. He clenched mine roughly but then became gentle. Greg used his free hand to ruffle my hair, then smooth it back. Just like Dad.

I smiled inwardly then waited for Greg to talk. This was his special way for preparing to tell me something important. He breathed softly in the silence that lingered. When all seemed peaceful, he parted his lips.

" Autumn? Are you gonna miss your rat?" He whispered. My eyes fluttered, before I gave him a punch in the arm. We laughed but then he grew quiet again.

"I'm gonna visit during my break. " he chuckled, "I'll bring you back something, maybe a stuffed elephant or something from the giftshop"

"Greg, they don't sell elephants in gift shops." I glanced over to him with a skeptical eye, but I smiled again. He knew I loved elephants. And despite the fact that practically every gift shop didn't sell elephants, he'd always find one for me. I LOVED elephants. They were my favorite animal. I sighed softly, smelling Greg's cologne again. I guess I had to admit that I would miss him. He stood up and gave me a hug, which was strange because he normally would act all "ech" about hugs but I guess this was a different situation. He wasn't the emotional type, but he was affectionate. That was my big brother, and in his eyes, I would always be his little baby sister.

He smiled at me, pushing a stray end of my hair behind my ear. I smiled back and then gave him another huge hug. I was crying. I didn't even think I would, but I was. Tears and snot all running down at the same time. But Greg didn't care. He lifted me off me feet and cradled me in his arms, rocking me softly and sat down on my bed again. He kept whispering to me that it was gonna be alright. I sniffled my last tear and then he kissed the top of my head, putting me back down carefully.

"I'll miss you Autumn." He whispered even quieter.

"Me too." I used my sleeve to wipe my tears and laid back down in bed. Greg pulled the covers back and I buried myself underneath them, while he pulled them up to my neck. But folded it back, just the way I liked it. He leaned over and kissed my forehead and stood up, smoothing his shirt.

" 'Night... faker " he said. I knew he was grinning wide.

"Night..." I said, not even trying to think of some thing to say back. I was soo tired, I didn't even hear the click of the door closing.


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The alarm blared on and I almost fell out the bed and tripped over a coat on the trip to turning it off. Stupid coat. I kicked it, but lifted my alarm to see what ungodly hour I was up at.

"7:30" I grumbled to myself. Great.

I took a quick shower, threw on some old clothes from a pile. I'd wash them all sooner or later. Beige T-shirt and jeans? Looked clean enough. I went downstairs for breakfast. Mom was still asleep since she worked nights. I walked around the bright sunny kitchen, every bird in the neighborhood finding the perfect annoying tune for my mood. I took my hand and ruffled my hair, leaning over to see what we had in the 'fridge.

Eggs. Bacon. Biscuits. Blah. Blah. Crap.

I shut it quickly. Nothing was good enough. I wasn't gonna cook anything so I went to my favorite alternative. Cereal. I smiled wide. Nothing like a good, crunchy bowl of cereal. So I took the milk out and put it on the table. I opened up the first cabinet the left of the fridge and grabbed a bowl, spinned on my toes to open a drawer for a spoon and then slammed it shut with my hip. I hopped to the table and put everything in my arms down on the surface and then looked for my favorite cereal. Anything crunchy is fine, but today I went for Froot Loops. I opened the bag slowly so that the crinkly sound of the bag wouldn't wake everyone. I tilted the box over the pink bowl, rainbow loops filling the bowl one by one. Lifting the box back up, I dug in the bag just for another.

I popped it in my mouth then sighed. It was stale. I stomped my foot. I HATE stale cereal. Not to mention the bag was opened a bit, I should of known. Greg. I just climbed back up those stairs and went back to bed. My crispity crunchy cereal breakfast was ruined.

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I woke up again and looked at the clock. It displayed 11:00 in its glowing green LED. I rolled back over in my bed, pulling the covers back up to my neck. It was summer and I was gonna rest all I wanted. I smiled inwardly when I felt my slumber coming back, but tossed again 'till I was laying on my back. Looking up at the pattern of light and grey on my walls because of my blinds. Bright summer light making my room feel warm. I felt an urge to look out the window just to see what it looked like, but my body stayed anchored to the bed. I rolled to my side, bitting my lower lip. What was I going to do today? All the wonderful weeks of summer and I was lying in bed without a thing to do. And what was wrong with that?! I smiled again, shut my eyes and let out a happy sigh. Sleeping all summer in a cozy and warm bed didn't sound like a bad thing to do.

My phone rung.

I was so mad. I threw the covers off my body in a mad fit. Whoever was calling me was going to learn the definition of 'mad' After a good minute of looking for my cell, I found it in my tennis shoe?, read the display with a sigh, and flipped it open.

"Whaaaat?" I pleaded in the phone. It was Rita.

" Hey, sorry. What are you doing?"

"Wondering why you're calling me?" I rubbed my forehead but sat up. I wasn't going to sleep. I guess this was how my summer was going to start.

"Ugh, alright. Since that means 'nothing' in your language, I wanted to know what you're mom said about you and the graduation party."

Aw Man! I'd forgotten all about that. "Well..." I started, "I hadn't really gotten around to it Rita" I heard an exasperated sigh on the other end.

"Please don't tell me you're not going. Autumn. It's tonight for heavens sake. It's about time you break out of that 'regular ol" summer' routine. You need to do something outrageous, spontaneous, ridiculous,.....I don't know!! Just shock yourself with a good time once in a while, and then look back and tell the tale"

" And you have something in mind?" I drawled, "Going to a graduation party is hardly 'outrageous' or 'spontaneous' " I pulled my legs into my chest, letting my chin rest on my knees.

" But it's a start..." she simply stated. I thought about it. She was sort of right, in her own peculiar, smart aleck way. I dropped my legs down, staring at them. Rita hadn't said anything on the other line, I guess she wanted it to sink in. It was. I was thinking about my past summers. The only trouble was I couldn't remember a single thing that I did worth remembering. Rita was right. Maybe I did need a little something.

"So.....what did you have in mind Rita?" I asked slowly. I could almost feel the smile creeping back into her again.

" Well....since you're just a beginner, we'll start small. Hm? My cousin and a few friends of hers were going skating, my cousin asked if I wanted to go and I told her I'd wanted to bring a friend..." she paused, letting me know I was that friend. I grinned. " And she said yes. So now I'm calling you."

I thought it over. I guess it wouldn't hurt. Though I wasn't a skater type anyway.

"Okay, I'll ask my mom."

" Good. R.O.A.O!" I smiled, hanging up. Rita Over And Out.

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Rita's mom picked me up and I climbed in the back with Rita. She was all giggles and smiles. I laughed happily. The summer was starting off to be promising. When we got there, Rita's mom tapped her watch, reminding Rita when she was coming back. Her mom was a therapist. She had dark brown hair, unlike Rita's blonde. It was extremely long, but she always tied it in a bun. Rita always got into many arguments about her mom never letting it down. It always ended with a curt 'No' and a silent Rita. I laughed to myself, Rita tugged my coat sleeve, so I turned and saw her cousin.

We strode over to them and Rita gave her cousin a humongous hug. I could tell that they were really close. Wendy looked just like Rita, same lips and shape. But she had long brown hair that was almost to the middle of her back. She had long eyelashes, bright eyes, and a white smile. I thought she was so beautiful. Now for introductions.

" Hello, Autumn. I'm Wendy. These are my friends!" she pointed to the first. She was tall, lanky, and -- dare I say -- unfriendly looking and ugly. A long angular looking face, with short black hair dyed a light blonde.

"This is Sam." she explained, and I waved sweetly. Sam's face never changed. Ookay...next friend. "and this is Hanna" Hanna was a little on the pudgy side, but very sweet. She quickly ran over to me, gave me a 'tight' hug, and pulled away. Her cheeks bulged on the sides with another smile. She had curly brown hair pulled up into tight pigtails.

"So nice to meet you both." I said. Hanna squealed with delight, latching her arm with Sam's. Sam just sighed and rolled her eyes. A cold breeze blew under my coat, so I nudged Rita since we'd just been standing there, while she carried on an extensive conversation with Wendy. Rita got the signal and decided to walk on.

The area was loud and full of chattering and laughing teens who appeared older than me. Rita and I paid for our skates and then we went to the table where Wendy and her friends sat to change. Our clothes glowed in the neon light and the music picked up a more fast paced techno beat. All the other girls were already moving around the skating ring, so I lingered a bit with putting on my skates because I hate going alone. I looked up again and saw that the ring was almost swamped in people. Almost instantly I felt like going home and watching some old Western, wrapped up in covers with a hot bowl of Kettle-corn Popcorn than being here. I could smell the sweet aroma of my thoughts but I stopped short. That would be unfair to Rita and her friends, not to mention a waste of my money. I pulled myself up carefully on the chair and table between me, resolved to at least try to enjoy myself. I halted when I saw Wendy skating towards me. Her hair swished and flowed gently with each stride. I could tell she was a good skater.

"Having fun?" she asked.

" I hope. " I said a little timidly. She skated to my side, grabbed my arm, and pulled me over to the other skaters. My eyes widened when I looked down to my feet getting closer and closer to the floor and off the comforts of the carpet. She pushed me gently, and I picked up my feet to the wood and she did too.

"Okay, now let's have some real fun! You skate?" She rolled backwards from me almost like she was just walking. I looked up to her nervously but dropped my head, making sure my feet weren't positioned wrong.

"Not really...." I finally replied, looking up at her. First mistake. That's when I felt my foot turned in an awkward way. I yelped loudly then collapsed on the floor. Right on my butt. My cheeks were glowing neon red. Wendy looked at me sympathetically. I tried to get up. Second mistake. Thanks to the fast paced music and the millions of skaters, my crash to the floor created a road block to everyone else. Others effectively cut around me, but everyone else bumped into me. First, there was this guy. His head bumped into mine, his girlfriend tripped over my skate and skidded in a rather painful way across the floor. Her scarf fell off so the next guy got that caught in his skate and dropped to the floor, and last but not least, a large woman, who didn't even attempt to stop, just toppled over the whole mess, leaving us sandwiched with her body and the floor. Wendy tried pulling me out, while everyone else progressively got up and recovered. My head hurt. My elbow hurt. My thigh hurt. And my butt hurt. When I finally got out I looked at Wendy. I was soo embrassed.

"I'm not having fun Wendy." I said. She only shook her head.

Wendy took me over to the medical area. That got the attention of at least 3 quarter of the crowd of skaters. Everyone else in the jumble, skated on as if they'd never fell. Not a wince of pain or a slow in pace. They zipped on around in circles like a mad shark closing in on its prey. I sighed with a small limp and Wendy left me. Her brown hair swayed side to side as she soon became infused with the skating blob of teens. I sighed once more, looking over myself for all my eventual bruises. Wendy had rung the bell a few minutes ago, I was wondering why it was taking the guy or girl so long.

I was shocked when an old man, probably in his 70's, walked cautiously over to me. He had a blue and white overalls on with huge, thick, black-rimmed glasses. He squinted over them to see me then smiled. I untied my skates then took them off before I sat on the examining table, fumbling with my fingers as he pulled up a chair in front of me.

"Well, what happened to you young lady?" He had such a sweet old man's voice. I couldn't help but smile. That smile made me feel a little better.

"I ...fell." He grinned sweetly, little wrinkles on his face creasing.

"I'm guessing on your bum." He chuckled softly and then took off his glasses. "Don't be embarrassed. It happens all the time. Even to me once in a while." He pressed a finger to his lips, "This il' be our little secret eh? Anything else sore?" I shook my head, lying. He rose a grey eybrow, unbelievingly.

"Maybe a little bit on my elbow and head... but not that much.." I said, looking around his office a bit, feeling nervous. Before I knew it, he had took a pencil from behind his ear and jabbed my thigh. I screeched a little bit, turning my gaze back to him aghast, clutching my poor bruised wound.

" Aha, knew it!" He rose from his chair shakily, putting his glasses back on, and walked over to a large cabinet. " Nobody falls in a skating rink without hurting more than 3 areas on their body." I scolded at him, rubbing my thigh furiously under my jeans while he chuckled again behind the door of the cabinet. I knew I'd definitely have a bruise now. He came back with a ice pack and a small black bag.

"You didn't have to go poking." I responded when he gave me the ice pack.

"You didn't have to go lying, but we both broke a rule there young lady. I don't get paid for fixing invisible cuts and scrapes." He smiled again, giving me a pill from his bag. He patted my knee, got up, and turned to shuffle across the floor again.

" Sorry..." I replied genuiely, " I guess I just didn't want you to laugh or...." I trailed off, feeling unsure of what to say next. He came back with a cup of cold water from the faucet. I gulped the pill back with the water.

" Nothin' to be ashamed of. In fact, You're going to be just fine." He grinned again to me, "You'll have a few bruises but you'll be fine." He rose to his feet, bent a bit but walked out of the medical office, opening the small swing door for me.

"Thank you.." I said, walking past the open door.

I turned back to him and he gave me a wink. I walked on. In the midst of all the action going on around me, I could just yet get that old man out of my head. In some way, I felt some connection with him, like I'd already knew him from long ago. Such a sweet old man. Oh! I'd almost forgot! I left my skates.

I tore around and instantly started to retrace my steps. But I was stopped cold when I almost ran over someone. Though I was the one who hit the person, I flew back to the floor. Right on my bum. I groaned loudly this time. Now I'll have two bruises that will have to heal.

" Woah, dude. You okay?" the person said.

The person helped me to my feet. A rather strong person helped me to my feet. I looked up past my bangs and saw a guy. Probably 17 or 18. He was 'bout a head taller than me, but he was amazingly big and built. Messy hair, strangely colored, thanks to the lighting. But he was smiling at me, beautiful white teeth beaming down at me. I still stared up at him, until finally speaking.

" Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about knocking you down." I lowered my head, apologetic but trying to shrug off my now overwhelming embarrassment and uncomfortableness. Not to mention, the whole construction of my sentence was stupid. He'd knocked me down, not me. That smile was just too cute.

He shrugged his massive shoulders, fanned his hand nonchalant. "Don't sweat it. It's cool." He looked at me more keenly now. I still couldn't put a finger on his hair. It was so hard to really see what it looked like. It looked like....

"Hey!" He shouted out, " Aren't you that girl who fell, caused a major accident?" I almost jumped. How did he know? Is this how I was going to be remembered? The human fluke? I sighed and nodded to the guy.

" That was sweet." I looked up at him like he was crazy. "Been wanting to cause a smash-up like that for forever." He smiled down at me again. I heaved a larger sigh. Here's a guy who meets a girl who compliments her for completely embarrassing herself and friends for causing a literal fender-bender in a skating rink. I'd got a live one. Or maybe this was his way of making me feel better. He's doing a bang-up job, I thought sarcastically. I shook my thoughts from my head. I rose my eyebrow a notch to him, as we walked on. Well, he skated I walked. He kinda braced me, as if I couldn't walk on my own?, moving me towards the food area. When at the seats he let go, and I stepped back. His hair.

" Yeah, my hair." He said, almost taking the words, well he literally took the words out of my mouth. He smiled again, ordering some food. I stepped forward a step, looking even more astonished. It was red, white, and green. I scratched the back of my head, slowing letting this sink in.

"So... It's really...." I was at a loss of words. He looked over his shoulder to me and laughed. The server came back with two hotdogs, bag of chips and a pair of cold orange pops. He waved his hand over to me telling me to take a seat. I did, never taking my eyes off that hair. But sitting closer to him allowed me to see his hair even better. Oh, yeah. I definitely had a live one. I took a bite out of the hotdog, and looked at him who was half way done with everything but the pop. He looked back to me, took a swig, and stared.

"Wanna hear the story?" he asked, referring to his hair. I nodded, rather enthusiastically. I had to tame myself but this was exciting! He went on about he used to be in his step brother's band. Interestingly, his brother was Italian. They had a few hits, but the band was never big time. He start popping a few mixed nuts in his mouth before continuing. He told me that he was obsessed over the band even though they had a rough year. His brother suggested that they give one last performance and end their career. He didn't want it to end so soon and without a bang. So the night of performance, he and his little sister were playing in the kitchen and a large bag of flour got all over him and her. They laughed at themselves and their hair. But he had an idea. He took some of his sister's finger paints and painted his hair like the Italian flag. He went on stage and preformed, was a major hit, and the band became a legend. He told the story so animated and powerful, I hadn't realized I had finished all of my food five minutes ago and was reaching for an empty can of pop.

"Wow, that's really cool." He smiled to me again. He nodded to my words then stretched to get up. I leaped off my stool.

"Only thing is, the Italian flag was green, white, and red. Not the other way around. Though the 1797 flag of the Repubblica Cispanda is horizontal, goes in that the opposite color arrangement, so that's why I dyed it like that." I replied with a 'oh', looking back to him again.

He extended his hand. "My names Ken. Yours?"

I just shook his hand, but I was feeling alot more comfortable around him. A guy that I had first thought was out of his tree was actually a really cool supporter of his Italian brother's band. Wow, he was cool and cute.

"Barbie." I chortled. He laughed. Hard. Almost as hard as me. We were standing there laughing up a storm. It was just perfect. I sorta shocked myself. I'd actually made a guy laugh. It's unusual at times. Most fall under just two categories; Laughing because they don't wanna make me feel bad and laughing because of how stupid I must appear. But Ken here was really laughing. I felt great and I was having fun.

Finally cooling down, I told him my real name and he said it really suited me. I smiled almost blushing. We left from the food area and headed towards the skating area. He invited me to skate with him, but I shook my head. I smiled to him and he waved to me as he skated on. Eventually I saw him with another girl, around his age I guess. She had curly brown hair and was holding hands with a little girl and Ken. That was Ken's little sister for sure. I smiled when I saw her hair. She had red, white, and green burettes in her hair.