The Summer Before

A Chapter by Jade Mayhew

The sun was shining brightly, so before Eva Johansson left her house, she grabbed a pair of big sunglasses with white rims and dark lenses. "I'm heading out for a little bit, daddy!" she called down the long hallway from the front door to her father's room.

"Okay sweetie. Are you going to Rory's house?"

"Yes, but we're probably going to head out for a bit. I don't know where yet. But we won't be too far. You know how her mother is."

Eva her a loud laugh from her father, in reference to her friend's over-protective mother. "Okay. Bring your cellphone and call me every couple of hours, alright?"

"Okay! I'll see you later, daddy! Bye!" Eva opened the door and ran down the marble stone steps of her front porch. Her long driveway was shaded by trees, most weilding some sort of fruit. As she took out her cell phone, Eva reached up to the first fruit tree she passed to grab something. She had skipped breakfast that morning, having slept in, and was grateful that she'd grabbed an orange, which always filled her stomach more than an apple.

Rory picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, Rory, it's Eva. Can you hang out? Or is the warden being strict today?"

"She's being strict, but I'm sure she'll let me go. If not, well, I know how to sneak out of this house by now." Rory's airy laugh penetrated the phone for a minute before she spoke again. "I'll meet you at the school in ten minutes, okay?"

"Grab sunglasses. It's really sunny out! I'll see you soon. Bye, Rory." Eva closed her phone and took the next sidestreet she reached. She walked down it for about ten feet before reaching her old middle school. She and Rory would be starting their freshman year of high school in just a week or so, and they spent a lot of their free time this summer hanging and talking at their old school's playground. Reliving memories that will soon be forgotten, Eva thought.

Evangeline Johansson was fourteen years old and looked like she was sixteen. She dressed like she was seventeen and acted like she was nineteen. She was mature for her age, which was more than most girls in her class could say. She stood at 5'7" and was taller than everyone in her class. She was also the skinniest and probably the most popular. Not for long, though, she thought. Once I start high school, I'm back to the bottom of the food chain. Being a cheerleader in middle school was something to be proud of, but would that keep her popular in high school as well? Eva hoped it would. Not much else mattered to her, except the well-being of her best friend Rory. Sitting on the swingset, Eva thought about Aurora. Though they were complete opposites in every way, Eva and Rory got along better than any other two girls they knew. They'd been friends for nine years and had never had any fights. They had promised each other in first grade that nothing would ever come between them, and to that very day, nothing had. Eva ran her teeth along her braces and was overjoyed at the thought of her upcoming orthodontist appointment to finally get the metal tracks across her teeth removed. She'd cut open her lip a few too many times last year during the season, being caught too roughly by the other cheerleaders. Those were never fun trips to the nurse. Eva had very long red hair with fresh black tips on the end of them and dark blue eyes. When she was very happy, her eyes got golden specks through them, and when she got very angry, they looked almost black. Hearing footsteps on the gravel behind her, Eva turned quickly and saw Rory walking toward her.

Aurora DeSoto, more fondly known to everyone as Rory, was a very shy and very quiet girl. Where most "shy" people were quiet when you first meet them, then opened up a bit more, Rory was always quiet. If not for her friendship with Eva, Rory would be invisible in school. Her sole fear of starting high school was becoming invisible again. She was very pretty, but very reserved. She had olive skin and beautiful hazel eyes. She was one of three nominees for "best smile" in her eighth grade year, but lost because it turned into a popularity contest. However, it was still common knowledge that Rory had the best smile in not just the eighth grade class, but in the entire school. And everyone knew it. Her shoulder-length hair may have been her best feature, but it was always hidden beneath a hat or tied into a tight bun in the back of her head. Her hair was a very dark brown and had caramel highlights throughout it. She and Eva had gotten their hair done together by a woman named Julie Matthews just a week ago. As she walked slowly toward Eva, she placed her right hand in her mouth and began chewing on one of her nails. "Stop biting your nails, Rory," Eva snapped. Rory's hand immediately found its way into her pocket. Eva reached into her purse that she always carried with her and withdrew a stick of Big Red gum. It was Rory's favorite kind, even though Eva herself was partial to Doublemint. She gave the gum to Rory, who immediately put it in her mouth. It was Eva's way of stopping Rory from biting her nails: give her something else to chew on instead. Eva reached into her purse again and withdrew another stick of gum from the green pack and placed the minty gum in her mouth.

Rory sat down beside Eva on the swing. Out of pure instinct, the girls locked their ankles and held onto each other's swings. They had done that for years. "Your gum smells disgusting and your belt doesn't match your outfit."

Laughing, Eva nearly swallowed her gum. "Your gum doesn't smell that great either. And I don't care if my belt doesn't match. You never match." She noticed the heart-shaped pin on Rory's shirt. To Eva's knowledge, that pin had belonged to Rory since before the girls even met. Eva had told her to throw it away a few times. It wasn't a gift or anything, so it didn't hold much value to the girl. It was a bit childish, in Eva's opinion

"No one cares if I don't match. Everyone notices you." Rory's voice got very quiet as she spoke the last words, so Eva reached out and placed her hand on top of Rory's. "It's fine. I mean, I don't care. I'm just saying, no one will notice if I don't match. But if you don't match, everyone will start gossiping about it. Especially now that we're in high school."

Eva untangled herself from the mass of legs and got off the swingset. She walked over to the jungle gym and climbed to the very top, putting her legs in between the holes. She heard Rory behind her and knew some psych evaluation was coming on. "Are you worried about starting high school, Angelinia?" Angelinia was the nickname Rory had given Eva back when they were much younger. Eva's mother had always called her Angeline. When Eva's parents got divorced and her father gained sole custody, Eva never wanted to be called Angeline again. She never wanted to think about her mother again. Rory had gotten into the habit of calling her that, so instead of calling her Eva for the rest of forever, she just switched it to Angelinia. However, now that the two girls were older, Rory only called her that when Eva seemed worried or upset.

"I don't know. I guess I am. It's just... all through middle school, I was well-liked. Then in 7th grade, my popularity just sky-rocketed. I mean, everyone loved me. I'm not trying to sound arrogant or anything, but I really was. And now, well, come on, Rory, think realistically. We're starting high school. I won't even know half of these people. It's a regional high school. There's going to be people from not only our middle school, but also like four or five others. You know me, and you know I hate to not know what's coming. And I have no clue what's going to happen once I start high school. Once we start high school," Eva amended.

Rory laughed out loud. "You're worried? Eva, come on. You're telling me to be realistic? You need to think realistically, too. You were popular and well-liked all through middle school because you're an easy person to like. That isn't just going to end because you're starting a new school. You're very social. You're going to make a ton of new friends and even if it's just the freshman class, you're still going to be popular. If anyone needs to be worried, it's me. I'm going to be invisible once school starts again. Everyone will know me as 'Eva's friend'. That's what it was like all through middle school. You say that it's more people that you don't know? It's more people to not know me. I hate it. I just want to not start school."

"If you tried, Rory, you could be just as popular as me. You're not overweight or mean or stupid or anything. You're pretty, you're nice, and you’re fun. You're insanely fashionable, even though you don't use that to your advantage."

"I never need to. I just tell you what to wear." The girls laughed together. "Make me a promise, Eva?"

"Of course."

"Promise me that nothing will come between us. No matter what, we'll always be best friends. And if we ever fight, we'll get through it."

"Rory, we made that promise ten years ago almost."

"I know," Rory replied softly. "But we're starting high school. Tyler was friends with this kid since they were in daycare together. Then, after high school started, they just kind of stopped being friends. They didn't fight or anything; it just kind of ended." Tyler was Rory's older brother. He was 20, and the two were very close. In fact, Rory was close with everyone in her family. "I just don't want that to happen to us. You've been my best friend for so long, Eva. I'm just afraid that once we start high school, you're going to get swept up in your popularity and I'll become invisible again."

"You won't be invisible," Eva insisted. "Like I said, you're really likeable. You're just... really shy. You need to overcome that. Try out for a play or something. You're a good actress."

Rory shrugged, an action that had barely been visible. "I don't know. Maybe. I'll think about it. I'll probably help out with my little sister. You know, give my mom a hand?"

Eva hesitantly reached toward Rory, placing her hand over Rory's. "Listen, sweetie, I know you don't want to hear this, but it needs to be said. Your mom can handle everything. You're starting high school. You're going to want a social life. If you keep devoting every waking second to your mother, you'll become a slave almost, and eventually, you'll want to do something and you won't be able to. Your mom is a grown woman. It shouldn't be too difficult to keep a house clean and take care of a four-year old. She's been doing that for years."

"Yeah, but that was when she also had my father there. He can't pay child support much right now, Eva. He just lost his job. I want to help her as much as I can."

"Then help by being the happy daughter she wants to see. She knows you're getting to that stage in life. Face it, high school is going to fly by. Take advantage of everything you can. Go out on dates, have a crazy social life, go to the dances, get in trouble, be loud."

"I can't! I'm not you! I'm not popular or liked or anything. I'm not you, Eva. You're the one everyone wants to be friends with."

"Well, I want to be friends with you. I'm not going to just ditch you. I could've done that at any point during our last two years of middle school, and we both know it. Everyone does, but I didn't. Because you're my best friend. Not anyone else. You are. So don't worry so much. You'll do great in high school." Eva held out her pinky. "I swear it!" She grinned in a childish way that made Rory chuckle a bit. "There we go. Come on, let's go to the store or something. I'm starving." They struggled to get off the jungle gym, trying not to fall, before finally giving up and just letting their legs untangle themselves, causing the girls to fall into a heap on the ground. They giggled and stood up, walking away quickly. So quickly, in fact, that neither of the girls noticed Rory's heart-shaped pin now lying among the woodchips.