***"Rob, look at you," her eyes smiled as she turned her round face toward his. She let go of her knees and crossed her short, muscular, legs. "Even for the white kids here you work ridiculously hard." Sunnie turned her face back to the twinkling white caps as they sloshed onto the rocky beach several yards below them. The sun was on the verge of rising above the haze and was starting to take on its familiar brilliant yellow again.
"I do not ," he said, and kicked himself. The words sounded whiny in his own ears. "Well, I mean that's just my mom and dad giving me shit, you know," he rebuffed.
"Whatever, man," she laughed again, but somehow with less mirth. "You have any smokes," she asked.***
The acute memories of Rob Mellic's teeth banging against Tanya's last month were beginning to form a sweat slick in his palm as he held Sunnie's hand. The day was a warm and clear one, a rarity for Jowsburg, New York, in mid September. As they dug in their shoes on the climb up one of the highest and oldest dunes on the Atlantic coast, Sunnie began to gently swing her hand, the one Rob held, in time with their every step. The combination of sweat, sugar pill cheer, and nervousness was beginning to pop Rob's nerves apart like threads on a cheap sail too full with good wind.
"This your first time cutting class," Rob asked, relinquishing her hand and stuffing his in his blue jean pocket. The sweat went right through the pocket lining and clammed up his thigh.
"Nope," Sunnie smiled, her poorly aligned front teeth looking charming as ever to Rob. Her smile had a way with gents of all ages, but to Rob, falling into the two, still as stone, reflecting pools of her hazel eyes, her smile did not only brighten up the butter scotch complexion of her skin. He could feel her smile light up the back of his brain like showcase bulbs dotting a headlining Chicago musical. "I used to cut every day last year, but Mr. Meltzer was a huge cudge suck about it," Her long dark brown hair blew about her face in the gusting ocean wind and nearly hid her two brilliant slits of hazel before she pulled it back with a little laugh. "You know, he tried to hold me back last year, but my mom was not about to have that," Sunnie paused as another gust kicked up a bit of sand before dieing away. "She went to that office and i think she was about to pepper spray him or something."
Rob's mind raced as they strolled. His palm was dry, but now Sunnie's hands were in the pockets of her gray Falder High hooded sweatshirt. "don't reach. don't be desparate," he thought to himself, "wait for the opening then go for it. Stay cool. She's probably not heard the stories. Men's honor code. Be cool. And for gods sake say something, you nit!"
"Wow that must have sucked," were the words that left his mouth. Sunnie glanced over as she strolled up the green hill, but did not reply.
"Well she yelled at me good when we got home. This year I want to make Valedictorian," serious or not, she laughed again and nearly stumbled on the soft sandy ground ahead of her.
"Hah, whoa, be careful," Rob tried to add as he reached out to steady her, consciously trying to avoid reaching out too low below the waistline or two high up on her torso. "It gets slippery out here," he never went to the hill before, but all through high school he heard from the seniors it was the place to be during school hours since no one could see you from the edge of the tenements and call you in to the administrators or cops. As his hand grazed her hip just above her back pocket he thought he felt her flinch.
"I'm fine," she breezed, standing upright again easily enough. Her blue track paints hugged her hips like a close friend and those hips took on an equally easy, athletic and jaunty sway as she walked against the soft give of the hill. Rob saw this same sway often enough since he joined the track team freshman year, but coming from Sunnie it took on a new smoothness. It was the same smoothness he could almost taste every time she smiled at him. "Aw man, check it out!" she exclaimed. Rob snatched his eyes from her waist, and with relief, brought them up to the back of her head.
"Stay on point," he thought again, "if she catches you staring the whole trip could be a bust." He turned his gaze to where the white painted finger nail of her right index finger pointed. Far out on the Atlantic, almost out of sight was a container ship with its blue, white, and orange containers stacked like tetris pieces. Enormous billows of clouds formed just above and to the right of it. The clouds were visibly growing and melding, thundering upwards in what looked like slow rising and falling puffs of cotton. They formed a thick tower that seemed to splash against an unseen glass cieling and fan out into a nearly perfect thunderhead. Only feet away, in their perspective, the sun glowed a filmy orange in the low New York haze.
"That's why I love New York," Sunnie sighed, cupping her hands, visor like, about her eyes.
"You're going to try and be valedictorian," Rob asked, trying to keep himself focused on her. He made out with nine girls in all during his time at Falder High. He was not known as a player since he was only a track starter and most of Falder focused on basketball, so it usually worked to his advantage. Sunnie did not reply. He thrust his now clenched hands deep in his jean pockets as another cold gust came up the hill they now stood atop. "I mean, not like it cannot happen or anything like that," he offered. Sunnie began to tread down the sunward side of the hill and stopped a few paces away before sitting down.
"Come sit so they don't see you," her voice lilted as she pat the long wispy grass beside her. "Grades from last year don't matter. Only thing that counts is this year," she took off her sneakers and sat with her arms hugging her knees to her chest. "This year I'm gonna be awesome." Rob sat down beside her in similar fashion and nodded his head.
"I need to work harder too." At this Sunnie let out a full laugh that fell across Rob's ears like molten ice cream down a child's chin. "What?" He was indignant, but his outrage at Rob Mellic, track starter, being laughed at was easily swallowed by the warm waves of pleasure that rolled down his spine at hearing her laugh.
"Rob, look at you," even her eyes seemed to smile as she turned her round face toward his. She let go of her knees and crossed her short, muscular, legs. "Even for the white kids here you work ridiculously hard." Sunnie turned her face back to the twinkling white caps as they sloshed onto the rocky beach several yards below them. The sun was on the verge of rising above the haze and was starting to take on its familiar brilliant yellow again.
"I do not ," he said, and kicked himself. The words sounded whiny in his own ears. "Well, I mean that's just my mom and dad giving me shit, you know," he rebuffed.
"Whatever, man," she laughed again, but somehow with less mirth. "You have any smokes," she asked. The words took a moment to register in Rob's mind as his eyes were glued on her white painted toe nails as she wiggled her toes in the pale green blades of grass.
"No, I don't actually smoke," he replied.
"No need to sound so confused. I run track and I smoke. It's not that big of a deal."
"But wouldn't you be better if," he cut himself off, afraid of offending Sunnie.
"I just don't usually do it around people I don't know." Sunnie gazed to her left in silence at a pair of figures quite distant from them. She was almost sure she knew one of them, and absolutely certain the other was the dealer he refused to let her meet. Second period must be over. "It's probably getting close to third period, are we going to do this or not?" Rob turned his pale eyes toward the now simmering almonds of hers. He could feel a cold sweat beading up on his chest.
"Yeah of course. Lets," he slid his windbreaker clad arm around her waist and leaned in close to her. He watched her mouth, her strong lower lip, close with his own thin mouth and, in a split second, connect. Her waist, the supple tender curve of her abdomen, felt hard as a steel cable under tension beneath his fingers. Her mouth was unyielding as molded plastic against his own slightly parted lips. The march of his own pulse slowed and flailed like rays of light crossing from empty space into atmosphere of unbreathable density. And her eyes, blazing with a fire he could not explain or much later even recount, remained open and impossibly fixed to his during the entirety of the long battery of seconds. As they parted he took in a sharp breath, then resumed his former pose in a wavering attempt to compose himself quickly. "Do you want to skip third pe-" Sunnie stood up and slid her bare feet back into her sneakers.
"I'll see you around sometime. You should get back," she waved him off without a backward glance as she trotted down the remaining hill and grass to the rocky beach yards below. Much farther down the shoreline a tiny pair of figures waved to her as she called out a couple of names Rob could not quite make out. Another cool wind whipped straight up his pant legs, forcing him to hug his knees a little tighter to his chest. Even farther off, the container ship was a multicolored dot beneath the clouds that continued to grow. He did not check the forecast that morning, but gazing at the cold front, or warm front, or whatever it was, made him wish he knew if the clouds were coming or going.
"I do not ," he said, and kicked himself. The words sounded whiny in his own ears. "Well, I mean that's just my mom and dad giving me shit, you know," he rebuffed.
"Whatever, man," she laughed again, but somehow with less mirth. "You have any smokes," she asked.***
The acute memories of Rob Mellic's teeth banging against Tanya's last month were beginning to form a sweat slick in his palm as he held Sunnie's hand. The day was a warm and clear one, a rarity for Jowsburg, New York, in mid September. As they dug in their shoes on the climb up one of the highest and oldest dunes on the Atlantic coast, Sunnie began to gently swing her hand, the one Rob held, in time with their every step. The combination of sweat, sugar pill cheer, and nervousness was beginning to pop Rob's nerves apart like threads on a cheap sail too full with good wind.
"This your first time cutting class," Rob asked, relinquishing her hand and stuffing his in his blue jean pocket. The sweat went right through the pocket lining and clammed up his thigh.
"Nope," Sunnie smiled, her poorly aligned front teeth looking charming as ever to Rob. Her smile had a way with gents of all ages, but to Rob, falling into the two, still as stone, reflecting pools of her hazel eyes, her smile did not only brighten up the butter scotch complexion of her skin. He could feel her smile light up the back of his brain like showcase bulbs dotting a headlining Chicago musical. "I used to cut every day last year, but Mr. Meltzer was a huge cudge suck about it," Her long dark brown hair blew about her face in the gusting ocean wind and nearly hid her two brilliant slits of hazel before she pulled it back with a little laugh. "You know, he tried to hold me back last year, but my mom was not about to have that," Sunnie paused as another gust kicked up a bit of sand before dieing away. "She went to that office and i think she was about to pepper spray him or something."
Rob's mind raced as they strolled. His palm was dry, but now Sunnie's hands were in the pockets of her gray Falder High hooded sweatshirt. "don't reach. don't be desparate," he thought to himself, "wait for the opening then go for it. Stay cool. She's probably not heard the stories. Men's honor code. Be cool. And for gods sake say something, you nit!"
"Wow that must have sucked," were the words that left his mouth. Sunnie glanced over as she strolled up the green hill, but did not reply.
"Well she yelled at me good when we got home. This year I want to make Valedictorian," serious or not, she laughed again and nearly stumbled on the soft sandy ground ahead of her.
"Hah, whoa, be careful," Rob tried to add as he reached out to steady her, consciously trying to avoid reaching out too low below the waistline or two high up on her torso. "It gets slippery out here," he never went to the hill before, but all through high school he heard from the seniors it was the place to be during school hours since no one could see you from the edge of the tenements and call you in to the administrators or cops. As his hand grazed her hip just above her back pocket he thought he felt her flinch.
"I'm fine," she breezed, standing upright again easily enough. Her blue track paints hugged her hips like a close friend and those hips took on an equally easy, athletic and jaunty sway as she walked against the soft give of the hill. Rob saw this same sway often enough since he joined the track team freshman year, but coming from Sunnie it took on a new smoothness. It was the same smoothness he could almost taste every time she smiled at him. "Aw man, check it out!" she exclaimed. Rob snatched his eyes from her waist, and with relief, brought them up to the back of her head.
"Stay on point," he thought again, "if she catches you staring the whole trip could be a bust." He turned his gaze to where the white painted finger nail of her right index finger pointed. Far out on the Atlantic, almost out of sight was a container ship with its blue, white, and orange containers stacked like tetris pieces. Enormous billows of clouds formed just above and to the right of it. The clouds were visibly growing and melding, thundering upwards in what looked like slow rising and falling puffs of cotton. They formed a thick tower that seemed to splash against an unseen glass cieling and fan out into a nearly perfect thunderhead. Only feet away, in their perspective, the sun glowed a filmy orange in the low New York haze.
"That's why I love New York," Sunnie sighed, cupping her hands, visor like, about her eyes.
"You're going to try and be valedictorian," Rob asked, trying to keep himself focused on her. He made out with nine girls in all during his time at Falder High. He was not known as a player since he was only a track starter and most of Falder focused on basketball, so it usually worked to his advantage. Sunnie did not reply. He thrust his now clenched hands deep in his jean pockets as another cold gust came up the hill they now stood atop. "I mean, not like it cannot happen or anything like that," he offered. Sunnie began to tread down the sunward side of the hill and stopped a few paces away before sitting down.
"Come sit so they don't see you," her voice lilted as she pat the long wispy grass beside her. "Grades from last year don't matter. Only thing that counts is this year," she took off her sneakers and sat with her arms hugging her knees to her chest. "This year I'm gonna be awesome." Rob sat down beside her in similar fashion and nodded his head.
"I need to work harder too." At this Sunnie let out a full laugh that fell across Rob's ears like molten ice cream down a child's chin. "What?" He was indignant, but his outrage at Rob Mellic, track starter, being laughed at was easily swallowed by the warm waves of pleasure that rolled down his spine at hearing her laugh.
"Rob, look at you," even her eyes seemed to smile as she turned her round face toward his. She let go of her knees and crossed her short, muscular, legs. "Even for the white kids here you work ridiculously hard." Sunnie turned her face back to the twinkling white caps as they sloshed onto the rocky beach several yards below them. The sun was on the verge of rising above the haze and was starting to take on its familiar brilliant yellow again.
"I do not ," he said, and kicked himself. The words sounded whiny in his own ears. "Well, I mean that's just my mom and dad giving me shit, you know," he rebuffed.
"Whatever, man," she laughed again, but somehow with less mirth. "You have any smokes," she asked. The words took a moment to register in Rob's mind as his eyes were glued on her white painted toe nails as she wiggled her toes in the pale green blades of grass.
"No, I don't actually smoke," he replied.
"No need to sound so confused. I run track and I smoke. It's not that big of a deal."
"But wouldn't you be better if," he cut himself off, afraid of offending Sunnie.
"I just don't usually do it around people I don't know." Sunnie gazed to her left in silence at a pair of figures quite distant from them. She was almost sure she knew one of them, and absolutely certain the other was the dealer he refused to let her meet. Second period must be over. "It's probably getting close to third period, are we going to do this or not?" Rob turned his pale eyes toward the now simmering almonds of hers. He could feel a cold sweat beading up on his chest.
"Yeah of course. Lets," he slid his windbreaker clad arm around her waist and leaned in close to her. He watched her mouth, her strong lower lip, close with his own thin mouth and, in a split second, connect. Her waist, the supple tender curve of her abdomen, felt hard as a steel cable under tension beneath his fingers. Her mouth was unyielding as molded plastic against his own slightly parted lips. The march of his own pulse slowed and flailed like rays of light crossing from empty space into atmosphere of unbreathable density. And her eyes, blazing with a fire he could not explain or much later even recount, remained open and impossibly fixed to his during the entirety of the long battery of seconds. As they parted he took in a sharp breath, then resumed his former pose in a wavering attempt to compose himself quickly. "Do you want to skip third pe-" Sunnie stood up and slid her bare feet back into her sneakers.
"I'll see you around sometime. You should get back," she waved him off without a backward glance as she trotted down the remaining hill and grass to the rocky beach yards below. Much farther down the shoreline a tiny pair of figures waved to her as she called out a couple of names Rob could not quite make out. Another cool wind whipped straight up his pant legs, forcing him to hug his knees a little tighter to his chest. Even farther off, the container ship was a multicolored dot beneath the clouds that continued to grow. He did not check the forecast that morning, but gazing at the cold front, or warm front, or whatever it was, made him wish he knew if the clouds were coming or going.
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