▌│█║▌║▌║Chapter 7║▌║▌║█│▌

“So how long have you known Gia? I only just moved in with her in the middle of last school year.” Sandy asked me.

“I only knew her when my brother and her started dating, so about one or two years, I think? You two seem to be a lot alike, so I’m sure you guys will get along.” I said as we weaved our way through the crowds of people at the park.

She looked off in the distance a bit as I pulled her arm to move her closer to me, so she wouldn’t run into a guy while she was staring off into space. I quickly let go of her again because I felt really uncomfortable having her be so close to me.

She told me apologetically, “Sorry, I was thinking. Thanks for that. That would have been embarrassing haha!”

We finally made it to the stairs, and I begrudgingly began to climb up them to the taller slides. Sasha leaned over to look forward at me, and she asked, “So what college are you going into? You’re the brother that Gia went to watch graduate with Danny, right?”

Watching the stairs as I climbed, too wary to look at her earnest face directly again, and said, “Yeah I was, and I planned on going to Howard University, pretty close to here.”

I didn’t want to tell her about what I want to major in because I didn’t want another one of those weird looks like all those people from graduation gave me when I told them. I continued walking up the steps expecting to hear a normal response back like, “Oh, that’s cool” or “I’m going to such and such college.”

I was instead greeted to her bounding up the stairs in front of me, and she beamed a smile at me as she exclaimed, “I am too!! I’m going to be majoring to be an actor! What are you going to be majoring in?! Maybe we will have some of the same classes?!”

I could feel my face grow redder as I felt the eyes of the people standing in the lower level slides start staring at us as we passed by them. “Umm…I’m going to be majoring to be a director/screenwriter and maybe an actor, so we’ll probably have someclasses together.”

“Phew That's a relief. I was afraid that I wouldn’t know anybody in my major. Most of the people I went to school with just gave me funny looks when I told them my major Haha!”

In a way, I felt relieved by her words. Not because we will probably have some classes together, but because now I know that I wasn’t the only one getting those looks or unsure of myself going into this major.

We finally made our way to the top of the tower of slides as we talked about why we wanted to go into our majors along the way. When we got to the top and started waited in line, I looked down off of the tower, and I suddenly had second thoughts about going down the slides.

Sandy must have seen the indecision come upon my face, and she gave me a reassuring smile as she said, “It’s going to be fine don’t worry. This place wouldn’t be open if it wasn’t safe.”

“Mhmm.” I responded nervously as I kept my gaze looking down off of the tower.

“Hey.” She said to me as she leaned her head down over the railing for me to see her better, “It’s going to be fine. There is a slide up here that allows two people to go down it at the same time. Want to do that one instead of the individual one.”

“S-sure.” I responded nervously. I hate heights. I can deal with so much without being afraid, but heights get me every time. It is a very irrational fear of mine. and as much as I would be embarrassed going down the slide with a girl, I would feel a lot less afraid if I did too. In the end, my fear of heights out-weighed my embarrassment, and that was what made my decision. Sasha probably thinks I’m so lame.

Sandy giggled a bit and said, “So a person who is good with blood isn’t good with heights huh? Hehe!”

I looked at her with wary eyes, and I told her with my right hand on the back of my neck, “That’s different, and besides, there wasn’t that much blood anyway. It was just a cut.”

“Too much blood for me to handle.” She said before grabbing my arm saying, “Now c’mon! We’re up next!”

She dragged me to the slide on the far right and then immediately plopped herself on the front end of a double inner tube. I watched her elated face wait for me to get on, so she could then embark on her joyous journey down the slide. I didn’t get on right away though. I looked down the slide, and I began to have second thoughts again. “Hey, are you going or not?” The lifeguard in charge of the slide asked me.

“I…uhhh…”

Before I could give an answer, Sasha grabbed my hand again and pulled me onto the back of the double inner tube saying, “Yes, he is.”

I felt a sliver of annoyance rise within me. I didn’t really appreciate her volunteering me for this. I don’t get what could be so amazing about this. She turned her head slightly to me, so only her right eyes were looking at me. “Now put your arms over my stomach and put your legs next to mine. B-because it’s the safe thing to do okay!”

I followed her instructions to a T immediately. “I’m too scared to think about anything like that right noooowww!” Before I could finish what I was saying to her, we were pushed off down that slide.

My eyes were clamped shut, and I lowered my head as I squeezed onto Sandy’s body. I could hear her ecstatic laugh as we zoomed down the red slide. I felt the wind go across my damp hair and face, pulling it back and around my head, and I felt the slight spray of water as we went around turns.

All of a sudden, Sandy stopped her joyous laugh for a moment, and I felt her hair turn away from my clenched face. “It’s okay. Open your eyes, it’ll be fun haha, I’m right here!”

I barely opened my eyes to catch a glimpse of Sandy’s beaming face looking at me. I could see her tan skin glowing in the afternoon light, and she laughed as she turned back around and said in a playful tone, “There you go haha! Woohoo!”

“What is wrong with her?” I thought to myself, but it wasn’t as bad as I imagined it being.

I gradually opened my eyes all the way open. I watched the blur of the red slide go by me, and I looked up and saw the clear-orange afternoon sunset. The hard turns of the slide whipped water onto my face, and I felt a slight smile crawl onto my face.

I looked back forward, and I had to lean a little to the right so Sandy’s hair wouldn’t bombard my face. Right when I looked forward, I saw the end of the slide coming up fast, and I braced for impact.

Whooo, Splash!

I flew backwards off of the inner tube, and I was engulfed by the water. I bolted back out of the chest-deep water and shook my head off. “See! It was fun Hahaha!” Sasha exclaimed when she saw me bolt out of the water.

Sandy’s wet, black hair with one bleach streak covered her right eye, with her hair on her left side over her ear. Her joyous expression finally made me cave, and I couldn’t help myself and laughed.

I went out of my comfort zone, and I actually had fun!

“Mark?!”

I looked up to see Danny, Gia, and Rom standing wet on the sidewalk beside the slides. Sandy walked up a ladder onto the sidewalk beside them, and I followed suit with the innertube in tow.

“You actually went down one of the taller slides? I thought you didn’t like them?” Danny asked me.

“I…uhh…Decided to try it out I guess.” I told him, deflecting from the fact that Sandy convinced me to do it, so I could avoid the consequential barrage of teases that would be thrown at me when we get home.

“Wow, aren’t you a player.” Gia said as she gave off a smug grin looking at me.

I stared daggers back at her as I walked up to her, lightheartedly flicked her forehead, and told her, “Shut it, Miss Clingy. It was her idea.”

“Uh, rude!” She told me as she puffed her lip out.

Sandy seemed to be blissfully ignorant of the conversation as she was picking the innertube back off the ground, seemingly to go back on the slide again.

I looked at Danny, and I asked him, “You about ready to leave? It’s getting late.”

Before he could answer me, Sandy grabbed my arm and yoinked me back towards the slides. “Nooo!” She said, “We have to go down the slides until it closes! Come on we don’t have that much more time!”

She dragged me along with the innertube back up the stairs, and the kids followed close behind us.

It was close to like what happened the first time, but this time I didn’t feel annoyed or frightened by it. I actually looked forward to going down the slide again. Sandy helped me conquer a fear today, and made my day better.

Eventually, the park closed, and we all headed out to the parking lot. The aura of the golden hour of the day created a fitting end to the end of the day we had. Gia and Danny hugged each other bye, I waved goodbye to Rom with a smile, and they all left to go to the separate vehicles, leaving Sandy and I standing there.

She gave off another one of her smiles she showed to convince me to go on the slides with her, and she told me, “This was fun. We should do stuff like this again before college starts. Then it will be all work from there haha.”

“Yeah, we need to enjoy this last summer before college stresses us out, but you’re right. Today was fun.”

Sandy held her head down suddenly, and she rummaged through her purse. I stood there, a little confused, and wondered what she was looking for. She suddenly brought out a small slip of paper.

She walked fast and deliberately toward me, and held out the slip of paper toward me. Our eyes met, and she had a flush look on her face. “It’s my number.” She said, “So we can figure out a time and place to do this again, and so when school starts, we have eachothers numbers to talk about studies.”

“T-thanks. I’ll keep in tough then.”

A shy, accomplished smile crawled upon her face. “Okay! I’ll see you later then!”

She turned around and walked to her car to drive Gia and Rom home. Her white and blue striped V-neck covering her shorts flapped in the slight breeze as she went, and her black hair waved in the wind as well. The Golden Hour sunlight made her look more beautiful than when I first saw her, but it just affirmed my belief that I had no chance with her as I saw people gaze at her as she passed by.

I looked back down at the number on the paper. Even if she gave me her number so allof us could meet up again, it still felt good to have her number. She probably gave it to me, so her and Gia could bond some more and easier. I walked to my car staring at the number thinking about what we could all do one day, and I carried those thoughts through the drive back home.

I texted Sandy when I got home, and let her know it was me. Mom had dinner prepared for Danny and I, and when we sat down for dinner, I still couldn’t escape a barrage of teasing coming from Danny.

I felt a buzz from my phone, and I looked down to see a text message from Sandy pop up. I went to respond and thought to myself, “Huh, my head didn’t hurt at all today.”

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