Under the Stars

9: Senior Year

Stevien and I were busy with summer tournaments in baseball and softball, respectively. We hardly saw each other. He was hardly ever home and when he was, he would frequently be outside talking on the phone. I tried to feel like I wasn't being ignored, but I could tell that something was a bit off with us and our once inseparable friendship. Nevertheless, the summer came and went as our senior year began. It was off and rolling, full steam ahead. We were all nervous and excited for this year and all the promise it held as it was our last year being together with everyone. It was such a variety of extreme emotions, so much excitement to see everyone and so much restlessness at the unknown future.

Stevien drove me to school for the first week of our senior year before Beth-Ann put a stop to it, so I walked to school, or dad dropped me off on his way into work even though his work was in the opposite direction from the high school. Stevien didn't seem too surprised that she wanted him to stop. I had a feeling that she was great at manipulating people without them realizing it. My friendship with Stevien was slowly changing and I didn't like it. I tried to keep appearances up, but it hurt that my best friend was slowly walking away from me.

Every day at school, I kept finding a glaring eye looking in my direction. I don't know why Beth-Ann continued to be mean to me. She was the one after all that was standing next to Stevien, holding his hand, and receiving his hugs, not me. I tried to talk to him but, every time, she would worm her way into our conversations whether physically or just being mentioned. It drove me crazy that I couldn't even have a conversation with him without her butting in. Not to mention, our phone calls and texts to each other were nearly nonexistent. I was beginning to miss my friend. Thankfully though, Rocky had noticed and had filled in part of the void that was left behind.

Rocky and I grew close as we had a few more classes together than we had in the past years. Her parents were almost always away, traveling somewhere for work. Rocky would frequently find her way to my house to avoid being alone in a giant and relatively empty house. Rocky's family was extraordinarily rich, but she was the kind of girl who didn't rub it in, unlike Beth-Ann. Rocky was down-to-earth and simple, which is part of the reason we got along so well.

Before we knew it, we were flying through the first month of our last year in high school. Jacob joined Rocky and me frequently at lunch. He said that while he liked hanging out with Stevien, he was beginning to think that something was off with him. He also was not afraid to voice his opinion on Beth-Ann, which was reciprocated by Rocky. I tried my best not to say anything mean about her, but sometimes she just made me so mad. I still loved Stevien and respected him as a friend, it was just hard to see how she was changing him little by little.

Soon, soccer, like school, was in full swing and I attended all Stevien's games. He had asked me our freshman year if I would cheer for him. I told him that I would always root for him, no matter what. I also told him I would be the loudest voice in the stands if he wanted me to be. He laughed because he found it hard to believe that I could be the loudest in the stands since I was so shy. I showed him just how loud I could cheer at his first game. After that, he asked me to not cheer so loud because I was more embarrassing than his mother. I laughed at him but told him that I would "always root for you Stev, always" even if it was quiet.

Senior year, however, I had to quiet myself even more. I still rooted for him, but Beth-Ann always gave me an evil look if I said his name or cheered loud enough that she could pick my voice out from the crowd. Luckily, she usually didn't attend his away games and was hit or miss at home games because of cheerleading, so I could cheer as loud as I wanted then. Away games were the small opportunities for me to talk with him and I soaked them in. Their soccer team was amazing our senior year. Stevien was astounding all on his own. He still was a team player, setting up shots for others as well as scoring at least once every game. Things seemed to be going so well, and I couldn't wait to see how well they would do on the road to state; however, sometimes bad things just seem to happen.

Tragedy struck towards the end of the fall season of our senior year. Stevien's father, mother, and I were traveling to one of Stevien's final soccer matches of the year when their vehicle was hit by a truck that crossed the center line. His mother and I walked away with only a few scratches thanks to his father's alertness. Mr. Jones managed to steer the car so that the brunt of the impact was on his side instead of his wife's. He shielded her with his body and was knocked unconscious from the collision. I managed to climb out of the car and flagged down help. Mrs. Jones was stuck in her seat with Mr. Jones resting on her shoulder. She was afraid to move for fear of hurting him further.

Three ambulances arrived, one transported the other driver, and one transported Mr. Jones to the nearest hospital as soon as they had him extracted. Mrs. Jones rode with him leaving me by myself on the side of the road, staring at flashing lights of the ambulance, firetrucks, and police cars still at the scene. I called my dad to let him know what happened and he talked to the EMT. They decided it would be best for me to go to the hospital to get checked out just in case there was something wrong and my dad would meet me there. I grabbed my backpack and Mrs. Jones's purse and climbed into the last ambulance. After numerous questions and tests to Mrs. Jones and me, we were cleared and let go. Mr. Jones was not as lucky.

Mr. Jones ended up in a medically induced coma in an attempt to help his body heal. He ended up needing a hip replacement on his left side due to the angle of his body trying to protect his wife at the time of impact. It took most of the damage and as a result, was completely shattered. Stevien had a hard time adjusting to seeing his once strong father struggling to hobble around. Neither of them, it seemed, fully recovered after the accident; Mr. Jones, physically and Stevien, mentally. I was at a loss as to what to do. It wasn't my fault, yet I felt Stevien blamed me. He wouldn't look at me or talk to me. I missed my friend. I became quieter and less involved with everything at school until the spring when softball started up again.

I was saddened by the absence of his friendship, but I knew I should get used to it. After all, I believed he was destined for greatness, and I certainly was nowhere close to being in the same league as Stevien. He already excelled through high school. He was recruited by major colleges and universities across the nation. I knew we would probably never see each other again after graduation except in passing when he would come to visit his family. Even then, he would probably spend most of his time with Beth-Ann if they were still dating. I just wished we could part ways amicably. 

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