june and the blond boy

April 8th, 1974

ᴊᴜɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴏɴᴅ ʙᴏʏ

it all started april 8th, 1974. i'd just moved to downey california at the age of ten with my mother after her father—my grandpa passed away, leaving us with inheritance money. luckily it was just enough for us to get away from my psycho father and afford a place in sunny california.

so, april 8th 1974. my first day of fifth grade, and my first day that i'd have to interact with kids my age that i didn't know. god, i was nervous.

it wasn't so bad once i arrived. the school looked like it was just built, not one of those school that'd been around since our parents were kids. it was a large two story building with a nice big yard in front and a fountain just in the middle of the large cement path.

"have an amazing day, honey!" my mother smiled brightly from the other side of the car, waving her hand and blowing kisses. "bye mama." i mumbled, looking around to make sure no one heard me call my mom mama.

after my mother got in the car and drove away, i realized people definitely did hear me, specifically a group of three boys. i turned my head in the direction of the laughter to see two brunette boys, and the third boy was a bit taller with blond hair down to his shoulders. he looked like a girl.

of course, i didn't say that aloud. i casted my eyes downward and speed-walked to the school.

on my venture to the large building, i made sure to step on every single line in the cement, in hopes my father's spine would spontaneously break.

it'd been three hours of class time, now it was time for lunch. the teacher instructed us all to get in a line as we headed down to the cafeteria.

eating alone at an empty table, i scanned my eyes around the chatty room at all the students talking with their friends, most of the boys made potions with their milk and carrots while the girls clapped their hands together along with the rhymes they sang.

about twenty minutes later, the bell rang, signaling recess was in session. i quickly disposed of my food and ran outside behind all the other students. spotting a group of boys and girls playing a jump rope game, i approached them.

"can i play too?" i asked shyly, squinting my eyes a bit to avoid the sun.

"no! no girls allowed!" one of the boys was quick to reject me.

"but she's a girl. and her." i pointed to the two girls in the circle.

"sorry, we already have too many people." one of the kids excused, grabbing the jump rope and whirling it above his head.

the kids began chanting loudly "helicopter, helicopter, please come down! if you don't, i'll shoot you down!"

i widened my eyes at the vulgar ending, but eventually caught on to the game. the boy lowered the rope from the air, so it hovered just above the ground as he spun it around, and the other kids began jumping over it.

despite them all telling me no, i moved into the circle and started jumping along with them. a few of the students lost and got out, eventually leaving me and the blond boy from earlier to compete one on one.

"hey, we said you can't play with us!" he shouted while jumping.

i didn't respond as i kept all my attention on the spinning rope below my feet.

"hello?! did you hear me?" he stopped jumping to get my attention, before the rope hit his feet and fell to the ground.

"i win." i grinned.