FALL AWAY ⇢ JONATHAN BRANDIS

eleven ↠ jonathan

"We're going to invite the Conway's over for dinner." My mom announced, once she'd managed to gather everyone into the living room.

"What?" My father snapped.
"I don't know, Mom..." I nervously chuckled.
"I think that's a marvelous idea!" My sister grinned.
"Mary, what purpose does this serve?" Greg sighed.

"Trina Conway is a very nice person." Mary told everyone. "And Christopher and Adam are really cool."

I looked over at my sister to see her nod in agreement.

"I hate cool." Greg grumbled.
"It's something we should've done years ago-" My grandfather spoke up.

"Yeah, but we didn't." My father interjected. "And now we can't. The statute of limitations has run out."

"We're having the Conway's over for dinner." Mary concluded.
Greg sighed and slumped further into the couch. "If this is about what I said last night, I'm sorry, okay? But, you know, having them over for dinner is not gonna fix his brother."

"It's going to be a sit-down dinner. And I expect everyone to dress accordingly." Mary said.

My father groaned. "Oh, God. Can't we just have a barbecue?"

"It's going to be a sit-down dinner." Mary said. I knew that she wasn't gonna change her mind any time soon.

So that was it. A dress-up, sit-down dinner with Sarah Conway was in my immediate future. And that made seeing Sarah at school more uncomfortable.

I found myself staring at her in class. And the way her long, wavy, hair fell back over her shoulders... she looked just like the picture in the newspaper.

Dana Tressler caught me watching. If I didn't do something fast, this could spread like wildfire.

"There was a bee in her hair." I chuckled, pointing at nothing. "See, there it goes."

"There's no bee." She giggled.
I rolled my eyes. "It flew out the window."

I convinced myself I'd dodged a bullet. I had to put Sarah out of my mind. Keep the focus on the important stuff -  like schoolwork. My weakness was unnerving.

Later that evening, I was laying on my bed, looking at the picture of Sarah Conway in the newspaper.

"I need your sharpener." Rose suddenly appeared in the doorway. I quickly shoved the article underneath my pillow.

"You ever heard of knocking?" I scolded.
"Hey, what you got there? Dad's Playboy?" Rose laughed.
"None of your business." I scowled.

"Give my best to Miss October." She teased.
"Get out!" I shouted.
"Or should I say your best?"
"Ha, ha." I said, with sarcasm dripping from my lips. "You're disgusting."

Another disaster avoided. My life had become a minefield.

I had to talk to someone. So why not Oliver? Maybe he could help me get back on track. Oliver was surprisingly sensitive in matters of the heart.

"Are you freaking mental? Sarah Conway. You hate her." Oliver laughed after I'd finished explaining.

"That's what's weird. I don't think I do. I can't stop thinking about her." I sighed.
Oliver folded his arms. "You got it bad, man."
"Well, what do I do?"

"Well," Oliver leant against the bookshelf. "you gotta nip this in the bud. These aren't real emotions."

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "They're not?"
"You feel guilty because of the egg thing."

"Yeah, and I insulted her yard."
"Exactly!"

"Of course," I thought about it all for a moment. "the place is a dump anyways. Her dad's got a retarded brother and all their money goes to helping him."

"A retard?" Oliver repeated. He laughed. "Well, shoot, that ought to tell you something!"

"About what?" I questioned.
"About Sarah."
"What are you saying?"
Oliver shrugged. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

I couldn't believe it. I wanted to yell at him - tell him that he didn't know Sarah like I did.

But all that came out was: "Heh, oh."
I couldn't believe it. I laughed.

"Right!" Oliver nodded.
I forced a smile. "Yeah. Right. Um, I'll talk to you later."

I was supposed to go to Oliver's after school... but I couldn't be around him.

He'd crossed the line. And standing right next to him across that line was my father. I didn't care what they thought.

I liked Sarah Conway.