Somebody I Used to Know

05 | the park

When I told my dad where I was going today, he was pretty confused. I never really hang out with guys outside of school, and he knew that. 

"Who's this Mason kid, again?" He asked as I was trying to get to my truck.

"Just a dude who's my partner on this history project. We really need to get it done," I replied, standing on the porch. I looked up at him and gave him a genuine smile.

He cocked his head, "Hmm. Okay, just give me a call if you need anything. I'll be here,"

"Will do, Dad. Love you," 

"Love you too. Be safe," 

I nodded my head and climbed into the truck. I watched as he looked at me one last time and then disappeared into the house.  I previously looked up how long it took to get to Lex Park. It was barely a 10 minute drive in town.

It was a really nice day out, today. It was just the right temperature for me to wear a loose tee and a pair of black Nike shorts, my signature look.

I kept the windows down as I drove because I loved the feeling of the wind  blowing through my hair. It reminded me of when my dad had his motorcycle and we would ride around with no planned destination. I called it my wind therapy.  

Eventually I pulled up to the location and found a place to park.  There was a playground for kids, a tennis court, and some volleyball nets. 

I didn't really expect it to be this big, I also didn't expect the river that ran through on the far end of it. I saw a couple people fishing off of the really pretty bridge that stood over it.

I went over to a picnic table and sat down, putting my bag next to me. I quickly turned on my phone to look at the time.

12:55.  

I was a little early so I didn't really expect him to be there yet. In the meantime, I thought it would be a good idea to just get started.

That being said, I pulled my laptop out of my bag and set it infront of me. We decided to cover the stock market crash, so I began googling some of the things we needed to.

Enough time had passed that I was able to see 3 different ladies walking their dogs and a group of kids start a new volleyball game.

What time is it?  I thought, opening my phone.

1:27.

 A little over half and hour later and no Mason. Was he seriously going to leave me here to do this on my own? 

I guess I wouldn't expect any different.

Just as I started packing up my stuff to leave, I heard someone call my name.

"Jess! Wait!" 

I picked my head up and there he was, running toward me with  his bag slung around one shoulder and his phone in his opposite hand. 

I stopped packing and crossed my arms, "30 minutes late, loser,"

"Im sorry, i'm sorry." He said, panting, "I was gonna stop and get coffee and then ended up getting in a little fight with Maddie," 

"Maddie?" I asked. I'd never heard that name before.

"Yeah, my girlfriend. She wanted me to come over again but I told her I had this project and stuff and-"

I interupted him, "It's fine, let's just get started. I'd like to finish this thing today," 

He nodded his head and tossed his stuff down on the table. Once he sat down across from me, he immediately buried his face in his hands and let out a sigh.