The In-betweens

Chapter 5

The drive home is mentally exhausting. After I shut the door close with as much force as I can, the in-between is gone. Terror seems to be plastered on my face because Jess said "Hey, you okay?" while scrunching his nose. Why? Do I reek of the ocean? Was he too frustrated because of what I did to his door? "Yeah, I'm good. Sorry for slamming your door too hard" I said trying to sound apologetic but sounding more irritated. Sam jolted up with a laughter because of my tone. "I thought you are going to sleep? Let's exchange places if you are not" I retorted looking at her with my dead eyes. That did the trick, Sam lie down and forced her too long legs to fit in the too small back seat of the cooper. I love Sam but sometimes she really gets on my nerves, especially this time that I got this nagging in-between on my back.

I put my earphones on and pretended to listen to my old school tracks. While I was lost in the moment, thinking the possibility of the in-between following me home, Jess is striking a conversation with "What happened to your hair?"   remark. Why do you care? I wanted to answer him but I thought otherwise and kept my eyes forward like in a trance and acted as if I did not hear him. I'd rather be that kind of mean than use my blunt tongue. After all, he saved us from all the stress of public transport from an unknown location. He did not talk to me until its time for me to step out of his Austin.

The Silveras dropped me off at home a little after six. My mother is less of my worries tonight since she will never realize that I was gone for the beach. As always, she's running home late because of her extended work hours. I almost never did stray too late away from home, it is always me who turn the lights on on our front door, and always me who cook our dinner, if there were no takeouts to reheat, since I was ten. Few of the nights that my mother was first to arrive home was mostly because of in-betweens. One of which happened as I was about to go home from Sam's.

∞

It was one of the scorching hot summer of April, I am on my denim shorts and Sam's Taylor Swift's Fearless shirt which she lent me because we have been sweaty playing Wii with her then five year old brother Al.

Al's energy was on the roof that day and we shall continue with playing with him until we drop so he would let us eat his share of Taro and Cheese Ice Cream Mr. Silvera brought last night. Us eating the whole tub was really just an excuse because Sam and I went crazy for the Wii games just to pass the time. Also, us being there, playing along with his whims, was enough for Al to enjoy the rest of the day. Us rather than his too strict older brother who doesn't even let him eat the ice cream inside their multimedia room. I would rather watch a movie, complete with the surround sound system, while lying on their lazy boy, but that would do. I, as a couch potato, should do some exercise with my fourteen year old body with a built of ten. The Wii games did just that.

I was still on cloud 9 because of all the serotonin from our extensive Wii exercises and the tub of taro and cheese ice cream, when I pass by this pastel colored playground on my usual route home. Since it is summer, the ground at six o'clock is still jam packed with kids together with their guardians and teens my age with their group of friends. That faint glow among the sea of living would never go unnoticed. It was fleeting like it was dancing. From a far, it feels like  the faint glow is at tune with some perky music. I have to come closer, its high spirit is drawing me in.

I sat in one of the side benches, the light steel blue one, surrounding the play area. The in-between is wearing his acid wash jumper paired with his standard happy yellow shirt. He is flashing through the monkey bars, then the seesaw, then the swing, and then the slides. He was all over the place. I know him for I see him at this playground several times. However, this time, he is not in his wheelchair, observing his fellow kids with contentment on his face, behaving maturely beyond his age, his father always beside him as chaperone.