I own nothing, nothing at all.
Stand By Me
The last day of elementary school had finally arrived for the fifth graders of Third Street School. It was a bittersweet day that was looked forward to but at the same time feared. The gang would be starting middle school; they were beginning to grow up. Gretchen got into a magnet school in the next town over, but it was expected; she is the smartest fifth grader in town. Vince, Mikey, Spinelli, and T.J were going to the local middle school, together. They were the lucky ones. Gus would be moving shortly after the last day, a fate not one of the gang could control, not that they didn't try.
"So," T.J. began, "how should we celebrate?"
"Celebrate what? I'll be leaving soon, this is the worst," the mixture of anger and sadness in Gus's tone pained his friends; they didn't want to see him leave anymore than he did.
Spinelli put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, "Why don't we go to the school tonight, light sparklers, and eat our weight in chocolate?"
"Sounds like an excellent idea, Spinelli!" agreed Mikey.
"They lock those gates at night, there's no way to get in," Gretchen, being the voice of wisdom, pointed out.
"We can find a way in, there's five of us, we'll find a way," Vince said running in front of the group then turning to face them, "how about we all meet in front of the school gates at eight?"
"I'll bring the sparklers!" Spinelli voiced eagerly.
"And I've got the chocolate," Mikey added.
"Sounds like a plan guys, see you at eight," T.J. said turning down the street to his house.
The rest of the gang went their separate ways to their houses to get ready for the celebration.
When the night has come,
And the land is dark,
And the moon is the only light we see,
The warm night air blew ominously as the gang gathered one by one at the school's front gate. For some reason, it seemed as if the dark of the night was different than the usual darkness. There were no stars in sight; the moon was the only source of light besides the dim, useless, glow of the street lamp opposite of them.
"Creepy night," Gus pointed out followed by an awkward laugh to hide his fear.
"Alright guys, lets get to the jungle gym, follow me," T.J.'s whispered tone was more for effect than anything; no one was around to catch them and the school was empty. He lead them to a section of the fence about 10 yards away from the gate's main entrance. Crouching to the floor he tugged at the chain link causing it to rise revealing a tunnel-like entrance.
"The Diggers are geniuses," Spinelli complimented while crawling under the fence. Once they were all in the school yard they raced to the jungle gym. Mikey pulled out a large grocery bag and started passing out candy. Spinelli got out the sparklers. She pulled a match from her pocket and lit the tip of it, waiting for the eruption of light.
The sparklers beauty seemed to magnify due to the darkness of the night, all of their worries melted away. They passed it from person to person, taking turns spinning and dancing with it, eating what seemed to be the sweetest chocolate in the world; the wonderful time they were having would be a memory that would last forever. Unfortunately, the sounds of laughter and crackling from the sparklers made them oblivious to the low grumbling sound of the approaching thunderstorm. It wasn't until the light sprinkle of rain began to drizzle on their heads that they noticed the dangerous storm that was soon to come.
"It's raining, we should go, I don't want to catch a cold," Gretchen suggested warily.
"It's just rain, you won't melt. We've got like 50 sparklers left, lets just keep playing," Gus didn't want to go home, he wanted to spend as much time with his friends as he could. To his extreme disappointment, nature did want him to go home. The drizzle became a torrential downpour, thunder cracked with the intensity of bombs being dropped repeatedly, and the bright lightening cracked to the ground, lighting the entire sky.
"Guys, lets get under the pavilion. Hurry!" Vince shouted over the storm with urgency. They ran through the rain to the best shelter they could find. Shivering from the cold wetness, they all huddled together near the school entrance.
"What should we do?" Mikey asked falling to the ground and leaning his back against the door.
"We could wait here till the rain lets up a little..." T.J.'s sentence was cut off by a loud snap of thunder followed a large lightening bolt striking the jungle gym.
"That could have been us!" Vince panicked, "If you think I'm going back out in that, you're crazy."
"At least lightning never strikes the same spot twice," T.J's attempt at comforting Vince was ruined by one of Gretchen's fun facts.
"Actually, that's a commonly mistaken fact, lightening can strike in the same place twice. Four or five times even!"
"Great," Spinelli sat down next to Mikey and brought her knees to her chest.
"I'm scared," Gus confessed.
"We're all scared," Gretchen said sitting beside Spinelli.
"Guys, we don't have to be scared, were all here, under the pavilion, together! We'll be fine. We just have to wait for the rain to stop and we can walk home. Come on Gus, Vince, let's sit with them, we'll be warm." T.J.'s speech made them feel better, even relaxed. They sat, huddled together, by the school door until the storm passed.
No I won't be afraid,
No I won't be afraid,
Just as long as you stand, stand by me.
Making their way through middle, high school, and eventually college, the gang, even though they were separated, remained friends.
T.J. and Spinelli dated through college and eventually had a large, semi-disorderly, wedding with all of their friends and family attending. They had a baby together and a happy home in the town they grew up in.
Gus joined the Military, he got to travel the world and help people; he loved his job. Although he did miss having a stable life with friends and family, staying in one place for too long was unappealing to him.
Vince married his high school sweetheart, Laura, they moved out of state. Vince is now working at his two children's elementary school as a P.E. teacher and basketball coach.
Mikey went on to be a college literature professor. Gretchen went with him to be a science professor. They live as roommates in a very nice house near their school. Although they aren't officially together, you can tell that they care for each other. Hopefully, one day soon, they'll stop acting like children and admit it to one another.
Sadly, the gang didn't get together as much as they wanted to anymore. They all had jobs and things to do, they grew up. It's tragic that the phone call to get people back together usually has to be a sad one.
And darling, darling stand by me,
Oh, now, now, stand by me,
Stand by me, stand by me.
"Hello?" Mikey answered his phone out of breath from running to get it.
"Mikey, it's T.J."
Mikey could hear in his voice that something was wrong, "Hey, how's it been? Is everything alright?"
"No… Not really, I have some, bad news," T.J. spoke slowly and quietly.
"What is it? Is Spinelli okay?" Mikey was extremely worried.
"Spinelli is fine, it's Gus. I don't know how to say this, he…he was killed in battle, saving his friend," T.J.'s voice cracked as if he was about to cry, "I already called Vince, I figured you could tell Gretchen. The funeral is in a week in our home town. Will you be able to come?"
There was a long pause; T.J. knew Mikey was taking it all in, "Of course, I'll see you then." The tears began streaming down Mikey's face as he went to tell Gretchen the horrible news.
If the sky that we look upon,
Should tumble and fall,
And the mountain should crumble to the sea.
The funeral was dismal and sad as most funerals are. People cried, the remaining members of the gang gave their speeches, and they paid their last respects. When it ended and the burial was final, the gang decided to take a walk back to their old school.
They went through the now, unlocked gate, and stood by the jungle gym. Bringing her hands to her face, Spinelli began to sob. Gretchen was the next to breakdown followed by Mikey. Vince and T.J. stood in silence knowing that there was nothing they could say to bring Gus back.
"We sure had fun here," T.J. began, "we spent some of the best moments of my life here."
Spinelli wiped her eyes and looked around the play ground. Not much had changed since they were in school, just a few new coats of paint here and there. Gretchen and Mikey had pulled themselves together and were now looking around as well.
"We need to remember Gus the way he was here, in elementary school. We can't cry for him, he wouldn't want that. He would want us to remember the good times. That's what I'm gonna do at least," T.J. fought back tears as he made his speech and wrapped his arm around Spinelli's waist.
"Me too," Spinelli agreed.
"Me three," Mikey said moving closer to the group.
"Me four," Vince said stepping forward.
"Me five," Gretchen moved in too, initiating a group hug; perfectly timed, extremely necessary, group hug.
Through all the years, hardships, and changes, they were still there for each other. Their only regret: they weren't there enough.
I won't cry, I won't cry,
No I won't shed a tear,
Just as long as you stand, stand by me.
Years continue to pass still, time waits for no one. The gang had been brought together due to another, sad, but not tragic event. They were tearing down Third Street School. There was a new school built just ten minutes away and all the students would move over to it, there was no need for the old school.
Vince, Spinelli, T.J., Gretchen, and Mikey stood by the jungle gym one last time before the construction workers made them leave.
"I can't, no, I refuse to believe that this is happening," Gretchen spat angrily.
"It was bound to happen eventually, this is an old school," Mikey pointed out.
"I don't care, the memories we have here, everything, gone, just like that!" she wiped the tear from her cheek.
"Tearing down the school won't erase your memory; you will always have us to remind you of all of our wonderful experiences, don't worry," Vince comforted.
"You people gotta leave," the worker ordered harshly. They walked slowly out of the gate that they ran through, eager to be home, so many years before. Taking one last look at their beloved elementary school, they walked away, leaving it behind, and taking their memories and friendship with them.
And darling, darling stand by me,
Oh, stand by me,
Stand by me, stand by me, stand by me.
A/N: This song is called "Stand by Me" ; It's by John Lennon. Honestly, I don't like this very much. I would really appreciate some ConCrit; I'm hoping that I can re-vamp this story and make it better eventually. So please, please, review. Also, I know that some of the facts aren't correct. Like the school goes past 6th grade and the pavillion above the front doors, please dont be picky bout that. I want to improve my writing, not my understanding of every little thing Recess. Thank you for reading. :)