A Shattered Friendship Leads to
a Shattered Pair of Goggles
I always knew that I shouldn't have befriended Matt, the boy with the caramel colored hair and baby blue eyes. Little did I know, I'd get myself in a heck of a lot of trouble...
It was one of the last days of summer. It was one of those days where it was slowly cooling down for the brisk fall days to come.
Today was the final game of soccer for the year. I was totally hyped up. So far this year our high school soccer team was undefeated. I was the center of our team, so I had to concentrate. The ball was in my possession and there was one minute left of this tied game. I anticipated winning.
I slowly kicked the ball to the right, then to the left. Then I kicked it about three feet and ran my heart out. A stampede of boys in orange and green were on my trail. Right next to me was a boy about two feet taller than me. Now I wasn't on the short side. I am actually taller than the average seventeen-year-old boy, being six feet and five inches. Even though I am an extrovert and afraid of no one, I was intimidated by this giant. Sweat trickled down my neck.
The whole team depended on me and I couldn't get away with making this mistake.
The giant boy kept trying to trip me. He gave me mud in my face, but I quickly jumped back into the game. The Godzilla sized boy was two steps away and I retrieved the ball back to its owner, which was me. The goal was near and fortunately the goalie was taking a catnap. I slowly lifted my right foot up and kicked with a great deal of energy.
"Yeah! Go Tai!" Yelled my teammates contentedly. I was so happy I looked into the bleachers to see if any of my friends saw my victory today. The bleachers were packed like of a box of sixty-four Crayola crayons. But out of all the thousands of faces in the crowd, I noticed two special people...
There was a handsome boy with a blonde mop top with a girl sporting shoulder length orange hair. To the normal person, these two would look like they were an item, a couple. They were huddled super close, almost contiguous, and the girl was embraced in the boy's strong, muscular arms. I knew who these two lovebirds were and they were certainly not a couple! The blonde boy was my best friend and the baby doll cute girl was my girlfriend! The two jumped up when they saw my cold glare and came onto the field.
"Hi, Tai." Smiled Matt. "What's up?"
"You know ' what's up'" I growled sarcastically.
"Don't tell me.... You're still mad about the egg problem. Aren't you?"
A week ago we were spending the night at Matt's house, well actually it's a mansion. It was so much fun. We swam in his pool, nattered about our girlfriends, and played video games until the wee hours of the next day. The morning following our sleepover, we had eggs for breakfast. Then the whole thing began. On my scrambled eggs, I like ketchup and Matt likes soy sauce.
"Soy sauce is the best to put on scrambled eggs." boasted Matt. "It adds flavor to fluffiness of the egg."
I rolled my eyes back and, trying to keep a straight face, replied. "Yeah. Whatever. But haven't you ever noticed that ketchup blocks out the taste when eggs are burned? My Mom just can't seem to cook right! Well, unless it's something organic or tofu...."
"Your Mama is such a stupid ditz! That's why she left your Dad." Matt devilishly rejoined with an evil grin on his face.
Now, hearing him say that made me cry like I was a little two-year- old, which was unnatural for me considering I act very macho at times.
"Matt!" I whined, sniffling. "Come on! Why are you being so insensitive? That's my job!"
I fumbled with my goggles that lay on my neck. I stormed out of his house and drove home in my crappy dark purple Volkswagen Beatle, circa 1969. The next day he called back saying he was sorry about my parents breaking up and he shouldn't have joked about that, considering his dad had divorced twice during his childhood. I hate to admit it, but we just get in the stupidest fights. I usually start them though, ninety percent of the time. Matt is the brain and I am the brawn with spiky brown hair. Yet since my parents have divorced, I have become more mature. (Too mature actually.) But there are times, every now and then, that I can be a crybaby.
"No!" I replied haughtily. "Why would I? I let bygones be bygones, right? But there is one thing that is bothering me...Why are you getting all close and comfy with my girl? You don't see me embracing your ten different girlfriends, no?"
Matt was about to yell, but Sora stopped him. "Matt! Tai! Stop it! Didn't you get the phone call two hours ago? I called because we need to break up."
"Why? Shouldn't you at least have asked my permission?" I yelled so fast that it sounded like a one-word jumble.
Sora snuggled closer to Matt squeezing his arm as if today was the last day the two lovers would be together. (If I had my way, today would be their last day.) Sometimes, I get jealous pretty easily and right now I was green with envy. Matt always gets what he wants, especially when it comes to girls. Sora would never snuggle up to me or kiss me or hug me when we first went out. We were just twelve years old and held hands! Sure, you can't expect twelve years olds to kiss. I had just gotten over the "EWWWW! Cooties!" faze when we started dating, but I couldn't help but be jealous.
I knew their relationship wouldn't last for long. He'll throw her in the garbage like a soiled napkin by the time next Tuesday comes around. Then Sora will realize she made a repentant decision and come back to me, where she belongs.
"Why doesn't Sora just stay out of this?" I mumbled. "She's gonna end up getting hurt."
Matt laughed arrogantly and replied. "Don't be a goody-goody. What you deserve is a spare-pair-of-goggles beat down!"
I put my hand into a tight clenched fist and punched Matt straight in the mouth on his hard shiny pearly whites. One of Matt's bicuspids fell onto the green grass that desperately needed to be mowed. His mouth began to bleed, very bad. It was spurting out of his mouth and running down his chin, onto the grass, making a puddle that will eventually dye the grass red. Matt stopped to wipe the blood from his body and scrampled for his tooth. With his spare left hand, he punched me in the nose! And did it hurt! Matt put so much pressure in his throw; it felt as if my nose was broken. Everyone came home, with the exception of Sora, missing a decent amount of blood.
I was fresh out of patience with Matt. All he wanted to do was be a troublemaker!
I went on the Internet later that night with a bag of vegetables being held on my nose, yummy. On the bright side, at least we won't be having lima beans for dinner! I received tons of junk mail, how to be a millionaire in two days or win free underwear, etc. What caught my brown eyes was an email from Sora.
To: goggleboy4eva
From: flowerchildbiyo99
What's up? Nothing much here! Is your nose feeling better? I have an idea for your problem with Matt. What you do is do different contests and dares to see if you guys truly are friends. I saw these two dudes on television who did that. They are still buddies!
Love: Sora
Ps. broke up with Matt.
Hmm....Interesting idea, but will it work?
Matt and I decided to go with Sora's idea. She'd give us dares and contests to see if we are destined to be friends. The first day we did thumb wars, as if it accomplished anything, and I won all three times. The next three weeks continued to be like this. For example we were in school and we had to keep going up to the lunch lady and ask her for more creamy, rich dark chocolate cake with sugar sweet flavored cherry frosting, which is my favorite. We continued to do stupid, pointless things, which Matt said only a true man would definitely do.
"Yeah, but doesn't a true man know the difference between right and wrong?" I commented.
"Hmmmm." pouted Matt with his snout in the air.
"Well." Said Sora the next day at lunch as we sat in the courtyard devouring our afternoon meals. "You guys have proved one thing. You aren't a wimp."
I was paying no attention to what Sora was saying, I was gazing at the palette of different shades of fall on the ground.
That doesn't prove anything!" Said Matt as he was adding the thousandth can of hairspray to his picture perfect golden locks. "Everyone knows I am not a wimp, we don't know about Tai--"
I interrupted Matt. "Let the girl talk who, unlike Matt; actually has something to say!"
Sora stared into my chocolate fudge colored eyes with a warm, caring feeling, the one a girl only gives to a boy she wants to give her heart to. Even though Matt has everything, I have one thing he doesn't: true love.
"Thank you, Tai." She replied as she blushed a shade of red darker than her strawberry blonde hair. "It proves that you guys are ready for what I have to say to you."
She looked to the right, then to her left to make sure no one was paying to attention to what was about to happen. Her happy, always cheerful, smile left her face and became serious as she began to narrow her eyes and frown.
"Tai." She said with a straight face. "Give me your goggles."
I stared at her with a blank, not to mention confused, look. These goggles were important to me! When I started soccer at the ripe age of seven, my parents bought me these plastic goggles as a good luck charm. They certainly were good luck! Everywhere I'd go, my mother said I'd spread good luck to the ones that loved me. My friends say with out my goggles, I have no personality. These goggles, I guess you could say, made me more confident and outgoing and adventurous. Ever since my parent's recent divorce, it was all I had left of them. I could not see through Sora's flowery exterior to decipher why she wanted to take my personality away from me! I hesitantly gave them to her, hoping for the best.
She turned to Matt, staring off into space, or maybe just at an apple tree, and ordered. "Give me the harmonica. Pronto!"
He grabbed it out of the pocket of his navy blue dress slacks and threw it to Sora, practically hitting her in her lower jaw.
"Okay, Tai." Sighed Sora as she handed me the Matt's antique brass heirloom harmonica. "Now, ya see this harmonica?"
I nodded.
"Good. Ya see that street over there, Wild Wood Lane, I think?
I nodded once more. What was up her white school blouse sleeves? It was a half-day and the school day was half way over. I was itching to leave this place and go home to surf the web and meet people in chat rooms. Also Sora was coming over to help me with calculus homework.
She continued. "Throw the brass metal scrap into the street. Any minute now, all the office men and women will drive their SUVs down the busy street. Traffic jam at 12:30. You're scared, aren't you? You just scared! Huh!?! Real men can do anything! Even stupid sissy dares!"
I had never seen this side of Sora before. As I already mentioned, she's good-natured, never angry. But right now she was yelling, probably over seven thousand decibels. She was sure hot, screaming, yelling, full of rage.
"No." I muttered. "Sure, Matt and I aren't the best of friends anymore. Sure we hate each other's guts, but I know Matt's sacred honor. This harmonica, now old and rusty, is important to him. I throw this, Matt's gone. Hearing, no seeing Matt with his harmonica reminds me of how Matt's melody made me become friends with him. Go ahead, throw the goggles. I don't give a care in all of Japan. No, I don't give a care in the whole world! Matt, I think it's time for us to travel on separate roads."
Finally I got that out of my system! I suavely walked away, Sora chasing after me with tears swelling in her eyes. I turned around to see if Matt was really going to do it. Tears began to jump out of my eyes as Matt threw the goggles, underhand the pitcher did. He mumbled every number from ten to one. All of a sudden, when we least expected it, "CRRRACKKKK!". Plastic shattered all over the concrete in itsy-bitsy pieces. Pieces so small you couldn't glue them back together, even if you tried. I ran my little heart home.
Needless to say, I cried for hours over my rash decision, not the goggles. Perhaps I was becoming depressed! After being copped up for a weekend, and my eyes being all red and puffy, I realized that was such a bad idea, blowing off Matt like that. My dad said I sure have matured ever since my mama left us. I became a man, when I was just a boy. But then I grasped the concept that, well, acting like an egotistical competitive fool didn't get us anywhere. We still abhorred each other.
We should have just talked about what happened at the game and said sorry. But we took it too far. I decided that I really owed Matt an apology, so I called him.
We eventually worked it out. Matt threw the goggles in rage, I thought the contrary. I actually thought he wanted to get revenge! He just couldn't accept all the changes our friendship had gone through within the last three months. Matt said he couldn't adjust to how I acted more grown up and wasn't that immature, never-thinking-before-acting goof ball anymore. Also he promised he's going to buy me a new pair of goggles.
"Tai." Said Sora as we were doing calculus homework. "You sure have grown up."
a Shattered Pair of Goggles
I always knew that I shouldn't have befriended Matt, the boy with the caramel colored hair and baby blue eyes. Little did I know, I'd get myself in a heck of a lot of trouble...
It was one of the last days of summer. It was one of those days where it was slowly cooling down for the brisk fall days to come.
Today was the final game of soccer for the year. I was totally hyped up. So far this year our high school soccer team was undefeated. I was the center of our team, so I had to concentrate. The ball was in my possession and there was one minute left of this tied game. I anticipated winning.
I slowly kicked the ball to the right, then to the left. Then I kicked it about three feet and ran my heart out. A stampede of boys in orange and green were on my trail. Right next to me was a boy about two feet taller than me. Now I wasn't on the short side. I am actually taller than the average seventeen-year-old boy, being six feet and five inches. Even though I am an extrovert and afraid of no one, I was intimidated by this giant. Sweat trickled down my neck.
The whole team depended on me and I couldn't get away with making this mistake.
The giant boy kept trying to trip me. He gave me mud in my face, but I quickly jumped back into the game. The Godzilla sized boy was two steps away and I retrieved the ball back to its owner, which was me. The goal was near and fortunately the goalie was taking a catnap. I slowly lifted my right foot up and kicked with a great deal of energy.
"Yeah! Go Tai!" Yelled my teammates contentedly. I was so happy I looked into the bleachers to see if any of my friends saw my victory today. The bleachers were packed like of a box of sixty-four Crayola crayons. But out of all the thousands of faces in the crowd, I noticed two special people...
There was a handsome boy with a blonde mop top with a girl sporting shoulder length orange hair. To the normal person, these two would look like they were an item, a couple. They were huddled super close, almost contiguous, and the girl was embraced in the boy's strong, muscular arms. I knew who these two lovebirds were and they were certainly not a couple! The blonde boy was my best friend and the baby doll cute girl was my girlfriend! The two jumped up when they saw my cold glare and came onto the field.
"Hi, Tai." Smiled Matt. "What's up?"
"You know ' what's up'" I growled sarcastically.
"Don't tell me.... You're still mad about the egg problem. Aren't you?"
A week ago we were spending the night at Matt's house, well actually it's a mansion. It was so much fun. We swam in his pool, nattered about our girlfriends, and played video games until the wee hours of the next day. The morning following our sleepover, we had eggs for breakfast. Then the whole thing began. On my scrambled eggs, I like ketchup and Matt likes soy sauce.
"Soy sauce is the best to put on scrambled eggs." boasted Matt. "It adds flavor to fluffiness of the egg."
I rolled my eyes back and, trying to keep a straight face, replied. "Yeah. Whatever. But haven't you ever noticed that ketchup blocks out the taste when eggs are burned? My Mom just can't seem to cook right! Well, unless it's something organic or tofu...."
"Your Mama is such a stupid ditz! That's why she left your Dad." Matt devilishly rejoined with an evil grin on his face.
Now, hearing him say that made me cry like I was a little two-year- old, which was unnatural for me considering I act very macho at times.
"Matt!" I whined, sniffling. "Come on! Why are you being so insensitive? That's my job!"
I fumbled with my goggles that lay on my neck. I stormed out of his house and drove home in my crappy dark purple Volkswagen Beatle, circa 1969. The next day he called back saying he was sorry about my parents breaking up and he shouldn't have joked about that, considering his dad had divorced twice during his childhood. I hate to admit it, but we just get in the stupidest fights. I usually start them though, ninety percent of the time. Matt is the brain and I am the brawn with spiky brown hair. Yet since my parents have divorced, I have become more mature. (Too mature actually.) But there are times, every now and then, that I can be a crybaby.
"No!" I replied haughtily. "Why would I? I let bygones be bygones, right? But there is one thing that is bothering me...Why are you getting all close and comfy with my girl? You don't see me embracing your ten different girlfriends, no?"
Matt was about to yell, but Sora stopped him. "Matt! Tai! Stop it! Didn't you get the phone call two hours ago? I called because we need to break up."
"Why? Shouldn't you at least have asked my permission?" I yelled so fast that it sounded like a one-word jumble.
Sora snuggled closer to Matt squeezing his arm as if today was the last day the two lovers would be together. (If I had my way, today would be their last day.) Sometimes, I get jealous pretty easily and right now I was green with envy. Matt always gets what he wants, especially when it comes to girls. Sora would never snuggle up to me or kiss me or hug me when we first went out. We were just twelve years old and held hands! Sure, you can't expect twelve years olds to kiss. I had just gotten over the "EWWWW! Cooties!" faze when we started dating, but I couldn't help but be jealous.
I knew their relationship wouldn't last for long. He'll throw her in the garbage like a soiled napkin by the time next Tuesday comes around. Then Sora will realize she made a repentant decision and come back to me, where she belongs.
"Why doesn't Sora just stay out of this?" I mumbled. "She's gonna end up getting hurt."
Matt laughed arrogantly and replied. "Don't be a goody-goody. What you deserve is a spare-pair-of-goggles beat down!"
I put my hand into a tight clenched fist and punched Matt straight in the mouth on his hard shiny pearly whites. One of Matt's bicuspids fell onto the green grass that desperately needed to be mowed. His mouth began to bleed, very bad. It was spurting out of his mouth and running down his chin, onto the grass, making a puddle that will eventually dye the grass red. Matt stopped to wipe the blood from his body and scrampled for his tooth. With his spare left hand, he punched me in the nose! And did it hurt! Matt put so much pressure in his throw; it felt as if my nose was broken. Everyone came home, with the exception of Sora, missing a decent amount of blood.
I was fresh out of patience with Matt. All he wanted to do was be a troublemaker!
I went on the Internet later that night with a bag of vegetables being held on my nose, yummy. On the bright side, at least we won't be having lima beans for dinner! I received tons of junk mail, how to be a millionaire in two days or win free underwear, etc. What caught my brown eyes was an email from Sora.
To: goggleboy4eva
From: flowerchildbiyo99
What's up? Nothing much here! Is your nose feeling better? I have an idea for your problem with Matt. What you do is do different contests and dares to see if you guys truly are friends. I saw these two dudes on television who did that. They are still buddies!
Love: Sora
Ps. broke up with Matt.
Hmm....Interesting idea, but will it work?
Matt and I decided to go with Sora's idea. She'd give us dares and contests to see if we are destined to be friends. The first day we did thumb wars, as if it accomplished anything, and I won all three times. The next three weeks continued to be like this. For example we were in school and we had to keep going up to the lunch lady and ask her for more creamy, rich dark chocolate cake with sugar sweet flavored cherry frosting, which is my favorite. We continued to do stupid, pointless things, which Matt said only a true man would definitely do.
"Yeah, but doesn't a true man know the difference between right and wrong?" I commented.
"Hmmmm." pouted Matt with his snout in the air.
"Well." Said Sora the next day at lunch as we sat in the courtyard devouring our afternoon meals. "You guys have proved one thing. You aren't a wimp."
I was paying no attention to what Sora was saying, I was gazing at the palette of different shades of fall on the ground.
That doesn't prove anything!" Said Matt as he was adding the thousandth can of hairspray to his picture perfect golden locks. "Everyone knows I am not a wimp, we don't know about Tai--"
I interrupted Matt. "Let the girl talk who, unlike Matt; actually has something to say!"
Sora stared into my chocolate fudge colored eyes with a warm, caring feeling, the one a girl only gives to a boy she wants to give her heart to. Even though Matt has everything, I have one thing he doesn't: true love.
"Thank you, Tai." She replied as she blushed a shade of red darker than her strawberry blonde hair. "It proves that you guys are ready for what I have to say to you."
She looked to the right, then to her left to make sure no one was paying to attention to what was about to happen. Her happy, always cheerful, smile left her face and became serious as she began to narrow her eyes and frown.
"Tai." She said with a straight face. "Give me your goggles."
I stared at her with a blank, not to mention confused, look. These goggles were important to me! When I started soccer at the ripe age of seven, my parents bought me these plastic goggles as a good luck charm. They certainly were good luck! Everywhere I'd go, my mother said I'd spread good luck to the ones that loved me. My friends say with out my goggles, I have no personality. These goggles, I guess you could say, made me more confident and outgoing and adventurous. Ever since my parent's recent divorce, it was all I had left of them. I could not see through Sora's flowery exterior to decipher why she wanted to take my personality away from me! I hesitantly gave them to her, hoping for the best.
She turned to Matt, staring off into space, or maybe just at an apple tree, and ordered. "Give me the harmonica. Pronto!"
He grabbed it out of the pocket of his navy blue dress slacks and threw it to Sora, practically hitting her in her lower jaw.
"Okay, Tai." Sighed Sora as she handed me the Matt's antique brass heirloom harmonica. "Now, ya see this harmonica?"
I nodded.
"Good. Ya see that street over there, Wild Wood Lane, I think?
I nodded once more. What was up her white school blouse sleeves? It was a half-day and the school day was half way over. I was itching to leave this place and go home to surf the web and meet people in chat rooms. Also Sora was coming over to help me with calculus homework.
She continued. "Throw the brass metal scrap into the street. Any minute now, all the office men and women will drive their SUVs down the busy street. Traffic jam at 12:30. You're scared, aren't you? You just scared! Huh!?! Real men can do anything! Even stupid sissy dares!"
I had never seen this side of Sora before. As I already mentioned, she's good-natured, never angry. But right now she was yelling, probably over seven thousand decibels. She was sure hot, screaming, yelling, full of rage.
"No." I muttered. "Sure, Matt and I aren't the best of friends anymore. Sure we hate each other's guts, but I know Matt's sacred honor. This harmonica, now old and rusty, is important to him. I throw this, Matt's gone. Hearing, no seeing Matt with his harmonica reminds me of how Matt's melody made me become friends with him. Go ahead, throw the goggles. I don't give a care in all of Japan. No, I don't give a care in the whole world! Matt, I think it's time for us to travel on separate roads."
Finally I got that out of my system! I suavely walked away, Sora chasing after me with tears swelling in her eyes. I turned around to see if Matt was really going to do it. Tears began to jump out of my eyes as Matt threw the goggles, underhand the pitcher did. He mumbled every number from ten to one. All of a sudden, when we least expected it, "CRRRACKKKK!". Plastic shattered all over the concrete in itsy-bitsy pieces. Pieces so small you couldn't glue them back together, even if you tried. I ran my little heart home.
Needless to say, I cried for hours over my rash decision, not the goggles. Perhaps I was becoming depressed! After being copped up for a weekend, and my eyes being all red and puffy, I realized that was such a bad idea, blowing off Matt like that. My dad said I sure have matured ever since my mama left us. I became a man, when I was just a boy. But then I grasped the concept that, well, acting like an egotistical competitive fool didn't get us anywhere. We still abhorred each other.
We should have just talked about what happened at the game and said sorry. But we took it too far. I decided that I really owed Matt an apology, so I called him.
We eventually worked it out. Matt threw the goggles in rage, I thought the contrary. I actually thought he wanted to get revenge! He just couldn't accept all the changes our friendship had gone through within the last three months. Matt said he couldn't adjust to how I acted more grown up and wasn't that immature, never-thinking-before-acting goof ball anymore. Also he promised he's going to buy me a new pair of goggles.
"Tai." Said Sora as we were doing calculus homework. "You sure have grown up."