August 27th, 1984
April hopped up next to me on the picnic table. The same as every year on this day since my parents would let me out of their sight for more than ten minutes, I'd begged her to meet me at the park so I could get away from my mother and Cindy's fawning, if only for a few hours.
I glanced down at her short denim skirt. It rode up slightly and I could see some tiny scars on her inner thighs. I figured she slipped while shaving...but...
"Um...Ape?"
"What?" She pulled down the skirt and looked away for a second.
I stared at her in disbelief. "Mighty Mouse under-roos?"
"Shut up!" She slapped my arm. "I can wear whatever I want!"
"Riiiiiight."
"So whadja get?" She avoided the subject, as always.
I scoffed and tossed one of the boxes into her lap. "That one's from Cindy." She rolled her eyes, knowing I never like anything Cindy got for me. However when she looked inside her expression told a different story.
"Wow...Mark, this is great!"
"Ape, what are you talking about?"
"It's so rad! I love the stripes. Ya think she made it herself?"
"Hell no! You think Cindy would spend more than 5 minutes on anything for me?"
She held it up into the light, like she could see through it or something weird like that. "Well, whatever, it's cool in that thrifty sorta way." She turned to me and shoved the object in question in my face. "C'mon, let's see how it looks!"
I leaned away, still too stubborn to give Cindy the satisfaction, even if she wasn't here. "April, who the fuck wears a scarf in August?" I pushed her hand away and glared in the opposite direction.
She pouted and placed it back in the box. "Okay fine...so what else?"
I groaned and opened the second box, more carefully this time, to reveal a small machine. "'We couldn't afford a car this year,' Dad said. 'It'll be a nice little hobby, sweetie,' Mom said. I think it's bullshit."
"Oh my god, Mark!" She nearly wrenched it out of my hands and stared at it in awe. "A fuckin' video camera! This is awesome!"
"How?" I challenged.
She scanned the area for a while, then locked on a target. She turned the handle on the camera several times, and held it in one spot. "Here, look through it."
I leaned over and glanced through the lens as she held its focus on a small area. I immediately sat back down, disgusted. "Eww! April, that's just weird!"
"Why? What's weird about it?" I could tell from her laugh she knew damn well why I reacted the way I did.
"April, it's two squirrels fucking!"
"And?" She jumped to the ground and placed the camera in my lap. "You can capture life with this thing!" Then she took the scarf back out of its box and wrapped it around my neck. This time, though, I was too befuddled to reject it.
"God, you're insane!" I shook my head, staring down at the machine again. "What do I even do with this thing."
April scampered a few feet away and called over. "Wind the crank and point it at me...duh!"
I rolled my eyes and did as she told. "Fine. Now what?" I still wasn't amused.
"I dunno...narrate or something."
"Huh?" How much of a dork did she think I was? Wait...don't answer.
"Say the time or date or where we are or something." She tapped her toe impatiently.
I sighed. "Fine." I glanced down at my watch. "August 27th, 1984, 4:37 PM, eastern standard time. A small park a few blocks away from our homes. April Eriksson makes her film debut."
"God, you're lame." She grinned, striking Vogue-like poses. "Y'know...you look really cool like that."
I took my eye away from the scope and raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you talking about?"
"I mean, you're just sitting there, pointing a camera at me, wearing this funky scarf. You look like some big-time director or some shit."
I looked down and blushed. "C'mon, stop it..."
"Hey, look away for a second, okay?" She walked up to her bag which was sitting a few feet away from me on the table.
"'Kay." I closed my eyes and waited. I felt the camera in my hands be replaced by something small and cold. I opened my eyes to see a small green gem connect to a beaded metal chain in my palm.
"It's a peridot. That's the birthstone for August. It's supposed to bring success, peace, and goodluck."
I held it up to the sky, watching the sunlight bounce off its angles. I smiled, and for probably the first time that day, it wasn't fake. "Thanks, Sunshine. This is awesome." I put it around my neck and popped the chain closed. It did look sort of girly, but I got away with it by tucking the gem under my shirt. I wore it everyday.
She leaned over and kissed my nose. I scrunched my face like a little kid, pretending I thought it was gross, however it was the only welcomed affection I'd recieved that day.
"Happy Sweet Sixteen, Marky."
