Prologue to Me: Zeke's Story
A.N: I'm still working on some aspects of this story. Updates might take awhile; I'm trying hard to wrap up my other Faculty story. Plus, I have a two new stories, work, and I just have to go swimming! ^_~ I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you so much for the reviews. They really are what keep my writing these stories!
Yeah, I guess Preschool wasn't so bad. I mean, what five year old doesn't like nap time and story time? Besides, Allie was in school with me, so I at least made one friend. I vaguely remember the first day, clinging to mom's hand with my new school clothes on. I looked like an idiot, but Nicole had dressed me, and insisted on those little kid matching outfits. It was a small brick building, on a sunny day as I trailed after Nicole while we climbed up the cement steps.
It was noisy, all the kids were screaming or crying. I saw some girls wailing at the top of their lungs, refusing to let go of their mother's legs. There was another little girl off to the side, watching the screaming girls while rolling her eyes. "Allie," I yelled, jerking out of Nicole's grip and racing to her.
"Zeke!" She greeted me with a tight hug before pointing over to the balling kids, "What a bunch of wieners."
I frowned, glancing at her, "What's a wiener?" She shrugged, "I don't know, but that's what my brother calls me."
"Oh. You want to go play with the legos?"
"Yeah!"
Like I said, preschool isn't a bad deal. You get naptime, play time, story time, even a snack time. Why can't high school be like that? Who needs bull like math, history, and literature? Anyway.
Life was good for me. After preschool, Nicole would pick me up and take me to work for a few hours. I'd read, or sometimes, Allie would be there and we'd make up wild stories about giraffes on the moon or knights rescuing the dragon for a change. After mom's shift was done, we'd walk home to the apartment complex. Home sweet home, right?
Sure, it was a bit crowded with the three of us, but it worked. I even had my own room, despite the fact that it was about the size of a closet. Dad came home soon after we arrived home, usually with bags under his eyes, and paperwork that reached to the ceiling. Sometimes I'd get him to play with me, but most of the time he was to enveloped with his work to bother with me.
It was like that for years. It was halfway through kindergarten that Nick's hard work finally paid off. All those late nights pouring over the papers, all those times he yelled at me to be quiet so he could work, they finally paid off. I guess. I was six when we bought our house, it was a big move, for me at least. I was upset about leaving the apartment, but a lot of our "neighbors" were old people anyway. They gave me cookies, and I'd miss that.
I was able to go to my same school. And the best part, Allie was now only a few streets away. I was ecstatic at the thought, even though Nicole didn't like the idea of me walking to her house alone. But when Dad was watching me, he didn't care.
One of the first things I did was have a sleep over at my new house. I invited all of my friends: Matt, Eric, Blake, and Tucker. I was going to invite Allie until Eric told me that girls have cooties. I didn't know what cooties were (I still don't) but it seemed like it was something really bad.
I'd never seen Allie so disappointed.
"Hi Zeke! I heard Matt and Blake talking about you having a sleep over," Allie said as she dug around in her cubbyhole for her book bag. I pulled mine out, slowly pulling it over my shoulders, "Uh-huh."
She glanced at me from the corner of her eyes, "Yeah. He was saying you invited all of your best friends." I didn't look up at her; I couldn't, staring down at my shoes. They were scuffed, and the laces weren't tied. "Uh, yeah, I did," I muttered, fiddling with the hem of my shirt. Allie didn't say anything for several moments, until I finally looked at her. Tears brimmed in her eyes; she was fighting so hard, chewing on her bottom lip, "All of them? All of your best friends, Zeke?"
I sighed, "Allie, I can't invite you. You have cooties!" She coughed to cover up her tears, turning her back to me and wiping at her face. "I'll see you later," she whispered while walking away, ignoring my protests.
I'd never felt so bad as I did that day, watching Allie walk away with hunched shoulders. I didn't even enjoy the stupid party. I couldn't sleep, staring at the ceiling while shifting around in my sleeping bad. All the other boys were asleep, Tucker was even snoring. I glanced at the glowing red digits of the clock, midnight. All I could think about was Allie and the look on her face.
I stood up, silently tiptoeing across the field of sleeping bags to the sliding glass doors, yanking them open. I knew the way to Allie's house, even in the dark, in my pajamas, in the middle of the night, alone. My bare feet padded quietly along the sidewalk, following the familiar path to her house. I made it there, not a single light was on in the whole house, and made my way to the back of her home. I knew which room was Allie's; she had showed it to me before showing me her fire escape route that consisted of climbing out onto the tree that grew beside her window.
I gripped the bark, pulling myself up, high into the branches. It took several twigs thrown against the window before the girl finally opened her window, "Zeke?"
"Allie, I'm sorry." I edged farther out on the branch, gripping it tightly as it swayed from my weight. I saw her rub her knuckles in her brown eyes, maybe rubbing away sleep, or probably disbelief. She reached out and grabbed my arm tightly, her small arms yanking me into her room. I stumbled in, looking at her, "I'm sorry I didn't invite you. I don't care if you have cooties."
Allie threw her arms around me, "It's okay." I returned the hug, and stared into her face. It was radiant, from her freckled nose to the roots of her strawberry hair, it glowed. I could only grin back. "So, what are you doing here at twelve fifteen?"
I was grounded for three weeks after that. You can imagine mom's shock to see a bunch of boys in her house, but not one her son. And you can imagine Jessica's surprise as she walked into her daughter's room and saw her and her best friend curled up in bed. But you know, being grounded and yelled at it was all worth it, just to see that grin on Allie's face.
But then, a terrible thing happened.
A.N: I'm still working on some aspects of this story. Updates might take awhile; I'm trying hard to wrap up my other Faculty story. Plus, I have a two new stories, work, and I just have to go swimming! ^_~ I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you so much for the reviews. They really are what keep my writing these stories!
Yeah, I guess Preschool wasn't so bad. I mean, what five year old doesn't like nap time and story time? Besides, Allie was in school with me, so I at least made one friend. I vaguely remember the first day, clinging to mom's hand with my new school clothes on. I looked like an idiot, but Nicole had dressed me, and insisted on those little kid matching outfits. It was a small brick building, on a sunny day as I trailed after Nicole while we climbed up the cement steps.
It was noisy, all the kids were screaming or crying. I saw some girls wailing at the top of their lungs, refusing to let go of their mother's legs. There was another little girl off to the side, watching the screaming girls while rolling her eyes. "Allie," I yelled, jerking out of Nicole's grip and racing to her.
"Zeke!" She greeted me with a tight hug before pointing over to the balling kids, "What a bunch of wieners."
I frowned, glancing at her, "What's a wiener?" She shrugged, "I don't know, but that's what my brother calls me."
"Oh. You want to go play with the legos?"
"Yeah!"
Like I said, preschool isn't a bad deal. You get naptime, play time, story time, even a snack time. Why can't high school be like that? Who needs bull like math, history, and literature? Anyway.
Life was good for me. After preschool, Nicole would pick me up and take me to work for a few hours. I'd read, or sometimes, Allie would be there and we'd make up wild stories about giraffes on the moon or knights rescuing the dragon for a change. After mom's shift was done, we'd walk home to the apartment complex. Home sweet home, right?
Sure, it was a bit crowded with the three of us, but it worked. I even had my own room, despite the fact that it was about the size of a closet. Dad came home soon after we arrived home, usually with bags under his eyes, and paperwork that reached to the ceiling. Sometimes I'd get him to play with me, but most of the time he was to enveloped with his work to bother with me.
It was like that for years. It was halfway through kindergarten that Nick's hard work finally paid off. All those late nights pouring over the papers, all those times he yelled at me to be quiet so he could work, they finally paid off. I guess. I was six when we bought our house, it was a big move, for me at least. I was upset about leaving the apartment, but a lot of our "neighbors" were old people anyway. They gave me cookies, and I'd miss that.
I was able to go to my same school. And the best part, Allie was now only a few streets away. I was ecstatic at the thought, even though Nicole didn't like the idea of me walking to her house alone. But when Dad was watching me, he didn't care.
One of the first things I did was have a sleep over at my new house. I invited all of my friends: Matt, Eric, Blake, and Tucker. I was going to invite Allie until Eric told me that girls have cooties. I didn't know what cooties were (I still don't) but it seemed like it was something really bad.
I'd never seen Allie so disappointed.
"Hi Zeke! I heard Matt and Blake talking about you having a sleep over," Allie said as she dug around in her cubbyhole for her book bag. I pulled mine out, slowly pulling it over my shoulders, "Uh-huh."
She glanced at me from the corner of her eyes, "Yeah. He was saying you invited all of your best friends." I didn't look up at her; I couldn't, staring down at my shoes. They were scuffed, and the laces weren't tied. "Uh, yeah, I did," I muttered, fiddling with the hem of my shirt. Allie didn't say anything for several moments, until I finally looked at her. Tears brimmed in her eyes; she was fighting so hard, chewing on her bottom lip, "All of them? All of your best friends, Zeke?"
I sighed, "Allie, I can't invite you. You have cooties!" She coughed to cover up her tears, turning her back to me and wiping at her face. "I'll see you later," she whispered while walking away, ignoring my protests.
I'd never felt so bad as I did that day, watching Allie walk away with hunched shoulders. I didn't even enjoy the stupid party. I couldn't sleep, staring at the ceiling while shifting around in my sleeping bad. All the other boys were asleep, Tucker was even snoring. I glanced at the glowing red digits of the clock, midnight. All I could think about was Allie and the look on her face.
I stood up, silently tiptoeing across the field of sleeping bags to the sliding glass doors, yanking them open. I knew the way to Allie's house, even in the dark, in my pajamas, in the middle of the night, alone. My bare feet padded quietly along the sidewalk, following the familiar path to her house. I made it there, not a single light was on in the whole house, and made my way to the back of her home. I knew which room was Allie's; she had showed it to me before showing me her fire escape route that consisted of climbing out onto the tree that grew beside her window.
I gripped the bark, pulling myself up, high into the branches. It took several twigs thrown against the window before the girl finally opened her window, "Zeke?"
"Allie, I'm sorry." I edged farther out on the branch, gripping it tightly as it swayed from my weight. I saw her rub her knuckles in her brown eyes, maybe rubbing away sleep, or probably disbelief. She reached out and grabbed my arm tightly, her small arms yanking me into her room. I stumbled in, looking at her, "I'm sorry I didn't invite you. I don't care if you have cooties."
Allie threw her arms around me, "It's okay." I returned the hug, and stared into her face. It was radiant, from her freckled nose to the roots of her strawberry hair, it glowed. I could only grin back. "So, what are you doing here at twelve fifteen?"
I was grounded for three weeks after that. You can imagine mom's shock to see a bunch of boys in her house, but not one her son. And you can imagine Jessica's surprise as she walked into her daughter's room and saw her and her best friend curled up in bed. But you know, being grounded and yelled at it was all worth it, just to see that grin on Allie's face.
But then, a terrible thing happened.