Shox
That morning, I woke up gloomy again. I still wanted Racetrack to come back where he belonged. I knew he couldn't for a while, but I couldn't stand the true thought. I would kill myself if he could come out of the hospital. I knew him, and trust me, he would have wanted out by then. When he did come out, I knew he would be nuts and need to work off all that extra energy. When he was energetic, he was pretty dang funny, but he could also be annoying, and by the end of the day I would be just about ready to kill him. I wanted to break him out, because I missed him so much. I kept asking myself what Vinnie Delpino (my fave person [besides Racetrack] of all time, that is a character in the TV show, "Doogie Howser MD") would do if Doogie were trapped in a hospital when he could be doing something better. Would he bale him out? No, he would do the responsible thing and wait patiently until Doogie was ready to come out. I decided to do just that.
Next day, we won. The strike, I mean. Everyone was cheering, I think. I didn't hear them, because I was trapped in my own world, wondering when Racetrack was going to come out. I shivered at the thought that maybe he wouldn't come out. What would I do if I never saw him again? I wouldn't do anything. I wouldn't eat, sleep, play, talk, nothing. I would kill myself eventually, but like I would have cared. Then at least I could be in Heaven with him. All I would do is cry all the time, in my room. Shadow would come up in my bed and meow, but I wouldn't be able to hear or see him. The world would be a blur to me. I would be oblivious to everything around me. Big deal, though. I suck. It's my fault that Racetrack is in the stinkin' hospital. I should have fought the stupid Delanceys on my own. I went home while everyone was still cheering, and I didn't know what to do.
Just the, I did know what I would do. I got out a bag of marbles, and played with my stuffed wolf that I had had since I was nine years old. I cheated a lot, and all Rontu (the wolf) did was push some marbles with his plastic black nose. He didn't care whether I cheated or not. He was my best friend, even if he was a stuffed animal. He just continued to push the marbles around with his nose. He didn't really make any moves either. Sometimes the marbles that he pushed went under the stove, and I had to get the salad tongs out in order to get the marbles back. As I look back at that today, I wondered if I was delirious because I missed Racetrack so much. When I was playing marbles, I realized something was missing. I told Rontu to stay, ran to the CD rack, and turned on the Holes soundtrack. I think I was delirious. I hadn't listened to that CD since I was eleven. I was thinking back to the past too much, because I thought that I would forget about Racetrack until he came out of the hospital, and everything would be okay. I would be my normal nineteen year old self, and I wouldn't act so weird at home.
But I wasn't okay. I got out my green mangy (pronounced man-gee, not main-jee) and took a nap while sucking my thumb. When I woke up, I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That night, though, I looked in the mirror and broke down into tears. I knew that the only way I would be okay was if Racetrack got out of the hospital. I straightened up, put my coat on, and went outside. There were fireworks in the sky as I went to Central Park and lie down on a bench. Central Park was deserted, and no one was on the streets. When I saw the hospital in front of me, I began to cry again. But this time, the tears were silent. I didn't whimper at all, not once. I gazed up into the stars, and I felt better, knowing that they were watching over me. But that would never change the fact that Racetrack was in the hospital because of me. I sighed and sat up to glare at the fireworks.
"Stop shootin' them fireworks!" I screamed into the sky "This ain't the kind of night for 'em!" The fireworks didn't cease. I whimpered and lay back down. "Especially not when Race might be gone for good." I whined. I started crying again.
"I wouldn't be sayin' dat too soon, goil." said a familiar Italian voice behind me. I looked up.
"Racetrack!" I gasped. I stood up and threw my arms around him. He did just the same to me. I dug my face into his vest, because I was crying so much.
"It's alright," said Racetrack, stroking my hair, "I'm heah, baby. Shhhh, stop cryin' now."
"I missed you so much though," I whispered, looking up. We both sat back down. "I went crazy and tried to forget…" I hesitated. "I tried to forget everything."
"It doesn't mattah anymoah," Racetrack said. I had the weird feeling that he was leaning closer to me. "Because weah togeddah now." There was a silence for about five seconds.
"Hey Race?" I asked.
"Yeah?" he answered.
"You… you do love me don't you?"
"Of coahse I do. I couldn't evah love anyone else but you."
"Same here." Now I was leaning closer to him, too. Then, our lips touched in our first kiss, and probably the sweetest. And, from the way he kissed me, I knew that he wasn't lying about what he said.
THE END