San Francisco
Chapter Two
By A Shot of Amber
Please remember to read and review or send all comments, questions, suggestions, and flames to Thank you!
San Francisco
Chapter Two
" Have you see this movie before?" Serena turned her head to look at me, the beads she wore clicking against each other.
I shook my head and swallowed the mouthful of shake I was drinking. " No I didn't really get a chance to yet. With school and everything, movies take a back seat."
" If we had a back seat we could sit in it but you know I always did like sitting under the stars." She looked up at the stars her hair falling behind her. I looked up also mentally wondering how many stars were really up there.
We were sitting at the movie theatre, it was a drive in. While Rei and Tim had gotten drinks and snacks Serena and I had climbed onto the roof of the car. She had spread out her white skirt around her and crossed her legs. I just sat next to her and rested my weight on my arms behind me. When they came back Rei had passed up our drinks with Serena drinking a vanilla shake and me chocolate. I could never have enough chocolate. I had told this to Serena who laughed and said she preferred chocolate over vanilla but had had a craving for the bean. Now we sat side by side on top of the van watching Mrs. Robinson try to seduce Dustin Hoffman's character. It was actually a pretty good movie.
" Darien what would you do if I seduced you?"
I was a little shocked by this answer.
Serena burst into a torrent of giggles. " Got you! I just wanted to see the look on your face. You know I like you, your not like other guys I know."
" What are they like?"
Serena bit her bottom lip and sucked it behind her teeth while she appeared to think about it. Finally she spoke. " Well Tim is great since your probably wondering about him. He's the leader of our group and yea, there are more of us. There's Mina, we call her Aphrodite, Ami who we call River, Lita, we call her Flower since she likes flowers and of course Chad who we call Dancing Wolf and Ken, we call him Coyote. We're going to meet them. They are in camp right now. Tim and Rei could have been to camp by now but they had to pick me up."
I picked myself up and crossed my legs clad in their blue jeans like Serena's. "Where were they picking you up from?"
Serena turned her face towards me and looked into my eyes. " From the streets where I was living. I lived in this building with some other people like me. I played guitar on the streets and sang a little to get money. Rainbow helped me a lot. She had a good voice so she did most of the singing. At night we would go to advant guarde clubs and drink coffee and listen to people read poetry and sing. Once I got up there and gave a solo of Love for Sale and got enough money to buy a decent meal."
" Wasn't it harsh? You know living on the streets? Didn't you have a home to go to?"
She laughed and picked up her drink and took a long sip of it before replying. "It wasn't half bad, the building was clean, I had money to buy food. It was great! Rainbow was my best gal pal from high school. We ran away together and joined a commune in New York. The people were nice. They didn't force you into sex or anything. It was free love man! Love and peace for all!" She swayed slightly on her hips and closed her eyes.
" If you ran away from home then did you finish school?"
" Hmm? Oh no, I was a freshman when I left and that makes me sophomore now. Who cares about high school anyway? It's not for me. I'm not going to college! I'm going to spend my life doing what I want, living for peace and freedom for everyone."
" Wow," I sat back on my hands again and looked up at the stars. " That's pretty extraordinary . My life is nothing like that."
" What is your life like?"
" Well I just graduated high school as you know. I live with my parents in your basic ranch style house. I'm an only child so my mom really dotes on me."
" I had a little brother, but he was nothing but a pain," Serena replied.
" When I was young I wished I had a sibling or two but as I grew older I got used to being alone. I guess now I kind of cherish it. I didn't have to share anything with anybody. I got everything I wanted which probably made me a little greedy.
" No, you don't strike me as greedy. You seem a lot like Tim, you look for the good in people. Tim is a wonderful man. He looks for the good in everyone. He says we don't need to kill, that's the devil in us talking about killing. Instead we just need to listen to God and we'll see the good in everyone."
I looked down at the roof of the car as if though I could see Tim sitting below me eating popcorn.
" Who was that blond guy with the red haired girl who refused to come with us?
" That was my friend Andrew and Rita, his girlfriend, they are really tight."
" He's handsome."
" Do you think he's handsome?" I turned my head to look at her but still leaned back on my hands.
" Of course, I always did like blond guys...well until tonight."
She looked at me coyly and tilted her head to the side. " I did like them until I met you, now I know that I definetly like dark haired guys."
Boy did my heart stop beating after that!
" I like you Darien. You're really sweet, definitely not like the guys from back home who try to rip your clothes off and stick their tongues down your throat." She stopped and fingered her beads and dropped her hand into her lap. " I would like it if you joined our group."
" What?"
" Join our group and go with us to San Francisco. That's where we are going, the group and I. We're going there to live in the city of freedom and love. Who knows maybe we'll even be discovered, me has a singer and you as, and well I don't know, as my fellow singer."
" I can't sing a note," I replied with an amused grin.
" Then you can be my manager. Still it would be totally rocking if you came. You can be part of our group. There is no leader but Tim, he's the father, but he's not strict so you don't need to worry. You can come and spread peace and love with us." She looked at me with those piercing blue eyes and I was struck dumb.
Okay let's examine this. A beautiful stranger with love beads and a flowing white dress was asking me to be in her group. She expected me to leave my comfortable life in the suburbs where I have a mother who washes my clothes and cooks my dinner and a father who treats me like an equal except for the part of forcing me to join the army. Then I begin to think about my policy on war. I didn't really know, it wasn't really affecting me. Sure a lot of college kids older then me were protesting and calling Lyndon B. Johnson a child killer but I still didn't really care. Then I looked at Serena. She was looking at me and for the first time I noticed how blue her eyes were, they were a bright blue without a fleck of green like some blue eyes had. Her face was so delicate; I wonder what it would be like to cradle it in my hands and to sleep next to her, one arm holding her close to me while she held onto my night shirt.
" Why would you want me?"
" Because I see something in you. You've lived here in the suburbs all your life haven't you?"
I nodded. " Well yea I have but what does that have to do with anything?"
" You're a soul trying to escape! You need freedom from the middle class socialism that holds us down. The man will send you to war in Vietnam if you stay here! So why not come with us and forget about the war. Do you want to be another baby killer?"
And then suddenly I heard this song playing. Was it the heavens singing to me? No it was just another car pulling in next to us blasting their radio. Still it gave me a chance to think some more as I looked through the dirty glass windows at a boy and girl who started to make out. And suddenly I was lonely, I was lonely for all the years I had been an only child, lonely for all the girls I've dated and dumped, and lonely for being stuck in the same place for eighteen years.
" Serena?"
" Moon," she replied.
" Alright, Moon, one question, where would I get the clothes?"
She let out a cry of joy and jumped throwing her arms around me pushing me back against the roof of the car so she was on top of me. I was lying there my arms on either side of my body while she looked straight into my eyes and for a second everything froze before we heard Rei's voice calling through her open window asking us what we were doing. Serena got up and pushed some strands of hair behind her before she slipped over to Rei's side of the van and dangled her legs over the edge.
" Hey Fire! Guess what?"
" What?" Rei stuck her head out the window and twisted her body so she was looking up at Serena.
" Darien as landed, he is joining us."
" That's nice," Rei replied and climbed back into the car.
Serena smiled over at me. " Rei doesn't like men so you'll have to understand her answer. She only ever had one man friend and he left her so she tends to distrust men.
I nodded. It was a good thing I wasn't interested in Rei or I might never have a chance. But now there were more important things to worry about such has how I was going to deal with my parents. A quick look at my watch told me it was later then I thought.
" Serena," I began but was stopped by a finger on my lips.
" Call me Moon," she whispered leaning close to my face so I could feel her breath on my cheek.
" But your name is Serena," I replied stupidly.
" Yes, but that is my Earth name. In heaven my name is Moon."
I nodded but I didn't really understand. I would call her Moon but I would never know why I was. " Alright…Moon."
She smiled and moved her finger and sat back on the roof of the van.
" How am I going to tell my parents that I'm leaving them to travel with a hippie commune to San Francisco?"
She just smiled and rocked back and forth on her hips while her arms held her crossed legs close to her. She closed her eyes and began to hum a tune. I recognized it has popular song about going to San Francisco. Suddenly she opened her eyes and stopped rocking. " Who says you have to tell them?"
I raised an eyebrow at her. " My parents would know I'm gone, especially when I don't show up for a few days."
She just smiled, never hurt by the tone of my voice which conveyed annoyance at her. " You know Darien, the thing about being free is that you never tell the people who are holding you back where you are going. Your parents are holding you back and you shouldn't let them. You need to break the bonds of your imprisonment and be free! You need to escape from the society that is holding you back!"
" Or he could just leave a note," Rei called up. She had climbed through the window and was sitting on the ledge.
Serena and I looked down at her. " Leave a note?" I asked.
" Yea, you can leave a note that you decided to have one last journey before college or wherever you are going and tell them that you'll call them along the way to let them know that you are fine."
" But Fire that is so against the lifestyle we live," Serena replied.
" Yea but he's not used to our lifestyle. Anyway Moon let him do it that way and still come with us. Maybe the suburbs could learn about the true meaning of life." Rei looked up at me. " Do you want to come with us suburbia boy?"
I looked down at her. She had fiery purple eyes that would later show their true meaning but for now were looking at me with a calm blandness that waited for my answer. I looked over at Serena who was watching me with her bright blue eyes. They were so unlike Rei's eyes. While Rei's eyes glowed with fire and passion, Serena glowed with softness and love. If it wasn't for those eyes of her eyes I would have said no and gone home to live out a quiet summer of baseball and dates to the movies but I didn't say no.
" Alright, I'll go with you guys to the coast."
I said yes.
Serena squealed and knocked me down into a hug on top of the van while Rei smiled and climbed back in, probably to tell Tim who was wondering about the sounds above him. Under the stars Serena was looking down at me, a smile on her face.
" You won't regret this Darien. I promise that this will be the best summer of your life." With that she brushed my bangs of out of my eyes and kissed my forehead. " Soon we'll have to give you a name and formally induct you into our group but for now," she sat up and looked down at me, " we have to get you out of the clutches of your parents."
I nodded and sat up also, my face slightly crimson from her kissing me so informally even if it was only on the forehead. She just smiled at me in the lights of the drive in then twisted her body over the edge of the van.
" Tim my man! Our mission is finished! Darien is with us forever and ever. Take us out of here to his place to grab some things then we can go to camp."
" Good job Moon!" Tim called setting his drink down and starting the van up.
Serena turned to me and smiled. " We better climb down so you can give Tim directions to your place."
I nodded and slid off the top of the van to the ground below and climbed into the open door on the side. Serena followed me and slammed the door shut. Tim depressed the clutch and we took off in a squeal of tires out of the drive in with me sitting in the back seat next to a calm and cool Serena. Our knees were only slightly touching and my hands were holding onto the seats on either side of me so I didn't slide off. She noticed this and reached over and took one of my hands into her own, entwining our fingers together.
" Don't worry anymore, I will protect you," she whispered looking into my eyes. I nodded dumbly, enchanted by the swirling depths of those blue eyes. She smiled at me and turned her face back to the windshield but never let go of my hand.
Personally I was glad she didn't but I was disappointed when we got to my house and she let go to climb out of the van. I climbed out too and looked up at the quiet brick house where I lived. All the lights were off and I knew my parents were sleeping. I turned back to the small group behind me.
" I'll go in alone, I don't want to wake my parents or there'll be a big fuss. What do you guys want me to bring?"
" Clothes," Rei replied leaning against her door.
" Fire stop," Tim replied gently then stepped towards me. " Bring some blue jeans and some loose shirts as it will get hotter the farther west we go. Bring sturdy walking shoes and pair of sandals if have them and some blankets and pillows."
" Also bring your personal hygiene products. Contrary to popular belief hippies aren't dirty," Rei added.
" I better go with so you get the right things." Serena stepped up to me, her love beads clicking together. " I want to make sure you are well prepared for this trip." She reached up and removed her love beads and handed them to Tim. " Hold these brother until I return."
Tim nodded and stepped back to watch Serena and I enter the fence door into the backyard.
" Do you think this is a good idea?" Rei asked.
" Calm down Fire. She has a good feeling about him and so do I. He'll bring a new breath of air to our commune."
" But he's a baby killer."
" Yes but if we are lucky we'll make him one of us forever then Moon can be eternally happy." Tim looked up at the house where a light had turned on downstairs. Rei looked up to and sighed.
Inside the house Serena and I entered through the back door and quietly closed it. I turned on the kitchen light so we could see. Then with Serena's hand in mine we walked through the main room and up the stairs towards my room. She barely breathed as we tiptoed up the stairs, down the hall past the closed door of my parent's room and into my own room. While she closed the door I turned on the light. It was a nice room but a little dull with blue walls and the customary trophies and sports memorabilia. Serena became very interested in these and looked at them while I packed my things into a duffle bag.
First went a blanket then my pillow then I shoved in my toothbrush and some shampoo followed by a bar of soap. Serena helped me pick out some blue jeans and two shirts that she felt would pass Tim's inspection. She then picked out a picture of me at age 10 standing with my baseball mitt and bat while wearing my team uniform. " I like this picture the most out of all of them. You look happiest in it."
I took the picture and looked at it. I did look happy in it so I packed it in my bag tucking it between the blanket then we headed out. I shut the light off and she opened the door, leading the way back down the stairs and into the kitchen. There I stopped while she continued towards the door. " What are you doing?" She whispered one hand on the knob.
" I want to write a note to my parents," I whispered back grabbing the paper pad off the fridge.
Her eyes looked at me in a puzzled way as if she didn't know what a note was but she didn't question me and instead walked over to the fridge and opened it. While I wrote the note she riffled through the fridge's contents pulling out items like a loaf of bread and some vegetables. Meanwhile I wrote a note telling my parents that I would be gone for a few weeks, I wanted to tell them that I had met a beautiful girl and was following her to the coast but I didn't and instead just left it that. I told them not to worry about me and that I would call every week to tell them that I was fine. At the end of the note I signed it "your loving son, Darien" then set down the pen next to the note which I left on the kitchen table. Serena had pulled out an assortment of food which she held in her skirt. I looked at her with a puzzled look of my own but she just smiled and said we needed food. I nodded only half understanding and picked up my duffle bag so we could leave. Together she and I left the house, me shutting off the light, and ran back to the van where Tim and Rei waited in the moonlight.
" We're all ready!" Serena called holding up her skirt of food.
Tim's eyes lit up at the sight of it. " Good job Moon. You know where to put it." She nodded and climbed into the van while I shoved my stuff into the van then climbed in to. Tim drove off quietly while I looked back at my sleeping house. My parents would think I had sneaked in in the middle of the night and wouldn't think anything of it until my mother who always got up first would see my note on the kitchen table. She would then wake my father and who would yell and read the note and yell some more while my mother cried. I would never see that though, Tim wanted to get as far as quickly as possible in case the police were called. So that night we drove far and fast, through the quiet streets of my town, past the now empty ice cream stand and drive through and then we were in the outskirts and that was when I fell asleep.
Please remember to read and review or send all comments, questions, suggestions, and flames to Thank you!
