I lay in bed as all of my thoughts swirled around in my head. I change positions every time I change the subject I'm thinking about so most likely tomorrow will be semi awful. Elsie hasn't talked to me today after our fight. You can't do anything without being labeled by society. If you are fat, you look nasty. If you dress up, you're conceited. If you cry, you're a drama queen. If you dress for comfort, you're a slob, and my favorite: If you don't say anything, you're rude. People make all these assumptions about you and most of them aren't true. For instance, if you're a girl, you work in a factory. If you're a boy, you're rude if you don't hold the door open for a girl. I turn again, now on my back, and rub my eyes.
"Elsie," I say without knowing it. I know she's awake, she doesn't make any movement, but I know she's listening.
"Did you know that life is like a film?" I ask. She shakes her head and now I know she's fully listening. "Well, it is, if you're sad, it's a drama scene. If you're afraid, its suspense; If your angry, its action.
"I pause for a few seconds and I see her smiling at me. "Now you're smiling, that my friend, is called comedy.
"Ella, I'm sorry," she says. I don't notice on account of my thoughts.
"My fault," I enforce. "I made you think something that you didn't understand."
"Yea, I may not be as old as you, but I act like it." She says.
"I know that sometimes, you're more mature than me." I laugh. She nods her head in agreement.
"Now we had that conversation, goodnight," she says happily. I agree as I hear the clock chime. Dong, dong, dong….twelve times, I sigh loudly as Inow lay on my left side, facing our wall. I don't fall asleep instantly on account of today. Jasper wants me, even after a few years pass, I think excitedly. I think about the apple tree and how we now 'claim' it on account of love. I recall our heart to heart promise as Dad playfully kills the mood. I know I can't forget about it until a few days pass so I let the entire scene echo in my head.
"Oh wait," I pause, putting my hand on Jasper's shoulder. "This may not be the best time to ask you this, but, if I fall, will you catch me? For sure," I look deep into his eyes as I wait for the answer.
"For sure," he smiles.
"Good," Dad says as he happily walks into the room. He gets something from the kitchen and heads out again. I freeze, not sure all of what he heard, but I could tell he liked the way things went.
"Way to kill the mood," I smile; I take my hands away from him as Dad doesn't look. Elsie catches me sneaking Jasper a smile as they head out. Elsie runs up to Les and hugs him, looking for Dad's approval. He nods and she hugs Les tight, blushing scarlet.
As soon as I know it, Elsie is waking me up and I lazily stretch as we get dressed. Without realizing it, Jasper and Les are at our door. I furiously brush my hair and splash some water on my face as we meet them at the door. I quickly hug Jasper as I turn from unlocking the door. He spins me around a few times until we head towards the distribution center as I see Morris. He looks awful, has lots of bruises and a few brass knuckle marks. Can't imagine what trouble he got into, my guess was from about a week ago at Hype and Ike's baby naming session. It was fun, hearing all of the names we could think of. Of course there were a bunch of people I didn't recognize until Hype pointed them out, but at least Jasper, Elsie, Les and I felt accepted. I could sense tension between Twig and Smalls; seems like everyone has a grudge. I could tell Hype was trying to be happy about having another kid, but the way she glared at Ike made the room seem like a hostile environment.
The rain made the sidewalks of the part damp as there were still small puddles. Elsie and I didn't bother to bring our umbrellas as Crutchie said today was supposed to be partly cloudy. Even so after we sell, we hoist ourselves up into the tree, powerfully apple blossom smells overcome Elsie as I see her make a slight sour face. Suspense, I think and smile as I climb up one branch higher than Jasper. He notices and tries to climb up to me.
"Catch me if you can," I smile as I reach the top. I see Elsie and Les have jumped to the tree next to us. He climbs up right next to me and sighs as I jump down a few, then swing like a monkey up the tree again as he hits the ground.
"Ella, quit." He pleads as I laugh.
"Catch me if you can." I stick my tongue out. He rubs his hands through his hair as I look down.
"Ready?" I ask. He sticks his arms out. He catches me awkwardly by the waist, but doesn't put me down. He spins me around a gain a few times as I kiss his nose. Elsie and Les have the same idea, but without knowing it. He catches her bridal style and puts her down as she hugs him. The whole thing is adorable, a long hug where both of them are looking into each others eyes. Just like if Elsie was acting like me. Even though she's eight and Les is ten, you can tell they like each other a lot. Anyone with a brain knows that Jasper is mine, well that is if they see us that is. The very thought of him wanting to be with me after a few years make my heart melt as he kisses my forehead.