“Taylor! Your gerbil’s loose!” I heard my fourteen year old bestfriend, Dana Turner yell to me from my bedroom.
“It’s a hamster! And how would you know whether or not my hamster’s a slut?” I answered her from the bathroom.
“No, you pervert! It’s literally loose! As in, not in it’s cage!”
“Ooooooh!” I acknowledged in realization.
Then, as the meaning of her words sunk in, “Oh my God!”
We searched the bedroom for the stray rodent for about five minutes, when I spotted a movement under a pair of Zac’s boxers. Now, unless Zac was more unhygienic than I had yet realized, the hamster was in there.
“Ewwwww,” I groaned, as I lifted my younger brother’s undergarments. Dana quickly caught the hamster, and, as I held out it’s open cage, dropped it in.
“Awwwwwww, you’re such a cute gerbil, yes you are!” Dana cooed over the hamster after the cage had been restored to it’s resting place on top of the dresser.
“It’s a hamster!” I yelled in a controlled voice.
“Gerbil, hamster, same thing.” she dissmised it with a wave of her hand.
“Nah ah! Hamsters don’t have tails, and they’re awake at night, and........” I continued to list every single difference between hamsters and gerbils that I knew of.
“Whatever. I’m hungry. Let’s go get something to eat.”
We walked down the stairs to the kitchen and Dana started to rummage through the fridge for food. I did the perverted finger thing while I waited. This was what I did most of my day to entertain myself. It was basically making an okay symbol with my left hand and shoving my right index finger through the loop.
A few moments later, she emerged with the conclusion, “There’s nothing to eat. We must go into the wilderness in search of food,” she said and pointed upward and toward the door. I followed suite, then wrapped an okay symbol around it. “Boyoyoyoyoyoing!”
“Pervert!” Dana exclaimed, then whacked me upside the head. She had done this so many times over the last four years that it really didn’t hurt anymore.
“You knocked me up side the head!” I exclaimed. “Boyoyoyoyoyoing!”
“Pervert!” she slapped me again. This time across the face.
“Hey Mom, Dad” I said as she walked into the kitchen. Mom and Dad were both completely pale. “What’s wrong?”
“Honey, you know how we aren’t the most, well, wealthy people in Tulsa?” her father asked. I nodded, remembering my family’s struggle.
“Well, things just got worse.” my father continued.
“I’m pregnant” my mother dropped the bomb.
“Oh....my......god” I murmered. I immediatly ran to my bedroom. I felt tears falling from my eyes as my head hit the pillow.
“Dana? Honey? Can we talk?” mom worridly asked throught the door.
“No, I’m sorry mom, I just need to think.” I sniffled.
“Okay honey, I understand, I’m here if you need me.” she called.
‘A plan, a plan, I gotta find some way to make money! Think Dana, think!’ I commanded myself. ‘Now who do you know has money? Hmmmmmmmmmm, of course! The Hanson’s! Now, how could I get some, ask? No, that won’t work! Maybe I could date one, yes, Taylor maybe...... No! It could ruin our friendship! Who else, of course! Ike! He’s single, and loving, probably willing to give me money. ‘Yes!’ My brain worked the rest of the kinks out of the plot, and soon it was done.
“Tomorrow” I said aloud to myself. “Tomorrow” I thought about my plan until my brain allowed me to sleep.
“-Yes, and the time is now 9:30 AM in the morning yes, time for our daily weather report..................” the radio announcer screamed buzzily as the alarm blared, signaling for me to wake up.
I, with my eyes still closed, reached over and slammed the ‘Off’ button. I crawled out of bed and climbed into the shower. After I finished grooming, I went downstairs to see who else was up.
My twin brother, Brandon, who was also my bestfriend, was sitting on the couch with his girlfriend, Samantha, who shared a room with him, and was my other best friend. They were quietly watching TV, with the volume turned down, trying not to wake Caleb’s drinking/smoking buddy, Matt, who appeared to be dead on the floor.
I walked right past them, into the kitchen. I pulled out my pack of Salems, and quickly lit one.
“Ahhhhhhhhhh” I sighed with relief. After inhaling deeply, I looked at Sam and I’s calander, to see if we had any jobs lined up.
“Damn” I silently cursed. “Well, today has already proven to be boring.” After finishing my cig, I flicked the cherry out the window, onto the concrete of the alley.
I sauntered over to the couch to see Sam and Brandon still engrosed in watching TV. “Hey Brandon, Sam.”
They turned around and nodded good morning quickly before turning back to the television set. I jumped over the back of the coach into the empty seat beside Brandon, and looked at what they were watching. I saw they were watching Sesame Street. “Ooooooh! Sesame Street!” I exclaimed excitedly. I settled in to watch.
I was sitting on the couch, bored as hell, staring at the TV. There was nothing on. I had ended up watching an old episode of Saved by the Bell.
“Ring!” Yes! The phone! It might be for me! I thought, ecstatic at the thought of a phone call. I jumped up and raced for the phone. It could be Marie! I mentally chanted Marie, Marie, Marie!
But by the time I got there, Zac was already picking it up. “Give it to my Prozac!” I demanded.
He just looked at me like I was speaking some foreign language. He put the phone to his ear, “Hello?”
“Oh, hi, Marie!” he greeted me girlfriend cheerily.
“Give it to me!” I demanded once again.
“You want to talk to Taylor?”
I attempted to pry the reciever from his grasp.
“I’m not sure if he’s here. I’ll see.” he told her. Then he called out, “Taylor! Are you here, Taylor! Taylor, are you home!”
“Yes! I’m right here!” I screamed back.
“Phone!”
I tried to get it from him, but he was holding on. Then he just let go. I flew backwards, but I had the receiver! “Marie?”
“Hi, Taylor,” she answered me.
“How’s it going?”
“Fine. I just called to let you know that I won’t be seeing you again. It just isn’t working out. Really. It’s not your fault. I’m just not ready for the kind of commitment you want from me.”
I was silent. Sex. She was talking about sex. I had tried to get Marie to sleep with me, but she had always said no. And now I was losing her because of it.
“Good-bye, Taylor.”
“Marie! Wait! We can work it out!” But the click from the other line told me that she didn’t want to try to work it out.
The dial tone rang in my ears. I had really liked Marie. A lot. I didn’t exactly love her, but I cared about her a lot.
I knocked on the door to the Hanson house. Zac answered it.
“Hey Zac” I greeted him. “Where’s Tay?” He pointed toward the living room.
When I got there, I saw Taylor standing there, pale, with one hand clutching the phone reciever. His jaw was dropped, and he looked speechless.
“What’s wrong?” I cautiously asked him.
“Marie...........” he stammered.
“Marie...what?”
“S-s-h-she...broke....”
“Oh, God, Tay, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, I mean, if she wanted to break up with me, and didn’t, then that wouldn’t be right, so it was probaby for the best.” he explained.
I shook my head, stepped over to him, and embraced him when I realized he was about to cry. He hugged me back and continued to cry.
