11. INCLUDED
He called up Bobby to ask him what time everyone was meeting for the movie. Patrick let him know that I’d be coming along. He told me that Emily was happy about that. Everyone was meeting up in front of the movie theater. Even Becca was meeting Patrick there. She was hanging out with a couple of her friends getting manicures or something at the mall.
We met in front of the movie theater. Tony, Kraig, Bobby and Emily were already there and had their tickets. Patrick bought three tickets for himself, Becca and me. He insisted on paying for mine, saying it was his treat. Within the next ten minutes or so, everyone else had arrived—Jason, Cassie and Becca with her friends. Becca was the last to arrive. It was like she waited to make an entrance—throwing her arms around Patrick talking about how much she missed him. She even pouted until he kissed her and reminded her that she had made plans with her friends and probably didn’t think of him at all.
His friends were really nice to me. They included me in their conversations, asked me some questions, made me feel welcome. He was right…again. We all chatted while they got their popcorn, candy and drinks. The smell of freshly made popcorn was intoxicating, that even though some of them said they weren’t going to get any, they did. The crew let me choose the seats. So, I picked the back row, it was completely empty and had enough room for everyone.
I sat between Patrick and Emily. Becca and her two friends were on his other side. Patrick flawlessly alternated between talking with Becca and Emily and I. I think he did that to make sure that I was okay. I also got the impression that he wasn’t really interested in the conversation Becca was having with her friends, but being the nice guy that he is and that he liked Becca, he went along with it.
I learned more about their group. There wasn’t a particular leader of their crew, but it did seem like Jason and Patrick were more of the ringleaders. Well, they were the more outspoken guys. But Bobby and Patrick had been friends the longest. They met in kindergarten. I could only imagine what it would be like to have a friend for that long. The three of them had gone to a basketball camp in elementary school and have been inseparable ever since.
Patrick was in a combination fifth and sixth grade class for gifted students. That’s when he met Kraig—he was in sixth grade, Patrick was in fifth. That same year, Tony and Bobby were in the same class. They all played on the same soccer team as kids. But when Kraig injured his knee badly, he had to quit sports. The rest of the guys didn’t want to play soccer without him, so they stopped, but found other sports to play.
Emily and Patrick had 7th grade English together. They hit it off right away and she quickly became part of the crew. It wasn’t until freshman year that she and Bobby became a couple. The way she described it, she always had a little crush on him, but was afraid to do anything about it. Then they went on a field trip for history class, spent the whole day together and the next thing she knew they were holding hands on the bus ride back.
Cassie had been Emily’s best friend since second grade. But, she had moved to San Jose for a few years during junior high. I could easily relate to that. They had kept in touch and remained best friends, spending part of their summers at each other’s homes. Cassie had met the crew during one of her visits back here. She and Jason immediately hit it off, but since Cassie lived in a different city, it remained a summer crush. Cassie moved back the middle of freshman year and she and Jason have been together since.
The movie was good. It would have been a movie that I would have bought. That’s why I had a big DVD collection. I hadn’t gone to the movies in months, but I still saw a lot of them. I had forgotten what a difference it was to watch a movie on the big screen.
Patrick gave both Becca and I a ride home. I sat in the backseat. Patrick tried real hard to include me in the conversation, sometimes succeeding, when Becca had nothing to contribute—so it was mostly about physics or math class. When Becca spoke, it was clear that she was addressing Patrick, but that didn’t bother me. She was like that no matter who he was with, even the guys in the crew. It didn’t matter if he was talking to Cassie, Emily, Bobby, Jason, Tony or Kraig. She had to be the center of attention.
On the ride home, Patrick whispered something to Becca. I think he said, “Please talk to her, she’s my friend…. And be nice.”
Becca suddenly turned around to face me and spoke in a bubbly voice, like she was trying hard to be nice. “So, Liz…you have a decent voice.”
“Thanks.” I was shocked that she picked that to be nice about.
“If Grace and Jackie weren’t there, you might have a shot at the solo.” She was so matter-of-fact about it. She spoke the truth.
“Becca!” Patrick exclaimed. He didn’t like what she said.
“What?” She looked innocently at Patrick then me. “I meant that as a compliment! Really, Liz, I did.”
“I know. It’s okay. They are really good. Either one of them would be a great soloist.” I believed that she was trying to be nice, in her own way. I had forgotten that she was at the auditions until she brought it up. As much as I would like to have the solo, I tried to keep my hope in check. So, I wouldn’t get crushed when the inevitable happened—that Grace or Jackie was announced as the female soloist.
Like many things in life, timing often affected the outcome. Good fortune and success both required hard work, luck and timing. You could have the best idea and work hard to make it happen, but if the timing isn’t right, success won’t happen. Sometimes, I think that I’m either before my time or I should have been born in an earlier generation. Timing sometimes is just a difference of days, hours or minutes. Either way, my timing was always off.
When I got home, my parents still weren’t there. I got my stuff together for school the next day and went to my room. When they did get home, my mom came into my room and checked up on me. She gave me the third degree about my day. I told her I did homework. I didn’t tell her about Patrick or that I went to the movies, what would be the point? She’d only give me the third degree and make me feel like I was a criminal for going. Many things were left better unsaid. It at least saved me the grief.