Chapter 24

"Hey, Anthony," he greeted me as I closed the door and put my seat belt on.

"Hey," I replied, shifting the seat so that it was comfortable for me and checking my mirrors.

"Nice," he said. "You seem on the ball today. I didn't even have to remind you about the mirrors this time."

"Yeah, well, I'm feeling pretty good today," I replied. "Let's see what I can get this baby to do."

"Awesome," he said. I put the car into the drive, took my foot off the brake and started to accelerate.

Driving had always been one of those things that made me a little nervous. I felt like it put me on the spot and put a lot of responsibility into my hands. I wasn't like some of the other kids that wanted to get a driver's license so they could do donuts in their driveway and speed down the highway going ninety miles an hour at three in the morning. I guess I was just too crazy for thinking that rationally.

"All right," Nick spoke up as he pointed up ahead, "you're gonna stop ahead of that open set of cones, back it up while turning away from the cones, straighten it out and then center yourself."

"I'm on it, boss," I joked, causing him to chuckle a bit. I managed to stop in the designated area, look behind me and reverse the car, straightened the wheel and came to a stop before moving forward slightly. All throughout, I could practically feel the teachers' eyes on me as I was going.

"Not bad," Nick said as I pulled away from the 'parking spot.' "You actually remembered the instructions this time—and you didn't hit a cone. Pretty good driving, man. Keep it up."

"Thanks," I replied as I drove down the line of cones, preparing to circle around for a second attempt. "I don't know why they're making us do this—we have no parallel parking spots anywhere near us."

"Right?" Nick replied in agreement. "But it's still an important thing to know. Who knows—some of these guys might end up moving to another state or something once they graduate."

"Yeah," I replied, finding me lost in thought for just a moment. His remark put the future in perspective for me a little bit. How many of my friends might end up leaving once school's out for good? Would I? I began to wonder what was waiting for me at the end of high school. After all, it wasn't going to last forever.

Whilst pondering, I lost my focus on driving and started to slowly veer toward the cones. Hitting them would not be fun as the teachers didn't take kindly to poor driving—another reason that driving had made me so nervous.

"Whoa, watch it," Nick said with an astounding level of calmness as he grabbed the wheel and straightened it for me. I immediately snapped back to reality.

"Sorry about that," I replied, hoping the teachers didn't see that little snafu. "I was just thinking about what you said."

"Yeah, it's pretty deep. Personally, I can't wait to get out of here. I was thinking about moving to Colorado to be with my older brothers."

"Wow," I remarked. "That's not exactly a short walk away."

"Well, there's nothing for me here once I graduate. Might as well move on."

"Hey, whatever's best for you, go for it."

"Thanks—I plan to. You should definitely do the same, too. Go wherever life takes you."

His words made me smile a little bit and made me hopeful for the future. Of course, that was still pretty far away. In the meantime, I had some parallel parking to take care of.

After I finished with my test, I headed back to go talk with my friends some more. Pretty soon, the teachers herded us all back into the classroom to let us get our belongings just a few minutes before the final bell rang. Another day of thinking, learning and growing was done. Not to mention, the incredible experience I shared with Talia that would certainly stay with me forever.

My friends and I said our goodbyes and once again I was on my own as I headed out of class. The bus stop was only a short walk across a grassy field from my final class so that was pretty convenient. I climbed into the bus and took a seat in my usual place against the window. This time, though, I sprawled out onto the seat like I owned it. I closed my eyes and smirked contently to myself the entire time as I heard several other kids file past me. None of them seemed remotely interested in getting me up from the seat and so, I had my own little resting spot.

I didn't feel like I was getting cocky, more like I was just confident enough to cut loose and do the kinds of things I'd always wanted to do.

Before long, the bus began to roll away and I opened my eyes to look up into the open window. The tops of the school buildings past by my view and eventually gave way to the afternoon sky. I thought back to my time-stopped escapades with those two lovely girls over the past couple of days. I remarked on how different Jennifer and Talia acted once the cuffs came off and they knew they could do anything with no repercussions. I wondered if that was simply the way that I felt about it. Knowing that I could do whatever I wanted and not worry about the consequences was especially freeing for a high school teenager.

The bus came to its usual stop across the street near from where I lived. I headed off with the other kids and took advantage of the school bus's 'stop' signs to cross the street and begin my trek home. I turned around and noticed Sofia coming up from behind. I quickly decided that I would take the opportunity to strike up a conversation with her. I slowed my pace a bit to let her catch up to me.

"Hey, Sofia," I greeted her as I began to walk with her. She seemed genuinely surprised that I was talking to her.

"Hey there, Anthony," she replied with a slight smile. "This is a surprise. Usually you can't wait to get back home."

"Well, I'm trying to turn over a new leaf now and be more... personable."

"Wow," she remarked, "and you're using big words, too."

"I'm a man of many surprises," I said, smirking at her.

"I bet you are," she replied with a small chuckle.

The two of us rounded the corner, heading further down the sidewalk toward our building. As we stepped onto the outer jogging track that circled around the building, I politely opened the short metal gate for her to enter. She laughed at how chivalrous that was. We continued on toward the front door of the building.

"I usually notice you walking home by yourself, too," I said.

"Yeah," she replied with a sigh. "My friends don't live around here and I usually just see them in school."

"Maybe you and I can, you know, walk home and talk together. We do live in the same building."

"I'd like that," she replied, turning to me with a smile.

We were buzzed into the front door and, of course, I let the lady go first. She called for the elevator and the two of us got on, pressing the buttons for our respective floors.

"Well," I said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Looking forward to it," she responded with a demure grin. I grinned back, getting off on my floor when the doors open. I looked back at her one more time before the doors closed once again and gave a silent 'yes!' to myself. I knew I was onto something when I thought she was totally into me. But moreover, I was elated to have made another new friend.

That evening, I sat along the beach and watched the darkening sky over the ocean as the sun was setting behind me. The beachgoers—families, couples, tourists—were all packing up and heading back to solid land. I merely stayed there and listened to the weakening waves roll onto the shore. I closed my eyes as the cool, sea air breezed past my face and tossed my hair about. Needless to say, I loved the place I lived at.

Nick's remarks about moving on made me wonder just how much longer I'd be enjoying this place. Part of me didn't want things to change and, with that thought in mind, I unconsciously caused time to freeze. I sighed quietly as everything went silent. My hands idly grazed over the solid sand, quickly turning them fluid again. I looked down, taking a handful of sand and just letting it seep out of my palm. Even though it wasn't a new trick, I never really gave thought to how I could be selective in what I froze in time—even things as miniscule as grains of sand. I wondered just what else I could do.

Suddenly, I heard a soft whispering nearby. I was startled, thinking I hadn't frozen everyone. My head snapped toward the source. I squinted my eyes in disbelief as I could've sworn I saw something move behind another frozen person in mid-stride. I clenched my eyes and shook my head, giving it a second look to find that there was nothing.

Maybe I needed to get my eyes checked.

Regardless, I sighed heavily, letting time return to normal. I got to my feet, brushing the sand off of my clothes and decided to pack it in for the night just like everyone else was.