Excerpt: polaroid memories

“I’m a owl”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “ Yah, sure”

“No really” he insisted, “I am. Watch, I will fly”

“That’s probably not a very good idea” I tried to warn him but he didn’t listen to me, like normal. I watched as he walked over to a closed BFI bin and proceeded to climb it. I stopped walking with a sigh and began to play with the ears of my own dog hat as James attempted to climb the large green bin. He wasn’t doing very well.

After his fifth attempt to climb it I sat down on the uneven pavement, my cheep blue chucks sending pebbles dancing off in different directions. The dark jagged ground was cutting into my palms and I shifted positions, from lying back with my hands propping me up to sitting with my legs crossed and my hands lying limply in my lap.

“Watch me! Watch me!” James cried out in excitement. I looked up to see him standing on the curved black lid with him with the tips of his shoes hanging over empty air. His face was alight with a wide smile, his baby blue eyes dancing and his messy blonde hair plastered to the side of his face.

God, Charlie was going to kill me.

“Get down from there James” I said, leaning my head back so all I saw was pale blue sky and fluffy white clouds, trying to ignore the small boy attempting suicide on a garbage bin “You don’t act like a 16-year-old”

Even though I wasn’t looking at the boy I could hear the frown in his voice. “Yah, well you don’t act like a normal 17-year-old girl”

I tilted my head back so I could see his face. I had been right, he was frowning. “Now James, if I was a normal teenage girl I wouldn’t be much fun, now would I?” I tiled my head to the side and raised my eyebrows.

James thought about this for a minute before his face broke out in a grin. “No, you wouldn’t”

I opened my mouth to try and convince James to come down when a voice said behind me “What’s going on?”

Leaning my head back I smiled sheepishly at the silhouette that could only be Charlie. “Oh, hi there oh friend of mine that I hope wont kill me”

“Not today November, not today” Charlie stepped around me, walking over to the BFI bin with his hands outstretched. I watched as James giggled happily and sat down on the bin, his chucks banging against the surprisingly clean metal.

“Come here you” the taller boy easily reached up and picked James off the bin, holding him easily above his head. Charlie spun the blonde around in a circle and laughter could be heard from the pair. I couldn’t hold back a smile myself.

“Lets get going boys” I called to the still spinning pair, standing and brushing off my jeans “I don’t want to be late”

“Coming, coming” Charlie signed and set James down the blonde tottering from the constant spinning.

“Wait a sec” James said after he had stopped swaying on his feet. He motioned for the tall 18-year-old to bend down and when Charlie did as told the blonde pulled something out from his sweater pocket and pulled it down over Charlie’s curly black hair.

It was a hat that looked like a penguin, a red bow sitting just above Charlie’s raised eyebrows.

I couldn’t hold back the laughter that bubbled up through my throat and squeezed between my lips. Should have known that it wouldn’t take Charlie very long to walk over to me and smack me upside my head. Sending my own hat flying off my head to land on the dirty pavement.

“Hey” I picked up my hat and brushed off a bit of dirt before pulling it over my hair and sticking my tongue out at him “Don’t be jealous of my hat Penguin boy”

Charlie opened his mouth to snap back at me but James saved me from the verbal abuse by running over and grabbing both me and Charlie’s hands and pulling us after him. He nearly pulled my arm out of my socket. For a little guy he was pretty strong.

After a few moments of silence and walking James opened his mouth and said, “Have you guys ever thought that we are like a family?”

I rolled my eyes and said “Yah, one messed up family. A straight girl and two gay guys who are dating.”

Charlie reached over and slapped the back of my head with his free hands, James having not given our hands back when he grabbed us. I glared at him from over a mess of blonde hair and stuck out my tongue immaturely.