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Chapter 2
The Memory

It was the morning of Daniel’s sixteenth birthday party, and, as usual, he invited all of his closest friends, which included Maria and Virgil. From the time Virgil had awoken until now, Virgil could barely contain his excitement while waiting patiently for two o’clock. To Virgil, however, time flowed, not like a quick stream, but like a river of molasses. Despite time’s conspiring against him, Virgil knew from experience that Daniel’s parties were worth the wait.
Doing his morning chores was the only way that Virgil could think of that he could use to beat time at its own game. Since many of his chores were quick, he had to do a chore that would take at least an hour. While making a quick scan of the kitchen, he decided on doing the dishes. The dishes, piled high past the rim of the sink, would provide a challenge for Virgil for at least an hour.
“Only a few more hours,” Virgil said over the loud spray of water. As the water began to immerse the heavier, tomato sauce-mottled pots, he noticed how beautiful the water looked as the light came in from the window over the sink. The water, becoming like mercury in the sun’s rays, interested Virgil. As he swirled the water and began his chore, his mind moved away from the awe of the reflective water and onto other matters.
While cleaning the spaghetti-stained ladle from last night’s dinner, Virgil began to recall his conversation he had had with Daniel the week before and what Daniel had planned to do for his sixteenth birthday party. Although such a memory was exciting, it also made his heart jump. Certain parts of the conversation brought back old feelings in Virgil, feelings that he had forgotten about in the seven days since.
On the way home from school one cold autumn afternoon, Daniel casually stated that he was going to have a party without parental supervision. Virgil, being the careful person that he was, had inquired to Daniel why did he want a parentless party, and why did his parents go along with this idea.
“Because,” Daniel said, looking down the street and smiling as if he had seen something funny, “I’m going to do something special this time. I plan to do something, as you would call it, ‘irrational’. As for the second answer,” Daniel picked up a rock from a nearby rock bed in the yard they were passing and threw it down the street. He grinned as the rock fell through one of the trees and landed on the concrete a few yards away. “My parents think of me as responsible,” he finished. Usually, whenever Daniel smiled, he meant to do something that would get them both in trouble.
Virgil continued to walk in silence ahead of his friend, his shoes crushing dying leaves as he stepped, straining to piece together Daniel’s vague clues in his mind. Daniel followed closely behind him, waiting for Virgil to discover his plans.
Daniel heaved a sigh as the chilling autumn wind started to blow, and, from behind Virgil, said, “I’ll give you a hint,” Virgil continued walking, not even turning around to face his best friend. Noticing a small branch in his path, he kicked it aside, as if he were kicking aside an unlikely solution in his head. Virgil slowed up his pace so Daniel could catch up.
“Do you want to know it, Virg?” Daniel sped up until he was shoulder to shoulder with his confused friend. Daniel put his arm around Virgil and whispered, “Kiss and tell no one,”
Daniel laughed and Virgil stopped short under a maple tree’s shadow and gave his friend a look of consternation. Daniel, who was still walking, turned around and laughed.
“Wow, Virg,” he said in between fits of laughter, “you should see the look on your face,” Daniel backtracked to his best friend and patted him on the shoulder.
“You’ll be fine, man.” Daniel winked. “I know Maria has a thing for you. This might be your chance,”
Virgil, still in bewilderment, examined his friend for any sign of doubt in his previous statement. To his chagrin, he found none. Daniel was unusually serious when it came to matters concerning his friends. Virgil examined his friend again, this time asking:
“You’re kidding, right?” said Virgil. He hadn’t said anything for a while. “What made you think of this ingenious idea? Doing this stunt is childish and you know it,” Virgil proceeded to meander past his friend, repeating the word “ingenious,” under his breath and zipping up his black vest.
“Come on, Virg,” Daniel complained as he tailed his friend. The boy grabbed the strap of his best friend’s bookbag, almost pulling his friend to the ground. Virgil hated when Daniel got rough. Virgil caught himself and spun around to face his friend again. Although still comprehending what his friend had proposed, Virgil could not take his eyes off of Daniel for an odd reason.
Examining his friend, Virgil noticed that he saw something different in Daniel…something he hadn’t seen before. Besides Daniel’s normal grin, he noticed that his friend almost glowed in the sun. Daniel’s toffee-colored skin stood out against the crimson trees in the background and his brown eyes seemed warmer than usual to Virgil despite the forty-degree temperatures of autumn. Daniel had always looked older than Virgil, despite Virgil being older than him by almost a year. Daniel had a slight moustache while his friend had none, and it used to annoy Virgil. Now, it seemed intriguing to him.
“Virgil?” Daniel said, gazing at his friend confusedly, “Are you okay? You zoned out,”
Virgil blinked and looked across the street at two children in their front yard playing in the freshly raked firey-red leaves. He had been staring too long and noticed that it had become awkward for the both of them.
“Um, yeah, I must have,” Virgil said, agreeing with his older looking friend. “I thought I saw Maria across the street,” Fortunately for Virgil, Daniel could not discern from truth and lie. To add to his luck, they had finally reached Virgil’s house across the street. His sanctuary from Daniel’s visage was calling to him.
“Look, Daniel,” Virgil said regaining his previous composure and stepping off the curb and into the silent street, “I have to get home right now. So I’ll catch you later, okay?”
“Sure, why not?” His friend said flatly, holding up his trademark peace sign. “Remember,” he added as Virgil made it to the other side, “Maria’s waiting for you. Don’t mess it up,” And with that, Virgil entered his house and shut the door behind him…

“Maria,” Virgil said as he finished the last fine China plate. “Don’t mess it up,” He echoed as if Daniel had said it minutes before. This thought bothered Virgil until it was time to get dressed.
Dressing in a casual blue polo with jeans, Virgil felt a bit calmer as he sized himself up in the mirror in his bathroom. The baby blue wall tiles around the bathroom almost made Virgil blend in like a chameleon. The only reason why he stood out was because of his coffee-colored complexion. Grabbing his brush from beside the sink, he proceeded to carefully brushing his hair. Soon after, Mr. Zachary called from downstairs,
“Virgil,” he said in his deep voice, “it’s almost time to go. Are you ready? You wanted to be at the party by two, am I correct?” Downstairs, Mr. Zachary looked at his watch. Today was Saturday, and he had to work.
“Yes, Dad,” Responded his son. “I’ll be down in a minute,” Suddenly, Daniel’s last words appeared on his lips again. “Don’t mess it up,” He said without realizing that he said it. Ignoring the matter, he darted down the stairs where his father waited. Mr. Zachary adjusted his glasses one last time and stepped out the door with his son trailing behind him. The Zachary minivan was already running, its gray color contrasting with the vivacious autumn colors of the maple tree in the front yard. It was as if the car had absorbed the monochromatic characteristics of the previous winter and held fast to it all through the seasons.
As Virgil climbed into the backseat, he thought about Maria and Daniel one last time. Although he made sure his eyes were not red before he left the house, for a fleeting second, he noticed a boy weeping in the rearview mirror, although presently his eyes were not even wet.