Chapter 3: Back to School
Labor Day in Virginia is pretty much the last day of summer. Most public schools go back the following day. This sleepy little town had a final summer celebration with a concert and vendors downtown. The few local businesses were all decked out and ready for the last of the few tourists that came through. The stage was set up a couple blocks from the beach; Main Street was roped off so no traffic could interrupt the celebration. Emily yelled at me to hurry up so we could head out and partake in the last hurrah of the season. I put on some board shorts, a tight fitting, but not too small t-shirt, grabbed my sunglasses and headed down the stairs. Emily and I walked chatting on the way to the festival. She spotted a group of girls she seemed to recognize.
"Do you mind if I go hang out with them, Lindsay, our neighbor, is going to be in my grade and I want to make some friends. You should go make friends too, don't want to be sitting at the lunch table alone do you?" She asked as she started sliding away.
"No problem, I'll meet you later." I waved as she skipped over to the group.
I could hear the music as I got closer; the band was singing a Beach Boys song. I shook my head and chuckled to myself as I made my way into the small crowd of people. I saw my mom and dad eating soft-shell crab sandwiches and waved to them as I walked by. They smelled good, but I didn't want to stop where my parents were, so I kept walking down the street.
I came across a little booth that had a long line. The banner hanging above the line read 'crab muffins,' I headed towards the end of the line and the elderly gentleman in front of me looked up at me and declared "These are the best crab muffins in the state, well worth the wait young man." I nodded and he turned around to talk to who I assumed was his wife. The line moved very quickly and I jerked my head up at the sound of familiar girls giggling. At the front of line and near the condiments was a familiar group of teens. I caught sight of the short cropped brown head as he turned around and took a bite of his crab muffin, a look of pure delight on his face as he headed down the road with the rest of his pack. I was gently nudged forward and out of my stupor when the man behind the counter shouted "Next!"
I now understood the look of delight on the guys' face as I bit into the crab muffin. It was fantastic. The older man and his wife looked at me knowingly and grinned as we all took another bite. I kept my eye out following behind the group of teens heading towards the stage. Emily came up behind me and startled me as I watched the group disappear on the other side of the crowd. I slowed down and stopped to talk to her. She was with two girls her age. Introductions were exchanged and they moved closer to the band that was now doing a terrible rendition of Billy Ray Cyrus' 'Achy Breaky Heart.'
Having lost sight of the group, or really the guy I was fascinated with, I decided to head around the stage and walk on the beach. There was a nice breeze blowing and the beach was empty with everyone on Main Street listening to the questionable music and enjoying delicious food. I had wandered a little way down the beach when I accidently stumbled across the group of teens. They were sitting in a circle around a cooler drinking out of red Solo cups. I wanted to go over there, but was nervous with my newly found fascination, that had me almost dizzy and drooling every time I saw him. One of the girls leaned against him and had her arm around his waist. I winced and cursed to myself for being so stupid. He would probably kick my ass if he saw the lusty look in my eyes. I turned around and made my way back to the stage to listen to some more cover songs before heading back home.
I was the first one back so had plenty of time to think. My old school and city were fairly conservative; I could only imagine how this small farming and fishing town was. 'You've made it this far,' I thought to myself, 'you can make it through another year maintaining the status quo.
The alarm rang way too early as I was just tossing and turning all night. I quickly showered and got dressed in an outfit that I wanted to look good, but not that I was trying, so I settled on khaki cargo shorts and a tight light emerald green Polo shirt. I slid my feet in my leather flip flops and grabbed my keys. Emily was at the table eating scrambled eggs mom had made as a nodded towards the door.
"Bobby, you need to eat before you go to school." She stated matter-of-factly.
"Mom I'm not hungry, I'll eat lunch at school, and I'll be fine." I replied.
