Chapter 7: April’s Story

It was love at first sight.

It could have been lust. I don’t know. But I am fairly sure it was love.

It was at one of those teen parties. You know, the ones with hormones raging so hard, you can hear the walls thumping over the music – yet no one’s having sex. Sure, there is a lot of sex talk, but rarely does it ever happen at those things.

Don’t ask me how I got roped into going to the damn thing. It was a favor for a friend.

A little bit of quick background.

I am 23, ready to start my Senior year at a nearby university. Yeah, I know. You read it, I am getting ready to start my junior year. There was a bit of confusion there.

I am not from this area. That is obvious from the color of my skin.

My dad got transferred from his job in Cincinnati to Ludlear, a tiny, indistinct town in the middle of Ohio.

Honestly, the move was culture shock. Going to university was draining my bank account – even with the scholarships – so I had to take on a couple of summer jobs during break. I had done that in Cincinnati with no problem.

In Ludlear, it was a problem. Some people automatically did not like me much because I’m Black—cold, hard truth. And I found it challenging to get a summer job because I am Black. Again, the cold, hard truth.

I hoped to find an internship in my field, but finding a job pertaining to galactic evolution in Ludlear County proved difficult, so I ended up with a couple of cashier jobs.

Whatever.

I made enough to pay the bills.

I made a few friends, and some people in the area were decent, but others looked at me like I had crawled out of a swamp. In their minds, perhaps I did. But, enough about them.

One of my friends, Gale, had just graduated from high school. Gale was a sweetheart, and we became close friends. Not only did she not care about the color of my skin, but she did not care about my sexuality.

“Be honest,” she asked me one night as we had a few drinks. “If I showed any interest at all, would you fuck me?”

Gale was pretty blunt.

So was I.

“I could make you squirt in less than three minutes,” I bragged.

She grinned. “Sounds like a challenge!”

I took a sip from my beer. “You name the place and time; I will provide the fingers and tongue.”

Gale giggled and took a sip of her soda. “You sure you’re OK with this party?”

I smiled and nodded. “I will blend in perfectly with the wall. Where there is a wall, there is a shadow, and I can hide in those quite well!”

Gale rolled her eyes and took another sip. “Do you think it’s weird I’m trying to get at Jimmy?”

I shook my head. “Age isn’t all that important. Love is. If you love him, then his age should not matter to you. Besides, he’s only a few months younger than you?”

“He’s 17, I’m 18.”

“Yeah, but when did you turn 18?”

“March.”

“And he turns 18 this summer, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I guess so.”

We sipped our drinks. “Maybe you’ll find somebody there,” she said. “I mean if you don’t mind someone in high school. The party will be clean, so no drinks, which means no adults will be interested in going.”

I shrugged. I didn’t need drinks to have a fun time.

By the way, it was NOT a clean party.

Drinks were flowing pretty freely. Some were even going into mouths. A lot was being spilled by kids hollering about how much they were drinking and how drunk they were getting, but probably not, since the carpet was getting more beer than their lips.

So, I grabbed myself a cold one and shifted into a nice, comfortable shadow and did what I did best at these things: try to stay invisible and watch people.

Every once in a while, some hormone-induced boy would come over to me and try to hit on me, but I was having none of it. A couple tried to be persistent until I told them I was a lesbian. That threw most of them in another direction.

I watched Gale and Jimmy. They were hitting it off. I knew they would.

The rest of the party was just blood, sweat, tears, and loud music.

Then I saw her.

It was only a glance, just a quick flash from across the room – all I could see was her adorable face, a nervous but bright smile, eyes darting around the room before she found her target and quickly disappeared into another room.

I admit, I was thunderstruck.

I tried to follow her, but the bodies were so packed that I could barely move out of my room.

At one point, gritting my teeth, I had to tell a boy to get his hand off my tush or he would be eating his teeth. He disappeared into the crowd instantly.

I caught another glimpse of her and was struck by lightning this time.

I was able to see her this time. I was so struck that I was barely able to move.

Her eyes. Oh, her eyes. Her eyes saw everything; she had the eyes of someone wiser than her years. Strands of dark, curly hair kept drifting over those beautiful eyes, which she would attempt to blow or brush away, only to have it return a couple of moments later.

She had beautiful, full, pouty lips, always in a nervous smile, a slight overbite topping it off. Her little button nose barely made an impression on her face.