by Lan Dang
Chapter 2: Pink Notebook
When Eric woke up the next morning, the bright sun was already shining through his window as if it was beckoning him to get out of bed and enjoy the day. Eric yawned and smiled, in spite of last night’s odd dream, which he vaguely recalled because it left a lasting imprint on his memory. It was the weekends after all and he had tons of things to do, such as checking out the new video game store that recently opened up, just across from their school. He had already asked Jonathan and the two agreed to see the store today. As Eric’s mind drifted back to last night’s dream, he thought about how real it felt, how it was different from any other dreams he has ever had.
He shuddered, thinking about the prisoner, and told himself. “It can’t be real. It just can’t.”
He recalled all his other strange dreams, even the one where he and Janet were holding hands and kissing each other on a bridge adorned with bright red roses. The two were oblivious of the world as they stood on top of the bridge and looked at each other with loving eyes. Eric gagged, recalling that horrid dream. It, too, was also very vivid but he knew it could never be real. Janet was just his neighbor and classmate but other than that, no way. He could never imagine ever falling for someone like Janet. She was just not his type and he never had any feelings for her in the first place.
He smiled as he jumped out of bed and changed out of his pajamas into a dark blue t-shirt and grey jeans. He brushed his teeth and combed his hair and practically bolted down the stairs into the kitchen. His mom was already there humming to herself as she prepared the batter to make pancakes.
She smiled as she looked up to see him.
She said, “Good morning. Glad to see you got home safe and sound. Sorry I couldn’t make it to your game but I heard you guys won. Nurse Becky popped in this morning and told me all about it.”
“It’s okay, Mom. Really, I understand.”
She looked apologetic as she replied, “It was just so busy yesterday. A lot of people were getting their check-ups and we were so understaffed. I don’t think I got back home until two this morning.”
She smiled and Eric noticed the puffy dark rings under her eyes, proof of last night.
“Mom, you should have slept in. I could just eat cereal or something.”
“I know but this was the least I could do. Also, cereal doesn’t have all the nutrients you need.” She shook her head and continued. “You’re a growing boy. You deserve a good warm breakfast even if it means I lose a couple of hours of sleep. Besides, I have a lot of errands to do today.”
She started to list them off: “Grocery shopping, laundry, and the works. Goodness knows the refrigerator is almost completely empty and not to mention, I am running out of things to wear.”
She sighed, thinking about her errands. Eric knew it was his cue to offer any help.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
She smiled and said, “You can start by cleaning your room. Just give me your dirty clothes for laundry. But before you do any of that, you have to eat first.”
Eric had almost forgotten about his hungry stomach. He salivated as his mom placed a plate full of warm pancakes in front of him. He grabbed a bottle of maple syrup and drowned his pancakes in the sweet syrup. He gobbled down the fluffy pancakes and swallowed his orange juice.
His mom watched as he devoured his breakfast within minutes. She smiled and said, “Slow it down. It’s not a food eating contest. I don’t want you choking or anything.”
He looked at her and grinned. “Too late now. The food has successfully entered my stomach.” He patted his stomach with a satisfied expression on his face.
She rolled her eyes and said, “I noticed that you didn’t touch the pot roast I put in the oven yesterday. Did you get any food after the game? No wonder you were starving.” She shook her head in a disapproving manner.
He looked at his mom and asked, “Pot roast?”
He shook his head and continued. “Oh I didn’t see it. But don’t worry. The coach took the whole team to eat pizza afterwards. It was a celebration. And I was so tired after that, I just went home and fell asleep. But I took a shower first.” He quickly added the last part before his mom could say anything else.
His mom chuckled and said, “Well at least you got some dinner then. I just checked in on you when I got home. You were already asleep and I didn’t want to wake you up.” She looked up at the ceiling and continued slowly. “It was really odd but you were muttering something in your dream. You kept saying we have to help him and constantly repeating it over and over again. I just figured you were sound asleep and didn’t want to startle you.”
She looked at him with a worried expression. His mom was already having difficulty balancing a full time job and raising a fourteen-year-old son. She didn’t need any more worries on top of that. Eric smiled and gulped the last of his orange juice.
“It was just a bad dream. Nothing more. Thanks for the breakfast. I have to go now. Jonathan and I want to check out the new video game store.”
His mom nodded her head and the wrinkles on her forehead vanished.
“I understand. Can you just clean up the table and take out your dirty laundry first before you leave?”
“Sure.”
Eric gathered up the dishes and washed them and wiped the table. He walked up the stairs to his room and started to pick up his dirty clothes. He tossed his jeans, shirts, and socks in the laundry basket and carried them downstairs. He waved good-bye to his mom and hurriedly walked out the door before she started on her list of chores.
He muttered under his breath. “So I guess it was just a dream after all. Even Mom heard me talking in my sleep.”
He went into the garage and opened the garage door and searched for his bicycle. “Looks like I have to clean this place next.”
The garage was used as a storage unit. There were boxes stacked, one on top of another, on the side of the wall connecting the garage to the house. Eric recognized some of the stuff: his old books, trophies, soccer balls, and even some of his stuffed animals. His mom told him she never had the heart to throw away any of these precious ‘relics’ as she called them so she kept everything. There were the old family albums peering from the tops of the boxes and even things that belonged to his dad. Eric looked away. He couldn’t bring himself to look at any of those items: his dad’s old tattered shirts, his toolbox, the fishing pole, golf clubs, and his dad’s record collection. All those things reminded him of his dad and his eyes watered thinking about him. He wiped his eyes, cleared his throat, and saw his bicycle leaning against the corner. He immediately picked up his bicycle and dragged it outside to the fresh open air and closed the garage door.
Eric smiled as he saw the bright sun peering at him. He pedaled as fast as he could to Jonathan’s house. As he rode his bike down the street, he ran into Janet.
“Of all people.” He muttered and then groaned out loud.
Janet had left her hair down and it shone a radiant bright yellow in the glare of the sunlight. She looked like a bright yellow flag that he wanted to ride past. She waved at him and shouted out.
“Hey, Eric!”
He politely stopped pedaling and waited for her to catch up to him. She smiled and her white teeth glimmered back at him. He stared at her for awhile and noticed how different she looked when she didn’t try to be so odd. Now, with her hair down, jeans and a plain white shirt, she looked kind of pretty to him.
“Where are you going so fast? Are you late for something?
“Oh, Jonathan and I just want to check out the new video game store.”
Eric gulped, wishing he had lied to her about his destination and he crossed his fingers hoping she wouldn’t ask to join. He didn’t really have the heart to say no to her.
“Oh yeah, I remember. I heard it recently opened. I just never had a chance to check it out myself. Isn’
t the name of the store like ‘World Gamers’ or something to that effect? I can’t remember now off the top of my head.”
She stood there, with one hand on her hip and another hand against the side of her forehead, hoping that the name would come to her.
She shook her head, apparently giving up on her memory.
“Well, actually, the real reason I stopped you was that I wanted to interview you for the school article. I have to write a sports article about yesterday’s championship game and I thought who better to interview than the player who kicked the last goal, right?”
She flashed Eric a grin and before he could answer her, she continued.
“I already have a tape of the game. Jame’s dad was filming the whole thing and agreed to lend me the video since I couldn’t come yesterday.”
She stopped for a moment to catch her breath. “I mean do you mind if I come too? I could interview you afterwards. It would be much more efficient that way.”
Eric looked at her with surprise.
“Um, well, I told Jonathan that it would just be the two of us and er….um, I don’t think you would like following us around. You probably have better things to do. It is the weekends after all.” He crossed his fingers hoping she would take the hint.
She pondered it for a moment and said, “True. My dad wants me to help him fix some appliances at home. But this article is more important. I am sure he would understand. Besides, I want to check out the video game store too. I am pretty sure Dad wouldn’t mind if I help him tomorrow. Can you wait here while I tell him and get my bicycle too?”
Before Eric could open his mouth in response, she ran back into her house and several minutes later, she came back dragging her pink bicycle. It even had a little brass bell and glittering handles, tied with long, pink ribbons. Eric looked at it in shock.
She smiled and said, “Thanks for waiting for me. We can go now.”
Eric shook his head and as he pedaled behind her, he muttered quietly. “Oh great. What a nuisance! I wonder what Jonathan would think.”
The two pedaled their way to Jonathan’s house. Jonathan was tall and slender and very tanned. He was wearing his black cap which hid his light brown hair. He wore a dark green polo shirt and black jeans and he was standing next to his brother, a miniature replica of himself. He smiled and waved at both of them.
Jonathan looked apologetic as he said, “Sorry guys. Mind if I take Tommy with us? Both my parents are gone and put me in charge.”
Janet grinned and said, “Sure, Tommy can join us. The more, the merrier.”
Tommy smiled at her and got onto his small bicycle, which still had training wheels attached. Jonathan followed alongside his younger brother.
Eric slowed down until there was a short distance separating them from Janet who was whizzing down the street like a bright pink blur.
Eric whispered, “I just kind of ran into Janet. She asked where I was going and wanted to come along.”
Jonathan laughed out loud. “It’s okay. Janet isn’t that bad. Besides, Tommy seems to like having her around. I guess we’re both stuck in a way. I didn’t really want to look after Tommy either but my parents had to leave in a rush and they couldn’t find a baby-sitter for him.”
Eric grinned. “I guess Janet’s right after all. The more, the merrier.”
Janet was already impatiently waiting for them at the video game store. Jonathan and Eric pedaled towards her with Tommy trailing behind.
Tommy looked tired as he huffed and puffed and exclaimed, “That was far. I think that was the longest I ever biked.”
Janet smiled and corrected him. “Bicycled, not biked.” She went over to help him get off his bicycle and held his hand as they walked into the video game store.
As Jonathan and Eric followed them inside, Eric noticed that Janet was right. The name of the video game store was indeed ‘World Gamers.’ The name was boldly written in grey fancy lettering. Inside the store, everything was brand new. The carpet was a soft, burgundy color and the walls were a freshly painted white color. The shelves were lined with the latest video games, games that Eric had hinted to his mother to buy for his fifteenth birthday. There was even a section designated for the older video games which could only be played on the older models of the game consoles. Eric and Jonathan immersed themselves as they looked at the vast array of video games that the store offered. Janet and Tommy decided to amuse themselves in the arcade section where Janet fished out quarters from her pocket. She inserted the quarters and Tommy laughed gleefully as they chose their characters for the game.
Eric was so preoccupied with the vast selection that he didn’t notice one of the rings on his necklace changing colors. It was turning a deep reddish color and he also didn’t notice the intense stare of the store clerk who had been watching him from the moment he entered the store. It wasn’t until the ring started to feel hot that Eric screamed out loud.
“Ouch!”
He looked down and looked closely at the source of his pain. He finally noticed that one of the necklace’s rings had turned red instead of its usual silver color. This had caused a slight red ring to form on his pale skin.
Jonathan, who heard him scream, came over to see if anything was wrong.
“What happened? I heard you scream.”
Eric looked in surprise at his friend and said hastily, “Oh, it was nothing. I thought I saw a spider for a second but it was gone.” He turned a faint reddish color which was a clue that he had just lied.
Jonathan peered closely at his friend.
“Are you okay? You look slightly feverish like you’re sweating or something.”
Eric felt his forehead which was a little hotter than usual.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It must have been the bicycle ride. I guess I’m just dehydrated. So, uh, did you find anything you liked?” Eric hoped changing the subject would deter his friend from asking any further questions.
To his relief, Jonathan grinned and said, “Yeah, but the games are a bit pricey. I don’t have enough money with me, not to buy the real games I want anyways. I’m trying to get my parents to increase my allowance. You know, since I’m looking after Tommy now and helping around the house. I still have a lot of chores to do.”
Jonathan looked around and with a panicked expression on his face, he said, “Wait. Where’s Tommy? My parents would ground me if I lost him.”
Both Eric and Jonathan frantically searched around the store for Tommy. They finally found him in the arcade section with Janet who was thoroughly enjoying herself. She was laughing loudly and smiling so much so that even Tommy seemed infected with her enthusiasm as well. He was usually shy around strangers but he, too, was also laughing and giggling out loud with her.
Jonathan smiled and looked at Janet.
“It looks like Tommy really likes you. He usually doesn’t take to people so my parents have a hard time finding baby-sitters for him.”
Janet grinned.
“He’s actually easier to take care of than Jerry, my younger baby brother. At least, I don’t have to change diapers for Tommy.”
Jonathan laughed and nodded his head in agreement.
Janet continued, “I don’t mind looking after him. I mean if you ever need anyone to take care of him, just give me a call.”
Jonathan smiled and said, “Sure thing. Thanks for the offer. I really appreciate it.” He glanced at Eric, standing next to him, who was intently staring at the store clerk.
Eric noticed for the first time that the store clerk was behaving quite oddly. The store clerk had a baseball cap pulled way down, covering much of his face, except for the brown beard which hung haggardly from his face. He pretended to busy himself by putting price tags on a new delivery of video games. There were two boxes, one of which was still unopened. Once in a while, Eric would catch him staring back as he stopped what he
was doing to observe them. His eyes met Eric’s eyes and he immediately turned his back on them. The store clerk wore a long-sleeved blue and black checkered flannel shirt with his name tag on his front pocket and black jeans.
Jonathan felt uneasy and whispered to Eric, “Maybe he thinks we were stealing some video games or something. He just doesn’t know us yet. We’re not at all like that.”
Eric nodded his head in agreement. He continued to stare at the store clerk.
The store clerk caught his eyes for the second time again and asked, “Did you find everything you were looking for?”
Eric politely answered, “Actually, we weren’t looking for anything in particular. We just wanted to check out your new store. You have a really good selection here.”
The store clerk smiled at the compliment, revealing a set of crooked teeth that sent a shiver up and down Eric’s spine. “Thank you. We’re still working on our inventory. Some of the shipments have yet to arrive and I am currently working on unpacking these two boxes here.”
Eric replied, “Well, thanks for letting us take a look. We’re also kind of busy ourselves so we’ll be heading out now.”
Eric was pushing for his friends to get the hint but Tommy kept insisting on staying to play more arcade games. Both Janet and Jonathan were clueless and seemed amused by Tommy’s antics. Eric finally whispered in Jonathan’s ears that it was time to leave and they finally started to walk out the store. They waved good-bye to the store clerk who nodded his head in acknowledgment, his eyes still intent on Eric.
Tommy looked up at his older brother and asked, “Can we come here again?”
Jonathan just laughed and replied, “Sure. But just don’t tell Mom and Dad about it. I think we would both be in trouble if they found out, considering I’m supposed to be at home looking after you.”
He turned around to face Eric and Janet.
He smiled and said, “Thanks for helping me with Tommy here. I have to take him home before my parents return. See you guys later!”
He waved good-bye and helped his brother get on his bicycle. His brother gave a toothy grin and also waved good-bye.
As Eric watched the two pedal away, Janet immediately became very business-like and professional. She had always wanted to be a reporter and her belief was that there was no small story. All the stories were equally important. All that mattered was how the story was reported. Some of the smallest and most insignificant stories could become headline news if it was written well and reported with what she called simply ‘heart.’
And so it was with heart, that she poked Eric to get his attention.
“I believe it is time for our interview now.” She looked earnestly at Eric and said, “You did promise me that, remember?”
Eric looked at her and nodded his head. He could tell she was very impatient and was well prepared for the interview. He sighed, knowing full well that there was no way to escape so he might as well get it over with.
He suggested, “How about doing the interview at Pizza Lovers? I’m starving right now.” Janet agreed and the two walked over to the small restaurant.
As they walked, they were greeted with the mouth-watering smell of fresh pizzas. Eric quickly scanned the many different tables and chose the one in the corner, farthest from the door. He slid in the seat, opposite the door, so people who walked in could only see his back. He didn’t want to be seen with Janet, especially on the weekends. He could just imagine the rumors that would reach his ears about their romantic date here.
Janet did not make a deal about the seating arrangement. She coolly took her seat, opposite from Eric, and whipped out her small pink notebook. She also had a matching pink pen which had a tiny red ornament shaped like a heart, dangling from the cap. Every time she wrote, the red heart would wave back and forth and utter an annoying tap-tap sound as it kept hitting the cap. It was all very annoying but Janet didn’t seem to notice Eric, who rolled his eyes at her. He quickly scanned the restaurant. Luckily, it was still rather early so there were not that many people arriving for lunch yet. The restaurant was relatively empty, except for several people, but no one from school.
“Hopefully, this interview won’t take long and I can get rid of her afterwards,” he thought to himself.
He was contemplating his escape using the restroom as his hide-out when Kathy approached their table to take their orders. Eric’s face reddened. He didn’t want Kathy to think he was on a date with Janet. He wished he had chosen a more private place for the interview, rather than here, but he was hungry. Also, there were some weekends that Kathy didn’t work but unfortunately for him, this was evidently not one of those weekends.
Kathy smiled. “Hi Janet, hi Eric. What would you two like to order?”
Eric couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of Kathy. She looked rather stunning, even in a simple collared dress shirt and black matching dress pants.
Janet stared at Eric and shook her head. She muttered something unintelligible before ordering.
“A glass of lemonade and a small cheese pizza please.”
When she finished, she realized Eric was still daydreaming. She decided to help him. She cleverly stomped his feet under the table to snap him out of it.
“Ouch! What the heck!?” Eric’s astonished eyes met Janet’s narrowed eyes and he said, “Never mind. A large pepperoni pizza and a Coke please.”
Kathy took their orders and went back into the kitchen. Eric watched her walk away with a longing expression on his face and Janet’s eyes followed his eyes. She smiled sweetly and loudly cleared her throat. Eric looked at her in embarrassment.
“Back to the story please. You can get back to your weekend once this is over. I promise I will make this as less painful as possible.”
She grinned and Eric blushed a bit.
He had a feeling that Janet always knew what he was thinking. She was a reporter after all, a nosy, eccentric, and annoying one, but one with brains, nonetheless. She flipped her notebook and made a grand sweeping gesture with her pen.
“Okay. So describe to me how you were feeling before the game ever got started.”
Eric thought about it.
“Well I was very excited since it was the championship game of the school district and the last game of the series. We were up, 2-1, against the Panthers. We just needed to win this final match to win the entire series, best out of five games. So if we won 3-1, we wouldn’t have to play the last game.”
He watched closely as Janet furrowed her eyebrow and jotted down quick notes of everything he was saying. It made him feel nervous yet important that someone actually cared what he had to say.
She finished and looked up.
“So your team was looking to close this series? You guys must have practiced a lot before this game to prepare for it. Were you under pressure? What would the coach have said if you lost?”
Eric laughed and asked, “Do you always ask this many questions? Slow down. Well, first of all, win or lose, the important thing is that we play as hard as we can. That’s what matters. The effort, as Coach Wilkins, would say is what truly matters. The end result of course is that sure, we would like to win, we would like to close the series, and we would want all our hard work to pay off. But that doesn’t always happen. Coach Wilkins used to say that the game is much like real life. We can work for things as hard as we want but we don’t always get what we want.”
His eyes wandered off to Kathy who was at a distance, wiping the tables and straightening the chairs. He sighed as he thought to himself. “Oh, what I wouldn’t do to have one date with her.”
Janet saw but pretended not to notice.
“Your team must really look up to Coach Wilkins. What type of person would you describe him as? A rough hardball or a softie?”
Eric chuckled, listening to Janet’s description of their coach.
�
��Well anyone who plays for Coach Wilkins would agree with me when I say that he is a role model and he deserves to have people respect him and take his words of wisdom seriously. I mean, the things he says, are not only applicable to soccer but to real life as well. Yeah, we were usually under pressure to win and stressed out and tired after all the practice time we put in, but it was worth it. That’s how champions are made and yeah, some people think he is a rough hardball but he is actually a softie underneath all that hard exterior. I mean the guy volunteers on the weekends and he donates to charity, not much, but what he could afford to give away. Did you know he turned down a higher salary offer, just to coach us instead, because he grew up here and he just wanted to give back to the community? The guy is loyal and selfless and that’s all I have to say.”
He crossed his hands, almost defensively, ready to defend Coach Wilkins’ good name.
Janet smiled and said softly, “He must be like a father to you.”
Eric nodded his head and he winced at the mention of ‘father.’ His reaction made Janet quickly change the subject.
“So I heard you kicked the final winning shot. That must have been like a dream come true to you. How did you feel about it?”
He laughed.
“Yeah, I guess it really was a dream come true. I mean the Panthers had played such tight defense for the last half of the game that I thought it would be tied. So when James passed the ball to me, all I could think of was, I had to end the tie. I had to score and I did. I knew I was faster than the guy guarding me, so I dove pass him, and my only worry then was whether the goalie could stop me. The rest, of course, you already know.”
Janet smiled at him.
“Thank you for the interview. I really appreciate your help. Our pizzas are here.” She returned her pink notebook and its matching pen back into her purse.
Sure enough as Eric turned his head around, Kathy was approaching with the two pizzas. Eric couldn’t help but notice that she looked rather tired with dark circles under her eyes. As she came over, she almost slipped but he immediately got up and caught her before she fell. He also managed to save the pizzas as well. She looked at him with surprise and thanked him. Afterwards, she returned to the kitchen to get their drinks.
Janet looked at Eric with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.
“You are right. You’re so fast. You must have really good reflexes.” She winked. “Must be all of Coach Wilkins’ hours of practice.”
He grinned back at her. “That and natural talent.”
Kathy came back to their table with their drinks. She looked apologetic.
“Whew. That was a close one. I usually don’t trip over things but I’ve just been so tired lately. Sorry about that and thanks for catching me before I fell. Luckily, I didn’t have the drinks then.”
She smiled and placed their drinks on the table.
“If you need anything else, just give me a holler.”
Kathy walked to the front door to greet the customers coming in. Both Janet and Eric were starving. They dug into their pizzas and gulped down their drinks. When they were finished, the tab came and Janet immediately went to pay. Eric offered to pay his portion but she wouldn’t have any of it. She insisted that it was the least she could do to compensate him for the interview.
As they waved good-bye to Kathy and walked out of the restaurant, Eric realized that Janet wasn’t so bad after all. She actually was a very kind person and he regretted paying attention to the rumors surrounding her. She was his neighbor after all and they had grown up together. He often saw her working in the garden or hanging up her clothes to dry. He felt a pang of guilt for not making the effort to get to know her better even though they lived so close to each other for such a long time.
He sighed and quietly said, “It was never physical distance.”
Janet turned around and asked, “Oh did you say something? I don’t think I heard you clearly.”
“Oh, don’t mind me. I was just talking to myself.” He paused for a moment. “Janet, it’s been really nice hanging out with you but I have some chores to take care of. I have to go now. Thanks for the pizza.”
She smiled. “Thanks for the interview. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.”
She walked off and Eric lingered around the streets. Much as he enjoyed her company, he still didn’t want to be seen walking home with her. He looked at his necklace and noticed that the color of all three rings were silver.
“That’s odd. The ring must have changed back to its normal color.”
He shook his head and proceeded to walk home.
