by Ace Campillo
‘About time,’ he looked at me and added, ‘your mom came here to tell us that they would be leaving without us if we don’t hurry up.’
‘Don’t mind her,’ I said as I took the towel off and dried my hair. I’m usually the kind of person who did not mind showing my body off; there’s nothing special about me anyway. However, I caught him look at me from head to foot, and so I flicked my fingers to catch his attention.
‘You seem to be enjoying your view?’ I jokingly asked.
‘Ha!’ He let out a sarcastic laugh and took his shirt off.
‘I'm just amazed by how you maintain that twig-figure of yours.’ He smirked.
The truth was, I was not at all offended with what he said. I had always been jealous of his ripped body. I also wanted to go to the gym, but I did not have the time. That’s a lie! I did not have the motivation to go. That's yet another lie. I laughed at myself. I just did not want to go, period. Body-wise, I thought Andre had all the advantage. He's 176cm, and he had light brown hair and blue eyes. I, on the other hand, was only 170cm and with blonde hair.
‘Yeah, yeah, I fail in comparison to your hunky body.’ I grabbed my package and laughed but quickly added, ‘but I’m pretty sure I win in some things too.’ He stared at where I was holding, and I took the chance to confirm something.
‘You can have a taste of it if you like,’ I said it as I let out a big laugh.
‘Gross dude! Nah I’m good. I have my own to play with,’ he answered.
‘You better get moving then because we’re going to be late.’
‘Oh wow, you’re the one to say.’
I did not understand why he was giggling, but he was staring at me while he had a big grin on his face. He kept turning his towel and launched it towards me like an elastic band. It made a loud sound as it hit my leg, and it was too painful. I also did the same in retaliation. It started as an innocent play, but it suddenly became a battle between two crazy boys. We kept running around like crazy kids; evading each other’s towels. We laughed and jumped like pigs that were freshly set free from our cages. We had our biggest fright when the door suddenly swung open, and it was my dad who decided to curiously stare at us at the door.
‘Boys!’ He firmly said as he entered the room and added, ‘what the heck are you doing? I thought a tornado decided to visit us and created havoc here. Your noise can be heard from across the street.’ He was trying to maintain a serious face, but he laughed as he saw the red marks on our body.
‘Sorry, Mr Carter,’ Andre apologised.
‘You don’t have to apologise. I’m just here to tell you that breakfast is ready.’ He said.
‘Thanks, dad. We'll be coming down soon.’
‘Well, you better be, or your mom would not be too happy.’
My dad went out and closed the door, and we tried to bluff each other by raising our towels before we decided to finally end our battle. I asked him to go ahead and have a shower while I cleaned my room. It might not be too evident, but I always maintained a clean room. I thought the most significant factor that brought me to have that habit was my mother. She was consistently critical of what I did. She always reminded me that the biggest indicator of a person's success was through how early he got up in the morning and whether he or she made his or her bed after getting up. It might sound silly to other people, but that's what she believed in, and I was able to personally adapt that idea. It was always a good feeling to arrive home with a tidy room. It motivated me to start my homework early and do other stuff that I wanted to do.
I waited for Andre to get out of the bathroom. He said he wouldn't take too long, and surely, he was already finished in a few minutes. However, I did not expect him to go out naked. I covered my eyes as an involuntary response.
‘Put your briefs on, will you?’ I exclaimed.
‘Yeah, that’s my problem,’ he said as he scratched the back of his head.
‘Why did you not tell me earlier? Can you at least wrap the towel around you for now?’ I ran towards my drawer and threw him a pair of new underwear.
Instead of putting them on, he slowly came up to me and made some sexy dance moves. He grabbed my hips as he rocked his body, intentionally rubbing his body against mine. I knew it was wrong, but I also did not feel like stopping him. I wonder how he knew all this stuff. His grip got stronger as he tried to turn me around. He was not successful at first, but I gave up and didn't resist anymore.
‘You seem, flustered?’ He asked with a smirk on his face.
‘No, I’m not.’ I retorted.
‘You probably also want to have a piece of this?’ He pointed at his package, but he started laughing.
‘What’s wrong now?’ I asked.
‘I’m sorry. I was just playing with you.’ He continued laughing, and it got him all teary-eyed.
‘So, are you finished yet?’ I raised an eyebrow at him. I was not annoyed, though. I was just wondering why he seemed to be a little bit hyped suddenly.
‘You could have seen your face; it was so funny.’ His laughter eventually died down, and he finally started dressing up.
‘I suppose you feel better today?’ I cautiously asked him.
‘Yeah, thanks, man. I know I can always count on you.’ He answered.
‘That’s good to hear. We should go down now, or I won’t be able to save you from the wrath of Sally.’ We both laughed, and we started moving.
‘Hang on,’ he stopped in his step and raised a hand before adding, ‘we don’t have extra clothes and towels in case.’
‘Don’t worry. I got it all covered man.’ I said as I lifted a bag up where our things were placed. I realised we needed some stuff if we ever decided to go swimming. Yet now, I realised that he did not have any problem exposing himself. He might not have any problem just going on a skinny dip instead. I internally laughed.
We hurriedly ran downstairs and found my parents having breakfast.
‘Boys, can you both be careful.’ My mom said.
‘Jeremy, Andre, why don’t you come here and have your breakfast now. We’re going soon.’ My dad looked at us and went back to reading his paper.
We raced to the table, and we started putting butter and jam to our toasted bread. We teased each other by taking away the butter or the jam from each other. I was happy to see Andre go back to his old jolly self. He was laughing, and my mother saw that too. We finished, and we started the journey going to Byron Bay in New South Wales. We're now living in the regional area which was the Sunshine Coast, specifically in Buderim. Although it's a bit quiet, especially during the night, we loved living there. All of the people we met so far were quite friendly, and our school was just a few bus-stops away from our house. Andre was not too far from us either. He used to live with his parents in Caloundra, but he since moved to Sippy Downs when he joined his uncle. It's not bad living there, we had plenty of nature-y stuff that we could do. We had plenty of beautiful white-sand beaches. There were mountains to trek and forest trails to venture. Some people were afraid of shark attacks, but it never stopped the surfers from riding the waves in some areas here like in Maroochydore and Kawana. One of the things I loved about Queensland was the consistent warm weather. However, it should not make much difference going down south since it's summertime; but still, it's always better where we're living now. Who knew, I might be biased.
‘What are we going to do when we get there?’ I asked everyone.
‘We are going to visit your grandfather, and we might go to the beach and have a wander around the area,’ my mom replied.
‘Cool,’ I said.
Not long enough, I fell asleep while sitting at the back seat beside Andre. I did not know what else happened because the next thing I knew, we woke up to us passing by the signage that said 'Welcome to New South Wales'. I must have fallen into a deep sleep, and I tried to discreetly wipe the drool from the side of my face. I looked at Andre, and he chuckled as soon as our eyes met. I jokingly rolled my eyes, and he just smiled. I loo
ked at my phone to see the time, and I realised that it was not actually a long drive. However, it felt like I was unconscious for a very long time. I was still in the process of regaining my composure when my dad suddenly looked at me from the front mirror.
‘I think someone had a rough night.’ He chuckled as he finished his sentence. My mom and Andre also laughed, but I brushed off the comment and fixed myself up.
‘I guess that how I maintain my youthful look,’ I joked.
‘You mean by oversleeping? That's rather unhealthy,’ my mom uttered. I was about to make a comment when Andre stepped in and explained that I helped him with some school projects, that's why I was tired. I did not know that my best friend would lie for me. I believe I owe him now. Our eyes met, and I quietly said my thanks to him. He smiled in response and lightly punch on the arm.
*****
Another hour had passed, and we finally reached grandpop’s house. He greeted us at the driveway; hugging everyone while asking each of us how we’re going. When it came to Andre, he looked at him and smiled.
‘How are you, young lad?’ He asked.
‘I’ve been through a rough patch, but I think I’m better than alright,’ He responded.
‘That’s good to hear. As long as you keep yourself close to Jeremy, I think you will be okay, I suppose.’
‘It might be the other way around.’ My dad laughed as he carried their stuff out of the boot. I just made silly faces and stuck my tongue out.
‘See what I mean?’ My dad spoke further, and my grandfather laughed.
‘Well, Jeremy has been a good friend and a good influence on me; there’s no doubt about that,’ Andre responded.
‘Let’s go inside,’ I attempted to lead Andre inside to the pool area, but my grandfather said that it’s being fixed.
‘We'll have to go to the town area for lunch and maybe do a bit of a stroll there.’ He said as he took his keys out to open his car. He got in and told us to hop in. I was amazed by how my grandfather could still do things independently at the age of seventy. It's probably still young to the eyes of some people, but some would have needed assistance by that age already. He's still able to do more active things like running and mountain hiking as compared to the lazy young folks who prefer to sit around and do nothing. His name's John, but I didn't get to know why he's called ‘Al’. He became a widower when his wife was succumbed by cancer last year. Although he's still able to live on his own, my dad asked him to transfer to Sunshine Coast, so he had us if anything ever happened. He was a former electric engineer, and he found it difficult to leave the small community that he loved. He was also known to most people because of his volunteer work; however, my mom kept on pestering him about it until he finally gave in. The original plan was for him to join our household, but he insisted on getting a place at a retirement village. As to the update of that, I had no idea. I reckoned it’s going to be close because he’s already in the process of selling the house.
‘We’re here…’ My grandfather parked at an empty parking car space that’s still a bit far from the actual place where we were going. Even the area where we parked was already a bit crowded, I could dare say that the central area would be jam-packed.
As soon as we reached the area, we decide to buy our food from the restaurant, but we ordered them as a takeaway, so we could eat outdoor. However, it felt like it was the worst decision we ever made seeing that there's no way we would be able to find empty seats. But alas! A family was about to leave when we were approaching their table.
We chatted with grandpop while we ate our lunch, but Andre and I seemed to compete on who would be able to finish his meal first. We were trying to go to the beach as quickly as we could. And as soon as we were finished, we asked permission to head off. My mother was telling us to wait, but it was my grandfather who told us to proceed and enjoy. She couldn't do anything but shake her head in disbelief. We ran towards the beach, and we saw lots of girls. Some had shown interest, especially when Andre took his shirt off and unintentionally flexed his muscles as he fixed his hair. As for me, I was the loser sidekick who went wherever he went. I was invisible to the eyes of people. I thought it was an advantage because at least they wouldn't notice me if ever I did something wrong. I elbowed him, and I told him that it was his chance to score. He asked me what I meant, and I explained to him that it was his chance to hit with some girls. However, he acted indifferently despite the attention he was getting, and I was quite bewildered by it.
‘You okay dude?’ I asked.
‘Yeah, I just want to keep this day exclusive to us. It's been a rough week, and I don't feel flirty now,’ he thoughtfully responded. I understood him completely, but his statement of not being sexual could be rated as four Pinocchios. He was dry humping me this morning for crying out loud. I internally laughed.
‘Why don’t we take a dip then, ei?’ I suggested.
We were about to run towards the water when I thought I heard a very familiar voice call out my name. I turned towards the direction of the voice, and I was surprised to see who it was.
‘Jeremy?’ A guy called out my name again. I turned to face him this time, and it was my childhood friend Isaac. I used to have gay tendencies, well, I didn't know now; it's yet to be seen. Nevertheless, at a young age, I always fantasised being with Isaac, but it never happened. He was almost of the same built as Andre only that he was of the same height as me.
‘Oh my gosh,’ I covered my mouth in surprise and gave him a hug before adding, ‘is that you, Isaac?’
‘Yes, indeed,’ he smilingly said.
I saw a lady just behind him pushing a stroller. I assumed it was her wife.
‘Time flew so quickly; you already have your own family.’ I clasped my hands as I saw the beautiful baby being carried out from the stroller.
‘Yeah, I haven't seen you for a while.’ He gestured to introduce his wife, ‘Janice, this is my childhood friend Jeremy, and Jeremy, this is my wife, Janice.’ I walked closer to give her a hug, and I also gently pinched the baby on the arm.
‘And I am Andre, Jeremy's best friend.’ He introduced himself. I was surprised. It's not like I forgot about him. I was just about to tell them about him, but he made sure that his presence had been made known. I internally laughed. He was smiling, but I'm sure that he was thinking about something. The way he emphasised the word 'best friend' made me grin. He seemed to be quite possessive today.
‘Nice to meet you,’ Isaac said.
‘You should visit us in Sunny Coast, yeah?’ I asked.
‘For sure.’ He answered.
I saw the growing impatience on Andre's face, although it might be subtle that no one else would pick it up, I knew exactly what his every action meant. I was about to finish the conversation when Andre excused himself. He pointed out a particular direction and ran off.
Isaac and I talked a little bit more and decided to exchange contact numbers. It was good seeing him again, although, I was surprised to see him as a family guy now. He was the playboy type when we hit the teenage years, but anyone could change. I did hear about him getting his girlfriend pregnant, and I was proud of him when he decided to take responsibility for it.
‘Why don't you follow your best friend, he's probably waiting for you now,’ Isaac mentioned.
‘He's a grown-up man, I'm sure he has found something to entertain himself.’ I laughed but quickly added, ‘it sure is good to meet you again, Isaac and you too, Janice.’
We bid our goodbyes and parted ways. Soon after that, I tried to locate where Andre went. To my surprise, he was building a sandcastle using his plastic cup. I laughed at the sight; so much for being a grown-up. I approached him to ask what he was doing, and he seemed to be not fazed.
‘I’m making a sandcastle.’ He looked at me with his squinted eyes.
‘And since when did you start regressing?’ I stared at him.
‘Why don't you join me?’ He asked. I initially refused afraid that people would tease us for wh
at we were doing. However, I saw him make mistakes that quickly destroyed some parts of his sandcastle as it became taller. I unconsciously started telling him what to do and ended up picking up sand to help him. After a while, I realised that we were already doing our own sandcastles, and we competed on who had the better-looking one. I was putting the finishing touches, and I could see that he was also doing the same. So, I grabbed a small amount of wet sand and formed it into a ball. I intentionally hurled it in an angle, so it hit the space beside his castle. He saw what I did, and I let out an evil laugh as our eyes met.
‘No!’ He shouted.
‘Prepare for an all-out attack of my army.’ I formed another ball and threw it at him. It hit a part of his castle and toppled it.
‘You won’t get away with it. Prepare for my counterattack!’
We continued throwing sand balls at each other until we had grown tired. We finally charged towards each other castles and destroyed them by kicking and stomping. We tackled each other to the ground, and we ended up laying on the sand. After a while, a person stood above us while looking down. We could not tell who it was as the sunlight was shining brightly straight to our eyes.
‘Had enough?’ A familiar voice said.
‘Dad?’ I stood up quickly, and Andre followed suit.
‘We’ve been looking all over for you,’ my dad spoke with all seriousness.
‘I’m sorry sir,’ Andre said.
‘John, what are you doing?’ My mom approached us and continued, ‘he’s only joking. We knew you were here.’
‘Did you plant a tracking device on us?’ I jokingly said as I patted my shirt and pants to remove the sand.
‘No, silly. It so happened that we saw Isaac earlier, and he said that this is where we could find you.’ My mom answered.
