Tales From Another Oakland Home (sequel to "The Summer of our Lives), New & Improved Version, chapter 3
"Mom, can I fly to California for a week to visit Chrysti?" I said the second I walked in the house. I threw my backpack down and waited for a reply.
"When?" my mom asked from upstairs.
"I dunno. Next week maybe. Chrysti just called me. She's got her own place in Oakland and wants me to visit her for a week this summer. She says I can bring Liv and Aleece. So can I go?" I waited, hoping for a yes.
"Um..." my mom hesitated. "If you promise to be careful, call me when you get there, and make sure Olivia's and Alícia's parents are okay with it. And if the three of you stick together, I don't see why not."
"Yesssssss! Hahahahaha!" I punched the air with my fist. Now, to call my friends. I went into my room and took out my cell phone. I hit Speed Dial #3. Liv picked up on the first ring.
"Hey, Cass, PLEASE don't tell me you can't come tonight. We need you there!"
"No, I'm still going. But I need to ask you something. Can you come to California with me? We're gonna go visit my cousin."
"We?" Liv said, using the same tone Chrysti had earlier. "What do you mean, WE?"
"My cousin wants me, you, and Alícia to come to Oakland for a week soon to visit her 'cuz she's got her own place now. Probably sometime next week. You'll have to get a ticket, but other than that we're pretty much covered. Just ask your mom. She let us go to the concert last summer; she'll probably let you go to Cali with me now."
"'Kay, hold on," Liv said. I heard the phone being put down, and a voice in the background saying, "Mom? Can I go to California with Cassie and Alícia?" and a reply that went something like, "Sure," and something else I couldn't quite make out. Liv picked up the phone again. "She says I can go, I just have to be safe and stay with you guys and all that crap." Liv sighed. My mom's kind of a pushover," she said.
I giggled. "I hadn't guessed," I said. Then I told her, "I gotta go call Leece. I'll see you later." I hung up, then dialed 4.
"'Sup?" Alice said to me. "You still in for tonight?" She could speak English perfectly without an accent.
"Yeah," I said. "Is your mom willing to let you come to Oakland, California with me sometime, oh, next week?" I asked nonchalantly. "My cousin wants me to visit her and says I should bring you and Liv."
I heard some Spanish in the background, then Alice said basically the same thing Liv had. I said goodbye and snapped my phone shut. It was all set.
**At the Mall**
"So...now what?" Kevin asked me as we entered food court of the crowded mall. "Last time we came here for something 'important', you told us you had a punk rock band stashed away at your house."
I rolled my grey eyes and said, "Please. They were not 'stashed away at my house'. They were lost. And it's not that big this time." Not THAT big.
Kevin and I sat down at a small table right by the window, the one we always used when we had an "important meeting" here. We waited.
I heard the squeaking of sneakers on the shiny floor. Alíce walked up to our table, panting. "I had to walk all the way here," she complained.
"That shouldn't be too hard for you," I told her. "You run practically every day."
Alíce made a face. "Still." She was dressed in her usual outfit, a T-shirt and basketball shorts.
"I'm tired." She sat down. We kept waiting.
"Hey, guys, sorry we're late," my other best friend, Liv, said as she sat down. "I hate my hair!"
"Um," I said. "What does that have to do with... anything?"
Liv sighed. "I couldn't find a hat or scarf or anything," she complained.
"Liv, please. Your hair will grow out. It's not the end of the world." I said this on account of how Liv had dyed her light brown hair jet black a few months ago. Now it was growing out, and so she had black tips and brown roots. "Besides, you were the one who wanted to dye it so bad. Why don't you just dye it again?"
"I can't!" Liv said. "They won't let me!" "They" was the school board who had almost gotten Liv suspended for coming into school with black hair and pink streaks. The streaks had washed out, but the black was there to stay until it grew out. "Oh yeah," I said.
Liv's boyfriend, a redhead named Rob, went, "So why are we even here?"
"Because," I said, "Us girls have an announcement. Next week -"
"We're goin' to California!" shouted Alíce, punching the air.
"Wait," Kevin said, "You three are going to fly to California, alone, to do... what.... alone." He was confused.
"No," I said. "We're going to fly to California, alone, to visit my cousin Chrysti, alone. No parents. No rules."
"Speaking of parents, yours must be on crack if they're going to let you guys fly to California by yourselves," Rob put in.
"They are not on crack; they're finally letting us go places!" Liv told her boyfriend.
"Like the concert wasn't enough?" Rob shot back.
Liv rolled her emerald eyes and said, "Duh. That was LAST summer."
"You know what?" I said to Liv and Alíce, "They just don't want us to leave!" I laughed. "Kevin and Rob can't stand a week without their girlfriends!"
Kevin said, "That's not true. What I couldn't stand would be if you three got your asses arrested, which is what's going to happen as soon as you walk off the jet way in California."
Rob shook his head. "Kev, you're being too harsh." A smile played its way across his face. "It'll be at least a couple days before they get in trouble with the police."
"Oh really, Richmond? Ten bucks says they get taken away by airport security at the gate."
"Ten bucks says they at least wait till they get to her cousin's place."
"Deal. You're on!" They shook.
"Wait a minute," said Alíce, who had been watching the whole thing with the rest of us. "We are not getting arrested. You can't BET on how long it will take us to get arrested."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
I thought for a moment. "But you can bet us whether or not we get arrested. Twenty bucks says we don't."
Kevin leaned over to shake on it with me. "Deal."
It was on.
"When?" my mom asked from upstairs.
"I dunno. Next week maybe. Chrysti just called me. She's got her own place in Oakland and wants me to visit her for a week this summer. She says I can bring Liv and Aleece. So can I go?" I waited, hoping for a yes.
"Um..." my mom hesitated. "If you promise to be careful, call me when you get there, and make sure Olivia's and Alícia's parents are okay with it. And if the three of you stick together, I don't see why not."
"Yesssssss! Hahahahaha!" I punched the air with my fist. Now, to call my friends. I went into my room and took out my cell phone. I hit Speed Dial #3. Liv picked up on the first ring.
"Hey, Cass, PLEASE don't tell me you can't come tonight. We need you there!"
"No, I'm still going. But I need to ask you something. Can you come to California with me? We're gonna go visit my cousin."
"We?" Liv said, using the same tone Chrysti had earlier. "What do you mean, WE?"
"My cousin wants me, you, and Alícia to come to Oakland for a week soon to visit her 'cuz she's got her own place now. Probably sometime next week. You'll have to get a ticket, but other than that we're pretty much covered. Just ask your mom. She let us go to the concert last summer; she'll probably let you go to Cali with me now."
"'Kay, hold on," Liv said. I heard the phone being put down, and a voice in the background saying, "Mom? Can I go to California with Cassie and Alícia?" and a reply that went something like, "Sure," and something else I couldn't quite make out. Liv picked up the phone again. "She says I can go, I just have to be safe and stay with you guys and all that crap." Liv sighed. My mom's kind of a pushover," she said.
I giggled. "I hadn't guessed," I said. Then I told her, "I gotta go call Leece. I'll see you later." I hung up, then dialed 4.
"'Sup?" Alice said to me. "You still in for tonight?" She could speak English perfectly without an accent.
"Yeah," I said. "Is your mom willing to let you come to Oakland, California with me sometime, oh, next week?" I asked nonchalantly. "My cousin wants me to visit her and says I should bring you and Liv."
I heard some Spanish in the background, then Alice said basically the same thing Liv had. I said goodbye and snapped my phone shut. It was all set.
**At the Mall**
"So...now what?" Kevin asked me as we entered food court of the crowded mall. "Last time we came here for something 'important', you told us you had a punk rock band stashed away at your house."
I rolled my grey eyes and said, "Please. They were not 'stashed away at my house'. They were lost. And it's not that big this time." Not THAT big.
Kevin and I sat down at a small table right by the window, the one we always used when we had an "important meeting" here. We waited.
I heard the squeaking of sneakers on the shiny floor. Alíce walked up to our table, panting. "I had to walk all the way here," she complained.
"That shouldn't be too hard for you," I told her. "You run practically every day."
Alíce made a face. "Still." She was dressed in her usual outfit, a T-shirt and basketball shorts.
"I'm tired." She sat down. We kept waiting.
"Hey, guys, sorry we're late," my other best friend, Liv, said as she sat down. "I hate my hair!"
"Um," I said. "What does that have to do with... anything?"
Liv sighed. "I couldn't find a hat or scarf or anything," she complained.
"Liv, please. Your hair will grow out. It's not the end of the world." I said this on account of how Liv had dyed her light brown hair jet black a few months ago. Now it was growing out, and so she had black tips and brown roots. "Besides, you were the one who wanted to dye it so bad. Why don't you just dye it again?"
"I can't!" Liv said. "They won't let me!" "They" was the school board who had almost gotten Liv suspended for coming into school with black hair and pink streaks. The streaks had washed out, but the black was there to stay until it grew out. "Oh yeah," I said.
Liv's boyfriend, a redhead named Rob, went, "So why are we even here?"
"Because," I said, "Us girls have an announcement. Next week -"
"We're goin' to California!" shouted Alíce, punching the air.
"Wait," Kevin said, "You three are going to fly to California, alone, to do... what.... alone." He was confused.
"No," I said. "We're going to fly to California, alone, to visit my cousin Chrysti, alone. No parents. No rules."
"Speaking of parents, yours must be on crack if they're going to let you guys fly to California by yourselves," Rob put in.
"They are not on crack; they're finally letting us go places!" Liv told her boyfriend.
"Like the concert wasn't enough?" Rob shot back.
Liv rolled her emerald eyes and said, "Duh. That was LAST summer."
"You know what?" I said to Liv and Alíce, "They just don't want us to leave!" I laughed. "Kevin and Rob can't stand a week without their girlfriends!"
Kevin said, "That's not true. What I couldn't stand would be if you three got your asses arrested, which is what's going to happen as soon as you walk off the jet way in California."
Rob shook his head. "Kev, you're being too harsh." A smile played its way across his face. "It'll be at least a couple days before they get in trouble with the police."
"Oh really, Richmond? Ten bucks says they get taken away by airport security at the gate."
"Ten bucks says they at least wait till they get to her cousin's place."
"Deal. You're on!" They shook.
"Wait a minute," said Alíce, who had been watching the whole thing with the rest of us. "We are not getting arrested. You can't BET on how long it will take us to get arrested."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
I thought for a moment. "But you can bet us whether or not we get arrested. Twenty bucks says we don't."
Kevin leaned over to shake on it with me. "Deal."
It was on.
