Bitter Summer

A week and a day over summer, no plans in mind. Honestly, I just wanted to hangout and talk. Aliyah came to my house about like 9 AM. She came alone, dressed up really pretty. A white blouse with pencil jeans. When I opened the door to greet her I wasn expecting much.

”Hey, Aliyah. ” I greeted

”Hi. ”

”You look really nice. Whats the occasion? ” I ask

”Its been awhile since weve hung out. You know, just the two of us. ” She replied

”Hmm… When was our last date? ” I wondered

”Too long ago. ” She said

”So you wanna go out with just me? ” I ask

She nodded excitedly.

”Come in and sit over there, Ill go change. ”

She came inside and sat on the couch in my living room. While I rushed upstairs. I changed also into something nice. My favorite yellow T-shirt and dark blue lumberjack shirt. And long black pants.

I grabbed my phone and wallet and holstered them in my pockets. I rushed on down and meet Aliyah.

”All ready. ” I said

”Okay, then. Lets go! ” She said excitedly

”Dad, Im going out with Aliyah! ” I yelled

”Okay! Have fun! But no sex! ” My dad yelled back…

Christ my dads weird. I mean yeah I get it but did you really had to say THAT out loud? In front of my girlfriend too? I just got embarrased, grabbed Aliyahs hand and I dragged her out of the house and shut the door.

I breeze walked whilst dragging Aliyah by her arm.

”Okay, calm down, Cal. ” She said chuckling

”Sorry, my dads just weird. ” I apologized

I then paused, turned to her and look at her straight to her eyes.

”You
e really red. ” She said.

”I mean if you wanna.. ”

She couldn say it without cracking up. She then bursts out laughing.

”Okay, not cool. ” I said even more embarrased

”Im kidding, you
e so serious. ” She said laughing

”Right, lets just go. ”

I then felt uneasy, was it excitment to go on a date with Aliyah again in a while? Or was it something else? I feel like someone was watching us, following us even. I stopped to look around and I didn see anyone that looked suspicious. Or anyone at all for that matter.

”Are you okay? You look worried about something. ”

”Just making sure no ones stalking us, yknow? ”

”Riiiight… Thats definitely a thing around here. ”

”Whatever, lets just get out of here. ”

And so we did, we ran to the park. We were going really fast and I forgot that Aliyah wasn a sprinter, like I am. When she stopped, she was panting very intensely. It almost looked like she was choking. I quickly sat her on a white bench.

”Oh shit. ” I thought

I then ran to a nearby vending machine and bought canned lychee tea for her. I hurried on back and cracked it open. I sat next to her, then I handed it to her, she grabs it and drinks it little by little. She really likes that lychee tea, it was the first drink I bought her.

In fact, we
e in the park we first met as first years in highschool. I sat on this bench alone after I ran around the park seven to eight times, then she came to sit down on the same bench. She pulled out a freaking A3 drawing book and her colored pencils. She started coloring her drawing.

I was kinda impressed that she could draw that good. I on the other hand, completely suck at it. I came by to her house once to help her color one of her drawings. I didn know there was a technique to portray the direction of light. Shading. Using multiple different shades of the same color to make a huge difference.

But back to when I first met her, she was coloring a drawing of a flower—a flannel flower. I religiously watched her color—watching her coloring instead of watching the drawing being colored. Then I thought, have I met her before? I think she goes to the same school as me. YES!

”Pretty. ” I said aloud.

She heard me, then paused and looked at me.

”You- I mean the drawing. It looks really nice. ” I nervously say.

”Hehe… Thanks. ” She smiled.

”Whered you learn how to draw? ” I ask.

”My dad. Hes a painter. ” She answered.

”Oh cool. ”

”What about you? You like drawing too? ” She asks this time.

”Uhh… I like art, but I can draw. ” I replied.

”You go to Princeton Highschool too, right? ” She recognizes me.

”Yeah, I do. ”

”Im Aliyah. ” She said.

”Cal. ”

”Nice to meet you. ” She gladly said

”Same here. ” I said, blushing almost.

I paused for a second and glanced over to the vending maching a few feet from the bench. I walked over there and put in the bill.

”You wanna drink? ” I ask

”Erm.. No, thanks. ”

”I already put the money in. ” I said

”Oh.. Then Ill have the lychee tea. ”

And the rest is history. We started dating about 2 months after we met. I introduced her to Neil and T and she introduced me to Leon. Ever since then we always hung out together, with T on occasions.

”Are you okay? ” I ask

”Ugh.. Yeah… Please don drag me to run like that. ” She said, panting

”Yeah, sorry. Got too carried away. ” I apologized

”Whyd we go to the park? ” She ask

”I dunno. I guess I just felt nostalgic. ”

”It wasn THAT long ago. ” She said

”Its almost been a year. Like 11 months. ”

Aliyah then started giggling as she sips her lychee tea.

”What? You think I forgot? ” I said, feeling insulted

”Honestly, yeah. But I guess you
e not the kind of guy to forget small details. ” She said

”Small details? Being with you actually felt like I belonged here. ” I said with all sincerity

Aliyah then leaned her head to my shoulder and grabbed my left hand.

”You
e always so dramatic. ” She laughed at me

”Dramatic or not, I meant it. ”

We sat in silence for a few minutes, nothing to say, we just enjoyed the moment.

She then suddenly stands up, still holding my hand.

”Follow me. ”

”Okay. ”

We walked, I trusted her to lead me as we walk wherever. We walked slowly. On dates like these she would walk incredibly slow. Something about enjoying every single moment. I don really like walking too slowly. It kinda pisses me off. But Im with Aliyah, so its fine.

She took me to a place Ive never been before. Nor would I ever be interested to go in the first place. ”Endos Tea Store ”. A tea store. A **ing tea store. She took me to a tea store.

”Whyd you bring me hear? ” I said in defeat.

”What do you mean? You love tea don you? ”

”No. ”

”Too bad. I wanted to buy you some. ”

”Fine, go ahead. ”

The store was pretty huge, from outside you can tell there
e at least seven to eight long aisles. Wooden flooring, delicate wooden walls with combination of brown and olive. Clear pane glasses and a glass door. We entered the store. From the moment we open the door, a heavy scent of sweet and bitter overwhelm our noses. Of course Aliyah loves the smell, I on the other hand was annoyed by it. She walked immediately to an aisle, as if she knows whats where.

Specifically aisle 9. Racks filled with canned tea leaves, bashfully small to monumentally large boxes of tea bags. Some include teapots, tea cups, and so on. Caffeine and decaf tea. Lychee tea, green tea, jasmine tea, chrysanthemum tea, black tea, white tea of all sorts of tea with various brand.

She quickly grabbed a box of tea. I wonder what she took. I looked over the box and it said Mixed Box. Is it mixed as in flavors? aroma? Or is it just different flavors of tea in a single box?

”Im gifting this to you, since I know you don like tea. You won drink it. So itll last. ”

”Ill drink it. ”

”You will? ”

”Yeah. Maybe. Don count on it. ”

”Had me going for a second there. ”

I then thought itd be nice to humor her with a question: ”Whats in the box? ”

”Intrested are we? ”

”The least I could do is know what you
e buying me. ”

”A mixed box. Its a box filled with tea bags, 3 each of 18 different kinds. So a total of 54 tea bags are in it. They don list what kind are in here, thats the fun of it. Like the box of chocolate saying, except its tea. ”

Yeah, I was right. My third guess was right on the mark. Though I didn know they were randomized.

”This store also has subscription. ”

”Please do enlighten me. ”

”You do a survey of your choice of tea, and then they send you several boxes of tea, bag or leaves, every month. Then you can send them your review of every tea you drank. So they can suggest others to you. ”

”Tea aside, thats a pretty cool system. I would subscribe just for the hell of it actually. ”

”Really? I do. ”

”Yeah, I kinda figured youd already subscribed. ”

We arived at the check out and Aliyah put the box on the counter. The cashier typed in a certain code or something into the cash register. The prompt showed that the box cost 50 dollars. I jumped, 50 dollars for tea? Granted its a special kind but jeez.

Aliyah paid for it with her own money, and its not even for her. Fuck, Ill have to drink it now. Or Ill feel guilty.

The cashier placed the box into a big plastic bag and handed it to Aliyah. She grabbed it and handed it to me. I took it and grabbed it firmly.

I thought I was done for the day and wanted to go back home. But Ill try my best to take it very slow. All that and it was nearly four hours. Time really flies.

On the sidewalk, on our way to Aliyahs house—I was walking her home. From the store itd be a good 45 to an hour walk, really slow walk would be an hour to an hour an a half.

”Hey, Cal. ”

”Hmm? ”

”Have you told Terrance yet? ”

”About what? ”

”Moving away to New York? ”

”No, I haven . ”

”Hmm? Why haven you? ” She wondered

”Its a lot more difficult then I thought itd be. Like when we were at the beach. He nearly died and if I didn notice him he wouldve been. I realize that he needs me around. Hes just not independent. ” I explaines

”True or not, youll leave, right? ”

”Yeah, and I don know if I can tell him. Not yet at least. I need to have a heart to heart with him. ”

”Just take your time, I wasn rushing you. ”

”Yeah, I know. ”

————————————————————————————

What Aliyah looks like:

– She has long, straight but has a shy curl, dark brown hair

– Shes 5 foot 4 inches tall

– She has light skin

– Brown eyes

– Has an athletic body

– Either wears long pants or very short shorts (like thigh height)

– Always wears clothes that are breathable (baggy, oversized, etc.)