J. Najera, “Sentimental Value”
William Shakespeare once said, make Death proud to take us. Caleb wondered if ‘Death’ would be proud to be escorting a couple of dumb teens to the afterlife because they tried to scale the side of their friend’s apartment building. As Easton tried for the third time to readjust his grip on the tote bag hanging off of him, he also missed his step in the indent in the wall. Caleb’s heart leapt to his throat as he grabbed to stabilize his friend. A loose pebble clanked on top of the dumpster they had climbed on top of to reach the ledge of a wide window.
The thought that Death would most definitely not be proud to scrape guts from the side of a road crossed his mind but all he managed to say out loud was, “Dumbass, watch where you’re stepping.”
Easton’s face was a shade paler than it should have been but he nodded resolutely and pried himself from Caleb’s grip. The heat from his own tote bag’s contents was starting to burn a hole in his side but it would be worth it once they finally made it to the second highest window to the far right. Logan’s room.
“Careful with this metal piece, it’s kinda wiggly and rusty,” Easton called in a hushed tone, climbing over the railing of a balcony. This one had almost the entire floor filled with pots of plants, but like all of the other apartment balconies, it had thick curtains blocking the windows and therefore blocking sight of two boys climbing into the tenants landings.
Caleb quickly pulled himself up and swung his legs up on the lip of the balcony while the other boy precariously tiptoed around the ceramic botany.
Easton grumbled, “Remind me why we didn’t use the stairs again?” He jumped and caught the edge of the final balcony, by now already knowing the best way to lift himself up.
Caleb thought back to the pile of hissing mammals and shot back, “If you wanna try to get past the family of feral possums, be my guest.” He could practically hear the eye roll from Easton. He heard only a creak of metal in response as he pulled himself over to Logan’s apartment balcony, his room window just next door. The window that sounded like there was something buzzing inside.
“Is he… Is he vacuuming?” Easton asked, exasperated. Caleb didn’t say anything, instead chose to take off the tote as carefully as he could and not clang it on the metal floor. If he reached over the side of the railing at just the right angle he could possibly be able to knock on the glass.
One knock. “Logan.” Two knocks. “Logan.” The buzzing inside the room came to an abrupt stop and then there was panicked shuffling. Before Caleb could blink, the window was shoved open and the face of a distressed friend popped out. Caleb grinned. “What up, Brogan?”
The boy blinked several times, as if his two friends would disappear if he tried hard enough. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Say it a bit louder so the whole building can hear ya, why don’t you?” Easton hissed out, coming up beside Caleb. Slipping off his tote, he tossed it to Logan. “Catch.”
The bag almost slipped from his fingers had he not hung onto the straps. Caleb almost saw all the money he spent fall into the depths and took a sigh of relief. “What is this-” Logan was starting to look into the bag.
“Dude, ask questions after we’re not breaking the law,” Caleb interrupted, looking around to the other windows and balconies. The three of them were making way too much noise for comfort. That always seemed to be the case when they were all together.
“Pull us up!” Easton held out his hand, already climbing on the railing. His shoe clanged loudly on the metal and Caleb was confounded on how not a single person had caught them-
“Shit.” Logan was looking inside of his apartment in something akin to horror. Just from the peripheral of Caleb’s eye, he saw lights turning on from inside the glass of the curtained windows. He heard Logan’s mom before he saw her fling open the door of the balcony.
“What the hell are you boys doing?” Her hair was pulled up with a bright pink scrunchie with a broom firm in her grasp. The boys screeched at the mere sight of her figure illuminated from the interior.
Then there was silence. Both boys, too intimidated to say anything and the older woman stared at them much like her son. As if she could will them to go away. “Caleb. Easton.” Her tone lacked any true disdain, but the sentiment was there for them to hear.
“Hi, Mrs. Smith,” Caleb and Easter chorused back feebly. There was a pattering of feet that skidded to a stop behind her.
“Logan.” Her brows furrowed and her eyes closed.
“Mom, I can explain.”
“It was all our fault, ma’am,” Caleb interjected, not quite sure what he could say to excuse all of this. “We wanted to surprise him and we didn’t want to bother you this late.” Even that sounded weak to his own ears.
Mrs. Smith just propped the broom against the frame and swatted in front of her face, like his response was a pestering fly. “Enough. Just get in here.”
At first, all three boys said nothing but snapped out of their stupor quickly, rushing out a quick, “Thank you, ma’am.” Caleb and Easton rushed inside, Caleb picking up the tote with him. With only a pointed look, both boys were quick to toe off their sneakers.
As the teens walked down the hall to Logan’s room, Caleb could have sworn that he heard Logan grumble under his breath, “You both are such idiots.”
Upon entering the room, the smell of clorox and citrus hit his senses. Just as he thought he would find it, Caleb saw several cleaning supplies littered around the otherwise spotless room. The vacuum was propped against a wall, the plug haphazardly laying on the floor. The last time they found Logan’s room that clean was when he got stood up from a date. The carpeted floor was still warm against his socked feet as they walked in. Caleb always felt bad walking over freshly vacuumed carpets, messing up the lines that were left behind. Caleb looked up and saw that Logan was already laying against his headboard with his arms crossed.
“I don’t even need to ask what you are doing here, do I?”
Easton and Caleb exchanged looks. The time had finally come for the talk. Easton looked uneasy, Caleb sighed deeply and tossed the tote bag on the bed, sitting on the edge of the bed, the other boy followed. “We heard…” Caleb started.
“…What happened.” Easton finished. They looked at Logan expectantly.
He scoffed, slumping further into the pillows he was rested on. “You and the whole school.”
“Why didn’t you tell us, man?” Caleb said softly. He tried to catch his friends’ eyes but they stayed hidden behind bangs and shame. “You just disappeared from school yesterday. You haven’t even been responding to our calls and texts.”
“Tell you what?” Logan snapped. “That the school I’ve been wanting to go to for years rejected me?” He stood from his bed and in front of the other boys. “That I’m so insanely jealous of you two for getting into your dream colleges? That I couldn’t stand to see the pitying looks in your eyes when you found out?”
Logan brought his hands up to his face, muffling his voice. “I failed,” he spat out bitterly, voice cracking.
The three of them had been friends for all of their high school years, but right then, when they were all seniors sitting in their friends room for the thousandths time, that was the first time Caleb ever saw his friend so filled with rage at himself. His tongue felt heavy as he struggled to find the words to cool the flames.
“Dude, shut up.”
“What?” Caleb and Logan both said at once. They stared at their equally pissed looking friend. Easton stood from the bed and stepped up to Logan, making sure they locked eyes.
“It sucks that you didn’t get accepted, that goes without question but it’s been 48 hours since you went radio silent. You should have called us. We wouldn’t have pitied you, we would have said they were stupid to not accept you. We would have told you that you’ve worked the hardest to get where you’re at. That even if you weren’t the best, you still are going to make your way in the world cause you are a stubborn ass, goddamnit.” To emphasize his point, he stuck his index finger at Logan’s chest and pushed. Logan’s face looked as shocked as Caleb felt. Easton looked smug.
“Now, Caleb made your favorite meal. Spaghetti with meatballs on the side.” He made a screwed up expression and gestured to the tote bag Caleb was carrying. “It’s up to you but we can help you find a school that was as similar as the one you were gunning for or for once in your life, you can unwind and we’ll watch dumb movies and eat the junk food that Caleb also paid for.”
A startled chuckle found its way out of Logan’s throat. “Cheap bastard.”
“Glad you got your sense of humor back.” Easton’s grin returned with full force, but it seemed less patronizing and more sincere. “Thought we lost you for a minute there.”
“With my luck, I’ll be stuck with you two even after death.”
Caleb smiled internally, “I have no doubt.”
