Catalyst of Dreams

13. Bree is Really a Girl

I place the CorningWare next to the other foods arranged on one of the tables in the designated picnic area. A lot of the adults are gathered around talking while most of the kids, including Lilia are hanging out at the pool. I sit on one of the benches on the outer edges so I am less noticeable.

“Do you hate parties too?”

I look around and there’s a rather pale boy standing awkwardly behind me. He has light brown hair and a bowl cut that match his light brown eyes. He is wearing a Navy T-shirt that he most likely got from a parent with some yellow swim trunks.

“Hey we match.” 

He looks down, probably forgetting what he was wearing and looks over at what I’m wearing. 

“I only meant we’re wearing Navy gear… but I’m also wearing yellow swimwear. I would rather no one see it though.”

He sits down with plenty of feet between us.

“Is it that bad?” he asks.

“Yes,” I answer. 

He looks over at where Lilia and a lot of the neighborhood kids are splashing and laughing, including Cherry.

“Parties aren’t my thing but my mom made me come,” he says. “The lady across the hall invited my mom. She said it was for her daughter’s birthday.”

“Oh! You live on the third floor of building nine?”

He looks at me surprised that I know which building he lives in.

“I live in that building too,” I say. “On the fifth floor. The birthday girl is my best friend Lilia.”

 “I just moved there a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “I haven’t seen you around.”

“Oh,” I say looking down. “I was sick for a while.”

“Are you better now?” he asks me curiously.

“I’m getting there,” I reply.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“If you’re best friends with the birthday girl… why are you over here?”

This boy was rather blunt, but he made a valid point.

“Um…” I began, “We’re sort of… not talking at the moment. My mom made me come too.”

He nods with understanding.

“I’m Avery by the way.”

“Bree. It’s short for Brianna.”

“My first name is John, like my dad, but I prefer my middle name.”

“Is your dad in the Navy?”

“He is. Yours?”

“Same,” I say. 

“What grade are you in?”

“I’m going to seventh in the fall, you?”

“Same,” he says smiling at me.

I smile back and we sit there just watching the other kids. A girl that looks a few years younger with short light brown hair and rainbow-colored glasses comes running up to Avery.

“John! Mom wants to know if you’re getting hungry.”

“In a little maybe,” he says.

She notices me and smiles.

“Hi! I’m Jackie!” She greets me, “I’m John’s little sister.”

“Hi Jackie! I’m Bree.” 

I can’t help but notice the contrast in the personalities of these siblings. Jackie seems really bubbly and outgoing, whereas Avery seems more reserved and quiet.

“Are you guys going to swim?”

We look awkwardly at each other. 

“Yes she will!” I hear my mother’s voice behind me and my shoulders slump. “Bree, why don’t you take Jane and you can keep an eye on Jackie as well.”

Did she just call me Bree? She is walking up with Jane and another lady I don’t recognize. 

“Sabrina, this must be your daughter Bree.” 

“Yes, she is the third youngest girl of my four,” Mom says with an oddly proud smile.

“Is Bree short for Sabrina?”

“No, it’s short for Brianna.”

“That’s so sweet that your names are so similar. Is she a lot like you?”

I can’t help but notice the strange look on my mother’s face. 

“I’m afraid she’s more like her dad than anything,” she says with a wry laugh.

Avery’s mom starts to laugh.

“I understand, Jackie’s is so much like her father as well,” she says. “And this is my son John, named after his father.”

Avery looks up and waves strangely before looking down shyly.

“He’s a bit shy,” she explains to my mother.

“Well John, it’s nice to meet you,” she says. “I met your sister back there, and you both seem so lovely.”

“Err. Thanks,” he says under his breath.

“John, sweetheart, why don’t you accompany Bree and help watch the girls?” his mom asks.

“Sure,” he says getting up.

We all walk over to the kiddie pool and Jackie jumps in and guides Jane in.

“Come on Janie! I’ll help you!”

I can’t help but notice how sweet she is. Jane is already giggling and seems to really like her. I sit next to Avery on the ground where we are still close if they need us.

“Why does everyone call you John?”

“Maybe they think I’ll be more like my dad if they keep calling me his name,” he says bitterly.

“What do you mean?” I don’t quite understand.

“I’m nothing like him. He’s not timid,” Avery says a bit cross.

“I think you’re fine,” I say to him.

He looks up and he smiles at me. It doesn’t seem like a very natural thing he does, but it’s nice to see.

The next thing I know I feel a rush of cold water all over me.

“Ahh!” I hear myself and Avery scream in unison.

I hear kids' laughter and look through my soaked glasses to see some of the boys I play with holding empty buckets.

“Gerald! Pablo! You jerks!” I yell at them, which only makes them laugh harder.

“What’s wrong Bree? You and your boyfriend look soaked!” teases Gerald.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” I yell as I notice Avery’s face drop. “He’s my friend though, and you better apologize or else.”

“OoH but Bree! This is only payback for last time,” Pablo reminds me.

Last summer Lilia and I soaked them with our water guns while they were enjoying their ice creams on the playground.

“But Avery had nothing to do with it,” I say, feeling bad for my soaked new friend.

“He’s just a casualty of war!” says Gerald as he starts running away as I take off my flip-flops and start throwing them as they flee.

They laugh and I see them run back to where Lilia and the other kids are watching us. Lilia and I catch eyes and she looks away and pretends to engage in conversation with Cherry.

“Are you okay?” I ask Avery.

“I’m fine,” he says with a shrug as he pulls off his tee and wrings it out. He’s really skinny and pale. “You might want to let your sweatshirt hang on the fence over there if you want it to dry quicker.”

I know he’s right. I’m debating if I want to stay miserable but the sun is making the soaked sweatshirt feel like a heavy and hot unbearable weight. I hesitate but I pull the wet rag off of me and almost instantly I hear whistling and jeering from the other kids.

“Woah check out that girly thing Bree is wearing!” 

“Who knew under all that, Bree is really a girl!”

I can feel my cheeks fuming with embarrassment and a bit of anger but before I could make any remarks back, Avery grabs my hand and pulls me over to the fence. He grabs my sweater and wrings it out and places it over the wooden fence along with his own shirt.

“If you say anything back, they will only get worse,” he says to me. “It’s better to ignore the teasing.”

He heads over to where my flips-flops landed and picks them up. He walks back and hands them to me.  I’m really grateful I met him.  

“Thanks,” I say. “They’re not that bad, usually. But I could kick their butts if I wanted to.”

Avery laughs for the first time.

“Just promise you won’t kick mine,” he says with an even bigger smile than earlier.

“Don’t give me a reason, and I won’t,” I say teasing.

“You know, it doesn’t look so bad,” he says.

“What doesn’t?”

“Umm… your swimsuit,” he says awkwardly. “I know you said you don’t like it… but it’s not too bad.”

I look down at my exposed stomach, and just cross my arms over them.

“It’s just not my thing,” I say. “It’s not what I would choose to wear.”

He nods with understanding.

“I get it,” he says, “I just wear whatever my mom buys me. I never get to choose anything.”

I nod too. We head back over to our sisters and this time I ignore some of the laughing I hear.

“John! I’m hungry!” his sister says once we’re back.

“Me too!” Jane says.

“Okay Janie-bear,” I say as I pull her out of the pool. “Let’s see if the food is ready.”

We head back over and Jane runs over to my mother whining about wanting food.

“Just in time Jane! The hot dogs are ready!” says Mr. Duncan happily, “Let the kids know it’s time for food and cake!”

My mother calls all the kids over as Mrs. Duncan lights the candles on the cake.

Everyone gathers around Lilia at the end of the table singing happy birthday. My heart sinks when I see Cherry right next to her where I usually sit.

“Happy Birthday to youuuuu!” Everyone sings as Lilia blows out the candles and makes a wish. 

I secretly wish we were friends again.

Everyone claps and all the kids get in a line to get food. I drag my feet and head to the back of the line. 

“Want to sit together?” Avery asks standing next to me.

“Sure!” I say. I’m glad I have a friend at the party, but I know it’s not the same.

We grab food and I notice we both have very little on our plates as we sit at one of the furthest tables.

“Can we come sit with you?” Jackie asks, with Jane next to her.

“Of course!” I say as they climb into the benches.

We all sit together and eat while Jackie asks Jane what her favorite cartoons are.

Once we are done, and the cake has been served, Mrs. Duncan announces it’s time for Lilia to open her presents.

We gather around and Lilia’s mom hands her a present one by one, announcing whom it’s from.

“This one is from Cherry,” she says as she hands Lilia a sparkly pink gift bag.

I can’t help but think how much Lilia hates sparkly pink things.

She smiles though and pulls all the pink paper tissue out and pulls out what looks like a… dress. A bright pink… dress. 

“OH thanks Cherry!” Lilia says, but I can tell it’s not genuine.

I secretly smile inside realizing how Cherry didn’t know Lilia at all.

“You’re welcome bestie!” She says.

I cringe.

“And this one is from… oh it’s from Bree,” Mrs. Duncan says as she hands Lilia my gift.

It’s wrapped in Final Fantasy gift wrapping paper and her eyes light up. She looks up and we catch each other’s eyes. She smiles and for the first time in a while, I feel like things might be okay.

She rips off the paper and examines the book she is now holding.

“NO WAY!” she shouts in surprise. “IS THIS THE NEW HARRY POTTER BOOK!? It’s not supposed to get released here for months!”

I smile seeing how happy she is. There’s a lot of “oohs” from the other kids, no doubt jealous that she has a copy already. 

She gets up and runs up to me. We stare at each other for a moment, and then she gives me the biggest hug.

“Bree thank you! I can’t believe you got this for me!”

I laugh trying to fight the tears forming at the back of my eyes.

“Yeah it’s only been released in the UK but I got my dad to ask his friends to get us copies.”

She hugs me again.

“I’m so sorry Bree,” she says sadly.

“I’m sorry Lilia,” I say back. “Can we be friends again?”

“Of course!” she says laughing as she pulls back. 

I see her quickly dry the tears at the corner of her eyes.

“We were never not friends,” she says. “ I just didn’t think you wanted to talk to me anymore.”

“Of course I did, I’ve missed you!”

We smile again at each other and she grabs my hand and pulls me over to where she was opening presents.

“Ready for more presents?” Mrs. Duncan asks, smiling bigger now.

“Yes!” Lilia says as she reaches for more.

I’m so happy we are talking again and I even tried to make small-talk with Cherry, who didn’t seem as stuck-up as before. We are laughing and talking while eating more cake when Jane joins us.

“Where’s Jackie?” I ask her.

“Oh she left with her mommy and brother,” she says with a shrug.

I feel a bit guilty for leaving Avery and not even saying bye. I didn’t even think to ask him to come join us. I make a mental note to apologize to him the next time I see him. Maybe I can just stop by his apartment since I know where he lives. 

Yeah, I’ll swing by the next time I’m at Lilia’s. 

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