AJRMAN
Friday
Well, today is Friday. I am to go to a party at the Bentley's house. I hate parties. Plus it's going to be all old people there. Their smell of vitamins and medicine I'm sure is going to make me feel sicker than I already feel.
Javier is coming here at 5:00pm. The party starts at 6:00pm. It's 2:00pm now, and I want to throw up. Not from my treatments, but from anticipation for the party. I truly do not want to go. Javier on the other hand is really excited. When I told him we were invited, he had such a little boys grin on his face. Now that I think of it, we hardly go out. We mostly stay in my apartment, and order Chinese food or Pizza. He's probably excited because he gets to be around other people. In my selfishness and self pity I've neglected to have fun with my boyfriend. Poor Javier. But it does make me like him even more, and maybe even....do I dare say it? Yes I think he deserves it. I love him for it. Ick, even saying it by myself causes me to cringe. But I do love him ( Ick..again), and I'll try to make tonight happy for him.
I went to the complex's laundry room to fetch my clothes from the dryer. I almost bumped into Mr. Kyle.
"Oh. Excuse me" I said, smiling and holding my chest.
"Whoa. Sorry I didn't SEE you" Mr. Kyle had his "blind" glasses on. Which is weird, because I noticed him staring at me a couple of weeks ago.
"That's okay" I said. I backed myself against the hallway wall, allowing him to get by me. He stopped in front of me, and seemed again to be staring at me.
"I hear you're coming to the party tonight?" he said, looking at me directly in the eyes.
"Yeah, I am. You'll be there?"
"Yes I will. Will you be staying for the ceremony?"
" What ceremony?"
" The Initiation for the new comers. That's why you're coming, right?"
" No, no" I said, shaking my head. As if he could see me do that. Or could he? " Mrs. Bentley just wants me to meet someone there."
" Ah. I see. Well you should stay and participate"
" Naw. I couldn't." I hesitated to ask the question, but curiosity got the better of me. " What do you mean by "New Comers" "
" It's just a term we use for new members "
" What's the ceremony?"
" Mostly chanting. Then we eat. You should do it too "
" Oh I'm sure I'll be there for the eating part of it "
" Good. You like Canaries don't you?"
" What?" I said starting to laugh.
" You'll see " he said. Then he gave me a weird smirk and began his walk down the hallway to his apartment. Before he reached his door, he turned, smiled at me and waved. I waved back. This is weird. But it does get a bit weirder, still.
Around 4:30pm, I hear Mrs. Bentley voice in the hallway. I open my door, and I can see her speaking to someone. I couldn't really tell who the person was, so I grabbed my mailbox key and proceeded to "check" the mail. As I walked down the hallway, I said "Hello" to Mrs. Bentley. The guy she was speaking to, worked for some pet store. In front of her apartment, making alot of chirping noise were twelve canaries, in twelve cages. I went to check the mail and it was empty. Probably because I got the mail over an hour ago. I walked to my apartment again, passing the Bentley's apartment on the way. Mrs. Bentley was taking each cage from the walkway, into her apartment.
"What's with all the birds?" I asked with a huge carefree grin on my face.
"Oh. These are for the guests tonight. You like canaries, don't you?"
"Yeah I do" My mind raced back to my conversation with Mr. Kyle. I remember telling him I was staying for dinner. He asked if I liked canaries. Mrs. Bentley smiled at me, still bringing in the cages inside her apartment.
" Good" She said " I'll save one for you"
I'm sure my face became ghostly white. I don't remember if I said goodbye to her or not. All I remember is walking very fast to my apartment, opening the door, running to the bathroom and throwing up. What the fuck is going ON!!! She wants me to EAT the canary. Everybody is going to EAT a canary TONIGHT!! For some initiation to some weird fuck U.F.O believing secret society! This is crazy, and I think a little illegal.
5:00pm came and no Javier. 5:05pm came and still no Javier. 5:15pm came and my phone rang. It was Javier. He was waiting for me to buzz him into my complex.
"Thank GOD, you're here! Come up here quick!" I said through the speaker phone.
" Wha. What's going on!" He said.
" Just get up here quick!" I pressed the code on my phone which opens the front door to the complex. I watched through the window for Javier. I saw him bolting upstairs to my floor, two steps at a time. I opened the door.
" What's wrong?!" He said, out of breath. " You okay"
"I'm fine, I'm fine, but Shhhh!" I opened the screen door, and pulled him by his jacket into my apartment. I told him what happened. I was dizzy and short of breath. My mind was going too fast for my mouth to spit the words out. At the end, Javier sat there, on the couch with his arms folded across his chest. He didn't believe me.
" I'm telling you the truth."
" I think there's more to this, guy. Maybe you didn't understand correctly."
" What the fuck? They speak English, I speak English. What's NOT to understand?"
" Let me talk to Mrs. Bentley and get this all sorted out" He got up from the couch and walked to the door.
"Are you CRAZY?!" I grabbed his arm.
" Are YOU crazy?" he answered back.
" Do NOT go over there Javier."
"Why not?" I stood there quiet. "Well?" he leaned into me, gently nudging my head with his head.
" Okay, okay! Maybe I did overreact. Maybe I got it all wrong. You know, it would be NICE if ya believed me once in awhile. Instead of making me think I'm going crazy."
" That's not very hard to do"
" Ha Ha, very funny. Asshole" he wrapped his arms around me, and kissed the top of my head.
" Well it's almost time for us to go."
" Hold on" I said, very bitchy " I gotta go change " I went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Javier knocked on the door.
" What" I said, still bitchy.
" Be careful in there, the canaries might get ya." I mouthed "Fucker" under my breath and started the shower.