“She looks to me hesitantly, guess I’m not her idea of a knight in shining armor. She looks back at the crowd that has increased around her, then turns to me and decisively says, that sounds good, thanks, then begins to walk towards me.
“What are doing, going with some Black dude? I’ll give you ride home if you want to go so bad. But you have to go out with me again. I guess this is Matt stepping aggressively into my space and cutting Brenda off from me.”
I stop speaking and freeze Franc’s memories for a moment while I commit Matt’s features to memory. I write down his description and any identifying marks I see. I also note the house number and street along with any cars and license plates at the house or nearby. Sometimes I keep track of certain details that turn out to not lead to anything. But this time I feel it will come in handy later. Since I can only read a memory forward and can’t rewind, I have to get everything down the first time. I return to the reading when finished.
“I give Matt a once over, then dismiss him as I speak to Brenda. Come along if you want. We’re just going one block over to a Halloween party where you can make a call. You can ask someone to come with you if you want.
“Brenda looks around, but no one meets her eyes. I guess no one else is willing to stand up to Matt or come with her. No, that’s fine. I’ll just come with you by myself.
“She makes a wide arc around Matt and then stands behind me, placing me between her and Matt. He tries to get in my face again but as I’m half a foot taller, it’s kinda hard for him to. I may be tall but I’m wiry while Matt is barely six feet but wider than me. He’s the kind of guy that will turn completely to fat in a few years but for now his bulk is a mix of muscles and fat. I can take him if necessary, but he’s got a bunch of friends with him. Just then I hear What’s all the commotion? I told you to keep your party quiet or I’m going to call the police. Well, I just did and they’re on their way.
“While everyone’s attention turns to the neighbor complaining about the noise, I take that as my cue to leave. Brenda quickly catches on and we start walking away. Matt isn’t my boyfriend in case you’re wondering. We went on one date like three weeks ago and it was awful. I didn’t even want to go on the date but one of my friends said it would be social suicide to turn down a date with him. So, we went out and it was horrible. He told me how he wanted me to dress at school and on future dates, who I should hang out with, and just a bunch of other crap.
“I didn’t want him to strand me somewhere, so I was going to wait till he dropped me back at home before I told him I didn’t think we were compatible. Instead, he took me to a drive-in and tried to get handsy. When I pushed him back and tried to leave the truck, I couldn’t open the door. Luckily, I rolled my window down earlier and was able to reach through and lift the handle from the outside. I think he turned on child proof locks or something. I didn’t know you could do that from front seats but maybe it’s different for trucks cause they only have the two doors.
“Anyway, since then, he won’t leave me alone. He stands outside the door to my classrooms and walks next to me in the hallways. I even quit cheerleading because he would stare at me during football practice. My sister says to ignore him but it’s not working. Brenda looks down before she says the next part, he scares me.
“We get to the house party. It was a block over but down on the opposite end of the street. Brenda is the only white person there and stands out. Everyone looks at me sideways, but I don’t want to get into it just yet. As we get to the open front door, I feel a sensation on my neck and look behind me, catching a glimpse of someone just standing across the street away from the house lights.
“Brenda, I think Matt followed us to the house. Call whoever to come pick you up at the corner store at Fritz and Grant, then we’ll sneak out the side door off the garage. It leads to the street perpendicular and he won’t see us leave. I’ll walk you to the store. And honestly, I think you should talk to your family about you changing schools, maybe even moving altogether. Matt seems like a not so nice guy.
“Everything goes without a hitch. No one sees us leave the party and it’s just a couple of minutes to the corner store. Brenda thanks me and gets into the car waiting for her.
“I head back to the party and no one sees me return. I go upstairs to one of the rooms and lay back. This night had a little excitement and I can’t wait for Julius get here so I can talk about it. Probably late as usual. The music playing at the house is okay, but it’s a little too West Coast Canadian for my taste. I get my Walkman out of my hoodie pocket and put my headphones on. A few songs
