It Started With Him

As I drove past the revamped town roads on my way back home, I squirmed in my seat, fidgeting with the short black dress I had on. I glanced at my face, in the rearview mirror, layered in makeup. ‘You look like a clown.’ I sighed, shaking my head in disapproval. Whoever had the idea of making our high school reunion a formal get-together is seriously gonna pay.

‘It’s just one day.’ My optimistic mind chimed in. ‘Just one day.’ I took a deep breath as I neared the infamous town diner, Loretta’s. It’s actually made a name for itself - if you’re looking for something cheesy and greasy, Loretta’s is the place to be. I parked my car, jingling my keys as I got out.

It almost feels weird being back here after so long. I paused. With one quick look, I saw my best friend, Maddie, through the window, seated with Kyle. Glad to know those two are still together. I smiled to myself as I hurriedly entered Loretta’s. “Hey, hey, hey!”

“O! M! G!” Maddie squealed, getting the attention of the other people there. Poor Kyle. His eardrums must’ve taken a heck of a hit. Maddie rushed towards me, holding her arms out and embraced me in a hug. “Oh girl! I’ve missed you!”

“And I see I’ve missed quite a bit too.” I giggled, looking at her pregnant belly. 

She laid her hands on her tummy and sighed. “Tell me about it. We should talk more often.” I can’t really blame her. I’ve been kind of closed off ever since -

“Hate to interrupt, but be grateful that you haven't had the chance to talk to her for the past six months. It’s been a nightmare.” Kyle raised his hand, instantly regretting his words as Maddie glared at him. He quietly cowered back into his corner of the booth.

“It’s only been a nightmare because this one’s a handful.”

“Kyle or the baby?” I asked as she chuckled, pulling me towards their table. We got settled in. She sipped on her milkshake.

“So? How’ve you been? You are coming to the reunion thing tonight, right? And the time capsule thing? And how long are you here for? Maybe we can catch up tomorrow?” She started her ranting as I slowly tuned her out. Now I remember why I tried to stick to texting her instead of calling. She could really talk. I don’t even know how her mouth moves that fast. Like, does she even breathe? “Why aren’t you answering me.”

“Maybe if you gave the girl time to answer, she would.” Kyle answered. I agreed.

“Yes, I’m going for everything reunion-y. And I’d actually planned to head out tomorrow itself,” I continued, looking at the puppy dog pout that was finding its way on her face, “But I could be convinced into staying a few days.”

“Hallelujah!” Kyle exclaimed, earning him a stern glare from Maddie. I sighed. The height of adorability between these two! “Do you want a drink or a bite before we head up to the school?” Kyle asked me.

“Nah, I think I’ll survive.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Well then, I’ll get the bill and we can leave.” He slid out his side of the table as he headed for the register. Maddie got her coat and got up as I made my way up and out as well. That was pretty quick.

The three of us headed outside, only to find Alex standing there. “I thought I recog-” He stopped mid-sentence as his eyes studied Maddie. “Woah.” He managed to mumble.

“Shut up!” Maddie yelled angrily, walking forward to hug him.

“Awww! Group hug dude!” Kyle went in on the hug too. I laughed as they squished Alex. “Man, you’ve put on some weight. Not cool dude. You were voted most likely to be a male model.” I can’t disagree there. His physique still held those sharp, chiseled quarterback features although he has changed a lot.

He raised an eyebrow. “And you were voted most likely to be a stripper. Your point?” I held my mouth immediately to stop myself from bursting into laughter. That didn’t seem to stop Maddie though as she chased a steaming Kyle to their car.

“You haven’t changed a bit.” My gaze moved back to Alex. “I got a hug from the human submarine and the male stripper. Can’t I get one from the girl that always ignores me too?” I chuckled, moving into a hug.

There was always a bit of tension between the two of us. I don’t know why, but I never seemed able to talk to him like I did with the rest of our clique. And when we were left alone, it was insanely awkward. It wasn’t his fault - I just didn’t know how to talk to him.

“How are you doing?” He asked as we pulled away. “We haven’t spoken since -”

“Hey! Lovebirds! We’re gonna be late!” Always count on Kyle to ruin any moment. Alex shook his head as Kyle raced by us.

“You walking?” Alex asked me, pointing in the direction of the school.

I looked back at my car and shrugged, jingling my keys. I guess I still couldn’t find the nerve to start a conversation with him. “Mind if I ride with you?”

“Of course not.” Three words. Not a bad start. Both of us got in the car. It was a short but very much silent ride to the school. As soon as I parked, we got out of the car to find Maddie whacking Kyle with her purse. That idiot probably said something stupid.

“I still don’t understand how he got a girl like Maddie.” He sighed. I giggled as we joined them. We walked around to the back of the schoolyard to where the time capsule thing was buried. I was in awe at how much the school building had changed. It had a fresh coat of white paint and newly built lamp posts and gates. There was a small garden out in front of the building and a stone path that we took to get around.

We walked just past the back fence, and saw a few people standing around a ‘Welcome back Alumni’ sign. “Can you believe it’s been ten years already?” I asked no one in particular.

“Ten years of constant nagging. Yes, I can believe that.” Kyle responded. Maddie, once again, hit him in the side with her purse. Alex and I giggled.

After a few hello’s here and there with some of our other classmates and some of the teachers who we knew from way back when, it was time to dig the capsule out. It had been a while since I even thought about it, I don’t even remember what I threw in there. 

The few of us who were there had crowded around, eager to reminisce in the nostalgia of our teenage years. “This is definitely Alex.” One of the teachers stated, handing out a football signed by teenage Alex to him.

Kyle snickered. “Yeah, he’d autograph anything he could get his hands on. I remember this one time where he autographed this girl’s -”

“And that was brought to you by the giant ego that pushed in a picture of himself.” Alex retorted as we all laughed. Kyle shut his mouth, pouting.

Maddie’s eyes practically sparkled as a teacher handed her a yellow top with flowers on it. “This was my absolute favourite top! I actually forgot I even put this here.” She had tears in her eyes as she hugged it.

Kyle, who was now standing beside me, grinned. It’s almost like a tell that he was gonna say something stupid. “Too bad -”

Quickly covering his mouth, I whispered, “Dude, haven’t you been beaten enough today?” He chuckled, brushing my hand off.

“That’s just our thing.”

I shook my head in disapproval. As much as I taunted his stupidity, I couldn’t help but want what they had. Of course, I was that close to having it, but -

“OMG. Kendra.” Maddie said, looking at me. Everyone stared at me. As soon as I saw the little black pouch, I teared up. She handed it to me. “Are you okay?” I stared at the painted ‘KB’ on the front. I can’t believe it. I’ve been looking for this everywhere. How did I not -

Why did I -

A rogue tear escaped my eye. I can’t for the life of me remember why I couldn’t remember this. As I wiped off the tear, I gave a weak smile and nodded. “You know he would’ve loved being here. At least someone to put Kyle in his place.” I giggled and sniffled.

“Hey, I could’ve taken Barney out if I wanted to.”

“You keep telling yourself that, babe.”

They got back to fighting among themselves while the rest pulled more things out of the box, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I opened the pouch and emptied it out into my other hand, hesitating to look at the contents. I’ve been looking for this for forever. I stared at the gold chain with the ‘Ken and Barney’ pendant on it. I giggled as tears rolled right off my cheeks.

I remembered when he gave me that necklace. We were supposed to be high school sweethearts - the couple that would last forever. And of course, with our names, people did make fun of us - ‘Ken and Barbie.’ I chuckled. It was supposed to be Maddie and Alex, and Barney and I. Maddie even planned our weddings together, not to mention almost our entire lives together. In her perfect world, we’d get married together and live in houses next to each other. Our kids would even be best friends.

Honestly, we were annoyed but happy with the plan. Even when he proposed after graduation, I couldn’t have said yes any faster, and we were all so excited. We were supposed to get married but no one could’ve predicted the car crash that happened. That wasn’t part of the plan.

‘He should’ve been here.’ I mentally whined to myself. I was devastated after the crash. I just couldn’t pick myself out of the slump I was in, so I threw myself into my work, and then eventually moved away. I went crazy looking for the necklace and I finally have it.

“I’m guessing this would also go to you.” Alex pulled me out of my thoughts, handing me an old worn out postcard. “Barney’s name is on it.” He smiled. “Plus, I’m doubting the Ken and Barbie design could’ve belonged to anyone else.” I turned the card around.

‘In ten years, we will have our dream house, far away from Maddie, please! Raising our mini monster, Charlie or Laura. And I don’t care what Ken says, we are getting a dog!’

I read it and laughed. It was so Barney! I didn’t even know he wrote on it. All I knew was that he put in a postcard. He didn’t even let me see it. “Nice to finally see you smile again.”

“With Barney, everything was a laugh.” I managed to stutter through my tears.

Alex handed me a couple of tissues. “Six words! I’ll take it!” I laughed again, punching him playfully in the arm. Alex and I got to talking after that, just catching up on our lives and what we were up to. It was surprisingly comfortable talking to him at this point, it almost felt unnatural.

Before I knew it, it was time to head into the school gym that was cleared out for our small ‘reunion party’. Drinks, music and most importantly, free food. Who’s gonna say no to that? As everyone made their way to the gym, I stayed back until it was only Alex and I, alone, watching as the sun set.

“Shall we?” Alex asked, holding out his hand.

“You can carry on. I just wanna be alone for a minute.”

“You sure? I can stay,”

“Nah. I’ll be right behind you.”

I watched as he walked towards the door near the fence. I turned around, walking towards the nearest tree that shadowed a few hedges. Barney and I used to sneak out here during our free periods and sometimes during gym. It’s actually a wonder we never got caught.

I sat under the tree, not bothering about my clothes. I still couldn’t make my peace with him being gone, but I definitely felt better. It was like he was sitting right beside me. I smiled to myself, clutching tightly onto the necklace.

A sudden snap of a twig caught my attention, making me jump up and out of my seat. I looked around intensely. It could’ve been a bunny or an animal, or someone lurking in the woods. And my instinct proved right as I saw a man walk towards me. “Look what we have here.” A raspy voice spoke.

I couldn’t get a clear look at his face but he looked like trouble. I kept my distance. The closer he came, the further I backed away. “My, you’ve grown up well.”

“Y-you know me?” I was frightened out of my mind, anticipating his next move.

“I’ve heard of you. I knew you’re boyfriend.” Barney? I stopped in my tracks. Why would Barney know someone like him? His ruffled auburn hair and crazy eyes finally stood out as he neared close enough to see his features. “Yes, sweetheart. I knew him. And now he’s dead.”

I winced at his words. “And now, you’re on his list too.” What list? Who’s he? What is happening here? My mind couldn’t find the courage to force the words out of my mouth. “You’ll find out soon enough.” There was a short pause as he grinned at me.

“All because it started with him.”