Jun

Grass tickled my ankles. A fragrant odor assimilated into my nostrils. Someone was pacing toward me, their figure gradually clearing from the blurry background; I could make out his hair. It was Jun. He lost footing and fell face flat into the grass field and then squealed.

"I'm OK!" he reassured, muffled by the grass.

I giggled and hastened to him. His school uniform was tattered and filthy, a frequent occurrence. Jun clutched my hand and stood up without sifting himself off. A sheepish grin took hold as I glanced to see a woman exclaiming to us.

"EVAN! JUN! COME BACK IMMEDIATLY!" she unyieldingly roared.

"Looks like Mrs. Griggs is mad," Jun quipped.

There was no time to laugh at his joke; instead, I yanked him onward and careered deep into a forest. Trees surrounded my vision as the blue sky became obscured with a green sea. I combed for a competent hiding spot, hoping Jun would shut up sufficiently for Mrs. Griggs to slither by us. An extended empty trunk captured my attention. Knowing him, I understood Jun wouldn't object to sneaking inside the hollow log. Jun noticed my finger aimed towards the dead tree, and he methodically knew what he should do. The confined space was snug and virtually flawless for Jun's petite stature. I grasped a bulky stone and glimpsed from behind.

The entire class huddled intimately together, hunting for us. I launched the rock far into the woods, averting their attention to that region. Surprisingly, it succeeded, as the entire class shifted in the opposite direction, trailing after what they deemed was Jun and me.

"I wish we were invisible," Jun moped in the thick log.

"That would be pretty cool," I chuckled.

Once the crunch of leaves beneath footwear dissipated in the distance, I knocked on the trunk and stood up.

"Let's go."

Jun slipped out of the log and followed me. He had no notion of where I was shepherding him, and I had nearly no clue where we were. I merely understood where I sought to end up. A minute light gleamed into our eyes: an opening. Each step we took marked a loud crunch and an occasional snap of a twig. The forest began to contain fewer and fewer trees until we approached the clearing. A dazzling blue sky, along with fluffy clouds, welcomed our view. Jun caught a deep breath and lamented. Before he could sit down, I tugged his arm and bolted up a hill. The grass was delicate and fair, a contrast to the rugged, patchy turf earlier that day.

Jun and I both were quite hesitant about taking this field trip, yet our parents presumed it would be a fabulous educational experience. Who on Earth would've aspired to learn about biology? Let alone a sixth-grader. It wasn't long before I deviated from the crowd and adventured on my own. Of course, Jun was on board with that concept and chased after me. Unfortunately, he wasn't as sneaky or quiet. Just as he noticed me, he screamed "EVAN, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!?!" before accompanying me.

At least now, the gentle breeze and the pleasant field complemented the afternoon sun. It was a fine day outside. Too bad it was Valentine's day—and on a Friday. None of the girls thought Jun and I were adequately charming for them. Jun didn't care as much as I did; although, he did admit that a girlfriend sounded nice.

"Don't cha ever think about the future?" Jun addressed.

"That's pretty deep of you," I returned, "but yeah, sometimes."

"I wonder what we'll be doing in a few years," he pondered.

"Probably the same things, but with more freedom?" I posed.

Jun seldom had compelling thoughts. In most instants, he was a numbskull.

"Nah, knowing the dweeb you are, you'd probably be swamped in work," he remarked.

I thumped his head with my fist, and both of us chuckled. The future was something I hadn't accounted for quite some time.

We were quickly interrupted by an irritated teacher who dragged us back onto the bus. The ensuing dialogue was remarkably uncomfortable and bothersome.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU TWO DID?" the teacher proceeded.

"YOU BOTH COULD'VE GOTTEN LOST," she pressed.

"FROM NOW ON, YOU TWO ARE EXEMPT FROM FUTURE FIELD TRIPS, GOT IT?"

Jun gawked aimlessly into her eyes while I tipped my head down towards the ground. I was both guilty and enraged. Nevertheless, we 'understood' Mrs. Griggs and were omitted on the bus alone. The bus door violently closed before we gazed at each other.

"Mrs. Griggs? More like Mrs. Grumpy," Jun scoffed.

The grimy, dilapidated bus smelled of burnt rubber and new factory paper (not the likable kind). The sun's rays shimmered through the windowpanes, exposing tiny particles. Jun laid down and tried to nap while I sat alone with my thoughts. He promptly fell fast asleep, his body as limp as a ragdoll. I wondered how Jun could be so jubilant and blasé all the time. Someday, I would be like him. Someday. The rhythmic thud of my finger on the plastic armrest was the only sound besides birds, bugs, and the wind.

After the class arrived back from their 'fun' field trip, Jun woke up from the boisterous chatting and gabbling from other students. Once we returned to school, Jun and I traveled directly to his house. It was a brief walk.

The late crisp October breeze adapted excellently amidst the setting sun. The sky resembled that of a koi fish in the water: its ocherous and cerulean saturations collided. Leaves whirled past us, indicating fall was in full throttle. Few cars hurtled by the tranquil neighborhood as a couple of other kids our age were presumably walking home. Jun appeared exhausted, his arms stagnated behind him, and his eyes drooped. I wasn't as drained, but staring at him made me yawn. It was an eventful day, at least to me. Now, we'd unwind at Jun's house and likely have a delightful dinner. My mother was still at work, so I lingered at Jun's home quite frequently. He lived near us, making it a sublime place to stay while my mother worked. Then again, the town was small. Everything was within walking distance, and there were no tall skyscrapers. The largest structure was most likely a government building that decayed with age.

We arrived at Jun's house. The home was immense and had a lovely exterior. For a little front yard, it was well-maintained. Flawlessly mowed yellow-green grass encompassed the space. I followed Jun down a smooth walkway to the porch. He rang the doorbell and waited until Mrs. Huddlestun opened the door and welcomed us. I stored my shoes on the shoe rack and continued to accompany Jun into his room upstairs. The carpet floor absorbed my socks as we closed his bedroom door. He drew out two controllers and switched on the TV. He had an Xbox One, which was new at the time.

"Minecraft?" Jun proposed.

"Sure," I promptly answered.

Time sped past instantly. Before I examined the time, three entire hours had transpired. In that time, a creeper had utterly destroyed quite a bit of our base, and a horde of zombies flooded into our home, causing panic. We traveled farther into our camp to the underground section to wait it out for the night until the mobs had perished. Horrifically, once every creature had infiltrated the base, they could not die during the day because of the sheltered building. We chose to devise a strategy that would let us escape and get rid of the mobs. The plan was victorious, and we fought back the swarm, taking back our base. It was a meaningful accomplishment for us at the time.

"Boys! Dinner time!" Mrs. Huddlestun beckoned.

The two of us perked up and erected from our crisscrossed position. A bouquet of beef stew danced about the dining room. Spoons and empty bowls laid around the table. There, across the room, Mr. Huddlestun sat with a monotonous expression. I was perpetually concerned for Jun's dad, but he always assured me his father was "tired." I never had the experience of growing up with a father, so I was envious of Jun sometimes. Mrs. Huddlestun came from the kitchen with a giant pot filled with stew. Vapor sprouted from the container and evaporated into the chandelier overhead the dinner table. Jun had a wonderful house, unlike my mother and me. The walls were gorgeously coated green, the floor a glossy oak finish in the dining room, the furniture some expensive wood, and décor blanketed the walls. The Huddlestuns toiled hard to obtain such a satisfactory quality of life, but I questioned if my mother could ever do something comparable by herself.

A couple of months earlier, I discovered her talking on the phone with a man. She conversed about perhaps moving to a bustling city, a change I was not prepared to undergo. I recounted to Jun about it, and he replied that his parents intended to stay in town permanently. I didn't want to leave.

Mrs. Huddlestun poured some stew into my bowl as we exchanged smiles. I plucked the spoon and began slurping. Jun picked up the entire bowl and sipped the stew from there, forgetting it was hot. We both recoiled and leaned back.

"Be careful, silly," Mrs. Huddlestun grinned, "It's hot."

I nodded. After the meal, I said my farewells to Jun and his parents. It was dark outside, but that wasn't a concern; home was very close. A modest aged building emerged in my view. I roamed down the crumbling pavement towards the building and went up the rusty stairs sat beside the structure. The balcony had a delightful display of the town. Most of the buildings here didn't go higher than two floors, so it was easy to see everything. I strolled down the balcony to a door before ringing the doorbell. The lights flickered on from inside the room, and my mother opened the door with baggy eyes.

"Welcome home," she yawned.

I stepped into the apartment and took off my footwear, then rushed to my bedroom and took my clothes off for a shower. I could only use the water for five minutes before it became cool. When I exited and dressed in pajamas, my mother was watching television. I rested beside her on the sofa. It was a notably tiring day.

"So I heard you were in trouble at school today," she began, "What did you do to make your teacher mad?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing, huh?"

My mom recognized I wasn't the type of kid to get into great trouble.

"I was bored and decided to run off to explore on my own," I returned.

She understood and resumed her attention to the television. My mother said one day, she would get one of those long flat-screen televisions instead of the tiny rusty one. We could hardly watch a handful of channels, but they were nonetheless entertaining. I believed perhaps if my mom relocated to the city, we could get one.

After hours progressed, it was time for bed. I hoped my mother would arrange to stay here. There was enough to make me content. School had many friends, teachers, and staff that I knew growing up. I dreaded parting from my hometown. There were stores, playgrounds, parks, and places that had grown familiar to me. They were, however, still part of me. The town shaped the person I was and leaving it would be leaving a piece of myself. Sleep wouldn't be a possibility any longer. The cold October weather seeped through the windows. A biting breeze provoked me to snuggle deeper into my covers. I quivered. Generally, people complained about hot pillows. Now, I endured the contrary. A low howl resounded in the horizon. The draft whistled and called, like a person looking for a lost dog. All my hairs stood up, deadened by the frozen ambiance. My cumbersome sleeping position followed an ache on my back and a pain in my limbs. I struggled to find a comfortable sleeping pose. Truthfully, I had no idea what life in the big city would be like, and I had no idea when we would move.

That was until the next day.