On the Side of Excelsior Lake

1.

I huddled in a towel by the bathtub, feeling cold yet enraptured to be so alive and vulnerable to my body’s shivers before I plunged into the so soothing warm waters of the cooling bathwater.  It was far too hot now to jump in, as I had proved with my little trembling and scalded fingers just moments before but how exhilarating it would be.  As I waited I fit myself under the small overhanging counter by the sink and sat there like an ancient Indian or an Eskimo in a cave and envisioned scenes of adventure and outdoor life.  Soon I would again brave the cold outside my shelter and test the waters again, placing first a toe, then a foot and finally my entire leg into its depths.  Soon the water would be ready but not yet.

2.  The skeletons bobbed and danced, their shadows reflected in the dimly lit faded orange of the darkened walls.  The people watched and gathered at tables, some with slender bottomed glasses that widened into a short semicircle on the top, caked with sugar crystals at the brim that sparkled in the night.  They laughed and watched the strange and joyous funeral procession take stage, each corpse equipped with gleaming trumpets or dark wood, black-stringed guitars.  Walking through the crowd of black and white faced ghouls who spoke my language mixed with another tongue, I tightly held my father’s hand while he unfrightened led me through the fray.

3. “Why would she want to go on a date with you?” My friend’s voice turned unexpectedly cruel as he curled his mouth in frowning disapproval.  I force a bit of a smile as I keep painting, but the words don’t just ease off like the paint on my brush.  Though I liked Matt, I now remembered why we hadn’t always been friends.  He had a bit of a mean streak in him and the only thing to do now was move to another topic.  “Do you think this coat is thick enough?” I ask, masking my unease with a concerned expression, “Maybe I’d better grab some more paint”

4. Our voices trembled as we sat on the park bench at Excelsior Lake.  The day was pleasant, the water calm, and the people passed by casually as they enjoyed the refreshing summer day.  Couples drifted near from time to time in paddle boats rented out for residents in search of the gentle romance so well provided by the picturesque surroundings.  Though they rarely stayed long near the shore, their playful laughter echoed back at us and seemed to linger quite a while before vanishing into the summer breeze.  I sighed and listened as my gentle exhale pursued the giggles into the distance. 

5.  I never really looked at him the same way since that trip I took.  I left for a few weeks and came back to rumors that he’d been spending

Scott Zhou was probably what everyone’s parents hope for in their child’s best friend in school.  In school he was a quiet kid, studious and he could spell hard words like “chaos” and “xenophobia” that no other first grader had even heard before.  At his house another side of him would show as we watched Jackie Chan Adventures and laughed with his parents who would teach me Korean on the way home from the science museum.  He was their only child, but they prized him as their son and you could feel their love for him bounce in their quiet laughter as sat parked in the driveway of my childhood home.  I never saw Scott again after first grade, but I can't help but wonder if he still remembers how things were back then.  When dreams of winning spelling bees and occasional Imax films about marine exploration were all that was needed to pass the time happily