Seventeen years ago:

  The summer of ‘85, razzled black hair that slipped past the collar bone, indeed the pale faced lad was Akli Graham. A few loose buttons torn and tossed, worn slack ends, and a tattered belt that couldn’t hold up his trousers.

  “Catch,” a rough voice echoed behind. Akli turned to a can dripping with frost, falling towards him. With ease it entered his grip. The tall fellow that came out from the shade of palm was darker than the shade itself. Ragged bleached hair matched his eyes and nails.

  “Dushyanta, why are you here?” Akli asked.

  “Same reason you are. Finished up my exams and got nothing better to do but sweat.”

  “It’s all gross,” Akli said, his gaze to the dusty beige horizon.

  “What’s gross?” Dushyanta cracked open one of the cans he had hanging out of his bag.

  “Man, I miss it…”

  “We had to disband, at the end of the day we gotta grow up sooner or later. Couldn’t have been smacking folks all over the place forever.”

  “You talk like an old man,” Akli pouted. “It’s not like I want to fight…what was your plan again?”

  “Med-school, I’ll try to be a doctor. If I hate it enough, I will pivot to being a teacher.”

  “Always helping others…that’s very much like you.”

  “Graham, what do you want to do? If you like fighting so much, you can go and become a professional.”

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  “I hate money, it spoils things. Ah, who cares… Hey, if you’ve been around, then you must have seen Val. Where is she? I’ll go see her,” Akli stood up, crushing the empty can within his hand; tossing the trash into a bush.

  “Haah, who knows. I saw Horo early, he might know. They are close…”

  “Eh, that guy, he’s so straight laced it makes me puke. He tries too hard to be all squeaky clean,” Akli waved goodbye as he took to the hill, no longer able to be seen by Dushyanta’s view.

  “Seriously, he doesn’t need to be so jealous.”

  Sitting cross legged, Horo sighed, he could hardly hold his eyes open. A board’s distance away sat a tall tanned girl with thick locks of wavy black hair flowing down her back and shoulders. Puzzled by the pieces in front of her, she scrunch her nose or wrinkle her forehead, occasionally blowing the hair out of her face. Some seconds she would hover her hand over a piece, but then the next second she would recede.

  “Valory, how much longer…?” She’s been thinking for twenty minutes. This game will never end.

  “Shhh, I’m thinking,” Valory hissed.

  Seriously, this bitch…why me? Heaven above, why me? Clinking glass knocked the perking of Horo’s ear, to his right he could see a well dressed lad with a bleached comb over tossing rocks at the window. Ben…what is that brat doing now? “Val, looks like we got a visitor.”

  “Hm…oh, Krow-boy,” Valory jumped, opening the window, letting in the thin air that made lips crack. “What would you like?”

  “Akli threatened to break my scooter if I didn't let ya know he’s waiting for you by the dock. Ya know, since summer-cation is on it. He’s all like, ‘let’s kick it’. Fuckin’ twat!” Ben spat as he pulled on the collar of his crimson turtle neck.

  “Ugh, the bull. He thinks more with his lower half than the seed that sits in his head,” Valory sighed. “Aye, tell the bloke that I’ll be there in a moon’s blink!” Valory reclosed the window, swept her hair back with a band. Taking up her coat she dashed past the cooler, only to return back to grab a couple drinks. “Horo tidy up for me…oh and hang with Krow just in case Graham sends a goon or two.”

  “Seriously, why me?”