Manual, first day freshman year (epilogue)

                                    

The day before the race we take it easy.  We form Euclidean triangles with our body as we stretch in front of the school.  We have a light three-mile workout, We forgo weights. We have a quiet mile and a half cool down.  Coach tells us to relax. Coach tells us to focus on the race.


 After practice after the first day I go back and look at the record board once again.  I look at the Cross-country FROSH record I feel destined to decimate. I see my second cousin’s record. Our meet  is in three days. I know I can eclipse it. I should have no trouble.

I hear a familiar voice.

“Hey man!!”

It is Anthony. Jumanee. Harold Hill from the Music Man last summer.

He come over. We give each other a hug.

Anthony smiles. He addresses me as Mr. Freshman. He asks me how Mr. Freshman is enjoying his first couple of  days of high school so far.

I tell him its great. I tell him I have all enriched classes.

‘Dude, it’s so good to see you man!! You ever see anyone else from Music Man?”

I wonder if he still hangs out with the Washington enclave. I wonder if he still goes out late at night with Anastasia and the two of them dry hump and she gets grounded.

“No. I haven’t seen any of them since the cast party and you?

“I kind of dated Dawn Michelle for a while.”

“The make-up lady?”

“Yeah. She used to help you with your changes.”

Anthony smiles. He says dude she was hot.

“Yeah, she's really cool. We dated for the remainder of the summer."

I ask Anthony if he has any plans to do theater at Manual. 

"No man. I just pretty much do shows in the summer. I direct Gospel choir and am the drum major for the band and we're prepping to go to New Orleans in a couple of months.

We continue to talk and reminisce about last summer. We laughed about the time we pummeled each other on stage 

‘I saw Pam a couple nights ago. It was random. But I saw Pam. I squeezed her arm.”

I tell Anthony that I told her thank you.

I look at my cousin's record.

                                                           

 
 
 
                                     



"And then I told her goodbye."