Another Time, Another Place

So the last time I talked about the thing I love the most, I was a little less than happy and the memory was one probably worth letting go. Lets rewind again and take all this back to a better place.

It was April of 2004. Spring had really just began to kick in and things were starting a new, fresh beginning. But for me, I was coming close to the end of my road. With graduation being less than two months away there was one thing on my mind, my graduation trip to the beach with my friends. All of my thoughts went to planning my every move for the trip, the places we would go, the things we would try to do, the girls we would be trying to meet...

Walking through the hallway at school I bumped in to several friends who would be going on the trip with me, so of course I stop to ask them if they had given any thought to what they would want to try and do on our week long excursion. We tossed a few idea's around and agreed that we would meet up with the rest of our travel partners and see what they had on their minds as well before we tried to make any decisions for the task at hand. As we all darted our separate ways when the second bell had rung(meaning there was one minute to get to class) I bolted out the door and almost ran someone over. Fortunately no one was hurt, but I did manage to knock one of my very close friends books out of her hands and send her staggering back a pace or two. It was Ellen. Now there is a long history between this girl and I, some good and some not so good memories of times where we either helped one another or just managed to piss the other one off.

Our relationship started in 7th grade, where we were lab partners in pre-algebra. Ellen and I became close while dissecting a fetal pig. Odd how you can build a relationship with someone. But none the less, she was smart and I did not mind getting my hands inside a dead pig so really we made the perfect combination for this assignment. Things just went from there, we talked regularly and did many things together from that point. Which leads back to hitting her with the door. Had it been anyone else I would have been embarrassed and probably shaken a little, but since it was such a close friend and I saw she was okay it was a little easier to laugh and shake it off. As I helped her pick up the scattered belongings and made sure she was okay, she asked if i had time after school to talk about something important. "Sure", I responded, "you know we always have time to talk" I told her. I hugged her and apologized for being so careless and told her I would be waiting at her jeep after school.

The rest of the day seemed to drag. I suppose all of the anticipation over the beach trip and wondering what Ellen had to say just made the minutes pass like hours. As fourth period drew to an end I watched the warm spring sun bounce off windshields of the students cars lining the parking lot of the math building. As I sat there daydreaming I saw someone walking to their car, or maybe not, maybe they were walking to my car! "Who would be walking to my car?" I thought. Then I realized it was Ellen. She had stuck something under my windshield wiper, but what was it? Finally the bell rang and the great race began. Students flew to their vehicles, whether they were trying to beat traffic or just merely fleeing the "jail" like escaping convicts, just hoping to get away from whatever grim dark images they may have encountered during the day. Normally I would fall in to that category, but today there was something else on the agenda. I wanted to know what had been left on my car! I fought my way through the parking lot battling open doors and crowds gathered in the masses recalling the days tragedies. Out of breath and heart racing I lifted the windshield wiper and removed an envelope that had been stuck underneath. It was a note, and what appeared to be a ticket. I spoke out loud to myself "oh great, some type of fundraiser for an after school club". My excitement level dropped, but then i began to read the note.
" JT,
I know that we are coming up and graduation and both of us will be going to school in the fall, I really just wanted us to have another good memory together before things start to get hectic. The ticket inside is to go and see Matchbox 20, I know you like them a lot and you know I do as well. My uncle was supposed to be driving a tour bus for Metallica but they switched him up and he has Matchbox 20's tour now. We have seats right beside the stage and an after-show pass to meet the band. Love yah lots and I will see you at my house tonight at 6."

I was in shock. First of all that I was going to a concert that night, secondly it was an AWESOME band, and to top it all off I was going with a friend who meant the world to me, and she picked me to go with her! Immediately I went home to share the good news and begin preparing for the nights events. Once I had calmed down and told my family what I would be doing that evening time went back in to slow-motion.

I arrived at 6 just as instructed and sure enough she was walking out the door ready to begin the night. The concert started at 7 so we tried to arrive about 30 minutes early in order to get a good parking spot and beat the crowds inside. Pulling in to the coliseum we saw that it was already a mad house, with fans lining the streets walking to get to doors before show time. We finally parked and made our way through the crowds and chaos to get to our seats. In no time the place was full and the lights were dimming.

The concert started with a few new songs then went back to some recent hits. As the band ended their song "Unwell", lead singer Rob Thomas spoke up and said "this is probably my favorite little tune right here, I wrote this one for you guys..." as he pointed out to the crowd. Then I heard the familiar lyrics that had echoed in my head some time back in the not so distant past, " well I couldn't tell, if anyone here was feelin the way I do, but I'm lonely now, and I don't know how...to get it back to good." When the final chorus ended and the drums and guitar faded back in to the darkness of the stage, Ellen spoke to me. "I know you like that song, they did a great job tonight huh?". I thought for a moment and responded "yeah they did an awesome job, i loved it! But I have to say you did an awesome job too Ellen. Thanks for always being such a good friend, and thanks for giving me one of the most memorable nights of my life..."