2 Friends and One Blind Mice

The night was off to a fun start but ended in a blur. I remember everything like it was just yesterday. It had all begun when I moved from Philadelphia, PA to Gainesville, FL at the age of 13. As a teen, I thought I’d be an outcast and socially deprived being far away from home but surprisingly I ended up snagging a few good friends. Not only that, I started to carry out the country bumpkin accent so I was fitting right in.

It was around 9 pm on a summer day. The air was humid with a light breeze. The flickering street lights were dim and the only thing that appeared to be visible was the moon glowing from the sky. I was hanging outside with my two friends Jayla and Christina. Jayla was the shortest of the bunch. Her height was 5’2 and she wore her dark black curly hair in a bun most of the time. Christina had light brown hair that was wavy. She always wore Chuck Taylors in different colors. I and Christina were both 3 inches taller than Jayla.

Both of my friends had this courageous idea to go try slushies from a woman who was known for making them personally in her home. As a kid, I was always taught not to take candy from strangers. Although it was not candy, this same principle applied in my mind. It sounded pretty weird to hear that a woman was selling slushies from her home.

Who is this woman? Why would she be giving drinks away at night and what is in it? Could she be crazy? I thought to myself.

My head was swarming with mysterious questions. I started to believe my friends were lunatics too. This could have been the end of my life all because of a slushified drink, I could grab at 7 eleven.

Somehow I hopped on the bandwagon train and ended up convinced. Jayla reassured that she knew the woman and that most people buy from her. She went on to say that the woman is an at-home business owner with different foods/drinks to sell. A few things started to make more sense and I was down for the adventure.

The three of us were traveling to a different housing community across the street from our housing community. I, Jayla, and Christina were swiftly running through the grass to reach our journey. The more we ran, the faster we went. The faster we went, the more our hearts started to pound quicker. We never stopped to catch our breaths.

As we make it nearly to the other side, I hear Christina’s faint voice over my heavy breathing and loud heartbeat, saying, don’t forget to go under “something”.

Of course, I was not the Brainiac in comprehending what the phrase meant until I ran face-first into a tall white fence. Jayla and Christina were too far ahead to notice. What was even funnier was instead of falling backward from the impact of the fence, I realized what my friend meant by ‘go under’ and I crawled under the fence dizzy. I somehow made it to the other side with the walk of a zombie. It was almost as if I was a Walker from The Walking Dead. My vision was slightly impaired like a person who had too much to drink.

I could not see straight. My eyesight was fading to black each time I blinked and I felt dead. How could such a white fence be so powerful? I thought, feeling like an idiot.

My friends didn’t realize I hit my head until a lump magically appeared the size of a tennis ball on my forehead. I was too out of it to realize I had a large bump there.

The lady who sold the slushies answered the door and it turned out that she was nice. She look confused seeing us out at night, and told us she only sells food and drinks during the day, so we headed back home. As our short adventure came to an end, my throbbing head pain lasted an eternity. Before we departed ways, my 2 friends helped me on the way back.

I showed my parents the new sovereign I caught implanted on my forehead. They were extremely excited in fear. The expression on my Mom's face was priceless. I told them everything that had happened and my parents wanted me to rest and recover.

I used a cold compression to ease the swelling. My oddly shaped forehead lasted for three days. The lump slowly started to shrink after the third day and disappeared around the fifth day.

This moment was a night to remember and as I reflect on it I laugh at it every time because, in the end, I had a lot of fun with Jayla and Christina. The pain did not matter as much. It was the first time in a while I had friends and for once, there was a sense of belonging. I was the city girl that somehow transformed into a Hillbilly Bob/southern peach.

Until this day, white fences are still my kryptonite and I avoid them at all costs.