I lay flat on the grassy hill in my backyard, just watching the clouds float by. It's such a peaceful thing to do, especially when you have your best friend by your side. Being an 8 year old and having a guy as your best friend is not always considered normal, but Ike and I usually don't do things by the book, so to speak. I've known Ike ever since the playgroup days. We live in a neighborhood where everybody is homeschooled, and at a certain time of the day, all the kids get let outside for a recess. Ike and I met at the sandbox. I was crying because Mikey Anderson dumped a bucket of sand on my head, and Ike marched straight over there and pushed Mikey on his rear end.
"You don't do that to girls," he said. Then he came over and helped me get the sand off my head. Our friendship was sealed. Now, 3 years later, Ike and I were best friends. Sure, we had other friends, but if I had a problem, Ike was the first person I'd go to. Luckily, at this time, my major problem was being called a name by somebody. He was always there to comfort me.
"Hey Kelly, look at that cloud up there, it looks like a house." Ike pointed to a cloud floating above our heads that really did resemble a house.
"Yeah, I see it. Look over there, there's a ship." We both looked up at the ship. Then, out of nowhere, a cloud in the shape of a star appeared.
"Whoa, this is cool!" Ike exclaimed.
"What, what is so neat about it?" I asked.
"Legend has it that whenever you see a cloud in the shape of a star, you have to make a wish."
"Ike, that's the brightest star you see at night."
"It's a cloud too. Just trust me on this one."
I decided to believe him, and I made my wish. The cloud floated over our heads and then Ike pulled me to my feet.
"What do you want to do now?" I asked him.
"Don't know. Maybe we could convince Taylor and Brian to play hide and seek."
"Nah, we played that yesterday. Lets climb a tree."
"We did that the day before. Remember, I scraped my leg against a branch and started to bleed?"
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. How about riding our bikes up to the elementary school playground?"
"Now you're talking. Let me check with my mom and you check with yours." Ike was off and running before I even had a chance to speak. I told my mom where I was going, and I met Ike in front of his house. We raced to the playground, with Ike beating me by about 5 seconds. There was about a handful of kids there, playing on the monkey bars, swinging on the swings, and in general having a good time. We started to head over to where the kids from our neighborhood usually gather, but nobody was there today.
"This is weird," I commented.
"What do you want to do now?" Ike asked me.
"Lets swing," I suggested.
We ran over to the swings and snagged two that were right next to each other. Ike and I started pumping our legs, faster and faster, until we were soaring into the sky. I liked the feel of the wind against my face and I started to grin. Then, I jumped off. I did a 180 spin in the air and saw the look on Ike's face. I landed with a hard thump on the ground. Ike let himself drop to a medium height, then jumped off.
"Kelly, stop jumping from that high! You're going to hurt yourself," he reprimanded me.
"Ike, I've been doing that for the longest time. I won't get hurt."
"You're right, you won't get hurt if you stop."
I sighed. No matter what angle you came at, Ike always found a way to beat you, and that annoyed the heck outta me.
Just then, Taylor, Ike's brother came up to us. Taylor's 6 years old, he has blond hair that's starting to get slightly long.
"Ike, Kelly, our moms want us back. Check the time." Behind Taylor, a long way down, stood Mrs. Hanson.
Ike looked at his watch. "12:30," he read out loud.
"Yeah, you forgot about our field trip, didn't you?" he asked.
Duh. At least, that would explain why nobody from our neighborhood was there. Ike, Taylor, and I climbed on our bikes and rode home together. As we got to our houses, Taylor and Ike rode up their driveway, and I coasted up mine. I punched in the garage door code and set my bike in the garage. My mom was already outside by our car.
"Come on, Kelly, we are going to be late," she said. "We were supposed to be at the Ellebrock's house five minutes ago."
"I'm sorry." We walked out of the garage together, crossing the street, and going two houses down. Almost everybody was there. My mom, Mrs. Ellebrock, Mrs. Repenger, and Mrs. Presario were driving. We all split up into groups, and were on our way. We were going apple picking. Ike, Taylor, Brian, Melissa (Brian's sister who is my age), me, and my older brother Andrew (who is 10) were going. I sat in one of the captain's chairs next to Melissa. Andrew (aka Andy) rode in front next to my mom. Ike, Taylor, and Brian took up the back seat of our van.
"Everybody ready?" Mom asked.
"Yeah, lets go!" we said. Mom pulled out of the driveway and we were off. We had so much fun that day. Isaac jumped out from behind an apple bush and scared Taylor. Taylor cried a little, but he was fine (especially after Mrs. Hanson yelled at Isaac).
That day was magical. It was one of the last major memories I have of Isaac Hanson. A few weeks later, he told me that his family had to move because of his dad's job. I remember crying in my room and pitching a fit. I didn't want Ike to leave. I remember my parents and even Andy consoling me, saying that Ike and I would write and call every now and then, that maybe we could even visit each other. I brightened up, a little. Moving day came, we gave each other a quick hug good bye. Ike told me that he would never forget me. Mom had their new address, and then Ike, Taylor, Zac (who was 3 at the time), and little Jessica who was an infant, got into their van and drove off. Ike and I waved to each other until we couldn't see each other. I never heard from him again.
Chapter 1
Those Were The Days
Kelly's Hanson Stories
