Kids Again

Kids Again

this short story was inspired by the movie mid90s and the song "Jambi Cafe" by The Uncluded, all lyrics featured were written by the respective artist(s)

Justin swung his arm and felt his knuckles sting as his fist hit Johnny's nose, drawing blood right away and giving him a limp sense of accomplishment. To think this all started over a Voltron action figure was crazy... Well, maybe not so much. Justin had had that figure almost his whole life, it was the last gift from his older brother before he went to college, and he had asked Johnny for it back so many times now.

"I'm so sorry, Johnny." He thought out loud. Johnny simply snarled and swung back, his knuckles bloody from holding his nose. Justin forced his body out of the way, but ended up taking the hit anyhow, right on his left shoulder. As he was about to call out his friend's name to signal he’d had enough, Johnny landed a surprise blow right to Justin's chest, knocking him straight down and taking the wind out of him.

“I give! I give!" Justin yelped as his body lay on the hot asphalt below, all he could see in the bright sunlight was a circle of other kids around both him and Johnny, who had gathered the moment the word 'fight' even entered their collective consciousness. Like vicious dogs, they hungered for either of the boys' pain, especially with the end of the school year around the corner. Their last chances to see random school violence for now.

Johnny fell silent, and, for what seemed like a very long time, reached his arm out below toward his beaten friend. As Justin reached his hand out to grab Johnny's, the nearby kids simply dispersed amidst their jeering, as Justin was lifted to his feet. He held a hand to his head, mainly because it hurt badly, but also to check for blood - he was fine, it seemed. Possibly just a minor concussion.

"Come on," Johnny said quietly. "Let's head home." The sense of regret was building within him to the point it was audible, but he didn't want to tell Justin he had lost the figure. The two boys began to walk their separate ways home, both feeling rather unsatisfied.

As Justin walked through the front door, his family's beloved miniature schnauzer Dolly greeted him with love and a kiss as he walked into the living room. It helped him feel a little bit better.

"Oh, Justin, you're home!" Yelled his mother with excitement. "I've got some news for you, and..." She noticed as he walked toward her, the scrapes and bloody knuckles he had. "Good heavens, Dear, what happened to you?!"

"I got in a fight with Johnny..."

"Oh no, again?" She ran over to hug her son.

"It's still about the Voltron figure." He expressed with a sigh.

"Oh, honey, can't you forget about your toy for just one moment?"

"No, mom! It's very important to me." Justin began to huff up, and his mother took him into a strong embrace. He didn't want to start with the whole 'action figure' argument again, she just didn't get it.

"Well, let's forget about that for a few moments. Something happened while you were having your whole afterschool bout today."

"What happened?" He felt nervous, could he be in trouble?

"Well, I got a call..." Oh god, was it school related? No, she said 'good news.' Hmm, if only that fight hadn't taken up so much after-school time and head functionality, it was already close to 5. "It was for you, from Jacey's mother!"

Justin's mind immediately flashed at a mile a minute. Jacey, the girl he had his eye on the moment he first saw her at the beginning of the school year. She was a year older, but that really didn't matter to him, Justin felt strong and mature despite being only 12 years old. Everything inside always assured him he could "get the girl," so to speak. He could remember her once mentioning during their very few conversations about how she loves to skateboard at the mall. Well, what did she want? The suspense was pure murder.

"She said that Jacey is having a little get together at the mall in an hour and wanted to invite some friends from school along, since the year is ending and all."

She invited me? Justin thought to himself about how invisible he had always felt in her presence, and now she suddenly wants him to hang out with her and her 'cool' friends? This had to have been a concussion, he did hit his head pretty hard.

"I already told her you'd be coming along! I'll drive you when you're ready, but first you look really banged up. Why don't you go and wash up, you want to impress her don't you?" She smirked, knowing well about her son’s precocious crush.

"Mom, my head hurts." Justin felt tears welling up in his eyes, he felt as confused emotionally as he felt hurt physically right now. How could he even do this in his current condition? This already felt like too much.

"Okay dear, I'll get some ibuprofen for you. There should still be some good flavored jolly ranchers left in the bag on the coffee table." She said as she walked off to the bathroom medicine cabinet. Justin reached into the bag and grabbed himself a single green jolly rancher - the only flavor his picky palate preferred, plus everyone else always ate all of them but that flavor anyway - and put it in his pocket for later.

I wish that your headaches would subside, my friend
And that your healing isn't just a case of double contact lens
I've got my name down for a table at the Jambi cafe
So I can "meka leka hiney ho" all of your pain away

The car stopped to a halt, and Justin opened the door. "Be safe, sweetie! I'll come pick you up at around 8." His mother blew him a kiss goodbye before driving off. If anyone had seen that he'd have felt so embarrassed, that's why he purposely had her drop him off a small ways away from the actual mall proper.

As he trekked across the crowded mall parking lot that had barely any shade, he found himself sweating as he approached the small group of kids skateboarding. He knew this was Jacey and her friends, he could just barely make out her shape, but he knew it. As he got closer he noticed the skateboarders doing tricks off plywood ramps, gathering ire from the occasional shoppers as they rode past.

"Hey!" Came a shout from near the stairs outside the food court patio. Justin approached and knew Jacey was calling to him, the walk to her felt endless, but there she was. Her hair was a dark shade of brown, and long, very long, held from her face by a backwards baseball cap in a fashion that seemed unseasonable. Some people can just bear summer like that, and she'd be the type to love the heat, judging by her pullover hoodie. The girl must have been baking in the sun. Approaching, he could see her braces in her smile and her wild blue eyes, they were brighter than anyone else he'd ever seen.

As he closed the distance, he found his nerves and more sweat growing hot in his body, but he had to remain cool. "Justin, right?" She asked. She didn't even remember his name, it seemed, and likely just invited whoever from school she could, although the near lack of other kids suggested otherwise. Was he specifically chosen?

"Yup, that's me!" He tried not to laugh nervously as he already knew he couldn't ever say the right thing at the right time. "Thanks for inviting me out."

"Hey, no problem dude! Glad you came out, no one else did. I guess no one cares about going to a different school next year, huh?"

"Different school?" He felt so confused for a moment, his head still hurt slightly.

"Yeah, you know, we're all off to high school next year. My birthday's in a month and I'm not ready to be 14 yet. Getting older sucks."

"Ha, yeah." He closed his eyes and nodded, thinking about how much he wanted to be older and wiser, much more mature and ready for high school. Unfortunately he still had 8th grade as an upcoming hurdle, and he suddenly felt like a toddler compared to the others, who he watched board up and down the curbs on the street and on makeshift ramps.

"So anyway, I wanted to introduce you to my friends, Toko and Ken! Considering it’s just the four of us." She gestured over to the others as they began to carry their boards under their arms and walk over. "No matter what, they're always by my side. True amigos, ya know?"

He could see them clearly, they were ready to meet him. They wore the same style of clothes Jacey wore, ripped up jeans and t-shirts, very grunge. At least in this kind of environment Justin would never have to worry about being dressed to impress, but he felt so plain in comparison. Maybe he just needed to rip up his jeans, too, or grow his hair out a bit.

Toko was a tomboyish girl, with tan skin and light eyes, buck teeth and long curly golden hair tucked under a beanie. While Ken looked like he absolutely belonged at a skatepark, with a Nirvana shirt and cut-off jean shorts, and spiky dark hair. They both looked like exactly the type of friends Jacey would have, with her slightly outcast look and dark brown hair that contrasted her pale complexion so much.

Justin reached out his hand nervously to meet his new acquaintances, who he felt deep down couldn't muster a shred of respect for him. They reached out their hands for a fist bump instead, taking him by surprise for some reason. Pfft, a handshake? How lame.

"So, you skate?" Toko asked.

"Uhh, not really." Justin stumbled over his words, then remembered he needed to be cool here. "Well, I have a little bit, but nothing major." It felt sort of wrong, he was lying through his teeth, but these new people had no reason to suspect that.

"Well, you wanna try out my board? It's rad!" Toko held out her board, eager for Justin to grab it and show them what he’s made of.

Without even thinking of the consequences, Justin eagerly took her offer. If it would impress Jacey and make him seem cool, he'd do it, even if he'd get hurt. He grabbed Toko’s board and as he laid it on the ground, he could hear Jacey's voice call out.

"Wait!" She yelled in his direction. "Come here first."

Oh god, what could she want? Justin felt his body automatically move toward her, could he be any more of a slave right now?

"Hey, before you start boarding." Jacey reached into her bookbag, which let out the sounds of rustling plastic before she held out her hand with a gift to him. "Have a fireball. They're my favorite."

"Fireball?" Justin felt like an idiot, Jacey has a favorite candy and he didn't even know? Well, he didn’t really know anything about the girl anyway, and the role of a secret admirer was a sadly accurate fit. He saw the red ball wrapped in plastic in her palm and reached out to grab it.

"What? Dude, you've never had an atomic fireball before? It's really spicy, but also super sweet too! You should have one before you skate, it always fills me with the drive to pull off any trick! Just don't choke, keep it in your cheek." She unwrapped the candy and held her palm out for him.

Justin reached into his pocket and felt the green jolly rancher, still untouched. Its sour flavor, he thought, could deal with any spiciness as he dealt with the bruising self-improvement of skating. He grabbed the little red ball and popped it in his mouth, immediately his tongue met the strong taste of cinnamon.

And I'm outside D's Variety, I'm up on the brick wall
And it's the first time that this tongue of mine has licked a fireball
I close my eyes and feel the burn and say "Yeah, bring it on!"
I feel weak but I'm trying to prove to myself that I'm strong

As the candy hit his tongue it didn't take long for Justin to realize just why they're called 'Atomic Fireballs' as the burn hit his tongue in a slow but steady manner. It was unlike any candy he'd had before, but the spicy sensation on his tongue brought a heat that spread through his whole body. Is this why Jacey loved these so much? He felt a passion within him rise. He felt inspired, he felt like he could ride this skateboard and impress Jacey. He also felt that this was possibly a placebo effect, but it was too late to back down.

I feel weak but I'm trying to prove to myself that I'm strong

As he put his feet on the board he could feel Toko holding him to balance him. "Just remember that your body is the balance. You're in control of all your movements. When I'm on my board, I feel a sense of freedom, you know? It's like, I'm not a 13 year old girl anymore, I'm someone better." She pushed against his back as he tried to stand on the board. Man, even step one was hard, but the fire in his mouth put the spark through his body.

I have to do this, he thinks to himself.

"I think I’ve got it." Justin says timidly as he stands still on the board.

"Now, kick off!" Toko yells as she gives him a push. In an instant, Justin can feel the instincts in his body let him kick the ground and go. It was different from riding a bike, it took more effort and concentration, but he immediately found himself kicking off and riding. It felt amazing, the wind blew the fire in him to a cooling point where he wasn't sweating with uncertainty. His mouth felt the burn, but his body felt the sense of freedom only something like this could provide.

As he went forward, he saw the street curb in his way, a desperate attempt at a turn saw him taking a spill, just barely commanding his feet to stomp and give him balance as the board flew away and hit the ground beside him. In the background of his mind he heard the others, but Toko especially, give a loud "Ooh!"

When he was a few years younger, Justin's older brother introduced him to punk rock. Through a shady, under-the-table job he'd use what he earned to buy records, and Justin soon found himself immersed in his brother's world of music. When his brother left for college, his dad collected all the leftover records for himself, and Justin felt jealous knowing his dad would never listen to them or understand the point bands like Dead Kennedys made. It was something he thought about a lot.

"Aw, dude you okay?" The simple question from Toko broke Justin from his memory trance and smacked him with reality. The fire in his mouth drove him to respond.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I need to try again." He had a lot of saliva in his mouth, thank goodness it wasn't blood. He had to spit the fireball out to talk, it was turning white as it dissolved. He popped it back into his mouth and wiped his hand on his jeans.

Toko simply smiled. "You've got moxie, ya know that?" She was impressed by his persistence, even though in reality it was nothing but a dumb attempt to get her friend's affection.

Justin simply exhaled through his nose harder than usual, and this made his head hurt slightly until the fireball took his focus away.

"Wooh! Yeah, Justin!" Words of encouragement from the others flew to his ears. Even Ken, who had up until now been silent, was telling the boy he could do it. After today's meaningless fight, what's a few more scratches? As long as he doesn't die.

Justin convinced himself he's got this, and set his gaze off to the side, near a streetlamp. Judging by it being on and the color of the sky, he could guess it was already around 7, not much time left. He saw the trio had set up a wooden ramp on top of a cinder block to pull tricks off of, it looked to be more than simply a hunk of cheap plywood. He needed to take that challenge on, the fire in his mouth told him so.

Just like that, he kicked off, not even paying attention to anything but the wind in his face. He aimed himself toward the ramp, feeling unusually steady. He readied himself for the jump, but heard a loud crash underneath him as the wood on the ramp slid from its position and sent him tumbling off as the board flew up and nearly hit him on the way back down.

I heard you ate shit at the skate ramp
Two left feet watering a faceplant
Ah dude, you know that "skate or die" is just a term
The latter half is fully independent of the first

As Justin hit the ground with Toko's board following, the three others ran up to him concerned. "Dude, Justin! You good?" Came Ken's voice.
Justin felt his head hurting like crazy, and somewhere along the line he had spit out the fireball. His own encouragement brought his downfall, a feeling he was beginning to know all too well as middle school flew by. Wordlessly, he got up as Toko fixed the wooden ramp.

"Dude, maybe you should take a breather. Don't want anyone watching us to call the cops." The girl spoke to him, but Justin could only imagine the wordless observation Jacey had been making this whole time. She had run up concerned like the others when Justin crashed, but only offered an outstretched arm when Ken pulled him up instead. The fact she was being so quiet was really getting to him, she had gone from warm and inviting to suddenly seeming distant for no reason.

After getting up, Justin felt a push at his back, it was Jacey. "Come on, dude, you got this! Third time's the charm, right?" Her words of encouragement were a fireball all their own, suddenly he felt heat in his body, enough to keep going.

She was right, too. What's one more try? Another scraped knee, perhaps a sprained ankle? Kid stuff, right? What did he have to be afraid of when everyone around him knew he could do it?

"Toko, you fixed the ramp?" Justin asks out loud.

"Yeah, man! One more try, be careful though!"

Justin laid the board down to the asphalt below and hopped on once more, with the fire in him now replaced with raw emotion and confidence rather than a simple candy. He kicked off hard, aiming straight for the ramp as he felt the breeze against his body. The other three cheered him on, and he could hear them all, Jacey especially, chanting his name. "Justin! Justin! Justin!" With them cheering him on, he felt like he could do anything right now.

Once the ride kicked off toward the ramp, he felt like he's got this jump in the bag, until he was knocked unsteady by the ramp once again caving in to the weight on top of it and twisting down to the side, but not before Justin finally got some air, having jumped off the ramp right as it caved. In the three seconds of flight he had, Justin felt free and strong, before gravity brought him right back down for another beatdown, which caused the others to gather around his prone body once more.

You hit the kicker warp speed yelling "Punk rock!"
Turns out plywood's not a fan of tough talk
Oof, cue up a slow-mo heave-ho
Everybody staring at the airborne freakshow
Scraped knees and a very bruised ego
You're a good kid, just a goofy Knievel

Damn, he bit the dust again. Would Jacey ever be impressed? Hell, would Toko and Ken? Why did he suddenly even begin to care what they think? He was overcome with pure anxiety right now, fighting tears to keep his demeanor as calm as he could. Jacey could never see him cry.

"Dude." The single word uttered from Toko's mouth was nearly monotone. Justin got up on his own this time, filled with fear. His reservations were hit with a cry of excitement he hadn't expected. "That was awesome!" Toko's smile lit up, and a quick look around showed smiles on the faces of Ken and Jacey too.

Justin was bewildered, and not just because he was getting beaten up by gravity with a mild concussion. Who'd cheer him on even when he failed horribly? You can't impress anyone without being perfect at it, that's what the world had taught him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the green jolly rancher from his pocket, now was the time. He plopped it in his mouth, where it filled the absence of the fireball's spice with a sour flavor that felt like it could heal him.

The good news is it doesn't really matter
The other good news is an apple jolly rancher
And it won't heal wounds, but it will heal moods
And it's sweet and it's sour and it's green and it rules
Can't do much so the cut won't sting
But you can make a couple taste buds go ziga-ziga-zing!

Jacey spoke up behind him, taking him by surprise. "Hey, I know you wiped out and everything." All he could think of or even expect was criticism. "But I just wanted to say I think you're a badass kid for trying so hard."

As these words wrapped themselves around his brain, Justin looked up, having failed to notice the sun beginning to set. He couldn't help but wonder what time it was. In a seemingly telepathic connection, Jacey gave him an answer while looking at her wristwatch.

"Hey guys it's almost 7:30, should we start wrapping up?" She asked the other three.

Toko and Ken nodded silently, while Justin clutched his head. All he could think of was his mom coming to pick him up. He could only think about healing his wounds from today, going to school tomorrow and making up with Johnny to get his action figure back. After moments of silence, he found himself able to speak. "Yeah, my mom is gonna come pick me up at 8."

Jacey looked right at him. "Well, we've still got a half hour before you have to go. What do you wanna do?"

Unable to articulate his thoughts right away, he felt into his pockets and found the single scrunched up $10 bill that was his reward for the chores he had done last week. It had gone through the wash but was still in one piece. Right then, after feeling the worn green paper, he spoke up. "Wanna get jamba juice?"

"Yeah dude!" Jacey gave him a warm smile before the voices of Toko and Ken joined in to harmonize. "Everyone have money?" She asked as she looked across at her three cohorts, seeing them all nod happily.

"Well then, let's get some juice!" Yelled Toko, so excited she nearly forgot to collect her board. Upon picking it up, she felt the trucks were rather loose, Justin sure took a beating on that thing, and she thought of how tough the kid really was.

As the four delinquents sat in the cafe area outside the jamba juice and talked, they heard the mall announcement ordering everyone to clear out as the mall closed at 8. None of them really cared, though, knowing no one would really do anything about it, but Justin felt his inner nerves scream and quickly asked Jacey for the time - 7:52.

Crap, his mom will be at the mall any minute to pick him up. How embarrassing, he thought, when these cool kids are independent enough to stay out late, he was being picked up as early as 8. Justin swallowed hard and spoke up, "I've gotta go. My mom will be here in a few to pick me up."

Jacey simply gave a disappointed sigh, which was then echoed by both Toko and Ken. "Awh, shoot." She muttered. "Guess that's it for skating today, huh?"

"Yeah." Justin looked down, he couldn't look at Jacey's eyes right now, he didn't want this evening to ever end, he wanted to sit in these uncomfortable wooden chairs forever. "Hey, if we can hang out again soon, I'd be so down."

"Hell yeah!" Jacey gave a slight smile. "I mean, I've got summer school and my folks aren't too happy with me, but I promise I'll come hang out if I can!" She stuck out her hand, her little finger extended. "Pinky promise."

Justin quietly held his hand out the same way, solidifying the pinky swear between the two. It felt good to know this wouldn't be the final time he'd see her before she'd head off to high school at the end of the summer.

He looked over and saw Toko and Ken give similar looks. "We've got the same deal going on." Toko explained sadly, her teeth biting down on her lip. "Don't flunk school like us."

"Yeah," Ken spoke up. "Wish we could be good kids like you, Jus. We got teachers biting at us something fierce, though. Parents aren't too happy all around." He looked off to the side, biting the inside of his cheek to stop a frown from showing up.

Good kid? What the hell did he mean? By the look on his face, Ken seemed to have meant that as a good thing. Maybe, despite how different they all were, there really was a friendship that formed today. Justin's thoughts were driven right back to reality as he heard a beeping sound - Jacey's watch.

"Huh?" He stammered with confusion.

"Oh, I set an alarm for 8 so you wouldn't miss your mom. Mall's about to close anyway." Jacey smiled at him once more, then flung her bag to the side to reach into a pocket, pulling out another atomic fireball. She held it out in her hand, "Here."

Justin reached out slowly to grab it, feeling nervous as his palm touched hers in the brief exchange. It was a warmth far outweighing that of the candy between their two hands, and it felt like a long, loving minute of holding hands before Jacey pulled her hand back, leaving Justin to clutch the candy in his sweaty palm.

"I wanted to say," Jacey spoke up. "I know I've been kinda quiet tonight, but I've just been nervous is all." She gave herself a silent sigh.

"Nervous?" Justin couldn't comprehend it. How could a cool, older kid like her be nervous because of someone just a grade behind? "Nervous about what?"

"Eh, well, I'm just kinda sad, mostly. Sad no one showed up, guess I should have had my mom invite more people. She literally looked through the yearbook for kids she recognized that I knew." Jacey rolled her eyes at that last part. "You might think I'm some cool older kid, but I'm not. I don't really go out much beyond skating, and I don't really have a lot of friends besides Toko and Ken."

"And me, now!" Justin added himself to her small list with excitement, and immediately felt unsure. "Right?"

She started laughing, and snorted once in the middle. Justin suddenly felt a small twinge of panic before she quickly caught her breath and spoke. "Of course dude. Sorry to laugh, I feel like you shouldn't have to question it. No doubt."

Justin giggled a bit himself, happy to hear that. For the first time in a while, he could look at someone other than Johnny as a friend and not feel like he was lame or being put down.

"If I ever get any free time, expect my mom to call yours." Jacey smiled. "I hope that fireball will help you remember today."
"It will..." Justin mumbled, in disbelief that today was really over. Mulling over his thoughts about just what he had done today and how much of an emotional rollercoaster it had been for him. "I really liked how spicy it was." He felt like he was red in the face.

"I want to give you one more!" She dug the candy from her bag and happily handed it to him. "Oh, and since you like jolly ranchers too, I have a blue one!"

"I've never had the blue one." He said, knowing it'd be a shock to her, and it was.

Jacey gave him a long, drawn out Whaaaaaat? "It's the best one. Blue anything is always the best!"

"I guess I really just only like green apple." He had to stop himself from laughing at how dumb he sounded right now, he only liked it because everyone else always ate the other flavors. He quickly changed his tune to be more positive about it, how bad could it be, just because he didn't like every other color. "I bet I'll love blue!"

"That's more like it." Jacey snickered.

"By the way," Toko spoke up. "Whenever we can chill again, let's all watch a movie! Batman or something, we can sneak in." She chuckled and kept her voice down on that last part.

Yeah! The four of them echoed in unison, each happy to finally have a friend group of their own. They had to do everything they could with the rest of the summer to really feel like kids again. The three skaters then waved Justin goodbye as he began walking away and exchanging goodbyes with everyone.

As Justin sadly left the mall to find his mother's car, he thought about the fireball he had in his pocket. The candy was a hot source of strength for him while he tried new things for the first time. Plus, it was Jacey's favorite, so it was special, very special. He remembered he still had the blue jolly rancher clutched in his warm hand, though. He unwrapped it and popped it in his mouth, and realized that he'd really been missing out. Next time he'll have to snag all the blue ones before anyone else could.

I'm on the stoop at Joe's, and I am just a little kid
And it's the first time this tongue of mine gives a blue razz a lick
And all that I can say is "Holy shit, guys what is this?"
What could I have done to deserve such awesomeness?

As he found his mother's car and got in, she asked him all the expected questions which were going to take him out of his current state of mind just so he could say yes to her. He did have a fun time. Jacey's friends were really cool people. Jacey herself was awesome to be around. And yeah, they all want to hang out with him again. Lastly, his mom had one more question for him about tonight: "By the way, dear, guess what happened while you were gone."

"What?" He tried not to seem annoyed at yet another question.

"I spoke to Johnny's mom on the phone..."

"You did?" Justin piped up with surprise and a small sense of anticipation.

"Yes, she told me that Johnny lost that action figure of yours..."

Immediately disappointed, Justin scoffed. "Figures..." Maybe he'd have to fight Johnny again after all, despite the truce they made today.
"But," His mother continued. "She found it!"

All of his emotions now suddenly turned into an excited sense of relief. Finally, he'd get his treasured Voltron back. He leaned back in the seat, truly satisfied with how the latter half of his day had been. Tomorrow was the true last day of school, and it felt good knowing that, just like last year, he'd most likely be walking into a half day with class pizza parties and a movie on the wheel-in TV. Best of all, he could really apologize to Johnny and keep seeing his best bud all summer. It was awesome to feel like he had real friends for the first time.

What could I have done to deserve such awesomeness?

He never did get the Voltron figure back, though.