“Is that silly clothes?”
“……I do feel like I’ve become quite silly today.”
At Sandy’s question as we coincidentally ran into each other again today, I looked down at the clothes I was wearing. Last night, I’d found clothes from my EMO kid days deep in the closet. It was a t-shirt with a skull drawn on it and holes all over it.
If I wore just this, I’d be going around showing off my nipples, so I wore a shirt underneath and put on baggy shorts. I was embarrassed to death just wearing this, but looking at the kids wandering around school, I was on the normal side.
Even Sandy was wearing a rainbow-colored cancan skirt, her braided hair stood up stiffly like Pippi Longstocking, and her shoes were mismatched. She looked just like a beggar.
“Right. Well, if you say you’re silly.”
Sandy shrugged, and with that movement, her hair standing up swayed. I wish Sandy would sit in the very back seat in class. If there was a kid with hair like that in front of me, I wouldn’t be able to focus on class at all.
“Wow, it’s like it’s become Comic-Con.”
“Like Frankenstein.”
Sandy muttered as she spotted some kid wearing an Iron Man mask on their face, Batman clothes, and Hulk gloves. I slightly frowned at that grotesque sight of all kinds of heroes combined together.
“That’s Disney World over there.”
Sandy stuck out her tongue as she spotted the cheerleaders wearing puffy skirts all together just like princesses in animations. The skirt width was so wide that just Harper and Hannah standing side by side filled up the hallway. Since the cheerleader kids were moving around in a group blocking the way, the kids behind them couldn’t pass and were at a loss.
“They all really do look silly.”
I agreed with Sandy’s words. I mean, this is a school, can they really attend class dressed like that? As I looked around with astonished eyes,
“Eek!”
I made eye contact with a kid who had multiple facial features on their face and clutched my heart. After barely calming my fluttering heart and looking carefully, it was special effects makeup. Happy to have startled me, that kid giggled. The fake drawn mouths stayed still while only the real mouth opened, which was even more creepy.
“Anyway, all the things attending high school are weird.”
As if I was also pathetic for being startled by something like that, Sandy muttered while shaking her head, then suddenly asked.
“Are you going to the parade today?”
“There’s a parade too?”
“What’s with you? Like a freshman. They do it every year.”
“Did they……?”
How would I know when this is my first time attending this school? I smiled awkwardly.
“Today and tomorrow classes end early, today there’s a parade, tomorrow there’s a party. That’s how it goes. If you go to the parade, they throw candy or chocolate.”
Sandy moved her arms back and forth, making a gesture of throwing something.
“Mm……. I don’t think I’ll go.”
Unless it was an important event, I wasn’t in the mood. I nagged Mom to find out more about the situation, and just as Dave said yesterday, the police were being strangely stubborn and it seemed Joel would only be released after the full 48 hours.
It was too strange and sad that a student who lives alone, only eighteen years old, who committed no crime at all, was locked up in a police station. No matter how foul-tempered Joel is, he must be scared. The pulse I felt from the wrist I gripped tightly before he went outside the classroom came to mind anew. It was abnormally fast. He was tense and anxious.
“Is something wrong? Your expression suddenly doesn’t look good.”
“Mm, no……. Anyway, enjoy the parade or whatever. See you later.”
I forced the corners of my mouth up while shaking my head. Sandy shrugged but didn’t say anything else and waved her hand.
* * *
Perhaps because of the parade and the party tomorrow, the school was excited all day. It seemed even more so because everyone came to school in different outfits than usual. It seemed like I was the only one concerned about the fact that Joel had been arrested.
“Ugh!”
Right when I was worried about Joel, I bumped into something and almost fell. It was a kid who had made pointy thorns by stuffing cotton and attached them to their body.
That kid was happy to occupy the hallway alone and giggled while watching me stagger. What a bad personality.
After letting out a deep sigh, I fiddled with my phone. I shouldn’t bother Mom again, right? Since it’s not Mom’s matter. Besides, she didn’t seem that close with Joel’s lawyer. But I can’t contact Joel, so how…….
“Dave!”
“July, is that your silly clothes?”
I quickly raised my voice to call out to a familiar large figure passing right next to me. As if Dave had just now noticed me, he opened his mouth small with an “Ah,” then looked me up and down.
“Never mind the clothes, is there any news about Joel?”
“It’s only been a day, how could there be anything? The police are just dragging out time.”
Dave, who was wearing his clothes inside out, shrugged.
“Why are they dragging out time?”
“Joe…… lives alone in a trailer park, has a bad reputation, and isn’t white so he’s an easy target? He seems to have gotten caught by a cop who just happened to want to raise their performance record.”
“…….”
I shut my mouth at the tone that was calm to the point of being cold. Right, that was correct. Even though I sometimes forget because I grew up in South Korea, discrimination existed even if this place was a world inside a drama. Dave lives in a magnificent house like a castle, and Joel lives in a trailer – that itself shows the wealth gap.
“But don’t worry. There’s no evidence, and the lawyer is really strong. Smart and cunning in both a bad sense and a good sense. Getting a high school student out of a police station is nothing.”
“But he hasn’t gotten him out.”
“……Well, that’s true, but they won’t be able to hold him past 48 hours.”
“You…… don’t seem to have known Joel for long, so why are you so carefree?”
I was a bit upset. I was anxious and nervous all day thinking about Joel. Yet Dave, who had been close with him from before to the point of sending him a lawyer, didn’t seem worried at all. At my slightly impatient question, Dave answered.
“July, you’re worrying about Joe too much. You seem to know too much about Joe too.”
“That’s…… because we’re classmates.”
I blinked and answered, flustered by that slightly cold voice. Dave, who had been listening to my retort, pulled up the corners of his mouth and asked again.
“What about with me?”
“You’re…… in-laws.”
“In-laws are family, so closer than classmates. Right?”
“Maybe……?”
I said while rubbing the back of my neck. Even though it was an ambiguous answer, Dave smiled satisfyingly for some reason and patted my shoulder.
“Right. You don’t need to worry much about Joe. I guarantee it. Because Joe is Joe.”
“That’s true. Joel is Joel…….”
A foul-tempered, hot-tempered bastard like Joel, I’ve never seen anywhere else. After chewing on those words “Joe is Joe” several times, my mind seemed to ease a bit.
“Are you coming to the parade today?”
“Why?”
Dave asked while scratching his back, as if the inside-out clothes were uncomfortable. The tone that naturally assumed I’d come was puzzling.
“All the prom king and queen candidates participate in the parade. Including me. So I heard from August that the whole family is coming together.”
“Ah.”
It seems a family event had been created without me knowing. Dave is the younger brother of Winter, who’s marrying Hyung.
“Dad can’t come because he’s on a business trip again. But August is coming with his sister, and apparently Auntie and Uncle have time so they’re coming too.”
“……You seem closer to my family than I am?”
“No way. Where is there a family as harmonious as yours?”
When I blatantly showed childish jealousy, Dave let out a small laugh.
“Anyway, come to the parade. It’ll be quite worth watching. Time doesn’t flow faster just because you keep worrying with a long face. I’ll especially throw lots of candy your way.”
Dave whispered in my ear, just like a kid conspiring a bad prank. As if I’m a kid who’d be lured by candy.
* * *
I wasn’t lured by candy, but I had no choice but to come out to watch the parade with my family. It was because Mom and Dad were excited about a neighborhood event happening after a long time with someone they knew participating. Mom and Dad sat at an outdoor cafe watching the parade, and Hyung and Winter held hands and slipped away, mixing into the crowd.
“This reminds me of when we were students, doesn’t it?”
“Right. When we were students, we were sparkling and pretty like that too!”
Mom and Dad whispering with their faces close together were just like young lovers. Winter and Hyung were the same. There was quite a distance so I couldn’t hear the conversation well, but I could see them stuck together almost kissing, whispering.
……Somehow I’m lonely. Me alone among couples. No matter what, does their partner come first over their son and younger brother? I should find my own partner out of spite. Someday.
I grumbled inwardly, but not wanting to disturb their dates, I watched the parade alone in a distant spot. It wasn’t as flashy as what I’d seen at an amusement park once. It was just prom king and queen candidates riding in unique cars, waving at people and throwing candy.
There were several familiar faces.
“Wow! Harper Cruz!”
When Harper, wearing a sky-blue sparkling dress, smiled prettily and waved, someone shouted loudly. Harper seemed more relaxed than anyone since she was a strong homecoming queen candidate. The car Harper rode in was a red convertible.
In the green truck coming behind was Dave. Dave was wearing a football uniform, smiling brightly, showing off his good looks under the sunlight.
He really is handsome. Lucky him. Tall, handsome, popular, rich, and carefree. I came out to the parade to change my mood but the anxiety still hadn’t completely disappeared.
Somehow an edgy feeling rose up, so I crossed my arms, tilted my head, and looked at Dave crookedly. Then, when I made eye contact with Dave who was waving, I blinked in surprise.
……Is he crazy?
Dave had lightly kissed his palm then blown that kiss toward me! I felt all the people standing around me looking at me.
I must have shown complete shock on my face, enough for goosebumps to rise. Because Dave, who had winked with a squint, threw his head back and laughed loudly! I glared at the green truck Dave was riding, then soon stamped my foot once.
“David Evans, you liar! What about my candy!”
I urgently shouted but it was already too late. The truck Dave was on was far ahead, and prom king and queen candidates riding in a yellow car that looked like a beetle were coming in. The marching band following behind made my ears feel stuffy with the loud toot! toot! brass instrument sounds.
