The Spring

The Spring is a “young adult” novel that tells the story of eight friends approaching the end of their senior year of high school. Preparing for graduation should be an exciting time, but as they look forward to college, fall in and out of love, and just try to survive their last days of high school, they discover the old bonds of friendship that held them together are falling apart. Can their teenage friendships survive their final steps toward adulthood? It’s a little bit angsty, a little bit funny, a little bit philosophical, and a little bit romantic.

One

SITTING in his usual lunchtime spot in the shade of one of the
big oak trees that sometimes made the campus seem like such an inviting
place, Jason didn’t notice that his body was draped in a random pattern
of light and shadow. The warm sun, now at its highest point in the sky,
poured down its light, bathing most of the world in brightness. Even the
oak trees, with their new springtime leaves now almost fully formed,
couldn’t deflect it all, and the sunlight was fragmented into a thousand
shards of light, each illuminating a little piece of earth. The sunshine and
shade made some blades of grass glow while others remained the same
dull green, and insects blinked and sparkled as they buzzed back and
forth. The light, both scattered and direct, fell on the clusters of other
teenagers eating their lunches in the warm springtime air. Their laughter
and conversation created a sense of unity where the sunshine couldn't
reach. In this optimistic season, when the rest of the world strove to
become as one in the light, Jason alone resisted.
He sat with his back against the wall of the auditorium building.
This was his regular spot, chosen because it was in the shade at this hour
of the day. The trunk of the oak tree was a few feet in front of him, not
close enough to conceal him from his classmates, but near enough to
offer him a sense of security and shelter. His backpack that had been

slung over his shoulder was now set beside him. He opened the bag of
chips that he had bought from one of the vending machines in the
gymnasium and quickly popped a chip in his mouth, fixing his eyes back
towards the way he had just come: towards the corner of the auditorium,
beyond which stood the flagpole and the entrance to the main school
building.
He decided that if Keith wanted to act like a jerk, then so be it.
Jason had sat in this spot since his sophomore year and he would do the
same today. Nothing would be different except that for the third day in a
row, he sat alone. Until recently, he and his best friend Keith had always
sat in this same place and ate lunch together. But on Monday, they had
an argument that quickly turned bitter, and in response, Keith didn’t
show up for lunch on Tuesday. He was still on campus, of course (Jason
sometimes saw him between classes), but today was Thursday and they
hadn’t spoken to each other since their argument. Apparently Keith had
decided he didn’t want to spend his lunch hours with Jason anymore.
They had argued before—and sometimes Keith had stormed off
in anger—but Jason couldn’t remember a time when they had been apart
for this long. Jason thought that Keith was just being stubborn, and
Jason knew that if Keith were to return right now, there would be no
questions asked and all would be forgiven. A few people came around
the corner, either on their way from class or looking for a place outside
to sit and eat, but Keith was not among them. Jason ate his chips slowly
and continued to watch, and wait, but still there was no Keith. When he
finished his bag of chips, Jason got up, threw the bag into the nearest
trash can, and returned to his place against the wall. Fine, he thought to
himself, if Keith wants to sit somewhere else, that's all right with me.

Fortunately, Jason had come prepared for this. Opening a pocket
in his backpack, he pulled out his mp3 player and his headphones. On
Tuesday, he had been caught off guard by Keith's departure and had sat
through an entire lunch hour with nothing to do. He didn’t want that to
happen again, so on Wednesday he had brought his mp3 player to school
so he could pass the time listening to music, and today he had brought it
again. He put on the headphones and turned the player on. Taking one

last look towards the corner of the auditorium, he saw no one appear, so
he pressed "Play" and a voice sang into his ears:
If everyone on Earth died right now
Except me
I'd be the happiest man on Earth.

The voice belonged to a singer named Charley Z. He had been
Jason's favorite singer ever since Jason discovered his music two years
ago. Since then, no other singer or band had been able to compare.
These songs spoke to Jason, like no other songs ever had. He could
relate to these lyrics. He understood them. They were about his life and
his struggles. These were songs about trying to find a place independent
of society and apart from the mindless crowds who needed community
and belonging for its own sake. Charley Z taught that independence and
self-reliance were the greatest virtues. Jason had learned from Charley Z
that the world can be a cruel and lonely place, that the only person he
could depend on was himself, and that friendship was fleeting and
illusory at best—his recent experience with Keith proved that. And as for
love . . . well, that seemed too remote and alien even to consider.
Jason lost himself in reverie but was pulled back to earth when
the song came to its slow and somber end:
If everyone on Earth died right now
Except me
I'd be the saddest man on Earth.

Jason smiled. Who needed Keith? This wasn't so bad: listening to Charley
Z, sitting in the fresh air, watching the birds fly down from the trees to
search for food in the grass. Jason decided he was happy.
In between songs, he heard a familiar voice. He turned his head
and saw his friend Jimmy and a boy named Brian walking his way. Jason
hadn't known Jimmy for as long as he had known Keith, but right now
Jimmy seemed like more of a friend than Keith. Jimmy always sat outside
at a nearby table with some other students from the senior class. Jason
and Keith had never mixed with Jimmy's circle of friends, but they saw
enough of each other to expect each other's presence. As Jimmy
approached, he stared at Jason and noticed that, once again, the boy with

the mp3 player was sitting alone. As he and Brian passed, Jimmy stopped,
and Jason turned off his music. Jimmy smiled and said, "Hey, Jason, is
Keith not gonna show up today?"
Jason looked around him, pretending to notice his solitude for
the first time. "It doesn't look like it," he replied.
Jimmy shrugged, still smiling, "Oh well, no big loss." Jimmy and
Keith had never really gotten along, although Jason didn't know why.
Everyone else seemed to like Jimmy; he was very approachable and
always seemed to have a positive attitude about everything. Jason never
understood what it was in his two friends' personalities that conflicted.
"Who are you listening to?" Jimmy asked, pointing to Jason's mp3
player.
"Charley Z!" Jason said proudly.
Jimmy's smile turned into a mix of disgust and amusement.
Jimmy was no fan of Charley Z, and Jason knew it. "Man, you need to
listen to some real music for a change."
Brian went on towards their table, and Jimmy started to follow,
but then he turned around and said, "Oh, I almost forgot—Emma and I
need a ride home this afternoon. Will you wait for us?"
"Sure," Jason said, "I'll wait."
"Thanks."

Jason pressed the "Play" button again and behaved as though he
were enjoying his music a little too much. Jimmy just smiled and shook
his head. He followed Brian to their table, which was closer to the rear of
the auditorium building. The rest of Jimmy's regular circle of friends were
there already: Brian, four girls, and one other boy. Jason knew them all by
name, but he wasn't friends with any of them, just Jimmy.
As Jason sat and listened to the music, his eyes would settle on
Jimmy and his friends from time to time. Jason wondered what he must
look like to them as he sat all alone. He probably looked like a loser, like
he didn't have any friends at all. Jason knew that wasn't true, but what
else could people assume? This part of the campus beside the auditorium
wasn't very busy, even though there were a few students having lunch at
the other nearby picnic tables or on the lawn. But sometimes students,

on their way from one building to another, or custodians patrolling the
campus, would pass by. If Jason didn't know them, then he ignored
them, but if he saw someone he knew, he suddenly felt embarrassed.
What was worse, no one even looked at him when they walked by. They
ignored him, and their disinterest made it seem like there was something
in Jason's situation—his isolation—that just wasn't right and seemed
strange.

-To be Continued-