What Happened?

I Remember...

        I remember waking up that day, thinking it was going to be just another ordinary day. I remember the feeling of my feet touching the cold wooden floor after moving out of my warm bed. I remember quickly grabbing an outfit out of my closet, not caring what it was, and blindly putting it on. I remember sluggishly walking down the stairs, knowing that having some breakfast would wake me up. I remember sitting down at the table in my kitchen, in my chair, the same one I sat in everyday. I remember every question my mom asked me, I remember every word she said.
        “Good morning, April!” She had said in her usual, peppy voice. She always sounded like she could’ve been a talk show host on TV, with that smooth, cheery voice of hers. “Is my little plum ready to start the day?”  
        “Don’t call me your ‘little plum’. I’m sixteen! I’m too old for these dumb nicknames!” I had replied, that one morning.
        I remember hating myself for always being so sassy and rude to her. I remember the brief look of pain on her face, that had quickly faded into a smile.
        “Oh, just eat your breakfast, honey!” she laughed, “I know you’re not an early bird, but you’ll feel better after eating some of my homemade breakfast!” I remember her gracefully setting a plate down in front of me, then practically twirling back to the stove to continue cooking for my siblings, who always were up after me.
        I remember staring down at the stack of two waffles, not burnt, not undercooked, but toasted to perfection. I remember the way the syrup flowed over top of them, looking as if it were straight from a commercial. I remember the perfect topping of whipped cream, how it sat atop the syrup, how it formed into an almost perfect cone shape. I remember how three strawberries - my favorite - laid against the side of the waffles, and I remember the apple slices sitting next to them.
        “Thanks mom,” I had mumbled. I remember appreciating everything she had done for me, but I never had expressed it.  
        I remember the quiet laugh under her breath, followed by a soft, “You’re welcome, sweetheart,” and I remember taking my first bite of the waffle as soon as my dad stepped into the room with a cup of coffee.
        I remember not caring to listen to a word he said. I remember thinking about why I had hated him, and I remember not being able to convince myself not to loathe him, though he had done nothing to me. I remember glancing up at him for only a moment. I remember how he looked too tired to look back. I remember going back to eating my waffles, now being completely annoyed with everything.
        I remember being halfway done with my first waffle when my younger brother, Andrew,  walked downstairs, yawning. He didn’t say a word to anyone. I remember that he was still mad about the day before, when he had his tablet taken away since he hit his baby sister, Lily, because he thought he was getting too much attention. Andrew was six, and Lily was two. I remember that mom was just as kind to Andrew as she was to me, and she received the same type of hatred.
        I remember looking Andrew in the eye, and sarcastically asking, “What’s wrong?” and getting nothing but a cold, dead stare in response. I remember finishing my waffles just as Andrew started his.
        I remember walking back upstairs into the bathroom next to my room. I remember picking up my toothbrush and brushing my teeth. I remember brushing my mess of hair and tying it into ponytail. I remember grabbing a washcloth and washing my face, and I remember drying it off only a moment later. I remember looking in the mirror and thinking “What’s gonna happen today?”
        I remember walking back downstairs to see my dad putting on a coat and heading out the door, not saying goodbye to anyone, and his only interaction being kissing my mom on the cheek.
        I remember hearing the bus approach as he left, and I remember looking at the clock. The bus was five minutes early. I remember having one arm in my coat, one arm in my bookbag strap, my shoes hardly on my feet, and tightly grasping a folded piece of paper in my hand.
        I remember waving to my mom as I rushed out the door, and I remember smiling at the bus driver as I got on the bus. I remember sitting in my usual seat, near the back, but not the very back, next to one of my closest friends, but not my best friend.
        “Are you gonna tell him today?” Journey asked, noticing the paper in my hand.
        “I’m gonna try,” I spoke while giving out a sigh.
        “Come on! I’m sure he’ll say yes! You guys are perfect for each other!”
        “Oh, shut up! I’m nervous, okay?” I laughed, playfully punching her in the arm.
        I remember changing the subject, and we chatted until we got to school. We didn’t have any classes together, but we had the same lunch period. I remember the bus coming to a stop. I remember walking with my best best friend, Brooke, up to the school doors. I remember walking through the hallways with her. I remember talking to her about the same subject I talked about with Journey. I remember him coming up and walking with us. Us three, Brooke, Jacob, and I, had all our classes together. We were the best of friends.
We had four others in our group of friends, but they didn’t have all their classes with us. Noah, Connie, Courtney, and Jason. Noah was always the innocent and emotional one. He was loud and outgoing, but not many people other than us liked him. Connie was the quiet, but hilarious, one of the group. She doodled random inside jokes we had together in her sketchbook a lot. Not many people liked Connie, either. Courtney and Jason were dating, and they had been for two years now. I never thought it would last, but they seem pretty happy together. Courtney was really loud, and generally fun to be around. She didn’t have the best temper, but it always ended up well. As for Jason, I didn’t know him all that well. He was fun to hang out with, but he started dating Courtney after our group was formed, so he only joined recently.
Anyways. I remember Brooke nudging me in the arm and glancing at the letter while we were walking with Jacob. “Later” I had mouthed. I remember that she nodded, and Jacob hadn’t noticed. We went to all our classes, and by the end of the day, I still hadn’t given him the note.
        “Okay, April, you can do this. Just give him the note. Everyone else thinks he likes you, too. But what if he doesn’t? What is he’s just being friendly? What if I make a fool of myself? No, no, that won’t happen. Calm down. This is the first time you’ve done this. How bad could it turn out?” I had thought to myself. Jacob and I lived pretty close to each other. I walked home with him everyday, until we got to one road where he went left, and I went right. No one else walked with us, not even Brooke, since she lives in the opposite direction of us. No one else was around to pester me to give him the note or make dumb jokes about us being together. This was the perfect time to do it.
        I remember that we joked and laughed the entire time. It was about a twenty minute walk, which may seem long, but I always enjoyed it. I remember we got to the point where he went left, and I went right, and I knew I had to give him the note. He started to say goodbye, but I interrupted his departure.
        “Jacob, wait. I… I need to give you something,” I had spoke. I remember my legs trembling so bad I almost fell over.
        “Yeah? What is it?” He had asked calmly. My heart pounded. I remember that I thought it would beat so hard that it came out of my chest.
        I remember that I sat on the ground and set my backpack down, unzipped it, and grabbed the note, which I had placed inside there so Jacob wouldn’t be suspicious.
        “Uh… I, um, I need to give you this. J-just read it,” I handed him the note, and I fixed my backpack while he opened it.
        It was a fairly simple note, yet it packed loads of emotions. Anxiety, jitteriness, excitement, overwhelming joy, great fear, nervousness, embarrassment, and, of course, more joy. The note simply stated “Jacob, I like you. I have liked you for some time. Will you date me? Signed, April”
        As he read the note, I stared down at the road. I was probably red as a tomato. And then, then, he started laughing! Was he laughing at me? Did he think the note was dumb? Did he not like me back?
        He looked up at me. I glanced up from the road to him. “April, I… I didn’t know you felt the same,”
        I remember knowing for a fact at this point that I was basically a cherry tomato. I stared at him. He stared back. I smiled, covered my mouth, and quietly said “Okay, I have to go now, see you tomorrow,”
        He smiled at me and hugged me before I left. He let go and turned to walk home. I stood there, amazed that he said yes, and stared at him as he walked away. I could tell he knew I was staring at him. When he got about halfway down the road, he turned around and looked at me, about to wave, and sudden panic emerged on his face. He pointed behind me.
        “April, watch ou--!” he shouted at me. I turned around to see what he was pointing at. I remember hearing a car honking, and then blacking out. And that’s all I remember.