my neighbour
...johnnie


we all loved johnnie.

he's the brother of the girl who was one of my best friends when i was young. (i had two. we three were only apart when it was absolutely necessary.) he was seven years older than all of us, but he was one of us. he was the coolest "grown-up" we knew. he was 18 when i was 11. however, he would gladly run up the road with us in his bare feet so that we could spy on demetri (who was also a friend of ours) and jason (the new guy who lived up the street). they were never doing anything extraordinary, but spying on them was just something that we did.

johnnie would dance around with us like a fool and sing (falsetto.. hehe) with the mariah carey song on the radio. he was the age i am now, still playing spotlight, hide and go seek, and going to the store with us. he knew how to have fun. nobody accused him of being a burglar or a trespasser when he hid in their yard. they knew he was just having fun. he was what i wish i could be. 18 and fun!

johnnie went to nursing school and he has a job and a car now. i almost never see him anymore, but on the rare occasion i catch a glimpse of him driving by, he doesn't look the same. he appears worried, his brow is perma-furrowed. last year, he picked me up as i was walking and barely talked at all, and only laughed with a "heh" while everyone else was keeling over with laughter.

i wonder if he misses us, if he remembers us.

the chappel drive kids. friends forever. (or so we said.)