(Jem is a character I use when I just want to write. Often she ends up a character who represents myself, and other times is at the mercy of my imagination. Please enjoy just a small piece of Jems story)
Sky- Eyed
It was one of those perfect days; the days that beckon you into the sun with warm fingers as your toes sink into the cool, moist grass. It was one of those days when something is bound to happen, because you can feel it in the air. And it was on this perfect day that Jem went for a bike ride.
By now, Jem had the neighborhood pretty well memorized. She knew where to turn left to avoid dead ends and where to turn right to avoid busy streets. She knew where the hills went up and where they went down. She knew where the curb stood defiant and where it surrendered to a ramp. She knew the stop signs, the strange houses, and the bumps in the road. As far as she knew, she knew everything.
For this reason, it was nothing new when Jem turned right down the road with the house that looked like a barn; the one with the barking dog and the tricky turn that always came too soon. No, the street was just as it always was, just as it should be. But, halfway to the end, a loud clang and loss of momentum was a sure sign that her bike was far from as it should be.
The day was so calm and still that it almost seemed like a crime for the chain to have fallen from its usual path, implementing chaos in the placid scene. Knocking down her kickstand with her heel, Jem swung off her injured bike and inspected the damage. Yep. The chain had come off, alright.
She pulled at the metal links, slippery with oil, and tried fruitlessly to put it back in its proper place. Her fingers quickly became useless and she came to the realization that she had no idea what she was doing. Rocking back on her heels, she tried to will the chain into place when a voice startled her. “Do you need some help?”
Almost losing her balance, Jem scrambled to her feet and spun in the direction of the voice. The eyes she met were a summer blue, matching the tint of the cloudless sky. His sun sprinkled hair fell gently just above his raised eyebrow and his crooked smile revealed a dimple in his right cheek. He wore a green flannel shirt over a grey T and his jeans had grass stains from being used well. It took Jem a long moment to realize she had been asked a question.
“It’s really nothing,” she stammered, reaching for the bike handle to steady herself. Her shaking hand, however, hit the handle hard and sent the bike tilting, pausing for a hopeful moment, and then falling on its side with a terrible crash.
The boy winced as the heap of metal clamored to the ground and watched Jem curiously as she ran to the other side of the bike to return it to its upright position. “I really can take care of it,” she said nervously, “I mean, how hard can it be to fix a chain, right?” As she said this, she leaned on the bike seat, causing it to fall the other direction and, this time, taking Jem right along with it as it tumbled down in a tangle of arms, legs, and bike frame.
She moaned as the boy gently took hold of her arm and helped her up before he stood her bike on its kickstand once again. He bent down and looked at the chain. “I can fix it, but I need some tools. Fixing this with your hands wouldn’t be fun.” He straightened up and made sure the bike was steady. “I’ll be right back. Try not to fall over, okay?” he smiled with a small chuckle at her tousled appearance. He spun on his heel and ran for the garage of the house behind them.
“You really don’t have to do that!” she hollered after him, but it was half hearted. Jem sank to the curb and put her chin in her hands. The day grew quiet around her again and the perfectness settled back where it had been disturbed. The big tree that grew in the full, green lawn cast wispy shadows over Jem’s bare arms and left patches of sunlight on the street in front of her sneaker toes.
Feeling her muscles relax, she leaned back into the cool grass that gave way to her reclining back. She gazed at the brilliant blue sky that was cloudless and clear through the leaves of the big tree. The sun warmed her face and the grass was so soft that she closed her eyes to freeze time right where it was.
She lost herself in the warmth of the day and the smell of the fresh cut grass and the song of the birds. She was so lost, in fact, that she it took her a moment to notice the shadow that fell over her face. Her eyes flew open and she was surprised to see the sky-eyed boy looking down at her with his crooked smile. “I wasn’t gone that long, was I?” His smile grew bigger with every word.
Jem stood quickly to her feet and brushed the stray grass blades from her hair. She tried to meet his eyes, but shied away, grabbing for something intelligent to say. “I kinda need to be home soon.”
He walked over to the bike and squatted to get in a better working position. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just a quick fix.” His hands moved steadily and accurately with a time tested skill. She watched his fingers as they somehow put the chain impossibly back in place. He carefully put the tools back in the toolbox, wiped the oil from his hands on his jeans, and motioned toward the finished product proclaiming, “Good as new!”
She walked hurriedly toward the bike, words pouring from her open mouth. “Thanks a lot, it looks great, but I really have to go and…” Just then, her foot slipped of the curb and she came crashing down on the sky-eyed boy who, in turn, fell onto the bike, knocking it to the ground for a third time.
For a moment, Jem’s nose was only inches from the boy’s. Quickly, she scrambled off of him and rushed to stand the bike up. The boy also reached for the handles and, without warning, his hand was on top of hers. And it didn’t move.
Jem looked down at the hand and then up at his eyes. For a moment, she was transfixed by his crooked smile, his sun-sprinkled hair, and his sky blue eyes. And the next moment, she was speeding away, her mind an undefined blur as she sailed on the summer breeze. And she felt it more than she felt anything else, because it was that kind of day.
When she finally grew tired of pedaling and the sun was beginning to set, she looked up and saw the world around her again. She didn’t recognize streets, or the bumps, or the curbs, or the houses.
And all Jem could do was sit on her bike and smile as she shook her head because she had gotten lost.
