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  Goodbye Sky Harbor

  A novel by

  Philip Mathis

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Copyright © 2018

  ISBN-13 978-1725631199

  ISBN-10 1725631199

  Cover Photo by Joaquin Mills

  This book is dedicated to my father; Byron P. Mathis, who didn’t get to live to see me become a published writer, but knew the talent was always there. RIP grumpy.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Creed O’Connor slowly started to feel the aching in his gums as he continued vigorously chewing on the toothpick he stuck in his mouth earlier that morning. His nerves were shooting all over his body like fireworks at a Fourth of July celebration. For some reason he was also inundated with Kerouac quotes from the author’s infamous On the Road novel, specifically the paragraph where he explains that the only people for him are the mad ones. Those that are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, who burn, burn, burn. You see, it was the first day of junior year for Creed, but it wasn’t the reason he was so nervous. For the most part, the morning had started like any other. The sun was starting to rise. Creed could hear the wailing chirps in the distance getting louder as the birds competed for the first morning scraps of food; chasing each other throughout the sky. The only concern for him that morning however, was the rapid throbbing coming from inside his chest and the seemingly endless anxiety. Creed was in love. Or it could’ve just been the sour milk he accidentally had with his cereal that morning. It was still too early to tell.

  Up ahead, just a few blocks away waited Genesis Woods; Creed’s best friend. If you asked Creed however, he might consider her his only friend. They both had walked the same path to school for the last two years, preferring the extra time it took to mentally prepare themselves for the repetitive nuisances that awaited them there. Genesis was half white-half Native American. She was tall with straight black hair, and silky buttermilk skin. Creed once described her eyes as if someone had melted a California gold bar and mixed it with the rays of the sun. They were extremely comforting to look at he would tell her. Genesis’ father was from the local Yavapai tribe here in Arizona. His name was Paquala, which meant tall man. You would understand the name if you ever met him. He towered over almost everyone but ironically had an eloquently soft voice, like a calming emanation of a slow-moving river. Paquala wasn’t a very talkative man, but when he found a subject matter that was worth his time, he would open his mouth and people would listen. Genesis’ mom had met her father while they were both working for the state. They ultimately produced two kids and lived uneventfully in Mesa for the next few years. Genesis had an older brother named Kuruk who lived in Phoenix and was attending college over at Arizona State. He was about two years older than Genesis and looked like a mirrored image of their Dad. The two of them became extremely close after their mother was tragically killed in a car accident when Genesis was just six; a few years before Creed and his family would end up moving to Mesa from Texas.

  Creed himself was half-white, half-black, and was an only child. His father hailed from the New England area while his mom was from Tennessee. Creed’s mother had been on vacation in Boston when she met his father in a Cambridge bar. They quickly hit it off and ended up spending the next few days arm in arm, while exploring all the treasures Boston had to offer. They even got to do a little sailing in Gloucester. For the next few months, Creed’s parents ended up sharing slathers of romantic correspondence while taking turns traveling back and forth to see one another. Eventually Creed’s mother finally gave in and relocated to Boston to be with his father permanently. The two were married shortly after that. By the time Creed had come into the picture, his parents had already moved to San Antonio Texas where his dad got a promotion and was transferred there by his company. When Creed had reached the age of twelve, his Dad had retired and desired to live in a smaller town, away from all the noise and conundrum of a larger city. Creed’s mother had some family out in Arizona, and so they settled in Mesa, right across the street from Genesis.

  Now while Creed continued down the sidewalk that morning, it’s important to point out that it wasn’t all too outlandish for Creed to have Kerouac floating around in his head while he contemplated the elements of his relationship on his morning walk. Jack had always been one of Creed’s favorite novelists since he was little and at this very moment, he happened to have a mad soul waiting for him down the block. Creed’s affection for the author all started when his cousin from Massachusetts had visited them during the Christmas holiday. She plopped an old copy of ‘On the Road’ down on his bed before she left, saying it would change his life. The same winter his cousin gave him the book, was the same year in fact that he had met Genesis. Genesis’ dad had received some of their mail one fateful afternoon and made her walk across the street to Creed’s house and drop it off. Creed’s mom was instantly excited to see a girl around her son’s age, especially since they were new and didn’t really know anybody just yet. His mom called Creed over to the door so the two could meet. After a few embarrassing exchanges between Genesis and his mom, Creed eventually leapt out on the front porch and immediately shut the door behind him, leaving his mom still inside the house. Creed desperately pleaded with Genesis to madly run away with him and travel across the country, just like Kerouac. She replied with a baffling glare before running off back to her house. This would become something of a bad habit for Genesis. Unfortunately, after Middle School Genesis’ dad was forced to move into a smaller neighborhood. Which made the commute just a little more excruciating for the two budding friends. But that didn’t stop them.

  Most of the time during their previous summer spent together, Creed and Genesis hung around the McDowell Mountains looking for arrow heads that were hidden amongst the burnt soil. They would take a dip in the nearby river before sneaking into the old drive-in Movie Theater, probably the last of its kind still running in the Unites States. When the sun was too intense, they would visit Zia’s record exchange music shop where they could listen to a multitude of albums without having to buy anything. They would hum songs to one another while the other would try to guess which song it was. The only time they wouldn’t see each other is when Genesis would recommend a book that she had read and desperately wanted to talk about it with him. She wouldn’t give in until Creed would agree to read it, even if he wasn’t into that certain genre. He always complied of course, but always followed with an emphatic eye roll. Just as any man would react at the hands of a female’s beseeching. After that he would spend the next couple days reading while she waited anxiously for him to finish.

  Now, ever since they could remember the pair always had a similar affinity towards each other. They were inseparable. It was like there was a magnetic anomaly always pulling them together. Up until recently, nothing had transpired between the two past platonic implications. It wasn’t until one evening out at the drive-in while watching the newest war blockbuster that everything began to change. Bored and without much given thought or warning, Creed felt invigoratingly drawn by an unnerving force and quickly leaned over and kissed Genesis on the lips. He gave in to those growing feelings he was experiencing all summer long. This was it he thought, screw it. Genesis immediately slapped him. Ironically, the slap did cross Creed’s mind when he first struck up the nerve to consider making a move. What was even more ironic, was the fact that Genesis had equivocally been struggling over certain feelings of her own. Creed instantly grabbed at his face while staring over at Genesis feeling completely stunned. She smiled and then grabbed for his shirt, pulling him back in as an attempt to rectify the situation.
Creed stood there with his eyes opened as their lips locked just in case she felt the urge to smack him again. It was quite a memorable event. He even placed his hand across her face like the movie stars always portrayed. Creed’s face on the other hand was still burning.

  “That was – interesting.” Genesis muttered before standing up and running off. Creed looked on, sitting there helplessly with his hands in the air.

  “Where are you going?” He shouted. Genesis never even paused at the sound of her name being called out.

  Now all Creed could think about was how things were going to be after that fateful kiss. Would it be awkward? After the night at the drive-in she hadn’t really spoken to him. They talked on the phone for about half an hour the night before the first day of school, but neither one of them had the gall to bring up the kiss.

  “Hey weirdo.” Genesis hollered at him from the other side of the street as she came barreling towards him. Creed started whirling around new conflictions in his head. What the hell? She didn’t wait? He thought. She always waited. Ever since Genesis and her father had moved to the other neighborhood, they had agreed to meet up at the corner of Crismon and Guadalupe. Not once had she ever passed up Crismon road to meet up with Creed. She was always too afraid of the angry, pissed off Arizona drivers to justify walking any further than she had to. What did this mean? And so, it persisted. His poor mind continued unleashing a multitude of cryptic perplexities that would last almost anyone a lifetime.

  “Hey loo-oo-ser.” Creed reciprocated shakily. “Oh, that sounded stupid.” he muttered to himself. Alright, alright, don’t be a dumb-ass right now Creed thought. It was just a kiss. You guys are friends.

  Once Genesis approached, they quickly embraced and began walking down the street side by side.

  “So, you ready for more of the ugliest, most horrendous, facetiously torrential time of your life?” She asked him. Creed gazed back with a confounding grin. They crossed the street and began their way towards their usual meet-up spot. “True terror is to wake up one morning and – and - discover that your high school class is running the country,” Genesis continued. “Frank Zappa, I believe said that.”

  “No, no, that was Kurt Vonnegut Jr.” Creed replied. “Really?” She asked.

  “Yeah, I believe Frank Zappa said something like, drop out of school before your mind rots.”

  “Well either way, you ready?”

  “I believe so.” By now the two of them had passed up their usual meeting spot and made their way towards the school without either one of them courageous enough to bring up the kiss. Creed figured he’d let it rest for now. He was already mentally exhausted enough as it is.

  The first day at Desert Ridge High School was filled with the same irritating vexations most prototypical High Schools probably experience. Almost every single freshman was lost wandering the halls, trying to find their home room. Some of the seniors were sizing up the underclassmen, occasionally eyeing what they might think is an easy target. The cliques and clichés were all beginning to form. The entire staff was grinning a little more perilously than usual. It was as if they had a secret that no one else knew about, some sort of scheme they were pulling off right underneath our noses. Of course, realistically they were probably sizing all the students up, figuring out which of them were going to possibly cause the most amount of wrinkles and grey hairs throughout the year. The first bell finally rang. The students still out in the hallways socializing started to rush off like groupies flocking towards a rock star. Creed and Genesis found out that morning that they were only going to be sharing lunch and French class together. It was a small victory in Genesis’ eyes since she had convinced Creed to put in for French and German during registration. She knew that both classes would probably attract the least amount of interest from other students, and she wanted to make sure they got an opportunity to share at least one class. As a bonus she figured they could even learn a new language together. Throughout the year they could talk amongst themselves and smile while everyone around them tried to figure out what the hell they were talking about. Unfortunately, it was their last class of the day.

  Most of the morning went on without a hitch, until lunch. Sitting catty corner from Creed and Genesis in the cafeteria was Garrett Bouchard. Garrett happened to be the school’s quintessential jock. The all-too-familiar proverbial chestnut. Students like Garrett will almost always go down in school history, as being just another momentary brand of commonplace. Most of his glory days will undoubtedly be played out right now. After graduation he will most likely fade, forgotten like debris submerged in salt water, decaying until fully disintegrated at the bottom of a mindless sea. Last year Garrett had torn his ACL goofing off in the hallways with his friends. He missed the entire football season and accused Creed of the incident, even though Creed wasn’t anywhere near him. Personally, Creed himself thought Garrett had a crush on Genesis and was looking for any excuse to get closer to her while simultaneously pushing Creed out of the picture. Garrett would go on to adamantly deny it, and needless to say, there was a small feud brewing.

  “Hey pencil dick?” Garrett shouted out from across his lunch table. Genesis and Creed both looked at each other before peering over towards Garrett sitting across the way smiling. “Yeah, I’m talking to you pencil dick, what’s up?” Garrett continued.

  “Oh, hey man.” Creed replied. “Starting the year off right I see. Good for you.”

  “Yeah man, how about I start the day off right and get your girl to blow me?”

  Creed immediately got up from his seat and lunged his chair across the cafeteria floor. The chair slowed just before it eventually hit the side of the table that Garrett was sitting at. “Come on then.” Creed yelled convincingly. Garrett sat there with his buddies laughing as Mr. Whittaker, the school’s hall monitor grabbed Creed almost immediately. “Alright, come on young man.” Mr. Whittaker instructed.

  Genesis followed at a distance as Mr. Whittaker escorted Creed out of the cafeteria and towards the office. As they made their way down the hallway Creed suddenly remembered back to last year when rumors were going around about Mr. Whittaker. According to a couple of students, Mr. Whittaker was accused of sexual misconduct by a female student. Until the investigation was settled he remembered the school district putting him on paid leave. Creed knew that Mr. Whittaker was a little wacky and eccentric, but he didn’t quite believe the rumors of his accused inappropriate behavior. Mr. Whittaker was older and did have old fashioned tactics. He would usually ask girls to kneel on the floor to see if their skirts were too short. Embarrassing yes, but Creed thought that he probably did it in the presence of others on purpose, so he could never be accused of anything. Maybe whoever started the damn rumor was just tired of being sent home for looking like a tramp. Creed thought it must have turned out to be false since Mr. Whittaker was back in the halls keeping order.

  Once they entered the office Mr. Whittaker abruptly turned towards Creed as Genesis kept her distance right outside. “So, are we calm now Mr. O’Connor?” Mr. Whittaker asked.

  “Yeah, yes sir.”

  “It’s the first day, Okay? Don’t let me see that again.”

  “I promise.”

  “Alright, well get out of here.”

  The teacher took off past the receptionist desk while Creed turned towards the doors and walked out of the office. Creed smiled as his eyes met with Genesis who was calmly waiting out in the hallway. “Really Creed?” She barked at him.

  “What?” He replied

  “A Chair?” Creed chuckled as they paced down the hall towards fifth period.

  The rest of the day just consisted of sub-par mediocrity as everyone spent most of the day filling out paperwork in each of their classrooms. No one ever understood why there was always so much damn paperwork on the first day, especially in High School. It was all the same information too. Why couldn’t the school just copy and paste that stuff year after year. Most of the students just accused the teachers of needing a dis
traction to keep the kids busy since they really didn’t have a game plan just yet. Of course, it seemed as if the most important agenda of the day for everyone was the continued formation of the cliques. For others it was trying to find a good spot to hideout, skip class or even sneak a cigarette.

  After the last bell of the day, the students went flying in and out of the hallways like refugees fleeing their bullet riddled countries. Creed barely noticed any of it. It was like he was back where he started that morning. Complete tunnel vision. The first day of school kept his mind distracted for sure, but now it was all over. Genesis had asked Creed if he could help find her locker before they left since she didn’t get a moment to check on that all day. By the time they finally left school, the building was pretty much empty except for a few teachers and custodians. Back on the road, images of the kiss kept replaying in Creed’s head. He continuously attempted to try and change the channel in his mind but to no avail. As their morning meeting spot was approaching, he kept wondering if he should kiss his best friend again. Would she slap the shit out of him again? Maybe at least a subtle mention of the kiss would help ease his mind. Just get it over with he thought to himself. Creed at that point was desperately hoping Genesis might have the decency to bail him out and bring an end to the torture by mentioning it herself. They both kept quiet.

  “So, how were your classes?” Genesis’ finally piped up. “Fine, fine.” Creed replied. Genesis glanced over at him with a suspicious grin.

  “You okay?” She asked.

  “Yeah of course. Why?”

  “I don’t know, you just seem distant, awkward even, answering quickly. All French class you kept staring at the book, even though the teacher wasn’t going over anything in there. Are you still thinking about that kiss?”

  “What?” Creed quipped back.