Y2K part 5 Let's Be Friends
With the new year still fresh, it wouldn't be long until my birthday. This year, I will be turning 16. While 15 was definitely a year of awakening, what will 16 be?
Maybe I'll even evolve.
From the moment I stepped into school, to our lunch game of Magic in the library, my upcoming birthday was all I could talk about.
"Your boy is turning 16!"
"Dude, you're repeating yourself." Victor heckled.
"I know. But guess what.."
Victor narrowed his eyes. "I'm seriously going to smack you if you say you're turning 16 again." He mumbled.
Boss chuckled. "We get it. You're becoming a man. Do you have any plans for your birthday?"
"Umm...I got some ideas. I'll let you all know once it's set."
"Wey!(Idiot) I'll believe it when I see it." Victor shook his head, passing his turn.
"Well you're not going to believe this." It was my turn and I turned a few of my land cards. "I cast I'M TURNING 16! HAHA!"
Victor's lips tightened and swatted his cards to the back of my head.
Boss, James, Bear and I burst into laughter.
"BOYS!" The librarian barked. "Out. None of that today!"
Boss sucked his teeth. "Man. I was ready to annihilate."
We all stood up and gathered our things.
"To the field?" I asked.
"To the field!" Victor marched forward.
"TO THE FIELD!" Boss charged out the library door.
With what little time we had left of the lunch hour, we all sprinted to the practice field with our arms stretched out to the sides like a bunch of unhinged Ninjas ready to enjoy some rough housing.
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Later during English class
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As I walked down the row to my seat, I noticed my classmate Jake, who sat behind me, had a CD case laying on his desk with that recognizable PlayStation banner on the side.
Being the gamer nerd that I am, I had to ask "What game is that?"
Jake was a very quiet goth type. He had bleached hair that draped over his face and wore these white contact lenses that made it look like he only had pupils. Everyone thought he looked creepy, I thought it looked cool. Kind of like a vampire.
Jake stared at me, surprised, and removed a wired earbud from his ear. "What?"
I pointed to the disc case.
"Oh." He casually just passed the case over to me.
Wipeout 3?
The cover art looked amazing and abstract. It was very futuristic, bright colors and lines with lots of geometrical patterns. The screenshots appeared to be a racing game. That alone made it visually appealing. "Is it any good?"
"I don't know. I don't have a PlayStation." Jake shrugged and giggled. "I got it for the soundtrack."
"What?" My eyes narrowed in confusion.
Why buy a game without a console?
"Can I have listen?" I asked.
He nodded and passed the other earbud to me. The music took me by surprise. It was similar to what was at the homecoming dance. It was a fast paced type of electronic techno music with these ambient elements. A perfect mix that matched the artwork.
After listening to a few tracks with him, I wanted a copy of this soundtrack for myself. "DUDE! What is this music? Can I borrow this so I can make a cassette? I'll bring it back tomorrow, I promise."
"You like it?" Jake asked and just stared at me with that cold emotionless expression of his. He did a simple nod. "If there's a scratch on it, you're buying me a new one."
"You have my word." I placed this disc across my chest. "I'll guard this with my life."
I did not dare put it into my Discman as that would increase the risks of scratching it. I was a man of my word and I did not have $50 to drop on a new game.
After class, Jake passed me a small flyer before leaving. "If you like that kind of music, you should check out a rave sometime."
"A rave? What's that? Isn't that the kind of party from the beginning of the movie Blade?"
I asked myself while observing the small postcard sized flyer filled with very psychedelic artwork.
All this filled my curiosity.
The walk home after school was paced. Anything new to me was exciting. The closer I got to my house, the faster I was going.
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Walking into an empty house after school was becoming normal. Lately, my mom has decided to start hanging out with a few divorced friends she made during an outing. I'm happy she's moving on and healing, but it seems she's never really home anymore.
My aunt would be babysitting Mando at her house after school and Pebbles would be out doing her own thing. This left me alone with just my thoughts, my video games, and homework I should be doing.
It seems that everything about the new millennium was about fresh starts and new beginnings, even for mom.
Trying to make the best of my alone time, I was able to play a few rounds of the game to test it out without my mom nagging me to turn it off and do my homework. Racing games weren't really interesting to me, but this was different. These weren't cars or go-karts, these were futuristic air crafts that would glide and hover over the track.
The soundtrack choice started to make sense once you got into the game play. This was a combination that did not disappoint. It was an adrenaline rush and a treat for the senses.
I had to remind myself that playing the game was not part of the deal, recording the soundtrack was.
Since Pebbles wasn't home either, I had access to her sweet stereo system. It had the ability to load and alternate between 5 CDs, 2 cassette decks, one with a recording feature—AND—I could play it as loud as I wanted to while recording.
I thought being home alone that day would be worth it, but I became truly lonely.
*Sigh*
What happened? What changed so drastically? I used to be fine being a lone wolf, but now I just wanted someone nearby. I wanted company, even if they were in the other room doing their own thing.
I flipped through the game booklet to admire the artwork while hoping the music echoing throughout the house would take me to my happy place.
Suddenly one piece of art really stood out to me—The team Logo for AG Systems international.
It had 3 figures that looked like they came straight out of an old Atari game holding pinwheels with the words "Let's Be Friends" in a futuristic digital font.
That gave me an idea.
I wanted company—My friends.
What if I threw a party for once?
No parents, just me and my friends. Maybe I could get CC to come? Just bringing the island home for a weekend.
My first unsupervised house party.
It's the perfect idea.
I was also inspired by the rave flyer Jake gave me. I drew those figures from the logo but changed the head of the center figure to an Alien head. The flow of inspiration kept going, and I started to add some UFOs, a few mushrooms, and some pixelated figures.
Looking at the calendar when my birthday was, the Saturday after that seemed like a perfect party date since my birthday landed on a school night. (Bleh)
Did I just create a party invitation?
You better believe it.
Maybe this is the perfect fix to this loneliness I've been feeling deep in my chest.
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THE NEXT MORNING
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Walking into that library I couldn't contain my excitement.
I had my walkman playing my new cassette, my invitation ready at hand, and a stupid cheesy grin on my face.
The misfits, already in their game, just stopped to watch me stroll by to the copy machine. Victor, in particular, watched with intense curiosity.
Now with a small stack of copies, I joined them at the table and passed them around.
"Let's be friends?" Bear raised his eyebrows. "Why does this look familiar?"
"I don't know, but it looks dope." Boss looked at it and noticed the details within the details.
"Eyy wey. You're throwing a party." Victor smirked.
"Yeah. I figured, why not? I'm turning 16, Mom's not going to be there. Good chance my sister will be at Vertigos or something. We can play games, have some drinks, share a smoke, and just have fun."
"Is your sister hot?" Victor asked excitedly.
I quickly slapped him on the back of the head. "Pendejo (idiot). How would I know? She's my sister."
"Yeah, she is." Boss nodded.
"Mhmm" James agreed.
I shot both of them a warning glance. Both of them had met Pebbles before. She wasn't very fond of them, or at least James.
"A Gaming party? I'm in." Bear smiled.
Boss drummed at the table excitedly. "Dude. If this is going down, you have to let me bring my friend's PlayStation."
"But I already have a PlayStation." I shifted my face.
"Not like this." Boss sat up. "He got his while in Korea and has a ton of games you probably never heard of or played."
"Yeah, dude. Let him bring it. That way I can kick all your asses at Bloody Roar 2." Victor laughed and crossed his arms like a cocky villain.
Boss laughed. "We'll see."
"Bloody Roar 2? Never played it, but I'm up for the challenge." I agreed happily. If this meant playing a bunch of new games, I don't see a problem.
"What about girls?" Nate asked.
"Yeah!" Victor agreed.
I rolled my eyes. "I'll invite some, but don't keep your hopes up."
CC and Betty were at their table chatting away. I went over and handed them invitations. It was a tiny sliver of hope.
"Is this what all that commotion was about?" CC looked over the invitation.
"Yeah. I'm going to throw a party and everyone I know is invited." I smiled proudly.
They both looked a little unsure of it. "What's going to be going on?" CC questioned. "Is it just hanging out and gaming?"
"For the most part, yeah." I nodded.
CC smiled. "I will see what I got going on. I'm not making promises, okay."
I clapped my hands together and did a little bow.
The first bell of the morning rang and school was set to begin.
With invites handed out and hope riding high, I had one thought racing through my head—this might actually happen.
The island. The misfits. Games, music, chaos. Maybe even CC.
Sixteen was shaping up to be something different.
Something wild.