Authors: Nonye Acholonu,Kelechi Acholonu
“Yes! Of course!” I said, but then I remembered the others in my house, waiting patiently for me. I also remembered that I had less than ten minutes till blackout. “Could you hold on really quick?” I asked.
Olive nodded.
I ran into the house and met the expectant eyes of my guests. “Um, Olive's outside and she wants to talk. It'll only take a few minutes,” I explained, grabbing the bowl of fried asparagus, Olive's favorite. Before they could say anything, I ran back outside.
Olive was sitting on my porch, staring at a leaf blowing in the wind. I quickly joined her, setting the asparagus onto her lap.
“Mmm!” she cried out, grabbing one and sticking it into her mouth. “You know me so well, Cameron.” She smiled at me, food shoved in her cheeks.
I shrugged. “Of course,” I said. Then my smile faded away as I braced myself for what she wanted to say. “What did you want to talk about?” I asked, even though I really wanted to just watch her eat the asparagus.
Olive swallowed her bite and set the plate down in between us. Then she gazed into my eyes. “Abby was really mad at you the other day,” Olive said. “She just didn't like the way you treated me, and frankly, I didn't either.”
I desperately wanted to interject, claiming that I had no clue what she was talking about. But judging on past experiences, I knew she didn't warm up too well with my confusion. So I let her finish.
“You scared me to death that night, Cameron,” she said, pulling her sleeves over her fingers. “You were so close to death and there was nothing I could do about it.”
What was she talking about? I was so close to death? When?
“Then I fainted and you just left me on my lawn. That was a bad move on your part.” Olive stared at the asparagus, grabbing another one and popping it into her mouth. “But I've been doing a lot of thinking,” she continued after finishing her bite. “And I realize that this whole thing wasn't even your fault. I came with you even though you said not to. I got myself into that mess and I guess I ruined your plans. I fainted like an idiot, but at least you took me back home. I thank you for that.”
I stared at her, not knowing what to say to that. Not only was I confused, I was also surprisingly annoyed at myself for treating her that way â even though I had no recollection of doing so.
“Abby said I should never talk to you again,” Olive said, her gaze landing on mine again. “And I almost agreed with her, until I saw you hanging out with Anjolie.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Olive sighed, shaking her head. “I guess what I'm trying to say is that I didn't like spending so much time away from you. It killed me to avoid you and I hated it even worse to say your name. Hudson kept asking me what was wrong and I couldn't even tell her. I didn't want our⦠I guess you could say
fight
to be real.
“But then I see you hanging out with Anjolie and I knew I blew it. I hated seeing you hanging around without me there. You
know
we play basketball after school every day, Cameron. And for you to bring Anjolie there to replace me or something should've made me angry at you. But it didn't. It made me realize that I can't live without you.”
After Olive said that, my heartbeat sped up. She'd just said she couldn't live without me! Those were the words I'd been waiting to hear for my entire life.
“Wow, look at me,” Olive said, her cheeks flushing with color. “I sound so stupid right now. Like a chick-flick movie, huh?” She was so embarrassed; she had to hide her face from me.
I couldn't help but laugh. She had no clue how happy I was to hear this. “
The Notebook
comes to mind,” I said, grinning at her.
“Shut up!” she said, swatting me with her hand. I reached out and grabbed it, holding it in place. She looked up at me.
“I can't live without you either,” I said, realizing how true those words were. “Having you mad at me for all those days was the worst thing I ever had to go through. You have no idea how much I missed you today, either. You had no idea.”
The two of us sat there, avoiding each other's eyes for a few moments. I felt the sudden electricity in the air and I knew we both knew what was coming. The moment I've been imagining for pretty much
ever
has finally come. The butterflies in my stomach swarmed like a tornado.
Olive smiled shyly at me. “So what are you saying, Cameron?” she asked.
“What are
you
saying, Olive?” I countered, grinning at her.
Olive shook her head, blushing like crazy. “You're the guy! You make the move!” she said, nudging me with her elbow.
She didn't have to tell me twice. I grabbed her elbow and brought her close to me. When our lips touched, it was as if I'd been struck by lightning. The electricity that had just been in the air coursed up and down my spine and instantly intensified our kiss. Olive wrapped her arms around my neck and I shoved away the asparagus, not caring if it made a mess.
My arms circled around her waist, bringing her closer to me so that our bodies were almost melded together. Her fingers pushed through my hair, electrifying my body in ways I couldn't explain. I brought my hands up to her face, holding her mouth in place. She traced her hands up and down my back, her fingers like little lightning bolts, electrocuting my senses. I didn't want the kiss to stop.
At first, I thought that my instant dizziness was a result of the intense kiss Olive and I were sharing but I was wrong. Warning signs of my blackout were already in motion; the dizziness, the quick breathing, the fatigue. It was coming.
I pulled my lips away from Olive's, struggling to check the time on my watch. But when Olive's mouth fell onto my neck, all thought processes terminated as I wrapped her more tightly.
Then, I blacked out.
Olive
I couldn't believe this was happening. I was kissing Cameron! Cameron was kissing me! Finally, after all these years, we were together and I couldn't be happier. As he kissed me, I marveled at his eagerness and need to intensify our kiss. This moment happened just how I imagined for years: Cameron would profess his love for me (he kind of did, right?), I would play innocent (even though I pretty much knew what was going to happen), and then we'd make out with each other passionately. Bingo!
Now, as I kissed his neck, I felt his head loll backwards and I knew I'd hit the spot. So my fear of being a horrible kisser hadn't come true. In fact, I was pretty great at this, if I do say so myself.
I kissed his neck one more time, before I reached for his mouth again. But when I looked up, I saw that his body had gone limp and his hands were hanging loosely at his sides. He was leaning back heavily onto the porch railing as if he'd fainted or something.
“Cameron?” I asked, swinging his head from side to side. At first I felt pretty proud of myself â I'd been such a great kisser, I'd made him faint! But then, when he slopped all the way over and landed heavily onto the pavement, I knew something was wrong.
Instantly I jumped up and barreled into the house. As I ran for the kitchen, I came face-to-face with Anjolie, Armando, and Hudson. Immediately I'd wanted to throw a tantrum because I wasn't invited to this thing, but I controlled my anger. “Cameron fainted! I need water!” I cried out.
“Fainted?” Armando and Hudson asked at the same time.
“Crap,” Anjolie said, running outside. “Crap, crap, crap!” she screamed before the front door shut.
Before I could question what was wrong with her, Mila launched herself out of the kitchen. “Cameron should be fine,” she started saying. “He'll be fine.”
I grabbed a glass of water and desperately tried not to spill its contents as I headed out the front door. When I got outside, Anjolie was kneeling down, clutching Cameron's head in her lap. The sight made me want to gouge her pretty little eyes out.
“Get away!” I demanded instead.
She ignored me, lifting Cameron up from under his arms. “I'll take care of him,” she said, dragging him away at an incredible speed. She'd made it down to the sidewalk before Cameron began to stir.
“He's waking up!” I cried out, relief flooding over me. I set the glass of water onto the porch railing just as Armando, Hudson, and Mila emerged from the doorway. I bounded down his front lawn and made it to his side, just as his eyes opened.
“
Phew
,” Anjolie said under her breath as she let him just fall onto the floor as if he were a filthy pig or something.
“
Ow,
” Cameron said, rubbing the back of his head. “Setting me on the ground carefully would've been a lot nicer.”
“Cameron you fainted!” I cried out, falling down onto my knees. “What happened?” It took all I could not to resume our make-out session, but I promised myself we'd get back to it soon.
Cameron peered up at me and I flinched away, startled. His eyes were now white-gray and his gaze was so intense, he could kill a small animal with it. “What am I doing outside on the floor?”
Everyone stared at him, confusion in their eyes. “We were out here and you passed out, remember?” I asked. I desperately hoped he'd remembered what we were doing out here.
Cameron sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Oh,” he said, remembering what happened. “Last night I had one too many beers and passed out on the lawn.
Now
I remember.” Then he looked at me. “What are
you
doing here? Didn't that old lady tell you not to hang with me anymore?” he asked.
I stared at him with wide eyes. What was he talking about? Hadn't I just cleared the whole thing up a few minutes ago? Was he that disoriented he forgot what had just happened?
“And what are
you
doing here, Anj? Don't you have work to do?” Cameron asked, staring up at Anjolie expectantly.
Anjolie glared at him but then glanced up at the rest of us. “I have to go,” she said, and then walked down the street briskly. She disappeared around the corner.
“Cameron? What's going on with you?” I asked, so confused, my head hurt.
Cameron focused his gray-eyed gaze back on me. “Are you retarded?” he asked me, glaring at me. “Why can't you get my name right? It's
Cam
.”
Oh no. Not this again. What was happening to Cameron?
Just then, Mr. Sloane's car swung into the driveway. He cut the engine and stepped out of his car. When he saw everyone on his lawn, his expression morphed into that of confusion.
“What's going on?” he asked, walking over to us.
“Daddy!” Cameron cried out, jumping up and swinging himself onto his father. Mr. Sloane shoved him away. “Can I borrow your car tonight?” he asked.
“No, you have your own,” Mr. Sloane said.
Cameron rolled his eyes. “I'm borrowing it anyway,” he said, snatching the keys out of Mr. Sloane's hands. Mr. Sloane reached for Cameron but Cameron dodged and launched himself into the car. In seconds, Cameron sped down the street, the tires squealing.
All of us just watched, not knowing what had just happened. I was the most confused. Cameron and I had just had this wonderful moment with each other, then Cameron fainted, and when he woke up again, it was like he was a different person. I needed to know what was going on with him!
“I know you guys are all
really
confused,” Armando said, tucking his hands into his pockets. “I think I have the answer to all of your questions.”
****
“Cameron is not the same person whenever the night rolls around,” Armando explained, pulling off his jacket. All of us were sitting in the living room, staring at him, wondering how
he
of all people had the answer.
“Well, yeah, I know that,” Mr. Sloane said, annoyance riding over his voice. He'd just finished calling the police, reporting a stolen car â
his
stolen car. How a father could call the police on his own son was beyond me. “Ever since Cameron was a baby he'd be the worst at night. Why is that?”
Armando nodded his head. “Cameron is a different kind of person,” he explained. “From what I've learned, he is two different people.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Cameron is a great guy during daylight. He goes to school, he gets good grades, he has a lot of friends, and he's an all around good kid. But come nighttime, he's a different person. He goes by the name of Cam and his personality is completely changed. I have just recently seen Cam in action â in fact, only until a few nights ago did I realize he wasn't the same at night.”
Mr. Sloane sat up. “I think I see what you're saying, Armando,” he said, nodding his head. “My boy really is two different people.”
Mila nodded. “Daylight brings Good Cameron,” she said. “Nighttime brings Bad Cam. It's how it's always been since you picked him up at the adoption agency.”
“How long have you two known about this?” I asked, my gaze dancing between Mila and Armando.
“Well, I've only realized this a few nights ago, but Mila has known all along.” Armando nodded in Mila's direction.
It was now Mila's turn to talk. “We picked Cameron up when he was barely a year old,” she explained. “I realized what he was right after I saw him go to sleep at around seven o'clock at night, and then wake up. Whenever he woke up, his eyes were always different. I thought it was because blue eyes sometimes change colors depending on the clothes one wears. But then, as the years went on and Cameron began talking, his personality changed along with his eye color.
“He was a terrible boy. He would break things intentionally, call out nasty words to his father and me, and be outright disrespectful to his house guests. You were too young to notice his change in behavior, Olive. But I knew this was how he behaved and I learned to deal with it.
“When he turned sixteen, he began sneaking out of the house. He'd take his father's car and disappear all night until he'd sneak back into his room after seven in the morning. Ever since then, his father and I rarely saw him during the night. He'd tell us he was going to sleep and then he'd be gone the rest of the night.”
“He's been sneaking out all this time?” Mr. Sloane asked, his face turning red.
Mila nodded. “Hundreds of times I'd try to get him to stop but he'd tell me over and over again that he had a âmission' to do and then leave.” Her gaze went to the window. “When we went to pick him up at the adoption agency, I never would have guessed we'd pick up their kind.”
“What do you mean
their kind
?” I asked.
Armando and Mila shared a hesitant look, eyeing each other as if asking which one should give up this information. As if losing the eye battle, Armando hesitantly replied, “Well, see, Cameron⦠he's⦠he'sâ”
“Schizophrenic,” Mr. Sloane finished for him, nodding his head gravely.