One Phone Call - Prologue

Sitting in the passengers seat. Staring out the window. My stomach turning with nervousness and excitement. I turn up the radio. My friend Jay driving. We’re headed to a small town about 165 miles away from mine. But the thing is…..you don’t know why. Well I’ll start from the beginning. 1

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It all started when I was 5.........2

“Mom, can I call gamma?” I ask. 3

“Sure honey but make sure you dial the right number.” 4

She tells me the number and I dial. I talk to my grandma for a while and then say goodbye and hang up. Mom was in the shower so I decided to play with the phone. 5

I dialed a random number and some old guy answered. He started swearing at me so I hung up fast. 6

I tried another number and some boy answered. He sounded little like me. 7

“Hello?”
“Hi my name is Brook what’s yours?” I say
“Grady” he says
“Cool. How old are you?”
“5”
“ME TOO!” I yell into the phone.
“Grady, who are you talking to?” I hear in the background.
“Some girl” he says
“Who is this?” A girl asks.
“Brook”
“Why’d you call?”
“I don’t know. I was just dialing numbers.”
“You shouldn’t do that little girl.”
“Sorry”
“Its ok…..here Grady, talk to your little friend. You should get her number too. She sounds nice” says the girl laughing
“Shut up Jamie. What’s your number?” Grady asks. 8

I told him my number and he told me his which I wrote down. We talked for a little bit longer and the girl that Grady was talking to said we should call each other every year so we did. 9

Grady called me once every year for the next three years. Then I called him once every year for the next three years. When I was 12 he never called. I tried to call him but the line was disconnected. I tried a lot during the next two years. I just gave up the next year. I had to many things going on. Then one day when I was 15, I got a letter in the mail. It said Grady Hall and an address on the front along with my name and address. I ripped it open and read the letter. It said:10

“Dear Brook,11

I’m so sorry that I haven’t called you lately. So many things have been going on ya know? We moved, my grandpa died and yeah. Well call me sometime. Here’s my number (799)564-7875 and here’s my cell number (545)178-7386. I hope you call me soon. I can’t wait to talk to you. I miss talking to you for hours. By the way I still have a picture of you when you were 13 in my wallet! I need a recent one. LoL! I sent you a recent one of me. Well g2g. CALL ME!!

Love,
Grady”12

After I read it, I found the picture of him. He looked so cute. I stared at it for a couple of minutes and then grabbed the phone. I dialed his number. 13

“Hello?”
“Is Grady there?”
“Yeah hold on, GRADY PHONE!!”
.....
“Yo”
“Hey Grady”
“Oh hey Brook. Oh My God! You called” he says laughing.
“Yeah I got your letter and I’ll send you a picture tomorrow ok?”
“Ok”14

We spent 2½ hrs just talking and catching up. 15

The next time we talked we came up with a plan. Earlier that day I asked my friend Jay, who is 16, to drive me to his house. She said she would. So after I got off the phone with Grady I went up to my mom. 16

“Mom? You know how me and Grady have been talking again”
“Yes dear”
“well I think we’re older now and deserve to see each other. Don’t you?”
“Well…yes…I guess”
“Do you think Jay can drive me to his house and we can stay there for a while”
“When?”
“Over Easter break”
“I’ll think about it and I need to talk to your father about it” She says.
“Ok”17

The next day before school she tells me I can go. When I get to school I tell Jay and we both can’t wait. I text message Grady and he’s excited too. Him and I text message each other all day during school. 18

The Saturday before Easter I start packing. I finish packing Sunday night and Monday morning. Before we leave I sneak 2 packs of my mom’s cigarettes into my purse along with the half empty pack that I already have and my 2 lighters. 19

I hear a beep outside and say goodbye to my mom, dad, and brother, Devin. I put my suitcase into the trunk and hop into Jay’s car and we drive off. 20