The Butterfly Effect
by Zach Kesheb
It was any ordinary Wednesday in the town of Milan. For once the weather was looking up. Unfortunately it was a school day; at least for most kids. It was the first day of summer and the flowers were blooming with the smell of fresh fruit. The trees were full of color almost like they were just born. Kevin was a senior in the year of '78. He was 18 about to turn nineteen. He had dirty blond hair and wore mostly jeans and a t-shirt. Like most other seniors, he was ready to leave school to begin a life of his own.
Kevin heard from a friend that the weather on Thursday would be even better than it was today. He decided he wanted to go out to the pond with some friends on Thursday. He went to talk to Ryan so that they could get some beer to make their day more eventful. Ryan was the person that only wore a tight tank top no matter the weather, and always had sunglasses. He was all about being a caring friend, but was almost always reckless. He had dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. Once Ryan heard of the party at the pond he couldn’t refuse. After he talked to Ryan he went to Sam; he wanted Sam to go because they had been best friends since first grade. She was a happy-go-lucky girl who had blonde hair and silver eyes. He knew that there was no doubt that she would want to go with them. Kevin told the two friends he would pick them up at 7am the next day at their houses. This meant that they were skipping school that day. When the three of them went home that night they packed up a bunch of stuff that they thought they would need. Kevin packed up a portable grill along with ground beef and some buns so that they could have a barbeque when they got hungry. Ryan packed the beer up to grab and go like he was asked. He also figured that he would bring a guitar and ended up bringing his brother who no one really knew that well. All they really knew was that his name was Jacob, who was 16 and always wore a hoodie. Sam would bring a couple of burnt CD’s that she made with some music that she knew everyone enjoyed.
It was 6:30 and Kevin was just starting to wake up. He looked at the clock and realized what time it was. He was half an hour late, that being the half hour he needed to get ready. As he rushed to get out the door, he put the grill in the trunk and the cooler in the back. He drove to Ryan’s house, which wasn’t too far, but he still felt rushed. When Kevin got there, Ryan ran up to the car. He placed his guitar bag in the back and opened up the cooler and threw the beers in.
When he sat down in the front he asked, “Hey man are you okay? You look a little upset.”
“Yeah, man, I’m fine. I just got up a little late this morning, so I didn't have time to get ready. I think I have everything, so let’s go pick up Sam.”
Eventually Kevin and Ryan got to Sam’s house. That was when Ryan realized that they didn’t have Jacob. The three of them started to laugh uncontrollably. Sam put on her music and the group of friends started to have a good time together. A fun filled half an hour later they made it to the pond. This was the place where Kevin and his friends loved to hang out.
Despite the fact that it was early in the morning and still a bit cold, the hangout spot looked glorious. The pond looked so lively as if it was going to float away. The birds made sounds as if they were trying to sing a song. You could smell the pine in the air; it was crisp and clean.
After thirty minutes they had everything set up. The picnic tables cleared, wood and sticks were gathered for the fire pit, and the barbeque was set up for when they got hungry. Once they were done setting everything up they all sat down at the picnic table. Everyone was having a good time, laughing, playing games, relaxing, swimming, and drinking. Even though everyone was enjoying themselves, Kevin still didn’t feel good. He felt like he let everyone down. They ended up spending the entire day there.
Nightfall arose and everyone had at least three beers and were buzzed. Kevin ended up drinking more than everyone. He said that it made him feel better about everything. It was time to go home. They packed up the car and left. The pond hangout spot was trashed with beer bottles and wrappers left everywhere. He dropped Sam off, then Ryan and Jacob.