The Fall Ball

41. Chase

The sun had begun to dip below the horizon by the time I cycled to the neighborhood our school had assigned for the rake and run. Tyler, Kacey, Lucy, and I volunteered for the rake and run on Wednesday, where we raked the leaves off elderly people's homes. People who couldn't rake the leaves off their lawns on their own. I was late due to an appointment at the barbershop.

I paddled through rows of quaint houses nestled among towering trees that stretched their branches toward the sky. Now, with most of the leaves having fallen, the trees stood tall and bare, their gnarled branches reaching out like bony fingers against the blue sky.

It was also where Tyler's grandma' house was, so we were planning to hang out there later. A few other kids from our school were scattered all over; not a lot of volunteers this time. I waved at a few and spotted Lucy and the others in a corner. She didn't see me. She was busy stuffing leaves from a pile into a trash bag.

I stepped off my cycle and walked over to her. Her brown hair caught the sunlight in a halo of fiery red, looking ethereal in the fading light of the day. Her eyes met mine, and her smile turned into a jaw drop.

I couldn't help but laugh at her reaction. "Is it that bad?" I asked, rubbing the shaven side of my freshly undercut hair.

She dropped the bag and walked over to me, stepping over the leaves. "You look great," she said with a wide grin, reaching out to touch my freshly cut hair.

"You hesitated," I squinted, pulling her closer by her waist. Her hands went over my shoulders.

"I was surprised. Why'd you cut it?" she asked, raking my top hair to the side.

"I didn't want to look like a wet mop next to you at the fall ball."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "You could never look like a wet mop, silly."

As Tyler and Kacey sauntered over to us, stepping over the leaves, Tyler let out a wolf whistle, earning a few head turns from other volunteers nearby.

"Can we pretend not to know him?" Lucy chuckled beside me, after we untangled ourselves.

"Looking sharp, man!" Tyler exclaimed, giving me a mock salute. "Are you enlisting or something?"

"Very funny," I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Don't worry, Lu, hair grows back," Kacey said, turning to Lucy.

"I'm not worried!" Lucy swatted her arm off playfully, "Don't listen to them, you look hot," she said, turning to look at me.

"Thanks, Lu," I said, leaning in to peck her cheek.

Tyler cleared his throat, breaking the moment. "Alright, lovebirds, enough of the mushy stuff. Grab a rake or a bag and let's get back to work."

"Aye aye, captain," Lucy responded with a playful eye roll as the four of us made our way to the yard where we were met with large piles of leaves stacked by some volunteers who had since wandered off. Tyler and I exchanged mischievous glances.

"Don't even think about it," Kacey warned, while Lucy shook her head in mock dismay.

With matching grins, Tyler and I lunged into the pile, sending leaves scattering in all directions. Laughter filled the air as we tumbled, rolled, and launched leaves at each other like the pair of overgrown kids we were. I pulled Lucy into the fray, and she landed on top of me with a shriek of surprise.

"Hey!" a nearby volunteer shouted. "You better start piling those leaves into garbage bags!"

"We will!" Tyler assured, still grinning from ear to ear.

Suddenly, Lucy's voice cut through the chaos. "Where's Kacey?" she asked, climbing off me, "Kace?"

Kacey was actually nowhere to be seen.

"ARGH!" Kacey burst out from being buried underneath them.

I felt like we were back in ninth grade detention, but this time, we were surrounded by heaps of leaves. The yards were jam-packed with them, thanks to the big Sycamore trees. Raking them up wasn't tedious at all—it was actually pretty fun.

More people joined in, including Brent and his buddies. We turned it into a game, seeing who could make the biggest pile. Damon even climbed a tree to shake down more leaves.

"HEY HEY HEY! THATS CHEATING!" We all yelled frantically.

"I'm just speeding up the natural course of things!" Damon yelled.

We couldn't help but laugh. At that moment, surrounded by friends and heaps of leaves, I felt grateful. Grateful for my friends and for the chance to share this simple joy with Lucy by my side. Her eyes were pinched closed, yet twinkling happiness, her mouth wide open, laughing radiantly. It dawned on me that it was moments like these, shared with her, that truly made life feel magical.