An Easy Friend

Chapter 8

It was Saturday. Krist and Kurt were coming over again. Only this time it's to keep me company. I didn't go to school yesterday either because I felt sick. Krist had called last night and when I told him why I was absent he made plans for him and Kurt to spend the day with me.

It was about 10:30 am. I was sitting in the living room wondering how in heaven I got such good friends when the door bell rang. I was greeted by a perpetually up-beat Krist and a smile from Kurt. They made their way into the living room and made themselves comfortable.

"Wow you really do look like hell." said Krist.

"I feel like shit too. My headaches are worse than usual." I said.

"You mean you have headaches anyway?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, pretty often. it's just like a piercing pain with no warning."

"Hey Kurt that sounds like your stomach problem." said Krist. I look to Kurt waiting for him to tell about it but he seemed uncomfortable.

"Yeah that sounds like what I have. Only I don't know what mine are."

Krist laughed. "You two are full of surprises. Always finding something in common." My face goes red while Kurt laughs. He's got a sweet laugh.

–

In the following hours we did a number of things, ranging from me giving them a tour of my house to us playing silly games. At one point they tried getting me to play guitar and sing for them but I insisted that they were too young to have their eardrums broken. They rolled their eyes but let it go.

We ended up watching one of my favorite films "Dangerous Crossing". When I first told them that it was a thriller noir from 1939 they were a bit hesitant. But soon enough they got sucked into the story. Sometime near the end Kurt fell asleep on the couch leaving Krist and I on the floor.

"I'm glad Kurt's finally getting sleep." Krist said. "He's been ridden with insomnia for the past two days. Something's up but he won't tell me."

"You know, he told me about the situation with his family." I tell him.

"Yeah? Maybe that's what's keeping him up. He's more of a quiet person when it comes to his problems." He paused. "He's been really daydreamy recently." So have I, I thought to myself.

Then a thought occurred to me. "How come you're rarely with your girlfriend?" I ask Krist. I had started to feel guilty about that, as if I was platonically taking Krist away from Shelli.

He sighs. "Its an off-and-on thing. Sometimes we spend the whole night together and then not see each other for a few days. She's pretty strange. But I still love her." He said the last part with a smile. It's nice how he still feels the same way about Shelli even though things get rough.

–

Kurt and Krist left at around 4 pm. By then I felt a lot better than I did yesterday.

That was the first night I dreamt of Kurt Cobain. The thing is, it wasn't a good one.