AUTOBIO

chapter 2

When we were two-ish three-ish, Hendon, my other next door neighbor, got an inflatable swimming pool in his backyard. Rackelle, his sister ran inside to get us lemonade and left us alone. Cooper and I were pretending to be in the Olympics. (Typical) It got a bit aggressive. My synchronized swimming got a -100,000 from Cooper. When he was booing, he threw some goggles at me like how people threw tomatoes in the olden days. It split my lip open and I was rushed to the hospital for stitches. It healed remarkably, although I still have the scar.

Cooper and I were the type of friends who tried to assassinate each other daily, but the moment either of us was sad we hugged it out. He was the cutest boy. He had brown hair that wasn't dark but wasn't light and eyes that changed with the sky. At times they looked stormy gray, but often they were a deep blue. Not too deep. Soft like the ocean. He had straight hair that stuck up if he didn't put gel in it. He was a sweater connoisseur. Cooper rather liked to wear them with shorts. That was his trademark. Well, that and making paper transportation (ex. planes, trains, boats, cars). Everyone who met him fell in love with him. That created issues as we grew older.

We started a conspiracy against our mean sisters when we were four. My mean sister was Reyna, and his was Elise. We tried to plan a murder mystery reality TV show out of it with ketchup as the evidence. Whenever we got money we'd go to the dollar store and buy handcuffs and all that junk. We bought water guns and shot each other with them until we both "died."

When I was five, I decided to "move" to Cooper's house. Our parents agreed that I could have a sleepover. Misty (Cooper's mother) made pork chops and after that glorious day they were my favorite food.

Rebecca, Cooper's older sister, was the only one who ever showed interest in us. Becca was by far my favorite. She pushed us in wheelbarrows and had pillow fights with us. Elise never liked me. We were too alike to be friends. I think that's how it had to be with Reyna, too.

That first warm April day when I slept over at the Greene's was the best in my life, because although I always had people all around me, that was the first time in my life I hadn't felt alone.

That next morning we had Eggo waffles. I don't exactly remember what they had to do, but the Greene's had to leave. I decided I wasn't ready to go home. I rode my trike around the whole world looking for a friend. After months of searching, I wound up at Montana Sampson's porch. (Keep in consideration that her house was one street over, and it took me five minutes.)

We were the least likely of friends. A bossy little blondie that had clothes the price of two Barbie dolls and a dorky little shrimp child that was riding her older sister's bike? Not likely.

I had seen Cooper's big brother Austin doing a wheelie on his dirt bike. I don't exactly remember, but I think I was trying to recreate it. Let's just say it didn't end well.

"Get off of my property!" Tana said as she blocked the sun out of her eyes. She was sitting on her porch drinking lemonade out of a bendy straw. We laugh about it now, but honestly she hasn't changed.

"My tricycle is stuck in your grass and it's crushing my body," I shrieked. She rolled her eyes. Then she sassily walked over to me.

"Whatev - holy smokes! You have a BARBIE PRINCESS bike? Mine is only pink!" her eyes widened.

I saw my opportunity and took it. "I even have a whole Barbie collection. And Barbie houses," I said proudly. I remember looking around. "And I have a bike right on my body."

She thought for a moment and looked around nervously. I think she realized our friendship could work to her advantage. "I'll get my mommy to help you. You should come in or else you might catch cooties or chicken pox or something bad like that. Are you homeless?" she asked, very concerned.

"No, I am not homeless, you turkey. I live in a big blue caterpillar. His name is Ray and he eats little caterpillars for lunch. I have Twinkies at my house. I also have pork chops," I said.

"Oh. We have water. And sisters." Tana said.

"I have sisters, too! Charlotte and Reyna are what they are called and they always eat all of the string cheese and they are very rotten girls." I said solemnly.

"I have loads of sisters. I have two older ones and one baby one. My mom likes baby Sydni the best but she also likes me too." Montana replied.

"What are they called?"

She sighed. "One is called Brinley and one is called Kennedy and one is called Sydni. I am called Montana."

"I am called Skank," I lied. I was a compulsive liar if you couldn't tell. Glad I grew out of that. Why I chose Skank, I have no idea. The name stuck. In fact, it stuck all through school and well into my adult years. Thanks Coop.

I went inside Tana's house and played for hours before my parents sent a search party out to find me. Those were the days.

Montana and I had several playdates before Cooper got jealous. We would always play with girl toys. It was a blast. Her sisters were a blast. Brinley was so kind. Kennedy was so fun. Montana was my best friend. Sydni was a precious baby. 

One day Cooper came to my house to play. 

"Hey Enne! Want to play?" I think it's safe to say we were weird kids. When we were young Cooper never called me Vivi or Viv or V or anything like that. It was either Baby Girl or Enne or Skank. Oh my gosh, he was the cutest.

"Sorry Coop. I'm playing with Montana," I replied. I said it a bit sassily.

"Who is Montana?" he asked curiously.

"My BFFAE." I said nonchalantly.

This broke his heart. We were best friends for all eternity. This may have been the cutest Cooper moment of all time. He started crying and told me that I broke his heart. The next day, he told me I was still his best friend. He told me that if he wasn't my best friend, it was okay. He cried more and went to walk home. I hadn't said anything the whole time because it amazed me that somebody could care about something so absolutely insignificant. That is the definition of Cooper Greene.

As you can probably infer, we stayed best friends. It was absolutely inevitable. Not only did we see each other every day, but we were too similar to stay apart. I was a more introverted version of Cooper (which was not hard because he was literally the most extroverted thing ever created). We both wanted the same things out of life. So, being six years old, we got engaged.

We planned it out quite well for being so young. Cooper was nearly seven. I remember it vividly. It was the perfect temperature. I told myself my entire life that I wanted my real wedding day to be a grander version of that proposal. There were clouds in the sky but it was perfectly bright. His eyes were cotton candy blue. We were under Hendon's gazebo.

"Vivienne Lydia, Let's dance together all the time when we're old and I'll always let you choose the songs," he told me. And so we did. 

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"The best is yet to be."

-Robert Browning