Never Always Sometimes - Adi Alsaid Page 0,66

to make Julia feel somewhat

cathartic, regardless of whether or not she’d had anything resembling

a catharsis. “Are we gonna make it there on time?”

“We should be fine. I’ll take the 101 and it’ll be a bit faster.” The sky around the sun was hazy and soaking up the color, so that it looked

220 NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES

like someone had poked a hole in the sun and it was slowly bleeding

out. “Still there.”

A thin cloud turned bright red and both of them oohed at it at the

same time. “Definitely still there.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Dave look away from

the sun, swiveling his head to take in the whole scene. He was the only

person she knew who actively reminded himself to look around, to

enjoy everything about a given moment. They’d never actually spoken

about it, but she’d been watching it happen for years. “This is pretty

great,” Dave said. “On a school night. Two hundred miles from home.

Going to see Neko in San Francisco.”

Julia turned to look at him. The sun was golden on his skin, a bead

of sweat was hiding at the very edge of his hairline. “Still there.” She smiled.

“Still there,” Dave repeated.

When the last orange-red sliver of the sun completely dipped

beneath the ocean, they both said, “Gone.”

This time, Julia could feel a very specific epiphany, bittersweet

though it may have been: She and Dave could still be friends. Nothing

had changed.

JULIA 221

THAT TEENAGE FEELING

FROM THE FIRST note Neko Case sang, chills ran down Julia’s arms.

It was a tiny venue, with a bar in the back that never fully quieted

down, even during the quiet songs. It was hot, too, Julia’s shirt sticking to her back almost from the start. The crowd was sparse enough that

Julia wasn’t pressed up against a bunch of sweaty strangers, but she

and Dave were up near the stage, where people kept jockeying for

position, and every now and then the crowd would move in waves

and Dave would put a hand on her shoulders to steady her. As much

as she loved Neko’s lyrics, Julia’s mind wandered during the concert,

especially when Dave’s arm brushed against hers, when he leaned into

her ear to comment about how her voice sounded even bigger live.

When she recognized the opening of “That Teenage Feeling,” Julia

felt everything but her, Neko, and Dave melt away. She’d looked up the

lyrics before and thought them somewhat twee, but what a colossal

difference there was between a line on paper and a line sung with

the entirety of someone’s heart to a rapt audience. What a strange,

wonderful feeling it was to know that Julia was right in the midst of

what Neko Case was singing about. She cast a glance at Dave, who

was smiling slightly, trying to sing along to lyrics he clearly didn’t know.

The concert was over at nearly midnight, and though they’d assumed

there’d be tons of Thai places open late at night, it turned out that San Francisco was not New York and very much enjoyed its sleep. Julia

searched for nearby restaurants on her phone as Dave called Gretchen

to say good night and that he would see her at school in the morning.

She heard the sweet tone in his voice, and she decided that she was

thrilled by it. Her best friend was an overwhelmingly good person,

and if she wasn’t receiving his romantic affection, at least someone was.

When he hung up, they started walking back toward where they’d

parked the car. “No luck on Thai food,” she said. “How’s Gretchen?”

“Half-asleep. She says hi.” Dave twirled the car keys around his

finger. They passed by a group of teens in ragged clothing hanging out

in front of a coffee shop. One of them had faded green hair poking out

from beneath his beanie, a metal chain swinging from his belt loop to

his back pocket. He was holding a cardboard sign that read, WHY LIE,

I NEED BEER? The smell of weed and body odor lingered around them.

“So, more junk food for the drive back?”

“I’ve got another idea,” Julia said.

They finally found a suitable spot a bit south of Carmel. It was a

perfect isolated stretch of sandy beach hidden from the road by a little hill. Passing cops wouldn’t be able to see the illegal fire they were going to build. They’d bought a Quick Start chemically coated log, a bundle

of firewood, skewers, a package of gourmet sausages stuffed with

mozzarella and sundried tomatoes, a can of pineapple, ingredients for

JULIA 223

s’mores, and a flimsy beach towel. Julia wished they had a bottle of

wine to share, but since neither of them had a fake ID, a jug of their

favorite iced tea