#I want to have little cookies and lemonade for neighborhood kids during the summer

[headknight-oh]

My desire for home ownership manifests in me saving cute furniture pieces on facebook market and crying about capitalism

[tinsley-goldsworth]

home can be found in a treehouse

summary: the story of two best friends (ryan and shane) and how their friendship was built on a treehouse (week 24 of my thirty weeks of writing prompts challenge: treehouse)

Wc: 1544

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Our story begins in a small neighborhood, where Shane and Ryan first met. Shane’s house was right next to Ryan’s and when Ryan first moved in, Shane eagerly introduced himself, overjoyed to have a boy his age move into the neighborhood. Just as he hoped, Shane became friends with Ryan and since they were neighbors, they were able to have frequent playdates. 

But the defining moment when Ryan and Shane established complete trust in each other was when they were biking around the neighborhood when they were in kindergarten. The neighborhood was very safe and cars rarely ever drove by so it was safe for Ryan and Shane to bike around the neighborhood street. 

Shane had learned to bike a little earlier than Ryan so he biked without training wheels. While they were biking around the neighborhood together, Ryan was obviously growing more frustrated that he was unable to catch up to Shane so he stopped biking for a moment in order to detach the training wheels from his bicycle.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Shane asked, his eyebrows knitting together with concern as he got off the bike, watching Ryan place the training wheels in the basket attached to the front of his bicycle.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” Ryan responded, unbothered by Shane’s worry. He mounted the bicycle and grinned brightly. “Let’s go!”

Ryan began biking slightly faster, albeit rather wobbly, and Shane slowed his pace, scared that if he went too fast, he would push Ryan to bike at an uncontrollable pace. Shane’s instincts proved to be correct as Ryan suddenly swerved and fell off his bike with a loud crash. Shane didn’t hesitate to get off his bike, leaving it to clatter on the street as he rushed over to Ryan to make sure his friend was okay. 

At first glance, Ryan seemed unharmed but when Ryan lifted his hands from the ground, there was blood on his palms. Shane panicked and started calling out for help, hoping that there were some adults nearby who could help. 

The lady that lived in the house the boys had stopped in front of heard Shane’s cries and rushed out to see Shane comforting Ryan, who was crying because his palms were still dripping with blood. She hurried back into her house and came out with band-aids and cleansing wipes, carefully cleaning Ryan’s wound before applying the band-aids. Shane thanked the lady, who insisted that it was really no problem at all.

Shane helped Ryan stand up and they walked their bicycles back to their houses. Even though they both didn’t really think much of the incident, this incident caused them both to subconsciously realize that they could rely on and trust each other. 

By first grade, Shane and Ryan had playdates at each other’s houses so often that their families started spending holidays together because the boys couldn’t bear to spend time away from each other. In addition to growing closer, the boys also created their own secret club called the “Pirate Boys”, because they often pretended to search for treasure when playing pretend with the foam swords Shane got for Christmas. They decided that they needed a hideout for their ultra-secretive club but there were no empty rooms available in both their houses for them to have their club meetings. 

When Shane brought this dilemma up to his parents, his parents suggested building a treehouse in their backyard, which Shane enthusiastically agreed to. During the summer, Shane and Ryan helped Shane’s parents build the treehouse on the giant, sturdy tree in Shane’s backyard. 

The boys helped paint the wood boards used to build the treehouse and helped knot together ropes to make a long ladder. While Shane’s parents hammered the nails into the boards to build the basic structure of the treehouse, Shane and Ryan watched them while sipping lemonade. When Shane’s parents weren’t looking, the boys grabbed a spare nail and etched “Shane and Ryan: best friends forever” on the trunk of the tree. 

The treehouse was finished halfway through summer and Ryan and Shane wasted no time in decorating the interior. Of course, they brought their foam swords into the treehouse. In addition, Ryan brought a couple of his favorite comic books and a bean bag chair and Shane brought pirate hats and painted a small flag with a skull symbol that he hung out of the treehouse’s window.

When a bright red treehouse is built in a small neighborhood, it’s almost impossible for people not to notice it. So, one day, when Shane and Ryan were playing in the treehouse, Shane’s father called from the house, “Shane! Ryan! A guest would like to visit your treehouse!”

Upon hearing this, the boys exchanged a confused glance, wondering who could possibly want to visit their treehouse. They eagerly climbed down the ladder as Shane’s father walked into the backyard with a boy by his side. The boy had short black hair that stood up like grass and Ryan recognized him after a few seconds. “You’re Steven! You’re in my class.”

“Hi! I saw your treehouse. It looks really fun. I just wanted to see if I can join you guys,” Steven’s hazel eyes are full of hope. Ryan and Shane yet again exchange a glance, silently communicating their feelings about letting Steven join their super-secret club. Shane shrugged, conveying that he didn’t mind either, and Ryan turned towards Steven again.

“You can join. But you have to promise to keep it a secret.” Steven eagerly nodded and followed Shane and Ryan up into their treehouse. Inside the treehouse, Shane made Steven swear an oath of secrecy (he and Ryan wrote it on some wrinkled paper)  and Steven officially became the newest member of the “Pirate Boys”. 

Steven wasn’t the only kid who wanted to join. Steven’s friends, Andrew and Adam, eventually also joined the club and Sara, a girl who had just moved in, was invited by Shane to join. Since Sara was part of the club, they decided to change the name of the club to simply the “Pirates” so they could be inclusive of all genders. 

There weren’t many rules in the club but Shane and Ryan agreed that every Friday afternoon, there should be a meeting and everybody should bring snacks to share. Everybody agreed so on Fridays, the members of the club would all come to the treehouse with their arms full of snacks. 

Since the club expanded, the treehouse that had been built initially only for Shane and Ryan seemed to be shrinking in size with every new member so, during winter break, Shane’s parents helped quickly renovate the treehouse to accommodate for the new people.

Soon, Shane and Ryan’s club was known throughout the school and during class, their classmates would often ask if they could join. The boys agreed that they didn’t want their club to grow too big, so they had to reject everybody’s request. Throughout elementary school, and the majority of middle school, the club still stuck together and hosted weekly meetings. As time went on, the purpose of the club shifted from playing pretend to spending quality time together. 

Adam moving away in seventh grade made everybody realize that they were growing up, which made everybody a little worried about the future of the club. Nevertheless, they continued on without him, even though they missed him dearly and noted his absence every time they met. 

High school drove itself into Shane’s and Ryan’s lives, as well as everybody else’s, like an unexpected tornado, wreaking havoc in every aspect of their lives. Schoolwork, sports, extracurriculars, clubs, social conflict, and stress about college seemed to overwhelm the once innocent youth so the treehouse became a place of comfort and escape. 

After Ryan’s first break up, he cried in the treehouse and his friends all supported him and helped him get through the emotional pain he was in. When Andrew failed his first European history test, the Pirates helped him study for his next test so he could score better. When Shane dropped his phone and cracked it, Steven and Andrew brought phone-shaped cookies they made to the treehouse to cheer him up. When Steven’s parents stressed Steven out with their lectures about how getting into college was the most important aspect of his life, his friends were always there to hug him and assure him that he was fully capable of fulfilling their expectations. When the art school Sara really wanted to get into sent her a rejection letter, her friends reassured her that there were plenty of other amazing schools she applied to that she would definitely get into.

While high school felt like a million years, it also somehow felt like only two minutes and before they knew it, the Pirates had graduated high school. After their graduation ceremony, instead of joining everybody at the party the school hosted, the group of friends held their own small party in the treehouse. The party was a mix of a bittersweet goodbye and a triumphant joy because after all, they had made it through the past ten or more years together and they would now be parting ways. 

Ryan and Shane met up one last time before they went off to college at the treehouse, just to reflect and think about all they had accomplished together the past few years. Shane pointed out the carving that they made of “Shane and Ryan: best friends forever” that was still etched into the trunk of the tree, causing Ryan to tear up. They said their goodbyes to the treehouse and all the memories it held. Then, they parted ways. 

Now, Shane is married to Sara and Ryan is happily living with Marielle, his girlfriend, and they both found jobs that they really enjoyed. They still talked with each other as well as the rest of their childhood friends and laughed about the memories they made at the treehouse. But now, they are all grown up and they are too old to play pretend. 

To this day, if you go to the backyard of Shane’s parents’ home, you will see that the treehouse is still standing. The foam swords are still tucked in the corner of the room and now, the floorboards creak with every step. The red paint Shane and Ryan used to paint the boards still clings to the wood. Most importantly, the mark of their friendship is still etched into the trunk of the tree, right under the treehouse.

~

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