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Fragile
Dec 1, 2008 21:12:29 GMT -5
Post by safaiax on Dec 1, 2008 21:12:29 GMT -5
** (Jared) Well, that was one of the worst things that ever happened to me. At least that's what it seemed like at the time. We had all been so close, like a family--we were a family--for all those years, and then, suddenly, one of us gets ruthlessly ripped out. It was cruel. We could never be the same again. Angie may have been the youngest, but she was like the glue that held us together. If you take the glue out, you have nothing to hold you together, so you fall apart. Of course we didn't see that at the time though. Anyways, the rest of the school year was mostly normal--not very exciting. As we agreed, we bought the walkie-talkies, gave one to Angie, and passed the other one around the group. We were glad we could get away with it, but it still wasn't the same. Anyways, Angie ended up getting put in a private Christian school, as she predicted. ** At the end of the school year, I got a surprising call from my Dad. He wanted me to go see his business! Of course I couldn't resist asking if Isaac and Aaron could go too, and he said yes. So, during the first week of summer break, Dad picked us up and brought us down to his place for a couple weeks. "Hey, boys," he said as we got out of the car. "Grab your stuff; I'm going to take you down to my basement." "Why?" I asked, following him with my bags in hand. I didn't know what was so special about it. "Did you redo it or something?" "Yep! You'll love it." "Cool," Aaron said. We set our stuff inside his living room, and then went down to the basement. "Wow!!!" Isaac exclaimed. "This is incredible!" "Yeah, it is!" "Dad, this is amazing!" "You like it?" "Yeah!" we affirmed. It truly was impressive. All four walls were covered in shelves with insanely good glazed clay work. From big ones to small ones, complex to simple, sculptures to pots, all sorts of colors and shapes; everything was perfect! I never knew Dad was this good. "This is what I do in my spare time...well and also for a living. It get's my mind off life too, so that's kind of nice." "I bet it is," I said, admiring each piece that caught my attention. "Could you teach us?" Isaac inquired. "Umm...sure, if you want." He sat down next to the wheel which was in the middle of the floor, and for the next hour or so, he attempted to teach the three of us a little bit about pottery. It was really hard. I don't know how anyone can be as good as Dad. I thought after giving it a try. "How did you get so good?" I wondered after we had stopped and began to clean up. "Well, I started when I was about your age, maybe even younger. My Mom enrolled me in a pottery class when I was a kid. And I loved it, but was really bad at it. Just never had time to get better. But when I worked at Art Works I finally had time, because I took classes there. That's where I got better." "Wow." "Yeah..." Aaron must have been impressed. "Hey, I'm hungry," I stated. "When's dinner?" "I can get pizza," Dad suggested. So, after Dad called for pizza, for the next half hour, we finished cleaning up, and then just waited--pretty boring. Then during dinner, Dad's friend, Ralph Peterson called about something business related, but Dad said he's busy because we're here...Oh, and then we got to say 'hi' to him. ** So, let's see, let's skip the boring parts real quick--fast forward, fast forward--ah, here we are. Well, okay, not really very exciting, but at least there's dialogue! ** During the night I had a really hard time sleeping, so finally, around 5:00a.m, I got up to go to the bathroom and noticed the basement light was on. I was curious. Is he really up this early? Well, the answer was yes, he was. As I tip toed down the basement stairs, trying to avoid the inevitable--creaking steps--I beheld the sight of Dad sitting in his office chair at the wheel, trying to make something. "What are you doing up?" I asked him. "Couldn't sleep," he said, bleakly, only glancing at me. "Why?" "Dunno...depressed, I guess." "Oh...why?" "Dunno..." I waited. But, nothing happened. I didn't know what else to say, but didn't want to leave, so I sat down on the cement floor, on the other side of the wheel, so that we were facing each other. He glanced at me again, but only for a second. What was wrong? I thought. ...Silence "What?" Dad seemed annoyed. "Nothing." More silence... He sighed, as if to give up. "I don't understand! Usually this cheers me up, but not this time. What's wrong with me?" "Is it because I'm here?" "No, of course not!" he spun himself around in the chair and washed his hands in the sink nearby. Okay, so maybe he wasn't annoyed. "I don't know..." I thought parents were supposed to have themselves figured out? But, maybe not all of them. I didn't know what to say. I wasn't in the place to be a psycho-therapist either, especially not to Dad. Actually, the only thing I could think of to say at a time like this, but wouldn't dare say it, was '...and how does that make you feel?'...pretty stupid, I know. "You know what you need? You need a good dose of laughter!" "I doubt that would do anything..." he replied as he dried his hands on a rag and gloomily leaned his head on hand against the edge of the sink. Silence. He was sucking the life out me. That's how gloomy he was. "Dad, don't be a crabby cake," I finally remarked. He chuckled. "Make me." Oo, is that how he wants to play? "Fine, have it your way." I was going to make him. I jumped up from my cross-legged position on the floor, scrambled around the back of the chair, and attempted to force him to smile. Unfortunately, that backfired. He grabbed my wrists, stood up, carried me over his shoulders, and sat down on the couch across the room--on top of me. "Hey, no fair, you're bigger than me!" At least he was having fun--and laughing! "Well, you shoulda' thought of that before, huh?" he grinned. "Yeah...but no, seriously, I can’t breath." "Sure, that's what you want me to think," He responded, getting up and sitting down next to me on the couch. Actually that is what I wanted him to think. I'm such a good liar. Silence... Finally, I thought of something that I had been thinking of this morning, but never wanted to bring it up yet. "Hey, Dad?" "Hm?" "I really like this pottery stuff." "That's good, me too." Really? I didn't know that, I thought sarcastically. "No really! I was thinking...maybe...I don't know, after I graduate, I could maybe move down here...like...with you? And maybe like...join the biz? Ya. know?" "Really?" he sounded surprised. "Yes...Maybe I could take Angie, too. She needs to get away from home," I chuckled, only half serious. "That would be fantastic! But wait...you're not just saying that for me, right?" "Of course not," I said awkwardly. "Awesome!" "Yeah. I wouldn't even have to go to college, right? You could be my teacher." "Thats probably right. So that's a plus." "Yep. And I could take art classes at school, too." "Yeah, that'd help a lot." "By the way, do you get a lot of business in this city?" "Definitely. It helps that we have a huge variety of merchandise, so lots to choose from." "I bet." We basically just continued to talk about random things; not a whole lot of excitement. In fact this is sort of how the whole two weeks went. That is, during the day, the four of us hung out, learned pottery, went places, and sometimes if he was up in the early mornings, I'd get up and we would just talk... I thought it was fun anyways. But you know what the coolest part was? I was finally learning more about my Dad. In all my years, I've never really known a lot about him. We talked about his past a little bit, and also what has been going on with me lately. We even talked about religion, which was weird. I learned my Dad was a Deist. He believes there's a god but that it's just sort of out there and not really interacting with us. He said if there really was a personal god, it wouldn't let him have Depression. I could agree with that. Except Iv'e identified myself more as an Agnostic. I don't know if there is one or not, but I don't really care, because even if there is, all he'd want us to do is be happy, right? That's what it seems like anyways. At the end of the two weeks, Dad took us back home. We had a great time; many stories to tell. When we got home, it wasn't quite the same. For one thing, Angie couldn't be there to tell stories to and hang out with. But we had gotten used to that...sort of. That wasn't the only thing though. There was something else. I just couldn't put my finger on it. Aunt Susie and Uncle Mike had been telling Isaac and me that Ms. Evans and Aaron would be coming over this evening. We didn't know why, and whenever we asked, they said 'we're going to be talking about something.' We didn't get it. When the evening rolled around, we all gathered in the living room. The atmosphere was cold. Something wasn't right. "Boys..." Ms. Evans started. Yes? Yes? We’re listening! Tell us already! I was anxious. "There's something you need to know..." You bet there is. Are you going to tell us or keep us waiting all night? Really anxious. "Something happened while you three were gone..." Aunt Susie began. "What happened?" Isaac questioned. "Um..." Apparently she was having a hard time saying it. Was it that bad? Suddenly, Aunt Susie burst into tears. I sighed and turned to Aaron and Isaac. "We're never going to know, huh?" Uncle Mike cut in, "Boys, Mr. Jacobs went hunting last week...and there was an accident." "There was?" I asked. "What do you mean?" Aaron sounded anxious too. "You're not going to believe this," Uncle Mike declared.
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Fragile
Dec 2, 2008 17:42:19 GMT -5
Post by safaiax on Dec 2, 2008 17:42:19 GMT -5
"What?" They're never going to say it! Why won't they just tell us? It can't be that bad, can it? Now let me tell you this: Uncle Mike is not an emotional person, but I could have sworn I saw a tear role down his cheek. "Boys, Freddy's dad was shot—on accident—and killed." "What!?!" "Are you serious!?!" "No way!!!" Came the explosion. My stomach flipped. I couldn't believe it. By this time Ms. Evans was teary-eyed as well. "Yes. It happened." He reiterated. Go call Freddy right now if you want to know for sure." I didn't know what to say. The three of us just sat there, blankly. This is a joke, I thought, Just a joke. How must Freddy be feeling right now? I had to call him, just to be sure...and to make sure he’s okay. Silence roamed around the living room. I stood up, "I’m going to call him," then walked out to grab the phone. Do I really want to do this? I thought after picking the phone up. I have to. He's my friend. He's part of the family, too. So I did."Hello?" "Hi, Freddy? It's Jared..." "Hi." Is that all he could say? 'Hi'? Maybe it was a joke... "Hi...um...are you okay?" "Yes?" Relief spread through my body. It was! Just a bad joke! "Okay...So...is your Dad okay?" "I don't want to talk about it." --dial tone... What? He hung up on me?? I guess I was wrong...it did happen...By now, everyone else had migrated into the kitchen, where I was. "Well?" Uncle Mike questioned. "He hung up on me..." "How's he holding up?" Isaac asked. "He hung up on me!!" Aaron looked uneasy. "I don't blame him." After a while, Aaron and his Mom went home, and I went up to my room--with Isaac--to do some thinking. Actually I did more venting than thinking. "Why would he hang up on me? Doesn't he want to tell me anything? He's our friend! He should have called firs--" "Jared," Isaac cut me off. "Be quiet! We can either let this ruin our friendship, or make it stronger. You have to be sensitive to him now. He's probably still trying to get it into his head, too. Ya know? You can't blame him for having his emotions take the best of him. You'd do the same thing; anyways, just try to play it calm! He needs friends that he can lean on, not ones that add insult to injury." "Yeah...I s'pose that's true. Should we call again? To say sorry n' stuff?" "No, just let him cool off. We can talk to him later." (Freddy) It didn't happen, it didn't happen. It's just a bad dream, nothing happened, I kept on telling myself. I went to my room, toppled onto my bed, and thought about the last couple weeks. I had to run it over in my head; nothing was clear anymore. After Aaron, Isaac, and Jared left, Monica and I were the only two left, unless you count Angie. We were considerably bored the first few days, because there wasn't very much to do, except talk to Angie on the walkie-talkie and hang out at our houses. My dad had been planning a big hunting trip with some of his friends for probably about two months. They were going to go up north for a week. I pleaded to go with him, but he wouldn't let me. He said I was too young. So on the day he left, we exchanged our goodbyes and hugs, and awaited the day of his return. We couldn't wait. A few days had gone by, and finally we got the call from one of his friends, that my dad had been shot and killed on accident. We didn't believe it at first. When they finally brought his body home, I was a wreck. The only thing I could think of was the fact that I had expected to see him when he got back, and that the thought never even entered my mind that something would go wrong. Well, something did go wrong, and it took the life of my dad; my hero. It was totally unexpected. The thought didn't even cross our minds; only assumed that nothing bad would happen, and everything would go as planned. That was our first mistake. Monica had been there the whole time--from beginning to end. She brought my mom flowers, and sat with me in silence while I sat arrayed in disbelief. She cried with me, she laughed with me, she talked about the deep questions with me, and she even became a natural comfort to me when ever she came into my presence. Somehow I got it into my mind during those days that whenever Monica was with me, everything would be okay. At first I had so many questions and so few answers. I was glad Monica was there to talk about them with me, but I was honestly never really interested in it. I had come to my own conclusions and was too stubborn to move. I had always believed in some sort of higher power, but now, I thought that if there was a god, he was cruel, unmerciful, uncaring, and not worth worshipping at all. Monica, of course, didn't agree with me, but we agreed to disagree, and that was that. When Isaac, Jared, and Aaron got back, I had still been trying to get used to the fact that my Dad was no longer here. No more fishing trips, no more camping trips, no more hunting, no more warm hugs, no more hearing his fatherly voice, his laughter, his bad jokes—no nothing. I still had trouble believing it, I refused to. I wanted to believe it was only a bad dream and that I would wake up any minute. So, when someone talked about it like it really happened, I was gone. I didn't want to hear it. When Jared said what he said on the phone, all I heard was him taunting me, teasing me about what happened. It was torture--like he was stabbing me unmercifully, over and over; I couldn't take it. He knew it happened, and he was only making it worse. (Jared) The next morning, Aaron called and asked if I had talked to Freddy yet. I said no, and he hadn't either, so we agreed to meet after breakfast to go to his house. And that's exactly what we did. Isaac suggested we stop by Monica's first, but when we did, she wasn't ready to go yet. She said she'd be there later. When the three of us got to Freddy's house, I was nervous; scared even. I didn't know what to say or how to act or anything. I was especially afraid he would be mad at me from last night when I called him. We knocked on the door. A few minutes later, it creaked open. His Mom was there, pink faced, probably from crying. "Hi Mrs. Jacobs. Is Freddy there?" Great, I thought. Do we call her Missus or Miss? "Yes, hold on." She left to get him and he soon came outside. "Hi." He said flatly. "Hey," Isaac said casually. "How's it going?" "Good." How could he be good at a time like this? He's acting like nothing even happened."How're you holding up?" Aaron asked. He sat down on the porch. "I don't know." "When is the funeral?" I questioned, awkwardly--only out of grim curiosity He turned his head and muttered something. I didn’t understand, though. "What?" "It was last week!" He immediately got up and went inside. We stood there, blankly, unsure how to react. "That went well..." Isaac sarcastically stated. "I didn't mean to upset him... honest." "You probably just brought it on too strong." Aaron suggested. Isaac started to head home. "Yeah. He's probably still trying to get the truth into his head. Probably doesn't want to believe it. You have to be careful about what you say. If he wants to talk about it, he’ll bring it up." "Okay...I guess that makes sense." Except not really. I don't understand it."We can try another time; later, or tomorrow maybe." "Yeah," Aaron agreed. On our way home, we ran into Monica. "Hey, guys. I thought you were going to Freddy's? Where ya' headed?" "We were just there," Isaac told her. "You might not want to go over there now. I think we just upset him. We'll try again later." "Oh...well, I'm going to go over there to see what's up with him. I'll see ya' later...Oh, by the way, here's the walkie-talkie," she handed it to Isaac. "Me and Freddy have had it the whole time you all were gone; been switching every day." "Thanks," he replied. "Who gets it when we're done?" "I don't care. I guess Freddy." So after our good-bye's, we finally headed over to my house. We went into Isaac's room and after some chit-chat, we eventually went to go play video games. Isaac even played this time! That was new. Later, Aaron had to go home, taking the walkie-talkie with him. Later that night, I got on Instant Messenger (Which I finally started using) and seeing that Dad was online, I told him what happened. He was shocked. I don't now how to explain it, he was just shocked. He wasn't the only one though. After this, we decided to talk on the microphones. He said he had something interesting to tell me. So after everything was set up, I asked him, "What's up?" "Ready for this?" he asked, sounding pretty exuberant.
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Fragile
Dec 2, 2008 17:43:50 GMT -5
Post by safaiax on Dec 2, 2008 17:43:50 GMT -5
"Sure." "Well, yesterday my parents--er--your grandparents, came over.""Really?!" "Yep! Haven't heard from them in...oh wow, probably since before I got married…So like, about sixteen years ago.""Wow! That's a long time!" "Yeah. We've just never stayed in contact since I left.""Oh. So, they don't even know I exist?" "Not 'til I told them.""That must have been weird." "A little.""So, what are they like?" "Umm...well a lot older then when I last saw them.""Haha, I bet." "Yeah. And, well...they were definitely different. Actually what happened was, they divorced when I was, maybe ten. I've only seen my Dad a few times since...but, apparently they got back together about a year ago.""Why?" "I don't know. Something about 'because God wanted them to.' I didn't get that...just sort of smiled and said okay.""Oh. So why did they suddenly go see you anyways? Did they just wake up one morning and say 'we should go visit Matt. Yay!'" He chuckled. "I don't know, that's what it seems like. Actually, they said something about 'they have been saved by Jesus, and their lives have been transformed, and they wanted me to have the same thing'. I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but they sure were different. I'm happy that they finally get along though."Oh great, I thought, More Christians. I was getting a little uncomfortable talking about this. "Hey, whatever works for them I guess...so what else did you guys talk about?" "Lots of things! You, the business, you, what's been happening lately...oh and you.""Wow." Glad I wasn't there."My Dad said it was good that I've been staying in contact with you a lot, even though we don't live together. I definitely agreed!""Haha, yeah." I'm glad, too. Life would be pointless without Dad."Yep. And I told him about our plans. You know, that you're going to come live with me after you graduate. He sounded pleased about that.""Cool." "Oh and Mom said that she's glad I'm in this business, but said to not get obsessed with it, because it's not the most important thing in life. I don't know what she was talking about. I'm not obsessed and this is very important, at least to me.""Yeah. I know," I sort of understood what she was getting at, because relationships are more important than jobs. Right? But Dad could do both just fine. "So how did they know where you live anyways?" "They called me. Uncle Jim probably gave 'em my number.""Gotchya." "Yeah...Hey, Jared, I'm gonna' need to go. Gotta get up early tomorrow.""Okay, bye!" "Bye. Love you.""Love you too, Dad." And we hung up. That was interesting, I thought. I wasn't expecting that. Personally, I really am glad I wasn't there, though. It would have been so awkward talking about religion with them. I mean, that's great that they found something that works for them and everything, but why did they have to talk about it? Religion is a very personal thing, and it seems kind of rude to talk about it with someone if that person doesn't want to. But, it's already done, so whatever.** The rest of the summer was rather interesting. Not a whole lot went on, and it was definitely not the same as before. This was the first summer without Angie; we only saw her a few times, one of them being when she snuck out. Apparently, she was right about her parents. They caught her when she snuck out, and actually got a babysitter for her. That was just stupid. It was also the first summer that Freddy was not himself at all. We didn't blame him, but still, we had no sleepovers, we didn't hang out nearly as much, and when we did, it seemed like there was always friction between the two of us. Also, he and Monica hung out a lot more together. I didn't know why, but it was really weird. Our whole group had always been really tight, but now we were being torn apart. At least Aaron and Isaac and I are still really tight, I thought one day. I don't think anything will separate the three of us, except maybe death. The following school year, I was in ninth grade. It was my first year of high school! I was ecstatic; that is, until it began to get a lot more stressful. So let's skip all of the stress filled boringness and go to Halloween. ** Now, when we were little, it was a tradition for one of the parents to take all six of us trick-or-treating on Halloween. Except, I found out Angie's parents wouldn't let her go this year, even though she wouldn't be with us, and now that Aaron, Isaac, Monica, and Freddy and I were all in high school, we weren't allowed to go either. So for this Halloween, I decided to invite everyone to a scary movie marathon. Aaron and Isaac were all for it, but Freddy wasn't interested, and neither was Monica. Technically, Freddy said he couldn't go. I didn't know why; that is, until I found out at school that day. When I got home, I was so mad. I needed someone to rant to. On our way home, Isaac and Aaron and I had already discussed it, so I didn't want to bug them anymore about it. Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie were at work, and I didn't have the walkie-talkie to talk to Angie. So, there was only one person left: Dad. I grabbed the phone, ran upstairs, dove on my bed and dialed the number. I waited as it was ringing… "Hello?"Finally. "Hey, Dad." "Hey, Jared! How are you?""Are you busy?" "Umm...a little, why?"Darn it! "...I need someone to rant to...and you're the only one left." "Uh...hold on."I waited… "Okay. You're on speaker phone, now. What's up?""It's Freddy...and Monica." "What happened?" I sighed. "Yesterday I invited them to a scary movie marathon and Monica said she didn't want to go, and Freddy said he couldn't go. I didn't know why, until at school, I saw...or actually heard." "Okay..." I heard the steady humming of the wheel going in the background. "Yeah, so you'll never believe it," I stated angrily. "He's been hanging out with some other people at school. Monica too. I over heard them talking, and they were discussing their plans for tonight. They're going to go TPing and egging a bunch of houses! Isn't that stupid!?" "Yeah...actually pretty fun...but very stupid." I grinned, but continued. "So they caught us listening to them, and Freddy was so embarrassed. I'm not sure if he was embarrassed of us or them. Couldn't really tell. But he got mad, and started demanding why we were spying on them!" "Spying? Wow, pretty harsh word.""Yeah, I know, it's like, c'mon! He's our friend! And that's exactly what I told him, too. But, then he said something like 'friends don't spy on friends.' It was so dumb. We couldn't believe it. Finally, we pulled him aside, Monica too, and asked them what the heck was up. They said they were hanging out with some other friends, and said we need to respect them and give them space, because friends don't force each other to hang out." "Well, there is some truth in that.""I know, but just the way they said it! It was like they were using it as an excuse to ditch us or something." "Wow...why in the world would they do that??""I don't know...they've been hanging out with just each other a lot more, since...you know...the accident." "Oh...I wonder why?""I dunno. It sucks though. I miss the old days when we didn't have a care in the world. But now... life gets in the way." "Yeah, I know what you mean.""Oh, by the way," I changed the subject randomly. "I was talking to Angie the other day and she said she would love to go with me to your house. And for that matter, I think Aaron and Isaac would too. They want to go back sometime before then!" "Awesome! That would be fantastic!""Yep." Silence, except for the humming of the wheel in the background. Then it stopped. "Well, hey, I need to go, Jared. S'pose to be at the shop in like a half hour.""Okay. Thanks for letting me rant to you!" He chuckled. "No problem. Love ya. Talk soon!""Love ya too. Bye!" You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get inside sometimes? Well, this is one of those times where I got it. If I ever want to get that warm, fuzzy feeling, I talk to Dad. It works almost every time. Anyways, we had a scary movie marathon for those of us who were left, and later we went outside to watch the stars just for fun; we ended up staying out there longer than I thought we would, talking about random things and enjoying the out doors. Soon I asked if they wanted to go see if Freddy and Monica were back, but Isaac didn't want to go, so only Aaron and I went. We raced to Freddy's house, only stopping to catch our breath occasionally. When we got there, no one answered the door, so, we ran back. When we got back to my house, we found Isaac on the phone. (Isaac) After Jared and Aaron left, I went inside. I was rather concerned about Freddy and Monica. A few minutes passed, and I got a call from none other than Monica on her cell phone. "Hey, I was just thinking about you." "Hi...we're so sorry! The group got caught by the police, but luckily Freddy and I ran off just in time.""Wow, that's good that you're not in trouble. I knew you shouldn't have gone in the first place." "Yeah, I know...where are you guys at?""Um...I'm at my house." That was a silly question. Where else would I be?"Want to meet at Freddy's? We're closer to his house then we are to yours." Suddenly, Aaron and Jared filed in the door, out of breath. "Who is it?" Jared asked. "Monica," I whispered back. "Where is she?" "Hold on," I whispered again. Then talking into the phone, I said "Okay, so you guys are on your way, right?" "Yes." "Okay, we'll be there soon. Bye." And I hung up. "Be where?" Aaron asked. On our way, I explained the situation. (Jared) We finally met up with them on the side walk in front of Freddy's house. "I'm so sorry!" Freddy exclaimed as we neared each other. "Yeah, me too!" Followed Monica. "I don't know what we were thinking." "Yeah, we made a huge mistake!" "Will you guys forgive us?" " Please?" Isaac looked at Aaron and me, as if to think about it for a minute. "Hmmm...what do you guys think...should we?" We laughed. " Duh! Of course!" "Yeah," Aaron grinned, "We'd be stupid not to!" So that was worked out. They finally came back to us. I didn't want to do anymore damage to our friendship, so instead of bringing up what happened at school, we decided to sit on Freddy's front porch and give Angie a ring on the walkie-talkie. "Hey! Who's this?" she said. "Everyone's here," Freddy stated. "Whatch'ya doing? Are you busy?" "Not really busy. My parents are in bed. I'm watching the History Channel...something about the Exodus of Moses..."That's history? I thought, I thought it was a myth…"Wow, that's pretty bad," Freddy stated, sympathetically. "Actually, it's kind of interesting. But yeah, my parents put me on Amish holiday after they got me that sitter. You know, where you're not allowed to use any technology. Pretty bad...They finally took me off of it, but didn't give me the VCR or DVD player back. And we only have like three channels on this TV.""Ouch," I empathized with her. "Yeah...""So wha..." "Oh no...I think someone's coming..." She whispered. "Be right ba--" And she turned it off.
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Fragile
Dec 2, 2008 20:49:46 GMT -5
Post by safaiax on Dec 2, 2008 20:49:46 GMT -5
We were all stunned. We hoped she wouldn't get caught. A few minutes went by, and then finally we got a ring. "Guys...I got caught..." "What? No!" Aaron spoke for everyone else. "Really sorry, guys. I'm supposed to be going on Amish holiday, again. Parents are going to take away the walkie-talkie…I'll try to think of another way to talk to you all. Gotta go though, so bye." We thought we heard her crying a bit. "Why!?" I said hopelessly. "We shouldn't have called her now," Monica stated, bleakly. "What now?" Aaron rhetorically asked. "If we don't think of something, we won't see her for a really long time!" We finally agreed to all go home and think about it. Besides, it was late--after midnight--we were getting tired. ** The rest of the fall school year was pretty weird. Freddy and Monica were still hanging out with their new friends. We thought that was over with, but it wasn't. In fact, during some days it seemed like they were completely ignoring us, and during other days, they acted like nothing unusual was going on. It was so frustrating. But, we tried not to think about it too much, because we hoped they would come to us someday and tell us what was going on. Finally winter came around, and soon Christmas break. That was always one of the most exciting times of the year, because Dad would come up for the whole break, so me and the group could hang out with him. Apparently Freddy and Monica decided not to ruin Christmas break, because they were acting fairly normal. We wondered what Angie was doing during this time, too. We had seen her and her parents leave at the beginning, so we assumed they went on vacation. During the whole break, I either went sledding with Aaron, Monica, and Freddy or all of us hung out at one of our houses. Isaac, again, was acting weird. He would rarely play video games, and only occasionally watch movies. Most of the time, he was on the computer. On Christmas day, Aaron and Ms. Evans came over, as they always did, and we exchanged gifts and just sort of hung out and relaxed. Usually, Angie and her family would come over as well, but not this time, obviously. We missed her. Well, Christmas break came and went once again. We had fun, but it was a lot different. Everything seemed to be changing too much. I didn't like it. The rest of the school year, Freddy and Monica were still acting strange. Either they would hang out with there other friends and practically ignore us, hang out with each other, and not call us, or hang out with us and act like everything was normal. At least there didn't seem to be so much friction between Freddy and I. ** Later, during summer, something insane happened. It all started with Isaac and Aaron and I hanging out at my house one day. We hadn't seen Freddy or Monica for a few days, so we wanted to see what was up with them and maybe invite them over. We called Monica, but she didn't answer, so then we called Freddy. He did answer. "Hello?""Hey Fred, its Jared. What's up? Want to come over? Aaron is here." "Umm…I can't.""Oh...why not?" "We're busy.""Oh...doing what?" There was a pause. "Just tell him" I heard Monica's voice in the background. Tell me what? I thought. "Umm...Monica and I are hanging out with some friends...""Oh really? Whatch'ya guys doing?" "Hanging out."No, really? I could've told you that. It was obvious he didn't want to say it, and I didn't dig any further. "Okay. Well…maybe some other time, then." "Yep, probably.""Okay, well...bye." "Bye Freddy!" "See ya later!" Aaron and Isaac yelled to him. "See ya. Monica says bye too."And we hung up. "Did you guys hear that?" I asked. "Yes." Isaac said flatly. Aaron stood up from his chair. "Yeah, it sounds like they're up to something bad...but I wonder what?" "I don't know..." "Want to go check?" Isaac suggested. Okay, that was weird. Usually Isaac is the one that tries to convince us not to go snooping."Sure!" Aaron and I said in unison. So the three of us went to Freddy's house, just to make sure everything is okay. Isaac explained to us on the way that he's really concerned about them. He's been suspicious about the group they've been hanging out with for a long time, and really wanted to check up on them. When we got there, we heard music playing. We couldn't figure out where it was coming from, until we noticed a window was open on the second floor. "How are we going to do this?" Aaron asked. "I was thinking we could climb up on the roof. That way, we can peek in the window." "That could work," he gazed up at the window, "unless of course they see us." "Nah, that won't happen. The shade is closed over half way. See?" he pointed. "We can just peak in and see what they're doing, then go back down before anyone knows we were there." "That's probably the best way," Isaac piped in. "You'd better do it fast, too." So, that's what we agreed on. Aaron climbed up onto the porch roof, the way we used to do all the time when we were little, and I followed. Freddy's room was right on the other side of the wall. We had to be as quiet as possible, but luckily Metal Rock was blaring from his room. Aaron peeked into the window as I crawled over there, then I got a glimpse inside as well. Our jaws dropped. We couldn't believe it... The room was crowded with about seven other teenagers, six guys, and one girl. Most of them were sitting in a loose circle doing shots, except for Monica who was sitting off to the side. Aaron and I were silent, staring wide eyed into the window. We couldn't believe what we were seeing! Suddenly, my heart skipped a beat. Freddy got up and started walking towards the window. We immediately whipped around, so that our backs were flat against the side of the house. "Great," I whispered, waiting to be yelled at. He opened the shade, then opened the window just in time to see a car pull in the drive way. Double great, I thought. Next thing we heard was Freddy's urgent voice. "Quick! You guys! My mom is here, put everything away and go out the back door! Now!" We heard lots of movement. Suddenly, Isaac, who had been waiting on the ground, went over to Freddy's mom as she got out of the car. I could only imagine what Freddy's reaction was when he saw that. We just sat there, frozen stiff, not even daring to breath. They were talking...then she looked up. "Boys, what are you doing on my roof?" "Umm...just hangin' out." Aaron said, nervously. Freddy peered out the window, wide eyed, seeing Aaron and I right there. He gave us a dirty look, but didn't have time to say anything. "Freddy," his mom started. "What are you doing in your room?" "Umm..." "I'm coming up there." She announced, heading towards the front door. As soon as she went inside, I was sure Freddy would freak out at us. But, instead, he freaked out at his friends who were still left in his room. We peeked inside the window. There were only three people left, but they weren't leaving. They were probably drunk. "You guys, move it! Quick, get out my window!" He frantically tried to push them out, but it was too late; Freddy's mom creaked up the stairs. She opened the door, staring wide eyed in the room with the shot glasses and three drunken teenagers. Then, she began to yell... a lot. "Freddy Mitchell Jacobs!!!" "...Yes Mom?" And that's how it started. Later on, after the three of us had gone home while Freddy was being yelled at, we got a call from him. "You guys..." Freddy started. It was on speaker phone. The three of us were gathered in my room. He sounded mad. "I don't ever want any of you at my house again! Do you get me? I told you not to spy on me, I told you to give me some space, and you didn't listen! Thanks to you, I got grounded for like three months, and I'm now not allowed to have more than one friend over at a time! Don't ever come over here again! Oh, and if you do, you'll be sorry. Very sorry." I couldn't believe this. "Dude!! What's wrong with you! You're our friend! We were only checking up on you!" "Yeah, we just wanted to make sure you were okay." Aaron stated. "I don't need you to check up on me, I'm not a little kid anymore!" You're sure acting like one, I thought. Isaac had been quiet until now. "Freddy, can we please try to work this out? We really didn't mean to get you in trouble." " No, Isaac! It's already worked out! It's obvious that you guys don't respect me. If you did, you would have given me more space! I want friends who respect me and who aren't so selfish like you guys!!" " Selfish!?" I was furious. "We're not selfish! We were only trying to protect you!!" "I don't need your protection!!! You"re treating me like a little kid, Jared! Just leave me alone and don't talk to me!!"--dial tone… We couldn't believe him. We sat there in shock, dumbfounded at what we just heard. I didn't know whether to be angrier at him or myself, but as of now, Freddy was excluding himself from our group. (Monica) Dear journal, I regret what happened today so much….I don't know, ever since Freddy's Dad died, he and I have been really close. I've loved hanging out with him, just the two of us, even though it's not always easy. The only thing is, last year, we started hanging out with some other friends…they're like a wannabe gang. I somehow think the only reason Freddy does is because he's desperate for attention or something. I can only imagine what it's like being in his shoes. I mean, one day he's fine, and he has both his parents, but the next, his Dad is gone, and he needs a guy to look up to, almost to replace his Dad, only not quite. It must be tough. I've been trying to stay by his side the whole time, so he has a shoulder to lean on when he needs it. I don't know why, but I can't stand it when he's lonely. Anyways, this was just ridiculous today. Freddy told me that this wannabe gang that we now call our new friends was going to be coming over. I was fine with that, except when I found out what they were going to be doing, I didn't want anything to do with it. I didn't want to ditch Freddy, though, so I sort of sat away from them. I'm glad I did, too. I was nervous the whole time, both for my sake, and because I was afraid we would get caught and he would get in trouble. Well, it happened. Freddy's Mom came and we all scrambled out of the house. I hesitated about going, but decided I didn't want to get in trouble for doing nothing wrong, so I went too. When I got home, I realized one of the guys, a new friend of mine, had followed me. I invited him in and we were hanging out in the back yard, talking and stuff. It was really fun! I really like him. I wonder if he's Mormon? Back in Freddy's room, I realized he wasn't joining in with the group very much. I'm curious now.(Jared) ** The rest of that summer had been terrible. Whenever we called Monica, she was almost always at Freddy's house. We didn't get it. She never wanted to talk about her other friends either. When school finally started up, she began to hang out with this other guy as well. She introduced him to us like one time, but that was only because we asked about him. Also, Aaron and Isaac and I seemed to have been growing closer. We often talked to my dad on the phone together, do homework together more, and oh yes, Aaron had even gotten Isaac and me into online gaming a little bit. It was fun. Sometime during the middle of the school year, Monica, who was now a senior with a drivers license, had announced to us that the guy she was always hanging out with, Derrick, was now her boyfriend. ** Aaron and Isaac and I were talking about it one day, and we didn't like it at all. We didn't think he would be right for her. But, nope, there was no convincing her to dump him. She had made up her mind. Plus, it didn't help that now, whenever we called her, she was either with Derrick, or Freddy. She never seemed to have time for us. But eventually we got used to it. Besides, we had each other. It's not like anything would split us apart. After school one day, on the last day for the seniors, the three of us realized that she was finally alone for once, so we pulled her aside. "Hey, Monica. Could we talk to you?" Aaron asked. "Umm…sure I guess. But make it quick, I have to go meet Derrick at the bowling Ally soon. " "Yeah...about him..." I started. "We've been thinking about it, and we really don't think that you should be dating him." "Why? You guys, we've been over this before." "He just doesn't seem right for you," Aaron stated. "He is right for me, though! He's the perfect guy a girl could ever ask for…he's kind, affectionate, caring..." she trailed off. "And besides, he's Mormon!" "He is?" Isaac questioned. "Yes!" she grinned. "I found out a few months ago." "Why does that have anything to do with this?" "Oh, you don't understand! I'm Mormon!" "You are?" That was news to me, too. "Yep! I never told you guys?" "Nope." "Well, I am. And practically all my life, I've dreamed of marrying the perfect Mormon guy, in the temple, and this is my chance! He's perfect for me." I didn't know what to say by now. I certainly didn't want to offend her, so I just sort of stayed silent. "Well, I need to go meet Derrick. He's going to be going on a mission soon, and I want to spend every chance I get with him before he leaves." "Wait!" Isaac exclaimed. "We haven't talked to you in ages. We never talk anymore. Monica, you're finally done with high school! What are you going to be doing now?" I had been wondering the same thing. "Oh, yeah I never told you guys that either. I'm gonna' go to the community college for now. I'm not really sure what I want to do yet. I'm thinking I either want to become a journalist or a vet. Derrick wants to be a vet, but I really like writing. So I'm stuck between the two. I'll let you know when I figure it out." "Okay," Aaron said. With that, she finally went to her car to meet Derrick. "Isaac," I said as the three of us began walking home. "What's Mormonism? I've heard the word before, but don't really know what it is." He smiled, probably at my ignorance. "It's a religion. Do you know what that word means too?" "Hey don't get sarcastic. I'm serious." "I know," he chuckled. "So Mormonism can't be that good then, I'm sure. Right?" "Why wouldn't it be?" "Because it's a religion, like Christianity." "Jared...don't put every religion in the same box." He frowned slightly. "They're more different than you may think," "Oh." Since when does Isaac know about religion?
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Fragile
Dec 2, 2008 21:07:24 GMT -5
Post by safaiax on Dec 2, 2008 21:07:24 GMT -5
After school got out on the very last day, we walked to my house. Isaac and Aaron and I were in the kitchen, grabbing a snack, while I decided to call Dad to see when he would be coming up next. I dialed the number, and waited for him to pick up. “Hello?” said a voice I didn’t recognize. “Hi, uh who is this?” ”Ralph. Did you want Matt?”“Yeah.” “Yeah, uh, he’s a lil’ busy right now, can I take a message?”Is this a joke? Dad has never been too busy to pick up the phone.“What’s he doing?” “Uh…I think I’ll let ‘im tell you later. I’ll have ‘im call y’ back.”“Okay…thanks. Bye.” And we hung up. “That was weird…” I said, puzzled. “What?” Isaac asked. “Ralph picked up…said he was busy but didn’t say with what.” “Maybe it’s a surprise.” Aaron suggested. I didn’t know, but that was a good enough answer. (Isaac) ** Over the next couple weeks of summer, we were hanging out and enjoying our freedom from school. I had been talking to Casey a lot, while Jared and Aaron mainly just played video games. I’d been doing a lot of research and reading, too. I hadn’t really gotten to any conclusion about truth, yet, but I did know, from all of the books I’ve read, that all of the religions of the world are so different, that they can’t all be right. Either one is right and the rest are wrong, or they’re all wrong; simple as that. ** One day, after about two weeks of freedom had gone by, we got a call from Uncle Matt. Aaron and Jared and I were all in my room this time. “I got it, I got it!” Jared exclaimed, practically diving for the phone in the kitchen, then lunging back into my room. “Excited are we?” I asked, half jokingly. Jared grinned. I knew he had been waiting for that call from Uncle Matt since the last day of school, and it finely came today. He put it on speaker phone (we had a habit of automatically doing that now). “Hello?” “Hey Jared!”“Dad, where have you been? You were s’pose to call me days ago!” “Sorry. Been a little busy.”“I guess! What were you going to tell me?” “Whatch’ya mean?”“Ralph said there was something he was going to let you tell me. What was it?” “Ralph? When did you talk to him?”He sighed. “Two weeks ago! Weren’t you there?” “I…don’t know. I guess I forgot or something.”“Oh.” Did he really? I thought. The only time I’ve ever known Uncle Matt to have a bad memory is…well…Jared knows. I think he caught on, too. “Sorry. So what are you guys up to?”“Just hanging out,” Jared said flatly. “And really bored,” Aaron cut in. I smiled. “Getting bored of too much gaming, hm?” Aaron and Jared grinned sheepishly. “Yep.” “Pretty much.” “Well, I might have a solution for you.”“What’s that?” Jared questioned. “I’ve been thinking, if you guys want to come down here to work after you graduate, you’re gonna’ have to know what you’re doing, right?”“Yeah,” Jared said. I thought I knew where he was going with this. “So, why not come down here this summer?” Our faces lit up. “That would be awesome!” I exclaimed. I’m kind of like Uncle Matt was. I absolutely love pottery now, but pretty bad at it.” “Yeah it would. I was thinking every other week?”“I’ll have to ask my mom.” Aaron stated. “But she’ll most likely be fine with it.” “That’s good.”“Yep, and Mom and Dad definitely will be.” “Yeah,” Jared started, “They’ve been wanting us to do something all summer!” He chuckled. “This’ll work then, I’m sure.”“Yep.” “Okay, so call me back later, then? I’ll be waiting.”“Okay. Probably after dinner.” “Alright, talk later then.”“Bye,” we said, pretty much in unison; then we hung up. (Jared) I sat down on Isaac’s bed, putting on a plastic smile. “I’m hungry,” Aaron stated. “Mind if I raid the fridge?” “Nope,” I said. And he left, leaving the door open only a crack. Silence. “What’s up?” Isaac questioned. “Nothing,” I said, bleakly, knowing that he easily saw through my mask. “No, there’s something. You don’t have to say what it is, but I think I know.” Isaac was great at reading minds. “…think he’s been drinking again?” I asked, recalling Dad’s recent forgetfulness. “Hope not,” he stated. “Probably was. Don’t tell Aaron. Kay?” “I won’t. I promise.” “Thanks.” I didn’t like to talk about it, and I especially didn’t want Aaron to catch on. (Aaron) Our parents had affirmed that we could all go spend every other week at Matt’s house, learning pottery. They really liked the idea. It was fun, too. I loved it. If I had to make a list of three of my favorite things to do, it would have to be hanging with friends, pottery, and gaming; pottery was definitely up there. We had a blast. On the second day, being the immature guys that we were, we nearly got into a clay fight in the basement, but Matt wouldn’t allow it. That was the first time I had ever heard him yell at us. But, oh well; we deserved it. Pretty much what we did, was in the morning, we would sleep until around 9-10p.m—or sometimes I would get up early and talk to Matt, who was always up before 7a.m. Sometimes Jared would be up as well, and occasionally, Isaac would be…Isaac was not an early riser. Anyways, in the afternoon, Matt taught us pottery and we’d practice. In the evening, we’d make dinner—or sometimes go out to eat—and also watch movies. Like I said, we had a blast. One time that stuck out to me, was the morning when I decided to go out jogging, extra early, just for fun. I got up around 6:00a.m, and after jogging, I made a mug of hot cocoa, and went to sit out on the deck to watch the sunrise. I slid open the glass door and stepped out onto the porch into the peaceful, chilly, morning air. “Morning,” Matt greeted from the wooden picnic table. “Hey,” I replied, seeing that he had a pen and sketch book in front of him. “You draw?” “Yep.” I sat down on the finished bench, realizing that he was drawing the scene in the back yard—four deer having their breakfast as the sun rose. “That’s really good.” “Thanks. I like it too.” That’s good, I thought. “I draw a little.” “Awesome. Any good?” “Jared thinks so.” “Probably because Jared can’t draw,” he chuckled. I grinned. “Yeah, I noticed.” There was a pause. “Hmm…” I was thinking. “It seems like whenever we talk, the subject always swings to Jared.” “Yeah…that’s because he’s like, the only thing we have in common.” “Yeah.” I was determined now. “Let’s find something else then”. “Alright,” he looked up, putting his pen down. So for the next fifteen minutes, we pretty much played twenty questions, determined to find something else in common. We concluded that besides Jared, and now pottery, we both draw a lot, we both love reading, and both of our parents got divorced when we were young, but we decided not to talk much about that since it was a tender subject. People think it’s weird that I consider my best friend’s Dad to be my friend as well. I’d call it unique though. (Isaac) ** We went to Uncle Matt’s house two more weeks after that. It was honestly pretty fun! I particularly looked forward to moving there after I graduated—technically after Jared and Aaron graduated—because I didn’t really want to go to college, and thought this would be the perfect career for me. Plus, I’d be doing it with my Uncle, my brother, and my best friend. It was just one of those things that got my heart beating real fast if you know what I mean. ** The last week—which was the third week of July—we realized that something seemed different. We talked about it when we got home. Aaron spent the night at our house, and as we were settling down for the night, in my room, we discussed the previous week. “Hey Jared,” I began, “Did Uncle Matt seem different last week?” “I don’t know, why?” “Yeah, I noticed it too,” Aaron said. “Maybe a little, but I don’t know what. Couldn’t really tell.” “Hmm…” I was deep in thought, sifting through my memory. “He seemed more cheerful than usual.” “Yeah, sort of. I just figured he was in a good mood, that’s all.” “Maybe,” I guess that could be a possibility. “Yeah,” Aaron agreed as he began taking over a corner of my room with his blankets. “But it seemed like there was something else, like…I don’t know. Whenever I’m around him, it seems like he’s always finding something to do, like hanging out with us, pottery, drawing, something business related, anything to keep him occupied.” “I guess I’ve noticed that. Just didn’t really think it was a big deal. Don’t we all do that?” “No, you don’t understand!” I think I see where this is going, I thought. “He seemed different last week. Like he was content, relaxed, confident— ya’ know?” “He’s always like that, trust me.” “No, this was different. I don’t know how to explain it. But it was seriously different.” I saw that too. Just couldn’t explain it further. We finally let the subject drop, though, and went to bed.
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Fragile
Dec 2, 2008 22:29:19 GMT -5
Post by safaiax on Dec 2, 2008 22:29:19 GMT -5
(Jared) ** Aaron and I were pretty excited the rest of that week. We’d be turning sweet sixteen soon, and we couldn’t wait! The best part was, Dad said he was going to be coming up too! ** Aunt Susie shoed Aaron and Isaac and I out of the house today—the day before the party. They said we should get some fresh air because we’re always inside. We knew what they were up to though. They didn’t fool us. They only wanted us out so they could get ready for the party—make the cake and bring in the presents! It was so exciting this time of the year. “How does it feel to be sixteen?” I asked Aaron, who had technically already turned a year older two days ago. “Umm…I don’t know. Same as last year?” I grinned. “Okay, so maybe that was a stupid question.” We subconsciously began to walk around the neighborhood after they kicked us out, and now we were turning the corner. “Think we’ll get cell phones this year?” Aaron asked, sounding hopeful. “I don’t know. What do you think, Isaac?” “I’m not telling!” he grinned. “Just thought I’d—” “Squirrel!!!!” Aaron pointed, chasing the little furry critter until it ran up a tree. “Dude, A.D.D much?” “I had to, it was there!” We laughed. Aaron can be so A.D.D sometimes. He’s hilarious. We strolled along in silence for a while. I had been thinking about presents a lot today, especially wondering what Dad would get me. Suddenly, my mind started wandering off in the past, thinking about when Aaron and I were much younger. It was before his Dad died. I remembered Aaron never looked forward to his birthday, because his Dad would always get him something stupid; useless. One year he got a rusty pocket knife; another year, an empty beer bottle with a note inside. Like I said… stupid. I specifically remember a time when Aaron was so distraught, that he burst into tears, and cried for what seemed like ages. I tried to lend him my shoulder to cry on, but now that I look back, I doubt that helped very much. I can’t imagine having a dad like that, so heartless. Nearly two hours had passed by. We spent the whole time just roaming around the neighborhood, talking about random things, and reminiscing back when we were kids, back when Monica, Freddy, and Angie were still around. We missed those days. It seemed like a long time ago, but in reality, it was only a couple years. Where has life gone by? I thought. When we finally got back to my house, my heart skipped a beat. Dad was on the phone! I wonder what he wants? Maybe to find out what I want for my birthday. Probably. I took the phone from Uncle Mike. “Hey!” “Hey, Jared. What’s up?”“Got kicked out of the house, but we’re back.” “So I heard…hey I have bad news. Ralph is sick with the flu.”“Okay?” Why is he telling me this?“Yeah, so umm…well see, he has no family around here, so I need to be there for him. It’s pretty bad right now.”My heart sunk in disappointment. “So you won’t be able to come tomorrow?” “Afraid not. Well, not unless a miracle happens. We hoped it would only be the twenty-four hour flu, but it doesn’t look like it now.”“Aw…” I sighed. “Alright. Well, tell him I hope he feels better soon. Will you be up later?” “Hopefully! I’m planning on it. Maybe this weekend. And, by the way, I sent your present in the mail today.”“Okay, thanks. See ya this weekend then?” “Yep. Love you, Jared. Really sorry.”“Love you too. It’s okay. Bye,” And we hung up. Actually it wasn’t okay. I was kind of mad, in fact. Dad always used to come up for the party, but lately he’s always been busy with something. How annoying. And besides, this was my sweet sixteen! He promised last year he’d be up for my sweet sixteen. But, I guess he’s not too good at keeping promises now a day. When I told Isaac and Aaron, they at least attempted to cheer me up. “Hey, it’s not like he has no reason. He’s doing a good deed!” “Yeah, and at least he wants to come up. It’s not his fault if stuff get’s in the way.” “Plus, he’ll be here later. It’s not like you won’t see him.” “Yeah…I guess.” That kind of makes sense. It’s just so frustrating. Aaron understands. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of cymbals. My eyes cracked open. Morning all ready?? The door burst open. “Time to get up, sleepy head, time to get up! It’s ten O’clock!” came Uncle Mike’s far-too-gleeful voice. I threw the covers over my head. “It’s too early!” I groaned, rolling over. The cymbals kept going, though. “Nope, you gotta’ get up or else we’ll leave without you!” I peered out from under the covers. “Leave where?” “You’ll find out if you just get up!” he grabbed the covers and yanked them off of me. Coldness! Shivers! Come back! Suddenly, my pants came flying at my head, followed by a shirt and underwear. “Get up! Everyone’s ready!” then he left, shutting the door. I groaned, remembering I had stayed up way too late last night, talking to Aaron online. After getting dressed, I hopped downthe wooden stairs, attempting to get my sandal on at the same time. I looked up, and my face lit up. “Monica!!” “Hey! Happy birthday!” Everyone was there! Well, sort of; Aaron, Ms. Evans, Aunt Susie, Uncle Mike, Isaac, and Monica! I wasn’t expecting that! I wanted to hug her. That’s how much I missed her. But, decided against that—would’ve been too awkward. “Come on, Jared, we’re all going out for breakfast!” Aunt Susie said. “This is what I call a sweet sixteen party,” Aaron grinned as we went out the door. We ended up going to Big Boy, stayed for about two hours, then went back home. The only thing I had been thinking about that day was Monica and why she was here. I was glad, but had no idea why she just decided to show up today without telling me first. That’s not the Monica I know. But then again, she’s probably been changing a lot. I didn’t know her very much anymore. We had a blast the whole day. In the afternoon, we all went bowling, and around five O’ clock, Aunt Susie and Ms. Evans began making a big dinner for us, while Aaron, Isaac, and Monica and I were hanging out in the basement—playing video games, and talking. The whole day, we never really had a chance to actually converse a lot, but this was our chance. “So Monica,” I started, letting myself fall back onto the couch, “How have you been lately?” “Good, how about you guys?” “Really good. We’ve been hanging out at my Dad’s house a lot.” “Really? Must be fun. So, that’s why I’ve never seen you much, hm?” Her? Wanting to see us? I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around. “Yeah, I guess.” “What have you been doing this summer?” Isaac asked. “Oh ya know…the usual—hanging out with Derrick 'n stuff.” ‘What about Freddy?” Aaron piped in. “Have you seen him lately?” “No…I never see him anymore. Whenever I call him, he’s always either busy or doesn’t answer. I hope he’s okay.” Now she knows how we feel, I thought. “Yeah, I do too.” Isaac stated. I was curious. I didn’t want to get in her business too much, but really wanted to know. “How’re you and Derrick doing?” “Fine.” Just fine? “That’s good.” Aaron said. Awkward silence. That was when Aaron decided to hook up the Xbox so we could play something—and break up the awkwardness. Over an hour went by when, finally, Uncle Mike called us up for dinner. Also, he told me I had gotten a package from Dad. I was so excited! But, I decided to open it afterwards, when everyone went home. After dinner came cake, then presents. Aaron and I practically squealed when we opened our first gift. We got cell phones! It’s about time the parents got them for us. It seemed like everyone had one except us. But now, that changed! Around 9:00p.m, we started to settle down. Monica went home, Isaac went to his room, Aaron went home to get his stuff, so he could sleep over, and I went up to my room, to open Dad’s present. I was excited. I always loved getting stuff from Dad. He’s always known what I like. This year, the package was smaller. What could it be? I thought. It feels like a book, but why would he get me a book? Dad knows I hate reading…but what ever it is, it must be good. He always gets me good stuff. I opened the box and stared in bewilderment at what I saw. A Bible?? Is this a joke? I didn’t know, but I heard someone coming upstairs, so I quickly put it on the shelf, put the card that had been in the box on top of my dresser, and threw away the box. “Knock, knock! Can I come in?” I heard Aaron’s voice on the other side of the door. “Yup.” “What’d you get from your Dad? Did you open it yet?” he set his stuff on the floor. “Yeah, just a book and a card. Hey, I’ll be right back. Gotta’ brush my teeth.” I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t know how Aaron would react, and didn’t really want to know. I was still perplexed about it myself, anyways. Why would Dad send me a Bible? He’s never been the religious type. I didn’t want to get rid of it, though, because it was a gift from my Dad. Besides, that would be rude. I just didn’t really want to read it. (Monica) Dear journal, Today I went to Jared and Aaron’s birthday party! It was fun, but I was nervous. It’s weird…when I invited Derrick to see if he wanted to go, he not only said no, but it’s like he was trying to convince me not to go. I didn’t get it. I thought he was probably jealous, and didn’t want me hanging around other guys, but I don’t know. I decided to go without telling him, because I didn’t want to upset him. But, when I got back, he called me to ask where I had been all day, and since I didn’t want to lie to my own boyfriend, I had to tell him the truth. He didn’t sound too pleased. He started almost interrogating me and asking me stuff like ‘do you really love me?’. I didn’t understand it. Of course I love him! He’s the most amazing guy I could ever wish for! I only wanted to hang out with my other friends. Apparently he didn’t like that idea, but he didn’t press the issue any more. I don’t get him sometimes.
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Fragile
Dec 2, 2008 23:06:00 GMT -5
Post by safaiax on Dec 2, 2008 23:06:00 GMT -5
(Jared) It was Saturday. I was in the basement, playing video games when, finally, the doorbell rang. I thought about getting it, but felt too lazy, so since Uncle Mike or Aunt Susie were probably closer, I let them get it. I heard voices…a couple minutes passed, and finally, Dad came down. “Hey Jared!” came his tenor voice. “Hey!” I immediately leapt up over the couch, and then my stomach did a summer-salt. Was this really the same Dad in front of me? The one that sent me a Bible? I felt like a character from one of those Scooby-doo episodes, where when they find the monster, they pull the mask off to see who it really was. I wanted to make sure he really was my Dad, and not just some religious fanatic in disguise. “What’s up?” “Well, I was waiting for you, but now I’ll have to find something else to do.” I grinned, hoping he wouldn’t bring up the subject of the package. He chuckled. “How was the party?” “Great! Monica was there! That sure surprised us.” “Wow. That’s great that she could go, though.” “Yeah.” I plopped myself down on the couch, seeing that he was heading to the other one. “So—” “Oh yeah! I got a cell phone! So did Aaron.” I pulled it out of my pocket. “Awesome! Can I see?” “Sure.” I tossed it to him, and waited as he messed with it. Silence… “Oh good, it has text.” “Yep.” For the next twenty minutes, we basically just sat there and talked. Pretty boring, but I had fun. Anyways, soon Aunt Susie called us up for lunch. After eating and cleaning up, I was pretty bored. I didn’t feel like playing video games either. Seeing that Isaac just went back to his precious computer, I went up to my room. Shortly after, though, Dad called me down. “Hey, want to go for a walk?” Dad? Walk? “Sure, why not.” We went outside and for a while, walked in silence. I still almost desperately hoped he wouldn’t bring up the package. “So…” It was too quiet. “So…” a grin spread across his face. What? I thought. “…I think you’ll be pleased to know that I’ve gotten rid of all my beer.” Whoa!! Wasn’t expecting that! I grinned. “Really? All of it? “Yep! All of it.” “Awesome!! Why?” “’Cause I don’t need it anymore!” “Really?” I had a hard time believing that. “Yep!” “So what you’re saying is…” I didn’t want to say it. It was such an awkward subject. “...No more Depression.” Ah! Awkward, awkward, awkward! He smiled at me as we turned the corner. “That’s awesome!” I said, gazing into his royal blue eyes. Eh, I’ll give him a couple months. I really have a hard time believing that. All my life, I’ve known Dad to have Depression. Why would it suddenly change? It seems impossible.“Yeah. I’m really excited. It’s like someone put it in a box and took it away. I really feel a lot more light hearted now. It’s nice.” That’s an interesting way to describe it. “Wow...” Really interesting. The rest of the weekend went by extraordinarily slow. It was torture. I mean, it’s not that I didn’t like it; it’s just that it was so awkward being around Dad now. He truly was a lot more cheerful. After he left on Sunday, I got a chance to talk to Isaac about it. “So what’d I tell ya'?” He said, sounding slightly proud that he and Aaron were right. “Yeah, you were right. He was a lot more cheerful. Did he tell you he got rid of his beer?” “No, but that’s great!” “Yeah. I wonder what he’ll replace it with,” I said, half muttering. “Nothing I bet,” I chuckled, sarcastically. After a few moments of silence, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to tell someone, and since Isaac probably wouldn’t mind, I brought it up. “By the way, do you know what he got me for my birthday?” “No, what?” “A Bible…Dad isn’t into religion at all. I don’t get why he’d get me something like that.” “You’d be surprised, Jared.” “What’d you mean?” I was really curious now. “Last night after you went to bed, we were talking.” “About?” “Well, he asked me what I’d been up to, so I told him.” “What’d you tell him?” “That I’ve been looking for truth.” “Really?” Since when? I thought. “Yep. So we were talking about that a little bit, and it swung over to religion, and he was just fine.” “I guess I didn’t realize that...” I was confused. We had only talked once about it I think. And that was when we both found out neither of us like to talk about it very much…kind of ironic, but still. ** The next few months were the weirdest months ever. When school finally rolled around, I had begun to get really busy, mostly because I was getting more involved in school, but also because I was taking a drivers Ed. Class with Aaron. Aaron also convinced me to join soccer with him because he had never played for school, so he wanted me to do it with him. Another thing was that the three of us joined a pottery class, which we not only had during school, but also met with after school on Fridays. That was perfect. We were still looking forward to working with Dad after we all graduated. School was also weird, because Monica wasn’t there, and we never saw Freddy. We were still concerned about him, but agreed that we would do as Freddy demanded, and not talk to him. We figured—or hoped—he would come back to us sooner or later. (Isaac) School had been going by really fast. Maybe it was just me though; I don’t know. Anyways, Halloween finally came, and we had a not-so-scary movie marathon this time. It was pretty fun. After Halloween, It seemed like we never had a lot of spare time on our hands. I had to work a lot harder since I was a senior, and Jared and Aaron were pretty busy with soccer after school. Plus, we all had that pottery class. Finally, my favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving, came by. It’s my all time favorite holiday, because a bunch of family always came over: Uncle Matt, Uncle Jim and Aunt Patty, my cousins Abby and Vanessa, and my Grandma and Grandpa on Mom’s side. I really enjoy it. Also, this is the time of the year that Aaron and Ms. Evans always go away to visit family. So if it wasn’t for the family coming over, Jared and I would be pretty lonely. (Jared) ** Thanksgiving is always an interesting day. Isaac really likes it, and I don’t understand that at all. I get pretty stressed out during this time, probably because it’s always so hectic around the house. One thing that did surprise me was that usually Dad and Uncle Jim would bring beer to the table during the big meal. (Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie never allowed beer in this house except on Thanksgiving Day.) But anyways, this year was different, because Dad didn’t even have any, let alone bring it. I’ve given him a couple months, so maybe he really meant what he said, I thought when I realized this. Uncle Jim was astonished, too. Usually on Thanksgiving, Uncle Jim, Uncle Mike, Grandpa, and Isaac would all watch football, but Dad and I are definitely not into that. They all think we’re weird for it. Usually, while they watch football, and Aunt Susie, Aunt Patty, Grandma, and my cousins Vanessa and Abby played games, Dad and I would go down town to go Christmas shopping, just for something fun to do. This year was no different. The mall that we went to is huge—perfect for Christmas shopping. One thing that stuck out to me at the mall was a snow globe with a golden base and beautiful scenery inside. I knew that if there’s one thing Dad likes as a present, its snow globes. I don’t know why, but he has like five of them in his house and they’re all beautiful and unique in their own way. I decided that I had to get this one; he’d love it. Luckily he was on the opposite side of the mall, so after I bought it, along with some other things, we met up and left. “Dad,” I asked as we were walking down the parking lot. “You’re gonna’ be here for Christmas, right?” “Of course. Aren’t I always?” “Yeah, just making sure. It’s hard to know sometimes, with the business and everything.” I really want to see his face when he gets the snow globe. “Oh. Well, yep, I’m planning on it.” He said as we got in the car. “By the way, you’re gonna’ be driving soon, huh?” I grinned. “Yep! I can’t wait. I took segment one already. Hopefully I’ll take segment two before school gets out.” “That’ll be nice!” “Yeah, then I can go visit you when ever I want, practically. ‘Course, Aaron and Isaac would have to come, too.” He chuckled. “Yep.” Silence for a while as we drove home… “Hey, um—” Suddenly, my phone rang. I grabbed it out of my pocket. “Hello?” “Hey, it’s Aaron. Whatch’ya doing?”Why the heck is Aaron calling? “Umm…going home…aren’t you at your Grandma’s or something?” “Yeah. I’m really bored, too. There’s like twenty people here—all my Aunt’s, Uncles, and cousins.”“Oh.” “Yeah, so I was hoping you wouldn’t be busy. It’s so boring here! I’ve played every game I have on my cell phone at least twenty-three times! And there’s nothing else to do.” We pulled in to the driveway. “Umm…sorry, I’m gonna’ have to let you go. Dad and I just went Christmas shopping, but we’re home now. Gotta sneak all the presents in the house now. Maybe I’ll call you back later though.” “Aw…okay. By the way, hi Jared’s Dad!”I grinned at Dad, who could hear every word, loud and clear. “Hi, Jared’s friend!” We laughed, said our goodbyes, and laughed some more. Aaron is so funny when he’s bored. ** So, okay, maybe that wasn’t very exciting, but it was just a highlight of the day, at least to me. Anyways, let’s fast forward to December now. (Aaron) ** Something wet is touching my arm. I sat up, feeling something poky jab my back. “Aaron,” Jared whispered. “Don’t fall asleep--we got like ten minutes.” “Huh? Oh.” I sleepily stared at my empty paper on the desk… Ten Minutes! I got nothin’! We were supposed to be writing a short story for English—the last class of the day. I did not like writing. I wiped the drool off my arm and got to work. I have to get creative, I thought. One cold day in December—I wrote, attempting to be as creative as possible.— There was a boy in his English class who was extremely bored, and suddenly started dreaming of the Lock Ness monster, Big Foot, and... No seriously, that’s what I was just dreaming of. Duh! Write down my dream! So I did--coming to a scribbling finish just before class ended. I turned in my paper and grabbed my stuff just as the bell rang. “Finally finished?” Jared asked. “Yup! Thanks to dreamy land, I got the inspiration. Good old Big Foot…” He gave me a funny look before heading to his locker, which was only a few down from mine. We, then, went outside to begin our long, grueling walk home, in the snow, barefoot, up hill…never mind. Anyways, Isaac had stayed home sick today, so it was only the two of us. After the twenty minute walk that usually would take more like ten, we finally stepped in the door of Jared’s house. I wanted to see how Isaac was doing. “Freedooomm!!!” Jared exclaimed, as we stomped our shoes off. It was finally Christmas break. We had no homework and no school for two whole weeks! Things would be great. As Jared grabbed a snack from the kitchen, I jogged over to Isaac’s room. “Knockety Knock!” “Come in,” I heard faintly on the other side of the door. “Hey sickly. How’s it going?” He sniffled. “Everything hurts…” “Ouch…You’ll get better soon—in a few days I bet.” “Yeah, hopefully. What’d I miss?” “Dude, I don’t even know. I only have like one class with you.” “That’s what I meant…” he coughed. “What’d I miss in pottery?” “Oh, not a whole lot. We had a free day today.” Suddenly, Jared walked in, holding up his phone. “Hey everyone, say hi to Dad before he hangs up!” “Hi!” “Hey,” Isaac said with a stuffed up voice. “Hey, guys!” Jared put the phone back up to his ear. “Okay, see ya soon, then?” “Yep. By the way, don’t forget to check your email, okay?” “Okay. Bye.” “Bye, love you.” We heard every word. Jared’s phone is loud! I’m surprised it doesn’t burst his eardrum! (Isaac) A couple days went by. I wasn’t so sick anymore, so I could finally get out of bed—not that I was going anywhere except the computer, which is about four feet away from my bed. Anyways, Mom and Dad were at home, on vacation as well, and Jared and Aaron were in the basement playing video games, as usual. Earlier, I was pretty surprised, because they actually found something else to do—having a snowball fight outside. Apparently it was great packing snow, because there was a blizzard a couple days ago, but after that, it warmed up a little bit. I was glad they had fun. Anyways, right now, I was chatting with Casey on Instant Messenger. Isaac: Hey.
Casey: Hi, how are you?
Isaac: not so sick today. =] u?
Casey: pretty good. Been working with another patient this week.
Isaac: kool. Going good?
Casey: lol, as good as can be I guess.
Isaac: yeah. u should come work w/ me. Can ya grow me another leg pls? =P
Casey: lol! I’ll try. Let me just get my leg seeds and watering can. =p
Isaac: lol, nice. Oh hold on Suddenly, Jared burst open my door. “Hey, next time knock, would ya?” I said, annoyed at his rudeness. Then I saw his face. It was too serious. “Isaac, we gotta’ go. Dad’s in the hospital.” “What!?”
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