Middleton Monkey Man
Here's my entry for the writer's challenge "A Middleton High School Reunion." It won't be complete by the deadline, but I finally decided to publish it on line.
As always, the characters are owned by the Disney Corporation and created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle. I am only doing my part to keep the KP Fan Fiction going.
Enjoy
Yamanouchi school in Japan, 2017
"Master Sensei, he has returned." the young ninja reported to the schoolmaster.
"Very good," the old man replied. "Please inform him I wish to see him." The teacher knew of the subject's whereabouts and it was time for more 'therapy'.
The student hastened to obey his master and it wasn't long before the master's special charge entered the room. He noticed the elder was wearing the red Yukata Robe with the golden accents. It seemed it was the only thing he wore but yet it still looked new.
"You sent for me Master Sensei?" the blonde man inquired, as he gestured permission to sit.
"Yes, how were the waters?" he replied, approving with his hands "to please do so."
"I can attest to the healing powers of the hot lava springs. I'm much better thank you." Even though the process of sitting took a little longer that would typically be for a young man of 28.
"Good, I know you received an intense workout yesterday."
"Which is a polite way of saying that I got my biscuits kicked," Then young man favored his instructor with a shy smile, "as usual." "I don't know how the others do it. I seem to become distracted so easily; and then it's all over."
"No need to be ashamed, your fellow students have been in training for years, since they first learned to walk. And they don't have things on their minds weighing them down."
"I guess that explains Yori's unbelievable skill. Sometimes I suspect she's reading my mind."
"No, that would not be the case," the master replied. "If she could read your mind, the healing waters would not be much help,"
"Was that a grin peeking from behind his mustache?" the young man pondered.
"I have called you here because it is time for another session."
The young man quickly took a lotus position, across from his mentor. He recalled the first time the old teacher instructed him in the technique. In the 'session' as it was called, the shock felt when he was suddenly communicating with the old man without speaking was overwhelming.
Additional sessions had given the old man greater access to his memories. Lately, the teacher would occasionally dredge images out of the younger man's memories. The process was as if opening a door and going into a room where the scene would play out. Images that he couldn't, or wouldn't recall without the elder's prompting.
But there was one door that the Master would not go to; it was the one that the student would have to open himself, when the time was right. For the rest of the memories, the idea was for him to accept his own past but it wasn't always easy to do.
"There were times in your life when things went wrong and innocent people were hurt or killed," the Sensei's thoughts echoed in the younger man's mind.
"You were unknowingly a part of this atrocity. You felt what you were doing was the correct thing, but now you realize it was wrong. You will keep wondering when the pain will go away, but I must tell you, this will never be."
After letting the thoughts settle in the young man's mind he continued.
"No matter how many times others will be aided by your actions, or the number of offerings given by you to your friends or people you do not know, nothing will change. You must learn to accept this pain and channel it into positive actions. You must not act in a manner to gain retribution, a second chance or forgiveness, as you would hope. Instead your actions from this time forward must be dictated by honor and morality."
The young man opened his eyes to discover that several hours had passed and darkness was approaching the school. When the session had ended, the young student finally spoke in the conventional method to his master.
"Master Sensei, my high school's graduating class is having its ten-year reunion this year. I can't believe it's been that long. Do you think I should go?"
"Go or not, it is for you to decide," the elder replied to the query.
"Have you been watching Star Wars again?"
"Help you, help you I must." The man said with a frog in his voice.
"Master…"
"To go or not … It is for you to decide. If there is something driving you to go, then you must decide if it is right to resist the compulsion or follow it. One of the reasons you are here is because you have lost your way, so to speak. You could not make simple decisions, always hedging your choices. A wise lady told me once, 'It's like jumping into a cold pool. Hold your breath and dive right in'."
"Well if you think I should..."
"I did not say that." The wise man sternly retorted. Letting out a sigh, he finally continued, "I will not make the decision for you, but ask you several questions. Why do you want to go?"
"Well, I haven't see Middleton for a long time, since my graduation."
"Why do you want to go?"
"Haven't seen any real friends for just as long…"
"Why do you want to go?"
"I should check up on mom…"
"Why do you want to go?"
"I guess I want to see her again."
"Why do you want to go?"
"If I could only talk to her again, to hear her voice, look into her eyes."
"Why do you want to go?"
"I need to talk to her. I feel it will change what has happened to me."
"So what are you doing?"
"I am going to my reunion."
"It appears you have made a decision."
The road ahead was a mixture of rolling hills and open plains, leading into the foothills and beyond them, to the Colorado Rockies. With the pre sunrise, a glow approached the sky minus the sun. The slender, blonde, 28 year-old man pressed on; waiting for the yellow ball to force him to lower the sun visor.
He reached down and clicked the scan button on his radio. It had been a long time since he had been to his hometown but it only took him a few minutes to remember the quirky radio reception. The labyrinth of hills and valleys made radio stations fade in and out rapidly. Nothing else seemed to stay with him, why should a radio station be any different?
He heaved a melancholy sigh and smiled, chiding himself for allowing the bitter thoughts to intrude on what was supposed to be an enjoyable break. No, there was nothing wrong with the area's radio coverage. It simply followed the laws of physics that he found incomprehensible in high school years, but later grasped the basic concepts. There was nothing wrong with the 2006 Lincoln LS, his high school graduation present. It purred like a kitten, eating up the miles. No, the problem was the lack of traffic. Actually little more traffic, demanding a little more concentration, would keep him from dwelling on his less than pleasant memories.
For instance, had he really been away from Middleton for ten years? Of course, after graduation, there hadn't really been much to either keep him there or bring him back after he left. Still, Middleton was as much of a home as any place he could claim. Really, it wasn't a bad place to live, as long as you had someone to share the town with. This last consideration brought another heavy sigh.
"Snap out of it," he chided himself. "This is supposed to be a pleasant interlude, a chance to reconnect with some old friends. Really, you've come a long way from your high school days. It's been ten years since you've seen most of them, it'll be great to see everyone again."
That was the theory, but the reality was that he hadn't managed to find anything resembling stability in his life: No wife, no long-term girlfriend, no permanent home and nothing he could really call a career. Maybe, like Sensei had told him, he needed the break. Right now, he was feeling more than a little tired with the world. Maybe this was the proper time for reflection.
He checked the page he had printed out earlier that week: "Middelton Maddogs Class of 2007 will be having its 10 year reunion at the Middleton Motor Lodge. Who will be…"
The current radio station faded out again, prompting him to reach down and hit the scan again. Almost immediately, a station came in very strong. He listened to a couple of songs, wondering if he was listening to that favorite Middleton FM station from his teens, he couldn't remember the name or even where it was on the dial. He didn't even know if it had the same name as it did when he was in high school.
For whatever reason, this station came in very strong and stayed that way for the couple of hours needed to complete the trip to the destination desired. The current song ended, to be followed by an ad for the Middleton Pickle Works. The blonde man smiled, only a Middleton radio station would carry an ad for the old Pickle Works.
His eyes flew wide when the DJ's voice purred out of his speakers, flooding his brain with could-have-beens.
"This is K-MTN FM 98.9 Middleton, the voice of the Colorado, and this is the Morning Coffee, with Eddy Dollar."
"Wait. It can't be ... from High School?"
Huh, one of the reasons for coming home…
"I didn't think I would find her this easily..." he spoke to himself. It was a habit he had acquired after graduation. When one works and lives mostly alone, there tends to be a need to hear the human voice, even if it's your own.
As the song played on the radio, uncertainties tried to take over again, but he was able to control them.
Finally he rolled into town and turned his vehicle onto Main Street. He had looked up the station's address with his on-board GPS and it had guided him to the location. Needless to stay, he hadn't touched his radio since hearing her voice. He paralleled parked across the street in front of the KMTN Building. He turned off the engine but continued to listen to the radio. The car's power saver feature would leave the radio on for a set period of time, or until one of the doors opened.
"Well, I'm off the air and Ron Reager is up next. I'm hoping all my classmates will be at the '07 Class reunion. I've missed all of you and I know who you are so you better show up or I'll kick your biscuit. This is Tara signing off; I hope you all enjoyed hanging with me today. Oh I almost forgot. I'm going to be at -" The car timed out, and the radio turned off.
The blonde man sat in his car for several minutes, wondering what he should do. He had no idea what went on in a radio station. How long would she stay there before leaving the building? Was there an employee parking lot behind the building? Should he go in and ask to see her or should he just wait until the reunion?
Before he could make a decision, his MyPod signaled an incoming message.
MM:
Glad to hear you're back in the states.
There's an assignment that we'd like you to look into.
Let us know if you're interested.
NB
Monkey Man, his code name with Global Justice. After looking at the message, he just closed the session, sat and stared out the front windshield. Did he want to get back into the game so soon? At all?
He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the hostess he had been listening to on the radio walked past his car. She slowed her pace for a moment and paused, like she had seen something familiar, or perhaps she thought someone was watching her. But just shook her head and kept on walking…
He also didn't notice that she had a slightly sad expression on her face, like something was troubling her. If he had seen the look he would have certainly jumped out of the Lincoln and offered any help he could possibly provide, only to see her smile again.
But alas this didn't happen. He didn't even notice her and he soon started the car and drove off to check his old neighborhood and his mom. He remembered the route well, first turning off Main Street and on to Frankie Drive, then Valli Road.
He intended to stop by the old preschool and adjoining playground but found a parking lot and a block of stores with condominiums on the second through fourth floors. There was no sign of the places he had played as a child. "The old man was right of course, change is constant," he said to himself.
He turned back on the street, intent on visiting his childhood home and neighborhood. Turning onto Spring Boulevard then left on Summer Road, he took the right onto Fall Avenue and found himself in Winter Park. Then his heart sank.
The entire neighborhood was now a part of a huge Smarty Mart megamall. "Welcome to the New Super Sized Smarty Mart. Everything from apricots to zoo keeper keys," he read the sign out loud, shaking his head.
"God I hate change," he said out loud.
Parking his car he entered the massive structure. Estimating where his driveway would have been, he walked around a few of the isles and then stopped to look up at the ceiling's steel rafters. Finally, a store worker noticed him looking up which, which prompted the employee to follow suit.
Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he asked, "May I help you?"
"Yes, I used to live here but I haven't been back for a long time. When was this place built?"
"Well, the neighborhood fought it for almost five years after the developer announced the construction plans. A few people held out until about 2015. We opened last October. Why?"
"Well, right around here somewhere is where my tree house stood. A cheerleader I used to know spent a lot of time up there with me."
The store clerk smiled, "Oh, I understand, remembering the good times?"
"Oh, no, not like that."
Hey, that's cool. It's the 20 teens ya know? What ever trips your…"
"It wasn't…it wasn't because of that. Look I was tempted OK? What teenager wasn't? But I was pretty shy at that age, especially around the ladies. I had a baby sister and well, it changes your outlook at things and people. I mostly talked with that girl. She was the one person I could talk to about anything, anything at all… She was a nice girl, you know? Everyone respected her. She was the kind of girl your mom was sure to approve of and would invite over for dinner."
After a long pause he continued, "The kind a guy wanted to spend the rest of his life with."
"What happened?" Now the employee was curious. There was more to this guy what appeared.
"Lowards."
"Lowhat?"
"Invasion of 07," he replied, with his face losing all expression.
"Wow…You were a part of that?" Now the worker was really intrigued.
"That year, we were all a part of it, some more than others. The saddest part was what happened afterwards, to people in the area... One of the reasons I left."
"I guess it must be something that stays with you."
"No matter what you do…"
Realizing the customer was lost in thought, the employee didn't want his manager/high school Vice Principal to "intervene" the he spoke up. "Listen, can I help you with anything?"
"Yea, do you sell alcohol? No wait. Is there a Bueno Nacho near here?"
"Well there's an express here," he replied. He quickly looked around again to make sure his manager wasn't around before leaning in and continuing, "but it's not that good. The best one is just down on December, December 1963 is the address."
"Thanks, eh," he started to look around and began to laugh. "How does one get out of here, without the aid of GPS or a tour guide?"
"Head through the pet department, take a right at the naked mole rats, down to the blinker fluid in the auto parts and right at the snipe traps. That'll get you out to the right main entrance. Hey, I hope you have a pleasant visit."
