Jack tapped his pen to the beat of an unknown song on top of the blank page in his spiral notebook. He watched the shadow that it made move rapidly along the bright lamplight. Frustrated with his inability to complete the song he'd been working on, Jack let the pen drop from his fingertips. He watched as it left a smeared black line on the paper.
"Screw this."
He got up from his chair, turned on his ceiling fan and light, and grabbed his acoustic guitar before flopping down on his stiff, spring-filled mattress. He was able to knock out the first few notes of "Day Tripper" before his phone started to vibrate in his pants pocket. He grunted in annoyance and reached in for it, letting his guitar rest on his stomach. Looking at the name of the caller, he sighed.
"Hello?"
"Heya Jack. S'Me, Race."
"Oh really, didn't know it was you."
His friend, Anthony Higgins, better know as Racetrack, couldn't detect the sarcasm in his voice. Jack didn't mind. He wasn't in the mood to start with Race. Not at midnight.
"Yeah. So I was just makin sure, you still picking me up tomorrow?"
"Race, I told you if plans changed I would call you, ok. Yes I am picking you up."
"Sorry Jacky boy. Look, don't shoot me in the face about it. Just wanted ta know in case I had ta call Blink or something."
Jack snorted a laugh. "You really think Blink would drive you? He won't even let you near his car ever since you dropped your Slurpee all over the back seat!"
Jack could only picture his friend rolling his eyes on the other line. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Just the first name I thought of."
"Anyway, yeah, I'll still drive you."
"Ok, good. See ya."
"Bye Race."
Jack closed his black razor phone and tossed it aside. He found his guitar pick lying next to him and began to strum again.
Within half an hour, he got an angry knock on the wall. Jack flipped off the wall where the sound came from and stuck the dark blue pick between the steel strings. Deciding it was probably time he finally got some sleep, he laid his guitar on his yellowing carpet and grabbed his pillow. Too lazy to get out of his bed, he didn't bother turning off any of the lights in his room. He fell asleep just as his head hit the soft pillow.
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Jack felt a vibrating under his hipbone. It woke him faster than his alarm clock ever was able to in the mornings. His eyes were unable to adjust to the bright light he had left on. He stuffed his head into his pillow and retrieved his phone. He blindly flipped it open and brought it to his face.
"Hello?" he said in a groggy muffled voice.
"Can't sleep either?"
'What?" Jack rolled over onto his back. "Who is this?"
"It's David. Didn't you look at the ID?"
David? Calling at this time? What time was it even?
"What time is it?"
"It's 3:19."
"In the morning?" Jack flipped over and stared up at his ceiling, looking as if he had just received the most depressing news of his life. "David what the hell were you thinking? Don't you know not to call people past, like, 10?" he heard Dave laugh from the other end.
"When did that become a law?" he said. "Anyway, I only called because I saw your lights on. Figured you were up too."
Jack rubbed his eyes with his free hand. Having a best friend live across the street definitely had its faults.
"No Dave, I was sleepin just fine. Why are you up?"
"Insomnia. Had it since I was little. I swear I wish I had ADHD instead."
"Yeah, I wish ya did too," Jack said more to himself than his friend on the other line. He sat up in bed, seeing as he wouldn't return to dreamland anytime soon. "Why didn't you just wake up Les or Sarah?"
"Because Les would complain to my parents and Sarah would probably end up bitch slapping me if I woke her up."
"Good point I guess."
"Yeah… So, what you up to?"
"David, I just woke up."
"Oh, true," David said. He looked at Jack's brightly lit room from his brightly lit room across the street. He turned away from his window and walked to the light switch and clicked it off.
David lay down in his bed and stared up at his ceiling as the fan blades rotated slowly. It had been a long day. Hell, it had been a long week. Tonight was his first night sleeping in his own bed in four months. He had spent the last few months in a dorm room, like his friends, living with a complete stranger. It was good to be home.
He heard something rustle on the other end of the phone and then began to hear the first chords of a song he recognized immediately.
"Wonderwall? Really Jack?" David said with a smile. "You go to school for music, and you choose to play Wonderwall? Jesus I thought you'd be playing some intense shit by now. Like, Into the Fire and Flames or something."
Jack laughed and shook his head. "Jesus, cut me a break! It's three in the morning, I had to pick something mellow."
"But still, Wonderwall?"
"Hey, what's wrong with Oasis?" Jack sat up in his bed and pushed his hair back off his forehead. "We listened to them all summer!"
"Yeah, but you picked the cheesiest, most cliché song by them!"
"Oh, give it a rest," Jack laughed. He put his guitar down next to his bed and walked over to his window. He saw David's lights off and decided to turn his off as well.
"So, what's the deal for tomorrow? We all meeting at Mush's still?"
"Yep, that's the plan."
"Good. Like old times."
"Like old times…" Jack repeated as he lay back down on his bed. It was good to hear those words. The inseparable group hadn't all been together since August. Sure, most of the gang had come back over Thanksgiving break, but it was never the same with some people, like David, still missing. Jack missed it more than he had let everyone know. Sure, he was definitely enjoying the independent college life, especially being able to fill each day with what he loved: music; but no matter how many people he met or how many parties he got wasted at, he always felt a pang of loneliness without his usual companions.
The one person Jack found himself missing the most was David. David had been his best friend since they met their sophomore year of high school. Jack was reunited with his buddy earlier in the afternoon, but even just hearing his voice on the phone now somehow made everything complete.
"So when you gotta go back to school?" David asked.
"Please, let's not mention going away this entire break," Jack said as he rubbed his eyes in frustration. "Let's just enjoy the time that we have and not ruin it by thinking about the future, ok?"
"Hm, didn't know you'd become Mr. Insightful once we sent you off," David laughed. "But I agree. It's a plan. Live in the present."
"There we go."
There was a pause in the conversation. Jack took the time to close his eyes and get comfortable for sleep again. David cut him off just as he began to fall into a dreamlike state.
"Let's do something."
"What? David it's like, 3:30 now. I need sleep!"
"You can sleep when you're dead! Come on! It's my first night back here in four months! I'm goin crazy just staying in the house!"
"There's nowhere to go!"
"Bullshit! We would stay out till 6 in the summer!"
"Yeah, summer. It's winter now. Everything is closed."
"Let's go to the park!"
"It's cold out!"
"Bundle up!"
"David I'm not going to-"
"Meet me outside in 10. Bye!"
David hung up the phone immediately and grabbed his coat. Jack let out a disgruntled sigh and dropped his pillow on top of his face. He lay there, half suffocating under his pillow until his phone began to vibrate again. He answered it.
"Jesus Davey. I'm Coming!"
He clicked off the phone and threw the pillow off his head. He rolled onto his feet and threw on some clothes. He hesitated before leaving. Before heading out of his bedroom, he went over to his sock drawer and took out two baggies. From one, he took out a small orange pill. He popped it in his mouth and stuffed the other baggie into his jeans pocket.
"Well, here we go."
He walked out of his room and joined up with his friend outside.