Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 30th cycle. Now cycle 31!
Hear that little bird twitter! Been thinking about doing this for a couple days, then this morning decided to just go for it. If you go there, find 'gleekathon' and there I'll be. There's also a video explaining everything... Yep... ;) Check it out!
In case you didn't see it thursday... The gleekathon songbook is now available, and this week (thursday to wednesday) is dedicated to a friend whose birthday it was yesterday. The link to the songbook and a video explaining this week are both available on gleekathon twitter :D
"World Slipping Away"
Sam
Sometimes he would go to bed at night, close his eyes and… he'd be home. He would be back in his own bed, his own room, with Stacey next door and Stevie across the hall. But then he'd see lights in the windows, hear a sound outside, or someone cough in the room, and he would remember exactly where he was… and where he wasn't.
He'd try to think positive then, things like 'well at least we're still together.' His parents would keep the subject hushed, but he knew they were always at risk of social services stepping in, deciding he and his siblings needed to be removed from this situation. Worst of all, what if they got separated?
They made sacrifices all of them, to hang on to the things that they cherished the most – each other. Next to their parents, no one knew as much about this as Sam did. But he'd kept his head held high, and he'd dealt with it, but… there were exceptions, one in particular.
He'd seen most of his things go away, over time, and none of it was pleasant but he still tried to keep a brave face, to show a good example for his brother and sister. He'd seen them both cry over one thing or another, not understanding why they couldn't keep everything.
Then came the one sacrifice he told himself he'd never make… because no matter how bad things got, so long as he still had his guitar he still had something that really reminded him of home. He was afraid of what it would mean, not having it, like if he lost it then he would forget what it felt like being there.
His parents didn't ask him for it, but he knew it was only because they felt bad, having to do this to him, that if they were being honest they needed the money. And if they needed it that bad then he'd just feel bad, knowing he could have helped.
He left the room one Sunday morning, guitar case slung over his shoulder, trying not to feel it as suddenly heavy, like it was begging not to go. He knew exactly where the shop was… He'd been seeing it for days… But he did take his time getting there, just a bit.
He remembered the day he'd gotten it. He had bought it himself, with his own money, earned through chores and odd jobs. It wasn't new back then either, but to him it might as well have been. He had been practicing on his friend Elliott's guitar for weeks, but it hardly felt right… yet. He had this thought like when he would hold his own guitar for the first time, then it would feel different… In a way, it did… He got it, and he never let it go…
Now with everything that had happened, from the move, to losing the house, he'd still had this, to hang on to the past. And then he had Glee Club… It had brought so much back to his life, old things, new things… It felt good being there, but what would happen when he didn't have his guitar anymore? It wasn't like he had no merit on his own, but he would feel incomplete. Losing this, he knew he'd have to become that guy, the homeless guy… People talked.
He resisted going the way of 'playing one last song' before he got to the shop. He passed by the park, seeing a musician there, guitar case open on the ground… He'd thought about it, sure, but he knew how that was likely to go. Most people, they just walked right by, without stopping, without… even looking. He'd have to play for hours upon hours, and how much would he even make? All this would do would be to make him feel desperate – more than he already was – and trapped. He loved his family, and he would do anything for them, but he didn't see how that would be helping.
No, what would help would be to stick with football, get a scholarship, go to college, become able to support them even more. But then how much time would that take? Five? Six years? No matter where he looked, the solutions were so time consuming… It never seemed to factor in the fact that this was happening to them now, not later. They were all trying to make something happen. His parents looked for jobs, so did he, but whatever they got usually went to immediate needs, so savings were not easy to come by.
Except his parents must have known better, if they didn't want him to have to sell his guitar. They knew how important Glee Club was and had been to him. He didn't want to lose it, he really didn't, but then maybe that was the point. If he was willing to sacrifice this, then maybe it would be what finally turned things around. Not that he would sell his guitar and the next morning they would have a house and this would all be over, but it could be something…
He finally reached the shop, no more turning around, or hesitation. He was going to be strong, not get too emotional. He had to get as much as he could, get them to put a price on something he saw as priceless.
When it was done, he felt an emptiness, but he also felt like he'd done good for his family. He returned to their room, put the envelope on the television, and got his brother and sister ready to head to the park.
He'd kept three dollar bills of his own in his pocket, and when they got to the park he handed one each to Stevie and Stacey. They listened to the man with his guitar, singing of lost love, before depositing their dollars as thanks.
THE END
A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!