Sellers 1
Jessica Sellers
Tom Baer
ENGL 101.01
10/29/2018
Time is what keeps things from happening all at once
My name is Cameron and this is the story of when some friends and I bought some shoes and they made our friendship closer than it has ever been. I bought these shoes at a thrift store, and they are faded and worn; I tossed them aside without giving them a second thought. Spending the summer apart for the first time, my friends and I use the shoes as a way to keep connected.
On the night before us guys planned to go their separate ways for the summer, I bought a pair of secondhand shoes for $2.49. The shoes are nothing special they have a few stains and were pretty worn out. Us four friends agree that the shoes will go to whomever they fit best, but us guys soon learn that the shoes are "magical shoes" that fit each of us perfectly, despite our differences in shoe size. Because we are slated to spend the summer apart from one another, us guys devise a plan to stay in touch the shoes will be mailed from guy to guy. That night, us group of friends took the vow of the Brotherhood of the Traveling Shoes. Over the course of the summer following our sophomore year of high school, each guy finds himself in a difficult situation in which the shoes play a key role.
Cameron buys a pair of shoes at a thrift shop. Magically, the shoes fit Cameron and his three best friends, Logan, Tanner, and Brock, equally, even though us guys have very different size feet. The guys, who "met" before birth when their fathers were best friends in high school too, are spending this summer apart their first significant separation. Cameron will go to South Carolina to spend the summer with his father. Logan will go to Greece with his brother, Effie, to spend the summer with their grandparents. Brock will spend the summer at soccer camp in Baja California, Mexico. Only Tanner will stay home in Bloomington, Illinois to work at Walgreen's, a superstore. Before each guy sets off to his summer destination, they have a friendship ceremony at the school gym, where their fathers met so many years ago. To stay close while they're apart, they vow to send the shoes which they call the Traveling Shoes to one another throughout the summer.
Our Brotherhood took a vow to take turns wearing the shoes, sending them between the group of friends as a way to share our experiences and then us four guys separate for the summer. I went south to visit my father; Logan and his sister went to visit their grandparents in Greece; Brock goes to Mexico for soccer camp; and Tanner stuck home working at Walgreen's Drugstore.
Along the way, of course, conflicts arise. Cameron learns his dad has been keeping a tiny secret he's engaged, and his fiancé has two teenaged kids and she becomes rude and confrontational in response. In Greece, Logan who doesn't trust girls is annoyed by Acacia, a hot family friend who's got the hots for him, while Brock lusts after Coach Erica in a major way at soccer camp, flirting with her. Poor Tanner is barely surviving as a clerk at Walgreen's, and then to make matters worse he meets a twelve-year-old boy who has cancer.
Cameron hates his new family, and since he also has a bit of a problem with his temper, he winds up throwing rocks through his father's window. Oops. With his tail between his legs, he returns home. Logan, swept up by the beauty of Greece, goes skinny dipping, but Acacia accidentally sees him, and Logan jumps to the wrong conclusion, and tattles on Acacia to his grandparents. Did you know some grandfathers have a mean left punch? Because Logan's sure does, and it's not pretty. Poor Acacia.
One day at work, Tanner sees young boy collapse in the store and rides with him in the ambulance. In the days that follow, he meets the boy, whose name is Josh, a few more times. Josh is twelve and has leukemia. He's fascinated with Tanner's film, and Tanner reluctantly lets him start helping. In South Carolina, Cameron does not settle in well. He hates the new family, and he's rude to everyone, even when he finds out that Lydia's ex-husband was an alcoholic. He's sick of hearing everyone talking about his father's upcoming wedding. Meanwhile, Brock starts flirting relentlessly with Erica, trying to get her to notice him even though she's older than he is and a coach. He convinces a few of his new friends to sneak to a nearby bar with him one night, where he dances with Erica. When he plays soccer, he plays too aggressively, angering his coach.
Cameron feels immensely guilty about what he did, but he doesn't know how to make it right. He sends his father an envelope full of money to help fix the broken window. When he finally gathers the courage to call his father, he lets his anger come through. He tells him how hurt he is that he left him and her mother and has a new family. He decides to surprise his father, so she flies to South Carolina and goes to the church on the day of his wedding. Cameron finally talks to his father about his feelings and then he swallows his pride, throws on the shoes, and attends his wedding. They wind up sharing a tender moment on the dance floor, and when he tells his father they both need to be honest with each other, he agrees.
Speaking of honesty, Logan tells her grandparents that she was wrong about Acacia, and wearing the shoes (of course) he apologies to her. They kiss, and not only is it lovely, but it's about time too.
Tanner and Josh interview a video game player named Mackenzie McBrian, and Tanner finds him more interesting than he expected to. Next, they interview Margaret, a woman who has worked for years at the movie theater. Expecting to mock her, Tanner instead feels bad for Margaret, since she's obviously very lonely. His documentary is turning out to be different than he expected.
One day, Josh doesn't show up at Walgreens's to meet Tanner after his shift, which he's done reliably all summer. Tanner is alarmed and finds out Josh is in the hospital. When he gets there, Josh's mother tells Tanner that Josh has gotten an infection and may not recover. Mimi, Tanner's dog, dies. Tanner can't face the truth and puts Mimi's dead body in the freezer. She begins ignoring phone calls from Josh and Josh's mother. Cameron hears one of these calls and convinces Tanner to visit the hospital. Tanner finally does and sees that Josh is not doing well. A few days later, Josh dies. The night after the funeral, Tanner buries Mimi near Josh's grave.
Down in Mexico, Brock shares an intimate moment with Erica (regrettably). It leaves him feeling empty, and he loses all desire to eat, hang out with his friends, or play soccer in other words, major depression sets in. Back home, Tanner also withdraws from life, though for a different reason he really doesn't want to face Josh on his deathbed, nor does he want to admit his dog died (so he hides him in the freezer). The shoes come to the rescue, though, and Tanner throws them on and musters the strength to comfort Josh in the hospital. Phew.
Effie sees Logan's picture of Acacia and realizes that Logan is in love with her. He convinces Logan to tell Acacia how he feels, since their time in Greece is almost over. When Logan finds Acacia, he gives her a painting he did of the olive grove near the pond, and he tells her how she feels. They kiss. The next day, on the plane home from Greece, Logan decides to go to Mexico and help Brock, who he knows can have a hard time recovering from his sadness. He gets to Mexico in time to help Brock get home. Everyone made it back to Bloomington, Illinois, and we all went back to the school gym with the shoes and made a vow that we will never need these "magical shoes" to stay close because we are friends for life no matter where life takes us.
When all the guys are back in Bethesda, they gather for a birthday celebration at Gilda's. They write down their experiences on the shoes and begin reacquainting themselves with one another.