Harrod 8
Pery Harrod
Mr. Denton
CP English 10
12 September 2012
Welcome, to Real Life.
Brenan Huff is a bit of a procrastinator. Brenan is forty years old, and lives on his own in a nice apartment on the top floor in the middle of town. It is a one bedroom one bath apartment. He loves to sing, but rarely does he ever sing in front of people. Brenan works for his older brother's Derek's, Helicopter Company. He manages the big fundraiser event. For a while, Brenan was doing really well in his work that he was doing. Now, his work is starting to decrease. It is not as well as it was in the past. His work ethic has just dropped in the past few months, and has not been working very hard.
Dale Dobeck is a little on the lazy side, but tends to get his work done. Dale is also forty years old, and lives on his own in a little apartment in the middle of town. He enjoys playing the drums and talking about martial arts. Dale works with a catering company that caters to big fundraising events. His work ethic is a little low most of the time, but whenever he finally gets something done, it is usually done very well!
Brenan and Dale are step brothers. Brenan's mom, Nancy, married Dale's dad, Robert. The two boys in the past have gotten along well, but now they are not around each other very often because of their working conditions, they never really talk anymore.
The Catalina Wine Mixer is coming up, and both Brenan and Dale's companies are helping with it. Dale's catering company is providing the food, making sure other employees are dealing with the food properly, and cleaning up. Brenan's company is of course putting on the show, and he is in charge. The goal for the mixer is to sell at least 400 helicopters in the short time they have together. Brenan is new to the position of running the mixer. He is going to make things as easy going as possible, so that there is a good turnout! Neither Brenan nor Dale knows that both of them are going to be there, so they are not expecting anything unusual to happen.
It is the day of the Catalina Wine Mixer. It's the late afternoon, it is starting to cool off, and the sunlight is just right. Although the mixer has not started yet, big important people, with big important companies are starting to show up. The mixer begins with a speech from Brenan's brother Derek; the big cheese of the whole event! The speech consists of all the rules and regulations of the mixer. Unimportant and lame to some people, the companies that take part in the mixer think it is one of the biggest things that the company could ever undergo. Derek's speech reads, "Good afternoon everyone, thank you for being able to make it out tonight. I'm honored to be making this speech for my company, it is probably one of the most important things I'll ever do in my career. Here's the deal, there are over 56 companies here tonight, that are all working together to make this event a huge success! The goal for tonight is to have all the companies combined to get a total of 400 helicopters sold, tonight! This will be the highest goal we have had in a long time I'm hoping it will be possible for us to do. It will be a huge turning point for our companies if that goal is met. The rules for today are, you cannot sell the same brand of helicopters more than once, and you cannot sell the same one you have already sold to a different person! Let's make the future bright! Have fun tonight, and good luck!"
Laughing and interacting, the guests begin the mixer. Brenan is working on the stage set for the band, and spots Dale out the corner of his eye. Brenan can't decide if he should go up and talk to him or not.
The night goes on, and the mixer is not going as well as it should be. People aren't interacting anymore, and only 104 helicopters have been recorded sold. That is 296 less than the goal, and the mixer is over in less than two hours. Brenan thinks to himself, "What if the goal is not met? What if it is my entire fault and I lose my job? What will I do?"
The end of the mixer has reached, and Derek goes up on stage. "We all did not reach the goal, and this could really hurt some people and their career," stated Derek.
Brenan sits down and lays his head down, and thinks to himself, "This is mostly my fault."
"Wait. Brenan, come here," yells Dale. Brenan slowly walks over to Dale and just plops down in the seat. "Are you still very gifted at singing?" asks Dale.
"Well yeah, but this really is not the time for this conversation, I just want to go home and cry myself to sleep, and eat away my misery," replied Brennan.
"No, listen to me. This whole mixer thing turned out to be a terrible disaster, and it is your fault. So I was thinking what if you sang, and I just played the drums in the background, and we get people to go nuts, they will want to keep selling helicopters and then the goal will be met," replied Dale.
"Dale, nothing is going to fix this, but I guess we can give it a whirl," replied Brenan.
Dale and Brenan walk up to this stage, and nervously knock on the microphone. Everybody's face looks confused; they didn't know what was happening. Brenan, out of nowhere, starts singing "Ice Ice baby". Then all of a sudden, Dale comes in with some crazy beats. They were feeling so confident about making the mixer a success, but an unexpected turn happened. Every single person at the Catalina Wine Mixer gets up and leaves. Dale is still going crazy on the drums, but Brenan is starting to cry as the people slowly walk away. Brenan gives up, and just walks off stage.
"Brenan, stop. You can't just get up like that. I thought you were getting ready to puke or something," said Dale.
"This made everything worse. Are you blind? Do you see anybody in the seats? Because I don't. Dale, you ruined everything, your idea was the stupidest ever," yelled Dale.
Dale and Brenan walk separate ways, and both just decide to go home. Brenan was, of course crying. Dale just didn't even seem to care, which really upset Brenan.
The next morning Brenan wakes up to an unexpected phone call. Brenan answers and it's his older brother Derek's assistant, "Brenan Huff?" she says.
"Uh, yes that's me," replies Brenan.
"I'm calling to let you know that the failure of the mixer was your entire fault. Derek also wanted me to let you know that he is letting you go, and you are not allowed back on the premises ever again," says the assistant.
Brenan has no idea what to do, so he decided to just go back to bed, and try to sleep everything away. He wakes back up, and realizes that it actually did happen. He was jobless, making no money, and surviving on what he has left.
In the morning, Dale also receives a phone call that wakes him up. "Dale Dobeck?" says the assistant.
"Yes, that is me Ms. Lady," replies Dale.
"You're fired. I'm sorry about your bad luck. You were in charge of the food, and we received an email this morning, that someone who ate your food is very sick now, and is in the hospital, so therefore, it is your entire fault," says the assistant.
Dale hangs up the phone as fast as he can, and runs to the bathroom. He could not believe what was happening. Dale Dobeck without a job, and no money also, could not possibly be good.
A few months have passed and Dale and Brenan both are surviving on nothing besides ramen noodle leftovers, and a Gameboy. Dale moved in with Brenan to try and save some money. They both have not even tried to get a new job. They think that nothing will ever be the same, so they are not even going to try.
Nancy and Robert are having a family get together and Dale and Brenan are planning on going. They are going to try and break the news to their parents about not having any jobs. They both know for a fact that it is not going to end well at all. Therefore, they are preparing a ridiculous reason as to why it happened.
The dinner started and they are all just casually talking about what has been happening lately. "Dad, Nancy, a terrible thing has been happening over the past few months. A crazy animal lives in the basement of my apartment, and has been keeping me up all night, trying to kill me. I tried doing some sort of martial arts on the animal, but my foot got all out of proportion and I wasn't correctly lined up, so I tripped and the animal attempted to eat my face, but got my arm instead. I called my work and told them the whole story but they thought I was just making up a huge lie so they fired me. I moved in with Brenan and we have been doing okay, but I am out of money and Brenan can't afford to keep me, so I was wondering… Can I move in with you guys until I get back on my feet?'' asks Dale.
"Sure Dale that is what family is for. You guys know that you are always welcome to move back in for a while," adds Robert.
"Mom, Dobeck, I too lost my job. I was doing crazy martial art moves with my night vision glasses, slipped, fell, and hit my head. I was in a coma for about 23 days. They thought that I was lying also, so Derek fired me," says Brenan.
"So you're telling me that you both are going to move back in for a while, until you guys are able to get back on your feet?" asks Robert.
"Yes," replied Dale and Brenan.
The next day they go home and they pack their bags, and within the next fourteen hours they are all settled in at Nancy and Robert's. Brenan and Dale both know what they are capable of, and now that they have moved back in with their parents they do not care about anything anymore.
A few months have gone by and Brenan and Dale both do not have jobs, they are depending on their parents, all the way. The sad thing is, Nancy and Robert let them do it to them. They both know what Brenan and Dale had going for them, and they do not realize how badly they messed up, and how bad things have gone in the past months. The boys both just sit at home, watch TV, and goof around like a whole bunch of idiots all day long.
One night, the family was having a nice, normal dinner. Normal dinners are very rare for this family. Everything was going well until Dale made a stupid comment, "Ya know, I really missed getting everything handed to me, and not having to do anything."
Brenan agreed with Dale. There were a few awkward minutes of total silence. "No, that is totally unacceptable, I didn't have a problem with you guys moving back in until now, you both are just using us so you do not have to go out and face reality! You both have two more weeks to be in this house and get a job and be on your own, if that is not made possible, well, tough nuts. Looks like you will be out on the streets with a handkerchief, and a stick!" yelled Robert.
Brenan and Dale both start crying, they are like kindergarteners. Dinner ends, Dale stomps up the stairs, and Brenan just lies on the couch. After a few minutes Brenan goes up to his room and lies down in bed right next to Dale with his Chewbacca mask on. They discuss what they are going to do. "You know what, tomorrow I am just going to wake up and go job hunting all day until I find one, I am done living in the heck hole," says Dale.
"You're right Dale, that is a good idea, I will go with you," replies Brenan.
The next day comes. Worried and shaking, Robert is more nervous than Brenan and Dale, combined. "Alright guys, it's your big day. The first day of the rest of your lives. I want you to take this as serious as possible."
"Dad, we know," Dale says as he lays his head down in frustration.
"I have no nice clothes though. I only have dragon and awesome band shirts," says Dale picking his nose with an awkward look on his face.
"You go into my closet, and you borrow whatever you need. You too Brenan," replies Robert eagerly.
"Thanks Dad."
They made three appointments, one for a janitor position, assistant in an office, and one to just do nothing. The janitor position and the assistant job interviews, both went terribly! But lucky for them they both got the job at a privately owned office, to just sit and do nothing! They boys rushed home, and told their parents. "Mom, Dad… We both got jobs today, so we will be moving out tomorrow, and be starting our jobs tomorrow afternoon," says Brenan and Dale.
"Congrats boys. I am glad to see you so excited about it. I am looking forward to this opportunity for you both," replies Robert jumping up and down while laughing.
Hard working and dedicated, the boys have been working at their job for a year now, and love every minute of it. Sitting around talking about martial arts and hot women, is a dream come true for those two! They split rent in a little town home, a couple blocks down from their parents. They see them every once in a while. They are both proud that they are doing great in their jobs! "Brenan, Dale your mother and I are very proud to call you ours, you guys have both grown up, finally, into grown men, with a job! That is great, for all of us," says Robert.
"Thanks dad." reply Brenan and Dale.
Happy and exhausted, the boys wouldn't change anything in their life right now. They both go to counseling once every two months, just to make sure they are going to stay on the right track with things. Something is actually going good for them, and they love it. Looks like things do happen for a reason. Even though the job isn't much, it is making them happy, and that is the best part about it.