The town of Norwich began to quiet down. Many parents were just getting home from work while their children started to head inside for dinner. Things seemed to be quieting down as very few people were left outside. The only sound left to be echoed through dusk was that of the quiet humming of sprinklers spread throughout lawns. The sky was marked with a beautiful orange and pink glow. This is what Vince loved about summer. When the town seemed to calm and reach a point of serenity. The sun warming his skin instantly as he stepped outside, then to reach a nice cool breeze once it was evening. The young boy sighed as he stared out of his bedroom window. He felt as if he could look at the sky forever and never get bored. It was such an amazing sight.
"Vincey?" A soft voice called from behind.
The boy turned around to see his mother standing there. Vince smiled up at the tall woman. And although most people said this about their mothers, he would never deny that she really was absolutely beautiful. She had long wavy blond hair. She was thin and no one would guess she had two children. Her eyes were a bright, light blue. And her voice may have been the most comforting thing Vince had ever heard. It was no surprise that his mother, Elise, was previously a model until being forced to quit during her pregnancies. Although having the option to return to the profession, she declined. She claimed that she wouldn't miss her son and daughter's childhoods for anything in the world. She wanted to be there for her children, no matter what. Vince never knew how much that would someday mean to him.
"Vince, honey? It's time to get to bed." Elise said as she made her way over to the six-year old.
The boy sighed, putting his head down as he did so. "Okay mum." He replied and walked to his bed.
His mother followed, pulling the sheets back for him and fluffing up the pillow a bit. After Vince layed down across the mattress, Elise pulled the sheets back up and over his little body. She gave him a small peck on the cheek, along with a warm smile. "You have sweet dreams tonight baby. Momma loves you."
Vince burried the back of his head into the pillow, snuggling up deep into the blankets. "Love you too, mum." He spoke quietly, his voice trailing off as he began falling asleep.
"Goodnight Vincent." Elise whispered to her son then flicked the lights off and left the room, cracking the door behind her.
"Vince! Vince, c'mon! We're going to be late, yeah? Hurry up!" The young man shouted, pounding his fists on the door of a very elaborate house - practically a mansion. It didn't take long for the door to swing open. A middle-aged man appeared, dressed in a nice suit and holding up a tray of tea-cups.
"Yes?" The man answered, a tone of irritation in his voice.
"Um...hi. Howard Moon, nice to meet you, er...sir. I'm here for Vince." The young man replied hesitantly.
"He will be down in one moment." The man said as he began to walk away, leaving the door open for Howard.
Howard walked inside and looked around a bit. He always felt uneasy in Vince's home. It was very big, very fancy. He was always afraid of breaking something or scuffing the floor. He felt incredibly out of place.
Before too long, Howard noticed Vince coming down the stairs. He was wearing tight black drain-pipes under his usual uniform shirt and tie. He also wore a nice blue jacket with their school's crest printed on it. On top of that, he had on a white studded belt, a few colorful buttons pinned on his jacket, a thin line of black eyeliner over his eyes, and tons of hairspray and root-booster covering his layers of dirty-blond hair. Howard was wearing the same, minus all of the glitz. He still had the uniform though, which he decided to finish off his own way - with a pair of tan-colored corduroy pants.
Howard rolled his eyes. "Nice outfit."
"Thanks." Vince smirked and fluffed his hair with his fingers.
"Let's just go, yeah? We're going to be late. Again."
"Alright, calm down." Vince grabbed a set of keys from a near-by table and began walking outside. Howard followed.
"Okay class, take your seats. C'mon now, settle down. Be quiet and take your seats." A woman shouted to the loud group of students entering the room. She was their English Professor. She wasn't too mean, only looked it. She had very pointed features and almost a natural frown. She had dark brown hair that was chin-length, small reading glasses pushed toward the tip of her nose, thick eyebrows, and cold black eyes.
Within a few minutes, the class was quiet. They all sat in their assigned seats and looked straight up at their Professor. "Now, class..." she started, "You're all reaching an important age in your lives. This is the time when you all should be deciding on what you're going to do with yourselves in the future. And those of you that already have this figured out, should be working for that. For the next few weeks, each of the English classes for your grade will be going over career paths and working on finding one suitable for each of you. Although we don't always choose realistic goals, those which are more far-fetched are good places to start in finding a good option. It gives us a chance to see what you're most interested in and what category you should be aiming for. So, I want each of you to stand up as I say your name and present to the class what you want to be when you're an adult. Remember, we're not taking this too serious yet, so you can say anything. Even the most unlikely. Tell us your dream job."
The teacher smiled upon the class as she took a seat behind her desk. She pulled out her class attendance list and began to go in alphabetical order with name selections. One after another, students would stand and state their goals for a career. After admitting his dream to be a surgeon, a young man sat down. The teacher glanced at her list, then read the next name, "Howard, go ahead."
Howard took a loud gulp of air. He was indeed nervous and absolutely hated public speaking, no matter how long or short it would last. He looked around the room. Everyone was staring and waiting for his response.
Vince looked at Howard from his seat beside him. He tried to give him an encouraging smile. "C'mon Howard, go on then."
Howard stood, feeling his legs trembling and his hands shaking. "Um...er...well...When I graduate...I was hoping to maybe be a writer or a Jazz musician or something. Maybe even an actor in short films...Like the ones directed by Jurgen Haabermaaster..." He looked around the room once more, shrugging a little as he sat back down.
A few people clapped and the Profesor smiled. "Ok, so something creative maybe? I think writing sounds like a good choice for you." She said reassuringly. She then nodded toward Vince. "Vincent, you're next."
Vince gave off a confident smile as he got up and stood in front of the class. While Howard couldn't even speak in front of more than three people without sweating, Vince loved the attention. "When I grow up..." He thought for a short moment, glancing around as though something in the room would give him an idea. Vince hadn't really ever put too much thought to his future. "...I want to be a Rock N' Roll Star!" He said enthusiastically just as the thought came to him.
He laughed a bit, as did some other students. "Classic Vince." One of the girls in the class said, giggling as she grinned at Vince.
The teacher chuckled, nodding. "Yes, surely something I would expect of you Mr. Noir. So, something musical? Maybe the entertainment industry? I can see that working well for you." She smiled and moved on to the next student.
As the class finished up, the Profesor got up and began handing out Career Pamphlets to each person. "Very well class. We'll pick this back up again tomarrow. Now, as to get you even more involved with career planning, we're all going to be going on a school trip to a Career Fair. You will meet with successful adults of different professions and interview them about their jobs. After talking to these people and seeing how they work and live, it should give you a better idea of what you're going to start working for. I've put a permission slip for the trip in each one of your pamphlets. Please get them signed by your parents or guardians by next Wednesday."
Just then, the bell rang. Everyone began to pick up their things and go. Howard seemed to be the first one out the door, Vince trailing behind.
"Hey, Howard!" Vince shouted. "Wait up!" He ran over to Howard and after catching up, looked up at the taller man curiously. "What's wrong with you."
"Talking in front of the whole class." Howard mumbled. "Ugh, I hate it."
"It was just a second."
"A second of humiliating myself."
"Oh, c'mon Howard. You may have said three sentences tops. What are you going on about?"
"I just don't like it. Makes me feel uncomfortable, getting up there in front of everyone like that."
"Well it's all over now. So, if you're done with your self-consciousness, I wanted to see if you could drop by after school?"
"Vince, you know I'm never done being self-conscious. And what for?"
"Do I need a reason? Howard, I'm your best friend. We haven't done anything in ages so I thought you could come over. We could watch a movie or go get ice cream or something."
"I'm not too crazy about ice cream, you know that."
"Why not? Ice cream is the best! Next to strawberry bootlaces of course."
"Eww. Don't like those either."
"Who doesn't like those?"
"I don't."
"Flying saucers?"
"Nope."
"Ultra Violets?"
"Vince, I don't like sweets. Too sugary, too...artificial."
"What are you on about? Too sugary? That's what's so great about 'em. Oh well, doesn't matter. We don't have to go get ice cream then. What if we just make pancakes?"
Howard eyed Vince and began to grin. Suddenly, the two slowly began to speak unison. "Eggs, milk, and flour - Pancake power. Look at his milky yellow sunshine face. Flip it now, flip it good, ooh! Flip it now, flip it good, ooh! Some are salt, some are sweet. Some are fruit, some are meat. The time we used the chive, it really came alive! Edible Frisbees, springtime Tuesday. I like to boogie." The two broke out in laughter, not bothering to noticed the few people staring and laughing.
"So?" Vince asked.
"Alright, you've got me convinced."
"Okay, cool." Vince smiled. Just before Howard turned to go to his next class, Vince pulled on his arm and stopped him.
"Don't touch me!" Howard exclaimed.
"Sorry, forgot." Vince shrugged. "But anyways, I need you to give this to your mum and get it signed for me." Vince handed Howard his permission slip for the Career Fair.
"Can't you just get your Uncle to sign it?"
"He's off on a business trip and won't be back until next Saturday."
"Oh, alright then." Howard to the paper and folded it over his own.
"So tonight then, pancakes and maybe some crimping?"
Howard chuckled, nodding his head. "Sure. But only if it's in the night, when no one's looking, yeah?"
"Vince?" Howard asked from behind the kitchen table. He had tons of papers and textbooks in front of him, which he had been studying with all night.
"Yeah?" Vince replied, standing by the counter, stirring the pancake batter in a big mixing bowl.
"Why is it that you want to be a...er...Rock N' Roll star, so to speak?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know, just...why that?"
"I dunno. I guess I just like to...be in front of people? You know, like having a huge crowd of people cheering for you and wanting to be like you. Seems alright, dunnit?"
"I guess." Howard shrugged.
"Well, why do you want to be a Jazz musician?"
"Because I love Jazz."
"But if that were to really happen, you would have to go in front of people then, yeah?"
"I...er...I suppose."
"See. Just imagine, You're up there with your- uh...trombone?"
"-Trumpet." Howard corrected him.
"Same thing. Anyways, imagine you're up there with your Jazz stuff, right. And you're playing and afterwards, the whole crowd goes wild, yeah? They're cheerin' yer name and begging for an encore. Then outside the shows, you 'ave all these people trying to dress like you, walk like you, talk like you, just because they think you're cool. Dun that sound electric?" Vince smiled.
"I guess, yeah. So that's what you want? When you're older."
"Yeah, of course. Who wouldn't?"
"But doesn't the idea of being watched by tons of people sort of take the piss out of everything?" Howard asked as he watched Vince start to pour batter on to the pan.
"Not really, no. Sounds perfect to be honest, being famous. I could even be on cheekbone!" Vince said cheerfully.
Howard looked down at the book which was open in front of him. It was for a psychology class. As he listened to Vince explain why he wanted to be famous so much, he continued to scan the page. He understood perfectly well why someone would want to be famous, but he'd never seen someone so worked up about it - so obsessed with it, not like he'd seen Vince. Vince was always trying to dress with the latest fashions and do his hair like which ever styles were 'in', he lived for popularity and it sometimes seemed to be all he cared about. And as he read through his textbook, Howard was finally started to understand why.
"People with a troubled childhood often have a desperation for attention." Was printed in big bold letters across the page. Howard scratched his head as he looked back up at the other young man whom was now putting a stack on pancakes on a plate. He seemed so happy though, Vince was the Sunshine Kid. The descriptions in the book seemed to match Vince's personality exactly, but how could this person have had a bad childhood? He grew up in what is practically a mansion with his incredibly wealthy Uncle. But that's when it hit Howard - Vince lived with his Uncle. Why exactly? He'd never thought to ask, until now.
Vince came and joined Howard at the table. He placed a stack of pancakes in front of him and after pouring tons of syrup on his own plate, he passed the bottle over to Howard. Howard didn't say anything, he just continued to look at Vince, puzzled. Vince looked perfectly fine. It always seemed as if nothing even remotely bad had ever happened to him.
"Hey, um...Vince?"
"Yeah, Howard?"
"Where are your pa-" Howard cut himself off. He realized that if Vince was really willing to talk about it, he would have mentioned it before. They had known eachother for seven years and Vince had not once brought up his parents before. Howard knew there must have been a reason. He obviously didn't want to discuss it. So Howard let it go, and began to dig into his pancakes. And as they ate, the two young men smiled at eachother and began murmuring their 'Pancake Crimp."