JET
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"- Jet
Chapter one: What a Terribly wonderful start…
Today was the last day I'd be fifteen. Tomorrow that would all change. I'd heard a lot of the bewildering age of 16. Some have said it would be the age of wonder and magic. The time of which I'd meet my prince charming and he'd whisk me away into the stars. Of course, I didn't believe in such fairy tales. That ended when I last saw my father.
I was seven when he disappeared.
I remember the exact words he told me before he left. No he didn't move away to go live with some other lady. That would mean he had suitcases, a one way train ticket, and a reservation for the nearest hotel. No, he was most definitely not leaving. As I remember it, he disappeared.
It was a rainy evening and my dad was sitting downstairs watching the television and reading his daily sports section of the newspaper. I was sitting on the couch looking out the window at the rain. The television began to static and only mumbled words came through. I didn't bother to turn around and look at it. Dad; on the other hand, smacked it with his hands and kicked it a few times.
"Stupid, thing! I swear once I get my check this week, me and you are going to go to Florida and spend the entire year there! Would you like that? It'll be our little secret." He said excitedly. I smirked lightly and clapped.
I walked upstairs to go talk to my mother for a second. But when I reached the third stair from the top; I suddenly felt a chill flow down my back. I didn't bother to pay attention to it. I went straight to mom's room. I wasn't much of a talker, the only time I ever spoke was to either my mother or to the dog, Bacon. Bacon was an Akita we found stranded one day in our back yard.
Our guess was that he was once a family dog. Only because every time he was around one of us he'd snuggle up close and yawn. That is before he'd knock out next to you. Bacon was usually seen with my Dad. That is until Mitch came into the picture. Mitch is my baby brother.
But I'm getting way ahead of myself. Back to my father, and his story. Well, as I was upstairs speaking, in small short sentences, to my mother. My dad was down stairs fixing the T.V. The next moment was kind of blurry. All we heard was a small sounding of a bang down stairs and then another mumble. I craned my head towards the door, still facing my mother.
There: standing inside of the doorway was a black silhouette, of a man. He was tall and thin. He wore a ball cap and a pair of slacks. That's all I saw, I quickly turned my head and plopped face down into the pillow, trying to block the sight form my eyes again. I looked back up, a minute or two had passed, and I saw nothing. I ran downstairs to tell Dad what I had seen. But when I got down there, I saw nothing. The living room was completely empty and the television still filled with static.
The front door swinging back and forth letting I the cold air and rain. I ran to it and quickly shut it, turning around and slipping. As I got up the television flickered on. The recent Base-ball game that Dad was watching was now on again. What just happened? Was all I could think of? My mother now standing on the staircase, stared at me in shock and a terrified feeling.
"Mom knows." I thought to myself. Mom; the only person to possibly know what goes on in the house is mom. She was hiding something from me, and now I was determined to find out. And yet, I still haven't found out to this very day what it is she's hiding from me. I cling desperately to what she doesn't want me to. I hope only the best for our family.
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Today was an ordinary day, just like any other. I got up, took a shower, got dressed and ate breakfast. I ran up stairs into my room and looked into the mirror at my Crème De cassis colored hair. It was doing that weird floating thing again. I yanked it back into a ponytail and sighed. Why'd it have to be a ponytail today? Today was the day I was going to talk to Chase, the high school all star.
He needed help on a recent science project, a class I was genius at. This was the perfect time for him to find out how cool I am. I ran down stairs and looked around for mom. I only saw Luke and Mitch. Luke was my stepfather, he's a mechanic. I didn't have a problem with Luke it's just that he's not up on the latest things yet. One time I asked for a phone and he gave a Lecture on the beginning of life. You get my point.
Mitch was my four-year old half brother. He was the kind of kid that people would stop to coo at. Those old ladies would give their candy to. Yet none of this, thankfully, seemed to spoil him. I wished for a sister, but instead I'd settled for him. He clutched in one hand his stuffed bunny, Jumpy. In the other hand he had a pop tart. The stuffed rabbits face filled with crumbs and filling, because of Mitch's constant feeding him.
"Where's mom?" I asked. Luke continued to drink his coffee and Mitch sneezed into his arm. Unknowingly, Luke ignored the sneeze and the goo that oozed on his arm. I looked inside of the cabinets, searching for my favorite cereal. I saw nothing but, sugary marshmallow cereals and disgusting raisin. What was so hard about remembering, Cheerios? I slammed the door with a satisfying bang.
"Where's mom?" I asked again grabbing a bagel off of the counter. Bacon paced back and forth around the table, looking for loose crumbs that dropped from Jumpy's mouth. I glared at Luke while taking a bite of my bagel. I hated his ignorance, it was so predictable. I sighed. He looked up from his paper and looked at me with lazily surprised eyes.
"Oh hey, Layn. I didn't see you there. What were you saying?" He said taking another sip of his coffee. I wanted so bad to storm out of the room. I sighed once more.
"Where's mom?" I repeated for the third time. Even though I was staring Luke, I saw Mitch laughing at Jumpy and then looking at me smiling.
"Oh, I'm fine thanks for asking. No, no. I'm good; please don't take your brother off of my aching legs. I think she went to the church earlier. She probably won't be back here for another hour or so. Having made the decision to wake up this morning, you should just be able to make your bus. Might want to hurry though." He told me. I quickly looked to the clock and noticed that it was around seven. The bus came around seven thirty, but the stop was a good hike. I got up and walked up the stairs.
"Okay big guy, Daddy's going to go and fix the sink now. But as soon as I'm done we'll go and take Bacon out for a walk." Luke told Mitch, picking him up and setting him back into the chair. Before Luke walked out of the room I called him. He turned around still surprised.
"Bet you can't guess what tomorrow is." I stated. The looks in his eyes were so dead it made me scared.
"I don't know, Layn. If you've got plans tomorrow, then talk to your mom about it." He stated. I clenched my fists tight. He wouldn't remember. I walked up the stairs, only two steps further did I here my name.
"Lay, I know what tomorrow is, it's your Birthday. I won't forget, I promise." Mitch told me. Great, I'm turning sixteen and the only remembrance I get is from my Four-year old half brother.
"Thanks for remembering, little guy." I replied.
"Oh I forgot, but Jumpy remembered, he told me. Sorry, but I know I won't forget this time." He said. Correction and translation: Oh I didn't remember your birthday. No, I'm far too good for that. My teddy wanted to give you a gift though. You know how he can be sometimes… UGH!!!
"Well, tell Jumpy I said thanks." I returned. I marched up the stairs thinking of what I would do today. Today I was tutoring Chase, King of the school. How was I going to get through the day? I got to my room and plopped onto my bed. I looked down at my watch and swore. It was seven-fifteen.
Rushing around my room I quickly found my backpack, books, and my pencils. I wasn't really in the mood to grab everything. I was just going to get what I needed and go. A timid knock sounded on my door. Mitch's head peeked in through the door.
"What's up, buddy?" I asked, scrimmaging for my jacket.
"Lay, can I go with you today?" He asked. I looked t him confused. He never asked me this before.
"Sorry, buddy. You can't come with me; this is big kids school I'm going to. No rug rats allowed." I said patting his head and rushing out the door down the stairs. Reaching for the front door I felt two arms wrapped around my legs. I pushed my hand against the wall to avoid falling.
"Please, I'll be good I promise. Please let me come with you today." I arched an eyebrow.
"What's up little buddy, you're really clingy today." I asked him, picking him up and holding him in my arms. He was surprisingly heavy.
"Scared." He murmured into my shirt. I barely heard him.
"What are you scared of?" I asked him curious of what he was talking about.
"I'm not scared, Jumpy's scared." He told me. I didn't have time for this. I had to go or I'd miss the bus.
"What's he scared of?" I asked.
"The man in the attic." He said looking up at me. His eyes were filled with the fear, way beyond his years. Sometimes Mitch was so silent and serious that it was hard to remember he was only four. I looked up at the ceiling and then back at him.
"What man, Mitch? Only Luke's ever been up there. There's no man up there." I tried to ease him. But he wasn't buying it.
"Yes there is. He's not sounding at all right now because he knows you're listening. But he'll start moving soon. Please Lay, I'm really scared." He told me. I walked over to the banister and looked up at the attic door. What was he talking about? I'd expected him to come to me with some kind of boy problem, but he was talking about a monster. He was way too old to believe in those anymore, wasn't he?
"Hmm, doesn't seem to be making any noise to me. Tell you what, we test him out. I'll go to school and leave you with Luke. When I get home I want you to tell me if he made any noises today, okay? That sound good to you?" I asked him. He stared blankly at me for a long moment and then blinked.
"Yeah, I guess so. Okay, I'm on it. You go to school, and I'll protect Daddy form he creepy man in the attic." Mitch said. I put him down and walked towards the door. I turned around to see Mitch looking back at me smiling.
"You're very brave for doing this. If you do a good job and protect Luke, when I get home, I'll have a present just for you." I said and then walked out the door.
Man in the attic? I thought as I walked up the road to the bus stop. The bus was already there when I got to it. I was slightly wet from the drizzle that came down. On the bus I went to my ordinary seat, in the far back. I always sat there.
Wonder where Maddo is today. I thought to myself. He was probably skipping school today, typical. I wish I could do that. He was always doing the out of the ordinary. Weird things always seemed to happen when he was around.
I looked outside of my window and saw that the bus started to move. I didn't care too much about Maddo coming with me. It was just that he was always there. Never mind that, just think about the good today. Chase, will be waiting for you. One glorious hour with Chase and no one else to interrupt.
"Maybe I should've put in perfume." I said to myself.
"I think you smell fine." Someone said next to me. I jumped and screamed. Maddo sat next to me laughing. Where the hell…? How??
"What the heck?" I shouted to him. He simply shrugged, still chuckling at the reaction.
"That wasn't funny. You really scared me. How'd you get on the bus anyway? It was moving before you even got on." I stated.
"That was just too funny. WHO DID YOU THINK I WAS? Leather face or something? Well anyway, I was on the bus before you eve got here." He told em. His blond hair lay down against his neck, halfway hidden by his favorite hat. Maddo the Hatto is what the kids at school would call him. He wore an old tattered, top hat; a white blazer with black cuffs that rolled to his elbows. His black skinny legs that always seemed to fit him just right, his shirt was white with a black tie and suspenders on it. The shoes on the other hand weren't as… clean. He wore old worn out grey chucks.
"What's with the outfit?" I asked. I wasn't sure whether or not I should love it. If it was a part of another one of his weird schemes, I wanted no part in it.
"Today's a special day! The day you turn 16… am I right?" He asked. I looked at him worried.
"WROOONG!" I said making a buzzing sound. "My birthday's tomorrow, Maddo. Don't tell me you forgot too?" I whined. This is great.
"Calm down, princess. I was only joking. I know your birthday is tomorrow. Hey, I've got a good idea for it too. How's about you and I go down town today and I treat you to the movies? Just as a start, to kick off that last day of your fifteenth year." He asked. My stomach churned. I thought of the last time we did something like that.
I ended up with grounding for two months, because he wound up sneaking me in. I shook my head no thanking. I wasn't ready for another grounding just yet.
"I um, can't go today Mad. I've got something after school I got to take care of." I said. I smirked without him knowing. I turned my head to the window, looking at the rain...
"Really? Well, what is it? I'll go with you." He said. I turned my head towards him.
"You wouldn't like it. I have to go and tutor someone." I told him.
"Tutoring someone? Who?" His eyes narrowed. There goes that big brother act again. Sometimes I wish he'd stop.
"Chase Lou-Chester." I said trying to hold back a smile.
"The jockstrap!? Why does he need you to teach him his ABC's?" Maddo said a little too loudly. I snapped at him.
"Hey, it's not like that. Besides it's just a tutoring session. If you ask me I think you're jealous." I snapped at him. He arched an eyebrow and laughed.
"Me, jealous of jockstrap? ….Me?! Oh, oh that is just too funny. Why would I be jealous of him?" He asked me. I whirled on him.
"Because, you want everything he's got! Everything you're not." I said. That's wasn't entirely true. Maddo, was quite handsome. He had green eyes and smile of a god. My heart somewhat melted every time I looked at him, though it was kind of awkward.
"Right, I want everything he's got. Because you know what they say… The IQ of a cabbage, not even a ROCK, is all the rave! It's actually very flattering, no wonder everyone's going for the stupid look now." He said. I grimaced. What did it matter to him?
"Whatever, you know you want to look like him, but you can't, so please." I said with a sigh.
"You're… actually, right." He said a lot softer now. I looked at him saddened. I hope I didn't hurt his feelings.
"Because… The jockstrap is so hugely popular for being Dumb, I can't help it. It's just so glorious!!! I'm drooling all over him just like the other empty-headed cheerleaders. I'll be screaming for him at his next football game. CHASE, CHASE. OH PLEASE CHASE, MAKE ME STUPID WOULD YOU, PLEASE!?!" He shouted, and then makes a choking sound at the end and clutched his throat, collapsing into my lap. He stopped and closed his eyes.
"You're a total nuisance, do you know that?" I asked smiling at him. This is the exact reason I was his friend. His crazy, randomness was always strikingly hilarious to me. He peeked open one eye.
"Hello? Anyone home? I said, you're a total nuisance, you know that?" I said a little louder. Kids started to look back at me.
"Yes, I actually do. It's quite a habit of mine you see." He said, his eyes opened and he smiled. I pushed him off of my lap and he sat back up. The bus pulled into the school parking lot and stopped at the edge. It then opened its door to let the people out. Once Maddo and I were out we ran inside quickly, to get out of the rain. When we were in the hallway near our lockers, Maddo kept staring at me.
"What?" I ask jokingly. He smirked and then looked away and then back at me. He straightened up and looked down at me. I somewhat always hated that, I made me feel small.
"You know I was only kidding right, I don't care what you do with Jockstrap. It's none of my business anyways." He told me. He held that smirk on his face.
"It's okay; I know you were just trying to look out for me. It's what you do." I told him. His smiled got bigger and he looked at his hands and chuckled. His eyes came to mine now.
"You go have fun. I'll see you later." He said and then walked off to his class. My heart chilled and butterflies swarmed my stomach.
"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Why does he do that?" I asked myself, stomping my foot. He always did that, made me fall for him at the moment and then leave me dazed and confused at to what we were talking about. Crap, that's annoying.
"Oh well." I thought. I might as well start getting used to it. He'd always done it to me before.