03: 2000
Late August
His mom wanted him to get a summer job, and he got one at a day camp. She wanted him to look at medical schools, and he did look. She wanted him to apply for medical school. As far as she knew, he did. He didn't want to become a doctor. And now, he was tired of it. He was twenty years old; and he was ready from under her thumb. The opportunity arose while she had his younger siblings out school shopping, so he took it.
Garrett went around his bedroom, quickly tossing things on his bed. Some clothes, his favorite CDs and even a couple of books. He stuffed it all in his backpack, then went to the kitchen and added a couple bottles of water and a few sandwiches. Back in his room, he tossed the backpack, his jacket and Discman on the bed, then he went to his bookshelf and pulled down the tape that said it held his sixth grade school play. The sleeve didn't have a tape in it, though. Instead, it held a roll of twenty dollar bills that he had been putting away for a long time. He pulled it out and put half in an envelope in his backpack. Half of what was left, he put into his wallet. The rest, he pocketed. That was for his bus ticket. The last thing Garrett did was write two letters, one to his parents, the other to his siblings. The first, he left on the kitchen table, the second, on his sister's nightstand. Back in his own bedroom, Garrett looked around. He was going to miss this place, but it was now or never. He grabbed his stuff and took off, locking the door behind him,. He had decided to visit his friends one last time, but he would have to make it quick, because the bus he planned on taking left in an hour and a half.
Eduardo wasn't home, so he went to the firehouse, where he figured he could find Kylie. He didn't really want to run into Egon or Janine, because he knew they would try to change his mind. Unfortunately, the only person there was Janine. He told her he was taking off for a wile, but he didn't elaborate on his plans, the he asked her to say goodbye to the others for him, and went on to Roland's.
Garrett found Roland in his driveway, with all his siblings; two were in the car, the rest playing around it. It was obvious Roland was busy, so he turned to leave.
"What are you doing here; this is a long way from your house." He heard Roland say. Garrett turned back into the driveway and saw his friend walking towards him.
"Well. I just wanted to tell you I was going away, and it will be awhile before I see you again."
"I'm going away for a couple of weeks, too. I'm taking Casey and Jacob to visit some family in Missouri before school starts. Where are you headed off to?"
"Canada. I decided since I got my diploma, I can take off for awhile."
"Canada! How long are you going for? Who are you going to see?"
"Dunno how long I'll be gone. Don't even know where I'm headed. My parents know I've taken off, but they don't know where. They think I'm already gone."
"Your mom is going to freak!"
"Well, I gotta go, the bus leaves soon. Have fun in Missouri. See ya!" With that, Garrett turned and took off down the street. A second later, he heard Roland calling his name, but he pretended he didn't hear and went faster.