CHAPTER THREE: The Forgotten Faroku & Sheikara
(November & December)
CJ stood in a long line of people outside his local GameStop. The streetlights cast a gentle glow on the parking lot, and pierced the dark of night. CJ checked his phone. 11:25 PM. He turned to his right and saw Stacey walking over toward him.
"If you're cold, you can stay in the car." He said. "In fact, you didn't have to come with me at all, silly head."
"I know, but I wanted to be with you." Stacey said. "And I have my hot chocolate."
"Oh you." CJ said, chuckling a little bit.
"You excited?" Stacey asked.
"I was excited before we left." CJ said. "This is my first time going to a midnight release for a game. Never in a million years did I imagine that my first midnight release would be a Call of Duty game though. But Ghosts looks like fun. I can't wait to check out Squads. All the fun of multiplayer without the annoyance of tryhards, campers and squeakers. And after all the stupid crap I had to deal with over the last few months of playing Modern Warfare 3, it'll be nice to get into a new CoD. Especially since most of the guys in my clan have been playing Black Ops 2. It'll be cool to play with them again."
Before long, midnight came, and the line started moving. It was maybe 15 minutes before CJ walked into GameStop. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a receipt.
"You're all set, man." The clerk said, handing him a game case.
"Awesome. Thanks." CJ said.
"Have a great night." The clerk said.
"Thanks! You too!" CJ said as he walked out. He headed over to his car, climbed into the driver's seat and looked at Stacey, who was already sitting in the passenger seat. "Got it." He smiled.
"Cool." Stacey said, as CJ pulled out of the parking lot. He headed home, played for an hour or so, and then the two went to bed.
A few weeks later, CJ walked back into his local GameStop.
"Good afternoon, how can I help you?" The clerk asked.
"Yeah, I pre-ordered Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds." CJ said.
"Ok. And do you have a Power-Up Rewards card with us?" The clerk said.
"I do, but I don't have it on me." CJ said.
"Ok, what's the phone number?" The clerk asked. CJ gave him his phone number. The clerk typed it into the computer. "CJ?"
"Yup." CJ said.
"All right, so you've got $15 down on it already, so… your total comes to $24.99." The clerk said. CJ handed him a $20 and a $10. The clerk handed him his change and game. "Have a good one."
"Thanks. You too." CJ said with a smile.
A short time later, he was hanging at home with Alex, Dayan, Danielle and Shaylene.
"So CJ, how's Ghosts?" Dayan asked.
"I love it." CJ said. "It's tons of fun. You gonna buy it?"
"Nah, I'm kinda done with Call of Duty." Dayan said. "Think I might try to get into Battlefield."
"Yeah, I can't say I blame you." CJ said. "After that invisible hacker on MW3, I considered quitting too. But Ghosts looked cool, so I wanted to give it a chance."
"I can understand that." Dayan said.
"You guys wanna Pokemon battle?" Shaylene asked.
"I dunno. I'm kinda itching for some duels." Dayan said. Shaylene quickly reached into her backpack and pulled out her Yu-Gi-Oh cards.
"All right let's do this!" She said excitedly.
"Well shit." CJ said. "I think you've found your opponent."
"Hey CJ, what are you and Stacey doing next week for Thanksgiving?" Danielle asked.
"The plan was to have dinner with her and her family." CJ said. "Then, I assumed Alex would be spending it with you guys, so I figured I'd drop by for dessert…"
"Oh… I see how it is." Shaylene said with a sad look on her face.
CJ cleared his throat. "I wasn't done." He said. "I'd drop by for dessert before heading over to see Shay and her family." He made sure to put emphasis on the last part.
"Oh." Shaylene said. "My bad."
"Stacey coming with you?" Danielle asked.
"Nah, it'll probably just be me." CJ said.
"Ok. That's cool." Danielle said. The gang spent the rest of the afternoon switching between playing Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon, before Dayan and Danielle headed home around 11:00 PM or so.
"Come on, Shay." CJ said. "I'll drive you home."
"Actually, since it's Friday, I was wondering if maybe I could sleepover." Shaylene questioned.
"If it's ok with your parents." CJ said, as the two walked outside. "Come on. I'll have to drive you home to pick up some stuff anyway if they say yes."
About a week later…
CJ was standing in Stacey's kitchen with her, her sister Janelle, and their mom.
"Isn't your dad coming down to join us?" CJ asked, looking at the four places set at the table.
"No. He's having Thanksgiving with Gram." Stacey said. "We're going to his house for dessert if you want to come."
"I already told D and D that I'd have dessert at their place." CJ said.
"Ok that's fine." Stacey said.
"Everything's done." Stacey's mom said. "Help yourselves." CJ looked at the food spread out across the stove top and kitchen counter: turkey pie, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, bread stuffing and of course his favorite dish: green bean casserole.
"Sorry hun." Stacey said. "Mom made green bean casserole. I know how much you hate it."
"Shut up." CJ said, chuckling a bit. Everyone loaded some plate onto their food, except Stacey, who filled her plate with mostly mashed potatoes. "Want some dinner with your potatoes, hun?" CJ laughed. Stacey pouted. "Oh come on, I'm just teasing you." CJ grabbed his fork and took a bite of green bean casserole.
"You hate it, don't you?" Stacey said.
"Delicious as always." CJ said with a smile.
Not too long later, CJ and Stacey were standing at her front door.
"Well, I've got more Thanksgiving visits to make." CJ said.
"Ok." Stacey said, a bit of disappointment in her voice.
"Oh stop that." CJ said. "We'll see each other tomorrow or Saturday."
"Ok." Stacey said. "Don't forget. I have that appointment with the endocrine specialist on December 5."
"I wouldn't dream of forgetting." CJ said. "I'm here for you, no matter what happens."
"Thank you." Stacey said. CJ smiled and gave her a quick kiss.
"I love you." He said.
"I love you too." Stacey said. "Text me later?"
"Of course." CJ said, walking out.
A short time later, he was sitting on the floor around a rectangular coffee table in a small apartment not too far from his house. Sitting on the couch were Dayan and Danielle, and in a nearby chair was Alex.
"We have another chair, ya know." Dayan said, glancing toward the computer chair in the corner of the room.
"Nah, it's cool." CJ said. "I'm perfectly comfortable."
"So what do you want for dessert?" Danielle asked.
"That depends on what you have?" CJ asked.
"Apple pie, pumpkin pie, blue-" Danielle started to list off dessert but was quickly interrupted by CJ.
"Pumpkin." CJ said. "That's not even a question."
"Nah man." Alex said. "Apple's where it's at."
"Pfft. It's not Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie." CJ said.
"So how's Stacey?" Dayan asked.
"She's ok." CJ said. "Worried about the tumor, but otherwise ok. She has her appointment with the specialist next Thursday."
"So we'll finally have an answer?" Dayan asked.
"Hopefully." CJ said.
About an hour later…
"Well, I hate to eat and run," CJ said. "But I did promise that I'd visit Shay."
"Don't sweat it dude." Dayan said. "It's a busy holiday for you. You've got too many families." CJ laughed.
"I guess he do." He responded, opening the apartment door. "I guess I'll catch you guys later."
"Later dude. Happy Thanksgiving." Danielle said.
"Happy Thanksgiving, guys." CJ said, walking out.
Roughly 10 minutes later, he pulled into Shaylene's driveway and climbed out of the car. Before he had even reached the door, it opened and Shaylene came running out.
"Hi." She said with excitement.
"Hey you." CJ said, as Shaylene grabbed his arm and yanked on it, leading him up the driveway and into the house. "Well, this is a side of you I haven't seen in a while. The last time you tugged on my arm like this was when you were still a kid."
"I'm sorry, I'll stop being so excited." Shaylene said. She and CJ walked over to the kitchen table, where Jennette, her parents and her brother were sitting. He had brown eyes, spiked dirty blonde hair and wore a black t-shirt and jeans.
"What's up, CJ?" Shaylene's brother, Steven, asked.
"Not a whole lot." CJ said. "How's that book coming along?"
"Pretty good." Steven said. "I'm like a third of the way done. Maybe a bit more."
"Congrats." CJ said. "Let me know when it's done and published. I'd love to read it."
"I'll definitely do that." Steven said.
"So, how's school going, CJ?" Brenda asked.
"Not too bad." CJ said.
"What classes are you taking?" Dave asked.
"College Algebra & Trig, and Abnormal Psych." CJ said.
"Interested in Psychology?" Brenda questioned.
"No, but I needed a Psych elective, and Abnormal Psych seemed like an interesting choice." CJ responded.
"What degree are you going for again?" Dave asked.
"Just an Associate's in Liberal Arts." CJ said. "But it's a concentration in Physical Science. After I'm done with that, I plan to go for a Bachelor's in Meteorology at UML. Hopefully, I'll have knocked most, if not all, of my basic courses out of the way at NECC."
"Shay's interested in weather, too." Steven said. "What sparked your interest?"
CJ chuckled. "Sparked."
"The pun was completely unintentional, I swear." Steven said with a laugh.
"Actually, it was thunderstorms, for the most part." CJ said. "I've always been fascinated by thunderstorms, yet simultaneously terrified of them. From being a little kid living in a house surrounded by trees to being a preteen living along the Merrimack, all the way up to high school, standing outside when I lived next door staring up Main Street at the dark clouds on the horizon. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I really understood that weather was where I ultimately wanted to go in life."
"Really?" Brenda asked.
"Here's the thing… Back when I was still going to the Nazarene Church, I helped out at Vacation Bible School by teaching one of the groups of kids. The experience of teaching that group of kids, coupled with the fun and energy of my job as a crossing guard, sparked a small interest in teaching, and I spent a couple of years in college pursuing an Associate's in Elementary Ed."
"So… what led to change back to an interest in meteorology?" Dave questioned.
"Give him a min, Dad." Jennette said.
"He's getting to that part." Shay smiled.
"A couple summers ago, after failing an intro to teaching course for my second time, I started to really wonder whether or not I really wanted to teach." CJ said. "And then something happened one evening. One typical summer evening. It was hot, humid, and storms were starting to develop out in the western end of the state. Nothing out of the ordinary was going on. But that was all about to change. I had 7News's interactive radar page open on my laptop, and I was monitoring the weather, anxiously hoping for a thunderstorm. Everything else was pretty normal. I was playing video games and occasionally checking the radar. And that's when it happened. Something that I've only seen a few times around here. We were under a tornado watch. Mildly alarming, but nothing too worrisome. Or so I thought. First it was a watch, and then it was a warning. Hampden and Worcester Counties. I turned off my game and switched the TV over to 7News. I sat there, watching the live weather reports for at least three or four hours. I watched the weather and witnessed something I can barely remember happening in my lifetime. An actual tornado was on the ground somewhere in Massachusetts. I knew it had happened before, but I never actually been watching the news and weather as it happened. I was glued to the TV. Enthralled by what was going on. As I sat there watching the news that night, I heard reports of more tornadoes sprouting up around New England. It was terrifying and fascinating."
"Fascinating?" Steven questioned.
"It was like nothing I had ever seen. Almost like a fairy tale or a movie. I kept watching. The first tornado raged on for close to an hour. Tore a half-mile wide, 37-mile long path through two counties. Did over $140 million in damage. And had winds around 160 mph. An EF3 tornado. Almost unheard of for this part of the country. Became known as the Greater Springfield Tornado. The most amazing part? This is a part of the country that rarely gets tornadoes and isn't prepared for them, and yet we got a tornado near the strength of your average tornado in the Midwest, and it miraculously only claimed 3 lives. It was a 3 and a half hour long tornado outbreak, and those 3 casualties were the only lives lost. And this was only about a week after the devastating EF5 tornado that tore through Joplin, Missouri. Stacey looked at me, and just said 'Why aren't you going to school for weather again?' And it hit me. I had just spent several hours glued to the TV because of a tornado outbreak, both in fear and fascination. Fear that the same storms could make their way to our part of the state, and fascination that I was witnessing something so rare. I spent the next several days reading and posting news articles about the outbreak. And I quickly dropped the teaching major and went for the closest thing I could find to a meteorology program, which turned about Liberal Arts with a Physical Science/Earth Science concentration." CJ said.
About an hour or so later, CJ, Shay and her family were standing at the side door of her house.
"Well, it was great seeing you, CJ." Brenda said. "Don't be a stranger."
"Wait!" Shaylene squeaked. "Mom, Dad… Can I hang out at CJ's for a little while?"
"Sure." Dave said. He glanced at his watch. "But CJ, bring her back by… 11."
"Of course." CJ said. He and Shaylene walked out the door, with Shaylene closing it behind them.
"You left out some details in your story." Shaylene said.
"What do you mean?" CJ asked, as they got into his car.
"Like how you asked to have me in your group at VBS, and how you've been crushing on me since I was like 10 or 11, and how that led you to want to teach." Shaylene said. "And how you've been beating yourself up for 5 years for liking someone 10 years younger than you. Or the fact that you took Abnormal Psych in the hopes of understanding why, as a young man in college, you had romantic feelings for an elementary/middle school student."
"Yeah, because those details would have gone over so well." CJ said.
"What? You mean you crushing hard on me?" Shaylene asked. "It's no secret to Mom and Dad. They know. And they know how I feel about you. But they trust you. Mom's even said it to you before. She trusts that you wouldn't take advantage of me."
"Yeah… I guess." CJ said.
"Besides." Shaylene said. "How many opportunities in the past 5 years have you had where you could have taken advantage of me?"
CJ hesitated for a moment. "Can we… Talk about anything else? Please?"
"I rest my case." Shaylene said. "Just the thought of it is upsetting you and making you sick."
CJ pulled the car over in front of his house. "Let's… Let's just go inside and play some video games."
About a week later…
CJ, Stacey and her parents were sitting in a small doctor's office. CJ had his laptop on his lap, Stacey was playing her 3DS and her parents were talking. The office was otherwise empty. A nurse walked out of a nearby door and called Stacey in to see the doctor.
CJ took a deep breath and closed his laptop.
"I want to talk to you guys." CJ said to Stacey's parents.
"What's up?" Stacey's mom asked.
CJ paused for a second and swallowed. He felt like there was a giant lump stuck in his throat.
"I've been thinking a lot about this whole ordeal, and I want Stacey to know I'm here for her, and I'll be here for her no matter what." CJ said. He paused again, and took a deep breath. "What I'm trying to get at is… I want to propose to her, and I wanted to ask for your permission first."
Stacey's dad extended his arm. "Of course." CJ shook his hand and smiled.
"Why would we say no?" Stacey's mom responded.
"Thank you." CJ said, breathing a huge sigh of relief.
Later that evening, CJ was sitting at Stacey's house, watching TV, while she stood in the kitchen, cooking. She walked into the bathroom and he smiled. He quickly rushed into her room and found a toy Poke Ball from Burger King, filled with metallic gold-plated Pokemon cards. He took the gold cards out, placed them on a nearby shelf, and reached into his pocket. He smiled as he pulled out a silver ring fitted with a small stone of Aquamarine in between two white Sapphires. He placed it inside the Poke Ball. He quickly rushed back to the couch and sat down before Stacey walked out of the bathroom.
A few minutes later, he walked over near the stove, next to Stacey, with his hands behind his back. He felt like the lump was back in his throat, his hands were sweating, and he had that butterfly feeling in his stomach.
"Hi." Stacey said cutely.
"Stacey…" CJ said. "I know you're scared with everything that's happened lately. I know you're worried about the tumor. And I want you to know… Whatever happens, whatever they find… Whether the entire tumor is gone, or there's more of it, or there are other tumors. Whether there are other tumors or not… I'm here for you." He pulled the Poke Ball out from behind his back.
"What's that?" Stacey asked.
CJ took a deep breath and knelt down on one knee. He opened the Poke Ball, revealing the ring. "Stacey… will you marry me?"
Tears begin to form in Stacey's eyes. "Yes… yes… yes! I will!" CJ stood up and Stacey wrapped her arms around him excitedly, kissing him multiple times. He breathed a huge sigh of relief and smiled.
A few weeks later…
CJ and Stacey were sitting at her house, watching TV, and CJ was on his computer. He opened his email and glanced at the new email in his inbox.
He looked at the subject: "Financial Aid". He opened the email and began to read:
"Federal regulations require the college to monitor all students' Satisfactory Academic Progress by reviewing their cumulative grade point average and percentage of cumulative credits earned at the conclusion of each semester. After reviewing your academic record, we have found that you continue to not meet the standards or our Satisfactory Academic Progress policy. As a result, you are being placed on financial aid suspension for the upcoming semester…"
He stopped reading. "Are you kidding me?"
"What's wrong?" Stacey asked.
"I got some bullshit email saying I'm on financial aid suspension." CJ said. He continued to read the email, noticing a specific line near the end.
"In preparation for meeting with your counselor, please read the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy at…" He clicked the link and began to scan it.
"Yeah, that's a load of crap." CJ said. "According to this email, I don't meet the conditions of the school's Satisfactory Academic Progress whatever thing." He quickly opened a blank email to his financial aid counselor.
"Hi, I received an email stating that I do not meet the requirement for the SAP and am being place on financial aid suspension for the upcoming semester. But when I logged into my account and checked my grades, it says that I passed both my classes. It says that I need a minimum GPA of 1.7 and to have completed a minimum of at least 67% of courses attempted, but I completed both of my attempted courses this semester and have a GPA that's above that, so I don't understand why I am being placed on financial aid suspension. Can you please clear this up for me?"
"Great…" CJ said. "Now, I get to go through Christmas and all of Christmas break not knowing whether or not I'll be able to go to school next semester…"
"I'm sorry hun…" Stacey said.
"Meh…" CJ said.
About a week later, CJ, Alex, Dayan, Danielle, Shaylene and Jennette were all gathered at Stacey's house around the kitchen table, which was covered in Chinese food containers filled with food.
"Well… here's to one hell of a year." CJ said, holding up a can of Coca-Cola. "Let's hope 2014's a bit less crazy… or a lot less crazy." The sound of the TV quickly caught their attention.
"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven!" The gang quickly joined in.
"Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Everyone exclaimed in unison. Before she could react, CJ wrapped his arm around Stacey and pulled her in for a kiss. Danielle couldn't help but smile as Dayan did the same.
"Aw, Happy New Year, ya lovebugs." Jennette said.
"I'm kinda jeal-" Shaylene's sentence was cut off as CJ gave her a quick peck on the lips.
Stacey glared at him. He shot the gaze right back.
"It's New Year's hun." He said. "It's a special day and a brand new year, and I wanted to ring it in showing the two girls I love most that they mean the world to me." Stacey and Shaylene both couldn't help but smile.
"I'll let it slide." Stacey said.
"Besides…" CJ said, pointing up. "The three of us accidentally stood under the mistletoe."
"I'm not kissing her." Stacey said. CJ laughed.
"Happy New Year everyone." He said.