Episode 4: Jackie Lynn Thomas Part 2
Credit to Kprovido from deviantart for the cover
Disclaimer: Apparently disclaimers aren't entirely necessary, but Daron Nefcy owns the show. Not my soul though, that belongs to Alex Hirsch of Gravity Falls
"You okay now, Jackie?" Janna asked.
"Yup, I think so." Jackie swerved her board to stop right next to the skate park entrance. She picked up her skateboard and entered the park. A plethora of skaters of different shapes and sizes littered the park. There were even a few scooter kids riding down the quarter pipe, much to her chagrin. Jackie breathed in the scent of fresh wooden ramps.
She immersed herself in her natural environment. For the next few hours or so, she didn't want to think about exes and screaming mothers. It would just be Jackie and her skateboard.
"Hey Janna, why didn't you bring your skateboard?"
"I think someone stole it," she replied, "but I'll watch over you and—"
Jackie noticed Janna's attention shifted to a teenager with a matching set of a black hoodie and black skinny jeans. His bangs hung over his left eye. He shifted the hair above his ear, displaying his piercings on it.
"Jackie, his piercings are really nice."
Jackie nodded.
"I really want to play with his hair."
Jackie crossed her arms.
"Jackie, he has ear piercings, please?"
Jackie looked at her with a straight face.
"Please?"
Jackie didn't respond.
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease…"
Jackie grinned and said, "Okay Janna, you can go make out with Mr. Piercings."
"Yay!" Janna jumped high in the air and gave Jackie a peck in the cheek. "You're like the chilliest girl I know." Janna ran after the teen with the black hoodie.
"Of course I am."
"Hey, it's Jackie," someone called out.
Jackie turned her attention to a couple of skaters approaching her. One of them had a purple Mohawk, while the other one was a chunky Latino wearing a Hawaiian dress shirt. She gave them a warm smile as they slid to a stop right next to her.
"Jackster, how's it going, girl?" the Mohawk man asked.
"Hola, Jackie," the Latino said, "it's been a while."
"Zeke! Pablo!" Jackie ran up to them and wrapped her arms around them. The two boys hugged Jackie back.
After a moment, she pushed herself from them. She cleared her throat. "I haven't seen you guys since camp. And Pablo, you haven't been responding to my texts lately. What's up with that?"
"Oh chica, phone broke when I slipped off the rail doing a grind," Pablo replied.
"Yeah, that was brutal." Zeke nudged Pablo with his elbow. "Thank the lord only his phone broke that day."
"Good to know," Jackie said. "Follow me."
Jackie led them around the park, holding her skateboard by the side. From the edge of her eyes, she saw Janna pulling the boy with the hoodie closer to her, biting along his neck.
"So, what brings you to Echo Creek on a Tuesday afternoon?" Jackie asked.
"We ditched shop class and got Pablo's brother to drive us here," Zeke replied.
"Yeah, some hombre jacked all the shop equipment," Pablo said. Jackie recalled earlier today about the stolen welding equipment from school. "But they still expected us to stay in class. I wasn't gonna stay and do nothing. So I got Luiz to drive us here, and we just sorta chilled here for a while."
"Well since you guys are in the neighbourhood…" Jackie placed her skateboard on the ground and set her foot on it. "I've been perfecting my Hardflips and I need an audience."
"Oh yeah, you were doing a lot of those back in camp." The trio walked to the top of the quarter pipe as Jackie placed her board on the edge. It felt like a weight lifted off her chest as she looked down the pipe. "I still remember the one time you got lucky and pulled it off. Everybody lost their minds. But that was a one-time thing. Can you pull off another miracle, Jackster?"
"Well, you guys better be watching now, otherwise you're gonna miss it," Jackie said.
Jackie rode down the pipe. She strode her legs against the asphalt and picked up speed as she approached the rail. Her back leg slid to the end of the board. It hopped up into the air.
She grinded her board on the rail. Jackie jumped off at the end of the rail. The board spun in the air and landed on the wheels.
She swerved around the quarter pipe in front of her. Jackie skated back to the rails. She hopped onto the rails. The board spun as she jumped with it. Her board slid across the rail.
She bounced off the edge of the rail, rotating herself in a 360. Jackie stuck the landing and climbed back up to Zeke and Pablo.
"That was tight, Chica," Pablo said.
"Yeah, you gotta show me how to you did that Ollie Impossible." Zeke propped up the board up and down.
"Oh, it's not that difficult, you just—"
From the corner of her eye, Jackie saw Star Butterfly skating into the park with Marco running behind her.
"Actually, I'll show you guys later, I have to do something really quick."
"Yeah, that's fine, we'll just chill, it's cool," Zeke said.
Jackie skated back down the pipe and jumped onto the rail. As she approached the end of the rail, she propped her board up, flipping it. It spun until it hit the ground on its wheels. Jackie landed back on the board. She swerved to a stop right in front of Star and Marco.
"Hey guys," Jackie said with a smirk. "I never usually see you guys around here. Love the haircut, Star."
Star tussled her the back of her shortened hair with a smile. Jackie noticed Marco wringing his hands around with a gaping mouth. All Jackie could hear from Marco was a quiet hum.
"That, was, amazing Jackie!" Star said, inching closer to Jackie, "you've got to show me how to do that."
Jackie sniggered and said, "Well, last I saw, you were learning things quickly, so I bet you can pull off a few rail tricks by the end of the week."
Jackie turned her attention to the boy with the red hoodie. "Since when did you get into skating, Marco?"
Jackie noticed Marco attempting to mouth out words, but all she can hear is the sound of guttural choking. Star pulled him towards herself, just as another skater swerved past them.
"Oh, Marco?" Star said. "He just got into skating today after I spent all last week blabbering about it. Isn't that right, Marco?"
"Uh, yeah, what she said."
Jackie turned her head to the clock to the side, then she turned back and said, "Well, I have some time to kill before Janna's done making out with all the dudes in the park…"
Jackie, Marco and Star turned their attention to Janna, who had gotten even friskier with the man with the piercings. Jackie noticed Janna's tongue plunged deep into the man's mouth. Janna broke off the kiss, pulling herself aside and waved back at the three. The man forced her back to him, and they delved straight back into their make-out session.
"I could show you guys a few beginner's tricks. What do you say?"
"Yeah, Marco and I are down, let's do this," Star replied.
"Sounds great." Jackie placed her board down and turned around. "Just let me get a few stretches in, then we can get started."
Jackie bent down and felt the tension buckling on the back of her legs. She reached her arms as high as she could to the air. When she turned around, she only saw Star with a look of concern.
"Where'd Marco go?" she asked.
"Oh, uh, he had to go to the washroom I think," Star replied.
"Star, help me stop the bleeding!"
"Come on guys, let's go," Jackie called. What's the worst that could happen?
"Wow, I've never seen anyone survive a face-plant without breaking anything important."
Jackie took a closer look at Marco's face. His right cheek looked like an uncut cat paw went crazy over a scratching post. A faint bruise emanated around his face. Star caressed the right side of Marco's face with her wand, healing the scratches slightly.
Jackie pulled out a towel from her bag and tossed it to Marco. She pulled out a bag of coins from one of the other pouches.
"I'll get some soda, be back in a sec."
She sauntered off to the vending machine, bag of coins in tow. Someone placed a hand on the machine right next to Jackie. She turned to head to find Zeke leaning next to the machine with Pablo behind him.
"Who's your friend with the red sweater?" Zeke asked.
"Oh, that was Marco, he's in all my classes."
"That man has some big huevos trying to do a kick-flip onto a rail, I say," Pablo said, flipping his board around his foot.
Jackie chuckled as she placed quarters into the slot in the machine.
"Yeah, it's surprising actually," Jackie said, "he doesn't strike me as a risk taker. In fact, we call him the 'Safe Kid' back at school."
"Well, kick-flipping into the ground face-first wouldn't be considered something safe normally." Zeke snickered as he inserted his own quarter when Jackie tried to put her last one in. "I would take that as a sign."
"What are you talking about?" Jackie asked.
"Oh, nothing," Zeke replied. He grabbed onto Jackie's necklace and tugged it closer to him. "Where'd you get this new necklace, Jackie?"
Jackie swatted his hand away from her necklace. He relented, letting it go. She pushed the necklace deep into her chest.
"Keep your hands of it Zeke," she said, taking a deep breath. Zeke stared at her, concerned. "Sorry, it's just sentimenta—"
A high pitched wail interrupted Jackie.
"Get your hands off her, you creeps," Marco howled.
Jackie watched Marco slam his fist onto Pablo. The obese Latino tumbled down, as Marco followed up with an uppercut straight to the jaw. In an instant, Marco hopped up and side-kicked Pablo in the abdomen. He plummeted to the ground, clutching his stomach.
"Wha…"
Marco swept Zeke by his legs. The boy in the red sweater snapped his foot onto Zeke's face. Zeke collided with the vending machine and dented its exterior. Jackie shuffled back from the scene, holding her mouth with her hands.
"Don't you touch a single hair on her body, you freaks."
"Marco, they were—"
"Wait, everyone, there's a couple of guys getting touchy with Jackie," one of the skaters said.
"Yeah, that's messed up, yo."
"Let's get 'em!"
Jackie backed away from the oncoming mob of skaters. Each of them took turns stomping on them or whacking them with their skateboards. Jackie turned her head to Marco.
"Marco, they weren't harassing me," she said, "that was Zeke and Pablo, a couple guys from a skate day camp I did back in 8th grade."
"Oh," Marco and Star said in unison. Jackie placed a hand on her forehead and skated away from the scene.
Jackie lifted herself off her skateboard and perched herself near the edge of the boardwalk. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out, turning it on to see a text from Janna.
They're in the hospital, it said. They were beaten pretty badly, but the doc said they'll be fine.
Jackie let out a deep sigh.
She had a couple reasons to hate Marco.
He broke my skateboard one time. And he sent two of my friends to the hospital.
Yet, she couldn't bring herself to stay mad at him.
That skateboard thing was an accident. And he was just trying to protect her back there.
When Marco and Star arrived at the boardwalk, her mind turned to Marco. She could feel her heartbeat slow down as he approached her. She turned to face him.
"Janna's at the ER with them," Jackie said, "she says they're fine. Bruised and battered, but they'll be okay."
Jackie turned to the edge of the ocean, peering out to the sunset.
"Hey, Jackie, I'm so sorry about earlier," Marco said, "if I'd known…if I'd known they were your friends, they wouldn't be in the ER right no—"
"Whatever man, it's fine." Jackie started to walk past the two. "Mistake happen, don't beat yourself up over it. It gets annoying." Marco reached out to her, but stopped himself. "See you in class tomorrow, I guess."
She meant every word of it. Jackie peered back to Star and Marco. Star placed a hand on his shoulder. Jackie sighed.
A portal materialized in front of Jackie. She yelped and tumbled on her back. An army of grotesque creatures popped out the portal. One of them, a bear-unicorn hybrid, intimidated her by trudging closer to the frightened, skater girl.
"Hey, you were the one that bit me last time," Bearicorn said, "that really hurt you know. Now I wonder what human girl tastes like."
Bearicorn opened his gaping mouth.
"Heads up Jackie," Marco called out.
Jackie ducked as a rock flew over her head into the bear's mouth. It lodged into his throat, choking the bear out.
Marco and Star jumped in front of Jackie. Jackie herself backed up slightly.
"Well, if it isn't Star Butterfly," Ludo said, "I've got you cornered now princess. You're stuck between the ocean and my minions. There's nowhere for you to—"
"Cherry Bomb."
A hefty red cherry rolled down the boardwalk, towards Ludo and his men. Ludo knocked on the cherry twice. Ludo tossed it to Buff Frog. A massive explosion dispersed, knocking everyone across the boardwalk. Jackie slammed onto the railing on the side.
Ludo lifted his head up and said, "Surround them!"
Jackie lifted her head up to see the bear monster and another minion with a gimp mask as well as spike balls for fists surround her.
Marco slid to Jackie, knocking into Bearicorn in the process. The bear pounced on Marco. The boy vaulted to the side and roundhouse kicked the bear. He plunged to the ground, chipping the floorboards.
Jackie watched as Marco tackled the spike monster into the ocean.
"Impressive, Marco."
"Yeah, I am pretty good at this," Marco said.
Dearbeard grabbed Marco from behind. Marco struggled against his bulging biceps.
Jackie felt around the ground for a rock or any throw-able object. She reached her pocket for a scrunchie and found a rock with her right hand. Using the scrunchie as a slingshot, Jackie fired the rock straight into the monster's eye. He dropped Marco as he struggled to pull out the rock embedded on his eye.
Marco ran to Star's side and motioned Jackie to fall back further to the bridge.
"Cupcake Blast!"
Jackie turned around to see a barrage of cupcakes shoot Dearbeard into the ocean. A red claw popped up behind her and tore her necklace off. She turned around and tunneled her vision on the giant lobster monster.
"Guys I got the wand, I got the…" Lobster Claws looked at his claws to see a shell necklace. "Wait this isn't the—"
The lobster turned around to see a screaming Jackie rushing for him. Jackie latched onto the lobster and threw him to the ground. The impact shattered the planks.
Jackie hopped on top of Lobster Claws. She emitted a guttural roar with every swipe on his eyes. Lacerations formed on his eyelids.
"My eyes, my eyes…"
He put his claws in front of his face. Jackie chomped on the arm holding the wand. Lobster Claws yelped and instinctively tossed the necklace down the boardwalk.
Jackie vaulted over the lobster and followed the shell. It slid off the bridge. She jumped over the railing and caught onto the necklace before it plunged into the ocean. Jackie hung onto the edge of the boardwalk as she saw Lobster Claws and Emmitt above her.
"Help," she called out.
Emmitt ran back down, leaving a ticked off giant lobster.
Lobster Claws stomped on Jackie's one hand hanging on the bridge, as Jackie shuffled around the edge.
Marco pounced on the lobster and kicked him off to the side. He pulled Jackie off the edge and back onto the boardwalk.
"Thanks Marco," she said as she tried to tie the necklace around her neck.
Emmitt charged onto the duo. Marco set himself up for the counter attack
Marco drop kicked the monster. Emmitt sputtered to the ground. Without realizing, Marco knocked Jackie to the railing. Her necklace slipped out her hand.
"My Necklace!" Jackie reached out to the falling necklace. It splashed into the water.
She fell on her knees as she stared down to the ocean. The tears in her eyes made her own vision blurry. When Marco turned to look at her, she covered her eyes with her arm and muffled her own sobbing and sniffling.
When she heard someone hop over the railing, she wiped the tears out of her eyes and rushed to a Marco preparing to jump into the ocean.
"No, Marco, you don't need to do this," she stammered out, "you don't need to—"
Marco made a massive splash as he dove head first into the ocean. The tiny bubbles that rose above the surface were the only signs Marco was still alive.
"—do this for me." Jackie looked down on the shoddy planks. She turned back to the ocean for any sign of Marco, but nothing was there. Jackie sighed.
Screams of struggles woke Jackie from her sullen stupor. Star fired blast upon blast of cutesy mishmash, but without Marco, the onslaught of monsters trudged closer and closer.
Jackie picked up another rock and fired it onto the closest creature.
Ludo and his henchmen slogged through their portal back home in single-file, every one of them crying or sobbing.
"What was that?" Marco asked.
"I'm not quite sure, Marco," Star said.
Jackie's skateboard rolled down the boardwalk. She picked it up by the sides.
"Thanks for the help, Jackie."
"Don't mention it," Jackie replied. She sauntered off to the sidewalk, board in tow. With her free hand she clutched her chest, now devoid of any apparel of any sort. Jackie tilted her head down.
Just accept it and move on, Jackie, she told herself.
"Jackie! Jackie!" She turned her head around to find Marco running up to her with something in his hand. "Jackie, wait, you almost forgot this." He reached out his hand to her, opening it up to reveal a shell necklace, resting on his palm. Jackie snatched the necklace from his hands. She slammed both hands onto her mouth, as the tears drip down her face and into her hands.
"Marco… you didn't have to do this for me."
"Oh, it's not that big of a deal," he replied, "it got caught near some rocks, it was an easy—"
Jackie wrapped her hands around Marco, squeezing him as tight as he can. She snuggled her head onto Marco's hoodie, resting her head underneath his chin. A few tears stained his hoodie. She lifted her head up and snuck in a tiny kiss to the nose.
"Thank you, Marco." Jackie noticed Marco's blushing. She found something oddly cute about it.
Jackie released Marco from her grasp. "I know I haven't really talked to you guys, like ever, but you guys seem alright. Both of you, pass me your phones."
Marco and Star handed their phones to her. Jackie fiddled around with the contacts for each phone, putting in her name and number in each one. She tossed both phones back to their owners.
"Alright, so my number should be there and everything," Jackie said, "and I'll talk to you guys later."
Jackie hopped onto her skateboard and rode onto the sidewalk.
"Peace."
Jackie sped her skating up as she rode down the empty sidewalk. She fiddled around with retying her necklace before her phone vibrated. Her phone edged out of her pocket and she picked it up. The caller I.D. stated that the caller was Marco Diaz.
She answered it and said, "Yup, it's real." She ended the call and went back to her necklace. When she finished putting it back on, she pressed against the shell, protecting it as she skated along the sidewalk.
After all, it was the last thing her biological father had ever given her.
In a beach near a tourist town in Oregon, a four year-old Jackie Lynn Thomas stood next to her dad underneath the tin roof of a dingy burger shack. Her dad placed all his money on the counter, as the cashier waited for him to count through all his money.
"Awh shoot Carl, I'm short a dollar again," Jackie's dad said, "think you can just let this slide one more time?"
The cashier rubbed his hand across his wrinkled forehead.
"Every time Jack," Carlos said, "you're always 'one dollar short'. Or 'a couple dollars short'. I swear I'm losing money every time I serve you food. Every time, Jack."
Jackie lifted her head up and looked into the cashier's eyes. The wrinkles on his forehead disappeared and his mouth formed a lopsided smile.
"But, how can I say no to a face like that."
They got their burgers and she followed her dad to the beach parking lot. The two sat on the craggy rock that pointed to the water. Jackie stared at the beachfront.
"Daddy, can we go swimming again?"
Jack swallowed a bite of his burger and turned his attention to his little girl.
"Sorry Jackie, but your mother is going to pick you up soon," he replied, "you know how your mother is with you getting wet."
"But mommy is stupid."
Jack let out a hefty chuckle, he said, "Yeah, she is." He took another bite into his burger, wiping the side of his mouth with the side of his fist. "But she's your mom, and you just gotta do whatever she says."
Jackie pouted. She set her burger to the side and hopped off the rock. She took her dad's longboard perched on the rock, placing it on the ground. Her tiny legs struggled to get on the board. She slid the board with her right foot, moving it along. Jackie wobbled on the board and began to fall backwards.
"I got you Jackie," Jack said, catching the girl before she landed on her back. "Here, let me help you…"
Jack held onto his daughter's hand as she moved the board on the parking lot pavement.
"Daddy, I'm doing it! I can ride a skateboard!"
"Let's not celebrate yet, Jackie," he said, "Let's see if we can reach the other side."
Jack helped Jackie along the ride. When they made it to the other side of the parking lot, they cheered. He held her daughter up high with both hands before pulling her back in with a big hug.
"Jackie, that was fantastic," he said, putting her daughter back down. "One day, you'll be the next Tony Hawk or something."
Jackie smiled as they walked back to their food still sitting on the rocks.
"Hey daddy, if you're not going with me, mommy and other-daddy, where are you going?" Jackie asked.
"Oh, um, I'm going to be…" Jack took a moment to think. "Competing against Tony Hawk in the X-Games. I'm spending all my time practicing for that for the next few months."
"Oh that sounds awesome," Jackie said. "can I ever visit you?"
"Well, I'm going to be busy with practice, so I'm not sure." Jack shoved the rest of the burger in his mouth and swallowed it whole. He looked at her daughter, who finished her burger as well, swallowing her last bite. Jackie noticed her dad's eyes glistening.
"Listen, Jackie," he said, bringing her closer to him, "I don't know when the next time I'll ever see you again is." He reached into his pockets, pulling out a yin-yang necklace out.
"Is that for me, daddy?"
"Yep." Jack wrapped the necklace around Jackie. "I think it fits you really well."
"I love it."
Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "If you ever start missing me, just hold onto that necklace. Think of it as a piece of me. Again, I don't know if I'll ever see you, but promise me you'll hold onto that necklace for me, okay?"
Jackie held the yin-yang symbol to her face. Something about the black-and-white design enticed her. She lifted her head to look her at her dad, a tear streamed down his face.
"I will daddy," Jackie said.
"Thank you." Jack dropped down on both knees and embraced her daughter in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him back. Jackie could feel her dad's body trembling and shaking.
"Alright, Jackie, it's time to go," a woman called out.
Jackie turned around to see her mother walking alongside her boyfriend.
"Mommy, can I stay for a few more minutes?"
"No, Jackie, we're already running late for out flight," Jackie's mother said, "we have to go, now."
"Come on, Jackster, let's go," the mother's boyfriend said, picking the little girl up.
"No, let me stay with Daddy," she said, squirming in the man's arms. "Let me stay with Daddy, let me stay with Daddy!"
Jack looked down on the pavement and covered his eyes with the brunt of his arms.
That was the last time she would ever see her dad.
Little Jackie didn't say much when she arrived at Echo Creek. She helped unpack as best she could for a four year-old. After they finished unpacking, Jackie locked herself in one of the vacant rooms. She spent that whole night crying, clutching the necklace as close to her as she can. Her mother knocked on the door several times that night, but Jackie wouldn't budge.
Jackie spent the last ten years in Echo Creek. Each year, there would be a package inside the mailbox sent from her dad. Inside, there was a new necklace, as well as a letter, giving Jackie an update on his life. She would switch her necklace out for a new one, placing the old one in a collection of other necklaces.
Those necklaces and letters were the only evidence Jackie's father still existed.
Around the start of the school year, Jackie expected the package in the mailbox. It became a tradition for her at this point.
It didn't bother Jackie that the package hadn't arrived that day. Or the next day. Or the day after that. By the 2nd week, Jackie asked her mom about it.
"No, I haven't seen any packages from your father," Jackie's mother said. "I didn't even know he was sending stuff here. I was wondering where you got those necklaces from. Now come on, your dad and I are watching a movie and we would like you to join in."
"Once again mom, he's my stepdad, not my dad."
"Well under this roof, he's your dad and you should treat him as such."
"Whatever," Jackie replied, "I'm going to my room."
That night, Jackie locked herself in her room. She dropped the pile of letters on the floor and began reading them one-by-one. She skimmed through every legible scribble her dad wrote to her. When she reached the final paragraph of the most recent letter, she felt her heart break apart.
When you turn into the next Tony Hawk, remember to wear that necklace with pride. And whatever happens in the future, be proud of who you are and whatever you have accomplished. Because I know for a fact, you will have become a better, more successful person than me.
Love always, your dad Jack
That letter came with the shell necklace. It's been over a year since she'd received that package. It's been over a year since her biological father had sent her something.
It's been over ten years since she'd last seen him in person.
That night, Jackie collapsed onto the pile of letters, a sobbing, heaving mess.
Jackie arrived home after a day of yoga, skateboarding and monster fighting. She opened her mailbox and peered inside.
Nothing.
Jackie shrugged.
What's the point crying over it, Jackie?
Again, if you've read till the end, thank you so much
I'll try to grind more of these out as fast as I can. I have the first half of the season planned out. I even made names for the future episodes for fun. These are subject to change though, but I feel like sharing these:
Episode 5: The Hunting Party
Episode 6: Take Your Kids to Work Day
Episode 7: Let's Go To The Mall, Everybody!
Episode 8: Marco's Sweet 15th
Episode 9: Party at Jackie's!
Episode 10: JustinXJackie
Episode 11: Marco's Date
Episode 12: Star's Day
Episode 13: Tricycles
Episode 14: Let's Rekindle The Fire, Star
Episode 15: Double Date
Episode 16: City Planning
Episode 17: Marco and The Little Munchkins
Episode 18: The Ravenfair Come to Earth
Episode 19: Into The Void
Mid-Season Finale (Episode 20): Soulbound
And yeah, take what you will from these episode titles. Maybe I have spoiled some of my episodes or whatever, but I wanted to share.
Anyways, thanks for reading as always.
