Gordon hates school. It is so boring. Five days a week he is forced into this classroom and made to study when he just wants to be outside in the early autumn sunshine. He has just got a Spanish test back with a large D at the top corner which makes him smile as he has not studied in weeks yet has still passed!
He looks down at his watch and groans when he realises that he has only been sitting here for five minutes and there is another fifty to go. He is looking longingly out of the window at the gym class playing softball as another minute ticks by slowly and painfully.
At the front of the class his teacher, Mr Cooper, is droning on about verb conjugation and he wonders if he can fake a headache and escape to the nurse's office just for something else to do! He rests his head on his fist and starts to daydream about the Olympics. His favourite daydream where he is standing on the podium being awarded a gold medal while his family look on and cheer. His eyes start to droop and before he knows it his head has slipped off his fist and hit the desk with a thud which wakes him up.
"Sorry" he mumbles to Mr Cooper.
Mr Cooper is not impressed, Gordon can tell. He maybe a terrible Spanish student but he can read the body language and the enmity coming from him. But it is really not his fault that the man is so boring!
"I will see you after class" Mr Cooper replies before getting back to his verbs.
Gordon groans and he just knows that this is detention the last place he wants to be and he spends the rest of the lesson thinking up excuses for how he can get out of it! Finally the bell rings and he watches the rest of his classmate's stampede towards the door.
Flashing his most charming smile Gordon approaches the desk. "You wanted to see me sir" he says confidently.
"I won't keep you long as I know it is time for your history nap, but you are disappointing everyone with your attitude, your brothers are wonderful students and if you would just apply yourself then I know that you could get good grades and even enjoy your time here" Mr Cooper tells him severely.
Gordon has heard it all before "Be more like his brothers, study harder, stop goofing around" and he is sick of it. no one cares that he can identify over a hundred species of fish just by looking at them briefly or that he has successfully nursed a sick frog back to health and is responsible for saving the delicate ecosystem of the school pond, or that he can swim the two hundred metre butterfly in one minute and fifty-nine seconds. Nothing he wants matters when he is compared to his brothers.
"Yes Sir" he mumbles "Can I go now?"
"You can, and if you fall asleep in my class again it's detention" Mr Cooper tells him.
Gordon nods before fleeing the room, before he starts to cry in front of a teacher as the embarrassment and humiliation would be too much for him to handle, especially once everyone else finds out.
He is late for History class, so decides to ditch to avoid any further trouble, sneaking out of the main entrance and down the pathway to his freedom. he starts to jog down the path, putting miles between himself and the school. It is warmer out here than he thought it was and he stops to take his hoodie off and ties it around his waist and looks around at his surroundings.
The pool is nearby and he has his emergency credit card to purchase a bathing suit and towel and heads to the changing room smiling for the first time all day, as this is the one place he feels at home. The only place where he is not constantly pressured with comparisons to his brothers. He knows that there will be several hours before anyone notices he is gone and that gives him ample time to practise his diving.
*TB*
Jeff has been working from home all week while he recovers from a heavy cold which has left him irritable and short tempered. The phone on his desk rings and he curses loudly as the half cup of cold coffee spills all over his laptop when he reaches for the receiver.
"Jeff Tracy speaking" he barks into the receiver.
"Mr Tracy, hi I am calling from the school. Gordon has skipped his last two classes"
Jeff curses under his breath. It is always Gordon. Always!
"Okay, I will deal with it" Jeff replies eventually, and not for the first time he considers boarding school.
"Thank you, we will let you know if he returns"
Jeff hangs up the phone and starts to dial Gordon's number but his phone goes straight to voicemail. Swearing loudly, he gets up from the desk and goes to get his car keys so he can spend the afternoon driving around town looking for his rebellious offspring!
Why is parenting so hard?! He thinks. "If Lucy was only still here" Lucy understood Gordon in a way Jeff just can't. Fighting a stray tear Jeff drives towards the pool in inspiration pulling into a parking spot near the entrance he waits for a few minutes before switching off the engine and getting out the car.
The pool is noisy and crowded and Jeff can't believe anyone would want to spend so much time here in other peoples sweat and dirt. Walking into the reception area, he can see Gordon from here, on top of the ten-metre dive board and he watches in awe as he leaps from the springboard and expertly executes a double somersault before entering the water at the perfect one-eighty-degree angle.
"Gordon" he calls once he has scrambled up out the pool.
The blonde looks back at him in surprise his eyes wide and Jeff can tell that a thousand excuses are running through his brain.
"Get over here now" Jeff demands and Gordon obeys without any hesitation, and even though he knows he in trouble at least he will get a ride home. "Go and get your stuff and meet me in the car in five minutes and we will discuss this when we get home" Jeff's demands are for once met with silent obedience.
Gordon silently does as he is told, a slow walk to his inevitable doom. Rubbing his hair dry with the towel after he has finished dressing, he leaves the changing room and goes back out into the now chilly afternoon air.
But that chill is nothing to the frostiness emanating from his father, as climbs into the front passenger seat, and clicks his seat belt into place. there is a deathly a deathly silence as his dad roars out the carpark and heads back to the farmhouse.
"Go to your room" Jeff announces the second they enter the house.
"Dad?" Gordon tries, maybe if he just explained what he was going through his dad would understand.
"NOW!" Jeff roars back grabbing his shoulders and forcing him towards the stairs. "I don't want to hear any excuses I will discuss your punishment with your Grandmother later and I will let you know"
Gordon stomps up the stairs. His life is so unfair and no one in this house even understands him, if he had anywhere else to go he wouldn't be here. He throws open his bedroom door, kicking dirty clothes out of the way and slamming the door loudly behind him and throwing himself down on top of the bed he starts to cry.
Once there are no more tears left in him, he gets up from the bed and goes over to the window seat and kneels down on the cushions and gazes out the window.
All four of his brothers are being treated to a barbecue and he can smell the burgers and hotdogs and hear their taunting laughter as they all have a good time without him. He rests his back on the wall and opens the window to try and get some fresh air.
"GET THAT WINDOW CLOSED" Jeff shouts up to him the moment he senses it open.
Gordon is done. Slamming the window so hard the pane shatters and showers him in broken glass, he puts his arms up to protect his face and a large shard slices through his forearm and he grits his teeth in pain before he gets down from the seat and tries to leave the room, but his father is already on the other side.
There is a fury in his father's face that would usually render Gordon terrified, but he too angry too care. "What?!" he snarls rudely before he pushes his way past him and goes into the bathroom.
"Get back here and get his glass cleaned up, then you and I are going to have a serious talk about your attitude mister" Jeff tells him.
Gordon ignores him, his arm is bleeding into the sleeve of his hoodie, and it really hurts but not as much as his father's lack of concern as he sinks back down on the bathroom floor and wraps a face cloth around his arm before using surgical tape he found in the medicine cabinet to hold it in place. he doesn't want to go back into his room, he wants to hide in here forever. But his room has always been his safe place, a sanctuary away from the demands and expectations of his family.
To his disappointment his father is still standing in his room.
"Clean this mess up, then you can sleep on the sofa until the window is fixed. You are grounded for the next two months. You don't leave the house apart from to go to school, no television, no video games, no pool and no sweets or dessert. You will be doing all the laundry, and you will be responsible for the dishes. You set the table in the morning before every meal and you wash the dishes after. The money for the window is coming out of your allowance. You need to grow up and be more like your brothers" Jeff knows that he is being harsh, but he is done with Gordon and his antics.
But so is Gordon. His perfect brothers. Always his perfect brothers. He is never allowed to be himself around his father, without the pressure of being compared to his brothers.
"CLEAN IT UP YOURSELF!" he screams, before turning and running down the stairs and out the back door.
"GET BACK HERE!" Jeff yells back equally loudly, and equally angrily as he chases him down the stairs and follows him outside.
"I HATE YOU!" Gordon screams, still backing down the path. "LEAVE ME ALONE"
Virgil starts to follow him; he has no idea what has happened as his father refused to discuss it beyond announcing that Gordon was grounded. "Gordon?" he asks.
"I HATE YOU TOO. YOU ARE JUST LIKE HIM! I CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT IN THIS SO-CALLED FAMILY! JOHN IS PERFECT, SCOTT IS A MINI DAD AND YOU…" Gordon trails off.
Scott has heard enough. Lifting Gordon up over his shoulder he marches back into the house with his fists flailing against his back and deposits him on the sofa.
"What is this about Gordon?" Scott asks, trying desperately to remain calm.
"What do you mean?" he snaps in anger.
"You know what I mean. This isn't you" Scott tells him.
"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME" Gordon screams. "MY WHOLE LIFE REVOLVES AROUND YOU AND JOHN AND VIRGIL. MOST OF THE TIME DAD DOESN'T EVEN REMEMBER THAT I AM ALIVE"
"That is not true Gordon and you know it" Jeff says from the doorway. "You are grounded for skipping school, and if one of your brothers had skipped they would be grounded too"
Gordon rolls his eyes. "I HATE SCHOOL"
"Stop shouting Gordon, or I will start adding to your punishment" Jeff replies standing firm.
"I WISH IT WAS YOU WHO DIED AND NOT MOM" Gordon screams. His face is red with anger, as he tries so hard to not cry for the second time today.
Jeff reels as if Gordon had slapped him. Scott is staring at him as if he has never seen him before and he can't even look at Virgil.
The fight drains from Gordon, even now they don't get it. This has nothing to do with school, this is about him and his father and how his father will never understand him and how he feels. His arm aches and his head is pounding and he just wishes that they would all just leave him alone.
"Stop being such a spoiled brat" John says rolling his eyes having just walked into the room. "Hey dad, I thought I would tell you that Alan has set grass on fire"
Jeff buries his face in his hands before leaving Gordon alone with Scott.
"See" Gordon says to Scott. "He doesn't care"
Scott rolls his eyes. "See you later Gords, I will bring down your blanket and pillow, I suggest you get your homework done"
And Gordon is once again alone.
*TB*
A long night follows with very little sleep, as the sofa is not comfortable and his arm is throbbing in agony and he is relieved when his alarm blares the following morning. Getting up he leaves the blanket on the sofa and goes up to his room to get dressed and writes a note to his dad saying he was going to school early and sneaking out to the garage to get his bike.
The early morning sunlight is trying to break through the clouds as he cycles furiously through the sleepy backroads. He has no idea where he is going, he just knows that he needs to go. to put some space between him and the suffocation at home.
He is almost at the highway when his front tyre hits a pothole and explodes throwing him over the handlebars, his arms hit the ground first followed by his head which smacks the ground with enough force to knock him unconscious while his body snaps violently to the left before crumbling to the floor.
*TB*
Jeff is furious when he reads through the hastily scribbled note. Gordon was supposed to be here making breakfast for everyone, not sneaking out to avoid the consequences of his deplorable actions.
Jeff starts to bang boxes of cereal and bottles of milk on the table before shouting up the stairs to get his other children to come to life so he can drag them to school.
Scott is the first one downstairs, still in his pyjamas. "Where is the brat?" he asks as he sits down.
"Gone to school already, and don't call him names" Jeff replies.
"Scott chokes on his coffee! "Are you joking? There is no way he has gone to school, my money is on the swimming pool since you banned him"
Jeff knows that is a much more reasonable explanation! "Eat your breakfast. VIRGIL, JOHN, ALAN GET DOWN HERE NOW!"
Footsteps pound overhead and down the stairs before Alan bursts into the room. "Morning daddy" he announces happily climbing onto his usual chair and starting to shovel food into his mouth like he has not eaten in a month.
"VIRGIL, JOHN I WON'T TELL YOU AGAIN. GET DOWN HERE OR YOU'RE BOTH BANNED FROM ART AND ASTRONOMY CLUB FOR A WEEK" Jeff shouts, knowing that threats are the only way to get them to do as they're told.
Ten minutes later they are all ready for school dressed, hair and teeth brushed and Alan is even wearing matching socks.
"Scott take Virgil to school" Jeff says throwing him his car keys, which have been left on the table since he got home the day before.
Scott rolls his eyes but cleanly grabs the keys in mid-air with one hand, "Dad I always take Virgil to school. Come on Virgy" Scott holds his hand out for Virgil to take.
"Scott, I am not six years old, stop calling me Virgy!" Virgil replies issuing his own eyeroll while Alan giggles.
"Just go" Jeff says watching as his two eldest sons make their way outside.
Scott's car needs to be cleaned inside and out. The floor is littered with sweet wrappers and fast-food debris.
"Ugh Scott, this car stinks" Virgil tells him, picking up an empty milkshake bottle and realising it is empty because the milkshake is all over the floor!
"You know where the bus stop is" Scott replies laughing. "Besides dad is always telling me off for the state of my room so I need somewhere I can just chill and be myself. It is why John studies, it is why you draw and play the piano and it is why Gordon swims. To get away from that expectation dad has of us. He is always on my back about my grades and studying and getting into a good college. He is a nightmare; I love him but he is hard work"
Virgil nods in agreement. "I know he is always pushing me too. Since Mom died he wants to show the world that he can raise us alone and that he doesn't need help, but honestly there are times when I just want to run away and never return. He is always telling me I should spend more time outdoors like Gordon does or more time studying like John does. He is never happy to just let me be myself."
They fall into silence as the journey continues both lost in their own bleak thoughts before they hit heavy traffic.
"Seriously" Scott groans. "I can't be late for school again or I will wind up in detention, and don't tell dad I was late on Monday because I dropped you off and then went into town to meet Bernie for a second breakfast. And You can NOT tell dad I have a girlfriend"
"I won't say a thing, you know you can trust me" Virgil tells him reassuringly.
The traffic isn't budging and they sit in silence for several minutes before Virgil's phone buzzes.
"It's dad, ten bucks he is stuck somewhere behind us with Alan and John, I will put him on speaker phone" Virgil says before swiping his finger across the answer button. "Hey dad"
"Virg hi. Are you guys stuck too?" Jeff says.
"Yep, we have not moved in ten minutes and Scott is having heart failure over his perfect attendance!" Virgil replies.
"So is John. I am going to turn back, if you guys want to join us" Jeff offers.
Scott shakes his head. "I am going to get out and see what is happening up there. If there has been an accident I might be able to help"
"Okay kids just don't interfere" Jeff says before the line goes dead.
Scott joins the sea of abandoned vehicles and starts to walk up the side of the road, Virgil at his heels before stopping dead causing Virgil to walk straight into his back.
"Scott!" He complains, rubbing his forehead and looking around his elder brother to find out why he stopped so suddenly.
Virgil's blood runs cold.
"Gordon?!" he gasps.
*TB*
As quickly as he stopped, Scott starts to run towards the scene in front of him.
"You kids can't get any closer" A police officer assigned to crowd control tells the pair, not recognising the anguish on their faces.
"You don't get it. That's our brother" Scott tells him, still trying to battle his way past the officer.
"Okay come through" the officer says leading them to where the ambulance is parked. His bike is abandoned at the side of the road, the front forks are buckled and bent, and the front tyre is lying several feet away.
"Gordon?" Virgil says quietly as his eyes fall upon the lifeless form of his younger brother. His skin is milky white apart from a river of red across his forehead. Blood has also seeped out onto his hair and the blonde is now a mess of matted dark red and Virgil knows that he wasn't wearing his helmet, no matter how often he has given his wayward brother a safety lecture about this very scenario.
Virgil doesn't even realise that he is still holding in his breath but let's out a sigh of relief when he sees the steady movement of his brother's breathing. Gordon is still alive.
Virgil's eyes don't leave Gordon's face while he is loaded into the back of the ambulance for any small signs that his brother is waking up. He is rewarded when his eyelids start to flutter. "Gordy?"
"Virggy?" he mumbles back before falling still again.
No one chases Virgil out of the vehicle, and he has no idea where Scott has gone as the ambulance starts to move, the siren blaring as they make it onto the highway. "Can I hold his hand?" Virgil asks.
The driver nods without turning around. "But be very careful and try not to move him"
Virgil slides his fingers under Gordon's using his thumb to gently massage the back of his hand, talking to him in a calm and soothing voice.
He doesn't wake up again before they teach the hospital in the city centre. And the two are separated as Gordon is taken through into emergency surgery.
Virgil has no idea where to go now, and no one seems to care enough to even show him where the waiting room it. looking around the crowded hallway he finally spots the sign for the exit and pushes the door open.
Outside the sky is grey and the clouds are threatening rain as he stands alone and starts to shiver.
"Virgil?"
"Dad? How did you get here so fast?" Virgil asks, looking up before running to his father and throwing his arms around his waist. Jeff allows him to cling to him wordlessly.
"Police escort, it was so much fun" Alan replies.
"It was not fun" John interrupts "Where is Gordon?"
"I don't know" Virgil replies, tears filling his eyes again.
"I will go and find out, you guys stay here together, Alan do not move from your Virgil's sight at all times" Jeff demands, as Virgil finally pulls out of his father's embrace and the four walk back into the hospital in silence.
Virgil leads John and Alan to three chairs in the emergency room and the three boys sit in a desperate silence. Not even Alan speaks until Scott arrives.
"Scott where were you?" Virgil asks.
"I had to go and get my car Virg" Scott replies. "Any news?"
"Nothing, dad hasn't even come back" Virgil replies.
The wait drags for hours, Jeff pops back briefly and hands Scott his wallet asking him to go and get coffee and some lunch for everyone.
Scott doesn't want to leave, but when his father is giving an order he knows that he can't refuse it.
The coffee and the food is abandoned and cold before Jeff finally returns once again. He looks exhausted as he takes a seat next to Alan who climbs onto his lap and rests his head on his shoulder.
"Well he will live" Jeff says grimly.
"What happened?" Scott asks.
"Both his arms are broken, and he has a severe concussion. The doctors have decided to keep him sedated until the swelling on his brain goes down but they're hopeful that he will make a complete recovery." Jeff replies.
"Can we see him?" Scott asks.
"No" Jeff replies. "You guys are going to go home" he insists.
"Are you kidding me?" Virgil asks in shock. "You think we are just going to meekly go home and obey you. This is all your fault"
"Virgil, not now!" Scott hisses in his ear. But Virgil refuses to back down.
"You just don't get it do you Jeff?" he spits in anger.
Scott grabs him and pulls him away before he can say something that they will all regret. "Gordon doesn't need this right now. Now is not the time to blame dad. There will be plenty of time for that later!"
Virgil snorts with derision before walking back to his dad and brothers. "Sorry dad" he says without any hint of sincerity.
Jeff accepts it, the boys have all had a long day and they're all tired. "Go home and get some sleep" he tells them. he knows that they don't understand, but he is trying to protect them from seeing their brother so broken, that for him seeing his Fish in so much pain is one of the worst things that he has witnessed. They don't need to see it too.
*TB*
Gordon is awake. His head is aching and his left arm is held in a steel cage suspended and an awkward angle above his body. His right arm is home to a boring white cast and he wishes he had never woken up.
"Hey Fish"
"Dad?" he croaks. His throat feels like it is on fire and just being able to say his father's name exhausts him all over again.
Gordon doesn't know it, but his father has barely left his side for the ten days he has been in a coma. "I'm sorry dad I…" He tries to apologise but Jeff cuts him off.
"No, you have nothing to apologise for Gordon, I have spoken to your brothers and everything you said was true, I have not been treating you fairly. You need to know that I am so proud of everything you have achieved, so you can't speak Spanish believe it or not I can't either!" Jeff tells him grinning. "I have also spoken to the school and they have promised that they will stop comparing you to your brother and I am going to do the same. I know this won't help right now, but they feel the same way as you do.
"When you're feeling better we are going to have a real family meeting, like we used to do when your mom was still alive" Jeff doesn't need to add that Lucy would be disappointed with the way he has behaved with the boys, he knows that this is his fault. If he had been there for them then this would not have happened.
"I love you" Gordon says quietly.
Jeff takes the hand that is not enclosed in a steel cage and gives it a gentle squeeze.
"I love you too Squid. But the only thing you need to worry about is choosing a colour for your cast okay?" Jeff replies knowing that he will need something bright and colourful. "I have spoken to the doctor and they have said that they are happy for you to have a waterproof cast made from fibreglass, which means that you will be able to go swimming once you have been released from the cage!"
"Really?" Gordon asks visibly perking up now.
"Really. All you have to do is choose the colour!"
*TB*
"One green cast and one yellow cast?" Scott queries after Gordon has had his final operation.
"Yeah there is no way I was getting two the same colour. This is a step further than odd socks – odd casts!" He replies with a grin.
He has finally been allowed to come home and is lying on the sofa, propped up on a large fluffy pillow and he is surrounded by the people he loves the most in the world. There is a large gift-wrapped box near the TV with his name on it and he is dying from curiosity but knows better than to ask, he was bought up with manners!
"Hey dad, can we put him out of his misery yet?" John asks, realising that Gordon has not taken his eyes off the box.
"Go for it" Jeff replies, watching Gordon leap down from the couch and run across the room, ripping the paper from the box he comes face to face with a brand-new bike.
"Really?" he asks excitedly.
"Well you need a new one!" Jeff tells him smiling. "I don't know if Scott showed you the photos but your old one is scrap metal."
"Hey it is not, it is a work of art!" Virgil interrupts laughing. "I made it into a sculpture and I decided to call it "Choose the colour of your bandage!"