Jack was tired
He didn't get much sleep yesterday, his heart was racing all night he couldn't fall asleep. It's actually happening, he thought as he boarded the plane with his mother. Jack had talked to his sensei, Rudy, yesterday and broke the news to him, he took it suprisingly well. And just like he did with the others they sat down and talked about anything and everything. They had hugged and said their goodbyes.
He talked to Kim a bit more aswell. They decided not to start a relationship, there wasn't any point to start one since they might not see each other in a long time.
Jack let out a deep sigh as he and his mother sat down on the plane, he looked out the window at Seaford for the last time as the plane took off.
oOo
Two hours later they landed in the airport. Jack blinked, has it already been two hours? Barely felt like an hour. He sluggishly got up from his seat and followed his mother out of the plane.
"Jack, I ordered an uber to pick us up and drive us to our place." His mother told him as they walked.
Jack nodded.
"I also enrolled you in a school, its close to our place and has good reviews. I think it was called West Valley High School? Something like that"
Jack almost tripped on his feet but quickly balanced himself. Right a new school, of course. He knew it was happening but not this fast.
"Sounds good, Mom" He replied, before they could continue their conversation, the uber they had ordered arrived.
oOo
They settled in their new place, they had unpacked and were now eating pizza they had ordered. Rose, looked at his son as he ate, she noticed that his eyes were downcast. A pang of pain filled her heart as she remembered how Jack had suffered from this.
She knew there wasn't much she could say to make him feel better. As she slept that night she wondered if her job was really worth making Jack feel like this.
oOo
The next day, Jack woke up and stretched out in his bed, clearly still tired as he looked around the room. It took him a moment to remember that he wasn't in Seaford anymore, but when he did, he let out a harsh breath.
Looking around his new room, he remembered that he had gotten most of his stuff unpacked the night prior. His mom had ordered his favorite pizza, and after, they had unpacked the rest of their stuff and had gone to sleep.
Looking to his right, a small smile came to his face as he grabbed his guitar, strumming a few chords as he admired it. It had been a gift from Kim from Christmas last year, and he had enjoyed using it ever since. He had even written some songs of his own.
Deciding to shake off these thoughts, he began strumming the chords in a melodic way, making him smile to himself as he closed his eyes and allowed the music to speak to him. He had always felt a special connection to music, which was part of the reason why he played, but he felt it the most when he was alone and it was just him and the music.
As he continued to strum the chords, getting lost in the sound that the guitar produced from the movement of his fingers, he became so entranced by it that he didn't even notice as his mother knocked on his door. When his mother knocked again, it wasn't until she said. "Jack?" that the teenager finally noticed her presence.
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah, Mom" The black belt called as he placed his guitar back down by his nightstand, watching as his mother took a step in. "Did you need something?"
"No, no. I just heard you playing, and was amazed at how beautiful it sounded" His mother told him. "You've improved so much, Jack."
Unable to hold a small smile from hearing this, Jack replied gratefully. "Thanks, Mom. Have you ever thought about playing anything?"
"Oh, no" His mom laughed as she waved his question off. "I enjoy music but not quite as much as you do, Jack. But, if I do ever find myself wanting to play, you'll be the first person I'll ask." Jack smiled and nodded at this, making a question come to mind as Rose looked at her son. "So, do you have any plans for today?"
"Yeah, I was going to go outside for a bit, I was actually just going to ask if you wanted to join me" Jack responed as he sat up in his bed.
"As much as I would love to, Jack. I have a work meeting today. Besides, I think you'll have more fun exploring on your own" She said, smiling at him.
"Sounds good Mom" He responded, a small smile on his face as his mother left the room.
Rose turned around smiling and walked downstairs, feeling that some coffee would get her going for the meeting she would be going to soon. She wasn't normally a fan of working on the weekends, but considering how much this new job she had landed paid, she felt it safe to say that she would make an exception for it.
Meanwhile, Jack took a quick shower and started getting ready, he felt a little bit better, and who knows maybe this won't be as bad as he thought. Sure it will be annoying to be the new kid once again, and he misses his friends a lot, but maybe things will get better eventually, and who knows maybe he can visit Seaford at some point, or his friends could visit him, after all Seaford wasn't that far away.
With this thought in mind, he quickly got dressed and put on some deodorant and a splash of cologne, not wanting to smell bad if he ran into anyone today. Once he was satisfied with that, he made sure that his hair looked decent.
Feeling satisfied with this, he quickly brushed his teeth and gargled some mouthwash, squinting as the strongness of it nearly burned his tongue. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the mouthwash was cinnamon-flavored, making him understand why it seemed to burn more than usual.
Quickly spitting it out, he rinsed the sink out and took a step back, looking himself over with a smile.
Finally being satisfied with his appearance, he walked back out to his room and grabbed his wallet and phone before making his way downstairs, seeing that his mother had already started brewing a pot of coffee as he made his way to the door to put his shoes on.
Rose, having noticed what he was doing, called to him. "Jack! Atleast eat something before you go out!"
Jack grimaced at the thought of minty pancakes.
"Sorry, Mom! I already brushed my teeth! I'll eat something later!" He replied, finally getting his shoes on. "See you later, Mom!" He said walking out the door.
oOo
Jack had been walking around for an hour when he felt his stomach rumble, he decided that enough time passed so that his food wouldn't taste minty and made his way to a small fast food restaurant, walking inside he waited in line until he finally reached the front where a beautiful brunette girl was looking at him, a forced polite smile plastered on her face.
"Hello, What can I get for you?" She greeted, voice cold, and eyes piercing his soul.
What was up with her? Why did she look like she wanted to be anywhere else but here. Jack pushed his unease down, and remained calm.
"Hmm" he hummed in thought as he looked over the menu "I'm new here. Do you have any suggestions"
Tory rolled her eyes at the newbie but remained her polite attitude, she didn't want to get fired. "The chicken burger is pretty good" She suggested, looking up at Jack.
He nodded "Sure I'll get that and some fries, please" Jack requested politely, a small smile on his face. He took out some money from his wallet and handed it to her, after she gave him his change she disappeared behind the counter and came back a few moments later with his food.
"Thanks" Jack said. She nodded
He made his way over to a nearby open table and sat down, devouring his food and letting out a satisfied sigh once he was done. After giving himself a few minutes to let the food go down into his system, he decided that he had waited long enough and started making his way to the nearby park, wanting to explore a bit more before going back home.
As he was walking he heard a loud yell come from behind him, confused, Jack followed the sound. As he got closer he heard more shouting and grunting. What's going on? Was somebody getting beaten up? However as he got closer he realized that it was a group of people practicing Karate? It looked like it.
They were practicing on a dummy. While an older man with blonde hair, watched and shouted orders. A Sensei maybe? He thought, interest piqued as he watched them
"Kick it harder!" The old guy spat, making a kicking motion.
"I'm trying, Sensei!" One of the students yelled, he was a bit chubbier than the others and had short brown hair.
"Try harder!" The sensei barked, arms crossed over his chest.
Jack snorted, these guys weren't very good. He watched as the chubby boy failed to kick properly at his target.
"That's pathetic!" The Sensei barked, as he watched the chubby kid's sloppy attempt of a kick.
"Alright your turn Miguel, show Penis Breath how it's done" The man ordered, motioning towards a taller hispanic kid who was watching all this time.
"Yes, Sensei!" The kid said and walked up to the human dummy, preparing a fighting stance.
Jack was about to leave, having seen enough. But just as he was leaving he saw the Miguel kid lay some serious punches and kicks on the dummy. Jack's eyebrows raised in suprise. This Miguel guy clearly knew how to fight, and from the looks of it was the top student of the dojo. Jack was slightly impressed as he saw the kid kick and punch the dummy with precision, hitting the dummy in all the right spots.
His fighting style kinda reminded him of Jerry's, heart churning painfully at the reminder of his best friend, he shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts. He sighed and decided to go home, it was getting late.
As he walked, he couldn't help but think about what he saw. They were obviously practicing Karate, what was it though? A dojo? Or was it just a group of friends practicing Karate for fun? Jack immediately scratched that thought, as he remembered how serious the Sensei had looked.
He shook his head. It doesn't matter, he was probably never going to see them again, not that he cared. He was done with it all. Karate was a painful reminder of his friends back in Seaford.
