Somewhere Out There
Chapter 7: Leaving on a Jet Plane
Craig didn't feel the need to re-tell anyone of his leaving. His suitcases by the door did all the talking. He managed a ride with Paige, the only one of his friends still driving after the accident. Well, friends was stretching it. Acquaintances, maybe, but it was purely based on each's relationship to Spinner. She pulled in front of his house, Saturday morning. She removed her sunglasses and walked the short journey from her car to his front door and knocked. He opened the door, still slightly yelling his goodbyes to Joey. He grabbed Ang and swung her around, tearing up, but leaving the house before she could see. Paige put her arm on his shoulder to comfort him. "You don't have to go, you know. We all need you," she said.
"Ashley doesn't need me," the words came out of his mouth before he had a chance to think about them.
"Ashley's going through a mondo-stressful time right now, hun," she said, opening the door to her mini-van.
"Can't I tell?" he said sarcastically.
"Have you seeeen Jimmy lately? He's not even glancing at that Katie chick. He won't even talk to us about her, because she really started to dig him and he was like 'nooo she doesn't, I don't even wanna talk about her' to me." Paige glanced over and realized she had been babbling. "My point is, Jimmy could really use a friend right now. He has us, but it's gonna be that much worse if you leave."
Paige Michalchuk giving him a last ditch speech to stay in Degrassi. It was rather funny actually, in that ironic sort of way. She wouldn't speak two words to him any normal day. Maybe that's what the Ashley thing was, too. Although he never told her, she might have found out about his leaving from someone else. Everyone at Degrassi was on their last nerve lately, and he figured it was just a full moon or something making everyone act crazy. Making him actually think he had another chance with Ashley Kerwin.
"I know you mean well, Paige," Craig started, but he didn't really know what to say. 'But my ex-girlfriend aborted my baby'? 'But everyone I love is dying or getting hurt because of my bad karma'? He wasn't sure what would satisfy her.
"But...?" Paige said, eyeing him curiously.
"But I just need some time away from the madness of Degrassi right now." Good answer Craig, he aplauded himself.
"Understandable. But don't leave just because of that little slut, Manny."
"WHAT?" he cried.
"You heard me. I never really liked her. I mean, sure she was in the Spirit Squad, but what does that count for, in the end, if you're a horrible person? Between her and JT, you know one of them was going to talk. And actually, it was her, if you can believe it. She's really got a tight leash on JT. But, anyways, she came back, kept missing practices, I'd always hear her throwing up in school, it was awful. And then she leaves with JT for a 'weekend of fun,' her words. I knew JT couldn't have that kind of fun if he found a pre-paid hooker naked in his bed. So, being subtle and casual like Paige Michalchuk always is, I finally got her to confess. Anyways, what she did was below slime, and I did stop talking to JT because of it, but it's no reason to run away."
"It's not the only thing. She didn't even tell me until after I made my decision."
"What?" Paige asked, stunned. "She didn't tell you before she did it?"
"Paige! If I had known, I would have down everything in my power, including strapping the girl to a bed and inducing labor to keep her from doing, you know, what she did."
"Oh," she said, feeling guilty, he could tell. Of course he, Craig Manning, the known womanizer and all around indecent human being, would be the first to make her get an abortion and not think anything of it. He cringed. Why did everyone at Degrassi think that one mistake made him an immoral person with no sense of value?
The rest of the ride was deadly silent. Neither wanted to talk, afraid the other would incite an argument. Paige pulled into an empty spot and stopped the car. She wasn't sure whether she should go with him to the gate, or what? "Thanks for driving me. Tell Spin and Jimmy and them that I'll call them, eventually. And, you know, I kind of don't know who I want to tell Ashley. I would guess Jimmy, but that would throw my envy into overdrive, and I can't have that, not right now. I mean, I could also say Ellie, but she doesn't know either, and that would be odd calling her just for her to tell Ashley. So, you're her friend, you know? Could you maybe drop by and tell her? And tell her I wish we could've worked it out this time. And that I'm sorry." Then, he did something that even Paige Michalchuk was shocked by. He leaned over and hugged her. It was one of those long, 'I won't see you for a long time, but I still want you to be my friend' hugs. He dropped his arms to his side, grabbed a suitcase in one hand and a folded up magazing under the other arm, and went off to his destiny.
As his plane flew over his homeland, his Canada, he realized that he really wasn't going back. It wasn't a ploy to get anyone back now. This was his life, whether he was ready for it or not. And the truth was, he wasn't.
The plane ride to his new Syracuse home was short, but long enough for him to have one vivid and very nostalgic dream. He was awakened by Ashley at home in his bed. She was singing softly under her breath, but he was too tired to make out the words. "Ash," he whispered. "Ash, your voice is so pretty, what're you singing?" She looked at him and smiled, but didn't answer him. This made him mad, but only for a second, and she kept singing. He wanted so badly to hear her song.
The figure on his bed suddenly turned into Manny. He reached out to her, afraid of why Ashley left, and needing comfort. She laid with him, and he stroked her long hair. The music in his room suddenly turned on, and the Cure started playing softly, but loud enough for Craig to hear.
"Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick, the one that makes me scream, she said. The one that makes me laugh, she said, and threw her arms around my neck. Show me how you do it and i promise you, i promise that I'll run away with you..."
He smiled and melted into her, the way he had always dreamed of with Ashley. He pictured her being Ashley. This girl he had always wanted to share love with; he had no way to express it, so he made love to her, only it wasn't her.
"You, soft and only, you, lost and lonely..."
His whole body seemed to transform into this thing he could not control, that was being controlled by another force, one that was named Manny. But he didn't think of that, he thought of Ashley, he had his dreams of Ashley, and slowly, his dream self pulled himself out of Manny and awoke, to find neither girl with him.
"I opened my eyes, I found myself alone, alone..."
The girl who came back was the one he didn't want to see, Manny. She seemed to sense this, and it only angered her. She climbed on top of him and began tearing at him. She grabbed his flesh and dug her fingers in, making him bleed and cry out to her to stop.
He rolled over to get away from her, and suddenly he was standing, on the streets of Syracuse this time. He started walking, looking for Ashley, hiding from Manny; he looked for anyone he knew, but he didn't see a soul. This made him run, because the streets of his new hometown were deserted, and this scared him. He kept running and running until finally...
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our descent into Syracuse. It is currently 80° and sunny. Thank you for flying with us today, and enjoy your stay," the stewardess said overhead, making him jump a little and remember where he was.
Chapter 7: Leaving on a Jet Plane
Craig didn't feel the need to re-tell anyone of his leaving. His suitcases by the door did all the talking. He managed a ride with Paige, the only one of his friends still driving after the accident. Well, friends was stretching it. Acquaintances, maybe, but it was purely based on each's relationship to Spinner. She pulled in front of his house, Saturday morning. She removed her sunglasses and walked the short journey from her car to his front door and knocked. He opened the door, still slightly yelling his goodbyes to Joey. He grabbed Ang and swung her around, tearing up, but leaving the house before she could see. Paige put her arm on his shoulder to comfort him. "You don't have to go, you know. We all need you," she said.
"Ashley doesn't need me," the words came out of his mouth before he had a chance to think about them.
"Ashley's going through a mondo-stressful time right now, hun," she said, opening the door to her mini-van.
"Can't I tell?" he said sarcastically.
"Have you seeeen Jimmy lately? He's not even glancing at that Katie chick. He won't even talk to us about her, because she really started to dig him and he was like 'nooo she doesn't, I don't even wanna talk about her' to me." Paige glanced over and realized she had been babbling. "My point is, Jimmy could really use a friend right now. He has us, but it's gonna be that much worse if you leave."
Paige Michalchuk giving him a last ditch speech to stay in Degrassi. It was rather funny actually, in that ironic sort of way. She wouldn't speak two words to him any normal day. Maybe that's what the Ashley thing was, too. Although he never told her, she might have found out about his leaving from someone else. Everyone at Degrassi was on their last nerve lately, and he figured it was just a full moon or something making everyone act crazy. Making him actually think he had another chance with Ashley Kerwin.
"I know you mean well, Paige," Craig started, but he didn't really know what to say. 'But my ex-girlfriend aborted my baby'? 'But everyone I love is dying or getting hurt because of my bad karma'? He wasn't sure what would satisfy her.
"But...?" Paige said, eyeing him curiously.
"But I just need some time away from the madness of Degrassi right now." Good answer Craig, he aplauded himself.
"Understandable. But don't leave just because of that little slut, Manny."
"WHAT?" he cried.
"You heard me. I never really liked her. I mean, sure she was in the Spirit Squad, but what does that count for, in the end, if you're a horrible person? Between her and JT, you know one of them was going to talk. And actually, it was her, if you can believe it. She's really got a tight leash on JT. But, anyways, she came back, kept missing practices, I'd always hear her throwing up in school, it was awful. And then she leaves with JT for a 'weekend of fun,' her words. I knew JT couldn't have that kind of fun if he found a pre-paid hooker naked in his bed. So, being subtle and casual like Paige Michalchuk always is, I finally got her to confess. Anyways, what she did was below slime, and I did stop talking to JT because of it, but it's no reason to run away."
"It's not the only thing. She didn't even tell me until after I made my decision."
"What?" Paige asked, stunned. "She didn't tell you before she did it?"
"Paige! If I had known, I would have down everything in my power, including strapping the girl to a bed and inducing labor to keep her from doing, you know, what she did."
"Oh," she said, feeling guilty, he could tell. Of course he, Craig Manning, the known womanizer and all around indecent human being, would be the first to make her get an abortion and not think anything of it. He cringed. Why did everyone at Degrassi think that one mistake made him an immoral person with no sense of value?
The rest of the ride was deadly silent. Neither wanted to talk, afraid the other would incite an argument. Paige pulled into an empty spot and stopped the car. She wasn't sure whether she should go with him to the gate, or what? "Thanks for driving me. Tell Spin and Jimmy and them that I'll call them, eventually. And, you know, I kind of don't know who I want to tell Ashley. I would guess Jimmy, but that would throw my envy into overdrive, and I can't have that, not right now. I mean, I could also say Ellie, but she doesn't know either, and that would be odd calling her just for her to tell Ashley. So, you're her friend, you know? Could you maybe drop by and tell her? And tell her I wish we could've worked it out this time. And that I'm sorry." Then, he did something that even Paige Michalchuk was shocked by. He leaned over and hugged her. It was one of those long, 'I won't see you for a long time, but I still want you to be my friend' hugs. He dropped his arms to his side, grabbed a suitcase in one hand and a folded up magazing under the other arm, and went off to his destiny.
As his plane flew over his homeland, his Canada, he realized that he really wasn't going back. It wasn't a ploy to get anyone back now. This was his life, whether he was ready for it or not. And the truth was, he wasn't.
The plane ride to his new Syracuse home was short, but long enough for him to have one vivid and very nostalgic dream. He was awakened by Ashley at home in his bed. She was singing softly under her breath, but he was too tired to make out the words. "Ash," he whispered. "Ash, your voice is so pretty, what're you singing?" She looked at him and smiled, but didn't answer him. This made him mad, but only for a second, and she kept singing. He wanted so badly to hear her song.
The figure on his bed suddenly turned into Manny. He reached out to her, afraid of why Ashley left, and needing comfort. She laid with him, and he stroked her long hair. The music in his room suddenly turned on, and the Cure started playing softly, but loud enough for Craig to hear.
"Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick, the one that makes me scream, she said. The one that makes me laugh, she said, and threw her arms around my neck. Show me how you do it and i promise you, i promise that I'll run away with you..."
He smiled and melted into her, the way he had always dreamed of with Ashley. He pictured her being Ashley. This girl he had always wanted to share love with; he had no way to express it, so he made love to her, only it wasn't her.
"You, soft and only, you, lost and lonely..."
His whole body seemed to transform into this thing he could not control, that was being controlled by another force, one that was named Manny. But he didn't think of that, he thought of Ashley, he had his dreams of Ashley, and slowly, his dream self pulled himself out of Manny and awoke, to find neither girl with him.
"I opened my eyes, I found myself alone, alone..."
The girl who came back was the one he didn't want to see, Manny. She seemed to sense this, and it only angered her. She climbed on top of him and began tearing at him. She grabbed his flesh and dug her fingers in, making him bleed and cry out to her to stop.
He rolled over to get away from her, and suddenly he was standing, on the streets of Syracuse this time. He started walking, looking for Ashley, hiding from Manny; he looked for anyone he knew, but he didn't see a soul. This made him run, because the streets of his new hometown were deserted, and this scared him. He kept running and running until finally...
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our descent into Syracuse. It is currently 80° and sunny. Thank you for flying with us today, and enjoy your stay," the stewardess said overhead, making him jump a little and remember where he was.