The end of the school came all too quickly to Fermat. In the last couple of months, Alan had begun to spend more and more time with Josh. He had even been invited on a few of their outings, and Fermat had to admit, Josh was a lot of fun. It was what Fermat imagined a big brother would be like- well, a big brother who liked to hang out with his little brother.
Josh and Alan had hung out every single weekend since Family Day, and had called one another frequently during the week. Their friendship had grown so quickly and strongly that, pretty soon, all Alan would talk about was Josh. The positive part of this was that Alan's daydreaming had all but stopped.
Despite Fermat's concerns, Alan had passed all of his classes with nothing less than a B. It was, by far, the best report card Alan had ever earned, and he had been so proud of it that he had tried to call his father to tell him. Jeff, however, had been out on another mission with his older sons. Fermat had seen the disappointment on Alan's face, and had wanted to help his friend. Alan, however, had brushed it off and had instead called Josh.
The boys were packing their belongings for the summer, anxious to leave and return to Tracy Island for three months of Thunderbird training. Alan was bouncing on the balls of his feet; Jeff himself was coming to pick them up, and Alan was burning to tell his father about his grades.
Alan's phone rang, and he answered it. Fermat watched out of the corner of his eye as Alan greeted Josh and paused in his packing.
"Yeah, we're leaving in half an hour," Alan was saying. "Too bad we won't get a chance to hang out this summer, but I can still call you." A pause. "I live kind of far away . . . well, if I'm closer by, I'm definitely calling you up to meet. We still have that rematch on the courts."
A knock sounded on the door. Fermat moved to answer it, allowing Alan to finish his conversation and hang up.
He opened the door, and almost instantly felt dread settle in his stomach. "Uh . . . hi Parker."
"That's not usually the greeting I receive, but hello," Parker replied. "Are you and young Master Tracy ready to go?"
"Just about, yeah." Fermat looked around behind Parker, hoping to catch some sign of Jeff Tracy.
The door suddenly swung wide open, and Alan's excited voice called out, "All set, D-." He stopped, the smile falling from his face. "Parker? Where's Dad?"
"He was unexpectedly detained, sir," Parker told him. "If you boys are all set, we can be on our way."
Alan nodded, carefully schooling his features into a blank expression. Wordlessly, he lifted his bags and followed Parker down the hall and out to the car.
Alan didn't say a single word the entire trip back to Tracy Island. Fermat felt bad for his friend, but could find nothing to say to make him feel any better. Parker, if he noticed, refrained from comment.
The island was nearly deserted when they arrived; Alan and Fermat knew that Tin Tin had gone with her parents to Malaysia for the summer. Brains was most likely busy monitoring the mission from the lab as the Thunderbirds relayed information to one another. Parker followed the boys up to the house, still not giving any information on the mission the Thunderbirds had been called out on.
Fermat tried half-heartedly to draw Alan out into a conversation, but Alan ignored him. Tossing his bags into his room, he slammed his door shut and took off down the hall.
Alan ran down to the water and continued down the beach, running until his home was out of sight. Anger and hurt fueled him, pushing him deeper into the island and into the jungle. He wanted to lash out- to yell, to hit something. Why did his family always push him off to the side?
Alan slowed and put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He knew how important the Thunderbirds were to his father- it had been his dream to set up International Rescue and save people around the world. Jeff Tracy had spent most of his life trying to make his dream into a reality, then trying to preserve that reality.
But what about Alan?
Alan knew that was unfair of him, but he couldn't help feeling as though he was being pushed off to the side a little too much. Was it so much to ask that his family take an interest in him every once and awhile? He wasn't asking for much. Alan honestly couldn't remember the last time he had had a real conversation with his father or brothers. Any discussion usually involved Thunderbirds missions or specs, or relentlessly teasing Alan about his poor grades and wild behavior.
Alan picked up a rock and threw it into the jungle, then sank onto a nearby log. His thoughts switched over to Josh, and he began to feel slightly better. At least someone thought he was worth spending time with. He knew his father wouldn't like it, but he was going to find a way back to the mainland to hang out with Josh. If his family couldn't be bothered with him, he'd just stay with someone who actually wanted him around.
A sudden crack of thunder echoed over the island, and a blue blur passed overhead. Alan watched as Thunderbird One circled the island and slowed as it approached the hangar beneath the pool. With Scott already back, Alan knew that Jeff and the others weren't too far behind. Sure enough, ten minutes later, the large green ship known as Thunderbird Two appeared overhead.
Alan settled more comfortably on his log after retrieving several more rocks. His family hadn't been in any big hurry to see him; he decided to hang out in the jungle a little while longer. Maybe he could come up with a plan to sneak back to the mainland while he waited.
"Alan?" Jeff entered his house through the hangar, glancing around for his youngest son. He knew Alan would be back from school by now, and was a little confused. Usually, Alan was waiting right at the entrance to the hangar for his family to appear, blue eyes bright with excitement.
Gordon suddenly shot past Jeff, with Virgil and Scott hot on his heels. Jeff smiled and shook his head, not sure he wanted to know what his boys were up to. He headed through the house, poking his head through doors and calling for Alan.
He found Brains and Fermat in the lab and nodded. "Hi, guys, have you seen Alan?"
Brains shook his head, but Fermat spoke up. "He dropped off his bags and left the house, M-Mr. Tracy."
Jeff's brow furrowed. "He left? Where did he go?"
Fermat shrugged. "I didn't see which way he went."
Jeff nodded again, thoughtful this time. "Thanks, Fermat."
He turned and headed outside toward the pool. He hadn't spoken to Alan for a while, and a part of him felt guilty about that. He knew he'd been neglecting Alan, but the Thunderbirds had had a strong increase in missions lately.
He had been hoping Alan would be nearby when he returned from their mission. John was due to return from Thunderbird Five soon. Brains and Fermat would be going up there for a while to finish some modifications, and Brains had offered to take the next rotation so that the Tracys could spend some time together. Jeff had been grateful, and had wholeheartedly accepted the offer. Brains and Fermat were to leave in about an hour, and Jeff had intended to let Alan accompany them and return with John, giving him a chance to experience Thunderbird Three's operations. If he didn't return from wherever he'd run off to, then he would miss out.
Jeff headed back into the house and made his way to his office. Whether or not Alan would return, he still had preparations of his own to make.
Alan swept aside a low branch and continued up the side of the mountain. He had only been this way once, when he, Fermat, and Tin Tin had been running from the Hood. He hadn't had a chance to really explore the area, but now he was making the time. If he could reach the communications tower, he would be able to find a signal on his cell to contact Josh.
A low rumble sounded in the distance as Alan emerged from the cover of the jungle, and he looked in the direction of his home. The rumble grew louder, and the distinctive red nose of Thunderbird Three appeared. Alan frowned, confused, then shrugged it off. It was probably another supply run to Thunderbird Five. His thoughts turned to John. He had hardly seen his brother since Thunderbird Five had been constructed. Between Alan being away at school and John being in space, the two rarely spoke.
The youngest Tracy ascended higher up the mountain, then took out his phone. He tried to dial Josh's number, then cursed when he saw that his battery was low. He hadn't remembered to charge it the night before. Sighing, Alan pocketed his phone. Casting one more glance up towards the communications tower, he turned and headed back in the direction of his house.
Alan managed to make it all the way back into the house and was almost to the room he shared with Gordon before being spotted. Virgil and Gordon were coming from the other direction, and the instant they saw their younger brother, they picked up their pace.
"Hey, Sprout!" Virgil and Gordon descended on the teen, grabbing him and ruffling his hair relentlessly. "Where you been? We've been looking all over for you!"
Alan retreated and narrowed his eyes at his brothers in suspicion. "Why?"
"Why?" Gordon echoed. "Do we need a reason?"
Alan merely waited.
"We haven't seen you in a while," Virgil stated. "Usually you're hanging around underfoot, asking all sorts of questions about our missions."
Alan knew it was meant lightly, but he couldn't help but feel insulted. "Sorry I wasn't there to feed into your egos, but I had things to do. Excuse me."
"Uh oh, look out," Gordon called as Alan pushed past them and continued to his room. "It's another Alan tantrum!"
Alan ignored him and went into his room, slamming the door behind him. He dug through his bags and removed his charger, then plugged his phone into the wall. As soon as his phone began to charge, he flopped onto his bed and glared up at the ceiling.
Jeff exited his study in time to nearly be run down by Gordon and Virgil. With lightning quick reflexes, he snagged Gordon's collar, effectively halting his son.
"Gordon, have you seen Alan?" he asked.
"Yeah, Dad, lots of times," Gordon replied cheekily.
"That's good to know," Jeff said patiently. "How about today?"
"Oh sure, today, too," Gordon answered.
Jeff waited. When no answer was forthcoming, he raised an eyebrow. "Well?"
"He's in our room, but watch out," Gordon replied. "He's having another tantrum. I bet he flunked science again."
Jeff gave Gordon a warning look, but released him. As Gordon skittered away, Jeff made his way back in the direction of Alan's room.
There was no answer to his knock, so Jeff opened the door. He saw Alan sitting at his desk, his back to the door, and decided to simple observe his youngest child for a moment.
Alan hadn't seemed to have changed too much over the last few months, from what Jeff could see. But there was a tension in his shoulders that was new. As he puzzled as to the source, Jeff cleared his throat.
"Hey, son, glad to be home?" he asked.
Alan glanced back at his father, a blank look on his face. "Yeah, sure."
Jeff became instantly confused. Alan had always been excited to see him, welcoming him with a warm hug at each reunion. This was a very different boy who had returned from school, and Jeff wasn't too sure that he liked this boy.
"Something wrong?" Jeff asked, moving deeper into the room.
"No, everything's perfect," Alan replied blandly. "How was the mission?"
"Same old, same old," Jeff answered, sitting on Alan's bed. "You excited to begin training? You've wanted to be a Thunderbird for so long. I bet you can't wait to start."
Alan's phone interrupted whatever Alan had been about to say. Alan snagged his phone and checked the caller ID, a grin spreading across his face. He held it to his ear. "Josh? Hey, man, how's it going?"
Jeff frowned, confused. He didn't remember Alan ever mentioning a boy named Josh before. He watched his son speak, listening to his half of the conversation until they finished. Alan switched his phone off, set it aside, then turned back to his father.
"Look, Dad, could you excuse me?" he asked. "I've got some stuff I need to take care of."
"Sure, son," Jeff replied, confused. He stood. "Who's Josh?"
"Josh?" Alan echoed.
Jeff inwardly rolled his eyes. Were his boys this difficult on purpose? "Josh? The person you just spoke to on the phone not two seconds ago?"
"Oh, Josh!" Alan replied. "Yeah, he's this guy I met a couple months ago at school. We started hanging out. He's really cool."
"Glad to hear you've made more friends at school," Jeff told him. "Look, I'll let you be, but dinner's served in an hour. John's going to be home, and I'd like us all to sit down to a family dinner, all right?"
"Sure, Dad," Alan agreed, turning his back to Jeff once more.
Jeff stared at his son for a moment longer, then left.