Stop Looking at your Shoes and Start looking at the World Around You

Chapter 5: Was There Ever a Friendship?

I rode like the wind. I didn't think, I didn't hesitate, it was like my actions were guided by a higher power. I arrived back home in a matter of minutes, skidding my bike onto the front steps, I leaped up to the door and ran inside without taking off my helmet or pads. Mom wasn't home but she left a note for me on the fridge stating what I already knew. Carver was missing, and she went out to join the search. I ran to my room, picked up the phone, and hit the speed dial button for Lor.

"MacQuarrie residence." Lor's voice formally answered from the other end after one or two rings.

"Lor!" I responded, "It's Tino! We have an emergency! It's about Carver."

"Carver!" she cut me off, "That two-faced, sucker-punching, jack-ass, what did he do now? I swear when I get my hands on him…"

"He's gone!" I yelled.

"Gone? Where did he go?" She asked a stupid question.

I had no patience for this, "I mean gone, gone! As in he's missing, AWOL, run away!"

"Missing?" she echoed, "W-what can we do?"

"Well I can tell you that sitting around here talking about it won't do any good."

I answered, "That's why I'm calling. I want you to get your parents and that tackle squad you call brothers, and I want you to join the search. But take your walkie-talkie with you so we can keep in touch."

"Roger!" she responded, "And Tino…"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"Um… your welcome." I said. She then hung up. "Huh," I said to myself, "That was… uncharacteristic."

I shook it off and hit the speed dial for Tish's place. It took quite a few rings but soon the voice of her father answered the call. "Hello, You are calling of the Katsufrakis place now."

"Mr. Katsufrakis, is Tish home?" I asked.

"Hang on some seconds." Mr. Katsufrakis wasn't one to cover the ear piece when passing the phone, I could clearly hear the exchange. I heard him work his way up the stairs, and knock on a door.

"Petratishcovna, is young man on the tell-me-foam for you."

"It's 'telephone' Papa, and I don't want to talk to anyone right now."

"Tishy, please. You are being in your room since last night. Come on out and talk to friend."

"No Papa, just tell him that I'm not here."

"sigh, alright, is what you want."

I couldn't remain the fly on the wall any longer, I screamed into the phone hoping they could hear me. "NO! Mr. Katsufrakis, please tell Tish to answer the phone RIGHT NOW! It's an emergency!"

Apparently, I screamed so loudly that even Tish could hear me. I heard a receiver being picked up. "It's okay Papa," Tish said over the other line in a despondent voice, "I've got it now." Her father hung up. "Yes Tino, what's the emergency?"

"It's about Carver…" I paused, I had to be more tactful with Tish than with Lor. "Tish, I have to tell you something, you can't be mad at Carver for how he's been treating you all weekend."

"And why can't I?" she sneered, "It's clear that he hates me."

"No! He doesn't hate you… he hates himself! And he's punishing himself by lashing out at us… because we tried to make him happy...or something." The explanation didn't come out as clearly as I had intended.

"That's a lie!" she spat, it was a mistake of me to get in a shouting match with someone as well spoken as Tish. "He was still nice to Lor, and he even specifically called on you. But all I've received from him is neglect and hatred!"

It was at that moment, trying to collect a response, that I really thought about Tish's and Carver's friendship. Did they really even have one? They didn't have any common interests, they never saw eye-to-eye, and Tish was always the one coming down on Carver for the way that he treats people. If it wasn't for their associations through me and Lor, would they even talk to each other? Did Carver really hate Tish? I had thought that my previous conclusion solved everything, that we could arrive to the rescue and everything would be as it has always been. I began to doubt myself and what I thought was the truth. "Carver hated himself", the more I thought about it, the more it sounded like a poor excuse. I began to convince myself that Carver lashed out at Tish because she was the easier target… what a coward.

"Tino," the voice from the phone jumped me back to reality, "Are you still there?"

I paused for a moment, "…Carver is missing. He's been gone since last night after the mall and no one knows where he is." I said without a hint on emotion, like I was simply relaying the facts.

Tish didn't answer, but I could hear the quiver in her breath. "We have to find him." I continued, "Whatever's happened, whatever he has done, it can be worked out. But we'll never get that chance if we lose him. Do you understand?"

She responded with a staggered "yes", it sounded like her heart was up in her throat.

"I already called Lor to join the search, and I need you to do the same. Bring your walkie-talkie so we can keep in touch."

"Yes, I will.' She complied, "…and…Thank you,"

"For what?" I asked.

"For being the good guy about this… you are a true friend… to all of us." She said before hanging up. Odd, first Lor, than her. I was only doing what I felt was right. Did it really make me all that special? Come to think of it, this determination, this leadership, I never thought I had it in me before. But this was the life of my best friend we were talking about, I couldn't allow myself to be any other way.

By force of habit, I hit the speed dial for Carver's house. But all I got has an automated message telling me that the number was no longer in service.

"Oh… right..." I reminded myself. I put the phone back on the hook, grabbed my walkie-talkie, and headed out the door.

Four families, joined together by little more than a bond between their children. Collectively, we combed Bahia Bay. Looking in all of Carver's usual hang outs, back at the ruins of his former home, the school, the beach, we even checked at Helpers Helping the Helpless. It was the only place in town that offers a shelter for homeless people to spend the night. But Carver wasn't there. Of course he wasn't, the volunteers would have recognized him and sent him back home. Wherever Carver was, he didn't want to be found. As the hours passed, hope began to diminish. Where could a 12-year-old boy disappear to? We began to fear the worst. Every moment of that day was a time in my life that I never wanted to experience again. It wasn't until noon that it happened. I received a signal from Tish's walkie-talkie. She was either way out of range, or her signal was being blocked by interference.

"Ti…..I…….Ca…er…….bus…….!" She said, fragmented through static.

"Tish! Tish are you there? Have you found Carver? Where are you?" I yelled into the walkie-talkie. I wasn't even sure she could hear me.

"..……b…sta….!" The signal was getting worse.

"Repeat that!" I pleaded.

"………." The signal was gone.

I stood there for a moment, jumping back and forth between the first and second message. "Bus…sta…the bus- the BUS STATION!" but which bus station? It could be any of them! I had to relay the message to the rest of the search party. If Carver got on a bus out of town, we could never find him. "Please Tish, please" I said out loud as I rode my bike to rendezvous with the rest of the search party, "What ever you do, don't let him go."

End of chapter 5. This is a short chapter, but I'm not apologizing. I don't have to make the chapters long to make the story good. And I've been updating rapidly, so don't complain. I had to be careful with this one, Tino is being uncharacteristically brave in this chapter, and I had to make sure that he didn't fall too far out of character. For the closing chapters, I've spent a very long time watching old episodes, trying to figure out what the friendships of each character means to one another. Concluding that Tino is very much the glue that holds them together.

There really isn't much that I could say about this chapter. I mean it began and ended the way I wanted it to. But it was definitely not the best. I contemplated adding more events to it, but that would be like welding extra junk onto a sculpture just to make it look more impressive. I've resolved that , just like for chapter 2, this is a wind up before the pitch. And believe me, the final chapter will be one hell of a pitch. To be perfectly honest, I've already finished writing the finale. But I'm going to wait a few days after posting this chapter before I let you have it… got to hold you in suspense and all. Maaaaaaybe I'll wait until the reviews start coming in before I give it to you. Don't worry, I won't hold out on you too long (). Later Days.