Going Pro

Chapter 8: Empty

A couple weeks had passed since Jesse agreed to participate in the tournament and his horse, Jade, passed away. Jesse already talked to his teachers about missing his Friday classes so he could go the tournament and he already got all the addresses and information he needed about where to go and when he had to be there. He didn't have to prepare anything himself. The only thing he needed to focus on was honing his dueling skills.

He started going to the Duel Monsters Team meetings where he dueled every single member at least five times each. Chris simply ignored him, but Jesse didn't really try to talk to him much either. Whenever he had to, it was simple, short sentences that required simple answers. Since Jesse kept winning, he got bored of the team and decided to stop going for the last couple days until he would have to leave. To not upset Mr. Von, Jesse told the adviser that he was going to try to relax before the trip. Luckily, the teacher agreed and told Jesse to do whatever he needed to do to be prepared.

Since Jesse didn't need to be home early to take care of any animals, he decided to hang out behind the school and relax. His mother took responsibility for the chickens, and she insisted that Jesse not worry about it anymore. He ended up lying down in the grass on a slope overlooking the track. No one was around and the track was empty. It wasn't until he laid there for a while, just staring at the sky, that he realized the grass was a little damp and it was starting to soak through. Oh well.

Letting his mind wander, he remembered how he got to school that morning. It had rained, but by the time he left for school, the sun beginning to shine again. The result was the biggest rainbow he had ever seen. It appeared to arch over the whole town while he was still up in the hills. If he hadn't been running late, he would have got off his bike and admired the view a little longer.

Jesse got up and stretched before looking around. He was alone. Most everyone had gone home or were inside for activities. Smirking, he ran down the slope and onto the track, leaving his bag where it was. He didn't pace himself and he just ran as hard as he could. He wanted the rush.

After only one lap, he noticed his friend, Julia, standing by his book bag on the slope. Finishing the second, he decided to stop and talk to her since she appeared to be waiting for him. He looked at her slightly perplexed when she simple smiled at him in greeting as he started up the slope. "Why haven't you gone home yet?" Jesse asked her.

She looked surprised by his question. "I tutor after school, remember?"

"I don't remember you ever telling me that," Jesse said as he picked up his bag. "Neat though, so what's up? Just finishing up for the day?"

Julia nodded. "Yes, and I saw you out the window," she gestured to the building. "Was wondering if you were waiting for something?"

"Oh, not really," he said. "Just avoiding going home, I guess."

Julia didn't respond to that. She didn't need to. "Do you know if your duels this weekend will be televised?"

"They won't be."

"Darn, I was hoping to be able to watch you somehow," she said and then her mobile phone buzzed. She had been holding onto it so she lifted her hand to look at the screen. "I have to answer this, pardon," she said and turned away. "Hello?"

Jesse tried not to listen in, but did anyway. He couldn't help it when he heard his name.

"I'm waiting behind the school with Jesse," she said and paused. "Sure, I'll ask, hold on," she said and turned to Jesse and she pressed the phone to her shoulder. "My dad wants to know if you want a ride home?"

"I can't, my bike is here," he shrugged with a small smile.

Juila put the phone back to her ear. "Is the bike rack still on the car?" she asked. "Great, I'll tell him," she said and looked at Jesse again. "You can bring your bike, what do you say?"

"Can't say no to that," he chuckled. Julia finished up on the phone and they went to get his bicycle. The ride was pleasant and he met Julia's father. The man thanked Jesse for bringing his daughter the soup a few weeks ago when she was feeling under the weather, to which Jesse said it was nothing.

Jesse thought her father seemed really nice. Julia didn't speak about her home life often, neither did he, but from what he has observed, it seemed like there were no complaints at home. Jesse briefly tried to remember what had been said in their short time as friends so far.

The ride was short and he waved to them as he watched them go back down the hill from his driveway. Then he walked his bike to the side of the house and leaned it up against the wall. His mother's car was gone, so she left for work already. He had expected to see his yellow Labrador Retriever greet him either outside or when he got into the house, but the dog appeared to be absent. Jesse furrowed his brow in confusion and looked around a little.

"Why does this keep happening?" He wondered aloud. The animals are either disappearing or dying lately, and he really didn't like it at all. Did the cat or chickens even ever turn up again when he told his mother about not seeing them that one day? Jesse thought about it as he changed out his uniform and then decided to check outside for them. It was strange that he hadn't seen them just around the house like normal.

He went around the barn and opened up the small coup where he expected to see a few chickens roosting for the night. The coup was completely empty. No chickens, no straw, not even a food or water container. There are many predators that will hunt chickens, but they don't typically run or fly off with heavy metal watering containers. Could they have been robbed? Strange thing to steal.

"Here, kitty, kitty," Jesse called. He went to get some cat food to lure the cat out, but found the food was completely missing. He scratched his head in confusion. Did is mother move it from where they usually kept it?

He went back inside and checked for a note on the table or refrigerator. There was none. He checked his phone for a message from this mother. No messages. He almost called his mother right then, but stopped himself. She wouldn't be able to answer if she was at work.

Jesse ran his hands through his hair and paced through the house. He even checked his mother's bedroom to see if the dog got stuck in there. Normally when something like that happened, the dog would whine, altering Jesse to the problem. The room was empty. Then he checked his grandparents' vacant bedroom, mostly just used as storage now, and there was no sign of a pet being in there. That door was always shut and latched to keep them from going in there.

He was stumped with no idea what to do. Should he try calling the authorities? And say what? He should probably talk to his mother first.

Jesse started towards his own bedroom, but then paused to look at the famed pictures on the wall of the hallway. Particularly the one of him, his grandfather, and Jade. He had just learned how to ride horseback that day. He was pretty sure his mother was the one who took the picture. She didn't have to tell them to smile. They were already laughing and having a good time, so she just snapped the picture to capture the memory.

As soon as he felt his chest constrict as sadness welled up, he turned away. He didn't want to be sad anymore. Being happy and grateful that he possessed those memories would be better for all of them. Jesse knew his grandfather would tell him not to be sad, to stay positive, and keeping smiling until it's genuine. Sure, Jesse knew the negatives of that kind of advice, his grandfather warned him not to push himself too much, but he also knew the times it's was probably best to follow it and simply try his best. Acknowledging all this somehow managed to bring himself some clarity to his thoughts and emotions.

Right when Jesse started to move towards his room again, he noticed the door to his grandfather's old study was ajar. He closed it and then hesitated. Opening the door again, he stepped into the closet of a study and looked around. The books and albums were packed up in boxes and stacked around the desk. Jesse thought about how his mother really was serious about this manger cleaning and reorganizing thing she had been talking about. The office was hardly ever touched and therefore only got dusty every now and then.

Looking at the desk, it was obvious it was being used since ads, phone numbers, and newspapers were laid out and gathering into small stacks. There were some things circled in blue and red ink on the paper and Jesse took a closer look.

"2480 North Circle Street, two bedroom, one bath, no pets," Jesse read to himself. "What?" He read another item circled. "Available now, two bedroom, one bath, no pets, smoking allowed." Then he read another one. "Maple Plaza vacancies, tenants wanted, two bed, one and half bath, utilities included?"

There was more. Jesse looked at the other papers and found they were all similar. Each and every circled item was from apartment listings. But why would his mother be looking so deeply in to that? Was she planning on selling the house of his grandfather, her father? Without any warnings whatsoever?

Jesse dropped the papers in his hands and just stood there. He didn't know what he was supposed to think or how he was supposed to feel. His heart was beating rapidly. He took a deep slow breath to calm himself.

There was one feeling he was able to identify as he stood in the dim closet of a study. He felt alone. He was alone. The house was silent. The yard was silent. Even the pasture was silent. The place he called home used to be bustling with the activity of the domesticated animals he called his friends and even wild visitors. Even his own mother had been and still is silent. What else was she not telling him? It was now very clear to him how little he knew about what was happening in his own life. He was left in the dark and he had no control.

Jesse left the small office space and sat in the kitchen. He wasn't mad or any variation of the emotion. No, he didn't feel like that at all. If anything, he was only disappointed. He and his mother both had many secrets which they kept from each other. Jesse knew that, but he wasn't sure how much his mother knew it. But this? This was something that shouldn't have been a secret. Not from him.

A buzzing sound caught his attention. He looked towards it and realized it was his cell phone, which was still in his book bag. The screen displayed a number he didn't recognize, but he chose to answer it anyway.

It turned out to be a coordinator for the upcoming tournament. He was quickly distracted with receiving information, confirming details, and writing out directions, locations, and times. He was going to need to get a taxi to take him to his hotel, and since all the participants were staying at the same hotel, the coordinator was going to be there to make sure everyone could get to the duel arena without troubles. Jesse was glad for that, since he had a tendency to get himself lost in unknown places. Somehow, he could even get lost while going in a straight line. Sometimes he failed at life.

After about twenty minutes, he hung up his phone. The battery was now low, so he needed to recharge it. Even though he was anxious, he was also excited. As he looked over his notes, things became real. He was really going to do this. He was going to show who knows how many people what's he is made of and how much he loves Duel Monsters. He wondered if he had the makings of a duelist and what the spectators would see in him and his dueling style.

He thought it would be amazing to get to travel the world and duel people from all walks of life. The variety of decks, monsters, spells, traps, and duelists would become known to him. Jesse hadn't really thought he would become a professional duelist, but it was still interesting to fantasize about. Despite the giddy feeling such thoughts left him, he still wondered if that was his calling? Was this the thing he was meant to do? He didn't think so, but maybe Julia was right, maybe it was just a step on the path he was meant to take.

Jesse headed to his room to put his phone on its charger. He was about to sit at his desk when he heard his mother get home. It was odd considering she was supposed to be at work. Confused, he went back out to the kitchen to make sure it was really her.

When he saw her, he was surprised that anger bubbled up inside. He had so many questions for her. Things he needed to know. Why wasn't she at work? Where were the animals? Why was she searching for apartments? Instead, only one question came out.

"What's going on?" Jesse asked in a very serious tone.

His mother looked at him surprised and was met with a rather cold look from her son. "What do you mean?"

"Just answer my question, I'm not stupid, but you need to explain," he said with slight bite to his voice.

"You're asking about the dog, aren't you?" she asked, but he didn't say anything. "I gave him to a shelter so he can go to a new home. I have my reasons," she stated. "I'm sorry for not telling you."

"That's all you have to say? Out of everything, that's what…" he trailed off. "You know what? I'll find out eventually, if you don't want to tell me, then fine," he snapped and went back to his room where he locked the door behind him.

He sat on his bed and seethed for a minute. It was stupid, but he knew he had to get out of there before he said something hurtful that he didn't mean. He didn't get any answers. Only more questions. Why? For what reasons? He thought he deserved to know. At the very least, he should know why she got rid of his dog. She should have warned him so he could have at least said goodbye.

That was happening too often for his liking. Not getting to say goodbye. He never placed much worth on goodbyes, since most goodbyes weren't forever, but it was a whole different story when they were. A part of him wished he was on his own right now. That he didn't have someone else making decisions for him. He had to get out of here. Away from this place. That tournament couldn't come fast enough.

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Author's Note:

*New poll on my profile* (Ends in one week from this update.) Since I have so few readers, I have decided you ask what you would prefer in this case. Since I am still on the fence about whether to use "Jesse" or "Johan", it's now up for vote. I can easily change it if desired and I have no problem leaving it as "Jesse". If I switch to "Johan", I will also use "Pegasus J. Crawford" and "Gem Beasts" instead of "Crystal Beasts" to stay consistent. This way, if the names change, it won't be jarring since this is the warning if it's changed in the next chapter.

Another note: Julia has ended up in this story more than I originally outlined, but since Jesse doesn't have any other friends, she's the only person he can interact with at this point. I am going for a seemingly normal, average girl with her character. Decent grades, stays out of trouble, and somewhat shy. She is going to be a presence through most of this story, though not as a main character (especially in the North Academy arcs), so I hope she is reading well to you readers.