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Anxiety and A Question
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Life is a very interesting thing. When we like how our life is going, we pretty much just sit back in relax, but that rarely happens because we always want to change something. When we don't like how it's going, we usually do whatever we can to change it and sometimes, even when we try our hardest, we still can't change it. But sometimes, when we least expect it, the smallest of things can change it forever. It can change in a very good way or it can change in a way that just plain sucks. Now the interesting part is that these small things can come at any moment and we just wish that we receive some kind of warning, but knowing it and waiting for it is worse than not knowing. Those small things can come to you while you work, while you sleep, while you eat, while you watch T.V, while you cook, while you shower, while you clean, or while you doing something else.
"Guys, I'm bored! Do you guys wanna do something?" Max said sitting on the couch. He looked bored out of his mind. Justin was reading a book on the orange armless chair near the door while Alex was texting someone on the other armless chair.
"What do you want to do?" Alex said not looking away from her phone.
"I don't know, something!" He said desperately.
"Why don't you go find something to do?" Just said also not looking away from his book.
"Like what?"
Justin sighed. "Go find or get something." Max stood up and threw his arms in the air in defeat. He ran up the stairs to his room. Alex and Justin looked at each other. Alex shrugged her shoulders. "He must be really bored." She said. They both went back to what they were doing.
Somewhere else in New York…
Gale at the moment was driving on the streets and his destination was Declan's office. And as he drove he couldn't help, but think of how he ended up doing deals with Declan. He was a hired gun and he made deals with all kinds of people. He had two groups for them, the ones he liked and the ones he didn't. He worked with all of them even if he didn't like them because in his line of work, he really couldn't be picky. It was pretty easy to categorize them, if they weren't ignorant and arrogant he liked them and if they were he didn't.
Only certain people knew how to contact him and for those who wanted him and wouldn't waste his time, but didn't know how to contact him had to do it through those certain people. That's why he was puzzled when Declan called him directly. Gale knew all his contacts and Declan was not one of them. When he has time to think, he sometimes wonders how Declan got his number. He didn't mind much because the pay was good and at the end that's all that matters.
After all this time he still couldn't classify in which category Declan fit because he has only done a few jobs for him.
Gale stopped at a red light. He watched as mail truck passed in front of him. He couldn't help, but wonder how one simple call got him where he was right now. About to pull off something that will reach the front page in every newspaper in New York and going up against someone with strange powers. The light turned green.
Either way, he was about to find out in which category Declan belonged.
Back in the loft…
Justin and Alex were doing what they have been doing for the past hour. Justin took a side glance at the clock and closed his book.
"Alex." He said trying to get her attention. She stopped looking at her phone and watched him stand up. "Is time for our shift." He said signaling with his head to the stairs and started walking. Alex looked at the clock and nodded. They both made their way down the stairs.
Max's room…
Max was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. He looked like he was about to die from boredom. He was thinking of how bored he was.
"I…am…so…bored!" He said suddenly sitting up. He looked around his room and sighed. He stood up and walked over to the window. Max looked at the streets, his window didn't face Waverly Place. As he stared at the lively streets, he yawned and stretched his arms. Suddenly, something on the street caught his attention. He stared at it for a bit and considered what to do.
"Ah, what the heck? Is not like I have anything better to do." Max said and walked out of his room.
Downstairs in the sub station…
It wasn't too busy, but there was enough customers to use all their hands. J.R made the sandwiches, Jerry did the dishes, Justin did the cash register, Alex and Theresa took the orders. Once in a while they all switched, but somehow Alex always escaped from doing dishes.
Max came down from the stairs and jumped the last two steps. "I'll be right back." He said as he left through the front door. Theresa stopped writing down orders and looked at the front door. She looked back at Alex, who was on an other table.
"Where's he going?" She asked her. Alex looked at her and shrugged her shoulders.
A couple of minutes passed by.
The sub station was like any other place in New York. Anyway you look at it, everything looked normal. No body expected anything out of the ordinary to happen, not even wizards that lived there. They all liked how everything was.
"That will be $9.56 sir." Justin said to an old man with a cane.
"What! Last time I came here it was $6.96!" The old man said, outraged. Justin looked a bit confused.
"Uh, sir we haven't change our prices in months. When was the last time you came here?" Justin asked.
"Last week. Just because I'm old doesn't mean you can pull a fast one on me!" The old man said.
"I'm not-ow!" The old man smack Justin's leg from the side with his cane.
"You should be ashamed of yourself."
"Wha-ow! He hit him again.
Max walked in through the door, he was holding something and looking at it carefully. He looked like he was trying to figure something out. Max saw Justin and thought he might be able to help him.
Max walked over to him and stood next to him. "Hey, Justin can-"
"Not now Max! Ow!" That was going to leave a bruise.
"Please sir sto-ow!"
"Taking advantage of an old man!" He swung his cane again.
"But Justin." Max said.
"Ow! Max, go think about whatever it is for a while and then come back if you still need help. Ow!" Justin quickly said thinking it was one of those obvious things Max always missed.
Max sighed. "Alright." He said going up stairs.
The old man swung down hard.
"OW!" Now that was going to leave a mark.
Max's room…
Max was sitting on his bed staring at what he was holding and he was getting no where. He couldn't figure out what it was. He knew what it was, but he didn't think that was what it meant here because it wouldn't make sense. He kept staring at it for a few seconds and then stood up. He give up. He couldn't figure it out. Maybe, someone wasn't doing anything anymore. Max walked downstairs into the living room and was about to keep going when he noticed someone was on the couch. Max walked around the couch and saw it was J.R.
J.R has been feeling a bit anxious for a while now. He keeps thinking of how close he was to that day. But what made him anxious were the signs that weren't showing up. The signs that signaled that that day was coming. The more he waited for them the more anxious he became. Waiting for something he already knew was going to happen was just pure agony. That's why he has been trying to keep his mind off of it by working and occasionally when he wasn't working or fighting he slept. It's too bad for Max, he got him in one those moments.
Max was disappointed when he saw J.R sleeping. He was hoping he might be able to help him. Max saw as no one else was there and decided to go downstairs.
Most of the customers were gone and there were only a very few left. It wasn't long from closing time. Everyone was there minus Alex and J.R. Max saw Justin was cleaning the tables with a limp. Max didn't think Justin was in the mood to answer his question, so he walked inside the kitchen to ask his mom, who was cleaning the dishes.
"Mom, can I ask you something?" He asked.
Theresa looked at Max and smiled. "Sure honey, just give me a sec." She finished washing the plate she was holding and dried her hands on her apron.
"Okay, what is it?" She said facing him.
"Well, I asked Justin, but he told me to think about it first. So I thought about for a while, but couldn't figured it out." Theresa watched as Max dug his hand in his back pocket and took it out. "See, I don't know what this-"
"Jerry, are you eating the pudding!" She said looking over Max's shoulder. Jerry, who was trying to be sneaky by eating pudding in the corner of the kitchen, suddenly panicked. Theresa sighed.
"Go ask Justin again, he just had to finish cleaning the tables and he would be done." She said as she walked passed him, over to Jerry. Max groaned. Max turned to look at what Justin was doing through the opening in the wall.
All Justin wanted at the moment was to get all this cleaning done so he could go upstairs and put an ice bag on his leg. He desperately needed one. He finished his last table and rushed over to the counter. He threw the white cloth he was using through the opening in the wall into the sink and ran as best as he could up the stairs.
"Justin, wait up!" Max ran after him.
Max found Justin looking through the kitchen cabinets. "Justin." Max called as he got near the kitchen.
"Max, where's the ice bag?" Justin asked quickly turning to look at Max.
"I think it's in the bathroom's cabinet." As soon as Max finished, Justin rushed through the hall. "Justin!" Max went after him.
Justin wanted the ice bag so badly he didn't even knock to see if someone was inside. He should've really knocked first before he opened the door.
Max and Justin suddenly found themselves looking at a very naked Alex, who jus came out of the shower.
Justin had his mouth hanging opened while Max just stared with wide eyes. They all stared at each other for a few seconds when suddenly…
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Alex screamed, quickly grabbing a towel to cover herself.
"Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! GETOUT!!!" She yelled throwing things at them.
They both covered their heads as they ran out the door, but before Max closed the door he popped his head in.
"Can I ask you something?" He asked.
"OUT!" Alex said throwing a comb. Max quickly shut the door before he got hit.
Max rested his back against the door while Justin kept staring at the door from the opposite side.
"Alex is sure maturing." Justin said still dazed from what he just saw.
Max looked at him confused. "Alex maturing? I don't think she is going to mature anytime soon." Justin looked down and shook his head. Max clearly didn't get it.
Declan's office…
After an hour of waiting Gale finally could go into Declan's office. When he walked in, he saw Declan sitting on his chair, waiting for him.
"Gale, what brings you here?" Declan asked.
Gale narrowed his eyes under his shades. He didn't like people that he hardly knew to call him by his name. "It's about the black coat man." He said as he walked towards his desk and sat down on the chair in front of it.
Declan frowned a little. "Did you get rid of him?" He asked.
"No, not yet." Gale answered.
Declan didn't seem very happy about that. "Are you having trouble handling just one man?" He said showing slight anger.
"Do you know anything about this guy?" Gale asked, to see if could get some answers.
"Of course not. Do you have any idea how many people want me dead?" Gale just stared at him. "If I stopped and counted, it would take me months."
"Just kill him and move on. We have more important matters to attend to."
"Are you sure there's nothing special about him?" Gale asked.
"No." Declan responded without hesitating. That's all Gale needed to hear. He stood up and began to leave. Declan didn't seem to care.
"I hope the next time we meet, we'll be at my party." Declan said with a smirk as Gale closed the door behind him.
As Gale walked to the elevator, he thought about this whole situation. Declan clearly didn't know, who he was going up against and didn't want to. That's was a very risky thing to do and it'll probably was going to cost him. The only thing Declan was good at was planning. He couldn't tell who was going to come on top, that man with his strange powers or Declan's ingenious planning. Either way, he now knew in what category Declan fit.
The loft's living room…
Max was really tired of no one helping him. He sat on one of the chairs on the dinner table with his arms crossed on it and resting his head on them. Everyone once again were too busy doing something. Theresa was making dinner, Jerry was closing downstairs, Justin was laying down on the couch with an ice pack on his leg and an arm over his eyes mumbling something about a sadistic old man, J.R had once again disappeared somewhere, and Alex was sitting on the armless chair watching T.V, but he didn't dare talk to her right now. Once in a while she would send a glares at her brothers. She was still a little mad about the whole bathroom incident.
"Okay, everyone dinner time." Theresa announced as she brought food filled plates to the table. Jerry came from the stairs just in time. J.R came through the front door a couple of seconds later. Everyone came over to the table and sat down as Theresa finished bringing the last plate.
Justin winced as he sat down. "Oh, Justin does your leg still hurt?" Theresa asked.
"A little, but the swelling has gone down." He said.
"Just suck it up you big baby." Alex said.
"Excuse me, you weren't the one that got hit nineteen times with a wooden stick!" Justin said.
Jerry looked at Max and saw him playing with his food and not in his usual energetic self. "Max, what's wrong?" He asked. Max took his eyes off his plate and looked at Jerry.
"I been having trouble figuring something out, but nobody has helped me." This got everyone's attention.
"Help with what?" Jerry asked.
"Oh, so now you want to help me!" Max said throwing his arms in the air.
Alex rolled her eyes. "Just spitted out already." Max glared at her.
Max didn't say anything.
"Well?" Alex said annoyed.
Max sighed and asked what he has been trying to figure out all day.
"What's a ball?" They all just stared at him.
"Max, I know you're dense, but seriously, this is what you been wondering?" Alex asked.
"Not that kind of ball…well at least I don't think it is." Max said not sure.
They all looked confused. Max took out a folded piece of paper out from his pocket.
"You see it says right here." Max began to read from where the word was. "…you have been formally invited to the luxurious ball at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel." Max read.
None of them noticed J.R suddenly became tense.
Jerry grabbed the paper from Max's hand. "Max, where did you get this?" Jerry asked looking at the paper.
"Well, I was so bored and had nothing to do, I decided to get the mail when I saw the mail truck from my window." Max explained.
Theresa frowned. "Max, how many times have we told you not to open envelopes that don't belong to you." She said.
Max raised his hand and pointed at the letter. "It said to the Russo Family." Max said taking out the envelope and handing it to her. Justin and Alex came around the table and looked over their dad's shoulder to see the letter. Theresa could see the letter because she was sitting next to him.
"So?" They turned their attention to him. "What's a ball?"
"It's a place where you have to wear a dress and tux, you eat, dance, etc. Basically it's a big party." Justin explained.
"It says here it's going to be sponsored by Mr. Declan Malson at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and the whole family is invited." Jerry said after going through the invitation.
"Why would this Mr. Malson invite us? Do any of you know him?" Theresa wondered. They all shook their heads, except for J.R. He has been quiet all this time, but they were to preoccupied by the letter to notice and because J.R never said that much.
"Should we go?" Jerry asked. They all looked at each other.
"Sure, why not? It might be a lot of fun." Theresa said.
"Well, you guys can go, but count me out." Alex said going back to her chair.
"Alex come on it might be fun." Theresa said.
"Yeah, I mean is not everyday we get to go to a place like this as a family." Jerry said.
"No." Jerry sighed.
"How about this. If you go will buy you does shoes you been wanting." Theresa said.
"You will?" Alex asked.
"You will?" Justin repeated.
"We will?" Jerry looked at Theresa. She gave him a look. "I mean we will!" Jerry said.
"What do you say?" Theresa asked.
Alex sighed. "You know I can refuse new shoes. Fine I'll go." Alex said giving in.
"Hopefully, it will be exciting." Max said to Justin.
While the family talked about the ball, J.R had gone to the terrace. He looked up at the dark sky. He got what he wanted. The signs were finally showing themselves, but it didn't seem to make his anxiety disappear. Seeing that letter brought back something he hasn't wondered for some time. The question he always asked himself before he found out it wasn't an accident.
What if they had never received that envelope?
He always wondered how a simple letter changed his whole life.
Admit it, things are getting exciting. Like Gale said who will come out on top? Declan might be an asshole, but he is a smart asshole who knows how to plan.