Since this is so short, I decided to post it early! The chapters will get longer, I promise!
Chapter 8
Howard Moon's hand paused where it rested lightly on the doorknob to Vince Noir's hospital room. From within he could hear a slight sound. As the minutes ticked by he guessed that it was either the small television, which was unlikely since Vince rarely ever watched it, or...Vince was singing.
Howard had opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it shut behind him before he even realised it. And when he did he winced; surely Vince would stop now that he had an audience. Howard himself had always been too shy to sing around others, even his mother. But looking upon the child, now able to sit upright in his bed, Howard was happily surprised to find that Vince just kept going, giving Howard a small glance of recognition before turning back to the coloring book spread open on the little overbed table.
A nurse had gone out of her way to bring him coloring books and crayons, apparently when Vince wouldn't stop whinging on about his skull-bending boredom. In only eight more days, Vince would be released back to his home.
Howard tried to make out what exactly it was Vince was singing, but was bemused when he found he could barely understand a word of it. It was hardly english, or any other language, for that matter. Simply jibberish sounds that flowed together. The few actual words Vince threw in there were even more befuddling than the noises, so Howard stopped trying to translate and chose to sit down in his chair and focus on Vince's voice itself.
Vince had the kind of voice that would sound lovely, if he wanted it to. But Vince seemed far more intent on the 'lyrics', rather than the actual quality of his singing. This resulted in quite a few screeching high notes and wavering pitches. After what seemed like a headache-inducing lifetime, Vince finally ended his song, and his coloring, because he pushed the table away from himself and sat up a little straighter, smiling over at Howard. Howard decided to ignore the happy little bear on the coloring page before him that had a drawn-in speech bubble shouting 'wanker!' up at him.
"So, uh, you excited to get out of here?"
As if Howard had to ask. Vince grinned and nodded vigorously. Howard smiled and proceeded to tell Vince the happy news he'd just learned that day at school.
"Well, then you're going to be running up the walls when I tell you this; The Headmaster has arranged for all years to go on a school trip before summer holidays. That means everyone will be going. You should be back in school and well enough weeks before the trip is scheduled."
"Really? Wow! I heard they used to have those every year, back before I went there. But they stopped doing them like seven years ago or somethin'. Don't know why. This is brilliant! It'll be like an adventure! Where's it to?"
"Apparently the Wuthering Heights Zoo. It's supposed to be very big. A lot of huge exhibits. And that's where the news gets bad. Since the admission price is so costly, every student and parent that comes along has to pay for their own admission. The school will drive us there on the buses, but we have to pay for everything else."
Vince's face fell. Howard had foreseen this; judging by how 'attentive' his guardians seemed to be so far, Howard really doubted they would pay for Vince to go to a zoo for a day. This is why Howard had had a serious talk with his mother just before making his way to the hospital. Clearing his throat so that he had Vince's attention once more, Howard took in the solemn, resigned look on the kid's face, and smiled widely as he began with what he knew would cheer the little bugger right up.
"And that is why I am going to be paying for your ticket. Now, granted, that means my mother can't come along, as we can't be shelling out for three tickets, but I do have some extra money saved up that we could use to buy food and maybe some souvenirs."
Howard sensed that he was beginning to ramble and so closed his mouth. Vince looked as though if he were able to he'd launch right out of the bed and onto Howard then and there. Howard felt a bit conflicted inside; that money was all he had left after Vince's gift last month. He'd really wanted to get a bass guitar. But if Vince kept looking at him like that Howard felt he might just go completely broke, and settle for a flippin' harmonica.
The day Vince was scheduled to leave, Howard showed up at his usual time, barely able to make it through classes, only to open the door into an empty room. A small shock went up his body as he beheld the freshly-made bed, and then it hit him that Vince's guardians must've come by earlier to fetch him. Funny, Howard had completely forgotten about them. Now he felt a bit foolish, realising with another jolt that the entire day he'd been envisioning himself arriving at the hospital to cart Vince away. Take him out of there and...to where? His home? His home? When had he started thinking of his and Vince's homes as the same thing? Ah, well.
With a bit of an awkward turn, Howard slowly made his way back out the front doors and toward his house, not sure what to do with the rest of his day.
Standing outside the elementary at six in the morning, Howard felt more than a little creepy as the first of the children showed up, huddling outside the front entrance, sneaking occasional looks over at Howard, who stayed near the pavement. Turned out Howard didn't have to get up so early to go out there and wait. Because wait he did. He waited and waited for nigh on two hours, hearing the simultaneous sounds of bells chiming in both neighboring buildings. He was late. And so was Vince. He was supposed to come to school the day after his release from the hospital. Maybe something had gone wrong. Maybe Vince was still too hurt to move about without the assistance of painkillers. Maybe...maybe that monster, the one that still plagued the back of Howard's mind, maybe he had shown up, in the night, while Vince lay asleep in his own bed. Unguarded. Unchecked on by nurses making their rounds.
Howard's throat tightened as he attempted to swallow his mounting worry, and just as he was about to make a complete fool of himself by sprinting down the streets toward Vince's house (he didn't even know where it was!), he saw the boy appear from down the road, rounding a distant corner that led deep into the shadiest stretches of the district.
Momma Hen mode activated, Howard strode brusquely to Vince, meeting him halfway. Vince looked up at him in confusion as the distance between them lessened, until they were headed back toward the schools side by side.
"What took you so long? I'm late for my classes! I-" Howard cut himself short.
'Listen to you! You're not the boy's father, Moon. You're making an utter tit of yourself, dogging after him in the street.'
Vince did appear contrite, though, which restored some of Howard's pride.
"Sorry. It was hard to get dressed. It hurt trying to get these stupid jeans on. And the doctors say I can't run for at least two more weeks, or else I can hurt my hip again."
"Are you alright? Do you need help walking? Can you get to class on your own? Um, maybe I should just walk you back home."
'Yeah, Moon; utter tit.'
Vince grinned up at him, stating that he was fine. Looking him over, Howard did have to admit that he seemed completely unhurt. He was walking slower than he used to, but other than that he was perfectly capable of making it through a simple day of school, and now they were at the front doors to the primary so Howard had better stop hovering over him and get his ass to his own classroom! Muttering a "goodbye" in Vince's direction, Howard hurriedly made his way across the road and into his own school building. Vince would be alright on his own. He was eight, not three! And he had managed to survive for all these years without Howard shadowing him, so he was obviously doing something right.
After a withering look from his teacher, Howard assumed his usual desk, and immediately tuned out the lesson. His grades were sure to plummet from this, as well as his health. Howard was certain he'd find grey hairs if he looked in the mirror.
'That's it. Concentrate, Moon! How do you expect to finally pass your last year of school and get a good job if you keep letting your mind wander like this! Pay attention!'
Nodding to himself like a loon, Howard leant forward in his desk and put all his willpower into listening to every word the teacher said, though this did little to help him understand a word she was saying. Bollocks. The young man just decided to lay his head down for a little while.
(I know you saw that. And I'm not sorry :)