I DO NOT OWN ZERO DAY. SHOUTOUT TO 90THEGENERAL09 FOE THEIR UNDYING SUPPORT WITH THIS STORY.
"So, that was the first time that you met Calvin Gabriel?" Dr. Robertson asked as he took notes of what John had said so far.
"Yeah, first time." John replied as he took a sip of water from a cup he had been offered.
"Sounds like the Gabriels appeared to be a normal family." The physicist remarked.
"They were...for a little while longer." John whispered as his flashbacks returned and he went back to his story.
Applebee's. New Stratford, Connecticut. Later that evening.
As Cal and I followed our parents to Applebee's, Cal and I started talking. We were shooting the usual shit about our families and our hobbies and all that BS. Cal's demeanor changed when he started talking about Iroquois High School. He clearly didn't think very much of the place or the kids who went there.
"All of the people at that school are assholes." Cal said with a look of stone on his face.
"I'm sorry." I told him. I knew what it was like to be above all the morons at your school. "It was the same at the last school I was at. The jocks and the rich kids enjoyed making everyone else's lives Hell."
"I wish I could say that things will be better here, but they won't." Cal replied, not even looking at me. Looking back, maybe he was worried that I would have seen the hate in his eyes. Not the usual, I hope those losers drop dead hate, but the I want to grab an AR-15 and pump those fuckers full of lead hate.
"Do you have any friends?" I inquired, trying to change the subject from the douchebaggery of Iroquois high.
"I have a couple. There's this one girl, her name's Rachel Lurie. I've known here since kindergarten." Cal said with a small smile. I've racked my brain on it so many times, but I honestly don't know if he had a crush on Rachel or not. Sometimes, it seemed like maybe he did, but when he actually spent time with her, he never tried to escape the friend zone. When you saw the look on his face when he talked about her, you could tell that he did care for her. That's why despite everything, I can't help but feel guilty about what happened later.
"Who's your other friend?" I asked.
"His name is Andre Kriegman. I met him in first grade. He is, the best friend that I have ever had. I literally couldn't imagine my life without him." Cal answered with a larger smile than he had given me when he mentioned Rachel Lurie. The way he talked about Andre, you would've thought that they were brothers instead of best friends. Maybe that's why Cal couldn't walk away from Zero Day. He and Andre had such a bind that neither of them could've broken it. Even if they'd wanted to. Eventually, we pulled into the Applebee's parking lot and we followed my parents and Carl's family inside. My parents and Carl's parents sat at one booth while Cal, Eric, Madelyn, and I sat at another. I had Honey BBQ boneless wings and a Diet Coke while Cal had the fiesta lime chicken and a raspberry ice tea. As we ate, I told Cal more about myself.
"Oh man, i love these cheeseburgers. They are the absolute best!" Madelyn said as she eagerly devoured her cheeseburger kids meal.
"No way, Grilled cheese is the absolute best and you know it!" Eric shot back as he gnawed at his grilled cheese sandwich like a small animal. He and his sister began to squabble over who's meal was superior.
"So, what does John McCartney like to do for fun?" Cal inquired as he sipped on his ice tea.
"I used to be a writer, but I gave up on it." I said as he gave me a look that was a cross between disappointment and disgust.
"Did you ever publish a book?" Madelyn inquired eagerly, assuming that I must be some Dr. Seuss type.
"Nope...I never got that far." I admitted sheepishly as I knew that none of my writings would ever get past the drawing board.
"Why in the Hell did you give it up?" Cal asked me as if I had just thrown away a winning lottery ticket.
"I probably wasn't very good at it." I admitted. When I had done writing in my middle school days, most everyone that I had shown it to, students and staff alike, told me that it ranged from shit to subpar and that I should focus on getting a real job.
Now, I know that everyone says that you aren't supposed to listen to haters and that you need to believe in yourself and all that other self help bullshit that doesn't really apply to the real world, but let's be honest for a minute if we can. The truth of the matter is that you can only people tell you that you are shit so many times before you inevitably start to believe it. A worse possibility is like Cal and Andre. If people treat you like you're a bad person, you might just become one.
"How do you know?" Cal asked incredulously. "Maybe you're good and you just don't know it."
"I dunno, I was never trying to make a career out of it. It was just something that brought me solace. You know?" Cal nodded as he drank his tea.
"What's solace?" Eric asked.
"It means happy. When something brings you solace, it makes you happy." Cal explained. I smiled as I watched him interact with his siblings. He seemed like a good brother.
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