Mr. Brooks-Taylor come say good bye to Jimmy
Taylor-Wha- What time is it
*Taylor pulls the covers from over his head and sees that it’s 12:26*
How’s that even possible
*He slides out of his bed and looks at his black and matted hair in the mirror*
*He grabs a brush and rakes it across his head vigorously until it straightens into his usual short hair style*
*He then opens his dresser and pulls out a random black pair of jeans*
Mr. Brooks-I’m sorry Jimmy I do not know what that boy is doing
*He slips the pants on and grabs a black shirt with a silver dragon stretching across the front side of it*
*He puts it on and then grabs his favorite silver jacket and he stares at it*
Taylor-…….. Jimmy gave this to me *sigh*
*He pulls it onto his arms and then grabs a bottle of Listerine*
(I’ll brush when he’s gone, but I can’t have my breath smell)
*He then grabs his phone and stuffs it into his pocket*
*He pours the remainder of the bottle into his mouth and swishes and gargles*
*He opens his room door and begins walking down the stairs, still gargling*
*He sticks his head over the stair well and spit’s the Listerine into a trash can*
(Not a drop missed, better than last time)
*He comes to the bottom of the stair well and everyone looks at him*
Taylor-………. What
Mr. Brooks-You’re late
Jimmy-It doesn’t matter cut him some slack
Mr. Brooks-It does matter
Mrs. Brooks-Don’t fight this is jimmy’s big day
Taylor-(ugh as if that matters, besides the worst is yet to come the moment he leaves…)
Mr. Brooks-Let’s go
*They all walk out the door and up to the car*
*They step inside, and Taylor sits in the back next to Jimmy*
*Their dad steps into the drivers seat, with their mother in the passenger seat*
*Mr. Brooks shoves the keys into the ignition and the car noisily roars to life*
*Taylor covers his ears*
Taylor-(why do the most expensive cars have to be the noisiest)
*Slowly the car pulls out the drive way and shoots down the street*
Jimmy-Are you sure we should be going this fast
Mr. Brooks-Were going to be late thanks to someone
Taylor-Look I’m sorry ok I over slept there
Mrs. Brooks-Okay well I under-
Mr. Brooks-I don’t he always has to mess something up
Taylor-OMG that’s so not true UGH
Mr. Brooks-Yeah sure
*Taylor falls back into his seat*
And put your seat belt on
Taylor-*growl*
*He yanks his seat belt out and plugs it in*
(You’ve got to be kidding me…….ugh…….so annoying)
*mumble* *mumble* *mumble*
*Mr. Brooks slams on the brakes and the car jerks to a halt*
Mr. Brooks- WHAT’D YOU SAY BOY
Taylor-III DIDN’T SAAY ANYTHING JUST LEAVE ME ALONE
Mr. Brooks-I’LL LEAVE YOU ALONE ONCE YOU STOP ACTING THE WAY YOU DO
Jimmy-STOP IT…..both of you… now’s not the time can we just continue driving before were really late
*The car begins moving forward again and Taylor begins to look out the window on his side of the car*
*A few minutes pass by and his phone vibrates*
*He pulls it out of his pocket and sees jimmy sent him a text*
*He opens it and reads, “Why’d you do that?”*
*Taylor begins typing, “Why’d I do what? I don’t know what you mean.”*
*Seconds later he receives another text reading, “You know what I’m talking about. Why do you have to fight him?”*
*Taylor sends back, “because he irritates me I do nothing wrong yet he has to bombard me with false accusations”*
*A few minutes later another text comes and Taylor opens it*
Taylor-(….You need to just stay out of his way, do what he says and everything will be fine HA… fat chance…I hate it when jimmy‘s right, not because I‘m wrong, but because he‘s always right)… Fine I’ll try
Jimmy-good well it’s going to be a long trip to the airport
Taylor-Yeah I know
Jimmy-You’re going to fall asleep
Taylor-What how do you know
Jimmy-You stayed up all night doing something
Taylor-I’ll tell you what I was doing later
Jimmy-You over slept, you don’t have any books to keep you awake and because my shoulders here
Taylor-That is not true I do not fall asleep onto your shoulder
*Jimmy smiles*
Jimmy-Yes you do
Taylor-we’ll see about that
Jimmy-Then it’s a bet if you fall asleep I will give you something
Taylor-whoa whoa whoa whoa shouldn’t it be like If I fall asleep I give you something
Jimmy-No because I know you’ll fall asleep
Taylor-Sure well fine whatever it’s a deal
Jimmy-okay and this time when you do fall asleep I won’t you move you back to the other side of the car so when you wake up you’ll see
Taylor-Just because I’m ten doesn’t mean I’ll fall asleep
Jimmy-Okay we’ll see
*Taylor begins looking out the window again*
Taylor-(I am kind of tired, but I can easily stay awake until we get to the airport)
*They drive for another hour, and slowly Taylor’s eyes grow heavy*
*Jimmy looks at Taylor and Taylor looks at Jimmy*
*Jimmy chuckles and Taylor sticks his tongue out him, and then continues to look out the window through his sagging eyelids*
*Slowly he closes and opens them, each time getting slower and slower*
*He closes his eyes, but this time he doesn’t open them*
*He sluggishly loses conscious, and feels his head hit something*
*He then slips into sleep*
??? Minutes Later
Jimmy-Wake up…Wake up….Taylor Wake up
*Taylor feels someone shaking him and he slowly opens his eyes*
And what did I tell you
*Taylor sits up hastily and looks at Jimmy*
Taylor-Are you serious
Jimmy-I told you word for word
Taylor-*sigh* I guess you win
Mrs. Brooks-Were here
*They pull up to the airport and drive around the immense parking lot*
Mr. Brooks-Taylor help Jimmy get out were gonna find a parking space
*They pull up to the entrance and Taylor steps out the car*
*He goes to the back of the car and opens the trunk*
*He then grabs Jimmy’s wheelchair and unfolds it*
*Jimmy opens the car door as Taylor pushes the wheelchair up to him*
*Jimmy slides into his chair and then he and Taylor enter the airport*
Jimmy-Follow me
*They through a security check, and then walkthrough a crowd of people to the next terminal*
*Several lines come into view and a sign that says “waiting area“*
*He and jimmy walk into the waiting area and Taylor sits on one of the benches*
Taylor-*sigh*….I guess….. This is it
Jimmy-Don’t make it sadder than it has to be
*Taylor looks off to the side*
Taylor-……………………………....
Jimmy-…….Are you ok
*A tear silently slips down Taylor’s cheek*
Are you… Crying
Taylor-NO
*He jerks his head to look at Jimmy*
(UGH again who am I kidding)
*He hugs Jimmy as tears stream down his face*
I’m going to miss you
Jimmy-I’ll be back and you can always call me besides you still have Spinner here
Taylor-I know, but *sniffle* it wont be the same without you
*Taylor sits back in the bench and wipes his face with his hands*
*Their parents walk up to them*
Mr. Brooks-You’d better get in line
Mrs. Brooks-ooooh I’m gonna miss you
*She hugs jimmy and kisses his cheek*
Jimmy-Well I guess I’ll see you guys this winter
*Jimmy takes off his pitch black jacket and holds it out to Taylor*
Taylor-You want me to have it
Jimmy-Yeah take it
*Taylor takes the jacket from Jimmy and Jimmy smiles and wheels into one of the many lines*
*they watch him go through the line and talk to one of the women at the counter*
*He hands her his ticket and goes through an opening beside the counter, disappearing*
THAT NIGHT
*Taylor lays in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought*
Taylor-(the house is so much quieter now…It feels…weird)
*Taylor pulls at the thread on his pajama shorts attempting to unravel them*
Mr. Brooks-TAYLOR come down here for a moment
*Taylor sits up*
Taylor-COMING
*Taylor leaps out his bed and silently lands on the floor*
*He opens the door and shuts it behind him*
*He walks down the stairs and looks into the living room seeing a fire burning in the fireplace and his dad sitting in a recliner near by*
Mr. Brooks-Take a seat please
*Taylor sits on the couch across from the recliner*
Taylor-Why did you light a fire
*Mr. Brooks pulls out Taylor’s silver jacket*
Taylor-How did yo-
Mr. Brooks-Would you mind explaining to me why 2,000 dollars got taken out of your college funds
Taylor-………………..
Mr. Brooks- Well
*Mr. Brooks holds the jacket over the fire*
Taylor-I USED IT FOR UNLIMITED ACCESS TO TEXT BOOKS… for the next month
Mr. Brooks- Why would you do that without my permission THAT MONEY IS FOR YOU TO GET TO COLLEGE
Taylor-IT WILL HELP ME GET TO COLLEGE
Mr. Brooks-EVEN SO YOU WENT ONLINE AND SPENT 2,000 DOLLARS I REPEAT 2,000 DOLLARS WITHOUT EVEN TELLING ME WHAT IF IT WAS A FRAUD
Taylor-IT WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN IT GAVE ME THE OPTION ON THE ACTUAL WEBSITE NO POP-UP NO WEIRD WEBSITE I’VE NEVER HEARD OF
Mr. Brooks-THERE ARE STILL CONSEQUENCES FROM YOUR ACTIONS MABYE NOT FROM THE WEBSITE BUT THERE WILL BE FROM ME
Taylor-WHAT ARE YOU POSSIBLY GOING TO TAKE FROM ME MY PHONE THE ONLY CONTACTS I HAVE ARE YOU JIMMY AND MOM I HAVE NO FRIENDS OR MABYE MY LAPTOP THAT I HARDLY USE THE ONLY THING I DID HAVE WAS MY BROTHER WHO IS NOW GONE
*Mr. Brooks throws the jacket onto the fire and Taylor’s mouth falls open*
*He runs to the fire and tries to get it out, but Mr. Brooks sprays lighter fluid onto it, and flames stretch across it*
Mrs. Brooks-Honey it’s ok
*She walks into the living room and kneels to one knee and places her hand on Taylor’s shoulder*
*Taylor whirls around and slaps her hand away from him*
Taylor-DON’T TOUCH ME NEITHER OF YOU UNDERSTAND ME, SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE
*Taylor runs out the living room and up the stairs*
*He rips open his door and slams it behind him*
*He then dives into his bed and wraps himself in the covers*
*He breathes short and quick breaths as his eyes water*
*Suddenly he sits up and looks at the edge of his bed*
*Slowly he spots Jimmy’s jacket in the darkness*
*He grabs it and wraps it around himself as tears finally begin to fall from his eyes*
*He pulls the covers over him and begins to pick at his shorts again*
*With a slight tug the string slithers from the shorts and finally unravels*