Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 16:53:52 -0700 (PDT) From: John Smith Subject: The New Kid, Josh Chapter 4 >>Sorry, short chapter, long overdue. I actually didn't plan on writing this for a while, but I found this short bit hiding on my laptop. This is unedited and like I said, very short. It ends in a very shitty spot, and I'm not in the mood to complete this. I've had too much shit going on in my life to do much of anything, but I decided to shoot this off and clear up some space. Don't expect the next chapter anytime soon (or rather, the end of this chapter). Comments are welcome, but flames are expected. Send them to jsmithauthor@yahoo.com . << >>Insert generic Disclaimer here<< Bryan left Kevin's house and returned to his mom's Civic and took off down the street towards Josh's. When he reached the stop sign, he saw an ambulance and fire truck headed back from the top of the mountain. Neither one had its sirens on, but it still made him curious as to what happened. Bryan turned left onto Parkway and headed the same direction as the emergency vehicles did. When he reached Cooper Street he turned and followed the road down to Josh's house. When Bryan stepped out of the car, his cell phone began to chirp. He was fighting the temptation to not answer it and let whoever was on the other end leave a message. When he pulled the phone out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID, he saw Kevin's name flashing. Sure, make me run all over town and now you call me back. "Dude, where the hell are you? Did you forget about your party? Your house is being trashed!" Bryan said without saying hello. "Thanks for saying hi, asshole! Josh and I were in a car accident and..." "You got in another wreck? Today's just not your day, bro." "What is it with people and not letting other finish their damn sentence!?" "Huh?" "Nevermind. Look, we were up at the hill and we had a little bit of company. I'll tell you about it later. Right now we need a ride home; the Xterra is totaled." "Is that why I heard all those sirens up in the mountains? Are you two okay?" "Yeah we're fine. Just come get us," Kevin said as he ended the connection. Bryan felt like he was being watched and turned to look at Josh's front door. Mrs. Stevens was standing in a bathrobe looking at him. She motioned for him to come inside. He walked up to the front door and told her that he couldn't stay. "Why not? If you're here to see Josh, I think he's sleeping. I didn't hear him on his computer or the TV on when I went to check on him." Great, Bryan thought, not only do I need to pick them up, but I get to tell his mom that he snuck out and got in a car accident. Again! Screw that! Let him do his own dirty work! "Sorry, Mrs. S, but I have to go pick up Kevin. I was going to talk to Josh, but Kevin just called and said he needed a ride. I'll just catch Josh tomorrow." There, that should make me look innocent enough. "Ok, honey. I'll see you tomorrow then," Mrs. Stevens said as she closed the door. Bryan made his way back to his mom's car with a smile on his face. Josh is in deep shit. And I get to see Mrs. Stevens mad!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When Bryan pulled up, Kevin was on the phone with his parents as one of the few remaining cops filled out a report for his insurance. He looked past him to see Josh staring at him with a blank look on his face. When they made eye contact, neither one of them moved. "Excuse me, sir," Someone said from behind Bryan. Bryan broke the eye contact and turned to see a police officer next to him. "Yes?" "You're going to have to move your car." "Oh, I'm just here to pick up the two that were in the accident." "That's fine. But you're still going to have to move your car. You're blocking the only road in and out of the mountain." "Sorry, I didn't realize," Bryan said as he got back in the Civic. He pulled the car off the shoulder into the grassy area. When he looked further down, he saw a flatbed tow-truck loading Kevin's wrangled Xterra onto the back. When he looked closer, he could see what looked like bullet holes in the back of the car. What the hell did they do? Bryan stopped looking at the mangled Xterra and hopped out of the car. When he started walking towards Kevin and Josh, he noticed Josh's eyes were still glued to him. "... ok, thank you! Bye." Kevin said as he closed the cell phone and put it back in his pocket. He still hadn't noticed Bryan walking up behind them, but there was no way for Josh to miss him.