Date: Sat, 9 May 2009 01:11:10 -0400 From: J. B. August Subject: Impact: Chapter 2- Jack in the Box Impact: Chapter 2- Jack in the Box I hit the parking lot somewhere between a fast walk and a slow run, a gust of early summer air rushing past me, carrying some of the smells of must and food away with it. Sweet Freedom! An entire weekend with no work to do. Man oh man, had I only known how well I had it before I was forced to get a job. I reached my car in record time, throwing open the door so hard I thought for a moment it might swing clear of its hinges. I turned the key in the ignition of my 2003 Ferrari Enzo, my own purr of joy falling in sinc with the purr of the car's engine. I only had only just inherited the car this year. another one of the spoils from the divorce between my mother and father. My mother drove it around for a couple years. For the most part though, before she gave it to me at least, it never even left the garage. I didn't really know why she wanted the thing. Neither of us was ever really into cars, and it wasn't any big secret how much my dad cared for that car. Eventually, I came to realize that this was probably the exact reason my mother fought so hard to get it in the settlement. To me, it was just another means of transportation; a sweet one, but I would have been just as content driving a Honda civic, or something a little less flashy. Let me tell you though, I was the envy of pretty much every student at my high school, even the ones who were considerably richer than I. I often got the feeling that my car lead to the wrong impression about my family, or at least about me. As I said before, no matter how much money my parents had tucked away, I personally was far from rich. I hopped in, shut the door, and turned up the radio until the only thing I could hear was the rhythmic thump. thump. thump of the base. I sat in the parking lot for a moment, simply enjoying the car's stereo system; like my father had done so many times before me. I mentally drew up a picture of Tyler again, the highlight of my day at work. Man what I wouldn't give to hang out with a kid so. so perfect. Who was I kidding? I didn't even know the kid. For all I knew, he could have been a little brat, or a future serial killer. I smiled at the absurdity of the thought, but my smile was cut short as the distinct tangy aroma of restaurant funk drifted up into my nose. I could not wait to get back home and change out of the outfit I was in. It was a combination of the odor and the fact that I had just seen Jason heading towards the front entrance that finally got me moving out of the parking lot. The last thing I needed was Jason telling me off for having my music too loud. Plus, I wasn't certain if he had made the connection yet between me and the red Ferrari which had been sitting in the restaurant's parking lot all week. I didn't think he would take too kindly to a teen driving a better car than he; he was just that kind of person. and I got enough of him at work to have him yelling at me after hours as well. The ride home was pretty uneventful, unless you can call heavy traffic an event. I had always marveled at the concept of rush hour traffic. The idea that when more cars are on the road, everyone somehow suddenly doesn't know how to drive and must go 15 miles an hour under the speed limit to compensate for their lack of skill. I wondered how it was that the slowest and most reckless of these drivers always seemed to congregate around me, as if my appearance alone had brought them out. Although, I thought that this too might have had something to do with my car. I let the music carry me away, trying to ignore the shrill horn blasts and noisy shouts wihch came from all around me. Just before arriving home, I almost got into a crash with pompus looking man in a nice looking convertable. I managed to just barely avoid the crash by swerving at the very last second. The guy who cut me off shouted at me like it had been my fault, making sure to give me the middle finger before turning off a side road. The ride only took me 25 minutes, but on a day without traffic, it might have only taken 5. The house which I now rolled up too was large beyond necessity. 5 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths, the house had more than enough space in it for both my mother and I. I personally didn't see the need in such a large home. I think the bedrooms had all been filled only once at Thanksgiving last year when a bunch of my mom's relatives had come out to visit us. For the most part though, the large building only served as a depressing reminded that I was completely and utterly alone. I pulled into my driveway, parking my car beneath the right side of a double length garage. The left side was devoid of my mother's modest SUV, but this did not surprise me much. My mother wasn't likely to return home for several hours at least. The sound of the engine came to an abrupt halt, taking the music away with it as I pulled the key from the ignition. As I had expected, the house was empty. The air conditioner kicked on as I set the keys down upon the island in our kitchen. While most people were concerned with trying to save that extra buck by keeping the temperature higher in the summer, my mom had always kept the house at a cool 68 degrees. It was a little too cool for my tastes, but as my mom always said. it was easier for others to put on a layer or two than it would have been for her to take one off. I opened the refrigerator door, looking for something to satiate my thirst. Pulling out a half empty gallon of milk, I poured myself a glass and headed towards the pantry where I knew there were some oreos with my name on them. The clock on the microwave read 5:35, which meant that my mother wouldn't be home for another 2 1/2 hours or so. Forgoing the whole effort of grabbing a plate, I just grabbed the entire bag of oreos and began the journey over to the dining room table, glass of milk in hand. On my way, I noticed a note left scrawled in my mother's neat handwriting held onto the fridge door by a round magnet. I grabbed it before sitting down to enjoy my snack. "Dear Shaye, I hope your day at work went well. I stopped by today during my lunch break to grab a couple things. I don't know if you noticed, but it looks as if that house next door was finally purchased by new tenants. I was wondering if you could go over and introduce yourself to them, maybe give them a hand moving in? You know I would do it myself if I had the time, but I am going to have to work late again tonight. I hope you don't mind. Thanks hun! Love, Mom P.S. I left you 20 dollars on the kitchen island for dinner. Order out pizza or something if you want." I sighed loudly, a little frustrated with my mom. I was hoping that she would be home by 8 today. I had planned on making a big dinner to celebrate the beginning of summer and the end of my first week of work. Well, pizza didn't sound like such a bad idea I supposed. There was a really good pizza place in the city which I hadn't visited in a while anyways. First things first though. my mom had asked that I go help the new neighbors move in. I guessed that I could probably be in and out of there in less than an hour if I played my cards right. Show my face, offer to help out, give them our number if they ever needed anything, then say our goodbyes. Of course, if they really needed help, I would give them a hand for as long as it was needed. but most people in this town had more than enough money to hire moving people to do all the work for them. I stood up supressing a large yawn. Grabbing the bag of oreos and the now empty glass of milk as I went, I remmebered to put everything back in its right place. My mom HATED it when I didn't clean up after myself. She said it made her stressed out. I slipped off my shirt and headed upstairs to change into something that didn't make me feel like I was on my way to a funeral. I chose a blue button up shirt and a pair of my favorite jean shorts which had almost seen the end of their days. I stopped only momentarily to admire my reflection. I had always thought myself a pretty average 17 year old boy. 5' 10", Long scraggly brown hair and pale gray eyes, I often found myself having to ward off the girls at my high school. Maybe it was the fact that they all thought I was playing hard to get, or maybe they all just wanted some of my families money for themselves, but either way I had somehow just recently achieved quite a following. High school can be so fickle at times. I headed down the stairs and out the door, slipping on a pair of sandals my mother had brought back from a business trip she had taken with her firm to Jamaica. I thought it more likely that they had all taken a vacation there and just called it a business trip to have the company cover all the expenses. Apparently though, the trip had to do with an important client of sorts, or something like that. I was secretly a little jelous that I had not gone along too. I made my way out the back door and across the lawn, pausing to admire the pool in my backyard. As a young child, I had always wanted to own a pool, but now that I had one, I didn't use it nearly enough. Even now, all I could think about was how, when I got the chance, I would need to skim the leaves off the top of the pool. I had made a deal with my mom that if we got a pool, I would take care of it. Sometimes, I would swear that maitaining the pool was more work than... well, work. The house next door was busy with activity. A large moving truck had been parked in the front driveway, where there were maybe a half dozen people going in and out of the house carrying all sorts of objects; from couches to little brown boxes rapped in packing tape. I wasn't sure how I had missed it all on my way in from work. I was glad the house had finally been sold though, and was anxious to meet my new neighbors. I hoped they weren't as stuck up as most of the people around the neighborhood were. You couldn't imagine how difficult it was to meet nice, down to earth people in a wealthy neighborhood. As I approached, the first thing that caught my eye was a stunningly beautiful woman on a cell phone pacing back and forth behind the large yellow moving truck. Long, luxorious locks of golden blond hair hung in curly strands down past her shoulders. She wore a light green dress with an assortment of flowers sewn throughout. The woman was rambling on her phone about something which seemed to be of great importance, judging by the serious, if not a little bit angry, tone she was using. She would pause now and again to give orders to the men carrying her stuff inside, giving commands about how everything should be handled and where it should be placed, before returning to her conversation again. The woman, who I noticed as I drew closer wore a pair of 2 inch high heels, stood at least that much taller than me. She held herself with an unthinking grace which I doubted she was even aware of. I thought that I might have seen her somewhere before, but I could not place it exactly. There was no doubt left in my mind that this was the woman who I had come to see. My hopes were no longer very high for a normal, down to earth neighbor. As I made my final approached, she lowered the phone to her waist, tapping her pale green high heels impatiently. I couldn't imagine what she had to be impatient with me about. Her eyes were a piercing light blue which reminded me once again of the boy I had met at the restaurant, Tyler. She looked to be in her mid to late twenties, but as I have said before, I am not so great at guessing ages. "Finally!" she exclaimed in a voice that seemed just a little more exasperated than was warranted for the situation. "Where have you been all day?" I just stared back at her with my mouth slightly agape. I felt like a deer in the headlight. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. Had my mother already greeted the neighbors, already told them that I would be over to help out? And if that were the case, why hadn't she told me so in the letter she had left me. Before I could come up with a response though, the woman began to speak once again. Her words carried little less exasperation this time, but a little more venom. "I had assumed that you were not going to show up..." The constant tapping of her heals was starting to annoy me. "Oh well." she exclaimed with an overdramatic sigh, "better late than never I suppose. Take that box upstairs and place it into the first room on the left," she commanded, pointing one long, tanned arm down at what appeared to be the only box in the bunch without a label. "But I." I began feebly, still not entirely certain what was going on, but she was already deep in conversation again with the person on the other side of the phone. `Yup', I finally conceded to myself, no chance at all at a normal family. I looked around at the other men moving her stuff, the majority of whom were of Mexican descent, and the all of whom were at least in their mid twenties. I felt entirely out of place. After a few seconds of contemplation, I decided it would be best to just grab the box and bring it upstairs rather than to argue or try and explain myself. After all, I wanted to stay on good terms with the neighbors, no matter how crazy they might be. I would just have to catch her on the way down and try and figure out what was going on. Grabbing the box she had pointed out, I made my way up the walkway and through the large, open oak front door into the house. In the several years I had lived in my own house, I had never once entered this one. Since it had always been up for sale, there had been no reason to. The door opened up into a large expanse which might be considered a greeting room. Closed cardboard boxes sat undisturbed in piles to either side of me. One thing was for sure, this woman sure had a lot of stuff. The place was perhaps a little bit smaller than my own house, but it was hard to tell without more exploration. I did notice that all the furniture already there looked to be brand new. One of the chairs actually still had a price tag on it. The stairs were easy enough to find, and I climbed them, box in hand with only a little effort. The box was a good 60 pounds, leaving me curious what mysterious unlabeled contents the box actually held. I doubted I would find out. As the woman had directed, I made my way to the first room on the left. The door had been closed, probably by one of the movers, but I could not imagine why. With a little creative maneuvering, I managed to press the box up against the wall with one side of my body, and with the other hand I was able to open the door. Big brown box leading the way, I stepped into the room, carefully making my way past the other boxes already left on the floor to a bare spot in the corner. It looked as if someone had already begun unpacking the contents of several boxes. From the assortment of clothing, toys, and sports paraphernalia, I had a pretty good idea that the room belonged to a boy. I made my way carefully to a bare spot on the far wall, almost tripping over a kid sized wooden baseball bat. As I bent to put the box down, I heard the sound of a child's voice behind me. "Aren't you the waiter guy from earlier today?" the voice asked from over my shoulder. I dropped the box with a small bang and I twisted my head around so quickly it hurt my neck a little. The pain in my neck was nothing to the pain in my toe though as I felt the hard flat surface of the heavy object in the box fall directly onto my foot. I let out a little yelp, which elicited a small giggle from the boy sitting across from me on his bed. "Tyler?" I asked incredulously, not quite being able to put everything together so quickly, and not really knowing what else to say. Tyler sat upright on his bed, a baseball glove in one hand and a baseball in the other wearing a pair of soccer shorts. and nothing else. I couldn't help but be taken by his boyish form. He was fit for a kid his age and obviously a boy who stayed active, but I could see the remnants of some stubborn baby fat which still remained. I do not think there could have been any other body more perfect. I stared outright, all thoughts of my hurt toe completely gone now. He didn't seem to notice my obvious infatuation, but was instead much more concerned with the fact that I had remembered his name. "You remember me?" he asked seeming not quite able to believe, flashing that perfect row of white teeth at me. The room seemed very hot, I was having a little trouble breathing. "Of course I remember you dofus," I answered back, finally able to find my voice again "I just saw you today!" I let my own smile show, truly happy, albeit still extremely confused at the way things were turning out. I couldn't quite put everything together in my head. Everything was happening so fast, it seemed to be growing hotter by the second, and I couldn't make my mind register the reality of the situation; that this beautiful creature could possibly be sitting in front of me right now, shirtles. Then again, I was never one to complain. He gave an unabashed grin back in my direction, seeming as happy to see me as I was to see him, although I could not imagine why. "Yeah, but you must see tons of customer. right? I just didn't think that you would, that I was." he trailed off, turning red and looking down in the same way he had at the restaurant earlier that day; in that way which just made me want to run over to him, and give him a big hug. I had to restrain myself from doing just that. "Believe me," I responded with as sincere a voice as I could muster, "you were by far the most interesting person that I had the privilege of serving today." "Really?" he asked, looking up again with a shy smile. He stared at me with his intense blue eyes, perhaps judging to see if I meant what I had said. I had meant every word. Then, seeming to consider the situation for perhaps the first time, Tyler asked the obvious question. "But. what are you doing here?" His contenance changed like lightning. He appeared cnofused now, and maybe even a little bit frightened. I couldn't imagine what I had done to frighten him, and I wanted more than anything to appologise, and beg his forgiveness. I settled with answering his question. "I live next door!" I answered, my voice squeaking into a higher register in an overflowing of emotion. He smiled again at my expense, but I was just happy he wasn't running. I decided to continue on before he decided to do just that. "What about you though? Where are your mom and dad. and who is that woman out front?" Tyler looked confused at first, scrunching up his nose in puzzlement. Then it seemed to hit him all at once, and he broke out into another fit of giggles. I didn't know what he was laughing about, but I couldn't help but join in laughing as well. "Those weren't my parents," he said matter of factly once he had gotten the giggling under control, "that was my aunt and uncle. my mom's the one outside now, with the blonde hair. My aunt and uncle took me out to eat today because my mom said that she didn't want me getting in the way. I don't really like them very much. I told my mom I would stay away, but she wouldn't listen. so yeah." I laughed harder now, realization hitting me like a ton of bricks. The woman and man in the restaurant hadn't said anything about Tyler being their son. I looked again at the absolutely stunning boy in front of me. I felt my own cheeks growing hot now at what must be my obvious goggling over the boy. He seemed not to notice once again, and continued on with the conversation as if nothing were wrong, as if he weren't sitting there half naked in front of me, driving me absolutely crazy. He seemed satisfied that I wasn't there to abduct him or anything. The boy began tossing the ball up and down, catching it in his glove as he spoke again. "Yeah, we just moved here today from New York City. The plane only got here this morning. My mom said that moving out here to California would help her career. I'm just kinda angry cause I had to leave all my friends behind." he stopped there, looking a little distraught. "Hey dude, I'm sure you'll meet lots of cool new people here. An outgoing kid like you, I bet you have no trouble making friends." He gave me a look like I had 4 eyes or something, "If you say so. I don't really do too well with people normally though, and I'm definitely outgoing" he stated turning his head down again. I decided not to mention that he was half naked, talking to a complete stranger right now. I didn't want him regressing back into a shell. Plus, I didn't want him to move an inch; no need to push my luck. "I'm Shaye by the way," I said, moving for the first time in his direction and offering my hand to the boy. He sized me up for a long moment. My heart nearly stopped when I thought that he would not offer his hand back. How stupid would I look. Several pain staking seconds later, Tyler smiled, offering a small hand out to me in return. I swear to you, as soon as our hands met I felt something like an electric spark shoot between us. I stared into his eye, doing my best to keep my breath, doing my best not to become hypnotized into the gaze of this gorgeous boy. The handshake was short, but it left a tingling sensation all up my arm and all down my spine. I took a step back, not wanting to scare the kid any more than I had to. There was a moment of awkward silence before Tyler spoke up again. "Think fast," he said as in one fluid movement he caught the baseball which had just thrown in the air and tossed it in my direction. I fumbled to catch it, but couldn't draw my gaze away from Tyler's body fast enough. It tumbled to the ground with a *thump* rolling down under Tyler's bed. He laughed uncontrollably this time, holding his stomach as he leaned back in his sheetless bed. "Hey," I pouted running my arm where the ball had hit me, "that's not funny." That only made him laugh more though, and soon I was joining with him again in fits of laughter. This boy's laughter was contagious, and I was more than willing to be infected with it. I was just beginning to wonder if Tyler's mom would worry where I had gotten to when, as if to answer my unspoken question, the woman popped her head into the room. Scanning the area, her eyes found their mark at me. I was half tempted to run under the heat of her gaze. "I'm not paying to you to have conversations with my son," she stated in an icy tone. "Um." I stammered back, scanning the room for the quickest escape route should it be necessary. What did she mean pay... I stood silent for a long moment before suddenly realizing what all the confusion was. She thought that I was a mover. So my mother hadn't already talked to the family. "I'm not a mover," I replied, trying to look up, but finding it difficult to meet her eyes, "Um. my names Shaye, I live next door. I just wanted to stop by and welcome you to the neighborhood, maybe give you a hand unpacking or something." The feelings of tension in the room evaporated in an instant as a large smile appeared on the woman's face. She was even more beautiful than ever when she smiled, and I wondered once again where I had seen her. "I'm so very sorry for the confusion Shaye, it's just been a hectic day is all. I'm April Valley." She extended a long slender hand my way which I shook shakily, still not certain if it was safe. "No hard feelings for the case of mistaken identity then?" "No, of course not, it's not a problem April. I'm glad to meet you." I could see Tyler beaming at us from atop his perch on the bed in the corner of my eye. "Hey," I said suddenly remembering the money my mother had left me, "I was thinking about going out to pick up a pizza. if you guys are interested I could show you the place. It's my personal favorite." Tyler's entire face lit up as he jumped up from his spot on the bed for the first time. "Can we go get some pizza. Please mom, please please pleeeeeease!" She seemed to ponder for a moment before answering. "No. I don't think so," my heart sank considerably at those words. At the same time, I could see a pout rising on Tyler's face. "I have to stay here and make sure everything goes well with the moving in." "Well, could Shaye take me then? I promise to be real good." He said hopefully, looking between myself and his mom. April looked more than a little surprised at her son's words. "You wan't to... I mean...Tyler honey, I don't think that Shaye really wants to." I cut her off before she could finish the thought, "No seriously, it wouldn't be a problem at all Mrs. Valley. Plus, I could use the company. It's a twenty minute drive and it gets kinda boring all alone." I hoped I didn't sound too excited at the prospect, but I could barely contain myself. I wanted more than anything to have Tyler come along with me. "Well." she said pondering for a moment, "Your sure that you don't mind? You don't have to bring my son just to be nice you know." "Really," I answered knowing that I had already won the battle, "It'll be fun. Plus theres no way I could eat an entire pizza by myself anyways." "Well, Ok." she conceded finally. "Yeah!" Tyler rejoiced, jumping up and down like an overactive puppy dog. "But," she continued with a smile of her own, doing her best to talk over her son's cheers, "you be careful ok? And I want you home by 9:00 at the latest. Is that going to be a problem?" She seemed to be asking the question of both Tyler and I at the same time. We both shook our heads vigorously. April smiled widely for a moment, seeming to size me up. From below there was a loud crashing sound followed by a long string of Spanish curses, most of which I could pick up from my time spent in California. "Shit," April cursed under her breath before departing without another word. The ball of energy next to me seemed ready to jump out of his skin. "You ready to go?" he asked, an excited grin plastered to his face. He brushed the hair from his eyes, awaiting my answer. I found it hard to breath again. With a great amount of will power, I decided to finally remind the little devil of his currently semi naked state. "You ganna go to get pizza like that?" I asked, gesturing to his bare chest. My eyes lingered momentarily on his cute inni belly button. He blushed profusely, practically prancing over to a box on the ground where he retrieved a shirt and a pair of socks. As he put on his clothes, my mind and my eyes once again wandered to the box I had brought up the stairs. "What's in that thing anyways?" I asked, gesturing towards the heavy box. "That?" he asked with a satisfied grin, hopping over the bed and to the box where he began to rip open the top to show me. "That's Jack!" he seemed proud of Jack, whatever it was, so I inched my way closer to the box, peering in. As soon as I had seen the thing inside, I stumbled backwards, actually tripping over the bat on the ground this time and toppling to the floor. "Eww." I said propping myself up on my elbows, and trying to speak over the fits of laugher coming from Tyler, "I HATE snakes!" I will not be making the next post for chapter 3 till next week. Until then, tell me what you think.