Episode 5 (2.2)
October 10, 2008 06:00 PM
Carleen slowly opened her eyes and then rolled over; her hand traced the empty pillow next to her.
Levy sat silently on the couch, rubbing an aching neck from the uncomfortable position he’d slept in the night before. He stretched and stood, knowing the shop needed to be opened. He entered into the kitchen, passing Lynne, already up and brewing coffee for the family. She shot her father a confused look.
Jillian watched as Alicia continued to sleep; she glanced at the clock, noted the time, then continued to sip at her tea. Jason crept down the stairwell, fidgeting with his tie.
Molly and Shane emerged from their bedrooms; Molly started to speak, but Shane brushed past her and walked into the bathroom.
Nicki stared down at her phone, Allan’s number highlighted on the screen. She bit her lip and pressed call; within seconds, she shut the phone and tossed it unto her bed.
* * *
Jason paused at the hallway mirror, making sure that his collar was straight, the tie adjusted. Satisfied, he turned to find his mother sitting in her rocking chair, his sister sound asleep on the couch. Jason silently made his way over to his mother and knelt before his chair.
“Hey.”
“Good Morning.” She smiled softly. “You look very handsome.”
Jason ignored the compliment; “Alicia’s not going in today?”
“It was a long night, I didn’t have the heart to wake her.” She motioned over to her daughter, “You know she’s never trouble when it comes to going in to school. One day can’t kill her.”
Jason didn’t argue the point; he did, however, look conflicted. “Mom, do you think I should stay home?”
“What, why would you do that?” Jillian began gently rocking, taking another sip from her tea.
“Well, your right, last night definitely was intense. Allan is still going to have to talk eventually, you know? And I want his older brother to be there for him if he needs me.”
“What his older brother needs to worry about is making sure he keeps making a great impression at his new job. Allan’s not going anywhere, Jason. He’ll be here when he gets home and he has his sisters and his mother to make sure he’s ok.” She rested one of her hands on his shoulder. “I know you care, hun, but you don’t need to put your own life on hold because your brother made a mistake.” Her eyes flicked over to the clock, “You should be going if you’re going to get there on time.”
Jason nodded, accepting her answer. “Call me if you need me.”
“We’ll be fine.”
“I know, but ju--”
“Jason, go.” Jillian couldn’t help but smile, though. Jason once more nodded, took a parting look over at his slumbering little sister, then left for work.
* * *
Shane thrust himself into his seat, bowl of cereal and spoon in hand. He began to eat, glaring down at the table, his head supported on one arm. Molly came into the room and tossed a bracelet unto the table. “I found this on the coffee table, it isn’t mine. Keira must have left it here last night.” Shane grunted in response.
Molly went into the kitchen, grabbed a banana, then sat at the table. Silence fell between them, the only sounds their eating. Molly finally laid down her half finished fruit and tried to delicately bridge a conversation with her younger brother. “Shane, I...”
“Want to apologize?” His words were spat out with bits of cheerio.
“Apologize?” Her eyes widened; she managed to hold her temper, “I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“What?!” Shane pointed with his spoon, “You freaked when you saw Keira here!”
“It was 2 in the morning, Shane. She had no business being in this house.”
“She’s dating me. I live here. I think that’s a good reason for her to be here.”
“Damn it, Shane,” Molly emphatically hit the table, “not when you’re sixteen.”
“Yeah, well where were you till 2 anyway? Seems kinda late, don’t you think?”
* * *
“Dad, I’m going to need a bagel on lox with an October brew.” Lynne thrust an order at her father. Moments later, she was already snaking between the tables, skillfully checking all their seated customers. She was a picture of energy and motion; while she spent only a few seconds with teach person, she gave them enough attention to make sure all their needs were met. Levy would have taken time to marvel at his daughter’s ability if he wasn’t involved in his own hectic pace. Skillfully he began preparing the bagel, while making sure that the specific coffee was created to order. Between the two of them, a cook, and their cashier, they were easily making their way through the morning rush.
The bell rang at the door, announcing another arrival. Lynne and Levy both glanced up. Tori stood in the doorway, pulling her sunglasses from her face, apron in hand. She smiled coyly at Levy, then began making her way towards the counter. Lynne watched her coldly, but was busy with the other customers.
“Sorry, I’m a little late, boss.” Tori smiled at Levy. “I was having car troubles.”
“That’s fine. Lynne might need some help with tables, so you better get started.”
“No probs.” Tori put her sunglasses into her pocket, then tied the apron around her body. As she began making her way into the sitting section, Lynne shot her father a look.
“Later” he mouthed to her, then went back to slathering lox unto a bagel.
* * *
“I mean, 2 am is kinda late, no matter how old you are, don’t you think?” Shane was looking at her with a condescending smile.
Molly found she could no longer control her anger, “I was working Shane. You know, so that I can help support your ungrateful ass! Besides, I’m an adult; I decide what’s appropriate for this household, not you.”
Shane threw down his spoon and picked up his unfinished cereal. He dumped it into the sink and turned on the garbage disposer. “You know what, it’s not like anything happened anyway,” he shouted, hotly. “For your information, Keira is a born-again Christian or whatever. She’d rather have us pray together than go anything further than kissing!”
Molly was taken aback by this information. “So nothing...”
“No, nothing! We watched a movie and fell asleep. Happy?”
Molly’s entire mood had changed; where before she had been ready to berate him, now she felt somewhat foolish for her own assumptions. “Shane,” she started, “there are worse things than waiting-”
“Thanks, Molly, but you know what? You’re not Mom and Dad. I don’t need an abstinence speech from you.” Shane gathered his belongings and snatched the bracelet from the center of the table.
“You’re leaving?”
“Keira’s giving me a ride to school. Unless your rules don’t allow that either,” Shane stared, as if daring Molly to say something.
“Shane, I’m trying--”
“Look, Molly, I already had two parents and they were bad enough. I don’t need you filling that role.” Shane stormed out of the house, leaving Molly alone in his wake.
* * *
Jason stepped into the main office, avoiding slamming into a couple of students as he did. At the main counter he initialed by his name, then he began scouraging through his mailbox. Countless papers were waiting him; some from his supervisors, others asking information that he’d need to answer as a new staff member. Jason cocked at an eyebrow as he took in the sheer amount of paperwork he’d need to finish before he left for home that day.
“Man, I remember when I was new. Those first few days are rough.” A man stepped in next to Jason and proceed to rummage through his own mailbox. “All those forms are killer, especially if your supervisor happens to lose any.”
“So I’m better off making copies.”
“Oh, most def.” The man smiled and extended his hand, “I’m Darren Link. I teach Mathematics here, going on my third year.” Darren was tall, about six inches taller than Jason himself. His hair was buzzed short, almost in a military cut, and he wore a sharp, well fitted shirt and tie.
Jason shook his hand. “Jason McCaulley, History.” He gave the pile in his hands a shake, “And, yea, first year.”
Darren laughed and Jason found himself mesmerized by his eyes and smile. Realizing that he might be staring, he coughed and looked over Darren’s shoulder to the office around them. “Well it was nice meeting at least someone. Still trying to put faces to names.”
“Well, if you need any help, just ask. I wouldn’t mind introducing you to the school.”
“Thanks,” Jason responded, smiling brightly.
“Hey, not a problem at all.” Darren glanced at the clock. “Well, we only have 10 till homeroom, I gotta get going. nice meeting you, Jason, I’ll catch ya around!”
Jason watched as he left. “I hope so,” he added softly.
* * *
As Lee walked through the student center, he could pick up the conversations around them. Word of the arrests the earlier night had already spread through the student body.
“They got into a brawl with their neighbors.”
“Heard a girl brought them up on charges.”
“Illegal gambling ring!”
He shook his head, ignoring the prattle, eyes searching instead for his roommate. He found Tucker surrounded by three people he didn’t recognize. As he approached he got the tail end of their conversation; they had been talking about the incident themselves. Tucker beamed when he caught sight of Lee, “Hey man, I was just telling them about what we saw!”
“What we saw?” Lee sat down at the table, spreading out his books.
Tucker smiled at his audience, “Well yeah, the arrests. Front row seats!”
Lee largely ignored the others, feeling agitated at the attention they were lavishing on Tucker. “Oh,” was all he could muster in a response.
“Something had definitely gone down, cops were streaming out of that place. The frat brothers were screaming, carrying on, totally drunk. It was like something out of a movie,” Tucker continued, his flair for telling a story with exaggeration easily capturing the imagination of his intended audience. Lee found himself listening, but only because of the absurdity of the story being crafted. When Tucker finally finished, Lee was staring at him, aghast. “What?”
“I can’t believe you.”
“Oh come on, Lee. All I did was give them a little truth to help fight the rumors out there.”
“Are you kidding me? You just crafted your own version of the events, Tucker.”
“I just spiced things up, Lee.” Tucker pulled out a chair, then collapsed into it, kicking up his feet. “Besides, they got a lot more worries at that frat than me retelling their arrests with a little more excitement.”
* * *
As the last of the early morning customers exited, Levy and Lynne finally allowed themselves a chance to rest. Lynne stepped over to the counter, having finished cleaning most of the tables. Her eyes trailed over to Tori, who was chatting with the cashier. “Dad, I’m going to do it now.”
“Do what?”
“Fire Tori.” She gave him a look, “You ok, Dad. You’re totally weirding me out right now.”
“Huh? Oh, I’m fine. If you think it’s best for the business, then go for it.”
“Well, then here it goes.” Lynne motioned to Tori, then pointed to the back office. Levy watched as they disappeared through the door; he didn’t miss the wink Tori shot him as she walked past.
* * *
“Tucker Prince!” The shout brought the two young men to stop in their tracks. They turned to see Nicki Brady storming up the hill towards them.
Lee moved forward to greet her, “Nicki! We were going to make it last night, but--”
“Shut it, Lee.” She brushed past him and was soon in Tucker’s face.
“What are *you* telling people?” Her finger dug into Tucker’s chest; Lee watched, mouth agape.
Posted at 10/10/2008 by beck | Comments? (0)