Chapter #14A Worried Son's Insane Plea by: Nostrum   Jimmy’s text leaves you baffled. He’s got a plan to make his mother’s life better? You never imagined knowing the truth about his family would shake him so deeply.
You remind him that they’ll have dinner together tomorrow and ask him if you could meet on Monday instead. After a while, he agrees, asking if you can talk about it before school starts.
You’ll have to remind him to be more careful, though. Tina woke up on a mood, banging your door and chewing you out. She doesn’t mention the pens, but she swears you punched her lights out. You remain silent as your mom tells her about what you did while as her, and how she insisted he needed to rest, and allowed her to get the blame for “lying”.
That mellows her out (to your surprise). You’re scared this will explode again, but you bring your plan to the table at dinner, hoping she doesn’t complain. “I need to be at school earlier this Monday.”
“How early?” Claire asks, as everyone’s attention falls upon you.
“At least thirty minutes earlier.”
Tina scoffs. “What’s gotten you interested in school that you’d want to be there earlier? You usually drag your feet when you need to take a shower.”
“I just wanna go earlier,” you state, “It’s none of your business.”
“Tina’s right,” your little sister presses. “I mean – we already arrive like ten minutes before the bell rings. Why so early?”
You grunt, straying your look. “It’s Jimmy.”
Just speaking his name makes your two sisters groan. “Yeah, should’ve figured.” “Ugh! What the heck did he told you that you need to be there so early?” “I should be there to hear what you two have to say.”
“Tina, it’s a personal thing. And I was gonna ask if Dad could take you, Claire. I can go in earlier, and that way you don’t have to go with me.”
“The only reason I have to is ‘cos Mom insists.”
“Claire, it’s for your own good.”
“But Mom, once Davey graduates, I’ll have to go alone anyways. Or are you suggesting Davey’s gonna flunk this semester?”
“For your information, I won’t.”
“Children, calm down.” Your mother may be gentle when she speaks but her words have weight. “We’ll discuss that when it happens. Paul, you won’t mind taking Claire to school this time?”
“Oh, certainly!” Your father drops his fork and wipes his lips. “I don’t mind taking you two earlier if you want to. In fact, I could take you two, then give a ride to Tina as well. Just like old times.”
The three of you roll your eyes. There will be a difference – Nick won’t hog the front seat, meaning you won’t have to sit behind with your sisters – but you don’t have many fond memories of traveling with a young Claire, pestering you while making it look like it was you, prompting Tina to call you out.
“Dad, I’m just asking for Claire. I can go on foot.”
“Davey,” Tina retorts. “Dad says it won’t bother him. He just has to leave you two at school, then leave me near college. No big deal.”
“Then it’s decided. I expect all of you to be ready early.”
“Yes, Dad.” Though you don’t like the idea, Tina has already decided for you. And it’s not like you’re doing this as an excuse. You’ll have to tolerate your two sisters for what should be a relatively short trip.
--
Mercifully, Claire was too mortified to bother you, and the trip to school was uneventful. She split ways with you as soon as you stepped in, while you scoured the halls looking for Jimmy.
When you find him, he feebly tries to greet you as usual (a “yo!” and a slam-shake), but you notice he’s distressed. You press him on his stunt before anything else. “Hey. Tina was on my ass yesterday.”
“Dude! You could’ve called!”
“I mean she was pissed at me, man. Next time, try to be discreet.”
“You didn’t wake her up after arriving?”
“I had to stay as her for a while because it was a bit late. Better to deal with it next day than deal with it at the moment.”
“Well - at least you dealt with it, right?”
You draw nearer, looking around the halls in case someone notices you. “You’re lucky she didn’t see the pen. She swears I punched her.”
“Dude, I wouldn’t do that. You know I don’t do violence on girls. Maybe when Heather’s pissed, but if I did, Mom’d have my ass for it.”
“In any case, think about what you’re gonna do next time you do it.” You look around, seeing the halls still relatively empty, then invite him to walk around. “So, what’s that ‘plan’ you’re talking about?”
“Oh, it’s...!” He checks his surroundings, then whispers at you. “First of all – you still have the pens, right?”
You smack your face, rubbing it in disappointment. “You’re not telling me you need them...”
“Just listen to what I’ve got to say! So, Uncle Brad was Mom’s old flame, right?”
“Uh-huh.” You already know what he’s planning, but you let him continue.
“Except that Auntie Nessie did something to split them, and Mom has had difficulties ever since.”
“And your plan is to... what? Turn your aunt into skin so your mom can wear her?”
“Exactly! We can just... I dunno. Say it’s a miracle or something and that God’s giving her a second life--”
“Hold on.” You stop, squaring before him. “First of all, how’re you gonna tell Heather about it?”
“That’s the thing! She doesn’t have to know – all I need is that you help me catch Auntie Nessie--”
“So, if she doesn’t know, what’re you gonna tell her when your mom’s not around?”
“I’ll tell her that she got a job opportunity and that she’ll need to be away for a while.”
“Uh-huh. And when your mom figures out that her sister got turned into a skin, that she’s wearing it, and comes back to tell you all about it... What’s gonna be your response?”
That’s when you catch him. “See, that’s why I wanted to talk this to you. Auntie Nessie stole Mom’s life – I think it’s fair she gets to live with Uncle Brad after all we’ve put her through.”
You chuckle and grin. For all the troublemaking he does, you’re surprised Jimmy cares about his mom. His idea is insane, but strangely endearing. “I don’t think she’ll agree, though.”
“Once she starts living Auntie Nessie’s life, she’ll get to it.”
You do recall a few things from your time as Julia. You know she holds a little grudge for Vanessa because she stole Bradley from her, but she tries to bury it. You know she does it because she doesn’t want to bother her, because she’s her sister, but also because she feels there’s nothing she can do. She’s resigned to a life as a single mother and tries her best to live with it.
If you were to tell her, would she take the chance? Your gut tells you she might not, but you don’t want to shut him down immediately. “Look - we don’t know how she’ll react. Maybe if we suggested the idea? I dunno, as a joke or something.”
“Huh...” That makes him think. “Yeah, now that you put it that way, maybe we should soften the blow. See if she’s interested in it.” He checks his phone, though you know it’ll take a while before the bell rings. “I thought this’d take more time.”
“There’s still something else to address,” you point out. “What will you tell Heather?”
“I told you already! We won’t tell her anything.”
“You just said you’d tell her your mom got a job somewhere else. That means she’ll be taking care of you until school ends, and maybe more.”
You see how his eyes grow distant as you tell him that. “Shit.”
“Uh-huh. See why it’s not a good idea?”
“Yeah...” That should dissuade him, but you underestimate his impulsivity. “No, wait. I got an idea, but I wanna think about it a little bit before telling you.”
“Does it have to do with the pens?”
He snorts. “A’course, man. Trust me, it’ll work. Anyways...” He points at Jessica, who approaches you with a startled face. “See you later, man.”
“David?” Jessica receives you with a kiss to your mouth. “What are you doing here so early?”
You kiss her back, but even you know it has no feeling behind. “Just something I need to help Jimmy with.”
--
Jimmy’s insistence in using the pens distracts you from classes. Something the size of a scalpel, and he wants to use it as a club. Not even as a hammer – as a club.
Of course, that’s very much like him. He’s smart, but his solutions to things are rather simplistic. No – impulsive. And that’s what’s scaring you. He turned you into skin, used you, and got you in trouble with Tina. He might be willing to disappear in order to fulfill what he wants.
You’re not very hungry, so you look for Jimmy during lunch time. He must have been consumed by the thought the same way you were. But a buzz from your phone catches your attention.
[You’re very distant, babe. Can we talk about it?]
You don’t want to tell her about Jimmy’s issue – or the fact that pens exist that can turn people into skins. She wouldn’t get it. But if you don’t deal with her, she’ll pester you later on. And she might not be too close to Jimmy, but she could serve as a good distraction.
But then again, dealing with either of them can be left for later. Maybe a moment of solitude, without distractions, may bring you the solution you seek.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author