– Chapter 1
Syracuse, New York. 2004.
I always hated the ride back from work. The mundane, beat up factories from when Syracuse was a booming manufacturing city rolling past. They looked even worse at three in the morning, with the torrential downpour giving the masses of concrete, steel, and broken windows the look of a horror movie.
The 2002 Nissan Sentra struggled to pull itself up the water slide so generously called an on-ramp, after I turned onto the highway. After about 5 minutes of driving through the ever increasing rain, I turned on the radio. I needed something to keep me awake, as my eyes were already wavering between open and closed. Country? Nope. Hip-Hop? No way. Electronic? Not in a million years.
Finding nothing good on, and not wanting to fill my ears with the white noise of this generation, I shut off the radio. I’d rather get lost in my head, than listen to terrible music. Besides, I needed to find a way to construct a mega mall in a city that doesn’t have the population, nor the budget for it. I fixed my eyes on the road ahead, and kept driving.
I jolted upright as I woke back up. I must’ve fallen asleep. Not for long however, as I could still see the building I had just passed only moments before in my rear view mirror. At least I hadn’t gone far in either direction, as I was still in my lane. There luckily was no cars around, either. ‘Almost home. Half way there.’, I thought, shuffling in my seat, struggling to find a comfortable position. I turned on the radio and switched it to a talk show about cars and car repairs.
I could see the bright lights before I could hear the horn. The horn kept blaring as I lifted my head. Headlights, at eye level, were all I could see as I was realizing what was happening. I turned the car to the right, trying to move out of the way of the oncoming truck. The semi-trailer truck turned the same way, also trying to avoid me. All of a sudden, I stopped. Everything stopped. My car, the truck, the rain. It all stopped. My thoughts landed on my two beautiful children, Mark and Jessi, and my gorgeous wife, Anna.
I loved them all with my whole heart. They were the center of everything I did in life. They were my core. I realized that with my job consuming my entire life, I hardly thought of them enough.
My son, Mark, is almost done with preschool. He’s 4. Everyday he would come home from school and tell me all about his day. He would then reach into his bag and pull out whatever his class had done that day. He would jump into my lap with the biggest smile you could ever imagine, and explain to me what they had done. I would tussle his short chestnut colored hair and give him a hug, and he’d ask me about my day. After we exchanged some words, we would go outside and play some games.
My daughter Jessi is only 2, and already talking non-stop. She’s always asking simple questions about everything going on around her. I always try to give her the simplest and silliest answer, trying to make her laugh. She has the cutest laugh imaginable. Once she starts, she won’t stop. Even the slightest thing will set her off after that. If she doesn’t get the answer that she wants however, she will turn into a pouty little monster. Crossing her arms and putting on an angry face, she’ll run to her brother, and cry on his shoulder. He’ll brush her red hair out of her face and console her.
Then there’s my wife, Anna. The love of my life. We fit together better than two puzzle pieces. We always know what the other is thinking, and often finish each other’s sentences. At 31, she still looks as beautiful as the day I met her, 7 years ago. Even after having two kids. Her long dark red always flowing across her shoulders or put up in a bun. Her dark green eyes that could pierce through your very soul and feel your every emotion. You can’t lie to her, it’s as if she can read your mind.
I hardly even had time to say “I love you.”, before colliding head-on into the semi-trailer.
– Chapter 2
Manlius, New York. 2016.
“Love you Mom.” I said, throwing yesterday’s homework and today’s lunch into my backpack, running out the front door to catch the bus.
“Wait!” Mom said, running to me. She put her arms around me tightly. “I love you too sweetie. Have a good day at school.” She bent over to kiss me on the cheek, emitting a loud smacking noise, and leaving behind a wet smear. She released me from her hug and walked back to the sink, finishing up her makeup.
“Have a good day at work Mom.” I turned around and headed out.
As I was walking down the driveway, I felt bad for my mom. She was the secretary at a law firm, where the employees and customers alike treated her like shit. She had to support two teenage kids. And her husband died 12 years ago. Before I thought too much about it, my little sister ran down the walk to catch up with me.
“Hey Jess”, I said, looking at her. “Ready for another fun day of 8th grade?”
“Ugh, I already hate it. We’re only a day in, and it already sucks. How do you stand it?” Jess replied, punching me in the arm.
“Ow, shit Jess that hurt. Don’t worry though, it gets better once you move into the high school. There’s more people, and it’s easier to make new friends.”
“Does it really though? All of these upper classmen will feed on us lower classmen.”
“Don’t worry, i’ll protect you. I’ll be an upper classmen next year, remember?” I assured her, putting my arm around her shoulder.
“Yeah, I know.” Jessi said, looking towards the corner, watching the bus turn.
“See you after school, sis.” I said, stepping towards the bus’ doors.
I hated this bus. It was old and run down, and made terrible squealing noises every time it braked. The bus driver wasn’t much better, old and run down, and made terrible squealing noises every time a kid acted out. If things got slightly too loud for his taste, which was practically above a whisper, then he would come over the intercom system and yell at us to shut up.
I walked down the aisle of the bus looking for Cam, my best friend. In the back I noticed his short cropped blonde hair sticking up over the top of the seat in front of him. As I approached his seat, he grabbed his lacrosse bag and threw it into the seat next to ours. It hit the wall of the bus with a thud.
“Hey M, how’s it going man?” Cam asked, sliding over in the seat.
“Not bad. Dreading my classes today though.” I said, sitting down next to him.
“What do you have?”
“Algebra, and Health. I hate health so much. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mrs. Warren failed me just for the fun of it. At least I have Gym to lighten the day.”
“Sucks dude. Today’s my good day. Tech, Global, and English. Sadly no Gym, though.”
“Nice. Mr. Couliard makes Gym class so much fun. How’s Sam doing?”
“She’s doing alright I guess, but her bitchiness hasn’t decreased at all. After she graduated college, she moved back home and hasn’t even looked for a job once. How’s Jessi?”
“She’s been in a slump since she started eight grade. It sucks to see her in such a bad mood, since she’s typically such a happy person. I hope she stops hating school so much, and learns that it’s the best time of your life.”
“Damn man, that’s rough. I hope she learns that too. Summer was insane. You should bring her to one of the parties dude, she might love them.” Cam said, standing up and grabbing his bag, as the bus pulled to a stop in front of the High School.
“Haha, I don’t know about that man. Those parties were pretty wild, who knows if she could handle them. Anyways, see you at lunch dude.”
“Alright, can’t wait.”
As I stepped off of the bus, the warmth of the early September air swept past, blowing my hair out of place. I looked up at the tall brick building in front of me and prepared myself for another day of school.