Written in my first semester of high school for English I class. I haven't changed any of it since I finished it at that time. -_-; I'm quite embarrassed by the dialogue in this, but I don't want to change it... a little piece of myself (no matter how awkward) from the past should be kept... sort of like a reminder of how far (or not.. lol) I've come.
Another thing! If you want to use this story for any purposes, please inform me before you do... I don't like it when people are using my stuff without my consent. So to avoid an raving person emailing you, please email me before you take...
The Rebel
The sky was beautiful. It spread below his feet like a massive black blanket specked with small different colors of light. It was a perfect night. There was no cloud blocking the brightness of the stars and moon, the lights that made him relax. It was the best night of his life. He could hear the distant rush of water and wild screams of people he was acquainted with. 'No!' That was what he could hear apart from the repetition of his name. So far... oh, so far now... A small smile spread across his lips as he closed his eyes. The wind billowed through his hair, hair as atramentous as the night that had surrounded his body, as darkness shrouded his sight...
~~ o0o ~~
"Why?"
The word; just that one word, contained so much feeling: anger; confusion; sadness; anguish. Yet the two adults who he addressed it to didn't so much as flinch. Instead they spared the sixteen-year-old boy, Joshua, nothing but annoyance. Josh's eyed each other in fury, highly aware of the presence of the other.
"Son," his mother tried to say as calmly as possible, glaring at her spouse, finally taking notice of her child. "You know as well as I do that this would be the best solution for us. You don't marry someone for the sole purpose of having a sparring partner!"
"This divorce is the best thing that will ever happen to this family," his father growled, folding his arms over his chest and gracing his son with a narrowed look. "You just have to live with that."
"But - but what about me?" he sputtered, putting an indicative hand on his chest. "Have I no say in this? Mom, Dad, I don't want us to split up. Remember all the good times we had? Don't you remember?"
There was a pause before anyone attempted to answer. "Yes we do, Josh," the woman answered quietly, looking down at the floor. "But... we've changed, Josh. There are more differences than similarities. Your father's infidelity has brought to perspective what we have been avoiding for a long time... and that is the fact that we are two different people on different paths."
"What the hell do you mean by my goddamn infidelity?" Mr. Bennett shouted incredulously. He pointed at her with a look of absolute disgust. "The last time I saw, you were the unfaithful one!"
Joshua watched helplessly as his parents shot crude remarks back and forth, as if he were on the sidelines of some great game. But this wasn't a game or something to laugh about. This was reality and serious. He looked at his father then to his mother then back at his father. What about me? his eyes seemed to scream out. But his parents could see nothing but fire and aggravation that was present in the other. Letting out an agitated breath, the teen left the room, boiling from the inferno that seemed to emanate from two beings within it. Joshua knew he should be used to this bitterness. After crying to sleep every single night, listening to his sobs as the screams clashed together in the background, he knew that he should ignore it and let it be as easy as that. But it wasn't. Had it not been for the discovery of his father's girlfriend, his mother would not have gone off in pain and ended up in some cheap motel in the arms of another man. That was all two years ago. It all happened too fast. At the tender age of fourteen, being practically new in the adolescent stage, he needed all the attention there was. But his parents avoided the house. They would stay out, waiting for the late hours of night to come before they came bounding in through their front door and into their rooms, Mrs. Karen Bennett taking up residence in the guest room and Mr. Jake Bennett taking the room he used to share with his wife.
As he walked towards his room, everything around him seemed to melt away. All he could see was blue. He could hear his steps echoing as he walked, which was the only link he had to the real world. All else was drowned in his own little universe, empty, as it was lonely. But there was always one person he could always count on when he was feeling depressed and isolated.
His best friend, although a girl, was the person he could turn to. Shane was a good person, maybe too good to be his friend. Her skin was dark, like milk chocolate, in contrast to his pale skin. Here eyes and hair were as black as his were. She was skinny and delicate, as he was muscular and virile. They seemed to come from different worlds, her from an average family with four children and two parents, him from a rich one, him being what many call an 'only child' with many personal problems. But they seemed to be able to relate with each other, ever since the first time they met. He was thinking the only light that was actually able to penetrate through the thick wall that had enclosed around him, shutting out everything that was not already part of him, was hers. He loved how he could make her laugh, for it seemed to sooth him somehow, as if it was a drug that relieved him from pain. He seemed to feed off of that happiness that she radiated… that happiness that he made for her. But now it was not enough. He needed more. But there was nothing. It was just Shane and only Shane. No one else could be trusted to turn to.
His steps quickened as he walked through the entrance to his room. Taking hold of the phone, he dialed a familiar number and waited for the familiar voice of Shane to answer.
"Hello?"
Joshua let out a pent-up breath as a teenage girl's voice answered.
"It's me," he said, knowing that Shane would know whom it was.
"Oh hi, Josh," she replied happily, as if anticipating his call. "What's up?"
"Nothing really. Just wanted to talk a bit." There was a small pause before he spoke again. "Don't you like the view from the bridge just about a mile away from here? How it overlooks the woods and the shallow river?"
"Yeah... those birds are lucky, aren't they? They get to sit on that ledge, not worrying if the fall over. They get to fly instead of fall like we would if we ever ended up in the same situation... Hey, is there anything wrong? Did you want to tell me something?"
"I just wanted to hear your voice, that's all," he murmured after a heartbeat of silence.
"Okay, but that doesn't really explain why your voice sounds void of any emotion," she muttered. "Tell me if you want to really talk... you know... about problems..." She trailed off, hoping that he would take the hint and confess to the issue he was facing.
"Hmm... yeah... sure… Anyway, I have to go now. Sorry for bothering you," he spoke quickly.
"It was no problem," her voice soothed. "See you tomorrow."
There was a pause before he said, "Goodbye, Shane."
Then he put down the phone. Slowly, he took a pen and paper and wrote slowly, as if he had all the time in the world.
~~ o0o ~~
There was a vigorous knock on the door of Shane McTarvits' home. After a few moments a girl, the same age as Joshua, opened the door and looked questioningly at the guests. Mr. Bennett and his wife stood anxiously on the porch and at the site of the girl, they took hold of her. Fear shook through them and Shane could see it. But why are they so scared? She thought. She noticed that Joshua was not with them.
"Please, Shane," Mrs. Bennett whispered, her whole body shaking visibly. "Tell me that you know where Joshua is. I beg you!"
Mr. Bennett said nothing but thrust a crumpled paper into the girl's face. "Read it" was all he could choke out before he broke into tears himself. She read:
'To whom it may concern:
I feel that I have no reason for staying. I looked out the window tonight and saw the stars and the moon. Then a bird perched at the sill. I want to be like that bird. I want to fly. I will fly tonight. I'll fly to a place where I can watch over you all. You need not worry. I found the perfect place to start. It's high enough and has a spectacular view of all that the birds can see.'
"Josh," she breathed. "No."
It was then that she understood. His voice echoed in her mind. I just wanted to hear your voice… Goodbye… He's going to kill himself, she thought incredulously. But where? Her mind searched frantically. I found the perfect place to start. It's high and has a spectacular view… a spectacular view. What had a spectacular view? She remembered their recent conversation. Don't you like the view from the bridge just about a mile from here? How it overlooks the woods and the shallow river?
"I know where he is," she said confidently, with a hint of dread in her voice. "Can we use your car?"
The adults nodded and strode quickly into their car, and drove it to their destination just in time to watch Joshua getting onto the ledge.
Shane opened the car door as fast as she could and ran towards her friend.
~~ o0o ~~
"Don't!"
Joshua smiled sadly to himself before carefully turning towards the voice. The sound of car doors opening and closing and shoes on concrete filled his ears.
"Please," Shane pleaded, holding out a helpful hand. The ledge was thin and brittle, the height it provided on the bridge great enough to kill someone in an instant. Joshua seemed so lighthearted even when he knew he was at the brink of death.
"Whatever you do, Josh," she spoke loudly, her voice wavering. "Don't jump."
"Now what good will that do?" he asked with a felicitous voice.
Shane's eyes widened. He has gone insane, she though numbly. Joshua's parents rushed over to her side, clutching fearfully on each of her shoulders.
"Mom, Dad! What a pleasant surprise!"
"Joshua Bennett, you get down from there this instant!" Mrs. Bennett cried out in her motherly manner.
They all watched as his expression turned from innocent to menacing. "Nothing will change if I get off this ledge. You'll separate and I'll be as lonely as I had been these past two years of hell. You will both forget about me again and I will have nothing left! I don't want to go on. I have nothing to live for."
"You're being young and stupid!" his father yelled angrily. "You get down here at once and I mean it, young man!"
"You'll never understand. Never see what I feel because you're not me. You don't know anything"
He grinned once more, this time a happy one mixed with fear. He shifted his position so that he could easily fall with the sight of the universe just surrounding him. He vaguely heard the calls of his name…
The sky was beautiful. It spread below his feet like a massive black blanket specked with small different colors of light. It was a perfect night. There was no cloud blocking the brightness of the stars and moon, the lights that made him relax. It was the best night of his life. He could hear the distant rush of water and screams of people he was acquainted with. 'No!' That was what he could hear apart from the repetition of his name. A small smile spread across his lips as he closed his eyes. The wind billowed through his hair, hair as atramentous as the night that had stolen around his body, as darkness shrouded his sight...