The camera again fades to black.
Not too much later, we got another call; Schuyler�s mom had had a stroke and was in the hospital. She would die later that day. And the next day, Sky�s dad had hanged himself at work.
Camera fades into picture. The scene is the group sitting in a different room. Schuyler is whipping tears off her face. Antony is behind her, rubbing her shoulders in support. Darien is just sitting there with his hands covering his face. There is just silence.
That first day was not a good day. Two people we knew and loved had died. The following day was not much better. Three people we knew and loved had died. My grandfather had passed away during the night, Schuyler�s aunt had also died that day, and Antony�s brother had been killed in the war. Those were not good days.
Darien:
How did things get so messed up? I mean, everything is all wrong. This isn�t supposed to happen.
Antony:
It is messed up, but think about it Darien; this stuff happens all the time. If this weren�t happening to us, it would be happening to someone else.
Shot of a still picture of Antony. Darien�s narration interrupts again.
Darien (offstage narration):
Antony was right. He usually is right. He was unusually calm, considering the circumstances. I mean, he had just heard that his brother was killed, and he didn�t even look like he would even shed a tear. Ant was a wise kid. He wasn�t normally part of our group, but it seemed like, with two of us four down, we just wanted anyone else around.
The scene resumes
Darien:
It shouldn�t be happening at all! Especially to us! We shouldn�t have to go through this!
Antony stands up and seems pretty angry. He gets in Darien�s face.
Antony:
You are an arrogant asshole, you know that? My brother just died. Without a doubt I am pretty upset. But you know what? 800 other families have had to go through this too, and to say that you and me and Sky are special and should be excused from this; it�s completely irrational, irresponsible, really immature, and just plain arrogant! You need to grow up. People die, get over it! It�s a natural part of life; if you can�t accept it now, then you should really do some serious thinking.
Schuyler stands up as if to defend Darien. Antony holds his hand up to her as if to tell her to not say anything. Darien looks really frustrated and upset. After a few moments of the two boys staring at each other, Darien storms out. Cut to Darien looking very upset and driving. Music is playing (but not in the car, it is added into the scene later). The scene morphs into Darien standing in a graveyard. He is standing and staring at a tombstone. He kneels down. He still looks angry and frustrated. He pulls a small picture from out of his pocket and leans it against the tombstone. He stands up and turns around and takes only a few steps. He stops and looks back at the tombstone. He shakes his head and keeps walking. Cut to Darien sitting on a rock at the top of the mountain overlooking the city. Darien�s narration continues.
Darien (offstage narration):
I had done a lot of thinking that day. I kept remembering that day, and what Antony said. He was absolutely right. I hadn�t been able to accept death as a part of the cycle of life. When my grandpa died, I was just a kid. I didn�t really know what was going on. I didn�t really realize the full impact it would have on me until that day. Now I was older. I should have been able to accept death, but I never really had to accept it either. Neither did Sky. I lost two of my best friends. Sky had lost two good friends and two parents. Antony had lost his brother, but he said he was proud of his brother. What I didn�t know was that Ant had also lost his uncle and his father in wars. I think that he was wiser because he had been dealing with it for a while.
The camera pans over off of Darien over to the overlooking view of the town. The camera keeps panning in a circular motion, occasionally getting the image of Darien sitting and occasionally panning over the town.
Me and Sky, we had never really had to deal with death. But those two days�we had been surrounded by death. Everywhere we looked, there it was, right in front of us. Now we�re both much older. I don�t know what Sky is up to these days, but I�m sure she still hasn�t gotten over that day. Hell, not even I have, but I�ve learned to move on, to go on with that only in the back of my mind.
Cut to a scene of Antony sitting on a bed sort of bouncing with a smile on his face. He is laughing and claps a few times. It is in slow motion. Narration continues.
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