Chapter I
If you'd like to see this in Notion, click here
A little passion project I'm working on. If you have any recommendations let me know!! :p
Just know that on both websites the dialogue is color coded so you can tell which character is speaking. Blue is Arlan, red is Cody, pink is Keith, and green is Blake.
(yes there is a bit of swearing)
May 26th, 2011 - Life goes way too fast for me. It feels like just yesterday, I was entering high school and now suddenly I’m about to take my own path. One that may change my course forever. It’s now or never.
I sit on the public transit bus, thinking a lot about Newpointe. Although it had it’s ups and downs, I feel like it wasn’t too bad of a city. I remember the days that I would spend at the downtown ice cream shop. It was on a small corner block, right next to an art studio and bakery. After getting ice cream, sometimes even with my friends, I’d beg my mom to get something from the bakery just because it smelt almost too good. That was over 7 years ago, and the ice cream place and bakery shut down only 2-3 years after that. Even though the bakery’s a tuxedo rental store, I can still smell the fresh bread, pastries and donuts they made that wafted through the air.
It’s 2011 now though, not 2004. I was younger then, but now I’m an adult. That happened almost 2 years ago too now that I think about it. I spent that entire night partying at this small abandoned warehouse near Point North just.. doing stuff. I can’t even remember for the life of me. It happened way too fast though, and now I’m just sitting on a bus remembering all the days I used to hang out with my friends, especially here. Once we went to high school and had to split classes, it felt like our world had fallen apart. It was only glued on with the tiniest amount of glue, as teachers would constantly tell me and Keith to stop talking all the time, but we continued to. I’m kind of relieved we didn’t get moved or anything. I have to say though, having the same lunch period as everyone else makes me at least happy that I get a chance to even hang out with the group I’m in, even if it’s our last year together.
The bus pulls up by the back of the school. I pass the gardens leading up to it. They were designed by the people who take the gardening classes here, and all of the flowers are really pretty. I walk into the school, a small smile on my face. It’s a little bittersweet that this is the last day of school. Not school overall, but high school.
My first few periods go by quickly. Most of our day is cut off for the ceremony though. I get to my 5th period, lunch, deciding not to go walk someplace else to get food. Usually, I’d always walk over to the Northern food store right next to the school, or if I’m feeling lucky, Krystal’s Diner. They have the most delicious burgers there. I couldn’t ever describe how they tasted, even to my own diary. I sit down, spotting Keith walking up to the table with Cody.
I’ve known Keith for several years, ever since 2nd grade when I moved to Newpointe in the first place. I haven’t always lived here, but what I do know is I’ve always lived up north. My parents were originally from the big, bustling capital city that is Lexington City. I know, very original name for a capital city. I’ve been there and you can just tell how huge it is from a few kilometers away. Or a mile. Skyscrapers plunge onto the sky, with all kinds of light coming from them at night. It truly looks so spectacular. But, out of all of the places my parents could’ve chose, they decided to raise me in a random city in the middle of nowhere. Esterhaze was its name, and from what I remember it wasn’t that bad of a city. We still had to shop in other places like Newpointe though, which was pretty inconvenient, so during my 1st grade summer break, my family shifted over to Newpointe.
“Hey look, it’s the new kid!”
“What’cha gonna do with all of those spots, Arlan? Did’ya forget to wash your fur or something?”
Those voices rung in my head from 2nd grade the year after summer break. I had just moved to a slightly bigger city and was now being treated like I was weird. I wasn’t even that weird anyway, just.. quiet. Yeah, looking back I didn’t have the best reputation there either. I did have one friend who helped aid that. I remember the day vividly: Keith was my partner during art class one day, and even though I did most of the work to sketch a cool painting, he still helped aplenty there. I’ve always noticed how hyper he was, which is why he was considered the weird kid, even more than me. But together, we formed a great bond. That day, we became friends, and over time as we kept going to the same schools he helped shove me out of my introverted shell. Or at least that’s what I like to believe.
Cody is an interesting person. He’s not as quiet as Blake, but he’s quite the loud one when it comes to instruments. I couldn’t ever count the amount of times he told us about his parents complaining because of the noise in the garage he would make when practicing his electric guitar. It got to the point where he was forced to start using the shed for storage and practices. It wasn’t the biggest shed, but it was not that much smaller than the garage, which he said was okay, but I could see the slight sadness in his eyes. Speaking of his parents though, something I find so surprising about him is how he has the least strict parents. We’d usually always go to my house to hang out together, the 4 of us, but if all else failed we would usually always meet up somewhere downtown or just go to Cody’s house since his parents were really chill about it. Other than that though, I really have a liking for the tiger. He’s always just.. chill about things, and he gives great advice to us. I’ve never seen him get mad over anything, he usually just resolves it quickly or keeps it to himself.
I decide to speak up first. “You guys know where Blake is? I know I’m usually off on my 2nd period, but I haven’t seen him there.” Keith decides to chime in. “Y’know, I thought I saw his car parked at Michael’s when I passed by his house. He has to be there, I don’t know where else he could be..” Huh, I think to myself. He isn’t usually the one to just skip classes, especially on a day like this. What exactly happened to him?
As lunch continues on, we all reminisce on our first day of school. The endless halls, the confusing classes and courses, and everything in between. It gave me a terrible headache, sure, but it was definitely a fun experience. “I know I keep saying this, but can you guys believe it’s already the end of the school year? I’m just so happy I get to be with you guys. You guys are amazing.” My heart warms a bit. I love how affectionate Keith can be sometimes, especially when he’s excited. “That’s sweet of ya, Keith,” I can hear Cody say.
Afterward, the people in grade 12 are ordered to head over to the graduation ceremony in the back of the school. There, in the gymnasium, I can see everyone I’ve come to know there in line as they’re ushered into the seats. On the benches sit all of the parents, watching in awe and sadness as they see their own sons and daughters finally graduate from the district. From there, I see Blake in the distance, sitting in the middle of the currently empty cluster of chairs. He’s wearing the robe and hat even though we haven’t seen him at all today. I sit right next to him, and Keith and Cody decide to do the same.
“Hey.. Blake, are you good..?” I say gently, patting his hand. The border collie looks up at me, a blank stare on his face. He’s had a lot of issues at home, stuff that I’d rather not mention, but it still always worries me because I never want anything to happen to him, especially after he ran away from home. If you’re wondering why he’s staying at a guy named Michael’s place, that’s the reason why. “Yeah.. Michael’s actin’ all weird again. We both got into a.. semi-argument about me not being able to pay the bills or whatever. It ain’t anything bad, trust me.” His Southern accent peeks through his words, and I can’t tell if I find it cute or not. I continue to nod understandingly, offering him reassurance. “Oh gosh, yeah.. I figured. Just know if anybody’s got your back, it’s the 3 of us. If anything happens, fuck it and fuck Michael, you can stay with me.”
The ceremony begins normally, with people being called up to the stage. The valedictorian, a small rat guy with glasses, takes the stage, giving his speech. Keith comes up to the stage first, as he’s one of the first people called. He decides to do a backflip. I can see everyone laugh in amusement. Most of the seniors know about Keith’s antics, and personally I’m not too surprised he pulled that off. Then, I see Blake. He adjusts himself, coming up onto the stage to receive his diploma. I can see his face crack a smile, something that I smile about also. After I get called, I go up onto the stage, my heart pounding. This is my moment. Make it count. Although I wasn’t the most popular in any of the classes I was in, I give a little smile and a wave to everyone else before hopping off of stage, a small drop of sweat dripping down my forehead. “W-was I too bad there..?” I ask Keith. “Nah, you were awesome!” I hear him say enthusiastically. I guess I did do good.
After Cody was called, with his actions being more or less the same as mine, we all sprinted out of the ceremony, taking one last step off the campus. As we walk outside towards downtown, I can see Keith crack a grin. “Any of you guys apply to any colleges near Seneca? I got a letter in the mail saying I was accepted.” “Damn dude, you got accepted into Seneca? Which one by chance?” I hear Cody chime in. “I think it was.. Seneca Bay, I heard they have some great art programs there!” Cody and Blake suddenly seem to perk up a bit, which to me is surprising to see, especially from Blake. “Oh hell yeah! So that means we’re all going to Seneca Bay then?” “Uhh.. wasn’t planning to, but if y’all are going and I somehow got accepted I wouldn’t care less to.” I can hear Cody about to say something, but he’s clearly cut off by Keith perking up with something to say. “Well Blake, if you really want to be serious about car repairs and stuff, they have stuff for that there!” Blake shrugs. “I guess that doesn’t seem too bad then.”
The walk goes along smoothly, with the 4 of us talking to each other about our lives and what we’ll do after high school. Cody obviously wants to get into becoming the next big musician, while me and Keith both want to get into some form of art school, whether it’s painting, photography, animation, or heck, I’d even go for visual arts if I have to! Blake.. well.. I’m not totally sure about him, but he’s always wanted to be a dirty pup working with cars.. so I’d like to believe that?
Although Seneca Bay isn’t one of the top schools, even in the Seneca area, it’s a pretty good school for all things art and physical related. They have a really good sports team there, and they have a wide variety of arts degrees, which is why me and especially Keith are so ecstatic to be going there next summer. I’m just hoping that time won’t go so fast so we can spend time with each other a bit more.
August 7th, 2011 - Update: It did. It terribly did.
All 4 of us hung out a small, tiny bit over a few days during June and July, but that was about it. They were fun, but the days felt super quick. Like it was completely rushed or something. I feel like we need to do something special though, something that we can all do and have fun in before we leave.
The day before, I had thought of a really nice plan. It was something that ticked all of the checkboxes I had in mind. I made.. an irresponsible purchase. I rounded up $4,500 from my savings, almost denting a hole in my wallet just to get a van off of Mawbook Marketplace. Once I met up with the seller in Esterhaze, I saw it in it’s true beauty. Nope, just kidding, it needed a little bit of TLC as Blake would comment whenever he used to help me repair my bike or car.
I seriously wish I could’ve brought it to Blake himself, as I know he’d know how to fix the car. But, yet again, just to keep this a secret for one more day, I bought the car and took it to the mechanic shop to get it checked and fixed. Turns out, all it needed was a small oil change, and it should be good to go. I spent a little over $50 bucks on one, which was fair. If I was in Newpointe, I could’ve probably got it for a bit cheaper, but it’s whatever. I turned on the radio, tuning it to a specific station I always liked listening to, and drove the 15 minutes back over to Newpointe.
As I drive, I start to think of random stuff again. My house is sort of big. It isn’t the biggest house on Crabtree Street by far, but for some reason whenever any of my friends come over they’re always surprised on how big it is even though it’s really not. Anyway, like most houses in the North of this weird country, the garage is in the back where all of the alleys right next to the actual streets sit. It’s a thin, narrow area that people and cars walk in. In more urban areas, I’ve seen them where they look practically like sidewalks, and I think they have those little dividing things that separate cars from the actual sidewalk. Anyway, there’s a little spot where the alleyway extends on the side next to the garage, so if I place the van right, I could probably park it there and not have to worry about any cars hitting the van or any of my friends suspecting anything about the van if they somehow magically come across it.
Once I got back, I parked the van in the alley behind my house. Just to be sure, I remembered not to park it in my garage, but right outside of it. I wasn’t planning on using it until tomorrow afternoon anyway, so what did it matter? Just to double check, though, I opened the back of the van. I realized that.. maybe the back could use a little more fixing up too?
I swung around to the local hardware store. The door swung open, and a guy sitting behind the counter waved at me. It was a big, slightly muscular red dragon. I knew him as Maple. You’d think that with a body like that, he might have a cooler name, but none of us really know why he’s called that. It’s just something that his parents found cool, I guess.
Being self-conscious, I looked around the store, and it was pretty much empty. Hardware stores in small towns aren’t usually that big, unless you compare them to the ones in big cities (ahem, Plank Depot, ahem.) I figured none of them were around, so I went and picked up some wood, metal, decorations, paint, carpet, and.. more wood. The back of the van needed to be comfy, it needed to be perfect. 2 of us (probably Blake and Cody) are going to have to sit there anyway, so why not make it a good experience? I drove straight back to the van, working on repairs all by myself. I attached the carpet to the floor, using it as flooring so it’d be soft inside. The wood was used for the base of the benches, and I matched it with pillows on top to make it comfortable. I even decided to put a bulletin board just in case we wanted to pin anything useful to it later on. The back is where everything else would be stored. It would still be visible from the front, but I put a small little piece of wood just to divide everything. Cody would need to bring a bunch of stuff, like his piano and his electric guitar, so I needed at least a teeny tiny bit of room there. And, just to top it all off, I added a small shelf near the front with the extra wood I had. It looked perfect then and there, and adding the decorations like small lights everywhere made it beautiful. Something that they’ll smile at.
My heart slightly pounded in my body as I got done with that. Gosh, how can it be so hot in there but so cold outside at the same time? I walked back into the garage, stumbling upstairs and flopping on my bed. It felt nice and cold, especially after a tiring day. I didn’t have any other plans today, but tomorrow would be the start of a week-long journey, something that I was super excited about.