{"id":2721,"date":"2012-07-06T07:14:18","date_gmt":"2012-07-06T11:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/?p=2721"},"modified":"2012-07-27T12:03:15","modified_gmt":"2012-07-27T16:03:15","slug":"my-movie-part-2-by-jordan-breeding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/my-movie-part-2-by-jordan-breeding\/","title":{"rendered":"My Movie (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After thirty straight minutes of Johnny begging, Daniel persuading, and me looking forlorn with puppy-dog eyes, we finally coerced their ever-agreeable mom, who had just pulled into their driveway, to drive us to the mall. We just told her we wanted to get Molly something for her birthday, even though that\u2019d already been bought. But we needed a way to purchase the technological wonder with our hard earned cash, so it seemed justifiable. My hard earned cash.<\/p>\n

Their mom had always been especially nice to me. Whenever we camped outside near Daniel and Johnny\u2019s house she always brought some snacks to our tent just to make sure we were okay and that we wouldn\u2019t starve to death out in the great wilderness. She often gave Johnny some cookies or chips or some such goodness to provide sustenance as he bounded out the door to begin our daily hangout. In a weird way she became almost a second mother to me, even though I never ventured inside her house.<\/p>\n

She was a little reluctant to drive us to the mall as she had four little ones at home that she needed to take care of. She said she\u2019d take us if Daniel promised to take all the little ones out to the pool for a few hours so she could take a much-needed nap. Daniel readily agreed and we piled into the cramped minivan.<\/p>\n

The mall Babbage\u2019s was mediocre at best. Bins filled with bargain videogames snaked haphazardly around the sales floor, creating a virtual labyrinth. The off-white wallpaper was peeling and the light gray carpet curled up at the corners. The place was mostly a dump, but because I could only convince my parents to take me there once every two months- if I was lucky- trips to Babbage\u2019s felt like trips to the circus. Johnny and I ran wildly through the cockamamie aisles while Daniel wisely asked the store manager about purchasing the system and game. Johnny and I pretended we were John McClane in Die Hard<\/em> and fired our \u201cguns\u201d at each other from behind the cover the bargain bins provided. Daniel thanked the sales clerk, scooped up his purchase and yelled at us, \u201cCome on fat-heads let\u2019s go. I think Mom caught the rest of them.\u201d Their mother was herding the four little ones back outside after what must have been an exhausting chase.<\/p>\n

On the way to my house we could barely contain our eagerness. We stumbled over each other\u2019s words with our excited chatter.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh man, this is going to be sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI call Oddjob by the way. I totally get to play as Oddjob.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah right! I get Oddjob. You can be Xenia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n

When their mother finally dropped us off at my house, and secured Daniel\u2019s promise to take the children to the pool in a few hours, she peeled out of the driveway so quickly that smoke rose from her tires. She must have been desperate to be rid of us, to get all the screaming children out of her car. Laughing and joking, we walked toward the front door, expecting it to be unlocked. It wasn\u2019t. I attempted to step through the doorway but ended up running directly into the door. I remembered suddenly that today was Friday, and my mom had taken my sisters to some play in Richmond. They wouldn\u2019t return until very late. I was supposed to go hang out at Joseph\u2019s or with Daniel and Johnny until Dad came back at about four-thirty. It was one in the afternoon and we needed to play now. I turned around sheepishly, holding my face where it had smacked the door. \u201cOkay, I just remembered I can\u2019t get into my house until four-thirty or so\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are we supposed to do now?\u201d Daniel threw his hands up in the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gotta play some stinkin\u2019 Goldeneye<\/em>,\u201d Johnny said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea. I mean we literally can\u2019t get into my house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have an idea,\u201d Jonny said. We turned to look at him. Daniel put his arms down. \u201cWe could play at our house. Dad doesn\u2019t get back until five at the earliest usually.\u201d Johnny spoke softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, man. Dad would get really pissed,\u201d Daniel said with some hesitance.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t have to know. We could play until four then run back here and keep going.\u201d He was getting more excited as he talked. I could see the more he spoke, the more he believed his own argument. \u201cDaniel,\u201d Johnny said, glancing at his brother, \u201cHas Dad gotten back before five any time in the last month?\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniel thought for a second. \u201cI guess not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to get you in trouble. Seriously, it\u2019s fine. We can just hang out for another few hours and come back here at four.\u201d For some reason I felt sure that things would not go well if we went to their house. Rambunctious though I was, I was not a rule-breaker and I never liked going against any kind of authority.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. It will be fine,\u201d Daniel said, looking off at something, nothing, absentmindedly probing a bruise on his upper bicep. \u201cAnd more than that I\u2019m tired of us always having to hang at your house. You should at least see our room and be able to say that you have been there before. It\u2019s not fair that you can\u2019t come over and I\u2019m sick of Dad always controlling everything. If Mom had a say-\u201d I opened my mouth to protest again; he cut me off. \u201cNo. I\u2019m serious. It will be fine. Nothing\u2019s going to happen. We\u2019ll be out of there hours before he\u2019s even thinking of coming home.\u201d Daniel\u2019s face shifted. His eyes usually a deep, ocean blue seemed grayer, like storm clouds poised to devastate the tranquil surface of the waters. His face was hard. The smile that always hid in his face, waiting to spring out in a second\u2019s notice was decidedly absent. I was afraid of that look. I didn\u2019t know what it meant and I didn\u2019t want to argue with him.<\/p>\n

Johnny, evidently oblivious, seemed glad his brother agreed. \u201cOkay, it\u2019s settled. We can leave at four. That\u2019ll give us plenty of time to get out before Dad gets back.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a few more stalled seconds, Daniel glanced at my troubled face and his rigidity fractured. An impish grin broke across his features as the storm receded in his eyes. \u201cYeah. I\u2019ll race you butt cracks.\u201d He broke off running in the direction of his house. Forgetting my apprehension, I scooped up the bag with the game and scampered off after him with Johnny close behind.<\/p>\n

Johnny, unhindered by a Nintendo or weak stomach, reached the house first. I truly did not want to enter the house, but I chose to swallow my trepidation and bury it deep inside myself where it wouldn\u2019t get out, at least for a few hours. I stood on the front porch breathing heavily. Their four younger siblings were running and rolling around in a giant blonde pack in the front yard. Daniel came gasping behind us, playfully shoving the youngest boy Jimmy to the ground. Daniel held him there for a minute while the little boy laughed and struggled. Jimmy\u2019s brother and two sisters leapt on to Daniel\u2019s back in an effort to free him. They collapsed in a giggling heap. Daniel stood up and picked Jimmy, who had a particularly nasty bruise on his left leg, off the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m coming, I\u2019m coming. Let him in,\u201d Daniel said between gulping breaths.<\/p>\n

Johnny spun around, clipping his heels together like a soldier. He stood straight-backed, imitating a British Royal Guard. He gravely opened the door, then bowed, \u201cWelcome, my liege, to the Ch\u00e2teau de Johnny.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stepped over the slightly raised threshold into the foyer. I felt as if I were being shown a well-kept secret. I tried to enjoy the moment but Daniel and Johnny dragged me up the creaking, wooden stairs to their shared room. \u201cWe can give you a full tour later, maybe. Right now we\u2019ve got some Goldeneye to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDaniel, is that you?\u201d Their mother\u2019s voice drifted from the kitchen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just gonna hang out in our room for a little bit,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right but remember you need to take those wild children of mine to the pool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know. I will after dinner,\u201d Daniel called back, tugging on my arm.<\/p>\n

Their room was immediately to the right at the top of the stairs. Johnny threw open the door, revealing a very messy, very modestly sized room. On the faded taupe walls hung posters of movies such as Lethal Weapon 3<\/em> and Jurassic Park<\/em>, as well as pictures of iconic videogame characters such as Link and Mario. Two disheveled beds, shoved into each of the backmost corners of the room, barely peaked over the mountains of clothes strewn across the floor. Sunlight snuck through the single window, landing sublimely on their small television into which Johnny feverishly began plugging in the videogames.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not much to look at,\u201d Daniel apologized, carving out a small spot of floor from beneath the rubble, exposing brownish-white carpeting. \u201cBut she\u2019ll do.\u201d I cared not at all and happily plopped myself down and reclined comfortably against the clothes.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s do this mess.\u201d I said, situating myself.<\/p>\n

Daniel laughed and clapped me on the back. The old television sputtered to life and we eagerly began our cinematic adventures in Communist Russia.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

\u201cDouble kill!\u201d Johnny bellowed as he managed to fire a rocket launcher through a small window, striking both Daniel\u2019s character and mine simultaneously.<\/p>\n

\u201cLucky shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLucky, my butt.\u201d<\/p>\n

We had been playing incessantly for over three hours. \u201cHey guys,\u201d I said, finally taking notice of the time. \u201cWe need to go. It\u2019s almost four thirty and\u2026 we should go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAw, come on. I\u2019m winning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, he\u2019s right. Let\u2019s go, Johnny. We can start a new one at his house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou guys are such cheaters.\u201d Johnny reluctantly turned off the Nintendo, scooped everything into a cardboard box that was lying next to his bed, and we headed downstairs.<\/p>\n

As my foot touched the last step, we heard the crunch of gravel drifting from the driveway.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad\u2019s home,\u201d Johnny and Daniel\u2019s mother called from the living room. I could almost hear the orchestral hit that accompanies something startling in scary movies.<\/p>\n

Without hesitation Daniel shoved me into a nearby coat closet. \u201cWait here,\u201d he said in a low voice. I tried to pull the door shut, but a coat hung over the top of the door and it was impossible to pull the door all the way closed. Panic gripped my stomach and wrung it like a wet rag, pushing the acid to the top of my throat. I pulled the door toward me as tight as it could go. There was still a crack large enough to see through. I prayed it wouldn\u2019t be too noticeable.<\/p>\n

Within seconds, the front door burst open, flooding the semi-dark room with sunlight. Temporarily blinded, I held up my hand to shield my eyes. A hulking, backlit shadow filled the doorway. As my eyes adjusted to the brightness, the dark mass slowly began to take form.<\/p>\n

Leo was a huge man, well over six feet tall and easily two hundred pounds. His blonde hair was only slightly receding and was peppered with just a touch of gray. He stared at Johnny who still held the box with the videogames. \u201cWhat is going on here?\u201d He spoke so softly and deeply I almost couldn\u2019t hear him. His voice rumbled like a far-off approaching storm.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing, sir.\u201d Johnny looked down.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre those videogames, boy? I told you those promote nothing but sin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnny didn\u2019t look up. Their father\u2019s voice rose angrily. \u201cI thought I told you to never bring any of that trash in this house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Johnny could answer, Daniel pushed past him. \u201cIt was my idea, sir. I just wanted to play something fun for once. I convinced Johnny to do it with me. It was just for a few hours. It wasn\u2019t a big deal\u2026 sir.\u201d Daniel was staring straight at Leo. The storm clouds had returned to Daniel\u2019s eyes. They crackled with blue light and his jaw was set. His face became like stone.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot a big deal?\u201d Leo smashed his briefcase on the wooden floor, splintering the wood and skittering papers across the floor. \u201cSo breaking my rules isn\u2019t a big deal? Opposing the head of the household isn\u2019t a big deal?\u201d Leo took a step toward Daniel; I tried to slink farther back into my closet but I needed to hold the door closed. I couldn\u2019t breathe. I couldn\u2019t think. I couldn\u2019t move. The horrible twisting motion in my stomach was getting worse. A dark, shapeless fear squeezed into my body. Johnny stepped haltingly toward his father. Daniel made a slight waving motion to stop him. Johnny faltered, looking on helplessly as Leo bellowed again, \u201cAre you listening to me, boy? You\u2019ve broken my rules; you\u2019ve destroyed the sanctity of my household. This is not a place for that filth, this is my house.\u201d He was inches from Daniel\u2019s face. \u201cYou deaf, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniel looked directly into the man\u2019s wild eyes. \u201cI\u2019m listening. And you\u2019re wrong, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo roared, swinging the back of his hand across Daniel\u2019s face. Daniel stumbled backwards, holding his nose. Their mother, hearing the shouting, rushed into the foyer. \u201cDaniel!\u201d she screamed, upon seeing her son. \u201cAre you hurt?\u201d She rushed to the fallen boy. Before she could reach him, Leo shoved her so forcefully she slammed into an end table, flopping to the floor.<\/p>\n

Daniel sprang back up, wiping his lip. \u201cDon\u2019t touch her, you bastard. She\u2019s my mother!\u201d He was screaming now. I stared on helplessly afraid, unaware that I had let go of the doorknob and the door slowly creaked open. Johnny stood paralyzed.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s my<\/em> wife and this is my<\/em> house, boy. You watch your tongue!\u201d He grabbed the box of videogames from Johnny and threw the whole thing at Daniel. The heavy box soared through the air and collided with Daniel\u2019s unprepared stomach. Daniel crumpled instantly, folding in a broken bundle on the stairs. The floorboards under me creaked. Leo spun furiously around. \u201cWhat-?\u201d The closet door was almost completely open.<\/p>\n

Before Leo could say anything else, I flew past him for the open front door. I ran out that door faster than I\u2019ve ever run before. I ran, crying, with snot streaming across my face until I came to my backyard. I fell to my knees and vomited. Flashes of Daniel\u2019s face erupting in vomit and blood, as his weak stomach ruptured from the force of the blow, tore across my mind like an electrical storm. I vomited again.<\/p>\n

* * * * * * *<\/p>\n

Daniel was in the hospital for almost three weeks. I found out later that the doctors thought he had died once, but somehow he came back. The blow had caused his stomach lining to tear and Daniel\u2019s father, realizing what he\u2019d done, had rushed him to the hospital immediately, ultimately saving Daniel\u2019s life. Leo told the doctors Daniel had accidentally fallen down the stairs while carrying the box of videogames. Just goes to show doesn\u2019t it? Videogames are so dangerous. They never questioned Leo. Daniel didn\u2019t deny the story and his condition was severe enough that nothing was outside the realm of possibility. Daniel\u2019s mother skipped the next couple of weekly ladies\u2019 book club meetings she was in the habit of attending, and then returned as if nothing had happened. She said she\u2019d had the flu.<\/p>\n

I struggled for weeks about whether or not to tell somebody about what I\u2019d seen. I mean of course I wanted to help Daniel and Johnny, but I was afraid. Several times I tried to tell my dad what had happened that night, but I always faltered. What if their father found out? Would he do something to me? More likely he would hit Daniel again, or Johnny. But then he had <\/em>taken Daniel to the hospital. Maybe it was over. Maybe he would try to be better now.<\/p>\n

Johnny had told me about what happened to Leo in the Gulf. He had found out from his mother. Leo\u2019s two best friends had died at the very end of the war when an Iraqi missile hit an American military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Leo had been returning from a routine reconnaissance mission and he had seen the missile strike their barracks. Evidently, he had run into the wreckage attempting to pull his friends out. There was nothing to find. Immediately he had requested a transfer to inactive duty, and he had never been the same since. I almost felt sorry for him. There\u2019s no way he meant to hurt his son so badly, he\u2019d driven Daniel to the hospital, right? If I lost Daniel or Johnny who knows what I would do? I decided not to tell my parents. Not yet.<\/p>\n

By the time Daniel returned to Redfields it was nearly time for school to start again. I was caught up in the whirlwind of finishing my summer reading and my mother taking me shopping for new schoolbooks and clothes. I hadn\u2019t watched any movies and I wasn\u2019t sure that I wanted to. Somehow they felt like they carried more weight than they had a month ago. I hadn\u2019t really seen Johnny at all. I was also a little scared. I didn\u2019t know what I would say to him, what I could say to him. He hadn\u2019t come back to the pool recently and I certainly wasn\u2019t going to knock on his door or call his house, fearing I might run into his father. I simply avoided confronting what happened and decided to wait until Daniel could come back to be with the brothers again.<\/p>\n

At four on a Friday afternoon, a week before school was to start, Daniel called the house. \u201cHey man. You trying to go camping in the woods for a night?\u201d I was so surprised at his tone and just how normal <\/em>he sounded that I didn\u2019t say anything. Daniel must have noticed. \u201cIt\u2019s okay. I\u2019m fine. Seriously. We can talk a little more tonight? Okay?\u201d I told him sure, that\u2019s fine and that I\u2019d love to reunite the trio, I couldn\u2019t think of anything else to say. \u201cGreat. See you in a few hours. Can\u2019t wait.\u201d He hung up.<\/p>\n

We met up to go camping about three hours later. Initially apprehensive and nervous, I was flooded with a sense of cheerfulness at seeing my friends again. Daniel moved slowly, and I could tell his stomach hurt with every step. But when he saw me, he smiled anyway. \u201cHey man. It\u2019s so good to see you.\u201d His smile melted my fear further, sending it dribbling down somewhere inside of me.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to see you too.\u201d I turned to Johnny. \u201cDude, I\u2019m sorry we haven\u2019t hung out in awhile,\u201d I said, feeling somewhat ashamed. \u201cI\u2019ve been pretty busy with finishing up summer schoolwork and everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay.\u201d Johnny seemed relieved. I realized he must have been as reluctant as I was to bring up what happened. \u201cI was pretty busy too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now we can celebrate a little bit. Before you guys start all this school mess again.\u201d Daniel put his arm around Johnny and me. \u201cI love you guys.\u201d He looked me directly in the eye. \u201cSeriously.\u201d Apparently noticing my discomfort, Johnny broke the mushy tension quickly with a resounding clap on my back. \u201cLet\u2019s go get our camp on!\u201d<\/p>\n

We ventured deep into the nature trail, making our own path through the thickening foliage. Within minutes of being together, it felt as if nothing had changed. Daniel was certainly weaker and slower than before, and everybody was maybe a little quieter than a few weeks ago, but it was normal. We were back. I was reassured, thinking that everything would be okay. We could pretend it never happened and never really need to talk about it. I was glad I hadn\u2019t told my parents or anybody else. What good would it have done anyway? Daniel seemed fine. Things must have gotten better at his house. With this in mind, I tried to help Johnny set up our cheap canvas tent. Daniel sat and caught his breath. We wrestled with the beast- its tent flaps struggling to escape with the light wind and its poles slipping out of the earth at every opportunity- for a good twenty minutes. When I became buried deep in the canvas sprawled all over the ground, I suggested that it might be manlier if we slept directly under the stars. Tents were for pansies anyway.<\/p>\n

It quickly grew dark and we soon lay staring off into the great expanse of twinkling blackness that was above us. The trees melded into each other, creating an inky black wall around our little clearing. We huddled together for the warmth that the mangled tent should have provided, talking and laughing. Johnny kept trying to convince me that sixth grade was a hellish existence. \u201cThe eighth graders, they beat you up, for no reason. Just because you\u2019re new to middle school you will get stuffed in lockers or thrown down stairs.\u201d He made a rapid shoving motion. \u201cI\u2019m just glad I survived.\u201d He exaggeratedly wiped his brow. I laughed, believing none of it. I asked Daniel what he thought about his upcoming first year of high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not worried about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot at all?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

Daniel rolled over slowly and looked at me. \u201cNope. I don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to have anything to worry about.\u201d He rotated back over and looked back into the dark sky. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to have to worry about much of anything.\u201d He said it with such finality, such resolution, as if he had just decided something. I lay there, trying to understand what he was saying, but I didn\u2019t get it. How could he not be worried about entering high school?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s probably because you\u2019re so dumb you\u2019ll fail out anyway,\u201d Johnny said. He laughed, elbowing me in the ribs until I sort of half-chuckled in half-hearted agreement. The conversation stalled.<\/p>\n

There were several seconds of tense silence. \u201cSometimes I wish Dad would just leave.\u201d Daniel turned to us. \u201cYou know? Like I understand that he brings in money and stuff but I mean, I can work too. And Mom could find work, I\u2019m sure. I don\u2019t know.\u201d I didn\u2019t know what to say. Daniel continued, \u201cI just wish she would leave him, but she just\u2026 can\u2019t. I guess.\u201d Daniel stared straight up at the stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there nothing you could do?\u201d I asked. \u201cLike tell the police or something?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think they\u2019d believe me? Mom\u2019s got some kind of Stockholm Syndrome. Loves Dad no matter what he does to us or her.\u201d Daniel threw his hands in the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just feel like you could do something.\u201d I trailed off, unsure of what to say.<\/p>\n

Daniel stared angrily up into the blackness as the fire slowly smothered. \u201cLet\u2019s go to sleep. I\u2019m getting too tired to talk to you idiots anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnny shrugged, seemed confused and gave me a strange look before rolling over. They were asleep within minutes. I lay there, listening to the brothers snore lightly- competing with the hoots of the owls and chirps of the crickets- and I couldn\u2019t help feeling as if something had changed. I didn\u2019t know what it was, though I thought I might know why. It was altogether too much for my dulling brain to work through, however, so I simply resolved not to worry about it and to just start tomorrow anew. As I drifted off I couldn\u2019t help thinking that moment would be a great opportunity for a slow camera pan out.<\/p>\n

* * * * * * *<\/p>\n

The Saturday before school started came entirely too quickly. I hadn\u2019t been able to hang out with Daniel and Johnny any the last week, and I was getting frustrated. I had called their house several times, but either nobody answered or their mother would answer, always saying that they couldn\u2019t hang out, that they needed to do something or weren\u2019t able or some sort of excuse. She was vague, but seemed apologetic. I didn\u2019t understand, but I was eager to hang out with them one last time before we had to start our dreary school year.<\/p>\n

That night, as our family was driving home from a dinner party with some family friends, I could feel the precious final minutes of summer slipping through my fingers, and I leapt out the van door as soon as we pulled into the driveway, headed toward Daniel and Johnny\u2019s house. It was almost ten at night. My mom tried to catch me, but quickly gave up. She must have assumed I was just heading over to grab Daniel and Johnny and would bring them back in a few minutes.<\/p>\n

Nearly to their house, I realized just how dark it actually was. I could no longer see the road in the suffocating blackness. I stopped for a few seconds to allow my eyes to adjust. I was standing right outside their house. There were no lights on and the house appeared to be yawning in its slumber. I hesitated. How could I approach their house? On previous nights I had stood outside their window and thrown a couple of rocks to get their attention. But now, I was afraid. The terrible internal twisting had returned.<\/p>\n

But I needed to see them, so I willed my stomach to unknot and crept cautiously toward their window in the oppressive silence. How could there be no noise? I felt the grass for a rock, without actually looking down. My head was turned toward the door and my muscles were coiled and ready to spring into action at the first sign of danger. I felt a smooth stone with my fingers.<\/p>\n

As I scooped up the pebble, I looked above me for a second and was taken aback by the intensity of the stars. I had never seen so many stars. The canopy of shadowy blackness was on fire. It was as if the dark sky simply could not contain the immense number of ethereal lights.<\/p>\n

I looked back to the door, remembering my fear. I threw the pebble against the window. Silence. I found and threw another pebble. Silence. I felt the worry and I could feel the rag slowly twisting in my stomach. I knew that if they were not upstairs, Daniel and Johnny would be down in the living room where their main television set was. I stole around to the other side of the house, hoping to quickly glance in the window and check before heading home.<\/p>\n

I hoisted myself up on the windowsill so I could get a better glimpse. I saw Daniel standing in the middle of the room. He wasn\u2019t looking at the television, but its flickering light caused his shadow to dart across the dark walls. He stared at something just outside of my vision. As I raised my hand to rap on the window, I suddenly saw what he was staring at. The light switch flipped in the hallway leading to the living room, illuminating the bulky outline in the doorway.<\/p>\n

The shadow spoke to the boy. The thick glass of the window muted the sound, and I couldn\u2019t make out words. Daniel responded just as coolly as he had the night he\u2019d been beaten. Whatever Daniel said angered the immense shadow and it stepped toward him. The light from the hallway settled upon the livid, contorted face of Leo. My heart wrenched violently inside of my chest. He said something; his voice was louder now. Daniel responded yet again with surprising dispassion. Leo, infuriated, marched toward Daniel, undoing his belt; he passed in front of the window I was crouched under.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A brilliant, blinding light erupted in the room. There was an impossibly loud crack. The glass of the window shattered. I fell back from the window. The terror threatened to cripple me as I lay amidst the broken glass, stunned. I picked myself up carefully and dared to look back through the window. I saw Daniel, hand outstretched, holding what must have been his father\u2019s service revolver, smoke trailing lazily from the tip. The shadow of his father had become a scattered heap on the floor. Daniel\u2019s hand did not tremble. He lowered the gun slightly. \u201cYou won\u2019t hurt us ever again. Not me, not Jimmy, not Molly\u2026 not Mom\u2026 nobody,\u201d and fired again. And again. I bolted blindly as the report of the gun shattered the night. I ran, tears streaming down my face, a single horrifying, haunting thought echoing through my brain. I\u2019d found my movie.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

—-<\/p>\n

Originally hailing from Charlottesville, Va., Jordan Breeding is now a senior English major at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. After taking his first creative writing class in the fall of 2011, he immediately fell in love with writing short fiction. His first story \u201cMy Movie\u201d was loosely based on some experiences he had back in elementary school (don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s an extremely exaggerated portrayal). The story won recognition with the International English Honor Society \u201cSigma Tau Delta\u201d for excellence in undergraduate fiction. When he\u2019s not writing prose, the majority of his free time is spent playing guitar with either his independent rock band Skyward, or the on-campus Campus Crusade for Christ worship band.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After thirty straight minutes of Johnny begging, Daniel persuading, and me looking forlorn with puppy-dog eyes, we finally coerced their ever-agreeable mom, who had just pulled into their driveway, to drive us to the mall. We just told her we wanted to get Molly something for her birthday, even though that\u2019d already been bought. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,200,219],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2721"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2721"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3575,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2721\/revisions\/3575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}