By Khriz Kool Katz

Sunday, September 13 – Thaddeus Goodwin

I lie in my bed in my pitch-black bedroom. I stare at the ceiling hopelessly. Life means nothing to me. I look at my watch. 5:28. “Good,” I mumble. My parents left for work about an hour ago. And since it is Sunday, I can escape from almost everything I hate –school, home, church.

I grab a few granola bars, shove them into my jacket pocket, put on my cap (backwards, of course) and leave the house.

“Whew, it’s a whole lot colder than I thought it was,” I thought as I zipped up my jacket. I walked to Zane’s house, hoping he’d be up getting ready for some…activities. He wasn’t. I said something that if the author had written it out…well, he wouldn’t. I wandered about the place aimlessly, snacking every time I felt like it. I found myself at the skatepark.

“Yo, Thad.”

I smirked. The boys were there, as usual.

“Whazzup, chief,” I said as I shook hands with him.

The rest of them joined us.

“So, Thad,” Nick called. “How’s the shoulder?”

“Fine. I haven’t been feeling any pain from it for a while, so I’ve been working it out.”

“Oh, yeah? See if you can climb that pole,” Zach challenged, pointing to a skinny light pole.

“Really? I thought you’d give something easier.” I climbed to the top and hung on it with only my right shoulder.

“Heh. It seems you might be able to do some missions for us, Thad,” Bryce said. I slid down. He continued, “But, we don’t want you exerting yourself too much, man.”

“Yeah, I know. ‘Preciate it, guys.”

Jace nodded. “Keep working it out, and pretty soon we’ll let you back in.”

“Sweet.”

We practiced skateboarding tricks for the next few hours. And, just as I was about to leave, I spotted Claire and two of her friends walking past the park.

I smiled. “Perfect timing,” I said.

They turned around, confused. Claire giggled. “Thad! I didn’t know you were here!” She exclaimed as she hugged me.

“Oh, so this is Thad,” one of her friends stated.

“Yep,” I smiled.

“Oh, I forgot you haven’t met them. Tad, this is Julia Sommers and Amber Scarletti.” She giggled as she introduced them to me.

“Hey,” I smiled and waved.

“Hi,” they greeted simultaneously, also smiling.

“So, where are you guys going?”

“Oh, we’re going to the mall to get new clothes. Wanna come?” Julia asked. Amber shot a look at her.

“Sure,” I shrugged, “I’m kinda bored, anyways.”

As we headed to the mall, Julia asked, “So, how did you two meet?”

I chuckled.

“It’s been a while and Claire hasn’t told you?” I glared at Claire mockingly.

Claire laughed. “I’m sorry, it didn’t cross my mind!”

I told them the story as we continued walking.

‐—————————————-

Sometime ago, my father, Dr. Ian Goodwin, and mother, Dr. Shelby Goodwin had an elderly patient who had liver failure for several years. The patient, Ms. E. S. Parson (Claire’s grandmother), had been an invalid on life support. Claire’s parents had tried everything to heal her, but to no avail.

After diagnosing her one day, my father went to speak with Mr. and Mrs. Parson. He said that he would perform a liver transplant. 

They agreed and several days later, he performed the surgery. He worked hard for a gruelling 6-hour period, but thankfully, the operation was a success. As a result, Mr. Parson developed a strong bond with my father and Claire and I eventually did the same.

—————————————–

“Wow! That’s so…romantic!” Amber gasped.

Julia agreed. “Yeah! Your dad sounds awesome!”

“Well,” I sighed. “I’m not sure tha–“

I stopped walking and stared down an alley. An overwhelming feeling of dejá vù swept over me.

“Thad…? Thad. What’s wrong?” Claire asked in a serious tone.

They all stared at me.

“Umm…you guys go on ahead,” I stammered. “I’ll catch up.”

“O..ok, Thad.”

As they left, I stared down the alley, recalling the night I got shot. I checked the giant garbage can.

My words echoed in my head as I lifted the giant lid. Empty. That’s all I needed.

I raced home as fast as I could, taking whatever shortcuts I could. I snuck in, took off my jacket, and then grabbed my board, wallet, and blade. I raced back to the mall, even faster than before and managed to catch up to them. I took out my wallet and counted the money I had as we entered the mall.

If only my life was like this consistently, then I wouldn’t be…sigh. It isn’t, and that was reality. At least I had some friends and good times…and Claire.