Assistance Required

The Road Trip Part 2

TW cursing

Sat March 13

Virgil practiced drawing the pose on his arm before finding one he liked. It was a little dude squatting in a weird pose that he thought worked. He pulled down his sleeve as Remus turned around. Virgil drew the little dude on Remus' face first, then Roman's. Roman used Remus to copy the design on Virgil's face. He couldn't believe he had agreed to do this, but he did. It was stupid and yet he couldn't help but laugh. Remus copied the design on Janus' face whenever they stopped at a light. By the time they reached the restaurant, they were ready.

(I drew their symbol on my arm below. You're welcome.)

They stepped out of the car and Virgil stretched. It felt good to be out of the car. He heard car doors slamming behind him as he continued his stretch. He finally composed himself and joined the others in finding the other car. Once they found them, everyone stopped to stare at each other.

"Um... did we miss something?" Thomas asked.

They burst out laughing as the other continued staring in confusion.

"I've started a cult! Come brothers! Let us eat!" Remus said as he started walking to match the pose towards the restaurant, the others following suit.

The hostess stared at them as they walked in and the other four walked in a minute later.

"I'm so sorry about them," Logan said as he swept the others aside. "Party of eight. If you split us into two groups of four, though, we won't argue."

"Someone has to watch them!" Joan said.

"Viva la chaos gremlins!" Remus yelled.

"Okay, quiet down, Remus," Patton said. "We shouldn't be yelling indoors."

The hostess told them to take a seat while they waited for an available table. They took what seats were available, Patton, Logan, and Remus opting to stand and Joan and Virgil sitting on the floor to make room for other costumers.

"So, I'm almost afraid to ask, but what exactly did we miss?" Logan asked.

They exchanged looks and Remus snickered a little before Janus just shrugged.

"You shouldn't have left us alone," Janus said.

"Do we need to rearrange the seating?" Patton asked.

"No! No! We're fine! This is the fun car!" Remus said.

"Yes, I can see you're having quite the... party in the other car," Joan said barely looking up from their phone.

Virgil looked down at his own phone and remembered the job applications. He sighed as he tuned out the others' banter and looked for job sites. He downloaded an app and started filling in information about himself. He paused when he noticed the address. He wasn't sure what to put down. He couldn't use his dad's address. He guessed he could use the school address but he also wondered if he should use Janus' address.

Virgil looked up at the others still talking. He leaned to the side and tapped Janus' knee. Janus looked down confused. Virgil scooted closer before showing Janus his phone.

"I'm trying to figure out which address to use for applications," Virgil explained nervously.

"You're doing this now?"

"Yeah, if I don't start now, I'll forget later. I've been meaning to do this for a few weeks now and there isn't much else to do."

Janus sighed as he glanced over it again.

"Just put my address. You're living there anyway. Mom won't care."

Virgil nodded as he put the address in and started scrolling through options in the area. He tapped on one of them and started filling it out. He froze when he saw the social security number. He didn't have his memorized. He knew he should, but he hadn't really gotten around to it yet. Virgil turned off his phone and groaned. He forgot that he needed his social security to apply for jobs.

"What's wrong now?" Janus asked.

"I um... I don't have my social security number memorized."

"You can figure it out later," Janus said. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Well..." Virgil paused. He didn't even consider this as a problem until now. He realized that his dad still had his social security card and birth certificate. He couldn't prove citizenship without them. "M-my dad has my documents and I need them to get a job."

Janus leaned forward and he went over Virgil's words.

"Well... shit."

"Janus!" Patton scolded.

"Grant me one pass, this is a special circumstance," Janus said.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Logan asked.

"I just realized I have to visit my dad again," Virgil said quietly trying to avoid looking at them.

Everyone was quiet for a minute. Patton nodded.

"Yeah, okay, that's... that's an acceptable reaction."
Tout
"No, wait a minute!" Roman protested. "Why should you have to see him again?!"

"He... He has all my documents. I can't prove I'm a legal citizen without my social security card or birth certificate. I can't get a new job until I get those."

"Oh, son a bitch!" Remus said.

"Why don't you just let one of us go get it for you?" Thomas asked.

Virgil glanced at Patton.

"I don't think he'd let you touch them. He's only going to give them to me."

"That doesn't mean you have to go alone!" Patton said.

"Oh, I'd love to go with you. What's his address?" Janus asked.

"I-"

"Don't go without me!" Remus said.

"Well-"

"Hang on a second! There's no way only you two are going!" Roman said.

"Um-"

"Guys, I understand your thought process, but I don't know if it's a good idea. We're not going to start a fight," Thomas said.

"I-I don't-"

"He deserves it!" Joan said. "He's had it coming for a while now!"

"Guys!" Patton said causing everyone to turn to him. Patton sat down next to Patton and placed a hand on his back. "What's wrong?"

Virgil looked at the floor. He could feel everyone's eyes on him.

"I... I just... I don't feel like it's a good idea. I mean..." Virgil buried his hands in his face and shook his head. "I don't know. I don't want you guys involved in all this shit."

"We're your friends, Virgil. You can't get rid of us that easily," Janus said.

"It isn't a good idea for you to go alone anyway. If you don't think we can get the documents without you, at least let us come with you. We don't know what kind of trouble he could cause you," Logan said.

"You've been making a lot of progress, I'd hate to see him set you back," Patton said quietly.

"I just need to grab some papers. It shouldn't take that long," Virgil said.

"Even so, I know how much he affects you. We can't let you do this alone. We'll figure something out, but right now, let's just focus on lunch. We're on break. Let's just have a good time at the lake and then we'll worry about your dad, okay?" Patton said.