Audio and visual

Chapter one

"I've come to speak to you because I wish to, and because I have a unique opportunity to be a memory for thousands of people at once." The voice of Ed Caster had become a permanent fixture in my sisters room.

Ed was the author of some under achieving young adult novels who had made my sister Eliza's commencement address. She had become obsessed with commencement addresses lately, she watched them hungrily, especially her own.

To me it seemed pointless, she could always watch them at college again, it's not like she had to leave them behind. I had been present at Eliza's graduation, sitting in a plastic red chair watching my sister try her very best to make a scene and memory of the small schools best efforts at formality.

The rain crashed against the windows of Eliza's room and I sat down, once again watching the small framed man adjust his glasses and speak into the semi-functioning microphone.

I was proud of my sister, she was smart and happy and only had a handful of break downs junior year but as she mumbled along to the speech I shook my head. She recited along with Ed from memory, echoing such gems as, "The so called real world is not more real than any world you have experienced. It's simply adult." And, "if you don't feel lost right now, you've done something wrong." The sentiments were perfectly respectable but I felt he was beating around the bush. I'm 90% sure he could've made a speech out of each of those phrases alone but he was making it quick and easy for the students to understand. This rubbed me the wrong way because not only was I a high-school student but this advice was supposed to be adult. Trust me, the fact that these kids were subject to the juvenile injustice of having to ask to go to the bathroom less than a week ago already stretched the definition of adult enough.

Anyways I was sitting there and thinking about how terribly preachy his books must be when Eliza stopped the speech abruptly, I waited the socially acceptable second until I raised an eyebrow. "You gonna finish that?" I asked casually.

You would've thought I screamed it by Eliza's reaction, she spun around a and widened her eyes, "What Taylor?" She replied. I felt a little uncomfortable, maybe she had been possessed for a second and the demon was really sick of commencement addresses.

"Uh," I started, "are you done watching?" She seemed to think on it for a moment before shaking her head. As she turned back around I nodded and got up out of the chair behind her desk, walking out of the room.

Eliza was a little skittish lately, I wonder if some of those junior year break downs are catching up to her. As for me, I had junior year on my horizon as August started to end and my days with no homework were given there last rites.

I stopped down in the kitchen and grabbed an apple, apples are probably my moms favorite thing besides needle pointing. We've even got needle points of apples, those are in the bathroom. If you thought about needle pointing to much you might actually be crushed by boredom so as I retreated to my room in the basement I texted Jade.

I didn't have twitter or anything so Jade was subject to all of my random thoughts and 2am revelations, today I started off the conversation with

If Ed Caster were an anagram what would it be?

I sat down, on my phone conveniently, as it buzzed with her response.

Dr Tease

I laughed.

That was suspiciously fast but you're missing a C

I replied, trying to think of a better one

Cause I'm frikkin punk rock, I break rules... Dr ET case?

Jade replied, I rolled my eyes. I could imagine her sitting in her room, green eyes smiling as she fist bumped a poster of Kellin Quinn. That was within the range of things she did whilst celebrating.