A Series Of (Not So) Unfortunate Events

colorblind

Back on the road it's silent, not a word form anyone. Until olive asks her dad, "what do you thinks going to happen to grandpa?" He doesn't answer, instead just keeps his eyes on the road pursing his lips together. "Uncle Frank?" She asks frank this time.

"Yes." He answers.

"Do you think there's a Heaven?" He thinks this over for a second before answering.

"It's hard to say olive, I don't think anyone knows for sure." At this point your gone, tuning out from whatever's happening currently too shocked to care.

"I think there is one." She proposes.

"Think I'll get in?" Frank asks. Without missing a beat olive instantly replies.

"Yes." She smiles at her uncle.

"Promise?" He asks.

She nods her head. "Yes."

It's silent once more everyone looking around and doing their own thing. Your half asleep with Dwayne leaning on your shoulder when Richard yells at a driver who cut him off. You instantly jolt up, pushing Dwyane off you in the process. He glares at you then Richard before facing forward. You do the same.

This is when you and everyone else realizes that the horn won't stop honking. Your put your head into your hands already annoyed. You knew this was a bad idea. Regretting coming you look up from your hands a you feel someone lean on you slightly. You see Dwayne showing you a note asking if your ok. You give a short thumbs up before sitting back in your seat. "Perfectly fine." You mumble.

Not even a few minutes into driving after Richard getting cut off and the horn stopped working. You guys are getting pulled over. Richard curses. "Oh Jesus- god. I'm being pulled over. Here we go, ok." He turns to everyone peeping them telling them to act normal.

You sit up straight as Dwyane moves away from you looking around at the cop. You do the same, the worst scenarios possible going through your head. Were you about to get caught and go to prison in a state you don't even live in. Probably. You shrug, 'its whatever.' you thought.

To distract yourself you grab Dwayne's black pen without his permission earning an eye roll from him. You don't pay any mind and begin to draw on your arm.

While this is happening you hear the trunk open. You freeze what your doing and look to your right at your friend who looks at you too. 'shit.' thoughts rushed through your brain.

Your leg starts to bounce and you look back toward the front of the car as the officer inspects the trunk. Dwayne looks at your bouncing leg. He takes his hand and sets it on your knee in hopes to make it stop bouncing. Upon feeling the warmth of Dwayne's hand on your knee you move your head to look up at him a confused expression etched onto your face. He just looks back at you giving you a look as if telling you to stop being so obvious.

You make an O shape with your mouth getting at what he's trying to tell you.

After a short moment of silence you hear the officer say something along the lines of, "I'm not going to bust you." And a weight is lifted from your shoulders.

Richard gets back into the bus and you Dwayne and Frank all get out and push.

It's been a while and now olive was giving Dwyane an eye test. You didn't think anything of it and instead went back to reading.

You were about to flip to the next page when you felt someone thrash the bus next to you. Bumping into you, hitting the bus walls, and everything. You look up from your book shocked to see Dwyane being the one doing this all. "Dwayne!?" You shout over the noise of him banging the side of the bus. You hear Frank start to yell for Richard to pull over as Dwayne shakes the car seat infront of him.

You start to panic. What happened? Why was he just now acting like this? "Dwayne calm down!" You try and reason. He doesn't answer just continues what he's doing.

Everyone's panicking. Finally Richard pulls over and Dwayne runs out of the bus and onto a plot of dried out grass along the side of the road. "FUCK!" He yells holding his head into his hands. He collapses onto he ground beneath him screaming. You get out of the car confused on what's happening, along with everyone else.

Sheryl asks, "what happened?"

Frank looks to her and answers. "He's colorblind, can't fly." Then it clicks in your brain. You make an O shape with your mouth turning to look at your best friend on the ground.

Sheryl is the first to go down to Dwayne. You can't hear what she's saying but you can guess she's trying to get Dwyane to come back to the bus. You then hear him yell about he hates his family and how he doesn't want to be their family. "I don't want to be your family. I hate you fucking people. I hate you!" He yells at Sheryl. Then he looks to the rest of the family including you. "Divorce, bankrupt, suicide?!" You cringe, that's gotta hurt. "Your fucking losers! Your losers!" He tries to get his mom to leave him there. Not knowing what to do she make sher way back to the bus standing beside it.

Everyone stands there looking at each other. You pat olives back ushering her to go to her brother. She does, making her way down the hill you watch as she slings an arm around him hugging him. You smile slightly as they pull apart walking back up the hill together, olive with a little help from her brother.

Dwayne then apologizes. "I apologize for the things I said, I was upset, I didn't mean it." Sheryl reassured that it's ok. You all get back into the car making your way towards where the pageant would be held.

You look down at the boy resting on your shoulder you grab the notebook beside him taking the pen with it, you begin to write down. 'feel better now?' he shakes his head looking up at you giving a small smile. You smile back at him.

You set the notepad back down taking his wrist into your free hand beginning to draw on the back of his hand. You drew small little smiley faces along with pictures of stick figures you tried your best to make look like both of you.

While drawing on his hand your mind begins to wander, wander back to how you got yourself into this mess. You remember the first time you met Dwayne. It was after he started the vow and you two sat next to each other in your history class. You remember how you had asked him for help on a question, completely oblivious to his lack of speech, surprised when he pulled out a black notepad and began to write something down. Along the lines of. 'leave me alone.' you chuckled pestering him more despite his protest. After that you two grew to become good friends. Dwayne himself would never admit to anyone, let alone you, that he was grateful that you had bothered him that day, and the days after that.

Back to the present you you let your hand linger over Dwayne's for a moment after being done with drawing on him. He takes notice of this, rolls his eyes when you are reluctant to move your hand. He gets fed up with your constant back and forth in your mind grabbing your hand and clasping it in his. You tense up a bit not expecting that. Why would he do that all of a sudden? You didn't mind but it did seem out of character for him. You decided not to dwell on it too much as Richard interrupted your thoughts with olive and him yelling about how they see the venue where the pageant is being held.

You jump when Sheryl, olive, and Richard start to argue about how Richard missed the turn off. You guys pull into a parking lot coming to a dead end. You were sure that was the end for you guys, until Richard drives right over a chain and through a garden into a beach sidewalk. He passes the entrance olive tells him he's passed it. Richard in return makes a sharp U-turn making Dwayne and you jam into the side of the car pressed up against each other. You silently curse.

The car stops and Frank breaks the door open, literally, all six of you getting out as quickly as you can. You see frank sprint to the entrance Sheryl, olive, Richard, you and Dwayne fallowing shortly behind. You were in such a rush you hadn't taken notice of your's and Dwayne's hands still clamped together. That didn't matter right now.

You and Dwayne are somewhat left behind as the four others dash Infront of you two. You two finally reach the rest of the group, you and Dwayne getting looks as you walk past everyone. You look around confused until your eyes reach yours and Dwayne's hands. Heat rises up to your face quickly pulling away from his grasp.

You look anywhere but him, he looks at you confused and tired, completely out of it. You guys kind of just stand there not knowing what to do.