The Novelty of Existence

5

𝙽S ⋆ Two Years Ago

The end of the school year was approaching, and Aiden had received his first bad grade. It was a C in AP Physics. After all of his A's, his overall grade wouldn't be affected too badly. That did not translate well to his Dad, though.

"You think you will get into UT with these scores?" He asked, stern-faced as he chopped vegetables.

"It won't happen again, Dad," Aiden said. I'm tired of having to be perfect for you, he thought.

"Your Mother went to UT." His Dad stated with an unmoving expression, eyes downcast.

"I know."

"She would be so disappointed with you."

There it was. A dagger to the heart. Aiden stepped back slightly from the force of those words. His chest tightened. Why didn't parents get what their words did to their kids? He spun on his heel and walked right out the front door.

"Aiden?" His Dad called after him. "Jihun!"

Aiden pedaled his bike in his house slippers as fast as he could down the road. The wind pierced his lungs and the tears flew off his face as he flew down back lanes and between houses. The gangs' go-to hangout was Paloma's because her parents were never home. When Aiden got there, the others were on her front deck, playing cards.

"Wes, stop cheating."

"I'm not."

"We can see the card up your sleeve."

Aiden let his bike fall on the grass and walked toward the deck, trying to gain his composure as he did so.

"Didn't think we'd see you for at least a week," Wes said as he approached. Aiden stopped at the bottom of the deck stairs, and the group came down to greet him.

"You good, A?" Daniel asked, hand on Aiden's shoulder.

"Is your old man pissed?"

Aiden nodded and then shook his head. "I wanna do something stupid." He said. Disappointment? I'll show you a disappointment.

"That can be arranged," Wes responded.

"I want to jump off a bridge."

"Whoa whoa wait..."

"Oh I know the perfect spot," Wes said, rummaging through his cargo shorts for his keys.

"What's going on?" Daniel scoffed, rubbing his head.

"My question exactly," Paloma added.

"Pay attention, then," Wes responded, wrapping his arm around Aiden's shoulder. The bridge was run down and creaky, without a railing in sight. Daniel could hear the creaks of the wooden panels in the wind. How Wes knew about it was anyone's guess. About 15 feet below, a river ran slowly.

At the base, Wes explained excitedly: "Okay, we can't stop on the bridge so I'm gonna drive super fast and you jump out the door."

"What?" Paloma questioned loudly, looking out the door. She looked at Aiden, who was looking down at the water.

"Let's go." He said stiffly.

Wes laughed and started the engine. The wheels of the van dipped into every crease of the bridge and shook violently as Wes sped across.

"Go anytime now man!"

Paloma shut her eyes, convinced that the entire van was about to plunge into the river. When she opened them, Aiden was gone.

SPLASH

"Holy shit." Daniel breathed out.

The van screeched to a halt on the other side of the bridge, and the three ran out to look over the cliff. They stared into the water with bated breath. After a long moment, Aiden splashed to the surface. The group let out a collective sigh.

Aiden laughed maniacally, "I knocked this out with me!"

"What is that?"

Aiden swam to the rocky shore, back right cup holder in hand, a nasty bruise on his ankle that would last him as long as his grounding, and a smile plastered on his face.