Bumps N Bruises

Chapter 4: Shannon's "Brilliant" Idea

Once the kids got to the park, Brendon started filming silly clips of either his friends goofing off or just his surroundings. One specific moment being Shannon dumping a bucket of sand on Jason's head. "Jason! Why won't you fight back?" Melissa responded as the sand began to trickle in Jason's face, blinding him. "I mean what's the point, Melissa? Remember when Shannon threw me in the mud? Oh wait, you weren't there!" Jason retorted, spitting out sand in between a few words. "Hey, Brendon!!!" Shannon called from afar. Brendon turned around with his camera and saw Shannon on the rock climbing wall. "I'm ready for some more time in the spotlight!" Brendon then held up his camera and began recording Shannon. Shannon began to go full show-off mode by pulling off some poses while still clinging onto the fake rocks. Melissa and a sandless Jason approached the two soon after. "Annnnd cut! Great job, Shannon!" Brendon said, giving Shannon a thumbs up.

Shannon climbed down and walked over towards Brendon. "Would anyone else like to attempt to beat my brutal awesomeness?" Shannon scoffed. Jason and Melissa rejected, likely trying to preventing getting sand dumped on their heads. "What else do you think we should film, guys?" Brendon asked, "I mean, we already filmed plenty of shots on the playground!" Melissa said, "Yeah, and I wanna stay as far away from the sandbox as possible." Jason added. Brendon turned to Shannon, quickly noticing that there were many gears turning in that head of his. "Uh oh...This doesn't look good..." Melissa whispered. Shannon lifted his head up and cracked a malicious smile. "You know...We may have filmed footage HERE, but there's one other place we haven't filmed at..." Shannon mused. Brendon and his friends knew that Shannon was about to make their production go downhill...

Meanwhile, Paula was busy sitting on one of the park benches, looking after Josie. "Ah if only I could be young again..." She sighed. The mother continued to watch the kids playing, making sure they weren't getting into any trouble. That is, before a large figuring wound up blocking her view. "Hey, Paula. Did expect to see you here!" A deep voice said. Paula looked up to only see Coach McGuirk standing in front of her. "John? What are you doing at a childrens playground?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. McGuirk looked down at his feet, "Well um...I don't really wanna talk about it right now. All you need to know is that I didn't quite make it home last night." He lamented, sitting next to Paula. "How are the kids?" McGuirk asked. Paula, trying to not be bothered by the fact that McGuirk saw Brendon and Melissa 24 hours ago, simply responded with, "They're fine. Brendon was just having a sleepover with his friends for Halloween." McGuirk tried to make conversation with Paula, not knowing she was only PRETENDING to listen to his rants. 

Brendon then came running to his mom, "Mom! Shannon just came up with a really cool idea for our film!" He said. Knowing Shannon, Paula prepared herself for the worst, "Alright...What is it." She asked. "So you know that skate park next door, right?" Brendon asked. Before Paula  could say no, McGuirk cut her off by saying "Of course you can go. I don't see the problem here!" "Now hold on. Do you kids even know HOW to skate?" Paula questioned. "They take basically ANYTHING on wheels, Miss. Small." Shannon replied, interrupting the conversation. "Well, Brendon DOES know how to ride a bike...I don't see the harm. But what about you, Jason, and Melissa!" Paula replied. "Well, I DO know how to roller skate! And I'm sure Jason and Melissa know how to ride...Something." Shannon said, shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah, mom. And they've got free stuff for those who didn't bring their bikes or something." Brendon added. Paula ultimately gave in and allowed the kids to go to the skate park, but she still had her suspicions. "John? Do you think you could keep an eye on the kids?" She asked McGuirk. "Well, sure. I keep an eye on kids all the time!" McGuirk then got up from the bench and took the kids to the skate park. 

Brendon, Jason, and Melissa settled on kids' bicycles since that was all they knew how to ride. While Shannon picked out a pair of, not roller skates, but roller BLADES! "Shannon?! Do you even know how to use those?" Melissa questioned nervously. "Oh, please! I've used roller skates before. How could this possibly be any different?" Shannon replied, picking up one of the blades. "I dunno, Shannon. Those seem a little too....Advanced." Jason added. "And who asked YOU, Jason?" Shannon scoffed, sticking his foot in the blade. "I'm gonna get some footage of Jason and Melissa on their bikes. I'll catch you in 3'" Brendon said, walking off to the rink with his camera in hand. Shannon and McGuirk watched Brendon film the various stunts his friends were performing. This went on for a few minutes before the trio finally returned. "Alright, Shannon! It's your time to shine!" Brendon said as Jason and Melissa sat down. "O-Oh...Um...Really?" Shannon stuttered, looking down at the blades. "A-Are you sure you don't wanna film some footage of YOU riding a bike?" "What's the matter, Shannon? Are you a chicken?" Melissa giggled as Jason starting making chicken noises in the background. "Not to burst yor bubble, kid. But it sure seems like it." McGuirk added. Shannon boiled with anger before he stood up. "I am NOT a CHICKEN!!!" He snarled, wobbling on the roller blades. "Just you wait, guys. Once you see me on this ring, I'll be the next Tony Hawk!" Shannon boasted, sating towards the ring. Brendon began to film the event, but Shannon just stood there shaking for the first few seconds. "Come on, Shannon! You can do it!" Brendon whispered. "Y-Yeah. I can. I-I was just warming up." Shannon replied, adjusting his helmet. Brendon didn't notice this at first, but Shannon wasn't wearing any elbow or knee padding, making this stunt even more of a disaster than it already seemed like. Shannon then took a deep breath and began to skate, or struggle to skate, in the ring. 

Melissa and Jason were trying not to crack up as they watched Shannon's struggle. "I knew this was gonna happened." Melissa snickered. "Me too. This is probably his karma for pouring sand on my head." Jason replied. Shannon looked at the two kids. "Oh, you think I'm some kind of JOKE? Well watch THIS!" He protested. Brendon gulped nervously and saw Shannon was getting ready to skate up an entire ramp. "Wait! What are you-" But it was too late... Shannon went up the ramp and was mid-air for about 5 seconds. After that, he hit the ground hard. "I'm sure he's fine." McGuirk said, excusing himself from the situation. Paula then came rushing in, worrying that Brendon got hurt. "What happened! Is everyone alright." She panicked. "Oh yeah. The kids are fine, Paula. Though, the chicken nosed one fell just now, but I don't think it's anything severe." McGuirk reassured before leaving the scene. Paula rushed over to the kids to make sure they were ok. "Brendon? Jason? Melissa? Are you guys alright?" The kids remained silent for a few seconds, and before one of them could speak, faint whimpering came from behind them.

"Oh no..." The four said in unison.