How Jack Wrote The Universe (Revised)

1.00 - 1.25

DAY ONE

JACK wakes up to the sound of sirens and its lights flashing through his windows; hues of blues and reds that seem to dance outside. Squinting his eyes, he sits up on his bed; scratching his eyes lightly as his foot searches for his flip-flops. He hates the cold floor. After wearing the thing, he finally stands up to get closer to the window.

Leaning to the seemingly dust-cover fabric, he pushes aside the black curtains and sees the ambulances on the second street next to theirs through the foggy windows. Jack's house is a quaint, medium-sized, three story building that overlooks most of the the three streets that's next to theirs. Yawning he shakes his head, pushing aside whatever curiosity that comes up because at three in the morning, nothing is more important than sleep.

Sure they may be some accident down there or robbery, but there hasn't any gunshots yet. Just ambulance and a police car taping the place with yellow tape.

Jack comes back to bed, shimmying his flip-flops off his feet. After covering himself with his duvet, his eyes closes.

+++

"-- You better be up once I come up there, Halley!"

Jack grumbles before opening his eyes. He scratches it for a moment before staring to his white ceiling for a complete two minutes; his brain finishing its restart after.

The boy scratches his disheveled brown hair before finally coming into terms that he has to get up if he doesn't want to get nag at by his mother and late for school.

He gets up, heading directly towards the bathroom that's across from his room. After taking a light shower, and dressing himself, he finally comes down to their living room on the second floor with a comb in hand.

"Good, I thought I had to drag you myself." Her mom - half soccer mom, half baker - says before gulping down her coffee as she leans her back against their black, marble counter that separates their living room and the kitchen.

He stands in front of the mirror that's placed just above the mantel then he proceeds combing his brown hair that seems to be longer, and more darker since it's wet.

"You need haircut." Her mother comments.

Turning around, he slings his bag on his shoulders. "No, I need to go to school." He sighs before coming near to the table to take a piece off of the bacon that lay before him.

After saying his goodbye, he runs down the metal, spiral stairs that leads to the first floor where her mother's coffee shop takes place. The shop buzzes as he makes his way through the busy looking business men and women. Through the suit-wearers, the waiters ("Hey Jack! Coming to school already?"), and coffee and cake addicts.

Opening the glass doors, he makes his way to his red pick-up and soon, he's on his way to the uneventful place called school.

Or so he thinks.

+++

The hallway isn't what it used to the moment Jack enters. The place is crowded with some students whispering with their group of friends while the good half of it, mostly the juniors, are either filling their handkerchief with snots or bawling their already-puffy eyes.

Jack gulps as confusion quickly creeps its way to him. He walks in the middle as he tries to avoid the crying students. Jack folds the green sleeves his jacket has up to his elbows. The thin jacket he put atop of his white shirt has long sleeves that makes his arms seemingly short. Too busy rolling his sleeves, Jack manages to accidentally bump into someone.

"I'm sorry!" He says right after looking up. Mr. Carter, his journalism adviser comes in the picture. Instantly, the bald-headed adviser smiles at him.

"Mr. Halley! Glad I found you!" He says before walking beside Jack.

"With the looks on your face, I take it you haven't heard the news yet?"

Jack looks up to the 5'8, mid-forty's man beside him. "If it's about why everyone is crying, then yes sir. I haven't heard it yet."

"Well, I'll fill you in." Mr. Carter pauses before sighing. "Hayden High's Ms. Sunshine killed herself last night."

Suddenly, his legs stop walking. Mr. Carter comes to a halt when he notices that Jack isn't walking beside him anymore. He looks behind him and sees Jack standing in the middle of the hall with wide eyes.

The teacher walks toward Jack. "Are you okay?"

Jack is staring at his feet. "I - why - ho-" He stammers before Mr. Carter taps his shoulder.

"Are you good friends with her?"

"No," but she's good enough and made enough changes to this school for me to know her. He wants to say, but his tongue seems to lose its ability to roll off the words he wants to emit. "I just-"

"-Why?" Mr. Carter finishes for him. "Well, no one knows yet. According to what I've heard in the meeting earlier, she didn't left any note."

Mr. Carter is walking now, looking up from his place, Jack tries to catch up with the teacher as his brain catches up to what the adviser may want him to do.

"Do you..." He hesitates for a moment. "You want me to write an article about her, don't you?" The moment he finishes his sentence, they're already in front of a blue door, Mr. Carter's office specifically.

The teacher nods, "Sort of a tribute, really. You yourself got shaken up, right? And you aren't even friends with her. That just shows how her good deeds in the school reached a lot of people."

Jack nods, "Alright. When's my due?"

Mr. Carter smiles, "Two weeks?"

The brown headed boy sighs before saying, "Yeah. I can make it."

"Great."

And right then, the bell rings. Signalling the start of a depressing day.

+++

As Jack walk through the busy hallway of the school to the cafeteria, he thinks of how he should start his article. There are many ways, really since to be honest, Ladi Higmore was more of a saint than a human.

Ladi Highmore, a junior student of Hayden High, was more of a saint than a human because of what she had done to this school. Jack can't remember when it started, or how but he's sure it's when she stood up from the jocks that bullied Hanson a while back in her freshman year. Being a year older than Ladi, Jack has received the news a little late but he sure was amused. He still is.

Ladi with her chocolate hair and emerald eyes and fair skin, moved to Jacksons in the middle of the semester of her freshman year. She made a sudden debut since well, she is a little prettier than the rest of her batch mates.

Jack, at first didn't care. He isn't much for the gossips and childish ways. He's more of a serious guy who has plans that can collapse like domino. So everyone can pretty much say what he likes; wholesome things.

And although he didn't know Ladi back then, he immediately had his interest towards her after hearing that a beauty, queen-bee-esque girl stood up and helped two nerds. Little things, he knows. But after that incident, the jocks stopped their ways and just glared at the nerds.

It seems a miracle, really. A whole school changed just because a pretty girl made a speech about bullying. But can anyone really have to argue? They changed, no more bullying. And that's enough.

Jack sighs as he makes a left turn towards the the right wing of the school where his locker is placed. Walking towards his, he opens the storage and places his things. After doing so, he shuts it tight then heads to the canteen.