Another Reason To Live (Watty Awards 2014)

Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

I felt liberated as the final bell rang for the day.  I bolted out of my english class and refused to stop moving my feet until I reached my locker.  I didn't even acknowledge the presense of the group of guys that liked to harass Noah and I as I passed them.  All I wanted was to leave and get to Frank so we could go visit Gerard.

I'm fairly certain that I left a trail of skid marks across the shining white linoleum of the hallway as I nearly ran to my locker once it came into view.  I threw all of my books into my bag and slammed the door shut again within thirty seconds of opening it.

With each step that brought me closer to the front door, I felt a nervous, nauseating feeling fill me.  What if Gerard was worse than before?  Or if there was no progress at all and he would remain in the coma for longer than anticipated? 

But maybe part of that feeling was excitement?  I knew that I missed Gerard terribly and I knew that seeing him would comfort me.  After three days of avoiding returning to the hospital, I convinced myself that seeing Gerard would be pleasant, rather than horrible.  He would visit me if I were in the hospital and I needed to do the same for him.

Fresh air surrounded me as I exited the school.  I continued on my designated path until I was en route to The Boombox.  It wasn't horribly far, only a fifteen minute walk or so.

After the counseling session, my mother had avoided talking to me about Gerard at all costs, even more now since Doctor Harvey contradicted her theory of Gerard being a bad influence.  Whether she was embarassed or not, she didn't bring the matter up.  When I asked her if it would be alright to visit him after school today, she was quiet and then simply told me to ask my dad.  When I asked him, he seemed  slightly annoyed at my mother's behavior, but agreed to let me go.

I continued walking at a brisk pace until the building came into view.  Smiling slightly to myself, I picked up the pace until I was at a light jog.  Upon approaching the store, I saw that there were only two cars in the parking lot.  One I presumed was Frank's, and the other one must've been a customer's.

I opened the shop door and stepped inside to see Frank helping a customer scan her credit card to purchase what appeared to be a new bass guitar.

"No, sir, the card has to slide the other way," Frank instructed with a slightly annoyed voice.

He looked up and saw me.  He flashed me a smile and held up a finger, silently telling me to  wait.  He looked back at the customer and rolled his eyes without the customer knowing.

"No, not upside down, just turn it clock-wise.  There you go."

He quickly punched some keys on the keyboard and a few seconds later, a receipt spat out of a small machine and Frank had the man sign it.

"Have a nice day!" he called out to the man as he passed by me.  Once the man left and the door shut again, Frank sighed and shook his head.

"Jesus Christ.  I love working here and all, but I swear, some people act like they've just crawled out of a damn cave."

I smirked and watched as he ducked behind the counter and stood back up with a black backpack and a set of keys.  He hopped over the counter and smiled again. "Ready to go?"

"I've been waiting all day," I replied, following Frank across the shop and out the door.

He locked it behind us and he led me to the sole car in the parking lot.  It was a dark green car that had a few dents in the bumper, but overall it looked like it was in pretty good shape, which surprised me, considering  how careless Frank could come across as.