Rain

•3•

Haha the chapter title looks like a face.

...

I'll go home.

Patrick sat on his bed, listening to the rain pound against his window. It was 5pm, he could smell his mom cooking something for dinner. He looked back down at his math quiz. It was a multiple choice question on something he totally didn't get. He rips a piece of paper out of his notebook and starts to write the formula, plugging the numbers inside. He smiles, he's actually getting somewhere with this. His answer comes out to a simple 5, he circles the answer on his paper and admires it.

Maybe I do get what I'm doing

He turns back to his computer, where the quiz is displayed but frowns. 5 isn't one of the answers. He groans and pushes the math away, needing a break. On his nightstand is a docking station, his phone charging. He clicks the radio button and his favorite channel is on the preset, 102.5.

"Use my code, onetwopointfive, for a discount on your carpet cleaning!" The man on the radio says, overexcited.

"Now before we send you back to your music, we want to remind you about the giveaway!" A woman juts in.

"That's right Amy, we are giving away two Panic! At the Disco tickets, live at Falls Park next week."

Patrick practically falls out of his bed. He grabs the nightstand, face inches from the speaker, waiting for more information.

"All you need to do is go to our website www.102.5.com and enter your information to win! The concert is sold out so enter this giveaway to be our lucky winner!"

Patrick doesn't need to hear more, he grabs his phone and quickly heads to the website. Random and sponsored ads pop up so he continues to scroll down until he gets to the link. He clicks it and it brings him to an online form. There's very simple questions.

Name: Patrick Stump
Address: 182 Cedar Ave
Number: 765-2073

He stops when he sees the next question, physically deflating.

Age (must be over 18 to enter):

He's 17. Almost 18. That has to count for something! He'll be 18 within the next 2 months! Like his math, he pushes his phone away.

"Dinner!" His mother yells.

"Coming!" Patrick yells back, standing and grabbing his phone. He slides it into his pocket before coming downstairs.

The window by the table shows rain coming down in a drizzle.

"Suppose to clear up tomorrow. It'll be a nice day." His dad scoops pasta onto his plate.

"That's good." Patrick grabs the tongs and places some salad into a bowl, he covers it in ranch.

"Maybe you could go out tomorrow." His mother says, pouring some steaming red sauce over her noodles.

Patrick grabs a piece of bread and takes a bite to hide his sigh. It's so much easier to stay inside, why can't his parents see that?

"Did you hear your mother?" His dad wipes sauce from his lips.

Patrick takes a quick bite of salad and nods.

"You could go to that coffee shop you like...there's the record store next to it." His mother scoops some salad into her bowl.