Living in a Different World

Jack sat at home. Alone. He was at the kitchen table finishing the last few questions on his history worksheet that he had for homework. Once he finished he texted his mother, since she and Jack's father were out, that he was done and was going to hop in the shower and head to bed. He felt a buzz from his pocket and had gotten a text from his girlfriend, April.

"Hey honey. You're still coming to the party tomorrow right?"

Jack shot a quick text back.

"Yup. I'll be there around 1."

Jack hopped in the shower and let the hot water hit against his muscular back.  He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He started daydreaming.

...

Alone in the road. The streetlights shined onto the black cement. Jack had his head down but when he looked ahead towards the end of the road, he saw his best friend, David. David looked at him and shot a quick smile back at Jack.

What was the nervous feeling in Jack's stomach? Jack felt as if he was going to puke.

...

Jack opened his eyes and finished his shower. He got out and dried off. He walked into his messy room and grabbed a pair of pajama pants and slipped them on. He grabbed his phone and checked to see if he had any texts. 1 from his mom, and 2 from April. He clicked on his moms name to read the text.

"Ok. Your father and I will be home in about an hour. Goodnight."

He went back to the menu and clicked on April's name.

"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Don't forget to bring a swimsuit!"

He closed his eyes for a few seconds and turned the phone off and set it on top of the side table and dozed off into a deep sleep.

The next morning, he woke up to the smell of fried eggs and bacon. He glanced over at his alarm clock which read 8:19AM. He rolled over at first but then got up out of bed and headed towards the kitchen. He saw his mother in her bathrobe and slippers.

"Good morning, sweetie." Jack's mom, Mary said. Mary had short, thin black hair that had little waves in sections. She glanced over at jack who stood there in the doorway of the kitchen. Mary had bright green eyes that melted your heart when you saw her.

"Are you ok, Jack?" She asked in her sweet, accented voice.

"Yeah mom. I'm fine." Jack lied.

"Ok. Would you like some eggs and bacon?"

"Yeah. 2 of each please."

Jack headed towards the kitchen table and sat at the same spot he sat in his whole life. He stared blankly  at the TV blaring the morning news. House fires overnight. People getting robbed. The usual setting of stories in the news.

There was one story in particular that was a still trending topic to talk about. Gay marriage. Jack didn't seem to care much about gay people getting married. But his mom was more likely to be against it. Jack, with wide eyes, continued to watch.