The Mechanic Next Door

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was here before anyone knew it. Zach was awoken by Gray's pounding footsteps down the hall and stairway. He turned over with a grumble. He didn't like being woken up by others. "It's Christmas Zach, try to smile" the teen said to himself as he swung his leg over the side of his bed to get up. Zach took a deep breath before opening his door.
The scent of Christmas candles and breakfast food filled each room of the house. The older Mitchell rubbed his eyes as he walked down the stairs. "Merry Christmas honey!" Called Karen from the kitchen. Zach tried to flash a convincing smile as he said it back. He got pulled in for a hug. Gray was by the Christmas tree organizing their presents into separate piles. Zach appreciated his enthusiasm but was too hyper this time of the hour. "Merry Christmas!" Gray chirped as he looked up from the presents. "Merry Christmas bro" Zach replied. He stood there for a minute realizing his father wasn't around. "Where's dad?" The teen asked raising his brow. "Dad's still in bed" Karen replied. Zach nodded and went back upstairs for a moment. He shut the bathroom door and looked at his reflection in the mirror. The boy let out a low growl of frustration.
A few moments later Zach returned to the living room with a very impatient Gray. Then again what do you expect from a 12 year old boy on Christmas morning? Karen went back upstairs to get Scott out of their bed. The parents sat down in their respectful places on the sofa. "Who wants to go first?" Karen asked. "Definitely Gray cause if he doesn't he might explode" Zach joked. Gray didn't hesitate to rip into his presents. After unwrapping 2 new Dinosaur encyclopedias, a T Rex skeleton fossil dig set and some new clothes Karen stopped him for a moment. "Sweetie Open this one first" pointing to the box on the left. The youngest boy unwrapped the present to reveal a survival pouch that attaches to a belt. There was a note on the bottom of the box. "To aid you on your next adventure...". Gray looked puzzled for a moment. Karen pushed forward the box from the right. Zach eyed both his parents with a smile. They knew what was coming next. Zach was mentally preparing his ears for the screeches of excitement that were about to happen. "OH MY GOD!!!" Gray screamed. In the box laid 3 tickets for the Jurassic World theme park that Gray has been dying to go to since he found out his Aunt Claire was working there. Gray began to weep and thanked everyone.
"We leave right after breakfast. In a few hours you, your brother and Jonny will be in Costa Rica to spend the week with your Aunt Claire and see all the dinosaurs they have to offer" Karen said. Gray was bouncing off the walls. "Alright Zach you're next." The teen started ripping into his presents. He unwrapped a new grey and black zip-up hoodie, the latest COD video game for his Xbox One, a Google Play gift card, a Bluetooth speaker for his room and a set of the newest Dr. Dre Beats headphones in matte black. Zach tried not to drool over the headphones. He went around to thank everyone for the gifts. "We should get breakfast going. Jonny's coming in a few for breakfast" Zach said. "Plus I'm starving."
Everyone helped set the table and cleaned up the floor. Soft Christmas music played in the background and the fire kept everyone toasty. The doorbell rang moments later. Zach got up to answer it. Opening the door he saw his bestfriend running his hand through his hair and then smiling holding a couple presents in one hand. "Merry Christmas dude" Jonny said pulling Zach in for a bro hug. Gray ran up behind Zach and hugged Jonny. "Merry Christmas Buddy! Did Santa come already?" He said trying to play along remembering he's still 12. "Don't waste your breath" Zach began. "This one already figured it out years ago that it was our parents." Everyone was laughing. Jonny greeted everyone else and then sat down next to Zach. He handed the brothers their presents. "You didn't have to-" Zach began. Jonny cut him off quickly. "I know I didn't have to, stupid, but I did anyways." Gray bursted out laughing. He tore into his last present revealing a plastic dinosaur diorama set. He squealed and thanked Jonny. "Go on it's your turn" he said looking at Zach. Zach unwrapped the box and open it up revealing a black hoodie with the name of Jonny's father's performance shop with white sponsors going down the back and both sleeves and a $25 GameStop gift card. "This thing is sick thank you!" Zach replied in admiration.
The family dug into the delicious food and tried to enjoy what most at that table knew as one of the last family dinners, despite Scott's cold attitude. The grinch looked more appealing to eat with. As soon as they finished the delicious food, Gray ran upstairs to pack his new dinosaur books to read on the plane. Jonny helped put the dishes together. Zach tapped his bestfriend on the shoulder. When Jonny turned around, Zach pulled out a small box behind his back. Jonny cocked his head to the side. "Surprise" Zach said. "What did you do?" Jonny laughed rolling his eyes as he opened the box. It was the newest racing game that was available for the Xbox One, Forza Horizon 2, with a Xbox gift card. "Thanks bro" Jonny said. He tried his best to keep his calm. He hated to admit that he liked his bestfriend cause he knew there was no way in hell that they would ever end up together. He purged any sort of feeling and acted normal.
Zach went back upstairs to finish packing. Jonny went over to his bag to put his gift inside. Zach passed his parents room only to notice his father went back to lay in bed. "Uh, you're not gonna help mom with the dishes? Or let alone drive us for that matter or is that too much work?" Zach spat venomously. He didn't mean to be a Grinch on Christmas put his father really pissed him off. "Shut up I'll be down there in a minute" the man replied. Zach laughed and went to his room. "Unbelievable" the teen whispered under his breath.
Meanwhile, Jonny was helping Karen clean up the kitchen. "You don't have to do this Jonny it's fine" She argued. "It's not fair to you and seriously I don't mind. I feel rude if I just sit here watching you clean." Jonny was never one to give up. She gave in and it didn't take long to clean the kitchen. Zach hurried back down the stairs dressed in a maroon T-Shirt, black skinny jeans and a gray zip-up. He swung his green backpack over his shoulder and bent down to slip his Converse on. Karen threw her red coat on to load the trunk. "Don't you think all black is gonna be a bit warm?" Zach questioned as he looked at Jonny's outfit. He wasn't emo or gothic whatsoever, he just tended to wear darker colors a lot more. Under his grey North Face, Jonny was dressed in a slim black v neck t-shirt, wristwatch, slim Adidas track pants and Adidas hi tops dressed in black with gold accents. "These pants are climate cool and everything else is pretty light. I'll be just fine" he laughed. Jonny reached over to hand Zach his military jacket. Scott also came down the stairs and a cold feeling filled the room. Zach and his bestfriend gave eachother "that look" when he passed by to get into the car. "We almost forgot Gray!" Karen said running upstairs. They both laughed. "Imagine pulling a Home Alone on him" Zach joked. They picked up their bags while Gray rushed down the stairs to the car blabbering on about a bunch of statistics.
Zach was the last one out and he slightly tripped on one of the stairs. "Coming Buddy?" Karen called. "Damnit" Zach said as he had an annoyed look climbing in the car. "Are you gonna be okay?" Scott mocked in a Baby Voice. Zach wanted everyone to shut up. He put his Beats on and looked out the window before he said some words that would ruin this entire trip.