Meeting Master Wu

Jay

  Jay had always felt restricted. His family wasn't rich. They lived in a junk yard. He was very lucky, and he was very thankful for it. But every day at school kids would wrinkle their noses and whisper "junk yard kid".

  He never seemed good at anything either. He was a dreamer but the teacher always said that inventing wasn't going to get him anywhere when they would look in disdain at the contraption he tried to show them this time.

  But that didn't stop Jay, it only made him want to prove them all wrong. But he tried and tried every day. But the only thing he seemed really good at was running his mouth until someone got annoyed at him.

  After more mutters about his failed toaster vacuum went on Jay decided he needed to go bigger. After speculating many ideas he came up with ... Nothing. He was blank. He wasn't the smartest. Or the strongest. He was fast on roller skates but many people thought he was even weirder for that. One day while Jay was thinking about giving up a bird wafted by. Flying in beautiful circles around in the air.

  Jay sat up. Watching the wings beat with interest as a new idea formed.

  A flying machine. Yes, that would prove to everyone he was worthy. But could he do it? Maybe he was a failure at inventing like everything else. He had trend so many things, poetry was a flunk, math sucked, football went down with a black eye.

  Jay shook himself. His father was an inventor. He could do this. He spent all day working on his prototype and when it was finally done he had a bunch of clingy wings strapped to an old motorcycle. Jay brought it to the edge of a ditch. Some people doing a desert tour looked at him funny as he took off it zoomed forward as he unfurled the wings and....

  CRASH! Jay yelled and yanked off his helmet as he struggled out from under the bike.

  "That's the junkyard kid I was telling you about." An old man from the group muttered. "Can't do anything for the life of him."

  "Yeah? Well....no one likes losers who look at dirt for a living!" Jay yelled back. The group gasped and shot him a dirty look before stomping into the bus.

  "And we were going to give you a ride back!" A women sniffed.

  "I don't need a pity escort!" Jay retorted.

  They stuck out their tongues and floored the gas, dirt flying in his face as they drove away.

  The next time Jay tried something different, balloons full of helium surrounded his invention as he tied the last one. Giving a satisfied sigh he wet to grab his helmet when he turned around with a start to see the machine flying away.

  "NO!" Jay yelled, running after it. People stuck their heads out of windows as he dashed after the clump of old parts carried by balloons.

  "There's that Jay Walker again." A man grumbled to his wife. "His poor parents."

  "Edna and Ed haven't been doing that well. Probably takes after them." The side replied.

  Jay responded to the insult by chucking a nearby bucket of paint a boy was using to paste into his fence at them.

  Jay stormed home. They could insult him all they want, but his parents? They drew the line. He sat down at his desk and pulled out a pencil. He got out books on birds and aircrafts as he began to draw. This time wings of his own flew into his head. After hours and hours of work Jay had it. A smile grew as he stared at the blue print. This was the one.

****

  Jay ran quickly out of the junkyard, excitement growing at the idea of finally mastering the power of flight.

  "Jay, honey, be back for supper!" Edna's voice rang out.

  Jay huffed. "I will mom!" He yelled back, trying to keep up his pace.

  "No crazy stunts, okay?"

  "I won't mom!" Jay shouted back, still running.

  Jay finally managed to strap on his final design of the flight suit on as he made it onto the roof of the skyscraper. In hindsight it probably wasn't the best idea since the last five times hadn't gone well, earning a nice bill for him to cover from the owner of the book shop, a lecture from his parents, and a ban for, video games. But this time he wasn't launching off a low roof. He was going all out.

  He flapped the wings, doing quick breaths. "Okay, sixth times the charm!" He told himself. Before he could chicken out he launched off the roof.

  It's working! He had thought in his head as he swooped back up.

  "I can fly!" He yelled as the machine did a loop. But the words cursed him when he crashed through a billboard for Chen's Noodle House.

  Jay groaned and shrugged off the broken pieces.

  He let out a yell of frustration. Of course, everyone was right, maybe he was a useless loser.

"That's it! I've had it!" He shouted in frustration. "You useless piece of junk!

  "It's impossible!" Jay sighed in defeat.

  "I's its?"

  Jay whipped his head around to see a man with a long white beard moving tea to his lips.

  "Or are we only confined by the walls we build ourselves?" The man questioned. Maybe he was right, those words didn't mean  anything unless he really listened to them. It was only the same rude grumpy neighbours that said those words and their option seemed questionable Anyway.

  Jay blinked in confusion. "Who are you?"

  "A dreamer, like you." The man responded simply. "Trying the build the impossible."

  "Care to join?"