Now That Summer Is Over (Mark Anastasio)

Prologue

"I don't care what you think, you are going whether you like it or not." Jacob's mother sat at the dining room table glaring at her son. Sarah Arden still wore her apron, coated with a light dusting of flower that clung to her clothes and hands and even in her greying hair, pulled back into a bun from which hairs spouted like a nest of snakes. She had been baking all day, in preparation for her guest tonight.

"Mom, I told you, I don't want to go!" Jacob shot back. "I could be studying for physics or preparing my application for military college, not goofing off at some sport camp!" Ever since the age of five, Jacob had played soccer each Tuesday and Thursday after School, and a game on weekends. He quite enjoyed the sport which his father Robb, played so often as a teen. To Jacob soccer was about not only enjoyment, but also the exercise in cardio and leg muscles. Normally, he would jump right at a chance like this, but a seven week long soccer camp over the summer was easier said than done. Most teens his age spent all their time gaming, drinking or gathering together in large groups to socialise. But for Jacob, the thought of having to talk to more than three or four people made him bored out of his mind. He spent most of his life wondering why they were all so happy, laughing and shouting in groups of more than a dozen.

What's the point of making a friend if I can't keep one? He thought, absentmindedly scratching at the table cloth. In a few more months we'll just move somewhere else and I'll have to start all over again.

Jacob glanced out the window to where a group of boys no older than ten were running down the street, the golden light of the evening playing over their jubilant faces.

"Please Mom, I just want to stay here." He tried again, more softly this time. But Sarah shook her head authoritatively.

"Absolutely not! You've done nothing but mope around since we moved here, and I'm sick and tired of it. You need to go out into the world and make some friends."

I don't need friends, Jacob thought.

But instead he glared at his mother, his blue-green eyes shooting daggers into hers. "Don't you look at me like that, young man! I-" The front door opened and slammed shut with what sounded like a herd of wild bison trampling down the hall. Ethan burst in along with a blond haired boy, their cheeks flushed from running.

"Is the food ready yet Mom?" Ethan Arden asked, hopping up to the table and dragging his chair forward with a scraping noise that made his mother wince.

"Not yet dear, why don't you and Charlie run along and I'll call you in a bit." The two boys quickly dashed off up the stairs to Ethan's bedroom. Sarah looked at her older son and Jacob knew what she was going to say before the words left her mouth. "Ethan has no trouble making friends, why can't you?" In that moment Jacob hated his mother, and his stupid brother and his father and the table too for all he cared.

Even the fucking table has friends like the chairs.

He stood up and stormed away, stomping on each stair like it were an insect he could crush. "And make sure you put on something nicer for dinner, please dear. Charlie's parents will be coming over." His mother called after him, as he slammed his door. Jacob kicked his school bag aside and flopped down on his bed, not even bothering to care about the slight pain in his toe from the kick.

Everyone has friends, everyone except me.

"I hate this damn place." He muttered, listening to the sounds of his brother and his new friend playing in the adjacent room. He didn't really hate his brother, or his mom for that matter, but it still felt good to say it.

Ethan is a child. He has not a care in the world, and remains blissfully unaware of what it means to grow up.

At ten, Jacob had started his fitness training and went for a jog each morning. Ethan on the other hand, would wake around 10:00 and plop down in front of the tv. Jacob loved the rambunctious ten year old, but sometimes his brother just was too much to handle. With a cross between a sigh and a scowl, Jacob stood up and grabbed his towel from its hook on the door, and crossed the hall to the bathroom.