Paint Yourself a Picture, Something Perfectly Obscure
9
2 days later and I was sat sorting out my music collection when I heard the door and cursed whoever it was as I got up walking downstairs and opening it to see and extremely happy Jack, “Hey phone-blocker” he said and I smiled “Hey” I said. “Guess who got rid of Alex? Me that’s who, I stole his phone texted his girlfriend saying he was sorry and he’s gone home,” he said and I laughed as I moved so he could come in.
“Isn’t that kind of…wrong?” I asked and he smiled “Nah it’s called speeding up the process, I now have a perfectly clean and dog footprints free home” he said and I smiled “Well as long as you’ve got that who cares” I joked and he laughed. “How’s’ the phone blocking working out?” I asked and he nodded “Well she’s not got in touch with me and the going outside?” he asked and I just looked at him.
“That’s no then,” he said and I smiled “I’ve been busy” I lied and he smiled “Don’t tell me lies,” he said winking and I smiled. “Okay so I pretended to look for a job, found something to clean and then now I’m organising things” I stated and he laughed “Organising things? How long can that take someone?” he asked and I smiled walking upstairs motioning him to follow me.
“It’s the first time a girl has led me upstairs in a while” he said and I laughed “How many of them show you this when you get up there though?” I asked and he looked at me as I opened the door in front of me and his eyes widened. “None, how in the world do you afford all this and I thought you were joking when you said you could open a shop” he said walking in the room.
It was supposed to be a spare bedroom but well nobody really ever stayed over and if they were friends enough to stay over they could always share my bed, so I kept all my music in the spare room instead. I had a drum kit, 2 guitars, a keyboard, books full of music that had been written, books of bought music and then the impressive thing that was my music collection.
Some people thought they had a lot of music well it was nothing compared to mine, I had near on a 1000 cd’s and then I had well over 200 records. “This is like heaven, how have to kept this from me so long?” he asked and I smiled “What like we’ve known each other forever” I replied and he smiled, “With this I think we’re going to” he said and I laughed.
“So you really just want my music?” I asked and he smiled “Nah your alright I guess” he joked and I smiled as I put away the cd’s I’d had out, “I feel like I’m not allowed to touch anything” he said looking around and I smiled “Jack you can touch whatever you like” I stated and he laughed.
“What?” I asked and he smiled “Girls who lead me upstairs normally say that” he said and I rolled my eyes “How do you afford all this?” he asked and I shrugged as I sat on the floor “I got some compensation even if I did give practically all of it to that guys family and I used to have a good job” I explained.
“What did you do?” he asked and I watched him look through the cd’s “I had a job in a bank” I admitted and he looked at me “Really you don’t seem the sort” he stated and I smiled. “Why?” I asked as he picked up the guitar “Well you haven’t told me I owe you money yet” he joked and I laughed.
“What did you do?” he asked as he started to play and I watched him “I was an assistant to the manager so I got a pretty good wage” I admitted and he smiled “How come you can play so much?” he asked and I looked at him “Well you played drums for us and then you played my guitar and you have a keyboard so I presume you can play” he said as he carried on playing the guitar.
“Oh I used to play in a band a bit, being famous was always something I thought was cool but then famous people have to go outdoors” I said and he smiled, he stopped playing putting the guitar back and then picked up the book on the side. “Hey is that your mom?” he asked pointing to one of the pictures and I put my hand out and he gave me the book sitting next to me.
I smiled as I saw the picture and I shook my head as I flipped through the pages of the photo album “Are any of these your family?” he asked and I shrugged “In a way yes but no, Arthurs about the closest thing your getting to my family because I don’t have one” I said and he looked at me and I was more than used to receiving that look.
“I’ve known Arthur since I was 11 years old when I first went into his music shop” I explained ”So who are these?” he asked pointing to all the kids an the rare few pictures of adults that were in the photo album. “This is where I grew up, I grew up in a kids home the other side of town,” I admitted.
“Mayberry kids home, you grew up there?” he asked and I nodded “Really you’re a kids home kid?” he asked and I smiled “You know we don’t have any contagious diseases. We’re just like you except we don’t have a family, well I probably do but I just don’t know them” I explained and he smiled.
“That guy that used to hit me? He threatened to send me there once and told me it was full of kids that would beat me up worse than him. There was rumours about kids that came from that place, don’t tell Alex your from there he’ll be scared of you. He still to this day claims he caught headlice from a kid from that home once and it’s their fault he had to shave his head” he said and I laughed.
“I lived there until I was 18 and I never caught headlice once Jack so I’m thinking Alex is lying” I said and he smiled “Wouldn’t be the first time” he said laughing. “I was taken there at 8 months old and I didn’t leave until I was 18, by that time I’d been working at the bank for over 2 years part time. I think Arthur really talked my boss into giving me the job in the first place and I’d saved up enough to move here and when I finished school I started work full time,” I explained.
“So you liked it there?” he asked and I nodded “There were kids that would come and go but after a while you got used to the fact that some friendship weren’t lasting ones and you learnt the ability to pick out the kids that would get adopted and so you kind of didn’t make good friends with them. There were a few people who were at Mayberry from being brought in until they got old enough to leave, us that lived there permanent were allowed to bring friends home from school and everything like that” I explained and he nodded.
“If Arthur knew you from being 11 and he helped you get that job why didn’t he adopt you? I mean everyone who’s met Arthur knows they always wanted kids but couldn’t have them,” he asked and I nodded.
“I think he tried but 1 him and his wife are too old and 2 my mom asked for me never to be adopted. My mom brought me in at 8 months old because she couldn’t look after me, she was only about 17 when I was born and she was adopted. Her adoptive parents wouldn’t let her stay with them and keep me and she couldn’t afford to live on her own. My dad was older than my mom and when she got pregnant his family moved away so she had no choice but to take me to Mayberry. I have a letter from her that she wrote when she left me there and it basically says this was the only place left and the workers at Mayberry said she’d made it clear I was never to be put up for adoption. I presume she hated her adoptive parents for what they made her do and she never wanted me being in that position,” I explained and he looked at me as if he was scared I’d cry.
“It doesn’t really bother me, she did what she did and I had a good childhood. I always had friends and being there so long I got to know all the workers so they were like family. Arthur would always visit me and there were always people to spend the holidays with so it was kind of cool. I remember when I was in hospital some of the people from Mayberry came to visit and they gave me this note that was supposedly from a member of my family but I never wanted to read it. If they knew I was in hospital or that I had been at Mayberry then they would be able to come and see me so I was never really interested” I admitted and he shrugged.
“It’s your life, you went to normal school then?” he asked and I nodded “I went to the school downtown” I said and he looked at me “Bridge High School?” he asked and I nodded “I went there, we went to the same high school!” he said and I nodded, “Apparently so” I said and he smiled.
“Your 2 years younger than me right?” he asked and I nodded “Oh well I was never going to know you, I barely knew everyone in my year. It’s so cool we went to the same school though,” he said and I nodded. “Lets go out,” he said and I looked at him “Oh come on, if your mega scared I’ll hold your hand” he joked and I smiled.
“That’s me definitely out” I teased and he smiled as he pulled me up “Dillon you love me” he stated as he pulled me downstairs with him. We went out to the park and back again and the first time it was a bit scary but after him coming around every day for 2 weeks and making me go out with him it got better and I was starting to not even let it cross my mind where I was anymore.
I saw it was nearly midday and looked at my phone to see Jack had texted me 20 minutes ago to say he was on his way, it normally took him 15 minutes and he was rarely ever late. I texted him asking where he was but he never replied and I grabbed my hoody pulling it on before opening my door and walking out.
I wasn’t exactly sure where Jack lived but I knew which street was his and I knew the way he walked, I was worried something had happened to him so I started to walk the way he would walk to mine and got to the end of my street to see him sat on the sidewalk smiling.
“Isn’t that kind of…wrong?” I asked and he smiled “Nah it’s called speeding up the process, I now have a perfectly clean and dog footprints free home” he said and I smiled “Well as long as you’ve got that who cares” I joked and he laughed. “How’s’ the phone blocking working out?” I asked and he nodded “Well she’s not got in touch with me and the going outside?” he asked and I just looked at him.
“That’s no then,” he said and I smiled “I’ve been busy” I lied and he smiled “Don’t tell me lies,” he said winking and I smiled. “Okay so I pretended to look for a job, found something to clean and then now I’m organising things” I stated and he laughed “Organising things? How long can that take someone?” he asked and I smiled walking upstairs motioning him to follow me.
“It’s the first time a girl has led me upstairs in a while” he said and I laughed “How many of them show you this when you get up there though?” I asked and he looked at me as I opened the door in front of me and his eyes widened. “None, how in the world do you afford all this and I thought you were joking when you said you could open a shop” he said walking in the room.
It was supposed to be a spare bedroom but well nobody really ever stayed over and if they were friends enough to stay over they could always share my bed, so I kept all my music in the spare room instead. I had a drum kit, 2 guitars, a keyboard, books full of music that had been written, books of bought music and then the impressive thing that was my music collection.
Some people thought they had a lot of music well it was nothing compared to mine, I had near on a 1000 cd’s and then I had well over 200 records. “This is like heaven, how have to kept this from me so long?” he asked and I smiled “What like we’ve known each other forever” I replied and he smiled, “With this I think we’re going to” he said and I laughed.
“So you really just want my music?” I asked and he smiled “Nah your alright I guess” he joked and I smiled as I put away the cd’s I’d had out, “I feel like I’m not allowed to touch anything” he said looking around and I smiled “Jack you can touch whatever you like” I stated and he laughed.
“What?” I asked and he smiled “Girls who lead me upstairs normally say that” he said and I rolled my eyes “How do you afford all this?” he asked and I shrugged as I sat on the floor “I got some compensation even if I did give practically all of it to that guys family and I used to have a good job” I explained.
“What did you do?” he asked and I watched him look through the cd’s “I had a job in a bank” I admitted and he looked at me “Really you don’t seem the sort” he stated and I smiled. “Why?” I asked as he picked up the guitar “Well you haven’t told me I owe you money yet” he joked and I laughed.
“What did you do?” he asked as he started to play and I watched him “I was an assistant to the manager so I got a pretty good wage” I admitted and he smiled “How come you can play so much?” he asked and I looked at him “Well you played drums for us and then you played my guitar and you have a keyboard so I presume you can play” he said as he carried on playing the guitar.
“Oh I used to play in a band a bit, being famous was always something I thought was cool but then famous people have to go outdoors” I said and he smiled, he stopped playing putting the guitar back and then picked up the book on the side. “Hey is that your mom?” he asked pointing to one of the pictures and I put my hand out and he gave me the book sitting next to me.
I smiled as I saw the picture and I shook my head as I flipped through the pages of the photo album “Are any of these your family?” he asked and I shrugged “In a way yes but no, Arthurs about the closest thing your getting to my family because I don’t have one” I said and he looked at me and I was more than used to receiving that look.
“I’ve known Arthur since I was 11 years old when I first went into his music shop” I explained ”So who are these?” he asked pointing to all the kids an the rare few pictures of adults that were in the photo album. “This is where I grew up, I grew up in a kids home the other side of town,” I admitted.
“Mayberry kids home, you grew up there?” he asked and I nodded “Really you’re a kids home kid?” he asked and I smiled “You know we don’t have any contagious diseases. We’re just like you except we don’t have a family, well I probably do but I just don’t know them” I explained and he smiled.
“That guy that used to hit me? He threatened to send me there once and told me it was full of kids that would beat me up worse than him. There was rumours about kids that came from that place, don’t tell Alex your from there he’ll be scared of you. He still to this day claims he caught headlice from a kid from that home once and it’s their fault he had to shave his head” he said and I laughed.
“I lived there until I was 18 and I never caught headlice once Jack so I’m thinking Alex is lying” I said and he smiled “Wouldn’t be the first time” he said laughing. “I was taken there at 8 months old and I didn’t leave until I was 18, by that time I’d been working at the bank for over 2 years part time. I think Arthur really talked my boss into giving me the job in the first place and I’d saved up enough to move here and when I finished school I started work full time,” I explained.
“So you liked it there?” he asked and I nodded “There were kids that would come and go but after a while you got used to the fact that some friendship weren’t lasting ones and you learnt the ability to pick out the kids that would get adopted and so you kind of didn’t make good friends with them. There were a few people who were at Mayberry from being brought in until they got old enough to leave, us that lived there permanent were allowed to bring friends home from school and everything like that” I explained and he nodded.
“If Arthur knew you from being 11 and he helped you get that job why didn’t he adopt you? I mean everyone who’s met Arthur knows they always wanted kids but couldn’t have them,” he asked and I nodded.
“I think he tried but 1 him and his wife are too old and 2 my mom asked for me never to be adopted. My mom brought me in at 8 months old because she couldn’t look after me, she was only about 17 when I was born and she was adopted. Her adoptive parents wouldn’t let her stay with them and keep me and she couldn’t afford to live on her own. My dad was older than my mom and when she got pregnant his family moved away so she had no choice but to take me to Mayberry. I have a letter from her that she wrote when she left me there and it basically says this was the only place left and the workers at Mayberry said she’d made it clear I was never to be put up for adoption. I presume she hated her adoptive parents for what they made her do and she never wanted me being in that position,” I explained and he looked at me as if he was scared I’d cry.
“It doesn’t really bother me, she did what she did and I had a good childhood. I always had friends and being there so long I got to know all the workers so they were like family. Arthur would always visit me and there were always people to spend the holidays with so it was kind of cool. I remember when I was in hospital some of the people from Mayberry came to visit and they gave me this note that was supposedly from a member of my family but I never wanted to read it. If they knew I was in hospital or that I had been at Mayberry then they would be able to come and see me so I was never really interested” I admitted and he shrugged.
“It’s your life, you went to normal school then?” he asked and I nodded “I went to the school downtown” I said and he looked at me “Bridge High School?” he asked and I nodded “I went there, we went to the same high school!” he said and I nodded, “Apparently so” I said and he smiled.
“Your 2 years younger than me right?” he asked and I nodded “Oh well I was never going to know you, I barely knew everyone in my year. It’s so cool we went to the same school though,” he said and I nodded. “Lets go out,” he said and I looked at him “Oh come on, if your mega scared I’ll hold your hand” he joked and I smiled.
“That’s me definitely out” I teased and he smiled as he pulled me up “Dillon you love me” he stated as he pulled me downstairs with him. We went out to the park and back again and the first time it was a bit scary but after him coming around every day for 2 weeks and making me go out with him it got better and I was starting to not even let it cross my mind where I was anymore.
I saw it was nearly midday and looked at my phone to see Jack had texted me 20 minutes ago to say he was on his way, it normally took him 15 minutes and he was rarely ever late. I texted him asking where he was but he never replied and I grabbed my hoody pulling it on before opening my door and walking out.
I wasn’t exactly sure where Jack lived but I knew which street was his and I knew the way he walked, I was worried something had happened to him so I started to walk the way he would walk to mine and got to the end of my street to see him sat on the sidewalk smiling.