Chapter Text
Jack quickly brushed his teeth and lazily combed out his hair, then went back into his bedroom and grabbed a random white t-shirt on the floor and put on a pair of old ripped jeans. He grabbed his favorite old blue hoodie. There wasn’t really anything exciting about the hoodie, it was just old and plain, but it was something that his dad gave to him and he appreciated it a whole lot.
Followed by the army of loud, panting huskies Jack hurried over to the kitchen table to see a box of cereal and a single glass of juice on the table.
“I thought you said you made a warm breakfast?” said Jack jokingly to his mother.
His mother laughed and said, “Well to be honest I am in a bit of a rush this morning and this was the only thing I could make quickly!”
Jack’s mother was constantly busy. She worked in the only vet clinic from miles around and everyone brought their sick pets to her. Honestly, she was really good at her job. She could easily treat any animal that was brought to her and everyone loved her. Jack loved her as well, his mother was pretty much his best friend.
“So last night, I heard you talking on the phone. Was it Dad?” asked Jack.
His mother stopped in her tracks and turned around smiling, “Oh you heard us? Yes, um, it turns that your father is going to be busy again so it looks like he won’t be coming back for a while.”
Jack knew it, his father was a businessman that was always traveling. Last night, he heard his parents arguing over the phone on how his mother was upset that his father was never there to support Jack and how he barely even bothered with us anymore. Jack guessed that soon his father will send some sort of gift in apology, but his mother will just throw it out or leave it at the door for the mailman to pick it up again. Now his mother was furiously making her coffee and making a huge mess on the counter.
“Hey, uh, Mom do you need any help?” Jack asked.
“Who, me? No not at all!” She need help, but Jack wouldn’t dare to mess with her now. “Now go upstairs and get your coat, it snowed quite a lot last night. Oh, and I’ll be driving you to school if that’s alright.”
“I’m 17, I think I can drive myself.” replied Jack.
“Oh no you’re not. The last time I let you drive yourself to school you just ditched and went ice skating! Not only that, you’re in trouble for pranking that boy in school again.”
Oh yes, one of Jack’s infamous pranks. It was a harmless one done on Josh Ryanson who was the school’s most popular jock and the bane of Jack’s existence. He swore that Josh only existed to make Jack’s life miserable, so Jack figured that he would get him back for once. Try replace his shampoo with fish oil (that part was not easy), having the neighborhood stray cats follow him, then put a whole group of mice in his locker, and there you go! The whole thing was hilarious to Jack, but the school and Josh though differently. It landed Jack a week suspension and he spent the week cleaning out the dirty cages at his mother’s vet clinic. Which was not fun at all, with all of the poo he had smelt he lost his sense of smell for weeks.
“Okay fine, you can drive me to school, but is it alright if I tell everyone that you’re my personal chauffeur from now on?” said Jack smirking towards his mother. She giggled and replied, “No how about you just tell them the truth and say that I’m your parole officer.”
Jack laughed back at his mother, man was she funny. After he quickly finished his breakfast he ran back upstairs and put on a black winter coat and a pair of converse. He then ran back downstairs and went outside to see his mother already in the car ready to go. The woman was as fast the speed of light Jack swore.
It only took a couple of minutes to reach Jack’s school and his mother dropped him off right at the entrance. “I’m staying here until I’m sure that you’re in the building.” Jack ran off towards and entrance and yelled back, “Okay! I think it’s okay for you to go now! I don’t think I’ll manage to escape now!” His mother honked the horn at him and drove off. Jack waved goodbye to his mother and sighed, it was back to hell again.
Now it wasn’t like that school was hard for Jack, he got really good grades, excellent in fact! It was just the people and teachers that were there. The teachers wrote him off as a delinquent and his classmates just shrugged him off as a showy loser.
Jack headed towards his locker when one of his friends (okay only friend) came running up to him. Shetall girl with the messiest dirty blonde hair and all wrapped up in a lazy bun, her name was Kaitlyn, she’s Jack’s oldest friend and they’ve known each other for for pretty much forever. She knew all of Jack’s tricks and he knew how to get under her skin, it was pretty much a friendly rivalry between the two of them.
“So, Jack are we doing that thing late today?” eagerly asked Kaitlyn.
Jack slammed his locker and replied, “Oh definitely yes, I trust that everything is all set up according to plan?”
Kaitlyn smiled and nodded his head happily, “Indeed Jack, I’ve hacked into the school’s PDA system and late today it’ll be just you on the speakers.”
Jack wrapped his arm around Kaitlyn’s neck and gave him a big noogie, “Hell yes! Kaitlyn I swear, what could I do without you.” Kaitlyn pulled herself out of Jack’s grasp and replied, “Not very much. So at lunchtime is when we’ll start right?”
“Yes, of course.” Jack responded, but then his bright smile turned into a frown. “But, I don’t want to drag you into this, I mean I don’t really want to ruin your reputation in the school. Mostly I just go solo on these.”
She looked sadly at Jack and Kaitlyn placed her hand on Jack’s shoulder, “Jack...My reputation was ruined as soon as I became friends with you.”
All three of them laughed loudly at that comment and Jack pushed Kaitlyn’s hand off of his shoulder, “Okay, then lunchtime it is.”
~~~
When lunch started, the duo went straight to the janitor’s closet and Kaitlyn had brought her computer and Jack brought his new microphone that he had just recently bought at Best Buy. Kaitlyn was typing away as she was carefully hooking Jack up to the school’s PDA system. Jack was sitting next to her waiting patiently as he watched her type away.
“Hey, how much longer is this going to take?” Okay, maybe not so patiently.
“Just a few more seconds, I’m about to hook your microphone onto the network.”
Jack sighed frustratingly and looked at the bright screen of her laptop light up the dark closet.
“Remember those weird dreams I’ve told you about a while ago.” said Jack, trying to start up a conversation.
Kaitlyn stopped typing and looked over at him, “That’s kind of random, but yeah I remember.”
“Well, they’ve been happening more often lately and they’re always the same. I’m flying high in the sky holding this weird staff. Somehow when I wave it around, it starts to snow. Then when I land on the ground I’m above this pond which instantly becomes frozen under my feet and when I look down-now get this. I have hair as white as the snow I make and bright blue eyes. It’s weird that I can remember it so clearly. It’s almost like a memory.” Jack looked over to Kaitlyn to realize that she went back to typing and was ignoring him the whole time, “Didn’t you hear a thing I said just now?”
Kaitlyn sighed and replied, “Yes I was paying attention, and I do have to admit it is weird, but can we talk about it later? This isn’t really the time to be talking about your weird hallucinations.”
Jack took offense to that and gave her a soft punch on her shoulder and she responded back by giving him a harder punch in return. Just then a loud beep came from Kaitlyn’s computer and she said, “You’re live!”
Jack gave a soft laugh under his breath and took the microphone into his hand. He gave it a soft tap and gave the usual, “Testing! 1-2-3!” After that, he grabbed a notebook that was next to his feet and started reading the words he wrote down on it.
“Hello Lakewood High School! I’d like to make a few announcements to everyone if you don’t mind. First of all I notice that there was some sort of “candy dispenser” in the girl’s bathroom! I find that totally unfair that the girls get one and I suggest right away that the guys get one as well!”
Kaitlyn was already starting to laugh, but she was trying desperately to control herself from bursting out.
“Also there’s a huge gripe I’ve got with the food that’s being served in the cafeteria. I went over there before school one day and I realized that the lunch ladies were getting the rats in the garbage behind the school and using their tails as the secret ingredient in the school’s meatloaf today. I’d really like the principal to look into that a bit.”
Suddenly both of them heard a bunch of people screaming off towards the lunchroom, they both had to contain their laughter for just awhile longer. This went on for a few more minutes until the door burst open and the principal was standing right in front of them glaring down. He grabbed the microphone from Jack’s hand and spoke, “Hello students, this is your principal speaking. I’d like you all to know that I’ve found the two troublemakers responsible for this fiasco today. If you would like to know what punishment they should be given, come on down to my office and see what I’ll do with Mr. Overland and Ms. Stevenson.” After speaking those last few words he gestured both of them to follow along and they did so respectively.
Once they got down they were both seated in two chairs in front of his office and a large group of kids were huddled around the office door. The principal sighed and shook his head in shame. “Now, Mr Overland this is something I would automatically assume that you would do, but as for you Ms. Stevenson, you should know better than this. You’re a great student with a perfect record and I don’t want this to ruin it and I-”
Before he was able to go on Jack stopped him and said, “Sir, Kaitlyn had nothing to do with this. I blackmailed her into doing it so she wouldn’t refuse. Please, don’t include her in all of this.” Kaitlyn was surprised at Jack but before she could protest what he said the principal nodded understandingly.
“I see, in that case Ms. Stevenson, you’re excused. As for you Mr. Overland you stay right here.” Kaityln slowly walked out of the office and look back at Jack who gave her a smile that said, “It’s fine.” She continued to walk out past the crowd and went to her next class.
Jack although was in huge trouble now. Not only was he busted for the prank he just pulled, but now for “blackmailing” Kaitlyn. The principal was tapping his pencil slowly on his desk and rubbing his eyes tiredly at the same time. It was a while until he finally spoke.
“Jackson, I must say that I am severely disappointed in you. You have really good grades and so much potential, but you decided to waste it on these dumb pranks. Don’t you have any goals in life? Things you want to accomplish? Why Jack, this is your senior year! You’re 17 almost turning 18 and it’s about time you acted like it! Do you want to stay a child forever?”
Jack had nothing to say.
“I’m afraid I’m going have to suspend this time. And not for a week, oh no, much longer than that. You need to get your head straight and learn to grow up. Now I’m afraid I’m going have to tell yout mother about this. Don’t you realize how disappointed she will be with you? Don’t you know how hard she works to maintain both of you? And your father, how will he feel about this?”
Jack mumbled under his breath, “He won’t care.”
“Oh yes, maybe that’s the problem, the lack of a dominant male figure in your life to guide you and straighten you out-”
Jack got up from his seat and grabbed his bag, he didn’t want to hear what else he wanted to say. “Thanks for your time. I think I’ll excuse myself now.” He walked out of the office and say a crowd of students staring at him. Jack just pushed through and continued to walk towards to exit.
There was no way he could go home right now, he didn’t want to stay cooped up in his room all day and see his mother come home right after the phone call with his principal. No, Jack had a better idea of where to go.
~~~
Jack had finally made it to the frozen lake, it was quite a walk from the school to there, but it would be totally worth it. He unpacked a pair of ice skates that were in his backpack. Before when his mother was going to drive him to school, Jack was going to drive himself here again to ice skate. Of course, his mother was smart enough to know what he was planning to do. Jack took the old, worn-out skates and placed them on his feet. Jack had been skating for such a long time, longer than he could remember. When he was really little his mother told him that all he wanted were skates and to learn how to skate. Once he got them and put them on, it felt natural to be on the ice. It was like greeting an old friend whenever he stepped onto it.
Slowly, but surely he took one step and then another and began to skate. He started out by just gliding and spinning around. The cold winter wind was blowing against his face and it felt refreshing. Then it started to feel as if the wind was guiding him on the ice and he was barely doing the skating itself. Like before, it all felt natural to him. Soon, he just closed his eyes and skated not knowing where the wind was going to take him next.
Jack decided to open his eyes and he saw that he was at least two feet above the ground. He was so surprised that he cursed loudly and dropped with a huge thud onto the ice. Luckily, it was the middle of winter and the ice didn’t break when he fell onto it.
“Holy crap.” was all he managed to say.