Survival

It was the afternoon of April 14, 87 degrees, beautiful outside, and I had nothing to do. I got up at 5:30 A.M. to help my dad get into his wheelchair and ready for the day. It sucks not knowing a healthy dad and having to constantly know a sick one. But whatever, at least I have one and I should be happy with what I have until I lose him. Right now, it's 10:30 A.M. and I'm Facebook wishing that someone is as bored as I am. My friend Jack messaged me asking if I wanted to hang with him, Aaron and a couple of others. I said "sure", thinking that it was going to be a normal hang out, probably get pizza, and whatever. "I'll meet you at 5 Below in twenty," he said. 5 Below is a convenience store in between where Jack and I lived where everything cost $5 or less. 

My dad says I can go as long as I can get a ride home. I notice he didn't mention a time, this is my chance to use his "loophole theory" against him and have an amazing day, or night, or weekend, or whatever. "Just don't get picked up by the cops again, Bob," he yells as I walk out of the door. "Dad, to get picked up, I have to do something illegal and I won't be doing anything illegal," I reply with a smart ass look on my face. 

I realize that seven minutes have already passed and I should have been halfway to 5 Below by know so I casually walk outside and sprint down my street to make up for lost time. Not knowing what I would be doing that day, I slow down to a fast walk/slow run to conserve energy and try not to look like an idiot to others. I check my phone and it says 10:47 A.M. and I realize that I'm five minutes behind schedule so I wait for car traffic to die down for a second before I dash across the highway, hop the median, and make another mad dash to the other side. Meanwhile I see Jack come from behind a store laughing hysterically saying, "Damn, bro, I should've caught that on tape because that was by far the funniest and coolest shit I've seen you do!" 

I reply while panting for breath, "Well, ya'know, we enjoy life too much with our excessive YOLO-ing."

We walk along the back roads of the highway to his house where I meet his mom. His house is about the size of mine, which isn't that big to start off with. He introduces me to her and calls me, "Bobby, the White Kid". She laughs and asks where we're going and Jack replies Community Park. She tells him to be careful and not get hit by a car cause she doesn't feel like going to the ER at 10 P.M. as a joke. He laughs it off as we head to Community Park which is about a twenty minute walk from where we currently were. To get there we had to cut through our high school and catch our fat principal in a tight shirt, not a pretty sight for two sixteen year old teens.

We rest when we get to Community Park a little while and I spot a six foot rock wall. I get bored so i decide to climb. Jack is sitting at the foot of the other side. I reach the top and pull myself over onto what I think is just a normal ledge to sit on. I was mistaken. I proceeded to fall directly onto Jack while we both laugh our asses off because of my stupidity which as yet to fail in boring moments. 

In the midst of our laughing, Jack's phone rings, it's Aaron. When Jack hangs up, he says with a mischievous look, "And let the fun begin."