Life In A Pan

EP 2 - Visiting Hours Are Over

JOHN's POV - After School (On Campus) - Auditorium

I sit there at the back of the room beside Lori and wait for them to call my name. I continue to stare at the clock high on the wall to my left. I've been watching it, according to that clock, for 17 minutes. It's about 5:30, and I need to leave. "John Cooper?" the music director calls.

I pick up my bass and walk up the aisle to the stage. "Bass?" she asks, somewhat shocked.

"Yes, that's my preference ma'am. I also play piano though," I say. My mother taught me piano. My mother...

"Well I don't think Bass would do us much good, so you can play piano if you want," she says and writes something on her clipboard. 

Lori has come closer to the stage, for a better view I suppose. She walks up to me and takes my bass back to a seat with her. I go up on the stage and sit at the piano. I try to think of what I should play. It's not that I can't play very well unless I've practiced a single song a lot, I just want to make sure it's a song that won't send me running off of the stage. I finally decide and place my fingers. I tried to choose carefully, but I guess it didn't work since as I begin to play the notes, I hear my mother's voice begin singing in my mind.

"I knew when she blew in she wouldn't stay
Every now and then God makes one that way
A red head wild child with storms in her eyes
I knew I'd never be the same

But that's the thing about a hurricane
She's all lightning and wind and rain
You get too close and you're swept away
You better hold on till it breaks"

But I can't take it anymore. I stop, right in the middle of the chorus. I push the stool back and stand up, trying to look nonchalant. I walk off the stage, out the door of the auditorium, and run. 

KOREY's POV - Same Time 

I look out the window as the car keeps rolling down the freeway at a whopping 55 miles an hour. My aunt must hear a song she likes because she turns up her radio. That or my music is too loud for her again. I adjust my volume and close my eyes. All I can see in my mind is my old house, my friends. That's the house I've lived in since I moved in with Aunt Sarah. That's the house I lost Lacey in.

I lean forward and grab my glasses off of the dash. My aunt waves at me, so I pause my music. "Korey, I'm going to blow my speakers trying to drown out your music you know," she says and chuckles a little bit. "How do you get it so loud on that tiny little thing anyways?" she says, referring to my iPod.

"Well it says you can turn off the Volume Limit, so you can turn it all the way up, but that is still a limit in itself. So I figured out how to make it think it's quieter than it is, that way I can turn it up even louder when one of your songs comes on the radio. And it also helps that I kind of gave my headphones a small boost..." Here it comes.

"You did what?" she asks, astonished. "What the, how, Korey I told you not to play with wires and things anymore!" she scolds me. 

"I know, I ju-" she interrupts me.

"Just nothing! You nearly electrocuted yourself Korey. It's not safe, you shouldn't be doing things like that. What kind of example are you setting for Max?" she asks.

"Aunt Sarah, Max is a dog. Without thumbs, I doubt he's going to be playing with electrical wiring," I say. 

"Well he could chew wires or something!" she says, trying to find a backing.

"I love you, but that's like telling me to never eat chocolate again because he will." Once I say this, she calms down a little. "I know, but I mean, I'm a computer geek. What else am I supposed to do? You keep me in the house all day, and all I have is music."

"You have me! And Max!" she says. I know she means well, but I want a life. "Maybe you can get out more at the new house. I heard the schools are really nice," she says. I don't say anything else. 

After Lacey died in 2012, I just stopped caring about things. I stopped talking to everyone, I just listened to music in my room all day. It didn't help much that we had shared a room. Eventually, I just stopped listening to a lot of music because I listened to all of it with her. I started getting into fights at school, so Aunt Sarah pulled me out and let me homeschool. I only talked to her and Victor. He was the only person who understood how close Lacey and I were. First I lost my parents, and then her? He knew that it was a lot for one person, especially some girl in middle school. 

I slip my headphones back on and turn the volume up all the way. I know Aunt Sarah doesn't like it, but I need to drown out the world right now. I need to hear nothing except the strained vocals, slashing guitars, and deep bass. I turn my head towards the window, and eventually fall asleep. 

JOHN's POV - Later That Day

The clock on the waiting room wall says 7:18. I came to see my mom, but they said she couldn't have visitors for another 45 minutes. I didn't hear why, I just began to wait. It's been nearly an hour since I showed up. Finally, a nurse shows up and takes me back to her room. 

She's surrounded by machines. She has cords and tubes everywhere. Just the sight of them makes me hurt, but I don't show it. "Hey mom," I say, and walk closer to her bed. 

"John!" she shouts and begins to lean forward, but some tube holds her back. I lean in so she can have her hug. "Oh darling, I've been waiting to see you forever!" she says and she grins widely.

"Mom, I was just here yesterday?" I ask, confused. 

"Haha, I know. I had to go take some tests, and Alecia, my nurse, she said you were waiting. It was probably thirty minutes ago. I could barely sit still!". It's nice to see her happy. Not in pain.

"So, anything eventful today?" I ask. She always has a story of something someone did. Mostly escape stories, the occasional prank. 

"Well today, there were a couple of things. Marty tried to get out again, but when he found out they knew he was gone, he hid in here," she says as she points to the couch. It's got a stack of blankets on it. Marty's a fairly small guy, he could hide under some and no one would notice. "Took them twen-ty minutes to find him," she says and laughs. I can't help but laugh too. "Then, a little while ago, Christian came by," she says, and I know what probably happened. 

Christian is 13, and he does these "Stupid Human Kid Tricks" to entertain people up here while he waits on his grandmother's shift to end after school. Some of them aren't very good, but I have to say they aren't all bad. He goes around taking suggestions from different patients, then pulls one out of a hat. He has (Most of the time, a younger) visitor who is sitting in the waiting room record it on his phone so he can show it to the patients who can't leave their rooms. 

"Well, what was today's Stupid Human Kid Trick?" I ask, ready to picture it in my mind.

"Oh John, you'll never believe it!" she says, only getting more excited.

"Try me," I say, and laugh.

"I was part of it!" She smiles so wide. I haven't seen her smile like this in ages. "So, he said one of the patients (Marty, but don't say we said anything) suggested that we joke with one of the nurses. So he called one of the nurses, but not Alecia, and then I said, 'Can you get a blanket for my husband here? He's very cold,'. He jumped in and said 'Yes, I'd crawl up here with my wifey, but I don't really want all these snakes hanging down' and he pulled on some cord," she says laughing.

"Mom, you know it's actually DANGEROUS to pull on these?" I say, and pull on one. 

"Oh you know he didn't yank at it or anything," she says, with a slight bit of defense in her voice. "There was a very nice boy filming it. He also brought his guitar by a little later and played for everyone. Went room to room," she says. 

Before I can hear anything, one of the nurses from the main desk walks in and says "Visiting hours are over, sorry. Please say goodbye for the night," and walks out. 

I want to talk to her more, but I know I have to leave. I say goodnight, and head out.