Tickets To My Downfall| Degrassi Next Generation

chapter 2| the 'craig' thing

"Joey, I think Craig's dad is hitting him."

Joey stared in disbelief at the three 8th graders standing in front of him. Emma, Sean and the one who spoke the theory into existence. Me. I could tell he was taken aback, I mean who wouldn't be. Craig is basically his step-son, he's Angie's sister.

"Whoa whoa, you guys can't just go around throwing our accusations." "He came to my house with a bag. He was planning on running away, Joey." Sean revealed. Joey stared at him. "Joey, he was playing chicken with a train." Sean was staring at me now. He was concerned I knew it was.

"Craig stop!" Tate yells as he stands on the train tracks, a train close enough that it was no longer some funny joke. Sean stood next to Tate, in the same level of fear but he felt Tate frozen next to him. He had to stop this. Neither he nor Tate want to see someone get run over by a train. "Craig, come on man, this isn't funny anymore!" Sean's eyes kept flickering between Craig and Tate. Craig. Crazy, laughing and smiling at the thought and almost reality of getting hit by a moving train. Tate, frozen in fear, tears swelling in her eyes. "Craig!" Sean jumped across the tracks, tackling Craig to the ground, who just continued laughing. As the train passed Tate came back into Sean's view. Tears streaming down her face and hands covering her mouth, it looked almost as if to keep a scream from coming out. Sean watched her from his position on the ground. His eyes were ripped away at the laughing Craig standing and running in the opposite direction away from the 2 frightened kids. "You psycho!" Sean yelled after him, but Craig didn't hear him. Finally Craig disappeared into the night. Tate lowered her hands from her mouth, but the tears kept falling.

"He had bruises all over him. At the picnic." Emma finally reveals. "That was from the dinosaur." Angie speaks up from her spot coloring at the table. Joey gives us a double take before kneeling down next to her. "What do you mean Angie?" "He said that the dinosaur got him and that's why his body was all purple like that." "We need to find Craig." Joey finally says, jumping to his feet and in one sweep grabbing his keys and jacket. "I'll come with you." "Me too." "I'll stay here with Angie."

_

It didn't process that we were driving up to a graveyard until Joey put the car into park. I knew this place well, against my will, I knew it well. "I think he'll be here." Joey said unbuckling and getting out of the car. Sean followed before realizing I wasn't moving, he turned back. "Are you coming Tate?" The question made Joey stop and turn back as well. My mind felt like it was drifting. I wasn't there at that moment. I shook my head. "You go, I'll wait here." Sean looked at me long and hard, but ended up following Joey into the graveyard.

Mom's funeral. Mom's funeral was here. Finneas and I. Venna was there at the time if I remember correctly, I don't specifically remember if the funeral happened during their original relationship, during the break or when they got back together. God that was so long ago. I was so young. 4 is so young to lose your mother. I don't even know how I remember it. But I do. I remember the flowers, and the coffin. I remember throwing dirt. I remember it was miserable, not just because it was a funeral but because it was constantly drizzling. Theo wasn't in attendance. He couldn't bring himself to go. He refused to believe she was dead. I was taken away after that. Until Finneas was old enough to take me in. He was only 16 when Mom died. Theo was 20. Theo never tried to take me in. He wanted nothing to do with Finneas and I. I understand it now. I didn't need to understand it back then.