| First Day of school with some postcardsTestI have transformedThe Amazing Adventures of Joss the BloggerThe Amazing Adventures of Joss the blogger. (And filmmaker, I hope)Long time no blogThere was a fork on the roadJust another brick in the wall. Soon to be a fortress. Part 1Just another brick in the wall. Soon to be a fortress.I.N.T.E.R.N |
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This is an English paper I had to write that was supposed to be for Halloween, but I turned it in late and decided to change in into a thanksgiving(ish) theme.
Ambling along the desolate sidewalk, Al scanned the road ahead of him, searching for any traces of snow, or what could possibly be snow. He heard footsteps in the distance, but paid no mind and focused on the sloshing and swooshing of his neon, rubber yellow boots. A few minutes later, he heard a faint cry behind him. He turned and saw his friend Julian running to catch up behind him. Al paused and exhaled, then saw his breath come out it a foggy cloud, and then curl away into the chilly air. “Al, Alphonses!” Julian panted. “I’ve been shouting your name for the past, like, 2 hours or something!” He said. Alphonses raised one eyebrow and said, “Oh? You have? Well, sorry, I didn’t hear you. Gee Jules, with that high-pitched yip you always seem to have at the end of every cry, it would be hard for me to not mistake you for a dog.” Julian rolled his eyes up to his head and sighed. He was going through that stage in which, (all guys must go through at some point) his voice would start sounding all manly and deep, then suddenly crack and turn high-pitched & girly. Alphonses grinned to himself. Even though Julian was his best friend, he couldn’t help but make fun of him every once in a while, since it was so tempting. Plus, he knew how sensitive Jules was and how his temper quietly snapped and resulted in deathly looks and silent treatments. So Al decided to let his mind adjust to what Julian was saying, and just listened intently.
The next day Al was sitting at the school cafeteria, with a red lunch tray in front of him, served with gooey macaroni & cheese and a little carton of orange juice. Al picked at his macaroni with his plastic forked then decided to open his orange juice. As he did so, he heard a cry come from the far end of the cafeteria, followed by hardy laughter from many people. Al turned his head to see Julian scowling as he stooped down to pick up his fallen lunch tray, which was surrounded by the school jocks. He could see the main jock; the most popular guy in school; lean down to face Julian and grin with such malice. After that, he shoved Julian aside and walked out the cafeteria double doors, followed along by his crew of lumberjacks. The whole cafeteria hushed down and then was whispering among each other. Al’s face grew grim as he got up from his seat and jogged over to his friend. Julian was quiet as he gathered up his red plastic tray and all of its contents. Al was looking down at Julian, and then bent to pick up Julian’s “Morrissey” glasses. (That’s what Al and Jules agreed to call Julian’s prescripted glasses, on account of how alike they were to Morrissey’s.) Julian looked up with foreboding brown eyes and muttered” thanks” as he took his glasses and placed them on the bridge of his nose. Al watched Julian fumble with his things for a while before he spoke up. “Jules, you know you can’t keep on going like this. Something has to change. I’m not always going to be there to stand up for you. Take today, for example. It was too late for me to have done anything. The guy could’ve done something worse if it hadn’t been in the cafeteria.”
Julian knew Alphonses was right. But he didn’t reply or comment. “I know,” he finally mumbled. “But what can I do? I know more violence won’t solve anything. He’s so stupid, really. I can’t believe all the girls like him just because...just because he does sports! He’s not even charming or has a nice personality. Seriously, Al. What does he have that I don’t? I don’t even care about the girls. It’s just...he’s so... argh!” Julian suddenly jumped up and gave his empty tray a loud kick. The tray slid all the way to the other end of the cafeteria and came to a halt. Al’s lips became a thin, gloomy line as he watched Julian’s fists ball up at his sides, then suddenly sprint toward the double doors and run out.
The last bell rang; signaling the end of school and everyone in Al’s class hastily gathered their things and flew out the door. Al was just sliding his last book inside his backpack when he saw Julian glide in the room. Al’s history teacher briefly looked up, but hen paid them no mind. Al was surprised, but was relieved at Julian’s expression; which seemed more composed and at ease than he was three hours ago. “Guess what?” Jules said in a slightly coy voice. Al thought for a moment, but then replied “What?”
“My special delivery is supposed to come today! I’m so excited. I know that this package will definitely solve all my bullying problems for good!” Jules grinned, his eyes crinkling up at the corners in a friendly way, while flicking his wavy brown hair off his glasses. “Wow, really? And what might that be?” Alphonses asked. Julian raised his eyebrows mischievously and shook his head. “Cant tell. It’s a surprise. But you’ll find out soon enough.” Jules smirked again and hurried off out the door. Al shrugged, but smiled a little. Ahh, he thought. It was about time something was done about this. Al thought the surprise would be a good book or a movie, something that would help Julian get through all the hard ships high school sometimes brought upon adolescents. He didn’t think more about it, but threw his backpack over one shoulder and headed off.
Weeks passed quickly by, and Al had been so busy with school and everything, that he had completely forgotten about Julian for a good, long time. The Thanksgiving vacation was coming up, and Al was trying to turn in all his missing assignments as soon as possible. Al’s family and he did not celebrate Thanksgiving, and did not like to commemorate this event. But Al knew he did not mind the vacation, so therefore did not oppose the whole idea completely, being the typical teenager that he was. So it wasn’t until in Al’s history period, that he started wondering about Julian and what he had been up to. He hadn’t seen him much those past few weeks. Actually, now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen a few other students as well. Like Chris Norton, a known, but not that popular bully at school. He hadn’t seen much of him. He started wondering, but quickly dismissed it, since he didn’t really need to worry much about problematic bullies. They weren’t his problem. But then again, Al seemed to dismiss things a little way too much.
Days went by, and still no sign of Chris. Al saw Julian though, and tried to approach him, but Jules seemed giddy and even looked a bit wild-eyed. His hair was mused all the time, as if he had just gotten out of bed. Jules never stayed still and would suddenly leap out of the room when Al tried to get near him. He was not exactly mean or rude but seemed somewhat aloof. Al even started noticing Julian getting a little plumper. Jules was not scrawny, but he definitely needed some more meat, or at least muscle in his bones. In addition to his best friend’s odd behavior, more people started disappearing. Some people started fidgeting, wondering if there was a sudden virus going around. Others thought it was just the vacation, and people were leaving early. Nonetheless, people did not stop speculating about the missing students, and even Jules’s sudden change of behavior.
Thanksgiving was only days away, and Jules got stranger each passing day. Until one day during the week, Al was walking toward his locker after school when he heard the squeaking of shoes on the smooth, linoleum floor. Al’s eyes flickered to the side, but didn’t really bother to turn around. He saw a shadow from the corner of his eye and felt an eerie presence behind him. He quickly turned and saw Julian standing furtively in front of him. Al cocked an eyebrow then said “Hey Jules, it’s about time you showed your face. I haven’t seen you in ages. What have you been up to?” Julian smirked a little and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Oh, well...you know. I’ve just been around. I mean, Thanksgivings coming up, and my family might go out of town, but I will probably stay with my brother and Howl, and I’m probably going to be taking over the kitchen as well, since you know how lousy Ruthie can be around frying pans and stuff.” Julian bounced a little at this. “Al, I know how you feel about Thanksgiving and all this turkey stuff, but I was wondering if you might want to come over? This is my first meal I will do all by myself, and I want my best friend to share it with me.” Julian tilted his head to one side and looked endearingly at Al. Al couldn’t help but feel gullible. He thought for a moment before responding “Oh...all right then. I guess it wouldn’t hurt this one time. I know my parents won’t object, so okay. Will anyone else from school go?” “Oh...well probably. I know I invited a lot of guests. They will be in the dinner, I can assure you.” Jules leaped. “Oh, Okay” replied Al. Julian beamed then started to hop about. “Come at 5 p.m and no sooner! Bring a movie if you’d like” Al nodded his head. With that, Julian clicked his heals together then bolted out the hall. Al said nothing but had a weird, sinking feeling in his stomach. It felt like someone was poking and prodding at his ribs and gut. Al patted his stomach and thought it’s the old gastritis thing again, I bet and with that, slammed his locker door and headed off.
‘Twas the day of Thanksgiving, and all the turkeys were out. Al was swish swishing, with a suddenly pout. He came upon Julian’s house, and climbed up the flight of wee stairs. He knocked about three times, and then suddenly shrieked at seeing spider hairs. Al had no idea there was such a thing. He knocked again, and yet, no response. Al cautiously opened the chipped, mahogany door and stepped in. There was a warm glow coming from a fireplace at the end of the room. There were sudden crackles as the flames bounced from log to log, and left a cindery path behind. Al closed the door behind him and took off his yellow boots. He wiped his other shoes on the worn out Welcome mat that Julian had for as long as he could remember. After that, Al started for the kitchen, when he suddenly stopped in his tracks as he caught a whiff of the odor coming from the kitchen. It smelled salty and putrid, and Al could even seem to savor a sort of metallic and even familiar taste. Al scrunched up his nose against the horrid smell and headed toward the kitchen. There, he saw, among all the pots and pans on the kitchen counters lay arms and legs of different sizes, some fresh from being cut from their bodies, the blood oozing out and releasing a revolting stench that reached Al’s nostrils with a little too much force, and sent him aback. Al felt faint and started shaking his head. No he thought. It can’t be. This must be some sort of trick. Julian must be hiding somewhere, trying to scare me. Al didn’t dare look up again, but he willed himself, and saw even more ahead. There pieces of nail along the floor, mixed with different strands and clumps of hair. Human hair, Al realized. Al felt a lump starting to form at his throat, and refused to let it out. Al looked around and spotted a hunched figure at the corner of the room. Al was scared stiff and refused to go any further, but somehow he managed to creep to the corner and tap the figure lightly on the shoulder. The figure was making odd gurgling sounds, and sloppy slurps could be heard. The shape was rocking back and forth on its heels and murmuring. Al tapped him again. The figure stopped what it was doing, and then slowly, ever so slowly, started to turn around. Julian’s face was twisted and distorted, with blood-shot eyes and a lethal, vacant stare. Julian let out a yelp, but then it slowly turned to a scream as his eyes landed on the thing on Julian’s mouth. It was a blood-spattered finger with bits of flesh trailing down his flannel shirt, along with milky-white drool. Julian grinned as he saw Al. “Hello Al. I’m glad you came for my feast. You see? I told you everybody would be in it.” Jules’s grin became wider as his eyes scanned over Al’s figure. “Including you.” Julian’s eyes rolled at the top of his head, so only the white showed, as he rose up and leaped towards Al. Al gaped and scrambled madly against the tile floors as he desperately tried to get away. Sadly, it was too late
Posted Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 7:48PM | Leave a comment |
