LOOKING IN ON JAKE
Adam
There he was
In his bedroom
Sitting,
Almost comatose
Staring at basketball trophies
From our Jr. High team
I knew he needed to talk
And so did Ali
Time to try my ghostly abilities
To plant a seed
I whisper
Over and over
“You need
to call Ali.”
I just hope
It works.
YESTERDAY
Jake
Yesterday
A second ago
Forever ago
Self-inflicted lock down
In my bedroom
Exhausted
Nauseous
Couldn't face school today.
I've watched the explosion
A million times
Thanks to my brain's
Built in DVR
Keep trying to sleep
DVR keeps replaying
A blinding flash
A deafening boom
Both strictly in my brain
Only thing that stopped them
Temporarily
My quest to contact
Ali.
Not easy
Messages to five friends
To get her number.
I texted
No answer.
Called
Straight to voice mail.
DVR reconnected to brain.
Five PM
Get a text
Turns out
Her old phone
Blew up with her car.
Message
Simple
Will call in an hour
when I'm alone.
LOOKING
IN ON ALI
Adam
Ali
Bandaged
Eyes
bloodshot from tears
Sitting
in the hospital bed
Surrounded
by flowers
Surrounded
by family
But
still
Alone
Her
mom
Her
dad
Try
to talk with her
About
the accident
About
anything
Finally
She
speaks
Asks
to see today’s newspaper
Reluctantly
Her
dad gets it
Hands
it to her.
She
flips a page
Gradually
Her
expression turns
Building
Until
she throws the paper
To
the ground.
THE
MORNING AFTER
Ali
No need
To ask again today
About Adam
I just had to read the newspaper
Dad gave me from the nurse’s station.
Page three headline
BASKETBALL
PHENOM DIES RESCUING CLASSMATE
Big picture of Adam
Looking hot in his uniform.
Tiny picture of me
From sophomore yearbook
Looking like a geek.
Then
The story goes on
To tell what a hero
Adam is
All true
And I, more than anyone
Know it.
The story
So spun hero
That the other half
Left overshadowed
Warrants only half a line
“…accident allegedly caused by
a drunk driver.”
No picture
No name
Who the heck
Does this guy
Know?
CALLING JAKE
Ali and Jake
Mom and Dad
gave me privacy
finally
and I called Jake.
His voice mail sounded desperate
but
I thought it wise to wait
'til I was alone.
No idea why
he's calling me
but I'd like his take
on the truck driver.
He answers
first ring
greetings exchanged
I hit him with my agenda
first.
"Did you see
today's newspaper?"
"No,
why."
"Page three article
about the accident.
Makes Adam a hero."
"He
was."
"But it almost skips
that there's a villain.
That needs
to be fixed."
"Fix
it?
Let
me hear it."
Wishing
at this point
we were video chatting
so I could see
his reaction as I read.
What I got
at the end
a long pause
"I
think the article was
simply
trying
to honor Adam."
"But why not tell
the whole story?
Who's conspiring
to protect
the drunk driver?"
"Not
sure
but
let's
search all the info
and
see if the pattern
holds
up."
Okay
Jake may not agree
yet
but he will.
"How 'bout we both check
on our own
and compare"
"Sounds
good."
"But why
did you want me
to call you?"
"Not
sure
with
what happened
just
needed to hear your voice."
Copyright © 2023 by James Danielson
All rights reserved.
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