Regrets Part I

Jackson again

Monday morning comes and I'm still giddy over the weekend's events with Savannah Grace. I know she seemed a little hesitant about going on a date but I'm hoping things will come together, I actually really like her. Talking to her always puts me in a good mood and seeing her puts a smile on my face. Monday mornings are usually tough to get out of bed but this morning, I was up and ready to go earlier than normal. I walked into homeroom to see her sitting in her normal seat.

"Good morning" I greet her as I sit next to her.

"Hey" she says looking over at me.

"How was the rest of your weekend? I see you're wearing one of the new sweaters you got at the mall."

"Yes I am! It was good, uneventful but good. So I've been thinking about that date. I know I told you I wasn't ready but I think it would be good for me to start getting out there again. I think it just kind of caught me off guard since you're Brayden's best friend and the three of us used to hang out a lot. Things are just different now and I think I'm just trying to adjust to it all."

"Great! I'm so happy to hear you say that. I know things have been weird and I promise we can take it slow but I would really like to see where this goes. Are you free Friday night?"

"Sure. What are you thinking?"

"How about I pick you up at 6 and we can do dinner than see where we want to go from there?"

"Sounds good to me". We turn around as we hear Mr. Allen clearing his throat. Time for homeroom to start.

Since Brayden no longer comes to school on a regular basis and he definitely doesn't eat in the cafeteria anymore, I've lost my lunch buddy. Occasionally I will eat at Savannah Grace's table but sometimes it's a little awkward since I'm the only guy over there and there's a lot of girl talk going on. Today is one of the warmer early December days that the south is known for so I decide to take my lunch, find a sunny spot on a picnic table and take in the warmth while I eat. I bring my tray out and find the perfect spot to eat and just think.

"Hey, aren't you Brayden's friend?" someone asks me. I look up, I don't recognize this person but apparently he recognizes me.

"Yeah, I'm Jackson" I say sticking my hand out to shake his.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Trevor. I really think Brayden really needs a friend right now. I know it's none of my business but he's not doing so well right now."

"I haven't talked to him in ages. He kind of fell off of the face of the earth. What do you mean he's not doing well?" I knew he wasn't doing well in school but beyond that I didn't know anything else about his life right now.

"Well, you probably already know he's gotten in with a not so great crowd" I nod "He's gotten into some bad stuff. I saw him the other day wandering around the football field and he looked totally out of it. I'm really worried he's going to get seriously hurt or hurt someone else. I almost didn't recognize him."

"Wow, thanks for letting me know. I'm not sure what I can do really. He won't listen to me, he probably won't listen to anyone at this point."

"Haven't you guys been friends since you were little? You must know his parents pretty well, do you think they know what's going on?"

"Probably not, they are always working and are often out of town. I never really got to know them very well since they were never around. I can see what I can do."

"Thanks man, I just hate to see him like this" he says as he waves bye to me and heads towards the school.

Man, I knew he was hanging out with the wrong crowd but I didn't think it was this bad. I'm not sure that I even have his parent's phone number. I definitely can't get it from Brayden and I won't be able to catch them at home since they are rarely there. By this time, lunch period was ended so I gathered my stuff, threw away my trash and headed for 6th period.

By the time 7th period hits, I'm still no closer to a plan on what to do about Brayden. I see Savannah Grace walking towards the Audio Studio and I catch up to her filling her in on the conversation I had at lunch with Trevor.

"That's bad" she says "worse than I would have thought"

"I know, I just don't know what to do at this point"

"I'm not really sure there is much you can do. He's going to do what he's going to do regardless of what anyone tells him. I just hope he doesn't end up ruining his life and regretting it later."

"Me too. I thought about contacting his parents but I'm not sure what good that would do either. They are always so wrapped up in work that I'm not sure it would help."

"What about professional help?"

"The problem with that would be getting him there. He has to want to go for it to actually work." She sighed.

"I hate to say it but he's really not our problem anymore. As much as we both still care about him, he chose to push us out of his life. That's the reality I've been having to deal with lately. Hopefully he'll realize his mistakes and come back around before it's too late. It makes me sad but it's really out of our control." I nod in agreement as we walked into 7th period.

Soon it will be Christmas break, maybe his parents will be home for that and see some of what is going on with their oldest. I really worry about his younger siblings. Maybe the pressure of having to constantly be the caregiver and the only person who is really around to keep an eye on his brother and sister finally got to him. Maybe this is his way to rebel, a cry for attention for his parents to step up and take the role as parents. I just wish he found a different way to do that...