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CHAPTER 9.5 - PAGE 14

(Transcript and visual captions below}

      Of course the rest of the house was a wreck. Surfaces had to be cleared to make room for the use of any piece of furniture. Old magazines were thrown to the floor to make room on chairs, stacks of dirty dishes moved on top of other stacks of dirty dishes to make room to put plates down. Jack walked to the table barefoot, while Karl was concerned about the tackiness of the floor and what it might do to the finish of his boots. Cats wove in dangerous figure eights around legs, and fat-bodied flies made lazy arcs overhead. The smell of the cooking sandwiches wasn't bad, but somehow Karl wasn't feeling very hungry.

In which cocaine is a luxury these days.

 

Jack slipped on some sandals and the boys left the house through a ratty screen door. There was a bit of cobblestone that showed here and there, but mostly the yard was wild with weeds and overgrown bushes. The chill Autumn winds rustled crispy leaves and small unidentified creatures darted through the brush. The air was heavy with the smell of earth and decomposing plant matter. Karl followed nervously behind Jack, not knowing whether he should be more worried about getting shot or getting bitten by a rabid plague rat.

      "This place used to be nicer, but after all my brothers moved out no one gave a damn any more. Larry just moved out last year and he was the only person who ever felt like mowing this thing. --Well, I don't know how nice it ever was compared to your place."

Karl felt a little guilty, and a little offended at the regular reminders of his relative affluence. It wasn't like he chose to be born middle class! There really wasn't anything that good about it anyway. The complacency, the stifling mediocrity, what was there to envy? It was Jack's time to talk though, so he didn't argue.

      "My dad worked in a hospital," Jack spoke as his eyes scanned the greenery. "I don't even remember what he did. It didn't make a whole lot of money anyway. He didn't get home until really late, so we didn't see him very much. When we did, I really liked it. Maybe just 'cause I was a kid, I don't know."

He came to stop at a mound of grass. Swarms of small insects hovered over the plants. This place was so different from what Karl was used to, it almost felt like camping. What would it be like to have everyday be like camping?

      "It was out here," Jack gestured at a large expanse of overgrown grass, "We don't really know why. He had been sick, just a flu or something, not a big deal. Maybe he just fell or passed out, and then the cold night... We thought maybe he'd left us, it was a few days. I was playing out here and I found him."

Wow... Karl made a sympathetic face. Should he hug him or something...? Jack looked into the grass, lost in thought. It was hard to read, but he didn't seem upset. It was obviously something he'd had a long time to come to terms with. It was hard to even imagine, Karl couldn't even process it.

      "Anyway, it was really sad. I liked him a lot." It was like he was done describing a movie to an uninterested audience. Karl couldn't think of what to say, so he just nodded vaguely. Jack bent down and started searching through the grass. His sigh was caught by the wind and blown away unheard.

 

  
In which cocaine is a luxury these days.

      "Is it bad Curlyfry?"
      "It is egregion itself."
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     September 25th, 2013
     By:  Kelly

Diggity damn, I'm sorry for the delay folks. I was comically optimistic about how hard moving would be. Well we are safe in our new home and most of our flesh wounds have healed. It is eerily quiet here. We lived next to a fishing terminal, next to a busy road and a drawbridge. We were used to roaring motorcycles, tooting tug boats and trains. Now it's like the inaudible whispers of the dead blowing through the leaves. Spooky. Guess we'll have to start pumping '90s dance music 24/7.

            

TRANSCRIPT: This is the text of the comic, for purposes such as translation and internet searches.

1.)

(Jack and Karl sit at the kitchen table, while Joe serves up the sandwiches. The place is a mess.)

JOE: You boys been doing drugs?

JACK: Just weed.

KARL: Jack!

2.)

(Joe gives Jack a stern look, Jack chows down on a grilled cheese, Karl tries to look pleasant.)

JOE: You better not be a bad influence on my girl! I’m going home and Linda’s gone to work. Don’t cause any trouble. I love you boy but I’m not afraid to knock you out.

JACK: Mm-hm.

3.)

(The two talk, the rest of the house is just as messy.)

KARL: Your dad doesn’t live here?

JACK: He’s my friend’s dad, not mine.

KARL: Oh?

JACK: He’s my mum’s boyfriend.

4.)

(A family photo, Jack is a young child, opening a present. A birthday? His mom, dad and three brothers look generally happy or at least tolerating it.)

JACK: My dad died a long time ago.

5.)

(Karl is pretty weirded out.)

JACK: I can show you where he died.

KARL: Oh...

6.)

(Jack combs through the grass, looking for something. Karl stands with his arms crossed, looking uncomfortable in the unkempt yard.)

JACK: It's here somewhere...

7.)

(He reveals a stone with a crude white heart painted on it.)

JACK: I made that when I was a kid. I hope you don’t think it’s baby-ish.

8.)

(Jack stands up and Karl feels feelings.)

KARL: No, I mean... wow. That’s just-- My dad is just some jerk I never met. Your life is so real.

JACK:Why wouldn’t it be real?

9.)

(Karl's mind is blown.)

KARL: You’re much more interesting than my friends. They’re so fake. Being out here, it’s just intense. Life and death. Damn...

JACK: Uh. I guess.

10.)

(Later, the boys look on as a neighbor is hosing down the sidewalk after whatever necessitated the crime scene tape.)

KARL: Man, people die out here?

JACK: Everybody dies sometime.

KARL: God that’s deep.

11.)

(Jack looks annoyed.)

JACK:Can we talk about something else?

KARL: Yeah I gotta get home...

12.)

(Karl suddenly turns around to face Jack.)

13.)

(--and he hugs him, squishing Jack's face against his shoulder.)

14.)

(and he runs off, waving.)

15.)

(Karl is outside smoking with two goth girls.)

AFTERSCHOOL...

GIRL1: Priestess didn’t come to my party.

GIRL2:Ugh, she’s such a bitch.

15.)

(The girls are all 'pshhh wuuut', as Karl looks on interestedly. Behind them, two ghouls loom.)

GIRL1: She’s always like ‘if you don’t have cocaine then why bother.’ I can’t afford that! It’s not my fault my parents are remodeling the kitchen.

GIRL2: Oh my god, that’s like... class discrimination.

CURLYFRY: The creature in his natural habitat.

16.)

(Jack and the Fry pass by Karl, Jack flashes him the peace sign and Karl smiles awkwardly.)

KARL: Hey...

17.)

(Jack and Curlyfry have passed, looking none too pleased.)

GIRL1: Oh my god you’re friends with the druggies?

KARL: Uh--

GIRL2: Can they give us a discount?

JACK: *sigh*

CURLYFRY: The ivory has lost its luster.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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