Chapter 1: Living in the Moment
“'Knowledge is the understanding that a tomato is a fruit, but wisdom is knowing not to put it into a fruit salad.' Can anyone explain this quote?" The class sat silent as the teacher walked over toward a group of desks.
"Mr. Dash, care to share?" He smirked as the teen before him sat up in his chair and looked around.
"We'll it's telling the difference between knowledge and wisdom. I'm sure knowing how bad this class sucks eggs should tell me not to go to it based on that prior knowledge."
The class laughed but was silence by the teacher lifting his hand to gesture.
"That's not the question I'm asking Soarin. I'm sure you'll be able to answer it with a three page essay on the quote and it's meaning that you will hand in by tomorrow."
"Yes sir...."
"Now can anyone-" Before he could finish, the bell rang.
"Before you go! Essay that I'm giving you the semester to write has its blueprints online and the subject you are writing on. Don't forget!" The man raised his finger and dismissed the class with a gesture to the door.
"Soarin, stay."
Soarin sat in his desk as he watched other people cross between the glare he was receiving from the man with crossed arms. As the last class left, he stood up.
"Soarin, what is the problem?"
"With?"
"With school? You barely show for class and your grades are dropping. It's only halfway through the semester and you're barely pulling out a C. Aren't your parents concerned?"
"I have no problems with English, it's just personal stuff..."
"Take my advice Soarin, share that with your family. Tell them what's bothering you. You won't need to complete that three page essay but I do expect more. You are dismissed."
Soarin grabbed his backpack and left the now vacant room.
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“Dammit….” He walked over to his locker and knocked the bottom corner with the backpack, knocking it open.
“What’s up Soarin?” Soarin’s friend Terri walked up to him and slapped his back.
“Hey Terri...”
“Yo...What’s goin’ on with you?”
“Those stupid jocks are all over me. I can’t even go through the halls without running into them.”
“Well they aren’t here now are they?”
“Who isn’t here?” A large guy wearing a letter jacket popped from the corner and leaned onto the locker next to Soarin’s.
“Switch I don’t have time right now. I gotta get home.” Soarin closed his locker and began placing his backpack on.
“Why? do your fag parents need you?”
“What did you say?” Soarin turned and dropped his backpack.
“Just that your parents are fags and you were a mistake.”
“Take that b-”
A punch laid across his face, sending him to the tile.
“Shut up kid. You’re out of your league.”
“And every girl is out of your league.”
Switch raised his fist and knocked Soarin in the face, sending him to the ground.
“Don’t get up.” Switch walked away and left the brittle teen on the floor.
Terri helped him up and brought him to his feet.
“Are you ever going to do something about him? You know, talk with the principle, your parents,--”
“Talk with my parents?! Hell no!” Soarin pulled his arm away from Terri and grabbed his backpack.
“Soarin you can’t run away from your parents. They’re there to help you.”
“Or humiliate me, or-or-or-”
“Or nothing. I gotta go.”
“Terri I-... Dammit…”
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Soarin walked down the hallway and left through the glass doors of the school. People filed out the other doors. He fought through crowd to his old truck sitting in the parking lot. His drive home was slow. Every light turned red, people cut him off back and forth, and the engine stalled every so often on the main roads.
His truck sputtered up to Sweet Apple Acres and parked in the gravel driveway.
Applejack was sitting on the porch drinking of all things apple cider and reading a book.
“Hey sugarcube! How was school?” Applejack put down her book and stood from the rocking chair.
“Fine mom. Don’t call me that.” Soarin walked up to the porch and went to the door without making eye contact.
“Soarin what’s the problem?” She grabbed his shoulder, causing him to pause at the touch.
“What problem?”
“I’ve been calling you that since you were born and lately you’ve been avoiding me and your mother for as long as you can. You stay in your room until we call you down for dinner and then go right back up.”
“I’m fine mom, just stay out of my business.” He opened the screen door and walked up the creaky, wooden steps to his room.
Only moments later Rainbow pulled up on her bike.
“Hey AJ, how was your day?” She pecked the farmgirl on her cheek and packed her gloves into her helmet.
“Fine. Soarin seems to have something on his mind lately.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that the kid has avoided us for days, doesn’t talk unless asked something, and keeps up in his room for the night.”
“Applejack he’s just being a teenager. Let him grow out of his shell.”
“Alright…” The two entered the house and sat down at the large table.
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The night went slow as usual. Soarin would stay cooped up in his room until it was dinner. He’d com down, grab his food, and go back upstairs. A normal day to Rainbow and him, but Applejack had seen something different.
“Hey Rainbow, I’ll be right back.” Applejack dropped the newspaper in her hands and walked up the creaky, wooden steps.
Soarin’s voice muffled through the door and mixed with gun noises and explosions.
“Hey buddy, can I come in?” Applejack knocked her worn knuckles on the large, wooden door and walked in.
A cool breeze hit her face from the open window. His bed sheets were in jumbles and the room was empty. She walked over to his computer, hearing his voice coming from it. A window was open with a track on it playing a recording of Soarin’s voice and a gameplay video was playing.
“Soarin?!” Applejack jumped to the window, where stacks of hay led down to the ground.
“SOARIN!” Applejack screamed, trying to see if her voice would bring him back.
“Applejack what did he do break s-” Rainbow walked in the door and stopped in her tracks.
“He’s gone Rainbow…” Applejack sat on the bed and began to slowly sob.
“It’s okay Apples, he couldn’t have gone far. I’ll go see if I can find him.” Rainbow rested her hand on the woman’s shoulder and brought her other hand up to raise her head.
“I’ll find our son Applejack.” She kissed her forehead and ran out the door.
She went straight for her bike once she barged out of the door. Rainbow hopped on it and turned the key, only to be met with a sputter.
“Damn, it’s too cold.” She got off and looked around for anything she could use for transportation.
Rainbow spotted a lone bike on the side of the house, rusted from no use.
“Shit.” She got on the bike and moved the worn gears, making her way to the entrance of the barn.
It was a lone road since most people didn’t come back to the land very often. She went through her mind and thought up ideas of where he would be.
“Not school, not here, not at the cornfields, not at a club, not at-” She stopped in her tracks and recycled her thoughts.
“Oh Soarin.” The gears crunched from the force of her foot pushing the pedal.
Every push creaked the broken bike to the point of almost snapping. Cars would whiz by and sway her to the side from the speed they passed by. Eventually she made it downtown, where streetlights and neon signs lit up the black, tar road. Not many people were driving in her area. She kept heading down the main road until she heard a noise. Muffled music was playing and people were screaming. Strobe lights lit up near by buildings across the street, attracting Rainbow’s attention.
“Please be here Soarin…” Rainbow hopped off the bike and let it travel a few more yards into a large dumpster.
Several teenagers were blocking the entrance to the club, trying to get in.
“Excuse me, coming through.” Rainbow pushed through the bodies until she made it to the red rope restricting access to the club.
“Identification please.” Rainbow handed her ID to the large man, who looked up at her and studied her face.
“You’re good.” He handed the card back to her as he let the red rope unhinged from the gold pole.
“Thanks.” She jogged into the small opening, only to be met with a wall of bass.
People jumped and moved with the music, getting lost in the sound.
“IS SOARIN HERE? DO YOU KNOW SOARIN?” Rainbow’s voice was shrouded from the music’s beat and couldn’t be heard.
Everywhere she looked, she couldn’t see Soarin. She eventually made it to the bathroom, where the sound of techno music and bass couldn’t be heard. Couples lined the hallway, their faces glued to one another.
“Soarin?” Rainbow walked over to the men’s bathroom, creaking it open.
“Soarin?” She walked in and looked around.
A few stalls where opened, so she investigated. Starting at the first, she opened each one until she reached the last one, pushing it open.
“SOARIN?!”
