Chapter 6-The Start of a Good Year
#7 of Suicide Series # 1
Chapter 6-The Start of a Good Year
Once Carlos got us all to the hospital, Sara took me to my room while Carlos went home.
I did not understand why I needed to stay in the hospital if all I have are bruises but I did not complain so much, considering it was only one night.
When I was release out of the hospital, Carlos pick me up and handed me another gift.
"This is for yesterday, considering how it ended."
I opened the box and saw the same tickets for Dream Theater concert. I was so happy that I grab Carlos and hugged him so hard that I almost crash his back.
"Drake stop! You're going to break my back!"
"Sorry," I said as I loosen my grip.
Carlos then asked if I wanted to do anything today, there was no work today because it was a holiday. I did not want to do anything, since there was nothing to do in this town but go to the amusement park or the carnival.
Since Carlos and did not go to the amusement park last time, I told him we should go there.
He was shock, he thought I would not want to go anywhere near the amusement park because of the car accident.
Carlos wanted to make sure that I wanted to go there and asked if I was sure. I told him was sure and told him I was going to be okay.
Carlos then drives us to the park and once there, I was speechless. I never saw a place so big and filled with crazy roller coasters in my life before. I did not know what ride to go on first. I asked Carlos which one we should go on and he pointed to a small one. He told me that we should start small then go to the crazy rides later.
The first ride I thought was crazy already and there are even more crazy rides. By the end of the day, I went on X-2, Tatsu, Goliath and even Superman the Escape.
I swear that if you saw me, you would have thought I was an eight year old, because I was very hyperactive, jumping all over the place, and running to the next ride.
By the end of the day, I was a roller coaster fan, and I could not wait until I go to Six Flags again.
When I got home, I went into my room and got ready for bed. As I was getting into bed, my parents came in the room and asked if I was okay.
"Yeah, I'm okay. If Carlos wasn't there, I would be dead right now."
"I glad to hear you feeling better Drake and if you need to talk, you can always come to me." My mom responds to my response.
"Or even me Drake; remember I was like just like you when I was your age."
"Thank you, both of you. I'm going to bed, goodnight mom, goodnight dad."
"Goodnight Drake."
A few days pass, and then the Dream Theater concert came. Carlos and I left that day and got to the concert. It was amazing; no words could describe how I felt to see them live. When they played "The Count of Tuscany", I could have just died there and be happy.
Once it was over, Carlos and I went to the mall to eat.
"That was amazing, I don't know I how I'll ever be able to repay you for the concert."
"You don't have to repay me for anything; I got you does tickets because I know you wanted to see them. Besides I thought you could receive some congratulation for getting straight A'."
"I only received straight A's because of you, Carlos. If you didn't help me, I would have gotten nothing but C'."
"I may have helped you, but it was you taking the test and getting an A on everything. Even the teacher would come to you for help. I thought it was funny, to see a teacher ask a student for help when they majored in the subject they are teaching. The teachers rarely came to me and ask for help but they came to you at lease four times a week."
"But That because of you, you help me how to do something and I break it down into a simpler way of explaining."
"That the reason why the teacher go to you for help. Well where do you what to go today? We went to the amusement park yesterday, and we can't go again until we get more money."
"What about the money my parents gave to me."
"Save it, I don't want you to spend it on the amusement park. Save it and pay for college or buy yourself a clarinet."
"Okay then, how about the movies."
"We've seen them all already."
"Hm, how about we play basketball, football, soccer or even paintball."
"I don't feel like getting hit with paintballs, beside that hurts a lot."
"Then what about you, what is it that you want to do?"
"I have no ide-" Carlos stopped immediately as he was about to finish that sentence.
I looked at him, wondering what he was thinking about and I waited for what felt like hours but was at most three minutes, for Carlos to say something to me.
"I'll ask my parents if we can go out of town. If they do, where do you want to go?"
"I don't know, the only time I been out of town was doing band competitions and we weren't there to explore."
"Have you been to the beach? If not then how would you like to go to the beach?"
"I haven't been to any beach, which one is the closes one by here?"
"I think it Pismo Beach or Santa Cruz. I ask, but which one do you want to go to?"
"Which one has more things to do?"
"Santa Cruz, so then it decided."
"Yeah, Santa Cruz it is. Oh I need to buy some swim trunks, I don't have any."
"Let wait to see what our parents say first, and then if they say yes, we go buy you some trunks."
Carlos and I then went to his house and ask his parents if they we could go out of town to Santa Cruz. They did not mind if we go but they wanted us back by about eight.
We then went to my parent's house and asked them if I could go to Santa Cruz. They did not care at all; in fact, they were happy to have me leave for a whole day.
As we got ready to leave, Carlos took me to the mall to buy swim trunks. I found some and paid for them, and then with Carlos to the beach. We both got there by about two and we changed into our trunks.
We both got on the beach and started to swim. He was a very good swimmer, even better then the lifeguard and I.
We continue to swim for about two hours and them we stopped to be dry and go on the rides that were there. The rides there were nothing compare to those at Six Flags but they were still fun.
Soon we had to leave and we got back home at about seven-thirty. That whole summer was boring but i was happy because of no school. It was the only summer Carlos and I could to something.
School was here again and I was happy. My parents were now more caring and school was much easier, even though I was taking two AP classes.
The first one was AMA or AP Advance Math, and the second AP class I was taking is AP US History.
I was never that good at history but when I took AP US History, I notice that it was very easy. In fact, it was the easiest class I was taking that year.
I had a lot more friends and I was actually making myself known to everybody at school.
I even bought a guitar and started to take lesson to perform in front of the whole school. I was very bad at first but I started to get better, and soon I was able to play "Welcome Home" by Coheed and Cambria. It was a very good starting song; the only thing that made it hard was the solo. I was very bad at sweeping on the guitar and the very beginning and the end was nothing but sweeping.
I soon learned how to sweep because of my teacher, who was a very well known teacher.
He was one of the guitarists that received lesson by John Petrucci, the guitarist for Dream Theater.
He then taught me how to play "In The Name Of God" by Dream Theater, perhaps the most changeling song to play. With it crazy rifts and guitar solo that was impossible. It was so fast that I could not see my fingers when I played it. All I could see was a big red blur and the times I could see my hand, I could see my right hand because I was strumming so fast.
Doing the second semester, I signed up for the Day on the Green, where all the students who are in a band or can play the guitar perform in front of the whole school.
I was accepted and I had to choose what song to play. I end up asking everyone in band and even Carlos, on what song to perform. They all told me "In The Name Of God" but I was not sure if the school would allow it. Then they told me that if I could play it, I should try "Constant Motion" also by Dream Theater.
I asked the director if I could play "In The Name Of God" and they told me I could as long as it was not gospel or religious. Since it was not I decided to play it and if he allowed, even the second song. The director wanted to hear it and I perform it in front of him. I even sing the lyrics and he was speechless.
"How long have you been playing guitar? I have never heard anybody as good as you are in all of my years of director this activity."
"I've barley started the beginning of this year, and I been taking lesson."
"Wow, your teacher done a very good job with you. May I hear the other song you were going to play if I didn't allow the first song?"
"Sure, also this song has a crazy solo as well."
I started to "Constant Motion" and I was having so much fun seeing his expression on his face. It was priceless and it was funny when I finished because he still did not move.
"... All I can say is wow. You are amazing; maybe the next time Dream Theater, they will invite you to play with them."
The next couple of days passed and then on the day of the performance, everybody was talking about. It seemed that they were al excited to hear me play both songs by Dream Theater. I guess that the news spread that the director was speechless when I performed the songs in front of him.
When it came time to perform in fount of everybody, I was shaking like crazy. I have not been this nervous since my first band competition at Merced. I got on and everybody started to go crazy. I took a deep breath before I started to play.
Everybody was quite and you could tell that over a thousand students were there. I even started to sing the lyrics when Carlos came on stage and started to sing the lyrics too. We both perform and once I got to the instrumental part of the song, Carlos grabbed a bass and started to play for me. I did not even know that he could play bass but I did not stop playing. I got to the crazy solo and then I could see everybody face shock, trying to watch my finger but only seeing a big red blur.
When I finished "In The Name Of God", everybody cheered loudly. I then told them that I will be performing one more song and they got quite again.
Once I finished "Constant Motion", I felt as if I was on top of the world. Anyone or anything could make this moment change.
I have made myself known to almost everybody at school, and to them I was a guitar god.
* That the end of chapter 6. Sorry I took so long but the next couple of chapter would be coming on the website soon. In this chapter, almost everything is fiction. The only thing true about this chapter is our school does have day on the green. I cannot play guitar yet but I will learn soon.
Here the Songs if you wish to hear:
In The Name Of God (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaGzdOg6EIY
In The Name Of God (Part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAsVYKEAjY8&feature=related
Solo Starts around 3:07 and then ends at 3:46. Then the solo starts again 4:08 and end at 4:33
Constant Motion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sixdX1y8QKY
Solo Starts at 4:16 and ends at 5:12
Thanks for reading and please leave comments.*