Welcome to Gaia! ::

By: me
Title: You Need Me
Chapter 1

You Need Me

“Simon, wait up! I’m tired.” Huffed Alic, as he struggled to keep sight of his best friend’s back as he ran farther ahead. Simon & Alic were both best friends, Simon was more outgoing & athletic than Alic. But what Alic lacked in Athleticism he made up for in school, sure Simon was smart too but Alic was just one of those kids that just had to excel in school. They’re both 9 now, it’s been 4 agonizingly long & painful years for Alic after his parents’ deaths, but it would have been worse if Simon hadn’t been there. He was raised by his mother until she died, Father had been in the military; the front lines to be exact, & had gotten shot. Alic & his mother were left alone, both sad & crying, along with the bill for the funeral. Alic’s mom didn’t make a whole lot, just barely enough for them to get by, so the funeral was put off for almost a year while Alic was almost 5. He helped his mother when he could to get money, he knew even then that he had to be the man of the house, but he was just no good at it. Then there was a new kid in school, Simon, Simon Breez. Alic hadn’t really noticed the first day, he had been up so late helping his mother with the taxis, yes he was in Kindergarten & helping his mother with Finances, Alic’s mathematical skills were to be marveled at (not quite to the extreme that he could multiply & divide effortlessly but Add & subtract almost any number & some multiplication to an extent) & his mother had written his teacher a note, so his teacher, Mrs. Samantha, would know why he was so tired which is why she let Alic sleep as long as he wanted. Later, around lunch Alic awoke to join the other 5 – year – olds. Though not to socialize, Alic liked to better use his time to read. He was the only kid in his grade to be able to read, even if it was a picture book. While Alic read the other kids were all gathering over around the new boy that Alic had yet to notice. Simon was fairly tall for a kindergartener so his flat light brown, almost blond hair stuck out at the top of the mob of heads. Alic could hear all the chatter clearly to the extent that he couldn’t ignore it. So he shut his book memorizing what page number he was on, page 11, paragraph 2, the page next the badly drawn picture of the duck.

“So you’ve really been to England?! So cool! My mommy said that they’re backward over there. Whatever that means.” One girl – Alic didn’t know who, he never made it a point to know the other kids in his all day class. – Said in a whiny high pitched voice. He walked over to the crowed.

“It means that they do things differently there, you know how you’re mom & dad drive on the right side of the road here, well in England – or Europe in general from my understanding – you drive on the left side instead. Now, if you’re quite finished, please be more discrete (sp?) with your conversation.” Alic glared at the girl, his green eyes gazing into the girls hazel ones, though his glare wasn’t quite as effective as he might have liked because his dark brown hair was covering his eyes.

“Be more … what?” she asked puzzled. He sighed.

“Never mind, just please be more quiet. I’m still tired.” He says rubbing his eye then moving his hand to the side of his face lightly to emphasize.
“OH! Ok! Why didn’t you just say that first?” She asks. He shook his head.

“I did. It’s not my fault you weren’t smart enough to know that.” He says walking off. It was a little after that, that Mrs. Samantha found him in a corner reading his book. She has a sad expression on her face.

“Emily, what were you thinking, leaving this boy all alone at such a young age?” Alic heard her mumble. ‘Emily? Isn’t that my mom’s name?’ He thought to himself but didn’t dwell on it.

“Alic, Can I talk to you for a moment?” she asks bending down to be eye level with the boy. Alic just closed his book Page 20, Paragraph 3, no pictures on either page.

“What is it Mrs. Samantha?” he asks cutely. Mrs. Samantha was a close friend of his mother so he knew her outside of school too.

“Alic, if Emily – I mean your mother ever got too sick to take care of you, would you consider living with me?” she asks quietly.

“Where is this coming from?” Alic asks slightly confused, when he had left this morning with his mother she had been in great health. Why would Mrs. Samantha ask him that?

“Alic, Emily is ill, I just got a call from the hospital, she was caught in a car accident.” Alic’s eyes widened, & his teacher looked like she was about to cry herself.

“What?” he whispered “She … was hit by … a … car?” he repeated slowly, questioningly, to make sure he heard correctly. “Mother … is in the H – Hospital?” Mrs. Samantha nodded slowly. He saw a small tear slowly fall from her face covered by her long blond hair, he heard her sob quietly. “Mrs. Samantha? Can you take me to see her? I want to see my mommy!” Alic was frantic now. ‘No! No! No, Mother can’t die too! Not Mother too! Daddy, please come back, help Mommy & me, I can’t do it. I’m only five! I can’t do it by myself, I can’t help mommy! Daddy, help Mommy! You have to!’ he yelled in his head. But no matter how much he willed it to be so, he knew his father never would come back. Once you’re dead, you’re dead. There’s no way to come back. At least that’s how Alic saw it. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he almost missed his teacher’s sad nod.

“Yes, let’s go.” She sniffed, whipped the tears from her eyes & helped Alic up. She had to be strong for this boy, he’d been through so much, she’d known Tommy too, she knew that Emily was sad & missed him. But she also knew that her friend loved her son dearly. & that the small boy knew more sadness & trouble in his short five years of living than most people did in thirty. Samantha Right knew without a doubt that if Alic hadn’t been there Emily would have committed Suicide long ago, even against he own protests. But Samantha didn’t know how far gone Emily really was. Would she rush into traffic on purpose just to ease the pain? She subtly shook her head, ‘No, Sammy, you can’t think like that! You have to know that Emily would never do that to Alic. Emmie loves Alic; she’d never do that to him. It must have been an accident!’ She kept chanting to herself. The worried look on her face though didn’t go unnoticed to the young boy next to her. Alic fought the urge to grab his teacher’s hand & start crying himself. If there was anything that he had learned from his father’s death it was that if a girl was crying the boy had to be strong for both of them & keep his composure. But now more than ever it was hard to do so. With his own mother hospitalized he didn’t have anywhere to go after school. They approached the office desks. On their arrival the two women looked up from their computers to see what was wrong.

“Samantha? Is something wrong?” One said to them not yet noticing Alic; his head down glaring at the ground, as if that would make his mother better. His shaggy Brown hair covering his eyes, due to the money issue at his house he only ever got a hair cut once a year so his hair was slightly longer than a normal boys & he had most of his mother’s features so at the moment if someone who didn’t know he was a boy had seen him they probably would have thought that he was a young girl with his feminine features. It was one of the things he really didn’t like about himself.

“Katelyn, I have to go somewhere.” She sobbed quietly.

“What are you talking about, Samantha you have a class right now, you can’t leave!” The one who Alic assumed was called Katelyn answered.

“Katie, listen, Alic’s mother Emily who is my best friend in the world has been hospitalized & I have to take him to her, get page to take over the class while I’m gone, its lunch right now after this is nap time then they have free time for the rest of the day, she can handle that I’m pretty sure.” With that Alic had looked up to see what the other woman’s face looked like. She was white as a sheet.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, o – of course you can go.” She paused & looked to Alic. “& you too, Mr. Carter. I hope your mother is alright” Carter, he hated being called by his last name.

“Alic.” he corrected her, his voice almost cracking. She looked to him strangely.

“He doesn’t like being called by his last name, it reminds him of his father; he’d appreciate it much more if you just called him Alic.” Samantha explains for him. She was right it did, & that only ended in a terrible heart ache that he didn’t need at the moment. He never needed it, never wanted it. He wished it would all just go away & that his father would come back even though he knew full well that it would never happen, but he couldn’t help it he just wanted that, to be a family again.

“Why didn’t he come home when he promised Mommy, Mrs. Samantha? Why didn’t Daddy come home when he said he would?!” He couldn’t take it anymore that was all he could handle. Alic fell to his knees crying. “Mommy, please don’t die, I don’t want to be alone!” he yelled he knew she couldn’t hear him; they hadn’t even left the school yet! Samantha looked to the young boy crying at her feet.

“Alic, it’s alright; your mother is in good hands at the hospital.” She looked to the office staff, they all nodded so she signed the paper saying she excused him from school for the rest of the day, picked him up & they left for the hospital.

~~ Hospital ~~

They pulled up to the Parking lot of the hospital. Alic had long since given up on crying & was now sitting quietly in the backseat of Mrs. Samantha’s car. When the car had been successfully turned off, Alic was the first to be out of the car & ran straight to the doors of the sterile (sp?) building which held his mother in their grasp, they had better have kept her alive. Alic had seen car accidents before & from what he’d seen at least one of the drivers didn’t survive … & it was usually the one that had only been in the wrong place at the wrong time … but sometimes no one died… but others … Alic shivered. ‘I hope it’s the second, & Mother lives.’ He tells himself as Samantha caught up to him.

“You ready? We can always just go back to school & you can –”

“NO!” He paused & looked down. “No, I … I need to see mother, I need to know she’s ok.” He looked up with pleading eyes. Samantha knew that look; he was determined to go through with seeing his mother now.

“Alright then, let’s go.” She said quietly. The pair walked into the lobby of the building, Samantha fallowed Alic as he ran up to the information desk. He wasn’t really tall enough to see over it but he could ring the bell on the desk effectively enough. “Excuse me!” he called out. The man behind the desk looked up from his paper work, shrugged not seeing anyone then went back to his work. Alic huffed. “I said, Excuse me!” Alic repeats a little louder this time. The doctor looked up once again & once again not seeing anyone, huffed.

“Must be my mind … I’ve really been working too much.” He mumbled to himself. Alic glared at the wood desk before him. This man really must be an idiot. Alic looked over to his teacher. She sighed & walked over to the doctor.

“Excuse me sir.”

“Ah, yes, may I help you?” He asks, his voice was deep & scratchy when he wasn’t mumbling to himself.

“I do believe that this young boy here was trying to get your attention.” She says gesturing to Alic by her side. The doctor leaned over his desk & looked at Alic, a dark glare meeting his gaze.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I couldn’t quite see you there.” He smiles to Alic.

“I don’t care; where’s my mother. I want to see her.” he spat out. “& just because you couldn’t see me doesn’t mean I’m a figment of your imagination.” He adds, causing the doctor to glare at him.

“What is your mother’s name? I’ll need that if you want me to find her for you.”

“Emily Carter.”

“You’re Mrs. Carter’s Son? She’s been calling for you. This way.” He says leading Alic away. “Oh Miss is there anything I can do for you?” he says turning to Samantha.

“No, but I’m Emily’s friend, I drove Alic here. If it’s alright I’d like to go see her as well.”

“Well that could be difficult, she’s in critical condition & her mental state isn’t the best, she’s been calling out ‘bring me my son, I want to see my Baby Alic’ for the last twenty minutes. But if it were my call I’d let you go in just to keep the boy safe.” They were talking the whole time & neither noticed that Alic had started to tremble.

“My … My mother’s ok … right?” he asks quietly. The Doctor stopped his conversation & looked to Alic.

“I honestly don’t know … she’s not in her right mind right now. So … don’t expect too much from her, alright? She’ll need to stay the night here tonight though.” Alic nodded.

“I …I just want mother to be ok.”

“Hey, kid where’s your dad, shouldn’t he be here too?” The doctor asks. Alic flinched, Which Samantha noticed. Then he stopped walking all together. “Hey kid?” he reached out to touch Alic. But Samantha stopped him.

“Don’t.” she looked to Alic sympathetically. “Alic, are you –”

“No.” he looked up to the doctor. “No, he can’t come.”

“Wh –”

“He’s dead.” Alic interrupts looking down to the ground. It’s been pretty popular today.

“Oh, I see, I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want your pity, or your empty sympathy; I can take care of myself & my mother. We don’t need you!”

“Alic, the doctor is just trying to do his job. Don’t get mad at him, he didn’t know Tommy was dead.” She tried to comfort him. But no avail, Samantha looked to the doctor. “I think it would be best if you took Alic to see Emily now.” The doctor nods.

“Yes, I’m sorry.” The rest of the way to their destination was spent in silence. Alic didn’t mind much, he rather liked silence. But to the doctor & Samantha … the silence was suffocating. Even though Alic found the Silence more comforting than the light conversation from before he was still mad. Mad that the Doctor would ask him something like that, whether or not he had known. Didn’t he know that if his father had supposed to have been there he would have already come, taking Alic with him instead of having his Mother’s friend & his teacher take him? Really, was this doctor really that stupid? It just made Alic glad that said doctor wasn’t in charge of his mother’s health; he wouldn’t have even trusted him with a stuffed animal.

“This is it.” The man says quietly. He looked to Samantha then to Alic. “Listen Kid … Your mother … she’s not in her right mind so please, be careful.” He repeats. & with that he opened the door for him. Alic could hear something coming from the room but couldn’t quite pin what it was so he slowly entered the room.

“M – Mother?” He asks quietly.

“Alic? Is that you? Is it really you, my baby boy?!” She asks, her voice soft & scratchy, like she’d been straining it a lot.

“Yes, mother, it’s me. Mrs. Samantha brought me.” His eyes started to brim with tears. He ran over to her & hugged her. “Mother you have to get better”

“Alic, sweetie, I don’t think that’ll happen. You see … Mommy misses Daddy terribly …this accident … was Daddy trying to tell me that he missed me too & wants me to join him. Alic baby, please don’t get mad at mother. I … I just want to see Tommy again. Let me see Tommy again Alic!” Alic was quiet for a while.

“You … You really want to see Father that much? … That you’d leave me all alone?” he whispered, still clinging to his mother, holding in his tears as he hugged his mother’s bandaged shoulders. She was bandaged all over … you couldn’t even see her short dark brown hair very well, all skin other than her face was completely covered, Her face, had terrible scratches all over it with several band-aids but it didn’t really help. Alic could still see the blood pooling under her bandages, the deep red splotches on her arms. It was a ghastly sight, one that Alic didn’t really want to see, but endured, for the fact that he might not get to see his mother in a much better condition.

“I … I do, Alic Baby, please don’t be mad at mother.” With that she pushed Alic away slightly, sitting up as much she could & held his arms, squeezing somewhat roughly. “Please don’t. Mother wouldn’t be able to be happy with Father if she knew that her baby Alic was mad at her!” She yelled at him her face stung with the mix of tears & the medicines that were slathered over her face to treat the wounds that adorned it. Alic Flinched from the rough hold. Closing one eyes & wincing away slightly, he looked to see Samantha staring wide-eyed at the scene before her. Sure she’d seen Emily upset before but this … this was just Insanity.

“Emily … how can you say that to him?” She whispers. Alic’s mother turns to look for the first time since her son had entered the room to see her best friend staring at her with a hurt & confused expression on her face. She started to tear up & then all together doubled over sobbing into her hands.

“Sammy … I’m such a bad mother, such a selfish mother, selfish person, I miss him, I miss Tommy! Sammy I’m sorry, I miss him, I need him, I can’t do it anymore, I can’t bare it anymore!” There was a loud beeping sound that resounded within the room. Emily didn’t seem to notice it but the Doctor from before did, he called for two other doctors to show up who came in & injected her with something. Alic saw as his mothers’ hysterics stopped. He didn’t pay much heed to the doctors as they came or left, he just watched scared. Scared … he was going to be alone again. He didn’t like that feeling, the feeling of being alone & helpless. That evening came flooding back to him. The night that the soldier had come to tell his mother & him that his father was dead. He had watched silently as his mother got up & walked out of the house silently. She hadn’t come back until … well Alic didn’t know when. She had left at around 7 - He’d checked the Digital clock in this Kitchen after she’d left - & he’d fallen asleep around 10 that night waiting for her to come back, but she hadn’t. When he woke up the next morning (thank god it was Saturday) he found her passed out on the Sofa. She reeked of only God knew what. Cigarette smoke? Alcohol? Other things? Alic didn’t know but he was glad she was home, hung over or not, he’d hated being alone. It had been terrifying. Being alone & vulnerable at the young age of 4 1/2, was that even legal? Alic didn’t know many laws but that seemed like it’d be one. All he really knew was that you were supposed to fallow the numbers on the signs on the side of the roads … & that different colored street lights meant different things. Green – keep going/go, Yellow – the way he’d seen, could mean one of two things, go slower … or go really, really fast, (he was pretty sure that the first was the right one though.) & that Read meant stop. Though from the look of it not many people listened to that one it seemed to Alic. If they did then Alic’s mother wouldn’t have been the way she was now. & now she was flat out telling him; “I’m going to die now & you can’t stop me, you’ll be alone forever now. & I don’t care about how you feel about it.” But he put up a strong front for the two women he held close. His crying wouldn’t help Mrs. Samantha’s emotional state right now& Mother … well Alic just hoped it was the drugs the doctor had given her that were talking, not really his mother. “Alic … are you mad at me?” She asks, Calmer now than she had been from the beginning.

“No.” Alic choked out shaking his head violently allowing a small tear to slip from his eye. He could never be mad at his mother for anything … never. She smiled & looked down to the ground

“Good.” She breathed, and then looked back up to Samantha. “Sammy, I love you, you are my best friend, & I don’t deserve to be friends with you. & Alic, baby … I love you too. But, I have to go, Tommy’s calling me.” Her gaze softened as she looked to Alic for the last time. “Alic, promise Mommy you’ll make at least one friend so that you’re not alone. Sammy please … promise me you’ll help him, you & John? Please.” Her eyes were pleading. It was all Alic could do to just nod grimly & tell his delusional mother that he would try. Samantha Hiccupped & also agreed to the request bestowed upon of her. “Thank you.” Emily breathed then … quiet … silence … all was dead quiet … all except for a long beeping sound Alic didn’t like that sound. When one of the doctors called the date & time it hit him. She was dead … gone… never to return home to him again. He fell, to shocked to cry, even if had wanted to his tears wouldn’t have come he was all cried out, he done so much crying today it was a lost cause.

“Sh – She’s gone” he whispered more to himself than to anyone else. He could hear his teacher sobbing, clinging to his mother’s hand.

“NO, no, no! Emily No! Why? You weren’t supposed to die yet. Emily … What about all the people who needed & cared for you?” She paused her rambling. “What about Alic?” she whispered so quiet Alic didn’t catch anything other than his own name.

~~ Three Weeks Later ~~

Alic was sitting in his reading corner, depression radiating off of him. He’d been living with Mrs. Samantha & her husband John Right, ever since his mother’s untimely death. Samantha had let him stay home the first day, but after that she’d made him go to school. He too might as well have been dead. He acted like a zombie; slower, quieter eyes cold – the light green giving way to a dark green, he never bothered with his appearance any more. Some kids tried to talk to him the day after he came back to ask if he was alright, but all who had tried had failed to get more than a heated glare from the small boy. Simon who mind you, still hadn’t met Alic nor had he heard anything from anyone about him. - Simon’s parents had always taught him to not ask people about others because it might not always be true so he hadn’t asked anyone. – & so he was about fed up with the boy’s sulking made up his mind to go over & talk to him, hopefully he could do better than the others that had tried.

Fin. Chapter 1

Really? you liked it? thanks! ... do you think you could tell me what you liked about it? or if you did what you didn't like? ... just so I can get a grasp on what people like about it & what I should try not to do in the next chapter if it's avoidible(sp?)

well no of course he's not going to be like that the whole story he was just fine in the beginning because of Simon so you already know that they're going to become best friends & right there at the end the mom tells Alic that he needs to make a friend, so vowala(I know that's not how you spell that) there you go freind foreshaddowing!

It was a nice start to a story. I excited to see the outcome of these two, expecially since being aware of Alic's tradgic past, but my questions are: Are we going to know more Simon like we did with Alic? Is this story focusing on the third-person point of view of Alic, only?
I'm impatient to find out; I really have nothing to go by but the title as to what the story is really about. Their friendship, problems that will pop up in a... certain way? Let me reword that.

What are we to expect? What's the genre for this story?

---
On the note of giving constructive critisism, I'll start now, as I'm sure it will help you. First off, nicely done. The way you drove straight to the point in this chapter, easing it through without too many unneeded explanations for the other characters. I also give you kudos for really giving Alic a personality.

The mom sounds crazy, but as in, teenager hormonal crazy that makes older audiences just... Well, thinking, I suppose. Getting them to really look at how humans with their wonderful ability to feel sympathy and emotions, have come to be, and could very well become. Crazies, as I convey them, have a complex way of thinking, as any other human, just a little more frank.
"You see … Mommy misses Daddy terribly …this accident … was Daddy trying to tell me that he missed me too & wants me to join him. Alic baby, please don’t get mad at mother. I … I just want to see Tommy again. Let me see Tommy again Alic!”

There's a brownie point for you.
But, however, the age deal is a big problem. I discussed it over the phone quite a few times with a friend of mine whom is very-well experienced with children in general (observing them, so forth and the like) and... well, I've told you once before: Alic being five years of age, and having that large of a vocabulary is quite disturbing, and nearly impossible. Kids of that age cannot process the memorization of such words when finally, they're learning to get used to the developing extents of their body's interations. Or whatever it's called. In a nutshell, they're finishing up their development in running, language, yadda yadda.
This sounds way too scientific, but the age really needs to be changed, or the vocab does.

And one more thing--this should be more of a prelude, don't you think?
I mean, this chapter is more or less a beginning explanation of why Alic has no parents, and lives with Mrs. Samantha. I suggest maybe cutting up the first paragraph and somehow incorporating it to either the end... or maybe getting rid of some of it, and putting a few things in the following chapters.

I'll give you more of an idea, if you're all ears.

I'm trying! I really am but so far when I get motavation to work on it, I loose insparation & don't know what to write ... I am trying to write more though ... the next chapter thoguh is from Simon's view & what it was like when he moved there & what he thinks of Alic before he goes & helps him ... I thihnkn what'll happen is that Ch. 3 is where they actually meet ... maybe I might put in Ch. 2 ... but just so you know I have started the next one & I'll finnish & Post as soon as I can emo so sorry for the wait really Trisha, I'M SORRY!