Popcorn {to} make the WORLD a Better {PLACE}

[caleb ferranti]

CLOSED FOR ANDI

It was just another day. Just another chance to write something, maybe watch something for once, but really, there was nothing to do. Caleb didn’t want to go out and meet another gang, he didn’t want to fight, but he didn’t want to be anti-social either. He was feeling just kind of out of it. Not thoughtful, not alone, just…a ghost. He didn’t want to feel that way for once. He had a good feeling where he could find someone. It really wasn’t hard to know where people would be on a kind of dark Saturday afternoon. He knew the leader would be out, other gang members would be visiting people they cared for. It was kind of obvious how things were going to be turning out. He didn’t have family to visit; he had never gone visiting before. He hadn’t been to clubs in a while, but that was something you would do at night. He did want to be out of the apartment he lived in for once. He was pale enough; he knew that people questioned his health if they didn’t know him. He was perfectly fine, he actually hadn’t had any health issues in a while…

With an annoyed grunt, he laid on his mattress on the floor. There was no pillow, no framing to the bed. He didn’t care to spend extra money on wood that would rot and a pillow that would end up giving him a crick in his neck. It was one of those things that just made you conscious of where you were. He wouldn’t ever be able to get a loan; he wouldn’t ever want to get one, because it meant people kept track of him. Caleb’s eyes scanned the roof over his head and he gave it a weak smile. At least he had shelter; at least he didn’t have to worry about getting sick and not having a warm place to come home to. He grabbed his covers as a chill ran through his body. He wasn’t even out of his pajamas yet. He didn’t plan on getting out of them, even if he went out. Though, it wasn’t like he slept in boxers and no shirt.

Nah, he wore a white wife beater and loose sweats. He would probably pull on a shirt from some sort of band or one that he had made once he figured out what to do. He sat straight up as an idea hit him! ANDI! Andi was always up for doing something if Caleb and he weren’t busy. Andi was probably one of the few people Caleb let loose around. It felt great to not have to worry about being rejected or something. Andi was just that nice and that cool to be around. He rolled off the mattress, nearly hitting his head on a plate and grabbed his phone from a near-by table. He quickly texted Andi to meet him at that popcorn store that Andi was always raving about.

Getting up, he walked to a window and looked out. He didn’t bother to check his phone to see if Andi had accepted. Caleb knew that Andi wouldn’t turn down going to get some popcorn. That guy was completely obsessed. He grabbed a shirt with “Haters make me famous” written across in red jagged handwriting. He was one of those kids that didn’t get over-heated, so he just pulled it on over his wife-beater. He slipped his feet into worn Vans and texted Andi to meet him at the popcorn place. This was going to be a great way to get out of such a boring rut. He ruffled up already sleepy mused hair before grabbing a set of keys. There was only one key he needed on that chain, which was the one to his apartment, but the other keys were just things he had ‘borrowed’ from the houses that he had once lived in.

Surprisingly, that was a lot of houses. Though, it didn’t bother him much. The funny thing was that the trip to the Popcorn store wasn’t too bad. No bad run-ins. No threats, actually, it seemed the world was as boring as he had been bored. Worked better for him. He slipped his hand into the sweats to make sure he had his wallet and thankfully, he did. He had a fair amount saved from odd-jobs and it would be nice to have a treat. Caramel and Peanut Butter popcorn was probably his favorite. He was grinning ear to ear by the time he got to the front of the store to wait for Andi. He was almost hyper enough to be jumping up and down, but he was smart enough to keep fairly calm and to be on the look-out for Andi.

They were both a similar size, not sure who was bigger, but Caleb found it so easy to get along with the other guy. Andi had been the first nice guy to him in this gang and he had also shown him the ropes. It really was something that just helped him. With curious eyes, Caleb looked around for his good friend. ”Andi…..Where are you?” he called out softly. Who knew, maybe he’d get a response.

[andrew robinson]

Andii had been cooped up at his house all day, and he could see that his day was almost over. He hated wasting such nice days such as this, but he just didn’t know what to do with himself. Which, mind you, didn’t happen too often. Usually Andii had everything in the world to do. Even if he didn’t know what to do, he could often find something, whether it be singing to the radio in his room, going down to the park and playing on the jungle gyms that were of course meant for little children, but hey, Andii wasn’t quite ready to grow up yet. But today, he just wasn’t quite feeling like getting up and going anywhere by himself. Whenever he went out he almost always found someone to drag along with him. It was no fun just hanging around by himself. So of course, with nothing to do, Andii hadn’t bothered getting dressed. As soon as he woke up that morning he got himself up and laid down on the couch in the living room. By then there were only little kid shows on TV so he took a little nap. Who takes naps after they just woke up? Andii does, haha. But anyway, he woke up that afternoon with nothing to do but watch some TV and stuff his face with any junk he could get his hands on. He lay on the couch on his back, his arm clutching a tube of ‘deer tracks’ ice cream. Ooh, yes that was his favorite flavor of ice cream. He had a major sweet tooth, and that ice cream always gave his taste buds a pleasant feeling. To him, the ice cream was like a gift from the heavens. His feet hung over the edge of the couch, his toes wiggling as he watched Rob and Big.

Yes, Rob and Big. That had to be the greatest show ever made on the planet. Andii thought it was hilarious. Even when he was younger and the show was first coming out, he wanted to somehow audition for a part in that show. He always wanted to meet the duo and wished he could make it a trio. But of course that would never happen, so he just stuck to watching the show whenever it came on randomly during the day. He stuffed a sthingyful of ice cream into his mouth, almost spitting it out at the funny parts. But Andii managed to cough it down with just a minor choke. He laughed at himself as he began to scoop up another sthingyful. It was pathetic really, the tub of ice cream was almost half way down. It was completely full when he got it out of the freezer, and it’s a pretty decent sized tub too. Despite his size, Andii could put away some food. You’d think that such a thin boy would eat like minimal food, ha, well that’s not the case with Andii. He was almost always hungry and you could find him with some kind of food when out wandering the streets. Either that or he’ll be coming out of a restaurant or something along those lines. He loved food, and as long as he exercised regularly nothing could change that.

Andii’s head perked up a bit when he heard the sound of a text message. He looked around with a slightly confused expression, not knowing where the hell his phone was. He scrunched his lips to the side as he wiggled around, trying to see if he was laying on it. And indeed, he was. He pulled it out from under him in triumph and slid it open to check the message. Oh! Oh! It was Caleb! Andii grinned so wide that it felt like the corners of his mouth were going to rip. He was to meet Caleb at that popcorn place that Andii was totally in love with. If it was possible, he’d probably marry the place. I mean really, what other city has such a popcorn store that sells over a bajillion flavors of popcorn? Only New York could pull something like that off. He set the phone on the coffee table in front of the couch. Andii took one last bite of ice cream before snapping the lid on and running into the kitchen to put it away.

He looked down at himself. He wore a simple pair of Spongebob boxers. No socks, no shirt, and messy hair. Definitely not good. Andii made his way briskly to the bathroom just to freshen up. He took a quick shower, giving his metallic blonde hair a quick wash. He blow dried it until it was dry enough to shape it the way he wanted. He brushed it out, just the way he liked, the back nice and long and long bangs coming down the sides of his head, framing his face. The top stuck up in a messy, yet neat way and the front bangs were swept to the side over his right eye. Perfect, he insured himself, making his way to his bedroom and slipping into a fresh pair of boxers, this time with Patrick Star all over them. Next he put on a pair of dark wash jeans that clung to his thin legs nicely, but not so much that he couldn’t move. He felt like wearing bright colors today, so he picked out a hot pink t-shirt with the word ‘gorgeous’ written in white bubble letters on it. It was a little small. It showed a small strip of his stomach when he lifted his arms in the air, but he didn’t really care. His stomach was to die for anyway. Ha. Lastly, he strapped one white, studded belt across his waist diagonally and a hot pink one over it, making the two cross making an ‘X’. Andii looked in the full length mirror leaning against the wall by the door and gave himself mental approval. He slipped into a pair of white high top Nikes and darted back into the living room. Andii grabbed his phone and stuffed it in the back pocket of his jeans along with the fashionable key bracelet that Andii made when he was bored. He even had his key colored to match the lime green cloth that fit around his wrist.

Andii didn’t feel like driving, so he decided to just walk over to the popcorn place. It wasn’t too far of a walk anyway. When he saw Caleb standing by the front door in the distance, he smiled. He snuck through the crowd so he could creep up behind him without being seen. With a light growl, Andii jumped onto Caleb, wrapping his arms around Caleb’s neck, and his legs around his waist. Caleb! he called his name as if he hadn’t seen the boy in years. I’m so glad you texted me, I was so bored at home. And I probably gained a few pounds from that ice cream, Andii stated, letting go of the boy and offering a bright smile. Ready to stuff your face with multiple flavors of popcorn? he asked excitedly, bouncing on his toes.

[caleb ferranti]

Caleb didn’t know what had hit him, until of course he heard the other’s voice, ”Andi!!!” He looked over at the other and couldn’t help, but grin. They were around the same height, so Caleb wasn’t actually looking up or down. He was just grinning ear to ear like only Andi could make him doo. After all, why else would he be such good friends with him. Seriously, Caleb wasn’t going to be friends with anyone that didn’t make him smile or grin like he was at the moment. With his eyes, he probably showed that he was depressed and such, but the smile hid it. After all, he was happy; his eyes were just all the emotions he always felt, instead of the most prominent ones that people should always see! It wasn’t his fault that his eyes made him appear a lot sadder than he actually was. Seriously, if he could chose, he wouldn’t have let himself be seen as so sad.

He looked over at Andi and said, ”Of course! I can’t wait to get the Penut Butter flavored one. It’s delicious, with chocolate drizzled over it! Man, it’s like heaven.” He looked over at the other with a large grin. He really couldn’t help, but grin while being around the other. He leaned on Andi’s shoulders because he got tired. He really wasn’t tired, but he was getting bored just standing there. He walked into the store because he knew that Andi would follow him, rather than just stay outside like some sort of idiot. After all, why Caleb would had invited Andi if Andi would just stand there like an idiot. ”I doubt you could gain any weight, you and me, we’re special because we can eat a load of shit and never get any fatter!” he said happily. It was true!

He grinned widely as he looked around him. This place was always amazing, even if you had been here a million times before!

(sorry, horrible writers block)