Jason Jones About Town

"Jason Jeremiah Jones, I am going to give you a whipping like you won't believe!" Jason leaned back under the onslaught of abuse as his mother continued, berating him for faults real and percieved. "Clod! Daredevil! Fool! First you disrespect your poor, hardworking mother, then you sully her good name with reckless adventures?"

Jason would take her less seriously if she was not bearing down on him with a knife. As it was, he presented no defense and backed slowly away. When she lunged, he ducked and ran for it. Mr. Jones, emerging from the kitchen, winked at fleeing Jason. A hallway away, Jason heard his father say, "Now, Ethel, were are you going? I do believe it's your turn to do the dishes..."

Saved for a time, Jason took a moment to catch his breath. His leg hurt, but he could ignore it. Limping slightly, Jason walked to his room.

It had been looted. Everything remotely valuable, all his prized collectables and posters and even his bedspread - gone. Junk was scattered across the floor.

Jason was aghast. Then, as he realized who had done this, he was furious. He turned and walked across the hallway. His sister turned as he entered. "Hey! You're supposed to knock!"

Jason stared at her.

"What? You are! You know that!"

Jason stared more pointedly at her.

"...is it about the stuff? Mom said you were gone forever, and no-one seemed to mind..."

After a moment more, she began to halfheartedly move Jason's belongings back to his room. Jason stayed with her for a while, helping with some things that he thought she was too small or too careless to move, and then headed outside. He had some friends to visit.

On the way to the front door, Mr. Green greeted him. "You're back. I'm glad - really I am. I was very worried about you."

Jason looked down, feeling awkward. He tried to find a path around his father-in-law. Mr. Green moved to block him.

"Look, I just wanted to say... I know I'm not your biological father, but I do what I can. And I really do think of you as my son, in the ways that count. Once I heard what your mother had done, I wasn't happy. I did what I could. You can talk to me."

Jason fled.

-

The first friend he tried to visit wasn't home. His mother answered the door. "Oh, Jason! Fred's out at Richie's place. There's a party or a get-together or something - Fred told me about two minutes before he was out the door, so I'm not really sure."

Jason found that she was quite right, ten minutes later. Most of the people there were known to Jason, from school or elsewhere, though he didn't know some of the girls. He hung out with them, telling tall tales of his absence (as opposed to the real, bloody, illegal ones) and drinking large amounts of soda. Then Fred walked up to him. "Yo, Jase!" They high-fived, and Fred continued: "Jase, you still taking martial arts?"

Jason nodded. "Yes..."

Fred looked at his watch. "Well, I hate to take you from the party, but the lesson starts in five minutes."

-

Twenty-five minutes later, Jason faced his third sparring partner of the day. Sensei moved through the room, correcting stance and techinque, but he'd been especially harsh on Jason. Just now, for instance, he shouted at Jason, "Mr. Jones! Left knee! Too low!" Despite the pain it caused his thigh, Jason pulled his knee up. He knew his opponent - pretty good, but not as good as Jason. If he thought Jason's wound was going to slow him down, he had another thought coming. Jason readied himself for the sensei's signal.

He spun about as the front doors crashed open. Through them, he could see what looked phenomenally like a centaur holding a very large spear.

Jason decided to postpone the bout for the moment.