Chapter 8
Jett
I use the wall to balance myself as I climb down the stepladder on one foot. It’s much harder than it seems, but I can’t put any weight on my broken foot at all. I think it’s probably healed for the most part, but stepping on it would break the cast and get me in hot water with my doctor, and probably with Keanna.
When I get to the floor, my broken leg bent at the knee, I hop over to my crutches.
“Jett Adams!” My mom’s shrill voice scares the shit out of me, making me jump. I lean against the wall as my crutches fall to the floor.
“Jesus, Mom,” I say, turning to look at her. She’s got a stack of DVDs in one hand and the other is on her hip. Her eyes narrow at me, her lips pressed into a thin line.
“Are you trying to kill yourself?” She looks from me to the step ladder, then to the window which I’ve covered with a blackout curtain. She heaves a sigh. “Son, I can do this for you.”
“I got it,” I say. I bend down and pick up my crutches, then I hobble over to her. She runs her hand down the creases in the brand new curtains, probably wishing I had ironed them first.
Not gonna happen. I wouldn’t even know where to find the iron.
“I’ll do the rest,” she says. “You can’t use a step ladder with a cast on one of your feet.”
“Mom, it’s fine,” I say, throwing my arm around her shoulders. She’s so much shorter than I am, it’s kind of funny, even though she’s still glaring at me. “My cast comes off soon, so my leg is already healed by now. They always leave it on way too long anyhow.”
She snorts. “Right, okay. I forgot you went to medical school and you know more than your doctors.” She rolls her eyes. “Just let me handle the rest of these. You can do something less dangerous.”
Tomorrow is Keanna’s nineteenth birthday. Since my awesome county fair idea was dead on arrival, thanks to my broken leg, I’ve taken her movie idea and turned it into something awesome. If all she wants to do is sit at home and watch movies, I can still make it special.
Upstairs in my house, we have a game room, that’s basically just a big open room with a pool table and a TV and some leather recliners for watching movies. The TV is mounted to the wall and it’s only forty-seven inches big, so It’s not nearly big enough for what I want to do.
I’m buying a projector and a screen and Dad is helping me install them. I pick up the DVDs Mom set on the couch and go through them. She was in charge of finding eighties romantic comedies that she thinks Keanna would like, and judging by all the girly images on the covers, I think she probably nailed it. As soon as Dad gets back from Best Buy, we’re going to set up the projector screen which will make a ninety inch theater screen on our wall. It’s going to be amazing.
I also bought four blackout curtains to replace the existing girly ones with black and white baroque patterns on them that my mom picked out a long time ago. These are solid black and have a reflector type of material on the back and they promise to block out all sunlight.
I’ve rented a popcorn machine from a local party rental place, and bought a ton of candy and drinks, which Mom is helping me set up on a table as if it were a concession stand.
The best part? My parents and Keanna’s parents will be hanging out at Keanna’s house all day tomorrow, that way the little kids won’t be loud and mess up our day. As soon as Keanna comes over, we’re go into have a dark movie theater and a stack of movies. I can’t think of anything more relaxing, and I really hope she’ll love it. The best part, is that it doesn’t require any walking, so my stupid broken leg won’t ruin the evening.
“What will you be having for dinner?” Mom asks after she’s hung up the other three curtains. The old ones are draped over her shoulder.
“I was thinking some kind of takeout,” I say. “Whatever Keanna wants, and we’ll get it delivered.”
Mom nods. “I’m baking her that chocolate cake she loves. Should be done soon if you want to come eat the leftover icing.”
“You know I do,” I say, rubbing my stomach.
She laughs. “Do you like the movies I picked out?”
“Hell if I know,” I say, casting a glance back at them. “It’s not about me liking them, it’s about her liking them.”
“I’ve raised you right,” Mom says before she heads back downstairs.
When Dad gets back from the store, we set up the projector screen. He thought my movie projector idea was so badass that he wanted to buy it himself, to add an extra level of awesome to the game room. I had planned on buying the projector since it was my idea, but I don’t complain. Dad and I hang it from the ceiling and run the wires through the attic. He has to do that part, since I’m stuck with my leg.
We screw the retracting screen from the ceiling and pull it down to cover the existing TV on the wall. Our new massive movie screen looks amazing.
“We can watch the dirt bike races on this thing,” Dad says as we sit back and admire our handiwork. Right now it’s just playing the DVD loading screen for The Breakfast Club but it still looks amazing.
He claps me on the back. “I can’t wait until you’re back out there racing.”
“Me too, Dad.” I cast a scornful look at my leg. “Me too.”
