Thunderbolt over Endora [private]

[Masume]

Thunderbolt over Endora

"This place is...quiet..." The observation was made through clenched teeth. She loved traveling it was apart of her life for as long as she could remember. When she was still in her mother's womb, she was traveling, constantly traveling. She never minded it, she was more like an army brat without the army of course. Growing up she never stayed in one place for more than six months. She had no friends, just her yellow Labrador retriever. Who sat snuggly in the backseat of their rental pick up.

"It's lovely dear, just look at that horizon." Her mother sighed blissfully, she loved being out in the country. The city was too modern for her, she could live the rest of her life wonderfully out on a designating porch with a cool, tall glass of lemonade. Chantelle much preferred her glass to be filled with vodka.

Although, even she had to admit, the gusting breeze bursting in through the open window was almost enough to change her mind. She had spent her first four years in San Antonio, Texas, her parents’ originally from London, her mother coming from Trinidad it was a big twist. So naturally, she didn't feel so pulled away from society here in Endora. The town was more of a dust ghost town; San Antonio at least was bustling with people. Chantelle suspected this was one of those towns were everyone was on a first name basis; they knew one another's secrets, hope and dreams and all that other corny stuff.

She was doing this for her mom, letting her relax a bit. They had been going none stop for nearly two years now, she deserved a bit of a break.

"One house..two...two. There have been two houses in the last half hour. We're going to have no one to talk to. You know I can't survive like that mom."

Her mother simply chuckled and pulled the pick up over, stopping it. "Look, we can ask these people here for a bit of shelter, look there are two young girls one looks about your age. Maybe you can make a friend?"

"I've always been a charmer..." Chantelle smiled at her mom, opening the passenger door once they came to a full stop. As soon as she exited the vehicle, the wind tossed her hair and played with the hem of her cool blue sundress. Boy was it windy out here. She couldn't complain it kept the blistering suns heat away. Shielding her eyes from the golden stars rays, she waved over to the two females who pranced around enjoying the weather and one another's company.

"Hey!!" Running over to them, she watched as they sized her up. Feeling a bit out of place, she put on her best smile. "Uh sorry to interrupt but...my mom and me, we're looking for some directions into town for a hotel or some-"

"There are none." The younger of the two spoke up. She looked to be at least 14 or 15, but the makeup she wore, the electric blue that circled her eyes added at least an immature year or two.

"None...none at all?"

"No, have you been traveling long?" The taller, older one asked. She was quite beautiful. Just as the little one was, they looked to be sister. Being out here along with a big, old house, they must have been.

Chantelle chuckled folding her arms across her chest. "Just all my life. I guess we'll be pulling an all nighter cramped up in that pick up. Thanks anyways."

"Uh my names Amy. Amy Grape and this is my little sister Ellen. We live here with our two brothers and our um...mom."

"Oh." What was it about first meets, they could either go really well and everyone would get along and chat up a storm, or everyone inv9olved would act all awkward and laugh after every sentence. That's how things were at this moment, she stood, feeling uncomfortable in her own skin, laughing and giggling like a moron. She just felt so damn out of place here. "My names Chantelle Brown. Can I ask you a weird question?"

"Yeah sure." Amy nodded.

Chantelle walked past her a few steps, is that your brother up there, hanging upside down from that tree branch?"

"ARNIE! GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Ellen ran off, make up in hand and all waving her arms around in the air. Panicking wasn't going to get the boy down. It might have, but in a bad way. With a closer look, she could see the boy was autistic.

A wave of grief washed over the girls face as her sister too began demanding their brother to come down.

"I can get him if you want."

"Oh, no. He does this a lot we can get him. I'll just get Gilbert. Stay here Ellen." Amy spun around and ran towards the house calling out for what Chantelle supposed was the girls brother. Looking up the boy grinned from ear to ear, waving happily down at her. She couldn't help it, his smile was contagious, she flashed him one back and waved with as much enthusiasm as he extended to her. She did wish she could do something other than standing here, starring at him. So she began to climb.

"What are you doing?" Ellen asked, almost laughing at her random behavior.

"Climbing a tree sweetheart." Lifting herself up onto the branch after making sure her climbing in a dress wouldn't give the girl below an x-rated show. The boy was hysterically laughing, good thing too. If she was going to gain any inappropriate splinters just to make, sure he didn't fall off and break something she wanted some kind of reward. "What's your name?"

"Arnie!"

"Well Arnie, wanna come on down with me? My mum and I are new here...we'd love to have someone show us around. Besides, I could use a new friend." Chantelle winked at the boy and his face light up. She liked him he was genuine. You could tell just by his gestures. While others took life so seriously, lied and hurt people. Despite whatever his disabilities may be, if there were more people in the world that felt and treated others they way he did everyone would be so much better off.

"I come down now."

 

[GuyValentine]

Arnie was growing wrestless at house and was beginning to annoy Gilbert. He didn't like annoying Gilbert, but he always seemed to. That's when Amy and Ellen had offered to take him for a walk. Arnie had smiled and laughed. He loved going on walks, seeing the world outside. As they walked Ellen and Amy chatted to each other and occasionally to Arnie, asking him what he saw and what he thought about it. It had all been going well until Ellen and Amy stopped to chat to a girl Arnie didn't recall. His mind wandered, not interested in the stranger, and that's when he saw it. The tree. Arnie's favorite thing in the world was to climb. Going higher and higher, there was nothing he loved more. He knew he wasn't supposed to climb by himself, but Amy and Ellen were busy, so without a word he moved to the tree.

Arnie began to climb, he felt the rush he always did as he moved up the tree, from branch to branch.

ARNIE! GET DOWN FROM THERE!"

Arnie knew by the tone in Ellen's voice that he had upset her, but he didn't care. He was high enough that she couldn't reach him. No one could reach him when he was high enough up. As he watched his sisters scurry about beneath him like little ants, Arnie laughed. Suddenly there was another person in the tree with him. The girl from before.

Well Arnie, wanna come on down with me? My mum and I are new here...we'd love to have someone show us around. Besides, I could use a new friend."

Arnie smiled and offered to come down. He loved making new friends, most people didn't want to be Arnie's friend. He never understood why. As Arnie climbed down with the girl he smiled.

"That was fun. I like trees." Arnie began to babble nonsensically. The girl just smiled and nodded, and Arnie just kept going on about trees and climbing.

 

[Masume]

“Thanks for getting him down he uh…loves trees.” His sister explained.

“I can see that.” Chantelle laughed. She didn’t mind helping out at all. She had a way with kids. Pointing out over to the house she continued her conversation with the young boy. “Is that your house?”

“S’not my house it’s my mom’s house!” He answered. “Gilberts there!”

“Oh? Who’s Gilbert?”

“My….my brother! Come with me!” the little boy wrapped his fingers around her wrist and began gently pulling her towards his home. She looked back at his sister with a “what do I do now” look as the boy dragged her along with him that same grin playing across his face. His sister followed along acting as though she hardly minded the new company.

Pushing the front door open, Chantelle watched as Arnie’s older sister walked out stopping just a few steps away from their porch. She looked relived to see that Arnie was safely down. Chantelle quickly guessed this wasn’t the first time they had moments with him that set them off. But Ellen’s presence soon drifted away when another person stepped out of the house. Her stomach began to churn and her mouth went dry. She seldom acted that way but it had been a while since she’d been around a male. A good-looking one at that. Whoever stepped out of the porch with a worried expression must have been Gilbert. Physically he wasn’t too big, too tall or too dark for her tastes. His looks exuded everything about this place that scream laziness. Compared she usually courted and/or courted her he was very different. She almost never went for the small town types. Not that she had any intention of changing that now.

“Gilbert!” The boy screamed.

 

[GuyValentine]

As Arnie tore back to his house and break neck speeds, the new girl in tow, he thought about introducing his new friend to Gilbert and Mama. Mama would be so proud that he had made a new friend. Arnie screamed Gilbert's name when he saw him on the porch.

"Gilbert, this is my friend." Arnie sputtered excitedly. He watched as Gilbert introduced himself to the new girl. "Now come meet Mama!" Arnie began pulling her inside, but Gilbert's hand pressed firmly into Arnie's chest, keeping him from the door he so longed to open.

"No Arnie. Mama's not....well today." Arnie frowned. Mama was never well when company is over. But he HAD to show her his new friend.

"NO Gilbert, I want to show her to Mama." Gilbert raised up Chantelle's wrist as if it were a prize animal he'd caught. Arnie made another attempt for the door, but yet again Gilbert held Arnie back, it wasn't too hard.

"Arnie...no." Gilbert did not want people to see his mother in the condition she was in.

 

[Masume]

“Hey, it’s alright I can meet her another time. Okay Arnie?” Chantelle’s eyes flickered over his brother. She could have sworn he was making an excuse for her to leave. She just wasn’t so sure she wanted too yet. She’d abandoned her mother for people who didn’t even really want her here. Yet she felt so compelled to learn more about them or rather this Gilbert. He puzzled her and she wanted to know why he was so obviously covering up.

“So you’re Gilbert? I’m Chantelle.” She extended her hand locking eyes with him. “Pleasure to meet you and your family.”

 

[GuyValentine]

Gilbert glared at Arnie as he tried to push in again. "Arnie, Mama's not well!" Arnie, frustrated, ran inside screaming. Gilbert rolled his eyes, he would be blamed for this, somehow. Gilbert turned his focus back to Chantelle and took her hand in his.

"Gilbert Grape. Sorry about Arnie, he gets....attatched very easily." he frowned slightly. "I've never seen you around, and this is a pretty small town."
Gilbert left the sentence open ended, hoping for an answer. He didn't want to pry. Gilbert's eyes flickered over her, she was very attractive and Gilbert would have deffinatly noticed her around before. He guessed she was new in their little town. The town that Gilbert was beginning to despise. It was holding him back, his life was centered around this town...around this family. He had so much responsibility here and he loathed it.

 

[Masume]

Gilbert Grape huh? The name almost made her giggle. Not wanting to be disrespectful, she muttered something about him having a nice name and let her eyes drift away from him. She was overstaying her welcome and even causing problems between the family. Patting down her dress and it blew around her thighs, she took a few steps back. It was time she be hittin the old dusty trail before she cause any more tension than she already had.

“Hey maybe you can stay for dinner?!”

Chantelle snapped her head around and looked at young Ellen. “I mean if you want too that is.” The girl’s entire face frowned at the thought of her declining an invitation to spend dinner with her family. Seeing as how she had already made things bothersome for them.

“Well my mom is waiting on me and I’ve imposed on you guys so much already so-“

“We’ve got plenty of food. Right Gilbert? I mean more than enough for us, we always have ton of leftovers.” Nudging her brother in the rib, she whispered the rest of her words. “Let her stay, she’s the most exciting thing to happen to us…” More desperate for a “cool” friend, someone that didn’t consider their best friends to be farm animals. She wanted Chantelle to stay.

 

[GuyValentine]

Gilbert gave a disaproving look at Ellen, but then looked at Chantelle. "Yeah, your welcome to stay for dinner. We'd be happy to have you." Gilbert wanted to know more about this girl, but he didn't want her seeing his mother. It was...ebarassing for her. For him.

Gilbert looked at Chantelle then stepped aside to let her into the house. Gilbert noticed Arnie's wailing had stopped, his mother had probably settled him as only she knew how to do. Once again Gilbert felt a wave of ...he wasn't sure what the feeling was but he didn't like it. Gilbert managed to get blamed for everything around here, his fault or not. Suddenly a new wave came over him, guilt. He felt badly for feeling this way about Arnie, his mother, and his entire family.

Gilbert looked at Chantelle, "So, how about it?"

 

[Masume]

-- Fast Forward to Dinner

Surprisingly the uncomfortable dinner talk she was expecting was turning out to actually be a bit of fun. They asked simple questions she answers, they chatted easily. The conversation flowed wonderfully well. Chantelle assumed their mother was still ill, which explained why she wasn't here enjoying dinner with them. She did hope before her mother and her set off again she got to meet her.

One disappointment was Gilbert's silence. Even when she asked him a question, he kept his answers to "no, yes, I'm not sure." Or something else that kept him from getting into details. That was it, she was determined to get him to talk to her. Either he was scared of her or just repulsed. She wasn't bad to look at. Scooting her chair as quietly as she could closer to Gilbert. she had purposely chosen to sit next to him and across from her mother. Letting her bare feet slightly touch his sock covered toes. Pretending as though she hadn't noticed she kept on eating, sucking what was left of the chicken off it's bone. Out here, they knew how to eat.

"So do you have a boyfriend?" Ellen was full of questions for her tonight. Every five minutes or so she had come up with another. Chantelle had no problem answering them and the fascination was flattering. Ellen really should have considered a career as a reporter or host.

"Um no. No time for one. They just stir up trouble anyway." She smiled.

"Gilbert doesn't have a girlfriend."

"Ellen." Amy snapped.

Ellen innocently shrugged. "I'm just stating a fact."

The ease she felt slipped away when Ellen announced that. Chantelle washed away the tension with a long gulp of lemonade and chuckled. "Well...that's surprising." She said, hoping to transfer her unease to him.

 

[GuyValentine]

The dinner had passed without incident thus far. Gilbert, keepin his words short and to the poing, had gone through the meal his head down for the most part. Then Ellen had gone and done the unimagineable. She'd thrown out the "girlfriend" card. Ellen was always trying to set Gilbert up with the girls in town, but they always just seemed to get in the way of taking care of Arnie. Gilbert never let anything get in the way of Arnie.

"Well...that's surprising."

Gilbert gave her a sweet smile, but said nothing. As he began tucking into his pipping hot portion of green beans, he felt something brush the top of his foot. He glanced over at Chantelle and was pretty sure he knew where it was coming from. Gilbert set down his fork and napkin, standing from the table.

"I need some fresh air." He looked over at Chantelle. "Want to come?"

 

[Masume]

Surprised with the invitation, Chantelle wiped her lips and excused herself. Ignoring the wide grin, she was receiving from both Ellen and Arnie. Guess in runs in the family. Following his steps, she oddly felt like a kid again, being sent to detention for incident behavior. Did he want to talk to her about the little foot incident? It was so minor she thought he wouldn’t notice. Head hung low, arms folded tightly across her abdomen.

As he swung open the door, she watched him carefully. He was still a stranger and was unpredictable. “The food was great. Just thought you should know that. Did Amy cook it?”

 

[GuyValentine]

Gilbert stepped off the porch and began walking away from the house he knew so well. Twilight was beginning to set in over the night sky and he looked over at her, "Yeah, Amy always cooks. She's pretty good." Gilbert said. They walked in silence for sometime. Gilbert glancing occasionally at the night sky. Gilbert didn't know why he'd invited her. He just wanted someone besides Arnie to take a walk with, and even with the distinct lack of conversation, it was a welcome change.

They continued down a dirt road, passing by a decrepid wooden fence that was falling apart. It had originally been constructed to keep people out of the corn field, but Gilbert could remember all the times they'd jumped it to play hide-and-seek in the tall corn stalks. All the times he had to chase in there after Arnie, looking for him for hours, only to find that Arnie had already gone home. This place was full of memories for Gilbert and they were all fresh in his mind.

 

[Masume]

Chantelle sat up on the fence, her feet dangling back and forth. She watched him for a while her eyes were constantly on him. It passed the time between the pure silence. Did the air out here smell better? Of course it did. Pollution was a distant memory here compared to how hazardous the air was back home. At night, things were so still it was unnerving. In the city right now life was just beginning for many. The night owls owned the streets. It was a Saturday, which meant big bucks for Toronto’s nightlife. She almost craved a dance floor.

“Gilbert, if you want a walking partner. You should get a dog.” She said half smiling. Looking down at her feet, she inhaled a deep breath, flicking her hair back.

“I don’t know how you do it. Playing dad for everyone.” He may have been wondering how she suspected it in such a short amount of time but she was an amazing observer. He took care of things, as did his sister Amy. Whatever was wrong with their mother she suspected had been going on for a while now. Taking care of Arnie must have been a handful but he didn’t seem to be as much trouble as any other kid.


“IO can hardly dress myself.” She laughed. “It’s very…good of you. It’s just a shame you don’t think of yourself. At least that’s how things look. What do I know?”

 

[GuyValentine]

Gilbert stopped walking and moved over to the fence that Chantelle had decided to perch herself atop, he leaned against it looking at her as she spoke. He smiled slightly when she made the crack about the dog.

"A dog? Too much work, too much responsibility." he spoke with sincerity.

Gilbert gazed up at the sky again, dreaming of a life outside of the town, when Chantelle spoke again.

“I don’t know how you do it. Playing dad for everyone.”

Gilbert looked at her in mild suprise. She had been here all of an hour or two and already she could read him. This un-nerved Gilbert slightly and he looked at her.

"I'm just looking out for Arnie. He's my brother." Gilbert said shortly and matter-of-factly. That's all the explanation he needed to give. That's all he needed to know. She asked Gilbert "What do I know" but it really struck him, a complete stranger and she knew....alot. Once again Gilbert got that feeling of unease. Her questions were hitting far to close to the chest fo Gilbert's taste.