Jonny Boy

what is jonny grateful for? || graduation task, part i

“I think I can say with almost 95 percent certainty that bed picnics are the best picnics.”

“But aren’t picnics supposed to be outdoors? I’m assuming here you’re not dragging large furniture to enjoy a meal.” 

“You’ve got a pretty full plate with all that stuff, right? I mean, I do none of those things so I’m constantly just seeking out ways to fill my time, otherwise I end up just wandering around with no destination. Do you have much free time with all that? I– It’s, like, your last chance to do crazy teenage things,” B nodded, a little too enthusiastically, in agreeance, “It makes me sad when I go to a gig or party and a ton of people are just on their phones instead of making memories. It’s about as disappointing as shitty journalism. Not that I actually care too much about it, personally.”

“I’ll be honest but I am trying to clear my schedule. After driving myself to commit to so many pursuits, reeling back from ‘em is...a little difficult. Now that I’ve got into college, it’s easier to enjoy them though.” He paused, sighing.  “Was never drawn to crazy teenage things like, ever, so I’ve no idea where to start. I’ve still got two years to figure it though, it’s not too late?” He gripped an opposite shoulder and winced. “Right? But it’s good to care sometimes, should memories be an imporant feature and it means you’re attentive among other good things.”      

Upon hearing the knock at her door, Elise found herself lifting the covers off of her and biting her lip, wondering if she should just pretend to be asleep. It had been less than two months since she’d gotten ill, and the ‘well-wishers’ didn’t seem to stop. She’d often find herself opening the door to classmates she’d never even talked to before. They either pitied her so much they wanted to feel like they did something, or their mother had pressured them to go visit - a lot of people only came because of that, she gathered. She straightened her cannula and hoped it wasn’t one of those people who thought they were cheering her up when really, they were just making her sad. “Come in,” She said softly.

It was inevitable and Jonny hated it, but working the meal delivery reminded him too much of his other job so he avoided as much as he could. It was just his luck that they were short on numbers today, having to take him out of his preferred position of escorting patients, rather than food. After hearing her confirmation, he fiddled with the unfamiliar door before managing to unlock it. “Morning. There’s supposed to be a nurse with me, but it would be great if you could keep quiet on that,” he explained, as if memorised. Holding out the tray, he furrowed his eyebrows and his tone changed upon recognising her. “This is probably better than yesterday. Next door has the same dietary requirements and gave a stellar review.” 

“Whatever, man, it’s not the whole church thing, but my boss gave me some extra shifts and I really need the extra cash. Come on man, we’re not talking rocket science here.” Noah chuckled.

“Oh, no worries. I wholly empathise. I’m just fortunate enough to have a supervisor who does too, stroke of luck.” Nervously chuckling in return, “I’ve been trying, but could probably understand rockets a little better. But you’re skilled, that’s worth something.”

“Does anyone know how to fix phones…. I dropped mine where it wasn’t suppose to be dropped.”

“I’m sure if you tread carefully, the Underground might have a few folks willing to get it done for a lower price?” 

E.T., go home. -laughs- Your finger’s funny-looking.

People usually target my eyebrows. 

“It takes away from things, or something. Like, I know so many people who would rather stay inside instead of going out and having fun. Each to their own. I didn’t even have twitter until I moved here and my friends back home insisted I keep them updated there - which I’ve failed at. That’s, I think, viral journalism. When they’ve got to pump things out constantly to keep people interested, quality drops. Right?”

“There’s plenty of stuff that proves going out is probably better and extreme seclusion is definitely harmful. I would rather stay in too, just something, I suppose. I don’t have a choice most of the time anyway, always something to do: church, work, tutoring. I’m not sure if I could understand documenting one’s life so frequently as you hoped, ironically cuts time out of your enjoyment. That does make sense about BuzzFeed, but still disappointed. Wouldn’t you be?”   

“Sorry, I have to take a rain check on tonight. I know I promised but…”

“It shouldn’t be disastrous. I know most people don’t like to commit themselves to church, but when you are free to help out with the media stuff, it would mean a lot.” 

“Yeah. They were. Thanks!”

“I hope more compliments come your way. I’ve never found the dentist to be a pleasant experience, with many dentists having come my way.” 

“Not something to worry about, I think. Trends come and go so fast these days that even the savviest people get lost amongst it all. There’s vainer social media outlets – instagram and all that where people share a selfie every five seconds. Facebook is really just an advertisement outlet for Buzzfeed posts now.” 

“Social media sounds less appealing with each time it’s brought up. Obviously, I’d love to stay in touch with my graduating class but some folks barely reply to school project urgings on time, not sure they’d utilise well enough for actual communication. I came across Buzzfeed once, was trying to research something for a project too. No offence, but their grammar was terrible, what kind of journalism is that?”

“I didn’t realize how invested I was in Ben and Jen’s relationship until I read back issues of People at the dentist’s office. And now I’m all sad about it.”

“Ben and Jen..? Regardless, I hope your teeth are in top shape.”

“Wait. Did I hear someone talking about memes?”

“Unfortunately, probably wasn’t me.” 

“That’s exactly who I mean. Those who truly touch the lives of many, never really know. Facebook wouldn’t exactly be the place to voice that either, I think. I definitely know a lot more about the subject than I would’ve otherwise.” “Unless you’re interested in getting shitty game invites from your distant family then I wouldn’t bother with they whole she-bang. It’s on the way out anyway.”

“Not surprised that once I do catch up, the trend of the day, year, week, starts to fade away. Comforting words though, but not the greatest fan of putting my life on display. Sounds vain, might I say? Minus the game requests.”