Friends

section 1 of a book

Chapter  1...hm...actually, f**k it. I'm thinking no chapters. I mean why not right? It makes pretty good sense to me. It's original, more fast-paced, and consequently more exciting. Plus I'm the writer, I have to know what I'm talking about right? If you haven't already closed this book, that's good. Just try to bear with me. It might pay off in the end.

I'm writing this book to inspire people, to show people another side of things, make people think, make people laugh,  maybe even make people aspire to do some of the things I talk about. How can I do all this? It seems like a daunting task you say? Well I'm Tanner Eberhardt, and Daunting is my middle name.

In the beginning of books you usually start with getting to know the character, and as much as I want to be original I'm not going to break that mold. The only real character is me, though this book won't be a collection of my drunken nights and wild sex-capades (though you might get a little insight into some of them if you're lucky), it's still mainly about me, myself and I. With that being said, let's introduce the character. My name is Tanner Eberhardt, and Daunting isn't my real middle name. It's Loren. Pronounced like the girl name, yeah yeah get your jokes out now. Trust me I've heard them all. We will address bullying later in the book you b******s. Anyway, I was born on the twenty-first day of February, in the year 1992. I was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but currently reside in the great state of Louisiana. There's really nothing much to say about me, you'll learn more as the book progresses. Plus, this s**t is boring. So let's get to the goods.

Like I said earlier, there will be no chapters in this book. Chapter 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and blah blah blah. It has no spirit. What I'll have is sections, and this first section is called "Friends".

 

Friends

We've all had friends. While some of us have had many and some have had few, we still have the general statement in common. There will always be someone there for you when you need it. Someone you can rely on and trust. But what happens when that person isn't there for you? What happens when you lose the trust? Such is the darker aspect of friends. From personal experience, I can say that I've had friends that run the gauntlet from extraordinary to downright Brutus's. I'll tell some stories, tell you some things I've learned, and hopefully you will learn from them too.

We'll start with the extraordinary ones first. These are very few mind you, but what they lack in quantity they more than make up for in quality. One of the brightest pupils in the friend academy is a fellow by the name of Dylan Landry. Dylan rode my bus way back when in 9th grade, and we didn't exactly hit it off right away. In fact, we really didn't like each other at all. There was arguing and a few exchanges of hurtful names. As well as some slandering behind the back. Maybe not on his part, but most definitely on mine. Sorry buddy. The way I became fast friends with Dylan is a tale of intrigue that not only captures your mind, it takes hold of all of your senses and sends them on a wild ride through happiness and sadness, anguish and relief. If you're standing up I implore you to sit down. Are you still standing in Barnes & Noble? You are aren't you?! Just buy the damn book! Trust me! Oh well, if you can resist after this story then more power to you.

There was a giant ditch in our neighborhood, one that looked like it would be particularly nice to dam up. That was exactly my plan. One year, on the last day of school, I began recruiting bus members to help me in this endeavor. Dylan happened to be one of the recruits. So we dammed the ditch, ended up getting it knocked down and not a day goes by that we aren't interacting in some way since. I told you it was one hell of a tale. But wait, there's more. Unfortunately for you, you are only going to get one story of heroism that solidifies Dylan as one of the trust worthy, "I got your back" friends. It's a good one though.

On a dark and dreary night, me and my then girlfriend, C, were out on a muddy road. Why? The details escape me at the moment and they're not necessarily important. Plus you can probably already guess what was happening on an abandoned dirt road, at about 12 midnight. That's not the story though, the story starts after those events. The story REALLY gets good when the car's tires get stuck in ankle-high mud. Being out past curfew (underage at the time), being with a girl, and the whole "abandoned road" thing pretty much eliminated any parents from being called for help. Naturally she was frantic and being the man of the car or dirt road whatever, I had to step up and keep things in order. I told her to relax, get in the car and throw it in reverse when I push. No luck there. Then I tried reversing it and it got out, but sunk right back in. Desperate, I turned to the one person I knew would come to my aid. The following is a recollection of the events that took place, to the best of my memory:

"12 AM. I picked up the phone and scrolled through contacts until I found the one I was searching for. Dylan Landry. I hurriedly called him, praying that he would answer. He did.

Dylan- Hello?

Me- Dylan, I need your help. Me and C are on a dirt road, off of the highway or interstate I don't know. But her car is stuck in mud and we can't get it out.

Dylan- Alright dude I'll be right there.

About 10 minutes go by and I saw headlights that I knew were Dylan's. I flagged him down and he pulled over to assess the situation. I knew he would come ready to help, but he brought four 2x4's and a flashlight with a plan already in mind.

Dylan- Put the planks under each tire. They'll catch and make some traction to shoot the car out.

What a genius he is. We set to placing all of the planks, and we're ready to give it a try.

Dylan- C, don't stop hitting the gas until you're clear into the street.

Me- Seriously, don't stop.

C- Ok Ok I get it! (she didn't get it)

She hits the gas and Dylan and I slam into the car with full force. Lo and behold, it comes right out. There's an old saying about celebrating too early leading to an even earlier defeat. Actually, I don't know if there are any sayings like that but it sounds pretty cool. Moral of the story, we celebrated far too soon. As quick as the car was freed it was wretched right back into its muddy prison.

Me- What the f**k?! You stopped!

C- I'm sorry! I got nervous that I was going into the ditch!

Dylan- Jesus Christ.

We try again and again, every single attempt was met with failure. The boards were becoming too wet from the mud and rain, and our patience was running thin. We sat on the hood of the car, told C to call her dad to help, and hung our heads in defeat. Yet just as the jaws of failure were closing, a God-send emerged to pry them open.

Me- Wait wait! Don't call your dad, Dylan look at that pile of s**t over there. There's gotta be something dry we can put on the boards to make the tires catch.

Dylan- Dude, that's a perfect idea.

We go over to the trash heap and select our weapons. A cheetah print blanket and the cushion of an old, forgotten computer chair. We set them in place and take a deep breath. It had been about two hours. Two hours of being rained on and covered in mud. Two hours of pushing and pulling and wedging and any other -ing word. This HAD to work. This was make or break. This was it.

Dylan- This is it dude.

Me- I know.

At that moments something so beautiful happened. Something that none of my words could bring any justice. Something that assuaged our anguish and shook the very Heavens themselves. A clasping of hands so perfect, that it almost damn near disproved God. That was the only sign we needed.

Me- Seriously, DO NOT STOP THIS TIME!

C- OK I promise I won't.

Dylan- You won't hit the ditch there's no way. When I hit three you just keep going until you're in the street.

C- I will I promise!

Dylan- Ok, one...two....THREE!

The engine roared to life and me and Dylan repeated the tradition of smashing our muddy and broken bodies into the car. Except this time something was different, this time it had actually worked! We began to celebrate, and that's when we remembered the previous short-lived victory. We look up at the car and notice that it's slowing, crawling to a stop. In a flash Dylan let out a short yell and shouldered the car with all his force, falling face down into the mud. That apparently let C know that she wasn't in the clear yet, and she re-hit the gas and was free. We had done it."

I told you it was a pretty amazing story. You might not think so to read it, but that made me damn sure that Dylan was one of my best friends. I guess bro-mance isn't too far off. Sometimes you just know when the right one comes along.

Reviews

[Cafe Reader]

Good character details. A good story!

[Mark]

Not a terribly complex plot, but well executed nonetheless. I liked your conversational, confrontational style. You drew me right in to the character's life. Good job! Reminds me of when I got stuck in my own back yard. When my stepson came to pull me out, he got too close to the mire, and HE got stuck as well. We finally had to make the comealong to an oak tree, and ratchet ourselves out. Wotta mess!

[luciddreamer]

Hehe....being a teen once myself many moons ago and getting stuck myself on an "abandon dirt road"...I enjoyed this tale tremendously....just wishing I had those kind of friends...we had to call his dad to help us out.....lol
Peace
Robin

[Tahna]

Not a bright chicky this character had there lol GREAT story really straight up and honest and actually inspiring!