A/N First fic ever! The first three chapters of S.O.M. will serve as introductions to the six main characters. Therefore this chapter is written from two viewpoints, and a change from one to the next is indicated by the dashes.

Time has a way of testing us. It can lead friends to stand by each other no matter what, or it can be the very thing that drives them apart. It can cause one to become enamored with a fellow peer, or with the person they’d least expect. And when we make life-changing decisions, will what we’ve been taught over the years help us to make the right choice, or will we end up doing something that we’ll regret it for the rest of our lives? As Joe, his brother Kurt and their friends Hank, Katie, Muriel and Gina will learn, the transition from adolescence to adulthood won’t be easy, some things in life are destined to change, and some things will always withstand the test of time... Inspired by the lyrics of ‘Son of Man,’ sung by Phil Collins.

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CHAPTER 1: The Brothers Bershadsky

I wake up to the intense glare of the morning sun seeping through my bedroom window. From the outside world, I can hear birds singing, children laughing and talking while on their way to school, and the occasional car driving down the dirt road into the main part of town. In essence, it is the very song of the south: peaceful, reflective and sentimental.

How disgusting…

With a throaty growl, I slowly drag myself from my bed and glanced over to the opposite side of the room where my brother laid, completely dead to the world. I then walked over to his side of the room, being careful as to not step on any of his discarded clothes and belongings, and gazed out of the window. Outside, just as I predicted, it was an overly typical day: clear blue summer sky, the paperboy was making his deliveries, and the kids from the families down the road were making their way to school.

It’s funny how such blissful scenes can send my blood to boil, even more so since once upon a time, I actually enjoyed waking up to the calm that is Flowerbud Village. Then again, so much has changed in these last few years, and I no longer can view things like I used to. What I see before me seems …so trivial and overly cheerful, almost to the point where it’s artificial. It’s like no one in this town has ever heard of bad times, or knows what it feels like to suffer adversity. Everything here is always so quaint, beautiful and truthful. It’s all a load of…

“How’s the view?” yawns a sluggish voice from behind me.

I turned around to see my brother yawning and stretching, his shoulder length brown hair in a tousled state. My eyes then shoot over to the alarm clock on the end table: 7:22 a.m.

What the heck’s he doing up this early?

“Uh…sunny…” I mumbled.

“For someone graduated from high school, and today being their last day of school, I would expect for them to be a little more enthusiastic,” he chuckled.

“You know good and well I’m not a morning person, Joe.” I said calmly, hoping to deter him from making any stupid comments.

“Not a morning person? Dude, sometimes I don’t think you’re even a person, much less a morning person!”

I scowled at him.

Imbecile.

I then waltzed right by him and out of our room without uttering a single syllable. Out the corner of my eye, I noted that Joe seemed disheartened at my response, but then again after sixteen years, you think he know by now that I find his antics to be quite annoying, especially first thing in the morning. Besides, I got more important things to worry about than his flimsy little ego…

--

I wake up to the warmth of the morning sun peaking through my bedroom window. From outside, I can hear birds singing, children laughing and talking while walking to school, and the occasional car driving down into town. The combination of sounds is usually enough to lull me into a deep sleep, but today it serves more as an energizer simply because it signals the start of the day, and today happens to be the last day of school and the first day of summer.

How cool is that?

Still under the sheets of my bed I glanced over to the window where my brother Kurt stood, his dark blue eyes deeply fixed onto something, and his arms folded across his chest. It is then when I decided to make my presence known.

“How’s the view?”

Kurt turns to me with a rather bored (Or is it annoyed? I can never tell these days.) look on his face.

“Uh…sunny…” he mumbled.

“For someone graduated from high school, and today being their last day of school, I would expect for them to be a little more enthusiastic,” I laughed, hoping to get a smile from or at least make conversation with my normally surly brother.

“You know good and well I’m not a morning person, Joe.”

“Not a morning person? Dude, sometimes I don’t think you’re even a person, much less a morning person!”

Kurt frowned, and then walked right by me and out of our room.

Why do I even bother? It’s like he has no sense of humor anymore.

I soon shrug off the dejection. There was simply no way I was going to let my brother’s temperament start my day off on the wrong foot. At this moment, I managed to stub my toe onto one of my many toy R.C.s lying on the floor.

Ouch…

--

After washing up, a quick shower and a change of clothes (some dark gray cargo pants, a black t-shirt and a black denim jacket – nothing fancy), I made my way to the kitchen where I found Mom at the stove, and Dad sitting at the table reading the newspaper.

“Morning, sunshine!” beamed Mom, a little too loud and shrill for my taste. Normally, I can tolerate her sing-song high-pitched voice, but as of late, I have not been sleeping well, and next to Joe’s lame jokes and puns, it is the most God awful thing to hear.

“Morning, Kurtis,” said, (or rather grumbled) Dad, not even bothering to look up from his paper.

It’s a wonder which parent I take after…

“Morning,” I simply replied, and took my seat next to Dad. Mom then walked over to the kitchen table with a serving platter of bacon, toast and sunny-side-up eggs in tow.

“Say, sweetie, where is your brother?” said Mom setting a plate for Joe. “If he doesn’t hurry, his food will get cold and he’ll be late for school.”

“Last time I saw him, he was still in our room. And that was fifteen minutes ago.”

“Honestly, Olga, it’s their last day,” stated Dad, folding up the paper and heading over to the coffee machine. “I don’t think it’ll really matter if he’s late today.”

“Maybe so,” said Mom softly as she took her seat across from me. “But you have to admit that last days of school are always interesting. All the gossip we’d have and the pranks pulled! When I was still in school I always made it a point to get to school as early as possible to do everythingpossible.”

“I guess you have a point,” answered Dad, in between sips. “It should particularly apply to Kurtis.”

“I know,” gushed Mom. “Must be so great that it’s your last day of high school!”

“It’s ok…” I replied hesitantly, hoping that neither Dad nor Mom would make such a big deal of my lack of interest as Joe did. And if they were going to, they never got the chance to get in a word, because at that precise moment, Joe comes rushing into the kitchen, and more surprisingly, he is already dressed for school and has his backpack on. However, his hair is still in a rather untidy shape. Guess there’s no accounting in taste…

“Morning, sweetheart!” beamed Mom, once again a little too loud and shrill for my taste.

“Morning, Joseph,” said Dad.

“Hey, Mom, Dad,” smiled Joe, as he took his seat across from Dad. He then look in my direction, perhaps trying to get a feel for what type of mood I was in. I nodded, so as to acknowledge his presence, and then focused in on more important things, namely breakfast.

--

“So, are you excited about today being your last day of school?” asked Mom.

I laughed. “Are you kidding? This is the one day of the year that all teens live for. I even want to get to school early to get to do everything possible.”

At this, Kurt raises an eyebrow at me.

“That’s just what I was telling Kurt and your father,” chirped Mom. “It’s such a joyful time of year, really. You get to sign off on your friends’ yearbooks and say your goodbyes…”

“And there’s no homework, projects or teachers constantly on your case…”

“Well, hopefully we won’t be having that problem again come your senior year,” said Dad, in his ‘as-a-matter-of-fact’ tone of voice.

“Eh, yeah, right,” I chuckled nervously. Leave it to Dad to kill a mood.

I look over at Kurt, who if for but a moment appeared to be smirking at my embarrassment. He then quickly shot his eyes back down to his plate and resumed eating.

“I’m certain Joey will do fine, honey,” said Mom. “He knows there is a lot at stake, and no one is crazy enough to ruin their senior year.”

“Tell that to Mel,” muttered Kurt, speaking for the first time since I walked into the room.

“Who’s Mel?”

“Melinda Thompson. Smart girl with a bright future ahead for her, that is until she got mixed up with the wrong crowd.”

Mom simply mouthed ‘oh’, and Dad simply nodded his head. I, for once kept my comments to myself. The whole ‘Mel incident’ was and still is a very sensitive topic for Kurt, especially since I think that there was something going on between the two of them.

“So then,” said Dad, in an attempt to break the awkward silence that had filled the room. “I’m glad we have a few minutes to sit down as a family, because there’s something I wanted to bring to light to you all. Boys… I want to make a deal with the two of you.” At this everyone turned their undivided attention to him.

“I’ve had this in mind for some time now, actually,” he began, rising from the table and clearing his now empty plate. “I wanted to do something for Kurtis, since he ranked third in his graduating class, and because we weren’t able to afford to send him to college.”

Dad then turns to look at me. “At the same time, Joseph has managed to pick up his grades this year, and not only graduated on time, but with an impressive grade point average.”

Upon hearing this, I beamed with pride. Kurt simply rolled his eyes.

“Therefore, I’ve reached this conclusion: In honor of your hard work this year, you guys will indefinitely have weekends off from the toyshop.”

--

Joe blinked.

Mom blinked.

I snorted.

Who are you and what have you done with my father?

“Are you serious?” asked Joe, with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes I am,” said Dad, as if it were the most natural thing on Earth.

“But, Woody, isn’t Saturday and Sunday your busiest days?” said Mom.

“Frankly, since it’s summer and kids are out of school, everyday is a busy day. But, I’m willing to let the boys off the hook, providing that Kurtis proves to be a responsible young man, and Joseph continues to work hard, and if the both of you prove that you can be depended on, be it at work or around the house.”

“Of course,” I smiled. Simple can’t argue with a deal like that.

“Totally!” Joe added.

“Then it’s settled,” said Dad. “See? I can be reasonable at times.”

“Of course, love,” said Mom, patting Dad on the hand.

Just then, an automobile horn is heard from outside.

“Sounds like it’s time to go,” shouted Joe, as he hopped up from the kitchen table and rushed out. “See ya, later!”

I rose from the table in a much more composed manner and quietly made my exit.

“I’ll see you boys at 3,” said Dad, folding his arms.

“Sure thing, Dad,” I waved. “Bye Mom.”

Oh God, here it comes…

As if I was walking down Death Row, Mom pulls me into one of her infamous bear hugs.

“Bye, sweetie! Have a wonderful day!”

“Good lord, Liebchen!” cried Dad, stepping in not a moment too soon. “Let the boy go. Are you trying to kill him?”

Embarrassed, Mom quickly releases me, and we chuckle nervously. I then quickly exit the kitchen, and then out of the front door. Outside, the bus is patiently waiting for me, and Joe apparently is already onboard. Even if it’s only been a few seconds, I despise being late, and I profusely apologize to the driver.

“It’s not a problem, young blood,” came the tired Southern drawl of the older man. “Don’t worry about it.”

He then nodded at me, and I quickly went to find my seat as we pulled off. The bus (as it always is) wasn’t crowded, but I was having trouble finding a window seat – my preference. Then, midway down the aisle, I find Joe who looked as if he was saving me the last window seat.

--

“Saved you a seat,” I said hesitantly, not knowing what to expect out of him. Kurt grunted, (apparently thanking me in his own weird way), and climbed over to the window seat. He then turned to stare out of the window and rested his head upon the back of his hand.

Knowing that I would be ignored by Kurt for pretty much the rest of the day, I promptly took out my headphones and turned on my MP3 player. Occasionally I would glance over at my seatmate and simply sigh. It’s amazing how much Kurt’s changed over the past 3 years. Granted, he’s always been a bit reserved, even more so than Dad. But lately, he just tunes everything and everyone out. And then there are times when he’s very aggressive and liable to bite your head off. Sometimes, I just wish that I would have my big brother back again.

Perhaps one day, things will be back to the way they once were…