Broken Road Read Free Page A

find Jim, Janet, and Alec standing timorously in the doorway. The three of them looked as though they were about to drop to the floor from the anticipation.
    After what seemed like forever, Alec finally asked, “What’d he say?”
    “He says he can’t make it. He changed his mind and is taking an earlier flight home.”
    “Liar,” said Alec.
    “Jarrod, if you don’t tell us what Mr. Wyatt said right now, I’m going to drop dead from a stroke,” Jim said. “I can feel my blood pressure rising as we speak. God, it’s hot in here!” Janet absentmindedly nodded in agreement and began to pat his arm as if that would somehow help lower his blood pressure.
    Jarrod gave them his best crooked smile and told his family of the conversation with Mr. Wyatt. Alec gave Jarrod a high five followed by a pound hug, while Janet and Jim smiled and hugged each other.
    “That’s great, hon!,” said Janet as she embraced her son. Jim hugged him as well, then stepped away, cleared his throat, and said, “Well then, I believe I’ll go take my Diovan now. I’m happy for you, son.”
    “Thanks,” Jarrod said as he gave his father that one-of-a-kind, winning smile of his again and said, “Y’know what? I’m happy for me too.” He looked at Griffin Wyatt’s business card one final time and then placed it on the counter near the phone.

Chapter Two

    A pproximately half an hour later, Jarrod’s best friend, Dante, pulled up in front of the Wentworth household and incessantly honked the horn of his ‘98 Eagle Talon. On a typical day, this would have been nothing out of the ordinary, but evidently today was an exception to the rule. The car was completely draped in black and red streamers, Cliffside’s school colors. The back and side windows were covered in window paint declaring “Raiders are #1!” and “CP Raiders BCSL State Champs!” The power ballad “We Are the Champions” blared from inside the car.
    Jarrod heard the honking and yelled up to Alec, who was upstairs in his room, “They’re here! You comin’or what?”
    “Yeah, I’ll be right down,” Alec responded as he quickly ran a comb through his hair. “Go ahead and I’ll meet you out there in a minute.”
    Jarrod waved and muttered a quick good-bye to his parents as he headed out the door, letting the screen door slam shut. He walked quickly toward the car and saw that his other two close friends, Joey and Brendon, were in the backseat.
    “Hey, what’s up?” said Jarrod as he made himself comfortable in the front seat. Joey acknowledged his greeting by saying, “‘Sup, superstar?” while Brendon smiled widely and said, “Left the front seat for you, my friend, ‘cause we didn’t know if there would be room enough for your big ‘ol head back here!” They all laughed in unison. In the meantime, Alec made his way to the car and grudgingly squeezed into the backseat between Joey and Brendon, neither one willing to give up their window seats.
    Smiling at Dante while lowering the volume on the car stereo, Jarrod asked, “Since when did you turn into Mr. School Spirit?”
    “Since it gave me an excuse to party,” he responded excitedly.
    “And since when have you ever needed an excuse to party?” asked Brendon.
    “This is true. But you see, today is special. Today is the day my best friend transformed himself from being just an ordinary kid from Jersey to…what exactly did you call him before, Joey?”
    “I do believe I called him a superstar ,” responded Joey cheerfully.
    “Yeah, a superstar. It’s like Jarrod was a small, furry caterpillar just this morning, and now he’s turned into a pretty little butterfly ready to spread his wings and fly away,” he said jokingly. “What is that process called again, Professor Wentworth?” he asked loudly, inclining his head toward the backseat.
    “Metamorphosis,” Alec interjected with a grin.
    “Thank you, sir,” responded Dante. “Just think about it, Jarrod. Once you become famous and