Joey and Roni rode in relative silence in the back of Mr. Hales’ diesel truck, with only the sound of the radio keeping the tensions at a moderate level. All three of them had thoughts running through their mind about what was going to happen during this whole visit. Roni and Joey seemed to have similar thoughts floating in their heads, though they didn’t bother saying them outloud. Both expected Joey’s parents to be pretty cold hearted and cruel to Joey, Joey more so expecting this than Roni. Roni hadn’t been there first hand when Joey was first kicked out, and Joey didn’t say anything about it, but she could tell it really rocked him to his core. Introverted as he was, there was still the quality of self-assurance that always shined through. However, Roni could tell that had diminished, his eyes never fully able to meet hers, his smile larger than normal to hide how depressed he is, and it hurt her to see him like this.
On the other side, Joey just stared out the window watching the houses pass by, noticing them become more elegant and familiar as they progressed through the neighborhoods that would lead to the gated community full of the snobby elitists, atop of which his parents preside. Even the governor of California didn’t seem to command as much authority in the neighborhood as his mother and father. Truth be told, he was genuinely afraid about what was going to happen when he saw his parents again for the first time since being kicked out. Joey knew that there wouldn’t be a happy reunion, or a desire to make amends, not after how his parents had treated him. Even if they were to apologize, Joey wasn’t too certain he could really forgive them, or if an apology from them would even be genuine. His gaze hardens as that crosses his mind, he wouldn’t put it past his mom and dad to try and trick him, using some kind of emotional manipulation or false promises just so they’re guaranteed to ship him off to wherever they decided he deserved to go once becoming a little.
He flinched suddenly feeling a squeeze on his hand before looking over to see Roni looking at him, her arm outstretched and hand wrapped around his own. All of the tension in his body seemed to dissipate and his eyes relaxed as Joey looked into Roni’s eyes, giving him the look she would normally give to ease his introversive nature when he would be too nervous to go with her to the mall or to school dances just for fun. They both looked each other in the eye before Joey finally gave her a warm smile, taking her hand in his as she smiled back at him with an expression full of hope and support.
Of course, Mr. Hale was more concerned about the repercussions of holding the fact that Joey’s parents were technically abusing him over their head as a means to convince them to let He and Kat adopt him. Certainly, they wouldn’t resort to physical violence against him or his family, and while they could make his life at work harder, the fact that Condense LLC was a subsidiary distributor for Generitech would probably make it harder than they expect, especially if Jeff decided to push back by explaining to his superiors the situation, which would shine the spotlight back on the Calhouns. However, it was outside of those options where he got nervous. Joey’s parents hold a lot of social sway in the western United States, even being able to make suggestions to some of the state senators to get priority on shipping contracts. Jeff wouldn’t put it pass them to use such a sway to publicly shame him and his family, using their money to spread vicious rumors or hire team’s of detectives to look up details of his or Kat’s personal life for some kind of social media campaign. It wouldn’t be the first time, thought Jeff as he remembered sponsored commercials of the current Governors predecessor revealing the affair he was having with his wifes fitness instructor, from when he was a senator no less. Mr. Hale could only shudder what kind of dirt that kind of money could pull up on him, or worse, on Kat or her Brother. Then there were the kids. Roni, Sandi, and Ciara all went to pretty nice private schools that received financing from a mixture of Alumnists, small business, and the government. Sadly, this would include the Calhouns as one of the largest contributors to the district. That kind of influence is something that could filter down to the staff and maybe even the students. Jeff frowned at the ideas of his daughters classmates and teachers being tougher on them just because the Calhouns were mistreating Joey, and even started considering if he should pull them all from their current schools just to be safe. Sure, it’d be really tough on Roni to move schools as a Junior, but her safety was more pertinent than having to make new friends. Plus she was a pretty outgoing girl as far as he could tell from a fathers perspective, she’d be able to adapt. As this thought passed through his mind, Jeff took a glance into the rearview mirror and his expression softened as he saw Roni silently comforting Joey, who must be more worried about this than he thought. If there was any doubt in Jeff’s mind that this was the wrong idea, seeing the two of them at that moment completely erased it.
After another 20 minutes passed when Mr. Hale pulled up to a large gate outside of what could only be described as a palace. The large, ostentatious home was 3 stories tall and looked as if 3 of the Hale’s home could fit within it comfortably. The lawn was lush and green, with multiple workers currently tending to it. The car port looked like something one would see at a luxury hotel, with a detached garage that probably held a vehicle for every occasion. “Jesus, I don’t get why they don’t just keep you, Joey, and let you get lost in the house” muttered Mr. Hale as he rolled down the window to speak to the gate guard.
“Do you have an appointment?” asked the guard, with little to no interest or enthusiasm in his voice.
“Oh I uh..” Mr. Hale started before Joey leaned into the front of the cabin “Hey Dan…we’re going to see my parent’s if that’s okay with you” he said with a warm smile as recognition and a small bit of surprise crossed the guards face.
“Joey! Oh Uh…yeah that’s fine…” replied Dan sheepishly seeing the employer’s son in the truck.
“Thanks Dan. You rock! Sorry you got stuck with the boring shift today” said Joey.
“No worries Joey. Just luck of the draw I guess” said Dan, who looked bored out of his mind as he looked behind the truck to see a silver coupe pulling up behind them “They with you, Joey?”
Looking through the back window and seeing the car that had been following him all week, Joey grinned mischievously as he turned back to Dan. “You know, Dan, they might be a security threat. I’d be pretty thorough with checking them out. Maybe even pulling them aside and waiting for a backup team to help out” said Joey with a wink, causing Dan to smile back as he caught his meaning.
“Probably for the best, Joey. Can never be too careful. Say hi to your parents for me!” said Dan as he waved Mr. Hale through the gate before stopping the silver car to perform his threat evaluation.
“Good riddance to those assholes” said Joey as he sat back into his seat, both Roni and Mr. Hale held back laughter as they pulled up to the house. They could see in the rearview mirror that the driver and passenger of the car were getting out and trying to argue with Dan, presumably trying to explain who they were, while Dan in turn was radioing in for additional help and seemed to be pulling out a stun baton.
Upon reaching the main entrance, Joey took the lead, figuring the locks had been changed, and rang the doorbell. The three waited until they were greeted by a man with dark brown skin and short black hair that was showing signs of graying, dressed in a nice 3 piece suit. He had a look of contempt as he opened the door but it immediately changed to one of relief upon seeing Joey. “Dios Mio! Master Joseph it’s you! I would have never expected you to come back here”
“Santiago, I told you just to call me Joey” said Joey, his cheeks flush with embarrassment “and yeah I…didn’t really think I’d be here either but…well some things have changed. You remember Roni, right? And this is her Dad, Jeff Hale.” Joey gestures to the two of them as they just give a small wave. “Anyway, how’d your nephew like the designs? Were you able to print them with my 3D printer with the instructions I gave you? Did it all come together like I thought it would” he asked with great enthusiasm before getting nudged from behind by Roni. “oh uh..right..umm…Santiago, we’re here to see my parents”
Santiago’s expression hardened and he sighed sadly. “Senor Leonard said that you were to not be allowed back in, Joey…you know that..”
“Yes well…just uh, don’t tell them I’m here. Tell them Mr. Hale and Miss Veronica are here to talk with them and…I can just wait outside” said Joey with some disappointment as he didn’t want to be kept in the dark.
Before either Roni and Mr. Hale could protest, Santiago’s eyes quickly glanced down and back at Joey a few times. Joey, a little unsure of the meaning, suddenly realized what he meant and moved the door mat, seeing a loose brick that was a little off colored. He picked it up and popped it open, revealing it to be a fake, and pulled out the key within it with a grin.
“Well, Master Joey, it looks like you found a spare key and have let yourself into the house, and followed myself, Master Jeff, and Miss Veronica to the conference lounge. We’ve told Master Leonard that it was a bad idea to leave it in such an important object in such an obvious place, and now it seems that we have proof to convince him” Santiago said with a wry grin.
“Thank you, Santiago. Really…you and Gabriella were so kind to me and…well..” Joey wraps his arms around the man and hugs him.
“You’re welcome Joey. The rest of the staff and I do and will miss you dearly..” replied the man as he returned the hug. “Now then…Please follow me”
The group entered a large room with a polished mahogany table seating twelve surrounded by high-backed leather chairs. The walls are adorned with framed portraits of Joey’s ancestors, the most recent being his father, and a crystal chandelier hangs above. The room is carpeted with a plush pattern, with a flat-screen TV for presentations set into custom cabinetry at one end.
“Please, wait here…your parents will be in shortly” said Santiago as he left the room. The three decided to take a seat, sitting in silence for a few minutes until the door to the room opened and a man and woman both entered the room, stopping short as they locked eyes with Joey.
“Ugh…how did a wild animal get into my house? We’ll need to bring this up with the head greenskeeper, Margaret.” Said Leonard Calhoun as Joey glared at him and his mother.
Congratulations on your story. I really enjoyed reading it. Your story shows a complexity of reality that the other stories on this site unfortunately don’t have. A world where there are people who think differently, where everything isn’t just about giants who consider themselves genetically superior and little ones who, if they don’t feel inferior, do nothing to make the giants recognize their humanity, whether through persuasion, dialogue, or dramatic actions by those who no longer see meaning in life. Characters who don’t grow up, where you don’t see anything in the story that can change that. Your story is different, it already shows me this complexity of the characters. Tell me if I’m right. When Joey becomes little, he’ll also suffer from the power relationship between giants and little ones. Roni has already shown that she’s already dominant over him, simply because she wants what’s best for him and for him to be her best friend. Joey will have to submit to domination, but it will not be domination by someone who considers him an inferior race, an animal. Although I believe he will live with other giants who will consider him inferior, I believe that Joey will never stop fighting, within the possibilities that he has to show others that he is not inferior and deserves to have his humanity respected. I believe that he will not be resigned, resigned to the way that the other giants see him. I hope my impressions are correct. Once again, congratulations on your story. I will follow it with great interest. And I promise that I will not use the comments on your story to criticize other authors’ stories again. This was the last time I made a criticism and it was with the intention of opening his eyes so that he can make his stories richer, with more complex conflicts, with characters that can grow throughout the stories, showing that people can change their ways of thinking and seeing others, things that I believe will happen in your story.