Post by Awesome Stick Labor on Jan 17, 2017 20:54:12 GMT
Chapter XI
“IN WHICH JJ'S SENSE OF 'LA FAMILIA' COMES CRASHING DOWN”
“IN WHICH JJ'S SENSE OF 'LA FAMILIA' COMES CRASHING DOWN”
October 4, 2016 – 5:30 PM (Day 9)
Inside Johnny Rockets, on Harmony of the Seas...
...we find Johnny Gillmen enjoying an early dinner on the Boardwalk, watching as the multitudes of passengers breezed on by while the ship was still docked in Northern Haiti. Still sporting the awkward bandage on his noggin after the infamous Labadee Bionic Bar fight involving himself and his engineering friend Scotty.
Trying his best to distance himself from the incident, JJ looked calm as he munched on a double-bacon cheeseburger, half-rings and half-fries, and a chocolate milkshake to boot. Without warning, one of the ship's many security officers, clad in his trademark red shirt, steps into the picture and scaring the Islander alum.
REDSHIRT: Mister...Gilmore, sir?
JJ put his food down to talk to the strapping redshirt.
JOHNNY GILLMEN: ‘Scuse me bud, it’s Gillmen. What’s up?
REDSHIRT: Got it. I’ve got an urgent telegram for you sir—from St. Louis.
Gillmen raised both brows, knowing that St. Louis was the home base for his Cowabunga Corner business--not to mention the residence of his friend and former classmate Aurelly and her husband.
JOHNNY: Thanks.
The guard quickly turned around and left the restaurant, and Johnny opened up the telegram's envelope and began reading its contents. His eyes began to widen in shock, his breathing got heavier by the moment as he took his glasses off and got a closer look at the message he'd been sent. It had become painfully obvious that the note had left him in deep, mental anguish...
...for it was about Aurelly--his best friend and college soulmate. Sighing, JJ stood up and left the burger joint...
...having not finished his entire meal--including the shake.
**********
Out on deck, at sunset...
...JJ stood near the railing on the starboard side of the vessel, gazing at the partly cloudy skies above. His face was rife with grief, his lips real sullen as he paid no attention to the other passengers walking by jovially. He wanted to be alone, in a place where nobody else could bother him...
...including Yulia.
The former history major closed his eyes, his thoughts began going back to the initial found of Cowabunga Corner with Aurelly and her husband...
~~~~~~~~~~
...we now cut to St. Louis, Missori in July of 2012. We now find ourselves inside a dilapidated building on a street corner, where the ex-Islander--two years removed from graduation--stood inside a large, dusty area. Standing behind him is his best friend and classmate Aurelly, flanked by a muscle-bound, bald-headed gentleman from northern Mexico named Diego, who was Aurelly's new boyfriend at the time.
Even she had noticed the poor shape of the building itself as JJ toured its interior, coming up with ideas in his mind.
AURELLY: I’ve got a baaaaad feeling about this, JJ.
DIEGO: You tellin’ me hunny-bunny, this place is a dump.
But JJ had other things in mind. This spot would become the future home of what would become Cowabunga Corner, the wildly-popular arcade, bowling alley, and eating establishment, and the former history grad beamed with delight as he pointed to different parts of the rustic venue, thinking of all the possibilities.
JOHNNY: It’s perfect! We can set the arcade over yonder...the bowlin’ alley can be visible as soon as ya walk in the joint...and this area with all them busted tables would be the spot for the l’il eatin’ space.
Diego laughed out loud, noting how passionate JJ was to see his plans come to fruition.
DIEGO: Got somethin’ loco goin’ on, man.
But Aurelly saw something that her boyfriend didn't. She couldn't help but smile, noting just how excited her former classmate was about getting things off the ground.
AURELLY: I love it already...
~~~~~~~~~~
We flash forward to circa September 2012. The business, unnamed at the time, had gotten off the ground to very little success at first. We see JJ, Aurelly, and Diego sitting at a table in an upstairs conference room, enjoying a small dinner consisting of nothing else...except for McDonald's.
JOHNNY: To our first customer!
DIEGO: Yeah J-Man...to our first and, so far, ONLY customer.
The two men raised their drinks into the air, as if they were making a toast. Aurelly chuckled slightly as she looks down at a notepad containing a list of much-needed supplies.
AURELLY: I think we’re going to have to draw out some cash, get some more ingredients for the restaurant.
Johnny shook his head, peering down at a stack full of bills that were strewn next to his Big Mac and fries.
JOHNNY: Ummmm...dudette, this magnificent Americana din-din from Mickey-D's we’re havin’ now represents the LAST of the petty cash. We need a miracle to avoid goin' under.
The couple nodded slightly, sensing their friend was worried that his dream was about to be shot to pieces before it could truly get rolling.
AURELLY: Has it occurred to you two that we STILL don’t have a name for the entire business yet?
DIEGO: Yeah baby...like, the Buildin’ that Time Forgot seems kinda lame, ain’t that right?
All three laughed.
AURELLY: JJ...have you got any ideas?
JOHNNY: Hrmmm...I just dunno. I didn't realize runnin' a biz was gonna be hard...now I'm findin' that out the hard way.
Without warning, a waiter--sporting a blue business suit, bursts into the conference room, beaming with news.
WAITER: Sorry for the intrusion, but there are customers downstairs, about ten to be precise—two of them are engaged in a pretty good pugilistic match over by the Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga machine.
Diego, wearing a black shirt that reads "CHIEF OF SECURITY" on the front, quickly hopped up out of his chair, accidentally dropping his Chicken McNuggets on the old, wooden table--yet extremely happy that he'll be able to carry out his job of keeping the peace within the business's walls.
DIEGO: COW-A-BUNGA!! I get to break up a real fight, deflate some cojones!
Gillmen and his classmate watched as the security guard ran downstairs like a kid at Christmastime. Aurelly began jogging out the door as well, turning her head towards her fellow Islander.
AURELLY: JJ, are you gonna come down and meet them?
JOHNNY: Genius...your boyfriend’s a damned genius!
JJ smiled, giving the thumbs up as he had finally come up with the name to his fledgling empire--attributing it to his strapping peacekeeper.
JOHNNY: Cowabunga Corner...I can see it now...
~~~~~~~~~~
We now fast-forward to around Christmas of 2014. At this point in time, the Cowabunga Corner franchise, once thought to be a pipe dream, had truly taken off, bringing in people from all parts of the world. We now see the trio of Johnny and his two best friends Aurelly and Diego, raising crystal glasses of champagne to mark the two-year anniversary of the company's founding.
JOHNNY: Here’s to two years bein’ together.
DIEGO: Here’s to perfect eyesight...and a full head of hair.
AURELLY: A-men!
The trio clinked their glasses in unison before drinking as a closely-knit family. Yet JJ could only closing his eyes, noting how his mother Linda passed away before getting the chance to thoroughly enjoy the cornball tourist attraction.
JOHNNY: I wish...I wish my mom was here to see this place, how it’s grown.
Johnny stood at the conference room's main window, watching with a great sense of pride as customers continued pouring into the establishment in droves. Aurelly and Diego stood shoulder-to-shoulder next to him, smiling all the way as they watched the joyous scenes unfold before their eyes.
AURELLY: You’re a part of something special...I hope and pray you never give up on that.
DIEGO: Yeah...you’re the chico who got us here, and we sure as shit ain’t gonna give up on ya. That's what la familia is all about...
~~~~~~~~~~
...the voice of Diego fades away, and we cut back to Johnny Gillmen standing on the boat deck. He opened his eyes, regretting the notion that by going into the world of wrestling, he had given up on the Cowabunga Corner franchise for good, and consequently, given up on his two best friends--his family.
It left him with a hole in his heart.
**********
October 7, 2016 – 11:30 AM (Day 12)
In his stateroom...
...JJ, wearing a white T-shirt and his Texas Rangers-themed sleeping shorts, slowly arose from an off-again, on-again slumber and outstretched his arms. We see that his trash can is filled to the brim with to-go boxes from several different restaurants onboard the ship, but otherwise he hasn't been out on deck ever since reading the telegram. Sighing, the Islander alum slowly inched toward the stateroom's desk and sat down, opening up the photo album on his computer and slowly clicking through the picture's he's taken over the last few years, nodding as he gazed at a wedding photo of his friend Aurelly and her husband Diego.
The door chime sounded, breaking his concentration for a moment as he continued staring at the screen in front of him. The chime sounded again, snapping him out of his quiet meditational period for good.
JOHNNY: Come in.
The room's main door opened, and we see JJ's girlfriend Yulia, wearing a blue dress with matching stiletto heels, walks into the picture
YULIA: I have not seen you for two days.
JOHNNY: Oh, I was...ya know, just goin’ over some pictures and stuff--gettin' ready to head back home in a couple of days.
The Chechan pulled up a chair, sitting down next to the Islander alum as he showed her his old photos.
JOHNNY: You haven’t met my former classmate and her husband before, right?
YULIA: Classmate...you mean Aurelly? You’ve told me about her, not her husband.
JOHNNY: His name was Diego--they've been married since 2015. I was plannin’ on gettin’ together with ‘em sometime next month, take ‘em to Los Angeles. They always wanted to watch a tapin’ of “The Price is Right.”
Yulia perked up her right brow.
YULIA: "The Price is Right"...I do not understand.
JOHNNY: It's a game show, real popular where I'm from--been to 11 tapings myself, never gettin' picked.
JJ clicked through several more pictures in his album, stopping on a selfie he'd taken with Diego over a large-sized birthday cake. The date on the photo says "3-25-2013."
JOHNNY: Diego...big, strong dude from Mexico. On the surface, he was a l’il full of himself at times, pompous, arrogant...always wanted to get the last laugh. But...he mellowed out when he started workin' at Cowabunga Corner; loved teachin' kids how to bowl, how to play Galaga--his fave game. Yet...he’d go outta his way to protect Aurelly at all times, even if it meant breakin’ bones. When I was runnin’ the joint full-time, before makin’ the choice to compete in wrestlin', I had to hire him as my chief of security—loved the guy like a brother.
As Yulia watched, JJ continued clicking on his mouse until stopping at another photo. This one featured him and his longtime former classmate Aurelly, standing against the backdrop of the USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi.
JOHNNY: Then, there’s Aurelly...so unlike Diego. Imaginative, thoughtful...a dreamer, damn good cook. Ya want chicken and waffles? She'd do 'em from scratch. I brought her in to be the head chef at the bar and grill in Cowabunga Corner, where she didn't resort to treatin' people like "normal" customers, but she wanted 'em to be part of a family…
JJ's voice began to quiver as he began trembling.
JOHNNY: So...v-v-v-very gentle…
Yulia immediately began to notice the tears, realizing that something had greatly affected him.
YULIA: What has happened?
Without saying a word, JJ solemnly passed the telegram over to his girlfriend, who was in complete shock and disbelief upon reading its contents--the reason why he had been so distressed as of late. As it turned out, Diego and Aurelly--two of the Islander alum's closest friends and confidants, integral members of his business--had perished in a car crash involving a drunk driver.
Realizing the magnitude of hurt and pain he had been feeling, she reached over his shoulders, hugging him very gently from behind.
YULIA: I am...very, very sorry to hear that JJ.
JOHNNY: They were...parts of somethin' special, somethin' that started from a pipe dream 'cuz my mom loved them cornball tourist traps on the side of the road...
Yulia let go of JJ and started slowly massaging the back of his neck as he continued gazing at his computer's monitor.
YULIA: Your business seems very important to you now, isn't it?
The Islander alum sighed, nodding his head.
JOHNNY: Yeah...so much so that I’m seriously thinkin’ about quittin’ wrestlin’, focus on runnin’ Cowabunga Corner...doin’ it right if the city don't tear it down. I dunno how long it’s gonna take for me to make my choice, but...my whole life, I wanted be part of somethin’ special, deal with people that understands me, that appreciates the work I do, that rewards me for my loyalty and commitment...and I don’t believe I’m gonna get that feelin’ with wrestlin’. I just...I just dunno. Aurelly and Diego were the only ones who could see me for who I truly was, who I wanted to be...
YULIA: They truly meant a lot to you..right?
JOHNNY: They did...I spent the last two days on deck, thinkin' about how we was gonna try to bring the business back from the dead, maybe throw a big party out in L.A....
Sniffling and bobbing his head, Johnny closed his photo album before shutting down his computer.
JOHNNY: ...it ain't gonna happen now. My family's broken, my friends are gone, my life..my life ain't got no meanin', it's all torn up...and I ain't got no reason for livin' no more.
The ex-college grad placed his head in his hands, contemplating where to go next. He had thought that the prospect of going on a 14-day Caribbean voyage would help him better himself as a person--not just as a worker--but the news of his friends' untimely deaths had set him back to square one.
It truly was the lowest moment in his life, a point in time where, indeed, he thought he had nothing left in his soul.
Yet this angelic figure from a war-torn region wanted to help JJ more than ever--and in the process, find herself as a traveler seeking to learn from the people around her.
YULIA: Look at me. Look at me...Johnny-JJ.
She pulled JJ's head sllightly towards her in order to get him to look her in the eye, speaking to him in an almost motherly, loving vocal tone.
YULIA: You...are a part of something much bigger now, something more special than anything you've ever known. You cannot give up on that...because I surely will never give up on you. That is what being part of a real family is all about.
Yulia nudged JJ slightly, gently kissing him on the forehead before making her exit. The Islander alum closed his eyes, muttering to himself as his mind began to flash back to more happier times he shared with his friends...
...and then, it hit him. The words Yulia had spoken to him were the exact same words Diego and Aurelly had said to him almost three years ago.
He started pondering his own future...but at least he did so with a smile.
~TO BE CONTINUED~