An Excerpt from a Writing Project

From Rockybado 4: Running Up a Hill

It was just one of those summer days. One of those summer days that could be considered lazy. One of those summer days that could be considered sultry. One of those summer days that could be considered not so motivating. And, one of those summer days that a lot of college students might want to sleep in. Of course, David had that luxury because his full-time job didn’t start until tomorrow. Brody, however, had to be up bright and early because he was going back to his internship today.

It was seven o’clock in the morning, a time when both David and Brody would normally be sleeping on a weekend and in the summer. Their dad came into their room just to wake up Brody, since he knew he needed to be up by now. David was let off the hook. Well, at least for now. He could celebrate his last free day with wine and baklava if he so chose. Brody would have to celebrate later.

Toby was already awake, and most likely playing video games in the common area.

David and Brody looked very comfortable when they were sleeping. David was, as normal, sleeping on his side. His comforter was lying on the floor, and his head was buried under one pillow. His left arm was wrapped around another pillow. Brody, as normal, was sleeping on his stomach. His comforter was also lying on the floor, and their dad found this somewhat humorous.

Their dad realized that he needed to do something in order to get Brody out of bed.

“Wake up, Brody,” Mr. Ingram announced in a sing-song voice.
“No,” Brody replied in his pillow.
“Guess what today is?”
“Time for you to get a watch.”
“Now, you don’t get sassy with me, B-Rodes,” their dad remarked humorously.
“Just let me sleep,” Brody said, his voice muffled by his most comfortable pillow. He moved over on his right side, and he also buried his head under a pillow.
“Today’s your first day back at your internship.”
“Dammit.”
“Would you like another thirty minutes to sleep?”

Brody nodded in his pillow.

“Okay. But when thirty minutes are up, you’re up. Got it?”

Brody nodded in his pillow again.

Their dad smiled and left. He shook his head because he has always known that David and Brody have never been morning people. Since the two boys were little, their parents knew that the struggle to wake them up would be real.

When Brody was very little, try four years old, he would always pull the funniest gag ever. When he was really sleepy, he would literally fall asleep on the bottom stair and wait for one of their parents to pick him up and carry him to his bed. A few weeks ago, on a weekend when Brody was home from college, he was very tired. He tried pulling the same gag that he did when he was four years old. The boy fell asleep and waited for their mom and dad to pick him up and carry him. However, their mom and dad would not let him get away with it this time around.

Fun times.

When David would finally wake up today, he was probably going to ride his bike over to Brett’s house to practice with the Hawaiian Geeks. He left his guitar at his older brother’s house, so this was perfectly acceptable. Not like the guitar was suddenly going to grow legs and walk off to an unknown land.

As if that could actually happen to begin with.

It was now 7:38 in the morning, and David somehow woke up. Why, though? This was David’s last “free day” before his full-time job started, so he should definitely go back to sleep.

Oh well.

At least he would have more time in the day to actually do something. He could possibly play tennis with a few of his friends, or he could play video games, or he could practice with the Hawaiian Geeks this afternoon.

The possibilities were endless.

“Good morning, David,” Mrs. Ingram said to one of her sons as he walked down the stairs. He looked very sleepy.
“Morning,” David replied feebly.
“You don’t have to go to work until tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah. I wish I could just go back to sleep.”
“At least you will like your job. Well, I hope you will,” she stated.
“I’m sure I will, but I’m so sleepy,” David remarked.
“Well, that will pass.”
“I hope it does. I hate mornings like these.”
“You just hate mornings, right?”
“I absolutely hate mornings.”

David got himself some coffee. Since he was a freshman in college, he has gained interest in coffee. For obvious reasons. He poured himself a cup from the freshly made pot, and he added some French vanilla cream and sugar to it. Even though David still prefers tea over coffee, he thought that coffee would be a good idea for today. Even though David likes coffee more now, Brody still detests it. He has never liked coffee, not even when he was younger. He didn’t like the taste of it. He likes the taste of tea, especially English Breakfast.

Thirty minutes later, Brody was supposed to wake up and get ready for his first day back at the internship. This was going to be a fun time waking up at eight o’clock in the morning. Which is way too early for him.

“Wake up, Brody,” Mr. Ingram said to the sleepyhead, once he returned to the boys’ bedroom with a noisemaker, which was found in a safe place in the kitchen.
“Really?” Brody replied in his pillow.
“Yes, really.”
“Mornings suck.”
“Yes, they do,” Mr. Ingram remarked sympathetically.
“Can I stay in bed the whole day?” Brody asked.
“You have your internship today, you know.”
“Meh.”
“Don’t meh me, you little sleepyhead!”

Brody couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“Fine. I’m up.”

Brody got out of bed. He wasn’t in an especially great mood, but he knew that he needed to get ready for his internship, after having nearly two weeks off. He took a quick shower, and then he got ready for the day. He came downstairs, wearing his royal blue shirt and jeans. Brody made himself a bowl of cereal with a honeycrisp apple and strawberry yogurt. He said “good morning” to his family and nothing else. He was still trying to wake up before he left for the internship, and they have always known that.

When he was done eating, he left for his internship, which is in Merrillville. After his internship ended for the day, Brody was greatly considering a visit to Dawson’s and Daniela’s apartment, since it is technically on his way back to his house. It took Brody ten minutes to get to his destination. When he finally got there, he walked into the building and saw a slender guy, who is a little taller than he, with a brown mop top and big thick-frame glasses. The typical “nerd” stereotype at its finest.

His name is Dan Mattinson.

“Welcome back, Brody!” Dan greeted one of his interns. There would be two interns this summer: Brody, of course, and Jacob Frank, someone from Merrillville. Brody was going to meet Jacob today, and he was looking forward to it, being the extravert that he is.
“Hey, Dan,” Brody replied.
“Hey! How were your two weeks off?”
“They were relaxing, but I’m glad that I’m back here.”
“That’s good to hear. Jacob is coming in about thirty minutes,” Dan remarked.
“Awesome,” Brody said quickly, not putting much thought into what he said.
“Do you remember much from your first couple weeks here?”
“If I see it, I probably will.”
“Good. I figured that you and Jacob are fast learners.”
“I’m sure we are.”

Dan showed Brody around the area, just to double-check that the intern remembered everything from two weeks ago. These two weeks off were completely unexpected, but they were well worth it, from Brody’s and Jacob’s perspectives. Dan and Brody talked about how well their two weeks went for about thirty minutes. Then, as expected, the other intern had arrived.

Brody was pretty sure that he was going to make a new friend today. Jacob seemed friendly enough when he first walked into the place. However, he seemed a little shy. Jacob is a little shorter than Brody, who is five foot eleven and weighs 130 pounds. Jacob is probably about five foot nine and weighs 170 pounds. He has short brown hair and straight eyebrows, as well as a small gap in his front teeth. At least those were the attributes that Brody noted.

“Hey, Jacob. Welcome,” Dan greeted the other intern.
“Hello,” the other intern responded quickly. By what Brody saw, Jacob appeared to be quite nervous. Dan and Jacob walked over to Brody for the introduction.
“Brody, this is Jacob Frank. Jacob, this is Brody Ingram. I know that you guys are going to make a great team and that you will both be an asset to the company.”
“Hello,” Brody said to Jacob.
“Hello,” Jacob said to Brody.
“Now, Brody, this is Jacob’s first day at the internship. He was on a three-week vacation with his family. They went to Europe. Which countries did you visit in those three weeks?” Dan asked the newer newbie.
“We went to Ireland, France, and Poland. We spent one week in one country,” Jacob responded, suddenly starting to feel comfortable in this environment.
“Nice! I’ve been to England before. My dad and his family are originally from there,” Brody remarked.
“Oh wow. Where in England?”
“London.”

The first couple hours went by very quickly. Dan introduced Brody and Jacob to the rest of the team, mostly consisting of HR, marketing, accounting, more computer engineers, finance gurus. There were fifteen people altogether at this business, but Brody and Jacob could not perform their internships without Dan around. Brody and Jacob mostly learned the basics of what they were expected to do this summer.

Then, it was time for lunch. Dan encouraged the interns to get something from a quick service restaurant so that they could get to know each other a little better. Brody and Jacob then decided to go to a Mexican grill right off Highway 30. Brody drove Jacob and himself there, and they were going to bring their orders back to the place.

​“So, where are you from?” Jacob asked Brody when they left for lunch.
“Crown Point,” Brody remarked. “You?”
“Merrillville. Where are you in college?”
“Valpo. What about you?”
“I’m at Valpo as well. I’m surprised that we haven’t met,” Jacob said plainly.
“Nice! Do you live on campus?” Brody asked.
“Yes, I do. You actually look like someone I know.”
“I have a cousin who graduated from the same high school as you. Her name is Kellie Wickes.”
“Not who I was thinking of.”
“Then who is it?” Brody asked.
“Andreas Bianco,” Jacob answered.
“Don’t know him.”