Sorry for the delay, I struggled with this chapter looking for the story among the screenshots. Finally I changed the character focus and it finally seemed to work.
Chapter 4: Time Flies"Hold still, you're wiggling again."
"But mom, I'm going to be late!"
"The bus won't leave without you." Pepper took the picture quickly. It would have to do.
Lightning wasn't sure what to expect from his first day of school. His mother said she'd never gone and his father claimed that end elementary school didn't really matter. Peach was sulking since Lightning had said that dolls couldn't go to school. But it was in school that he found his passion, art class to be precise. It didn't take long for Pepper to buy him an easel and paints.
"Can't we play yet? This is boring." Peach was less appreciative of Lightning's talent but Lightning was pretty sure most artists lived in obscurity a first. After he painted a decent portrait of his friend, Peach was more forgiving.
"You're done! Great, time for a pillow fight?"
Plus if he was in his room, he didn't have to watch his parents. Not that they fought, but there was always a tension in the room that he didn't enjoy. His father spent all his free time cooking and learning new recipes. But his mother never ate a bite.
"Dad, does plasma taste good?"
"What?"
"Plasma packs. That's all Mom ever drinks."
"Ah, erm. Eat your soup. You're growing and there's no need for you to drink that junk."
Plasma packs did taste good, but he was careful not to let his father know.
"I'll tell on you."
"Try, they can't hear you."
His mother threw him a big party for his birthday, but he suspected it was more of a political move and a chance to show off her mixology skill judging by the invitees. Then again, he didn't really have many friends his age. Outside of Peach his best friend was the babysitter.
"Painting's more fun anyway." His parent's built him an art studio in the backyard near where his mother's new party room had been built.
Time passed both slowly and quickly in the White household. Lightning went alone to prom, and came back alone.
He did however try to make friends. He invited his classmates over after school, but it was awkward.
Lightning was painting when it happened. Although Gavin still worked at the hospital everyday, Death surprised them all by visiting one evening. "I'm glad I had this second chance at life. It wasn't what I expected, but I wouldn't have had it any other way."
That night, Lightning choked down a bowl of soup his father had made. He left the rest to spoil in the fridge.
The next day, after school, Pepper took Lightning to the cemetery. They drove through the town as dusk fell, Lightning wasn't sure what to say to his mother so they didn't speak. Gavin White. Age 94. Rest in Peace.
The house felt empty without him. But it wouldn't stay empty for long.
