A/N (There is drug use and adult oriented themes all throughout this story)

Brian

The Night Before

Brian sat on the couch with his hands folded together and buried deep into his lap. He was looking at the floor disappointed and very irritated. Though he didn't show his irritation. Ever so often he would glance up to look at his mom while she yelled and screamed at him. He grew angrier when he would see his dad just standing still not saying anything while he watched his wife yell at his son. Even his sister was laughing and making fun of him.

"Look at me Brian Ralph Johnson!" his mother screamed and he glanced up at her.

"How is this acceptable?"

"Um... I...," he tried to answer.

"It's not acceptable. You are a strait A student. You do not get anything less than an A-! The fact you got an F! An F! In shop no less! Have you seen some of the dopes that take shop?" she asked.

Brian just nodded. He knew that his mom was not interested in answers.

"I can't believe you Brian! You had better be ashamed of yourself! Get out of my site!"she screamed.

Brian got up and went outside with his head sunk in shame. He reflected on everything his mother had just told him. He couldn't believe that his own mother had just degraded hm like she did over an F. Especially when it was in a class that did not really matter either way. He went behind the garage, pressed his back against the wall and began to cry.

For the better part of an hour he cried. He felt that he wasn't good enough for his family. He felt he wasn't good enough for anything anymore. All because of a lousy grade. He could not believe that he lost the respect of his family over a grade.

After he composed himself he snuck into the garage. He wasn't supposed to be in there unless his dad was in there because that's where Mr. Johnson kept his projects for his job. Brian went to right side of the garage door and checked to see that the coast was clear. He pulled out a blue shoe box from behind the stack of bricks. He then snuck off to his old tree house. He could no longer cope with the stress, pressure or degrading remarks his mother had made to him.

He saw no lights on in the rooms facing the tree house. He knew the coast was still clear. He opened the shoe box and looked at the joints, clips and lighters. His cousin told him that this would help when it all became too much. Normally he wouldn't even consider drugs. But he could no longer take it and caved in.

A half hour later, Brian was feeling relaxed but paranoid. However,his thoughts and feelings had mellowed. When he went back to the garage to hide the box again, he looked at his dad's boat. He saw something that, in his mind, was the answer to everything. It was the flare gun for the boat.

"That's it. I know what to do now. I didn't think that stuff could help be so clear," he said out loud to himself.

He took the flare gun and tucked it into his pants. He snuck back inside then went to his room. He stuck the flare gun into his backpack along with his homework. He looked around his room to see that his mom took his comic books and science fiction books out of his room. He stuffed his report card into his back with the flare gun. He wrote a note that said he was ending it at the place that caused him all his grief, school.

"Fuckin' elephant. Fuckin' school. I can't do this anymore. Tomorrow it's over," he told himself again.

He sat at his desk for the remainder of the night and did not sleep. He only finished his plan. He would do it in the shop at lunch. He felt it was poetic. He cried a little bit but told himself it had to be done. Because the smart kids, couldn't be perfect or smart all the time. He just waited for the morning.