The Fill - In Boyfriend
Episode 28's

Jules.

He was on my computer that morning. This is what he was looking for. This is what he left me to see. But he hasn't found anything yet. Is he just trying to tell me that he still suspects something? That he was digging? That he found something? Why does he care so much? I logged out of his account and into my account. I brought up the original Bradley page and as I expected, the profile was still a picture of a black weightlifter he admired. Although Jules found this page, she would not think for a second that it was the correct page. I close the page and check my Twitter and email.

The house phone rang and I waited for my parents to answer before I remembered them going out for a date night. I stood up and walked down the aisle and into the kitchen just as the answering machine picked it up.

A voice began to speak on the machine, leaving a message. “Hai, Mr and Mrs Montgomery, this is Professor Hammond at UCLA calling about your son, Drew.”

I snatched the phone, anxiety tightened my chest. Hello, hello, I'm here.

“Oh, hello. I just left a message. "

"Is Drew okay?"

"okay? Oh yeah of course. I'm one of his teachers and I just want you and your husband to know about the award your son won for the short film he made. "

I was his sister.

“Gia?” She asked.

Teacher Drew knows my name? My heart swells. I shouldn't feel so proud about it, but I did. That means he'll talk about me at least once. "Yes." Yeah."

“Ah, nice talking to you. Can you tell your parents? And you should come, of course. She will receive her accolades and air a small portion of her film at Saturday's party. Your parents were supposed to get an invitation in the mail a few weeks ago, but I called all the families of the award recipients just to make sure they received it. That includes four tickets. It is truly a special honor. I'm sure he'll appreciate the support. "

"That's great. Thank you for calling. I'll tell my parents. "

"Either. I'll see you on Saturday. "

I hung up the phone and went to put it down but changed my mind. I called Drew's number.

"Hello."

"Hey it's me."

"Hey. What's up, G? ”

“I just got a call from your professor. Congratulations on the award. ”

It was silent for three breaths. “Oh. Thank you." Thank you."

I'll come to the banquet. I just made that decision.

“I've talked to Mom and Dad about this. My teacher made this a bigger problem than it really is. There is no point in driving for three hours. I'd rather you all come to the film festival that the school is holding next month. I've got an entry in it that I'd like you all to see. "

"I don't mind coming twice."

“Gia, really. It's gonna be so boring. They just show a three-minute clip and between driving here and back and then sitting through a two-hour awards ceremony, your entire day will go down the drain. "

My previous happy feeling deflated. "Good."

She must have heard the disappointment in my voice because she said, "I've just been downstairs."

“But we rarely meet each other.”

"I'll make a deal for you. Next time I go down, we'll be out, just the two of us. ”

I can't remember the last time we did it. "Good."

"good. See you next month." He hung up. He's correct. There may be no point going all the way to LA for the three-minute spotlight.

My parents came with a bag that they put on the kitchen table.

“You're home,” my mother said.

“No, we just stopped by on the way home.” He pulled out a gallon of milk. "How was your day?"

“Exciting.”

My father ruffled my hair. “Did that surfer teach you something good?”

“He taught me to never call him a surfer.”

My dad laughed.

Professor Drew called about the award he would get on Saturday.

"He was so good at calling."

“Are you going?” I asked even though Drew had convinced me that it wasn't.

"We're leaving, but Drew told us it wasn't worth it. He wants us to come next month. "

"We still have to go" I said. “Shock him. He probably just doesn't want to trouble us. "

My dad pointed to the cupboard above the fridge. “I still have the tickets they sent.”

"I scheduled some open houses for Saturday," my mother said, dropping vegetables to the fridge.

Oh. My eyes were fixed on my father, thinking about suggesting a father/son walk, but he shrugged as if he had accepted my mother's excuse.

We may have to respect Drew's wishes.

“But as I said, maybe he just said it to be nice but really wanted us to come.”

“I don't want to argue about this, Gia,” my mother said.

I stopped in the middle of my breath. I wasn't.

"The decision has been taken."

"Good." I'm sighing. I'm gonna go clean my room.

"Thank you" my mother said as I walked out of the kitchen.

But when I got to my room, instead of cleaning it, I sank into bed. My prom dress was still hanging on my desk chair, causing a longing that I did not feel.

Suddenly I pulled out my phone and sent an SMS: I tried to be a better person today but the world is not working together.

Hayden immediately replied: Uh-oh. What the hell's going on?

I'm sighing. I wanted to support my brother, who won the award, but my parents didn't want to leave. And he doesn't want us to come.

Instead of the text I was expecting, my phone started ringing. I jumped up and smiled when I saw Hayden's number on the screen.

"Hello."

What kind of award? he asked as if we had been talking all along.

“I guess he made some kind of short film. He took some filmmaking classes. ”

“You still have to go,” he said.

That's what I said, but my parents didn't agree. My mother had to work and my father quickly used it as an excuse. ”

You don't need them.