tenth graders part 2

continued
previously=[until now: we met josh a teen with dark brown hair nerdy glasses and pinkish white skin. the story told of the phone-call to report that the medicine was wrong, and that he was always hungry and was now sick yet again. the morning after that phone call dad came to the dorm.]
now joshua was in the dorm, in bed for the day, because he was sick.
the truth, despite what was wished for in part one, was dad had not bought boots nor a new coat, because the walk was only a short walk to the taxi so it would be silly to buy snow boots for just a few minutes and besides in california there was no need for snow boots.
dad had urged joshua to hurry to the cab, and not pack. josh did not pack he grabbed a shirt and tied his black shoes and only wearing pajamas they ran out over the snow to the taxi. the taxi returned to the airport. on the way dad said that for the last few months he and mom "had not acted married and argued frequently." and  "I cannot bear" added dad, "to  hear that you suffer".
in the cab josh buttoned the white shirt over his pajama shirt. in the airport dad bought two pairs of sandals and they tossed the wet socks and soggy shoes into the trash.
josh asked his father when he had arrived? dad told josh that after the phone call he had asked mom to act married. she had refused despite many months not acting married. dad had accused her "who is satisfying you" that she had no desire to act married, for so long.
mom had exploded how dare you accuse me and jumped on dad scratching his arm. dad showed the scratch marks to josh. so dad had hurried to the airport, to the one named for jfk president kenedy, and bought the ticket for a flight from new york city to lax of los angeles with a long stop over in ohio. dad had flown from around 2 am until 3 am and waited until morning to take a taxi to the dormitory of the high school. there (as mentioned) they met and returned to the airport to proceed to lax.
dad pointed out "I did not bring the jewish prayer boxes" which he had always worn in the daily prayers and added that josh could choose freely, if he wanted to skip the prayer ceremony that was fine. josh was not in the mood of praising god and was delighted to skip the prayer ceremony. instead they went to a "mcdonalds" o-r and ordered two portions of sausage mcmuffin o-r and egg mcmuffin o-r. it was the first time josh ate at a mcdonalds o-r, ever, and the first time eating "meat with melted cheese together." all with dads guidance emphasizing his option to choose freely. they ate silently because the mouth was busy and later they spoke about sports mostly about the recent football games of the new york jets. as you know winter is football season.
finally they boarded and entered the plane for the flight  westward. josh had ended his old life and was now beginning a new life.
soon the stewardess brought the peanut snack [described in part 1]  and they both listened to the radio using the earphones of the airline. josh had switched from channel to channel trying to find music which he could enjoy, while dad listened to a sports channel.
the flight felt long but was a great relief from the cold of ohio. the jet plane was a comfortable temperature and the sun was warm through the windows already josh felt that he had not coughed in several hours.
the plane landed in lax and they drove to a hotel to the room dad had reserved earlier that morning and then they went clothes shopping.
six pairs of short pants and some jeans and some long pants josh chose the color gray for the long pants while the shorts were all the boring colors blue grey and black.
dad had encouraged josh to get colorful shirts and josh was delighted because he hated the white shirts. he had bought a red t-shirt with the name of the basketball team of los angeles but all the other shirts were colored shirts in the "polo" style with a soft collar which was the same color as the shirt and with only 3 buttons by the neck. they also bought shorts for pajamas however josh wanted to keep the pajama shirt. dad said that after the illness passed he would go to a normal school.
back at the hotel, josh finally unbuttoned the white shirt which covered the pajama shirt. next he removed the jewish religious rectangle shirt, the one which he would wear when he slept because of peer pressure, as well as removing the undershirt. he slipped on the sports tee shirt the one with no collar that was red and enjoyed the warm california weather.
dad encouraged josh to enjoy the tv while he looked for an apartment for a few months and met with a lawyer to finalize the divorce. before dad left he said, "no tricks, all you will do is tell the truth. you were sick and i took you out of the high school and bought you a new wardrobe and take care of your hunger needs."
josh felt cynical but first said thank you, before noting they had skipped lunch because of the timing of the flight. dad winced and called room service, ordering pasta to be delivered for one. josh flipped through the tv channels until he found some animated cartoons that were exciting and interesting.
in his mind he heard his parents' critical voice "how dare you lay in bed all day" but responded in his mind that he had a fever and would need antibiotic drugs. dad had left to do the adult stuff.
josh felt thankful but already knew that he would not help his father get custody. not because he wanted to be his mother. mom he remembered had also been viciously violent to josh and he remembered the afternoon when mom had spent several minutes of continued hitting until her hand was tired while ignoring his cries of pain to stop.
no, he would not be near that woman until he had an opportunity for revenge. and he did not believe that his father was really changed. only in action dad did not hit. Josh believed dad was not truly reformed nor changed. that was not a changed person he was being nice because he wanted custody. no josh had already decided what he would tell the judges.
to be continued...