Introverted, socially awkward Jay Kirkman, known to his Grams as “Jay Bird,” is riding the ups-and-downs of youth while living with overbearing parents and dealing with the pressures of being a senior in high school. A month away from graduation, Jay hopes to flee the small upstate New York town of Milton for a life anywhere but in his dead-end hometown. He wishes for more than he has now: scholarly, eccentric parents, and watching Grams, the closest person to him, slowly dying before his eyes. His equally withdrawn but edgier best friend Rocco has a hearty appetite for drugs, alcohol, and promiscuous sex. When the law comes knocking, asking questions about a crime Rocco may or may not have committed, he finds himself in big trouble and turns to Jay for help. Is Jay and Rocco’s friendship strong enough to sustain life’s tough obstacles as they navigate the highs and lows of growing up together?

Jay Bird

I reached for the tea mug and curled my fingers around the warm handle and headed back into the hallway, ambling in the direction of a partially cracked bedroom door.


I rapped lightly and slid the door further open with my free hand, peeking around the jamb at my Grams’ weathered face beaming back at me. She threw up her toothpick thin arms, eyes misty and unwavering, as if I had news that Gramps was alive and well.


“Jay Bird, I waited up for you. I’m so glad to see you. Come here. Give your grandmother a big hug.”


I cringed at my Grams’ pet name for me.


“I apologize for being late,” I said. “I got caught up with a friend.”


“I don’t care what time it is. I’m just so happy to see your young, handsome face.”


I set the mug down on the nightstand beside a collection of high blood pressure pills and prescription bottles.


Chapter 4