October 20th, 1995
General POV
The following week Metropolises faithful gathered at Met U stadium for a memorial. Over 100 people lost their lives that day. Many had been injured as well. Creed was doing his best to heal people in the hospital secretly. He had been in bad shape himself until Trey healed him when he came back into town. Trey had scheduled his tour to be out of the state that week, so his family could be safe. Trey was now preparing for his performance for the victims.
The entire crowd was somber—everyone dressed in all black. The Carter family, Clark, Lois, Bruce, and even Lex stood together in the front. They stood quietly, thinking of the friends and family they lost. A few minutes later, Trey walked out to the microphone with a small choir behind him.
“Before we start, I want to offer my condolences to anyone who lost someone that day. This next song I’m doing is old. It helped a group of people in their lowest moments. Darkseid aims to break our hope. It‘s my hope this song helps everyone keep their faith.” Trey said. He took a small moment of silence and then began.
“Shadows fall.
And hope has fled.
Steel your heart.
The dawn will come.
The night is long.
And the path is dark.
Look to the sky.
For one day soon.
The dawn will come.” Trey sung.
“The Shepard's lost.
And his home is far.
Keep to the stars.
The dawn will come.” A soprano joined in.
“The night is long.
And the path is dark.
Look to the sky.
For one day soon.
The dawn will come.
Bare your blade.
And raise it high.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Stand your ground.
The dawn will come.
The night is long.
And the path is dark.
Look to the sky.
For one day soon.
The dawn will come!” Trey finished with the rest of the choir. The crowd burst into tears hearing the song. Plenty in the crowd letting out all the emotions they've been bottling up. A couple of minutes later, when they finally calmed down, the crowd asked to hear the song again—Trey sang it two more times. The last time everyone sang along. Everyone was sad but no longer as bleak as earlier. The people still had hope.
Later that day, Trey approached Bruce about releasing the song as a single. He’d give all the proceeds to all the victim's families. It was the least he could do to help them with their loss. The Carter family then headed back home. On the way, Trey mentioned to his parents that he had something he wanted to discuss with them tomorrow.
The next day at breakfast, Trey dropped a bomb on his family.
“No, son, you're still too young. I don’t care that you can pass the GED. You still need to go to school. It would be best if you made some friends your own age. I admire your dedication to your craft but not at the expense of your personal life.” Tyson refused. Trey had asked his parents to let him drop out of school. From his perspective, it was a waste of time when he could be building businesses or training his powers.
“Dad, please. School is a waste of time when I could be working on music or writing. I don’t learn anything in class, and all of the students treat me like an exotic zoo animal. They're so amazed being in the same room as me that all they do is talk about me but never to me. I can make friends when I’m older. Kyla is enough for me for now.” Trey explained, smiling at his sister. She didn’t agree or disagree but held her brother's hand firmly. She’d support him no matter what he did.
“Is this what you truly want?” Alexandra asked, remembering the conversation they had the other day.
“Yes, it will help me out a lot. I also get to spend more time with you guys. This a win-win situation.” Trey pleaded his case again.
“Allow me to say it in Spanish. NO. You need a life outside your talents and us. I’ve seen how being a workaholic affected people when I was in the service. Son, they live for the job because they have nothing else going on in their lives. I won’t let you end up like them.” Tyson said, trying to end this discussion. Trey smiled at him despite his protests. He knew his dad had his heart in the right place. It was too bad for him. His son had a trump card to overrule him.
“Mom, help me, please. I’ll throw in wearing those sweaters this Christmas.” Trey said with a pitiful smile. The entire room went silent. Tyson’s mouth kept opening & closing.
‘Shit! He’s really serious about this. That’s the one thing none of us have been able to get him to budge on. Kyla’s puppy dog eyes didn’t even work last year.’ Tyson thought.
“Honey,” Alexandra called out sweetly to her husband. She pouted her lip, locking eyes with him. At that moment, he knew he had already lost. He sighed before responding.
“Okay, you win, but there will be some restrictions. You can skip elementary school, but you’ll have to go back if you don’t make some friends before you turn ten. I expect you to leave an extra hour out of your schedule for all of us. If I see you overworking yourself, I’ll shut everything down. No music, no writing, no nothing. Promise me you’ll work on your life outside of work.” Tyson said seriously. Trey got up & hugged his father.
“I promise, dad,” Trey said. Alexandra and Kyla were high-fiving each other.
“We can finally do a proper family photo this year. I can’t wait to send out Christmas cards.” Alexandra giggled with joy. Kyla was excited for a different reason.
‘Hehe, Mom’s gonna make me my cake and no bedtime for a week,’ Kyla thought. Her mother had promised her that should they be able to convince her brother to take family Christmas photos this year. Trey shuttered after hearing what his mother said.
‘Was it really worth it? I can never get back my ugly Christmas sweater virginity. Is this breaking the first rule?’ Trey inwardly questioned.