Jones St., Chapter 4: Pages 1-2
Page 1, 6 Panels- Tara's Car, W. Desert Inn Road, Las Vegas NV, Just after the end of Chapter 3
Panel 1: We open on the same setting and layout as the last panel of the previous page. Tara is in a much calmer state of mind compared to where we last left him; the sound of music coming from the car stereo in the bottom of the panel view. You can see the scenery of the road from the rear window quickly moving behind him in the background.
TARA [narration caption]: Hey there, nameless reader person...last time you saw me, I was just coming down from an anxiety sparked panic attack (aka a Meltdown) over the big interview I have with the Clark County Sound in...
Panel 2: Same setting/layout as the previous panel. A few beats later, he looks over in the direction of the digital clock, which we see in a separate image above the narration caption. The background changes with the same relative speed and design as before.
IMAGE: [Clock showing that it's 1:50 P.M.] TARA [narration caption]: ...25 minutes. Scratch that, it's aprobably close to 20 since the clock's usually 5 minutes ahead. Still though, it gives me enough time to describe what a Meltdown is since I'm guessing the majority of you reading this have no idea what it actually is.
Panel 3: Cut to a pale white setting and background that covers the whole of the panel. In the center of the panel lies a simple orange on a stool, the shadow of which is cast slightly on the bottom of the panel view.
TARA [narration caption]: Picture my brain as an orange in all its delectable goodness on a stool, ignoring the question of why anyone would leave a perfectly delicious piece of fruit out to go bad without eating it first. Anyway...
Panel 4-6: A three-part set of panels that all take place in the same setting and layout as the previous panel. In Panel 4, we see a mysterious green ray come into view from the top left of the panel, squarely hitting the orange. In Panel 5, the orange suddenly warps and takes on new and physically impossible shapes within the area, hovering just above the stool, with a background of loud bright fireworks crackling all around the panel. Then, in Panel 6, the orange returns to rest on the hard wooden seat.
TARA [Cont. narration caption, Panel 4]: Imagine said orange was zapped by a mysterious ray belonging to a device that was hidden somewhere out of view. TARA [narration caption, Panel 5]: Burning and warping it into all kinds of shapes and forms, chopping it up to its molecular building blocks, screwing around with the rest of the body for what feels like an eternity before... TARA [Cont. narration caption, Panel 6]: Returning the brain orange to its original shape and configuration. All happening in the course of minutes, at random times of day as well as random locations--like the inside of a car while listening to The Clash. At least that's what happened to me...
Page 2, 5 Panels- Tara's Car, W. Desert Inn Road, Las Vegas NV
Panel 1-2: It starts out in the same setting/layout as the last panel of the previous page. A few minutes pass by, and everything seems to be in a nice balance of nervous/excited energy as he nears the establishment. Then suddenly, in Panel 2, there's the sound of a loud piercing engine buzzing by him via another lane, causing him to growl out in pain as a result.
TARA [Cont. narration caption; Panel 1]: Other people with autism have them in different ways with their own unique and aggravating funks attached to them. But they exist in the same realm of-- SOUND EFFECT [Off-Panel, Panel 2]: VRRREEEEEENNNN! TARA [thought bubble, Panel 2]: Stupid...joyriding...motorcycle...
Panel 3: Cut to an elevated shot of the parking lot to MadHouse Coffee a short time later. You can see the top of the dark green car coming in from the bottom of the panel view to join the ten other cars of various makes and designs that have already parked at this point in the day. You can also see, from the windows of the establishment in the center-left of the panel view, a few people coming in and out at the same moment.
TARA [Cont. thought bubble caption]: Like nails on a fracking chalkboard!
Panel 4: We move to an interior shot of the coffeehouse a handful of moments later, particularly the front entrance. The right glass door opens up and we see Tara coming inside at a steady pace, slightly hampered by the realm of anxious energy he's keeping in the pit of his belly. His energy bar is a little warped and fluctuating from between 55 and 85% both here and in Panel 5; the colors within it also fluctuate from orange to red to blue inside it all, which also carries out into the next panel.
TARA [thought bubble]: Calm thoughts...think calm thoughts. Gonna need some chocolate courage to help me get there.
Panel 5: Cut to the front counter with him looking up at the menu that is located on a board up near the ceiling in front of the counter; the energy still barely contained inside him. You can see a section of the handful of other people inside seated in the main area at tables and one passing behind him in the background.
TARA [Cont. thought bubble]: Hopefully they have a good Chai here...