Chapter 3

“Parker, when’s mom coming home?” Shelly asked, looking up from her algebra homework.

I glanced back at the small digital clock on the microwave; it read 7:30 pm. “I don’t know Shells, all she said was that she’d be back by Sunday… she didn’t tell me what time”

“But I need her to sign my permission slip for my field trip tomorrow…” Shelly sighed.

“Hmm, Just leave it on my dresser, I’ve gotten pro at forging her signature, I can sign it for you” I promised. Shelly nodded, and turned back to her homework, which reminded me of the schoolwork I’ve been neglecting for the weekend.

“Hey Shell, would you mind watching Neil & Em while I head to the library for about an hour?” I asked “The Wiggles movie is on TV, so they should be occupied until I get back anyways… Just make sure they don’t kill each other.”

“No problem” Shelly promised. I have to hand it to my little sister, she may be a relentless annoyance, but she really is there when I needed her.

I walked to the front entrance, slipping on my ratty low-top chucks, and slung my backpack over one shoulder. “Be back in an hour, Love you guys!” I waited for a chorus of acknowledged mumbles in response, and walked outside, closing the heavy wooden door behind me.

The wind kissed my face with its cool October breeze. The night was calm as the sun was just about set over the Westerly horizon. There were leaves scattered across the sidewalk, crunching under my feet as I made my way to the public library just a few short blocks away.

I quickly looked both ways before crossing Hopefront Street, The notorious borderline between the rich part of town and… our part of town. The city did a nice job of making the transition between the two nearly seamless… but as I slowly progressed, it was hard not to notice that the hedges were now more neatly trimmed, the fences were just that few shades whiter than they has been a few houses down, and the roofs were no longer patched and discoloured.

When I was younger, I had always dreamed of living in one of these houses… with my own television in my room, and big pool with a water slide in the backyard. There was one house in particular that I had always fantasized about… It was just a few houses up now.

It was a red brick house, three stories high, with a black-shingled roof. The front door was crisp white, along with the detached garage beside it. There was a giant willow tree in the front yard with a tire swing hanging off one of the branches. As I passed the house, my pace slowed, trying once again to memorize every detail of the property. The lawn was neatly trimmed -as always-; the flowers were carefully kept, not a wilt in sight – as always-. My pace slowed further, as I squinted to see the tire swing in the glow of the streetlights.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the distance. A male form walked out of the house, carrying a garbage bag, crossing the distance between the house and the garage. He looked up, and spotted me watching him from the sidewalk. “Um… hello?” he said, his voice plainly adolescent.

Crap I’m caught. I quickly muttered a lame “ugh hi” and hurried off in the direction of the library. I probably looked like such a creeper.

I sped up, and hugged myself in my sweater in an attempt to stay warm. I had made it to the library not too long afterwards, grateful for the shelter from the winds, which were beginning to pick up vigor.

I made my way over to my favourite study carol, and flicked the computer on, waiting for the old desktop to boot up. I looked around and quickly found the engraving I had done in my freshman year. “P.Mac 05” I laughed under my breath. I was such a loser. I had spent countless hours in this study carol over the years. I didn’t have a computer at home, so all of my research papers, speeches, and projects had to be written at the Library; not that I minded. The environment here was much more studious, rather than hazardous. And studious is something I was required to be with my eyes set on a scholarship to the University of Michigan.

I yanked out my History Binder and set it in front of me, looking at my assignment outline. “Hello Caesar” I mumbled under my breath as I got to work on my ancient civilizations homework.

Chapter 2.

“Parkeerrrr!”

I glanced up in the rearview mirror and saw my sister Shelly looking longingly out the window of the car. “What is it Shells?” I asked in an annoyed tone.

“Can we go to McDonalds?”

I sighed and turned my attention back to the road. “No.”

“Pleaseeeeee”

“no”

“But Parker-” She started saying before I cut her off.

“If you want McDonalds so bad, then maybe you should start walking home from school… huh?” I said. That shut her up pretty quickly. We lived about 10 minutes away from Shelly’s middle school by car… That’s almost an hour-long walk. The same walk that I had to do every day when I was Shelly’s age. “And besides, we have to pick up Neil & Emily from Daycare.” I could hear Shelly’s defeated sigh.

Neil & Emily are my step- siblings. My mom got knocked up a few years ago by “some guy she met in the club” –her words; needless to say she never saw this guy again. The kids are only four years old & they are fraternal twins. Don’t let their adorable faces fool you; Neil & Em are always up to something.

I turned into the parking lot of “Wee-Watch” and cut the engine of my ancient Oldsmobile. “Wait here” I instructed Shelly as I opened the car door.

“Can you leave the radio on?” Shelly asked. I sighed and shoved the key back in the ignition, turning it just slightly to the right. The radio quickly came back on, and the car was soon filled with the deafening bass of a song I’ve never heard. Shelly however seemed quite content, singing along and bopping her head.

I slammed the car door closed, and made my way inside the daycare center. The awful sounds of children shrieking mixed with Barney music filled my ears as soon as I stepped through the entrance. “Oh Parker, thank goodness you are here!” Said Ms. Adams, the daycare coordinator. “Emily just told all of the kids that there was no Santa, and now everyone is crying… and Neil keeps kicking Patrick & Andy for no reason… Its craziness”

“Oh wow, I’m so sorry!” I said, not exactly surprised by any of this. “Let me get them out of here.” I quickly scanned the colorful room, and spotted Emily & Neil throwing Lego at other kids. I made a beeline towards them, but of course they spotted me first. Ten minutes, and one big chase through the ball pit later, I had them rounded up and ready to go. “Thanks again” I said to Ms. Adams. I grabbed Em and Neil by their collars, and we walked out to the car.

I strapped them in their car seats and headed towards the last stop; home. The four of us and my Mom live in a large community, mostly filled with well-off families in comfy subdivision housing with white picket fences. Our living arrangement however is a little bit different. We reside in the older part of town… the section that was around long before the big-time developers came and “beautified”. Our house still has the same tacky 70’s décor as when we bought it, and dark wooden half paneling in every room. The musky floors creek, and the faded wallpaper is peeling off, but it’s the only home I know.

Minutes later we pulled into the narrow pavement driveway of the house. I grabbed my backpack from the trunk and we all headed inside. “Mom?” I yelled from the foyer.

“Shhhh!” was her response. It came from the den, so I plopped my bag in front of the door and followed the muted sound of her phone voice. “Yes, all that for one low monthly rate” she said, over politeness ringing through every word. Only through my trained ears could I make out the emptiness behind it all. “Oh, well then thank you for your time.” She said with a defeated sigh. She hung up the phone and collapsed onto the couch. “Parker?” she asked, turning her head to face me.

“Yeah Mom?”

“I’ll be working tonight, so I’ll need you to make dinner again honey. And if you could just clean up a bit that would be a big help too.” She said with that pleadingly hopeless look in her tired light brown eyes.

“No problem” I assured her.

“Thanks kid… You know, I’d be dead if I didn’t have you around” a halfhearted smile began creeping upon her once beautiful face.

“I know.” And with that I walked down the main hall to my room. I hopped onto the bed and listened to the familiar sounds of the creaky springs of the mattress. I then kicked off my sneakers and laid my head on my favourite lumpy pillow. Through the walls I could still make out the soprano pitch of my mother’s voice on the phone. She works part time as a telemarketer for various businesses. She gets paid commission, so it doesn’t have the best salary; most of our money comes from her singing gigs. She does the phone thing by day, working from home, and a few nights a week, a local bar or whatever will hire her to perform. It wasn’t always this way… she used to have a somewhat steady job as a hotel lounge act, but when she got pregnant with the twins, everything changed.

As money became a scarcity, my Mom just kind of gave up on us… and being the oldest daughter, a lot of the responsibilities were then thrust upon me. I needed to grow up really fast during those times five years ago, and I’ve continued to carry someone else’s burden ever since.

There was a swift knock on my door. I flipped over to lay on my stomach and turned my head to the other side to face the door. “Come in!” I yelled.

My mom’s head popped through the frame, the phone still clutched in one hand, her other palm covering the receiver. “Parker, I’m really going to need your help this weekend with the kids. I just booked this really good gig at Stan’s Bar & Grill… It’s a few hours out of town, so I figured I could just get a motel there. I’ll just need you to take care of everything around here.” She said offhandedly. “oh and if you could pay the phone bill for me, that would be a load off my mind.” None of this was a question, so much as an order, but still she waited for my response.

One look at her sunken in face, and I replied with a routine “No problem… I’ll handle it”. My mom nodded once and turned to leave the room. She and I both knew that I could handle it… much better than she ever could.

Chapter 1

In the corner of the overcrowded cafeteria at Victoria high school, Melissa Dawson and Kyle O’Connelly were bickering in hushed tones. By the irritated looks on their faces, the school’s newest “it” couple was soon to be history. I scanned the room, and saw a few other curious onlookers, trying not to make their eavesdropping recognizable –covering their sidelong gazes with books or long swigs from their drink. My attention turned back to the couple just in time to see Melissa shove Kyle to the side, and walk away, complete with a “yeah, I just dumped you” hair flip. Poor guy, he doesn’t deserve such public humiliation… or maybe he does, I didn’t know the story.

“Parker? Are you even listening?” My head snapped back around towards my table, and I was met with three pairs of questioning eyes. “I’ve been having a whole conversation with you, and you weren’t even paying attention” My friend Kerri said, a pout beginning to form on her perfectly angular face.

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Josh muttered under his breath beside me. Kerri just grimaced at him, and stuck her tongue out towards his general direction.

“Melissa and Kyle just broke up,” I announced, changing the subject.

“And I care, because?” Josh asked with a mouthful of French fries.

“Huh when?” Becca asked, turning around to scan the caf. She pushed her glasses up to the bridge of her nose, and whipped back around to face me.

“Like, 20 seconds ago. I just saw it happen… I knew it wouldn’t work out between them, Melissa’s way too controlling, and all Kyle cares about is the football team. It was a disaster waiting to happen.” I said matter-of-factly.

“Dude, stop speculating other people’s lives… it’s creepy” Kerri spoke up. “Have you ever even talked to Melissa or Kyle in your life?”

“Well no,” I admitted, pushing a few loose strands of dark hair behind my left ear. “But I can just tell.”

“Right…” Kerri said rolling her eyes. “Anyways, I was telling you a story-” So as Kerri went on ranting about her newest boyfriend Todd –this one’s a college guy- I absentmindedly nodded along at the seemingly appropriate places, and let my eyes veer to the right as my mind was somewhere else completely. As always, Kerri didn’t notice, and she mistook my un-enthusiasm for sympathy as she retold a tale of her last disastrous date.

I think that’s why we get along so well, Kerri and I. I’m not one to have much of anything to say, and She’s elated just to have anyone listen to her for more than a few seconds. Kerri is one of those people who everyone just kind of rolls their eyes at. She’s very energetic, and very… unique. She’s not the brightest bulb in the box, but always entertaining nonetheless.

As Kerri dramatically recapped the body language that Todd was conveying, I switched my glance towards Becca and Josh. Josh & I met last year when he used to tutor my younger sister in math. He was over at my house a lot, and we became quick friends. I liked him because he was really funny and generally a nice guy. With his lanky frame and freckled face, he was a total boy-next-door that you know your mom would just love.

He and Becca have been dating for over a year now. Becca is a petite girl with dirty blonde hair and a winning smile. She’s an honor roll student with an equally impressive permanent record. The girl is a genius, but can’t keep out of trouble to save her life. If she’s not painting giant happy faces on all of the school’s basketballs, she’s calling in a bomb threat to skip PE, or mouthing off to the Vice-Principal, Ms. Weaver. The only reason that Becca hasn’t been suspended is because her grades keep up the school’s GPA –although no one has openly admitted it yet.

And then there’s me… Parker Mackenzie. Nothing too interesting to note about my physical description… brown hair, brown eyes blah blah blah. In fact, there’s not much about me that’s noteworthy at all. I guess I’m shy… but if anything I’m just very observant. I’m not a stalker or anything –at least I try not to be- but people are just so fascinating. I mean granted, most times, people are very predictable, but once in a while someone will come by and really surprise you… human nature is just so intriguing.

“So yeah, Todd invited me to a college party on Tonight, you guys up for it?” Kerri asked looking at me.

“Babysitting.” I replied routinely. Kerri pouted and switched her hopeful gaze to Becca & Josh.

“Can’t” Becca said, “Me & Josh are headed up to my parent’s cottage for a nice romantic weekend getaway.” She reached across the cafeteria table and clasped her hand in his.

“But it’s Mid-Fall.” Kerri said pointedly. “It’ll be cold”

“I know, but it’s the only weekend for months when my parents are going to be away, & I want to make the most of it.” Becca explained.

“Okay, well have fun freezing to death.” Kerri said sarcastically.

“We will” Josh replied with a smirk.

“What time is it?” Becca asked, frowning at the broken clock on the cafeteria wall.

“12:20” I replied, glancing at my cell phone.

“Damn, I’m late for detention with Ms. Weaver. I’ve got to get going.” Becca said, and began to stand up.

“Wait up, I’ll come with you.” I said “I need to get something from my locker & it’s just past the office” I quickly stood up & slung my backpack over my shoulder.

“Now you two… don’t kill each other while we’re gone.” Becca said jokingly with a warning finger. Kerri & Josh Just rolled their eyes as we walked away laughing.

* * * * * * *

“Oh man, twenty minutes late, Weaver’s gonna be pissed” Becca said once we reached the office doors.

“You’ll be fine.” I said habitually reassuring Becca that she would not be in any significant amount of trouble. The girl simply does not understand that it is virtually impossible for her to get any worse punishment than a stern warning.

“Thanks Parker” Becca said taking in a breath “Here I go” she declared after a loud exhalation. She started towards the door & fiddled with her top before finally opening the door & stepping through the frame. With one quick wave back at me, she disappeared into the small, over-crowded office.

I quickly wandered off in the direction of my locker to grab my English folder, passing many familiar faces of whom I’ve never actually met before. Sarah Berkley suddenly came running passed me, slightly jerking me to the side. She looked back, shot me an apologetic look, and kept running. I couldn’t help but wonder where she was running to… or what she was running from. Everything has a story; I just wish I knew it. I finally reached my locker and yanked the thick book out from its previous metal confines, shoving it into my backpack.

I slung the backpack over my right shoulder, and started making my way to English class early like I did everyday. As I passed the front entrance to the school, I saw a few unfamiliar faces, all huddled together in some sort of family pow-wow. It must be a new student or something. I careened my neck to the side to see around the woman’s large hair-do to catch a glimpse of my potential future classmate. Standing there, with his hands lazily in his front pockets, stood a tall boy with shaggy light brown hair and wearing worn-out jeans and a dark t-shirt. What was the story there? His parents make him move because of a job offer? Or maybe he’s a delinquent, suspended from another school board… To hell if I know. The man was waving his index finger at the boy in a very parentally threatening manor, and proffered him a sheet of paper –probably the transfer sheet. The boy just rolled his eyes and snatched it before walking out of the school’s doors.

I snapped out of my daze just in time to hear the bell ring. Mobs of teenagers quickly filled the halls, making it impossible for me to see the expression left on his parent’s faces.