Glades and Playgrounds
Chapter III;
The next morning I woke up early for once. My room was bathing in the bright sunlight, throwing creepy shadows on my walls from the tree right outside my window. My eyes were aching from the sudden attack and I quickly turned around to lie on my stomach, burying my face into my warm pillow. I had no idea of what I was gonna do today, probably just sit around and wish I was back in Belleville. Or maybe I could call Sasha…
I climbed out of my bed and stretched out my muscles while trying to suppress a yawn. This summer break was the most boring ever. I had no one to talk to or meet except for my mom and even though she’s cool, I need someone in my own age… or anyway someone who hasn’t given birth to me.
I went down into the kitchen and started searching through the fridge for something eatable. I found some old pancakes that mom had made for dinner last week, which we didn’t eat and instead ordered Chinese food. I placed the plate with pancakes on the dinner table that finally had arrived the day before; it was really getting to you when you had to sit on the floor to eat. I ate the pancakes, even though they tasted quite funny, drank some milk from the carton and went back up in to room. I seriously had no idea what to do. My clothes were lying randomly sprawled out on the floor, wrinkly and unwashed, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t like I had someone to impress on anyway. I took my dirtiest jeans I owned, which once had been black but after not being washed since we moved, they were more grey than anything and a Ramones hoodie over a plain black t-shirt.
So… what to do, what to do… I could always just go to the playground and spend my whole day there, moaning about my meaningless life. Yeah, I could do that… I bounced down the stairs, feeling a bit better now when I had something to do even though it wasn’t exactly like a trip to Disneyland. I pulled on my faithful, pink converse, got outside and locked the door behind me. The sky was grey and small raindrops were falling from the sky, one of those nice rains that aren’t pouring down and making you soaking wet.
*
I reached the playground minutes later, only to see the girl again sitting on the swing. Her feet were barely touching the ground as she rocked back and forth, staring down in her lap just like last time as if she had something there.
“Hi” I said quickly and my eyes widened when the girl looked up at me. It wasn’t a girl, it was a boy, but his long, brownish black hair made him look quite feminine when you couldn’t see his face.
“Hi again” he said back, looking back down in his lap. So obviously, he remembers me, so why isn’t he running away like last time? The swing next to him was the only place to sit except for in the sand and I really didn’t wanna go home just because my own shyness so I sat down on it.
“Why did you run away last time?”
My brain wasn’t really functioning at the moment; I would never talk to a stranger like this. But I guess that’s what loneliness does to you…
“Dude, this is Jersey and it was 10pm…” he said, looking up from his lap as he talked to me and then let his gaze drop down once again. “You must be new here”
“Yeah, I am”
“Dammit” he said, looking at his watch, “I gotta go. I’ll see you around”
And he disappeared just as quickly as he did last time, only this time he didn’t run straight into the bushes, but actually used the street. His movements were smooth, like a cat’s, or maybe a vampire in the dark. Yeah, a vampire was the best way to describe him. It was like he didn’t quite fit in into the morning sun that was gazing down on us and seeing as his skin was more snow-white than anything else, he thought so too.
And he was right about seeing him around; I saw him several more times at the playground, always sitting with his head bent down. I never walked up to him again, mostly because I was new here and this was probably more his place than mine, but also because I was shy. I mean, yeah, I wanted friends, but this dude frightened me a bit. He would always sit on ‘my’ swing, always looking down in his lap and always wear black. Sure, I used a lot of black clothes, but if I had to wear a white shirt, I wouldn’t exactly commit suicide.
Most of the time I came to the playground, he wasn’t there though. He was always there at nights while I was mostly there whenever my mom was at work. She really loved her new job, I don’t know why. Washing other peoples filthy hair isn’t exactly a career I would choose, but if she’s happy, I’m happy.
*
The front door opened and was closed with a bang that made the walls shake slightly and I jumped up from my bed where I’d been sitting all day now, reading comic books and listening to music.
“Linda?” I called, “Is that you?”
“Y-yeah” I heard her call back, her voice breaking a bit before founding strength. I sat back down on the bed.
“Are you okay?”
Loud sobs reached my ears from downstairs and once again, I jumped up from my bed, but this time I actually did something more than just stand beside it. Turning the doorknob, I ran out of my room and down the stairs, only to see mom standing in the kitchen, her hands supporting her as she stood bend over the kitchen table. She was crying, but her long, dark hair was covering her face as she stared down at the table, but her shaking back and shoulders betrayed her calm surface.
“Linda?” I asked, slowly walking up to her, “Mom?”
“I’m okay, Frank…” she said with a thick voice that only made her cry harder.
“I just… I blew it, honey…”
“What?” I was now standing next to her, comfortingly putting my arm around her back. She stopped shaking for a second and straightened up a bit, looking at me instead of at the table underneath her.
“The job” she said with a suffocated voice. “I totally blew it…”
“What happened?”
“I m-messed up… It was just the stupidest thing… I accidentally dyed my costumer’s hair purple”
I forced myself not to smile and instead pulled her into a hug. She was around my height, if not a few centimetres taller.
“It’s okay, Linda…” I cooed in her ear. “Just tell them that it was a mistake”
“I… I did. They wouldn’t listen to me, just because that cow- I mean, just because my costumer wouldn’t stop yelling”
“They… They didn’t, you know, fire you, right?” I asked, loosing all of my desire to smile as I saw more tears appear in her blue eyes. “They can’t fire you for such a stupid thing! Just give the cow a free treatment and dye her hair back or something!”
“It’s not that easy” she sighed, wiping the tears away from her cheeks, but it was in vain. There was coming new ones for every second. “She’s their most important costumer and she swore not to return to that saloon after what I did”
“Oh... I’m so sorry for you, Lin” I said, now hugging her properly with my arms around her neck.
“So am I… I really loved that job, Frankie… What am I gonna do now?”
“I think you’re gonna go back tomorrow and say that you’re really sorry and that you even can work for free a couple of days to make up what you did and then they can re-hire you”
“But what if they won’t take me back?” she asked and finally stopped crying.
Her cheeks were glimmering from the streetlight outside our kitchen window by the tears she’d cried. I really hated seeing her like this, so sad. I haven’t seen her crying since Stephen’s funeral.
“Then it’s their loss” I smiled, patting her cheek jokingly. She smiled back, dragging her fingers across her cheeks to wipe away the tears once again.
“What have I done to deserve such an amazing son?”
“You had sex with a loser”
“Oh right, I forgot that” she laughed and I smiled inwards, happy that she was feeling better, “But you know, he wasn’t a loser. He just… wanted a career more than a family”
“That’s the definition of a loser” I said and she nudged my shoulder.
“You’re right…” she laughed, “Anyways, do you wanna come to the Way’s house with me this time?” it might seem like just another question, but her voice was pleading, her tear-wet eyelashes surrounding her begging eyes.
“Visiting the neighbours? Sure…” I said slowly and she skipped childishly.
“Yay!”
“You seem to be a lot happier now” I smirked.
“What can I say, I’ve raised a good comforter” she laughed, “I’ll just put on some new make up and then we’ll be on our way, okay?”
“Yeah” I said, regretting immediately that I said I would come. “But just so you know, I’ll just be there for ten minutes or so”
“That’s fine, I just want you to meet them” she said, already half way up the stairs.
“But one more thing, I won’t put on any special clothes… If they don’t like my style then that’s their problem”
“Don’t worry about that, one of their sons are kinda alternative. Haven’t really seen their oldest kid, but from what Donna says, he’s somewhat of a rebel too” she shouted from upstairs.
“Oh… Dammit” I said, whispering the last word. I didn’t have any more ways of getting out of it. Mom came down minutes later with new make up applied on her already pretty face and she gestured at the door for me.
“Let’s go”
“I… uh…” I said, frantically looking for a reason I couldn’t come with her.
“You don’t wanna come, huh?”
“No… Please, don’t make me!” I pleaded, folding my hands and bowing my hands down, as if I was praying.
“Ten minutes” she said, putting on her shoes. “That’s all I’m asking for, Frankie”
“But-“
“Ten minutes! Please!”
“Fine…” I sighed, walking up to her and putting on my shoes as well. “But I won’t act all social and talkative…”
“I never expected you to either” she smirked, running her hand through her long hair to brush it away from her face, only to reveal her pale, wrinkle-free forehead. “Let’s go, aight?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“No” she said, still smirking as she pushed me out the door.
I climbed out of my bed and stretched out my muscles while trying to suppress a yawn. This summer break was the most boring ever. I had no one to talk to or meet except for my mom and even though she’s cool, I need someone in my own age… or anyway someone who hasn’t given birth to me.
I went down into the kitchen and started searching through the fridge for something eatable. I found some old pancakes that mom had made for dinner last week, which we didn’t eat and instead ordered Chinese food. I placed the plate with pancakes on the dinner table that finally had arrived the day before; it was really getting to you when you had to sit on the floor to eat. I ate the pancakes, even though they tasted quite funny, drank some milk from the carton and went back up in to room. I seriously had no idea what to do. My clothes were lying randomly sprawled out on the floor, wrinkly and unwashed, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t like I had someone to impress on anyway. I took my dirtiest jeans I owned, which once had been black but after not being washed since we moved, they were more grey than anything and a Ramones hoodie over a plain black t-shirt.
So… what to do, what to do… I could always just go to the playground and spend my whole day there, moaning about my meaningless life. Yeah, I could do that… I bounced down the stairs, feeling a bit better now when I had something to do even though it wasn’t exactly like a trip to Disneyland. I pulled on my faithful, pink converse, got outside and locked the door behind me. The sky was grey and small raindrops were falling from the sky, one of those nice rains that aren’t pouring down and making you soaking wet.
*
I reached the playground minutes later, only to see the girl again sitting on the swing. Her feet were barely touching the ground as she rocked back and forth, staring down in her lap just like last time as if she had something there.
“Hi” I said quickly and my eyes widened when the girl looked up at me. It wasn’t a girl, it was a boy, but his long, brownish black hair made him look quite feminine when you couldn’t see his face.
“Hi again” he said back, looking back down in his lap. So obviously, he remembers me, so why isn’t he running away like last time? The swing next to him was the only place to sit except for in the sand and I really didn’t wanna go home just because my own shyness so I sat down on it.
“Why did you run away last time?”
My brain wasn’t really functioning at the moment; I would never talk to a stranger like this. But I guess that’s what loneliness does to you…
“Dude, this is Jersey and it was 10pm…” he said, looking up from his lap as he talked to me and then let his gaze drop down once again. “You must be new here”
“Yeah, I am”
“Dammit” he said, looking at his watch, “I gotta go. I’ll see you around”
And he disappeared just as quickly as he did last time, only this time he didn’t run straight into the bushes, but actually used the street. His movements were smooth, like a cat’s, or maybe a vampire in the dark. Yeah, a vampire was the best way to describe him. It was like he didn’t quite fit in into the morning sun that was gazing down on us and seeing as his skin was more snow-white than anything else, he thought so too.
And he was right about seeing him around; I saw him several more times at the playground, always sitting with his head bent down. I never walked up to him again, mostly because I was new here and this was probably more his place than mine, but also because I was shy. I mean, yeah, I wanted friends, but this dude frightened me a bit. He would always sit on ‘my’ swing, always looking down in his lap and always wear black. Sure, I used a lot of black clothes, but if I had to wear a white shirt, I wouldn’t exactly commit suicide.
Most of the time I came to the playground, he wasn’t there though. He was always there at nights while I was mostly there whenever my mom was at work. She really loved her new job, I don’t know why. Washing other peoples filthy hair isn’t exactly a career I would choose, but if she’s happy, I’m happy.
*
The front door opened and was closed with a bang that made the walls shake slightly and I jumped up from my bed where I’d been sitting all day now, reading comic books and listening to music.
“Linda?” I called, “Is that you?”
“Y-yeah” I heard her call back, her voice breaking a bit before founding strength. I sat back down on the bed.
“Are you okay?”
Loud sobs reached my ears from downstairs and once again, I jumped up from my bed, but this time I actually did something more than just stand beside it. Turning the doorknob, I ran out of my room and down the stairs, only to see mom standing in the kitchen, her hands supporting her as she stood bend over the kitchen table. She was crying, but her long, dark hair was covering her face as she stared down at the table, but her shaking back and shoulders betrayed her calm surface.
“Linda?” I asked, slowly walking up to her, “Mom?”
“I’m okay, Frank…” she said with a thick voice that only made her cry harder.
“I just… I blew it, honey…”
“What?” I was now standing next to her, comfortingly putting my arm around her back. She stopped shaking for a second and straightened up a bit, looking at me instead of at the table underneath her.
“The job” she said with a suffocated voice. “I totally blew it…”
“What happened?”
“I m-messed up… It was just the stupidest thing… I accidentally dyed my costumer’s hair purple”
I forced myself not to smile and instead pulled her into a hug. She was around my height, if not a few centimetres taller.
“It’s okay, Linda…” I cooed in her ear. “Just tell them that it was a mistake”
“I… I did. They wouldn’t listen to me, just because that cow- I mean, just because my costumer wouldn’t stop yelling”
“They… They didn’t, you know, fire you, right?” I asked, loosing all of my desire to smile as I saw more tears appear in her blue eyes. “They can’t fire you for such a stupid thing! Just give the cow a free treatment and dye her hair back or something!”
“It’s not that easy” she sighed, wiping the tears away from her cheeks, but it was in vain. There was coming new ones for every second. “She’s their most important costumer and she swore not to return to that saloon after what I did”
“Oh... I’m so sorry for you, Lin” I said, now hugging her properly with my arms around her neck.
“So am I… I really loved that job, Frankie… What am I gonna do now?”
“I think you’re gonna go back tomorrow and say that you’re really sorry and that you even can work for free a couple of days to make up what you did and then they can re-hire you”
“But what if they won’t take me back?” she asked and finally stopped crying.
Her cheeks were glimmering from the streetlight outside our kitchen window by the tears she’d cried. I really hated seeing her like this, so sad. I haven’t seen her crying since Stephen’s funeral.
“Then it’s their loss” I smiled, patting her cheek jokingly. She smiled back, dragging her fingers across her cheeks to wipe away the tears once again.
“What have I done to deserve such an amazing son?”
“You had sex with a loser”
“Oh right, I forgot that” she laughed and I smiled inwards, happy that she was feeling better, “But you know, he wasn’t a loser. He just… wanted a career more than a family”
“That’s the definition of a loser” I said and she nudged my shoulder.
“You’re right…” she laughed, “Anyways, do you wanna come to the Way’s house with me this time?” it might seem like just another question, but her voice was pleading, her tear-wet eyelashes surrounding her begging eyes.
“Visiting the neighbours? Sure…” I said slowly and she skipped childishly.
“Yay!”
“You seem to be a lot happier now” I smirked.
“What can I say, I’ve raised a good comforter” she laughed, “I’ll just put on some new make up and then we’ll be on our way, okay?”
“Yeah” I said, regretting immediately that I said I would come. “But just so you know, I’ll just be there for ten minutes or so”
“That’s fine, I just want you to meet them” she said, already half way up the stairs.
“But one more thing, I won’t put on any special clothes… If they don’t like my style then that’s their problem”
“Don’t worry about that, one of their sons are kinda alternative. Haven’t really seen their oldest kid, but from what Donna says, he’s somewhat of a rebel too” she shouted from upstairs.
“Oh… Dammit” I said, whispering the last word. I didn’t have any more ways of getting out of it. Mom came down minutes later with new make up applied on her already pretty face and she gestured at the door for me.
“Let’s go”
“I… uh…” I said, frantically looking for a reason I couldn’t come with her.
“You don’t wanna come, huh?”
“No… Please, don’t make me!” I pleaded, folding my hands and bowing my hands down, as if I was praying.
“Ten minutes” she said, putting on her shoes. “That’s all I’m asking for, Frankie”
“But-“
“Ten minutes! Please!”
“Fine…” I sighed, walking up to her and putting on my shoes as well. “But I won’t act all social and talkative…”
“I never expected you to either” she smirked, running her hand through her long hair to brush it away from her face, only to reveal her pale, wrinkle-free forehead. “Let’s go, aight?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“No” she said, still smirking as she pushed me out the door.