Sure to Shine

Eric lived a short walk away through the city, in a neighbourhood which was regarded to be a little rough. The school was in an interesting area. On one side, the houses were run down, many converted into flats, and the kids were known to be tougher. On the other side, the houses were a lot more respectful, and most of the kids on that side had pretty rich parents. Eric didn’t really like the set up – in school, the rich kids tended to stick together and look down on the poorer kids like Eric and Adam.

It wasn’t like they had asked for this, either. Adam’s father had been laid off work and, a year ago, Eric’s mother had walked out, leaving half of the income to cover everything. It wasn’t a bad separation – his parents were still friends and he saw a lot of his mother, but it was tough, especially as Eric needed a lot of school supplies this year and would be going to college soon.

Eric briefly wondered about whereabouts this Ben would have lived, but hurried the thought out of his mind. He had been a little unnerved about the similarities and didn’t want to spend any more time thinking about it than was absolutely necessary.

He walked through the dark tunnel which went under the main road outside the school. It had been built because the traffic got so congested at the beginning and end of school that it would be impossible to get across the road, and on top of that, kids were always getting knocked down by cars, while jaywalking across. There hadn’t been a serious accident, but Eric supposed the school were just fed up of parents complaining that the school provided no safe way of getting across the road. What they probably didn’t realise was that this dark tunnel was now prime headquarters for all the bullies to hang out after school.

Eric didn’t like the tunnel. It was cold and unfriendly, with threatening graffiti insulting teachers and pupils scrawled over the walls, and empty alcohol bottles and crisp packets littering the floor. However, at this time, the place was empty, and he made his way through without being apprehended.

After that, he was in the clear for a while, until he reached the dodgy park by his house. He always thought the park was in a strange place – it overlooked a cemetery on the other side of the road. Eric always wondered what sort of parent would be comfortable letting their child play in here.

This park was always a gamble to walk through. Sometimes the druggies would be lurking around, quite willing to have a go at you to get money for their next fix. There were a group of Goth kids who hung around at one of the picnic benches, but Eric always found them pretty easy-going compared to the stoners. They weren’t here today, either.

Eric thought he was in the clear, until he looked up to see someone sitting on one of the swings which weren’t broken. It was hard to distinguish how old he was – he was wearing a dark trench coat and his hair was also dark, making him seem to blend into himself from this distance. However, as Eric got closer, trying not to make it obvious he was staring in case the other person wanted to start something, he could see that there were other colours in the young man’s dark hair. It looked as though he had bright green streaked through it. Eric felt a little jealous. Green was his favourite colour, and if it wasn’t for his school’s dress code, he would have done that a long time ago.

The young man looked up as Eric walked closer, but did nothing but watch him closely. Eric felt a little unnerved, wondering of he were stoned or drunk and wanted trouble. He looked about Eric’s age, but Eric had never seen him about before, in the neighbourhood or at school.

Eric was nearly past him when he spoke up.

"You should be in school," he said, giving a strange laugh. Eric paused, briefly considering continuing on his way, but curiosity got the better of him. Besides, he reckoned he was at a safe enough distance. If the other young man turned on him, he figured, with the small head start, he could make it to safety.

"You should be too," he retorted.

The strange young man let out another bark of laughter, sounding distinctive in the quiet neighbourhood. He scuffed his feet on the floor, kicking the swing into motion slightly, the chains making a soft, rhythmic squeaking sound.

Eric felt like he should go, but he didn’t want to.

"Do you not go to school anymore?" he asked, after a pause.

"No," was the simple reply.

"Why not?"

He stopped swinging and turned to look at Eric.

"Come over here if you’re talking to me," he demanded, and Eric found himself obeying, though he still kept a safe distance. "I’m living the dream, aren’t I?" he prompted, causing Eric to pause and then shrug.

"I dunno," he replied. "It depends what the dream is, I suppose."

"What kid this age wants to go to school?" the young man asked, winking.

"So why don’t you go to school?"

"I got kicked out."

"From where?"

"That’s not important."

"So you just moved here?"

"You could say that."

"Well, you either have, or you haven’t," Eric said, confused. The other young man just laughed again. There was a slight hint of insanity in his laugh. It bordered on hysterical.

"It’s complicated," the strange young man eventually said. "So, what’s your name?" he followed.

"Eric Jensen," Eric replied, wondering if he was getting himself into a situation he didn’t want to be in. He was always wary in this neighbourhood, but the young man in front of him didn’t seem interested in starting anything. "What about you?"

"Skylar Mitchell," Skylar replied, glancing up at Eric. "You say you haven’t seen me around?"

"Nope," Eric shrugged, scuffing his foot in the sand-like substance that surrounded the swing sets.

"I’ve seen you," Skylar said casually, and Eric glanced at him, a little nervously.

"Stalking?" he asked, a weak attempt at humour.

"Not exactly. I just see you around a lot," Skylar shrugged.

"You know, that’s a freaky thing to admit whenever you’ve just met someone," Eric said nervously. "Where have you seen me?"

"You’re always walking through this park, to and from school," Skylar told him. "I’m here often, you just haven’t spotted me before. So why today, eh?"

"Because you were sitting on a swing right in my line of vision?" Eric asked slowly, beginning to suspect the guy was on drugs, or something that was altering his ability to speak sense.

"Well, if you say so," Skylar shrugged. He reached into an inside pocket of his coat and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. "You smoke?"

"Sometimes," Eric said. "Only tobacco, mind," he added. To his surprise, Skylar laughed.

"I’m not on drugs," he told him, offering the packet of cigarettes. "Trust me."

Eric cautiously took one, lighting it with the Zippo lighter Skylar threw him.

"I have the same one," Eric told him, nodding to the lighter. "My dad got me it."

"He lets you smoke, hey?" Skylar asked, taking the lighter back from Eric to light his own cigarette.

"Well, he doesn’t really mind," Eric said. "He smokes himself, see, so he said he couldn’t really lecture me about it."

Eric took a look at Skylar’s appearance.

"I suppose you wouldn’t care either way what your parents thought, eh?" he asked, and Skylar grinned.

"Not really," he admitted. "Life’s too short for that."

"I suppose," Eric shrugged.

"If you could do anything at all you wanted, what would you do?" Skylar suddenly asked. Eric looked at him in surprise, as he blew out a couple of smoke rings.

"Why?" he eventually asked.

"Just wondering," Skylar told him. "Everyone has dreams, don’t they? I was just wondering what yours would be."

"I don’t really know," Eric shrugged. "I’d like to travel, but that would take a lot of money. I’d have to save up for that."

"Or you could just leave without any money," Skylar suggested, and Eric looked at him.

"Well, that wouldn’t work, would it? How would I get anywhere?"

"If you saved up for your travelling, you’d never get around to do it," Skylar said bluntly.

"And why not?" Eric demanded.

"Because you would get job after you left college, yeah? You would start saving, but your money would be forever going because you’d have a car and an apartment, and then perhaps a house. So you’re working your way up the food chain to get better jobs, and then, bam! You meet the woman of your dreams. You get married, she gets knocked up, and you have kids. Before you know it, you’re tied down with a family, and they would get rid of any money you had saved up. Soon you’d be old and grey, just another normal life in a normal town. You should always grab what you want, no matter what your situation."

"That sounds good in theory, but it would never work," Eric shrugged.

"And why not?"

"Because I’d get back, a penniless high school dropout, and where would I be then? I don’t want to have to scrounge my way through life, thanks."

"But if the day you got back, you were run down by a truck, at least you would have lived your dream," Skylar grinned.

"I don’t really like to picture myself getting run over by a truck," Eric muttered. "I look both ways when I cross the road, you know?"

"I don’t," Skylar said simply, and Eric snorted.

"Then you’re an idiot," he said. "Do you want to die?"

"Not really," Skylar said. "But I like a bit of danger in my life, yeah? It’s a bit of a thrill, just stepping out into the road without looking. Usually, nothing’s coming, but a couple of times people have had to slam on their brakes. It’s kind of funny, actually."

Skylar let out that little, insane laugh, before finishing his cigarette and putting it out on the ground.

"Well, next time I’m bored, I’ll remember those words of wisdom," Eric told him, following Skylar’s lead and finishing his own cigarette. "I’d better get home. Dad will be wondering where the Hell I’ve got to."

"How old are you?" Skylar asked, laughing lightly.

"In case you haven’t noticed," Eric pointed out. "This is a rough neighbourhood. I could be getting robbed or something, and that’s if I’m lucky."

Eric turned and continued on his way up the path that cut through the overgrown grass of the park. He was only a short distance away when he heard Skylar called him back.

"What?" Eric yelled. The other young man was standing facing him, and Eric could just about make out that wicked little grin on his face. It was, Eric thought, rather unnerving.

"Did anyone ever tell you," Skylar called over. "That you look like Ben Murdoch?"

Eric felt his stomach drop. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t think of anything. Instead, he turned back around and continued on his way.

"Just saying, like," Skylar called to his retreating back, and Eric heard that same maniacal laughter again. He ignored it as best as he could, though, subconsciously, he was walking a little faster.