The Devil's Pawn

It had been one of the most awkward things that I have ever done. Trenton and I didn’t speak as we worked, though we continually crossed paths. I moved his father’s boxes into his room while Trenton took care of his own.

It took roughly an hour or so before all the boxes had been cleared. Trenton had finished
his room before I did. I found him waiting for me outside of the doorway to his father’s room.

“All done?” He asked.

I nodded, tearing my eyes away from the holes in his ear to his face. He pushed himself
off the wall, leading me downstairs.

The voices of the older men were loud enough to tell me that they had stopped working.
Trenton walked into what I assumed would be the kitchen. Our fathers sat chatting at the
table, a beer in each hand.

I raised an eyebrow in shock. My mother would have a heart attack if she knew Dad was
drinking a beer. He saw my look, giving me a wink. I frowned, realizing I would have to play
with whatever story he managed to come up with as to why he smelled like booze.

“Hey kids” Mr. Clark smiled

“Hello” I said politely. Trenton remained quiet, looking rather bored.

“You two finish up?”

Trenton nodded, “Yup.”

“Good. Thank you guys very much” Mr. Clark said to me and my father.

“It was our pleasure” Dad laughed, standing up, “Well, Taylor and I best be going.”

“So soon?” Mr. Clark asked

Dad nodded reluctantly, “My wife will be wondering why we’ve been over here so long.”

Mr. Clark stood up, walking us to the door. I glanced around for Trenton, noticing that he
had disappeared.

The older men exchanged farewells once more before we walked out. Dad waited until
we had crossed the street before anything came out of his lips.

“What did you think of the Clarks?” Dad asked

“Trenton’s very quite…” I muttered

“I don’t approve of that boy. Steve seemed pleasant, but who let’s their kid put holes in
his ear? And did you see how he wore his hair? It looked like he hadn’t brushed it in weeks”
Dad ranted.

I laughed, “You sound like Mom.”

Dad frowned, stopping in front of our door, “We’re so in for it when we get back.”

He opened the door, motioning for me to go in first. I walked in to see my mother sitting
on the couch. She had crossed her arms, a scowl upon her face. I noticed that she was
staring angrily at the wall opposite of her.

“Hello, Mom” I smiled politely.

“How was helping the Clarks?” She asked. Her lips were pursed tightly together, her
eyes harsh as they swept over us.

“It was nice.” Dad said, “Steve is such a nice fellow.”

“I don’t like them.” Mom stood up angrily, walking away.

Dad and I shared a look. I knew he really liked Steve regardless of what he let his son
do. Sure Dad wouldn’t want me to talk to Trenton-not that I actually wanted to-but Steve was
different. And now that Mom had made her opinion clear, we weren’t going to be speaking
with them anymore.

“Why don’t you go get started on that essay” Dad suggested miserably.

I nodded, walking past him and up to my room.

My room was arranged so that my desk faced the window, giving me a clear view of our
new neighbors. I tried to think of their house, unsure of which room I was looking straight
across from. Hopefully, it wasn’t a bathroom.

I grabbed my backpack from the floor, digging through it until I found my history binder. I
pulled out the rubric, setting my notepad before me. I grabbed a pencil, reading over the
instructions.

My eyes jerked up as I noticed a movement coming from the house across. I froze, my
eyes trained on the curtains moving opposite me.

They pulled apart to reveal Trenton reaching above for something. He stepped down,
lowering his arms and looking out the window. I cocked my head, frowning slightly.

Did he see me?

Trenton smirked, pulling the window up. He leaned forward on the window sill, meeting
my eyes.

Lamely, I glanced behind myself to make sure he was looking at me.

Trenton rolled his eyes.

I waved slightly, giving a small smile.

He saluted me mockingly before pulling back. Trenton left the window open, but his
body disappeared from view.

So I had a direct view into Trenton’s room.

What worried me was that he had a direct view of my room.

~*~

We walked out of church the next day at around noon. While the service itself was only
an hour, Mom forced us to stay longer so that she could chat with the other choir women.
Dad went off to talk to the pastor about the sermon, which left me to stand around in the café
awkwardly.

Mom was gushing about the new song they were working on as we walked out.

I never thought she was a very good singer. She was an alto, but she sang soprano.

I got in the back seat of the car, leaning against the window to tune out their chatting.
Dad put the radio on low for me, but left it at the old country station.

I would have preferred almost any other station.

We arrived at the house a while later. I made my way up to my room, trying to escape
before either parent called me down.

“Taylor, wait.” Mom said just as I reached the top step.

I groaned quietly before turning around and walking back.

“I don’t want you to hang out with that boy over there.” She ordered.

“Why?” I asked innocently though I already knew the answer.

“He’s… he looks like a bad kid.” She commented harshly “I don’t think he’d be a very
good friend. Stay away from him.”

“I will.” I said casually.

But truth be told, I wasn’t going to stop him if he actually wanted to talk to me.

“Do you need anything else from me?” I asked

Mom shook her head.

“Mom, I was wondering if I could go out to the mall with a friend.” I asked hesitantly.

She pursed her lips, “Why? Which friend? What time? How long will you be out?”

“I need to buy new shoes for gym class.” I began to answer her question, “I’d go with
Elizabeth. I’d leave in a few minutes and I’d be out for an hour or two?”

She nodded, tossing the keys to me. “Two hours. Tops.”

“Thank you” I smiled, running back up to my room.

Elizabeth had been my friend since freshman year. She wasn’t an idiot and was
frequently at my house. She was one of the only friends that both of my parents approved of.
The four of us would often get into discussions on politics. Elizabeth was fun to have around
for the most part, but she wasn’t someone I trusted secrets with.

I pulled my shirt over my head, opening my closet to choice a new outfit.

I changed into a casual tank-top with jeans. I pulled a jacket over top so that Mom
wouldn’t scold me as I left.

The mall was fairly close, a mere 15 minutes away from my house. I had my license, but
Mom only let me use it occasionally since I didn’t have my own car.

They thought that it was a waste of money to have three cars.

I could have argued, but I decided it wasn’t a battle I wanted to fight.

I pulled out of the driveway, noticing that one of the cars in the Clark’s driveway was
missing. I dismissed the thought, making my way out of my neighborhood.

I turned the radio on, volume rising as I drove.

I recognized the song, the newest by rapper Lil Wayne. I didn’t know all the words,
settling for singing with the chorus and few phrases I remembered.

I wasn’t huge on rap, but it was better than anything that Mom allowed me to listen to.

I parked the car, locking it as I walked into the front of the mall. I made sure to stay clear
of the loiterers. They hung out by one of the entrances, smoking what looked like cigarettes. I
had my doubts though, and was convinced it was actually marijuana.

I opened the door, greeted by a refreshing blast of cool air. Neon signs lined the tops of
the walls above entrances down the hallway as I walked in. Groups of teens of all ages
walked around, some holding hands, others laughing hysterically.

I recognized a few people from my school, but I knew they didn’t know who I was.

I made my way into the music store as my fingers curled around the dollar bills in my
pocket. I scanned the racks of CD’s, glancing down for a particular one.

I noticed how there were only a few people in this store. Strange, for it was usually fairly
crowded. The cashier looked up as I walked in, not giving me a second glance.

I picked up a CD, reading over the list of songs when I noticed a familiar face only a few
feet away. I tilted my head slightly and scanned the art on the CD Trenton was looking at.

He didn’t seem to have noticed me. That or he was purposely ignoring me.

I placed the CD back rather loudly, trying to catch his attention. I tucked a strand of hair
behind my ear, walking towards him.

“Excuse me” I mumbled, pretending not to notice who he was.

He grunted, taking a step forward.

I internally groaned, figuring that I’d just come out and say that I saw him.

“Oh hey!” I smiled, causing Trenton to look up in confusion. “Trenton, right?”

He grunted, his attention back on his CD.

I felt my smile fade when I realized he didn’t care that I noticed him. “What band is that?”

“You wouldn’t know it. Not your kind of music.”

“Really? Cause I like a lot of different…”

“Trust me. It’s not your thing.” His eyes glanced over me, moving up and down my body.
He laughed at something I didn’t catch.

I crossed my arms annoyed, “Whatever.”

“Are you going to just stand there?” He asked rudely.

I gaped at him incredulously “Excuse me?”

“I asked if you’re going to just stand there. It was implied that you should leave” He said
as if I was slow.

“Fine. I’m gone.” I said, turning around and walking away.

Did he really just say that to me? I’d been around rude people before, but this was a
whole new level of rude.

I walked out of the store, entirely forgetting the fact that I had wanted to buy a CD. I had to
get away from his rude self. I was insulted. What had I done to piss him off?

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself as I walked.

I veered off to the opposite side of the mall to where the food court was located. As I
neared it, I was overwhelmed by the smells of all the greasy fat food.

I grabbed some Chinese, sitting at a table by myself. My stomach growled as I opened
the box it came in, shoving the rice into my mouth.

But my mind was still wrapped around the small interaction I had had with Trenton. He
didn’t seem like such an asshole when he saluted me yesterday. What had I done to piss
him off so much?

When I was about halfway done, someone dropped a tray in the unoccupied seat next to
me. I looked up.

“Hey, Taylor.” Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth was the kind of girl that you could only tolerate for so long. With her bushy
brown hair and acne covered face, she wasn’t the prettiest sight. Elizabeth, though, was
incredibly conceited. She was the kind of girl that you’d see carrying a mirror everywhere she
went.

I didn’t mind her when she was tolerable though, and was really looking for some
company at the moment.

“Hey Elizabeth” I said after swallowing a mouthful of food.

“What’s up? You look a little down.” She commented before taking a bite out of her taco.

“I just had a little run in with some kid.” I mumbled, not sure if ‘kid’ was the proper term
for Trenton. After all, I didn’t know if he was older than me or not.

“Oh really? What happened?” She asked, not really interested.

“He just rudely told me to go away. I didn’t think I was bothering him but…” I shrugged,
pretending like I didn’t care. “What’s up with you?”

She grinned secretively, “You know Brett Jackson?”

I nodded, intrigued by her expression.

“Well, recently, I’ve been texting him a lot, and we talk in school.” She said, “Well… I met
up with him today.”

“Like, a date?” I asked, surprised. Elizabeth wasn’t the most popular girl in our school,
while Brett was clearly the most popular boy.

She shook her head, “No. By accident. But he dropped his friends to talk to me for a little
bit.”

I raised my eyebrows, chewing.

“Want to know the best part?” She asked.

“Yes”

“He kissed me before he left.” She squealed.

“Really?” I was honestly shocked. “Like on the cheek or…?”

“Lips!”

“Tongue?”

She sighed, “Sadly no. But it was better than nothing!”

“I’m impressed, Elizabeth” I laughed. “First kiss ever?”

She nodded, “And I gave it away to a hot one too.”

“Not bad” I commented, laughing slightly.

“Who did you lose it to?”

“Sam Briggs.” I mumbled.

Elizabeth frowned, “Do I know Sam?”

“Nah.”

She shrugged, no longer caring.

I was glad she didn’t ask any further questions. Sam wasn’t a typical person to give your
first kiss away too. At least, not expected.

Sam was a girl.