Dark Side Of The Moon
Parents
It was a somber day. All the buildings and streets weren’t illuminated as they would have been if the sun had been out, so it all had a grey tint. The clouds were a deep grey as well, holding promise of rain. Even the people in the streets seemed grey and meaningless; reflecting their surroundings.
On this bleak day a thirty two year old walked through a small amount of press behind him, shouting out their questions outside of a court house. His lawyer had told him to not release any statement to the press so he didn’t.
He slipped into his car. Despite the money he made, he found it unnecessary to hire a regular chauffer.
“Will you be taking care of your daughter or will you send her to a third party?” A reporter asked.
“Don’t act like I don’t care about my kid,” he replied before driving off.
Now he was the father of a fourteen year old girl. He hadn’t seen her before a month ago and the resemblance was astonishing. She had the same dirty blond hair that he had spent quite some time combing at her age. Her eyes were hazel like her mothers but they were the same shape as his own blue. She had similar mild skin blemishes on her neck. Her sarcastic, defiant nature was also like his own when he was a teenager. He wondered if they also shared something else; something more personal and secret which he had discovered about himself as a teenager.
***************
Outside of the local library, two teenagers sat on the stairs. One was a girl with dirty blond hair and piercing dark hazel eyes, wearing a plain outfit made out of mostly denim. The other was an older boy with dark brown hair and misty blue marbles for eyes. His outfit was distinctly Victorian; brown jacket, tan vest, white shirt, and red tie. He was noticeably the older of the pair.
“So, what are you going to do now?” The young man asked the girl.
“I don’t know,” she replied, shrugging.
“The renegade is unsure of what to do,” her friend said in a mock-narrator voice. “She is resting after ditching her court alternative- a foster home- to go to a library. Her rebelliousness is taxed.”
“Shut up” she replied.
“What are you going to do if McCallum is your dad, Maisie?”
“Why would I care?” Maisie replied. ”We’ll probably just end up ignoring each other anyways. I’ll only get annoyed if he pretends that he has known me my whole life. There also the possibility that he isn’t my father.”
“You two look a lot alike,” the boy said. “I also wouldn’t blame him if he want’s to do raise you for the rest of your teenaged life instead of leaving you at the home. To be not involved with your kids life, to know that you won’t be there when their married, that you won’t know their friends, that you won’t celebrate their birthday with them, or see them learn about the world- that is the saddest thing I can think about,” he continued. His eyes became even more misty and he blinked, wiping his eyes.
“Jesse- are you crying?” Maisie asked. “I’ve never seen you close to crying before. You’re the happiest person I know.”
“I have lots of things to cry about. I just don’t let them bother me or interfere with my life,” Jesse answered.
“Why are you crying now? Did your parents leave you?”
“Not exactly…” Jesse said. More to change the subject than out of concern for his friend, he looked at the stereotypical large library clock. “I think you should be getting back to Angela’s before you get in trouble with the court guys if they come.
“Alright,” Maisie said, standing up to leave, more to respect Jesse’s space then because she wanted to go back to the place she sneaked out of on time for the authorities.
“Tell me the results,” Jesse said.
“Of course I will,” she said. “Let the chaos ensue.”
On this bleak day a thirty two year old walked through a small amount of press behind him, shouting out their questions outside of a court house. His lawyer had told him to not release any statement to the press so he didn’t.
He slipped into his car. Despite the money he made, he found it unnecessary to hire a regular chauffer.
“Will you be taking care of your daughter or will you send her to a third party?” A reporter asked.
“Don’t act like I don’t care about my kid,” he replied before driving off.
Now he was the father of a fourteen year old girl. He hadn’t seen her before a month ago and the resemblance was astonishing. She had the same dirty blond hair that he had spent quite some time combing at her age. Her eyes were hazel like her mothers but they were the same shape as his own blue. She had similar mild skin blemishes on her neck. Her sarcastic, defiant nature was also like his own when he was a teenager. He wondered if they also shared something else; something more personal and secret which he had discovered about himself as a teenager.
***************
Outside of the local library, two teenagers sat on the stairs. One was a girl with dirty blond hair and piercing dark hazel eyes, wearing a plain outfit made out of mostly denim. The other was an older boy with dark brown hair and misty blue marbles for eyes. His outfit was distinctly Victorian; brown jacket, tan vest, white shirt, and red tie. He was noticeably the older of the pair.
“So, what are you going to do now?” The young man asked the girl.
“I don’t know,” she replied, shrugging.
“The renegade is unsure of what to do,” her friend said in a mock-narrator voice. “She is resting after ditching her court alternative- a foster home- to go to a library. Her rebelliousness is taxed.”
“Shut up” she replied.
“What are you going to do if McCallum is your dad, Maisie?”
“Why would I care?” Maisie replied. ”We’ll probably just end up ignoring each other anyways. I’ll only get annoyed if he pretends that he has known me my whole life. There also the possibility that he isn’t my father.”
“You two look a lot alike,” the boy said. “I also wouldn’t blame him if he want’s to do raise you for the rest of your teenaged life instead of leaving you at the home. To be not involved with your kids life, to know that you won’t be there when their married, that you won’t know their friends, that you won’t celebrate their birthday with them, or see them learn about the world- that is the saddest thing I can think about,” he continued. His eyes became even more misty and he blinked, wiping his eyes.
“Jesse- are you crying?” Maisie asked. “I’ve never seen you close to crying before. You’re the happiest person I know.”
“I have lots of things to cry about. I just don’t let them bother me or interfere with my life,” Jesse answered.
“Why are you crying now? Did your parents leave you?”
“Not exactly…” Jesse said. More to change the subject than out of concern for his friend, he looked at the stereotypical large library clock. “I think you should be getting back to Angela’s before you get in trouble with the court guys if they come.
“Alright,” Maisie said, standing up to leave, more to respect Jesse’s space then because she wanted to go back to the place she sneaked out of on time for the authorities.
“Tell me the results,” Jesse said.
“Of course I will,” she said. “Let the chaos ensue.”