88

It’s an everyday occurrence me standing on this block with my back to the wall watching life pass me by. It’s not the safest of neighborhoods to do such a thing but I’m young so by default I’m fearless. I don’t think anything bad could ever happened to be here though every day I watch bad things happen to others on this same corner. I wouldn’t say these things don’t happen to me because I’m invisible or something special like that. It’s more of everyone here knows me and knows that I don’t talk. I only watch, day in and day out. I can be found here watching this place fall apart. There’s only one person who ever bothers to try and talk to me but he doesn’t come around often and I don’t go looking for him, I have better things to do – like watching history in the making.

History was being made today; I could tell early on by the way the two people not even eight feet away were glaring at each other. Some lover’s spat or another that went on every other week or so. I didn’t know what the two saw in each other for she was a cheater and he was a liar. They were always doing things behind the others back but somehow they always came back to each other. Gluttons for pain, were they? Adults were silly yet they always had something to say about me and my corner. They didn’t understand, no one did - not even me. It was simply something I had to do – something only I could do.

So there I was standing there when he hit her yelling something about one of his friends seeing her with some other guy who looked amazingly like the man she claimed was her cousin. It was a funny sight to look on especially when she started kicking his arse for even thinking he could touch her any kind of way. It got so bad a lady from next door asked her to stop before she killed him and landed herself in jail. That caught her attention, promptly ceasing her assault she walked off warning him if ever dared to hit her again, she’d kill him. I expected that would probably happen next week after they had made up again. They never planned to stop their back and forth battle not unless one or both of them died. That was how sick people worked they couldn’t help but abuse themselves and the ones they cared about. If they cared at all, that is.

It was a boring show I’d seen time and time again standing on my little corner. So I turned my eyes and mind away from it in preparation of tonight. There was this kid from school throwing a party for spring break or something and somehow I’d landed myself an invite, again. I didn’t do much at school to stand out from all the other children except not acting like the rest of them at all. I came, I learned, I left. I didn’t understand the social aspect of school in fact in my mind there wasn’t one. All everyone there did was talk about the same old thing over and over again. Sex, what you’re doing this weekend, and what you did last weekend. That was the depth of secondary school conversations. Though I was not above these things myself I could never find the energy to reply to their questions. I could barely find the energy to wake up in the morning let alone carry on a boring conversation. It was said by some I was a mute, some found it cool others thought it creepy but somehow I’d become a sort of urban legend for them all.

It was rumored I’d done all kinds of things children our age had no business doing (but did anyway) the kind of things I saw while standing at my corner, things that would make a mother cry. They were interesting stories likely the product of a bored mind, they gave me fame that got me entrance to all the social circles of our little school. As well as a ton of unwanted interest from the teachers…they all looked at me like they feared me. Fear and respect made up my little world it was the reason behind me attending the party. I usually avoided places like that – any place really that had too many people. But this time I’d been challenged and well I never passed one of those up so I accepted the little colorful invitation.

The little flier still rested within my pocket beside my blade and phone, I pulled it out now carefully smoothing out the wrinkled edges to see it had my name on it in big excited letters telling me I was allowed to bring two friends but unfortunate for me I didn’t have any, it was as I said before I was too weird to have any real close friends. Everyone I knew could only be considered an acquaintance, if even that. But I got alone fine so I wasn’t too worried about it. Though my mum was thinking maybe she’d pushed me too hard, that making me study so much had alienated me from my peers, so you can imagine how glad she was to hear I was attending a party of all things.

It was like I’d told her we’d finally be getting out of this crap neighborhood because magically I’d won the lottery or something. She hadn’t seem to happy these last few months so it was good to see her smile again, even if I had to go to a party hosted by a moron who’d repeated first year four times. The idiot was sixteen now and yet still content to hang out with little thirteen year olds, it was sad to say the least since I had a feeling he’d be repeating the year this time too. I was good at that, predicting things, it came as naturally to me as standing on this corner – I didn’t understand it either but I wasn’t going to complain when it’d saved my tail many a time in a match. Most people called it luck, really unbelievable good luck yet still luck though I had a feeling it was something a little more than that.

Whatever it was I just hoped it would be working full force tonight, I sort of had a bad feeling about the whole party deal but I wasn’t willing to default on the match. I hadn’t done so yet and I wanted to keep my reputation spotless – at all cost, so I headed for the usual place I bought my supplies in no particular rush.
- -

The place was small, and not cozy small either, a cramped small that came with trying to fit too many buildings in one location. Though it wasn’t uncomfortable inside the space mostly because all the true customers were arranged by appointments, making it easier to share information with no one overhearing who you’re currently betraying or at least the people who come here seem to think so.

I on the other hand will not sell information, I don’t believe in it as a matter of pride, but I will buy it. With my hobbies you could call it a necessity since it wouldn’t exactly do to get caught unaware… at a time like this it would be the worst thing to do.

Turning left into one of the many alcoves in the place I scan the room, as I always do whenever I come here. Making my way towards the huge counter directly aligned with the only exit slowly. I don’t really have the time to go as slow as I’d like but my paranoia won’t let me approach directly, and I figure it would probably scare the old geezer if I did.

I’m closing in on the old guy now, he’d already spotted me yet he was still acting as if this was the first waving his big meaty hands, smiling drunkenly, and calling my name loudly. It was nothing out of the ordinary so I sped up a bit to lean casually over the counter. “Has my order come in yet?”

“Yes, of course, I managed to get everything you wanted.”

“You don’t say well if that isn’t a first.” I let out a mock breath of amazement.

“Now none of that from you, you know I aim to please and I haven’t missed a single order yet.” He intoned gruffly, reaching under the counter for my package.

It was a pretty plain thing with barely a single postage stamp that he tossed at me. “Here,” he said ending our little chat but wait, he just had to add something, “Don’t get too carried away with those things, I know how little ones get with toys like that.” It was just like him, like everyone to make me feel like a child so I shrugged my shoulders and headed out with a wave.

I had a party to attend.