The Outcast - Chapter Seven

Either something's gone terribly wrong, or things are getting better.

Maybe I'm beginning to stop being the Outcast. Pff. Not. But a guy can hope. At school, I'm still ignored, still teased, and I still have things thrown at me. Unless Jordan's around. He's like a shield now. He defends me and won't stand to have anyone treating me badly.

But he's not always around. He has his own life to lead, he can't spend every waking moment defending me and making people stop picking on me.

McAllen is still a real pain in the ass. He gives me notes with his disdain written on it. Always they pretty much say the same thing. He says things to Jordan, too, and here lately they're becoming more...how shall I put this? He's beginning to threaten Jordan, I guess.

But I don't know for sure.

Because Jordan won't talk about what McAllen says to him when I'm not around. I ask him why, and he says he won't tell me because it's not my problem, but his.

I beg to differ.

If he's getting threatened because he's my friend, that makes it my problem.

At least, I think so, anyway.

At home, things have completely changed, and the change happened so fast that I almost couldn't keep up.

My dad's dating this girl. I have to say, I think she's making an improvement on him, for he doesn't drink as much anymore, and my beatings are becoming less and less. There's always food in the house nowadays, and I have two friends now. Dad's girlfriend Sasha Campbell and her twelve-year-old daughter Marina moved in not too long ago.

Marina shares a room with me. I found it annoying at first, having to share a room with a girl, but she's charming in her own special way, and my reluctance quickly melted away. Marina has an elder brother about my age, but he's living with her father, Bryant. Her brother, Joshua, has visited once in the past four weeks.

My dad must have been pretty serious about Sasha for him to move her in so quickly.

I remember Marina's first day of school. She's in sixth grade, so she's still in grade school. I had to walk her to it, as she hadn't the slightest idea where it was, and I had to walk over and pick her up afterward.

I walked her through the school yard and to the front door, and then went with her to the front office. She was rather shy around new people. She was still sort of shy around me, but she was opening up. The people in the office smiled and were kind enough, but I knew what they were thinking: what's the Outcast doing back here?

After school that day, I went down to pick her up. She came out quickly and smiled when she saw me. I waved her over and she hurried toward me, carrying her backpack over her shoulder. We walked home and Sasha fixed a big supper when she got off of work. Dad wasn't home until late, and to my disbelief, he was sober.

And he didn't hit me or yell at me.

He actually smiled.

That made me think of Sasha in a whole new way. She changed Dad, which I thought would never happen.

Marina and I talk a lot now. It feels good to have someone to talk to. Hopefully this relationship Sasha has with Dad will last, but somehow I'm skeptic. The only person I ever thought him to be in love with was my mother. He hasn't dated since, but it's good to see this side of him.

I leave Marina in our shared room and wander out of the house to walk down to the park. It's still my place, though occasionally Jordan shows up. I don't mind him coming there, it's usually a lot more enjoyable when he's there. We've gotten rather close these past few weeks.

I enter the park the usual way, through the bushes and along the narrow path that leads down to the trees and the river. The river's higher than usual because of all the rain, but it hasn't flooded yet.

Jordan's sitting against my usual tree. I smile and call out to him. Smiling, he waves me over. I migrate toward him and sit next to him. "What's up?" I ask in a casual voice.

He shrugs. His usual answer to that question. "Not much."

I nod. "Cool."

He cocks his head. "How's Marina and Sasha?"

I shrug. "They're okay. Marina was asleep when I left, and Sasha wasn't home yet."

He nods. "Marina's a nice girl. Sasha too."

"Yeah."

And we lapse into a comfortable silence. The breeze dances around us and makes fresh waves in the river. The light of the sun shimmers on the waves and blinds me for a moment. I blink to clear my vision.

I frown as I think back. "What'd McAllen want?" I ask. Yesterday, which was Friday, McAllen had wanted to see Jordan at the end of the day. I hadn't seen him again until now. I was curious. Was he still trying to turn Jordan against? Doesn't that guy ever give up?

Jordan says nothing, staring off into space.

"Jordan?" I ask, looking over at him.

He shakes his head. "Huh? Oh. Nothing much really, same old same old, just added a little more."

"How so?"

He shrugs. "Nothing for you to worry about."

I smile, then feel it fade away. "And you?"

"My problem right now."

I'm confused. "What is it?"

He waves his hand dismissively. "Doesn't matter right now. He still wants me to hang out with him and his group. Personally, I don't want to. He's not the type I would get along with. Too snooty for me."

I nod. I'd had the same assumtion years ago back in grade school.

"Kyal," a voice calls out to me. I frown and turn my head to look at who's calling me. It's Marina, walking toward me. She must have woken up and guessed where I'd be.

"Hey," I say.

She smiles and sits down next to me. "Hi, Jordan," she says. She likes Jordan, he lets her get away with anything.

Jordan smiles. "Hey, kiddo."

It's strange, really. I'm still the Outcast, but I no longer feel so secluded. Maybe that's a good thing, maybe it means that I might soon cease to be the Outcast of Hara. I hope so, for I still hate this life.

Maybe things are taking a turn for the better.