Insanity is when a human won't save a chicken from being ran over, just so as to eat their flesh. No, it's actually the other way round. Chicken not saving human then they can nibble at their dead flesh? Anyway, I'm by the road debating what that sentence meant when I'm suddenly startled by a girl's voice.
"Hey baby, you've not been waiting too long now have you?" The girl says behind me and taps my shoulder just as I want to cross over to the other side of the road. I look back and it's this dark skinned girl, her eyes are a sparkling brown and her hair is braided and held in a ponytail. She has this accent that I've grown used to and wore plain black ragged jeans, white rubbers and a cropped white tee with 'dream' scribbled on the front. She raises her eyebrows a little as if to beg me. Behind her was a neat tall dark skinned guy that wore a confused expression on his face. I smile and hold out my hand for her which she doesn't hesitate to take and nervously smile back.
"Hello love, of course not, shall we?" I say back and spy her eyes for her permission. When her eyes wander to her side, probably looking at the guy she was with, I peck the back of her palm. The guy smiles awkwardly and turns around, walking away from us.
We walk for a while to the opposite direction and suddenly she let's go, struggles for a smile, whispers a thank you I had to be so keen to catch and walks away.
My name is Logan Smith and I have a 'Morsey' sur name which usually stands out. I know what you might be thinking but no, I do not have a hot, dark skinned girlfriend and was not waiting on anyone. You think maybe the hot guy was bullying her? Yea me too but why would I help her?
"Logan, finally, mom has been looking for you. Why did you run off like that." My older brother Larry shouts from the basket ball court at the side of the house and runs towards me. He obviously thinks he can treat me like a child just because he is in campus. Man I hate his guts. "She is cleaning up the guest room, go help her with the boxes." He continues and grabs his basketball tight under his armpits then begins to walk away.
"Why don't you?" I question. "Why are we cleaning the guest room anyway?" He turns back towards me and reaches out for the back of my neck bringing our heads to touch.
"Look puffy-" That was my childhood nickname "-I don't know what is going on with your teen moods in the day, and honestly I almost don't care, but, don't forget, I'm the older one, I talk, you listen." He taunts then pats the back of my neck and walks away.
In the guest room is mom, Claire and some piled boxes. I don't say anything but start to carry them outside.
"No dear, we took the old ones out, those need unpacking." My mom calls out and I shrug taking them back and cutting the cello on them. Clothes, books, shoes, more clothes, guitar? What?
"What's going on mom? I mean, a guitar? Larry hates music and dad doesn't know what fun is." I question, confusion running through me.
I stop to look at her face and reality hits me. This can't be good.
"We are hosting a student that will start Pokeme high." She says with a smile and carries on unpacking as if she did not just drop a bomb on me.
"What do you mean going to Pokeme high? We can't maa- I- I mean. Did you already for-" I stop talking when mom stops what she was doing to stare daggers at me.
"Watch how you speak to your mother brother." I hear Larry say behind me and right then feel him brush his hand to mess my hair. Maan I hate that! He goes ahead to peck her cheek.
Later that day, I am in my balcony when our head chauffeur Jack, pulls up at the front yard and a brown teenager walks out. It's obvious he wasn't wearing any designer and carried a dozen bags. Maan I hate these kids! He follows dad to his office and Jack is left out to unpack.
"Your house is quite huge for a 4 people household." I hear a male voice not so deep behind me.
"Small enough for you to find my room I see." I snap. I don't turn around to face him.
"Sorry, your mom directed me here. I wanted to say hello, you are the only person that looks a bit my age." His voice is calm. I still hear his footsteps getting closer. Why is he being polite.
"I see she forgot to mention that we love it when people knock before they let themselves in other people's rooms." I comment as I look back at him with an expressionless face.
"Maybe people knock, but some people are usually too held up in their head to hear and they have a tendency to leave their doors unlocked." He says now closer to my study table, leans on it and smiles.
Ok, I guess he is fine. His hair is neatly shaven but has a shaggy portion in the middle, his brown complexity is perfect with his pink lips and a tall torso. He has a mockingbird tattoo on his left forearm. I think it's funny. Innocent my foot. Maybe that's why I already hate him, he totally shakes my confidence.
"Dude, trying to be cute will not work. Let's not pretend to be friends. I don't like you. Get busy with something else." Now that I made that clear, I walk back to my balcony.
"Mason." I hear him say before his footsteps fade and the door closes.
This guy is different. He is not confined, doesn't act all poor and helpless, he's confident, unlike the previous ones that would wait in their rooms and just wait to get invited for dinner, try to be formal and mess dinner on their first day. At dinner, he doesn't pick up the fork or pretend to. Picking up the stake in his hands and tearing it apart makes Larry laugh, mom pretends not to laugh but still a giggle escapes her and dad swallows hard. The guy clearly doesn't give a f*. Doesn't mean I like that for him though.
"What are we now, dogs?" I blurt out and dad coughs, bro elbows the side of my stomach which makes me clench.
"Logan, I think our visitor needs a chance to adapt." Mom says sternly but quietly to me and smiles at the new guy. Throwing in the napkin is not a very cool move especially if it's in front of someone you want to take you seriously but I don't think of that at the moment.
"Boy, don't you leave that table!" Dad says between his teeth trying not to yell.
"Don't you ever learn dad?" I say as I push my chair."I'll be upstairs." I refuse look at any of them as I leave my place at that table where they will just take disrespect over and over and for what? What does dad get out of all of it? What does anyone of us get?
My back on my bed and my hands supporting my head, I drift off and only open my eyes to an alarm.
"Today you early, good morning Logan." Mom announces my arrival and Mr. adopted looks back at me. Mom is making pancakes and he's seated making jokes or God knows what they were laughing about with her.
"I'm always early mom and there's nothing good about this morning." Pulling my chair in, I pull the pancake on the new boy's plate and take a weirdly huge bite. He just stares calmly at me and smiles. What the hell! "Oh, that was yours?" I return it on the plate and push it back, kiss mom goodbye and walk out.
"Don't mind him." I hear mom tell him. "Have a good day son." She shout after me and I do not respond.
"You are quite the bully." I hear him say behind me. The guy followed me? This day can't get any worse. He stands at the passengers door as I ignite the Porsche.
"Maybe don't follow me everywhere? Did they employ you to baby sit? Also, there's no way you are sitting on that." I say sternly,and lock the doors from the inside. I don't get his attitude. Can't he take a hint?
"You see that's the thing Logan, I'm not following you, I'm going to school, it just happens to be the same one you go to. Shouldn't-" He jumps in front of the car when I start to drive and I hit break. "Shouldn't you be pretending to like me enough to drive me to school?"
"Why not have mercy on my charity brother?" I say out loud and unlock the doors. He doesn't waste any time. He already feels good to win.
"Just to be clear Charity, we are not friends, leave alone brothers. I do not know you, you don't show up at my lunch table, or say hi in the hallway." I say still struggling to keep my eyes on the road.
"Is someone afraid that I will ruin his social life?" His voice doesn't even seem intimidated.
"How are you even-" Reaching the school parking lot saves me from finishing that statement. "Looking forward to not seeing you today Charity. Enjoy our money." I smile and open the door to my side.
My friends are in the hallway when I open the doors to Pokeme and it feels like the whole school is staring. I mean, its that way every time I enter the school and it's not very comfortable but it also does feel like these people will never get to know who I am and I like that. I answer some desperate 'hello's from a few girls and walk straight to Ricky and Blake who sat by the stairs, -Ricky holding his skateboard and Blake gawking at girls in the hallway. When I get where they are, they are staring straight behind me and I turn back to see my charity brother who stands confidently behind me.
"I didn't know where to go from here." He says smiling ridiculously. To spite me I'm sure.
"Jenny!" I call out and smile as a smiling nerd approaches me." Show this new best friend of yours where to poop." I smile lightly and walk away. My smile eases off my face when I spot a dark skinned girl with well done braids held in a ponytail. She is trying to fit a book into her clumsy locker and the essentials keep falling out. She quickly turns to look my side and casually looks back and buries her head in the locker. I am tempted to approach and help her or say hello at least but, she saw me right there and didn't look bothered, maybe because she is new or she doesn't remember yesterday at all. I simply walk past her and join Rick and Blake who were already bragging about a previous party where they laid a cheerleader.
"You mind?" Charity says staring down at me. Of course he is in my class. This day just got worse. There's reasonably no where else he could sit.
"Hey Blake, "I call out to Blake who is two rows across and wave him in." Look for else where to sit Charity." Blake joins me and charity takes his place. I don't understand why he keeps smiling. I hate how unbothered he pretends to be.
"Kenyan history." A middle aged man who already looked worn out by his life, leave alone his already tired history speaks. "Mzee Jommo Kenyatta, Mr. Smiths?" Why me? Why does he even call me that.
"Kenyan first president, bargained for independence of the damn country." I snap. I needed to prove to charity at least I had some brains in me.
"Yes,.." The teacher says staring at charity in doubt.
"Mason." He says. Mason, seriously.
"Dumb." That slipped my mouth. I didn't plan on saying it that loud at least. He stares at me and back to answering.
"Before he was president, Hon. Jommo Kenyatta was the first prime minister and it was not a bargain." He stops and looks at me for a second then smiles. What is wrong with him? "They fought for it." He folds his arms and students clap. Is he trying to intimidate me?
"That's right Mason. The history unfolds other characters such as Tom Mboya..." I stop listening. Charity was surely pretending to listen. There's no way he is not plotting to destroy me on his first day. I will get him, I will.