*Any parts in 1st person are a character's thoughts*
25. New Friend
Being so close to Stacey, Daniel smelled no artificial scents on her. Normally he smelled all kinds of perfumes on girls. Some were nice while most were cloying. The smells often bothered his sensitive acute sense of smell. But in a way, the girl had the most pleasant natural smell.
It was like her pheromones were a mixture of every sweet food and fragrant flower. Daniel had felt an intense attraction to the girl the moment he had layed eyes on her. He ignored the electronic textbook in his hands, unable to take his eyes off the girl.
My goodness, she is marvelous. This doesn't even seem real. What was I going to do again? Oh yeah, Algebra homework. I don't think I'll be able to stay focused on that. Hmm, what should I say? Nothing? Just accept that I am lost for words and keep it at that? Don't think that way, just be yourself, and stay calm.
Just like the first time he had seen her, she held the book close to her face. She was obviously having trouble reading the wording of the book from arms length. He peeled his eyes away from her face and studied the old worn bookmark on the girls pant leg. The bottom portion of the bookmark was hidden by her elbow.
The white, feathered head of a bald eagle with an American flag behind it, was depicted on the aged bookmark. He read the words: Proud to be an, beneath the eagles head. The rest was covered by the girl’s hand. The piece of paper could hold his attention no longer and he lifted his eyes to the girl again. His heart fluttered when he saw that she was looking at him.
"Are you new to Mandan?" he randomly said. He wanted to slap his forehead for how generic that sounded.
"No. I've been living here for years," she said.
For a moment, he thought someone else had responded. She didn't sound a thing like the scared girl that she did when Coach Kohl was around. His surprise didn't go unnoticed by her as she turned to look at him.
"I was just acting frail. There was no reason to give that bonehead what he wanted," she said.
"So, I guess you didn't need me to intervene?" Daniel said.
"Well, that Andrew character was a different kind of bonehead. One I'm not used to dealing with," she said.
"What kind of boneheads are you used to dealing with?" he asked in a cheerfully.
She wasn't smiling anymore.
He stared down at his shoes. How could he have erased the smile off an angel?
****************************
"Thugs that I sometimes encounter on the street and... drunks," Stacey said, facing away from him. Nobody except Veronica was supposed to know that.
"You’re serious, aren't you?" Daniel said, squinting at her.
She nodded.
"Hope you don't mind me asking. But how exactly would you know how to act around those kinds of people?"
"Because, I often run into some cheap lowlifes on my way to and from school," she said, looking him right in the eyes. Something in them told her that he was a listening ear.
"You walk home? Why not have your parents drop you off? Or if they're busy, you can ride the bus," he said.
She shook her head. They were all suggestions that were out of the question.
"All I have is my father. And all he does all day is sit around and drink. I'm the one that has to take care of him. It's been so hard since my mother left us. But he is my father," she said. And I will never stop loving him, no matter what.
*****************************
So she lived with an alcoholic father who probably didn't have enough money to buy and maintain a car. "That still leaves the bus. I mean, you don't have to be on the streets when you come to school and go home," Daniel said.
"I rode the bus a couple times my freshman year. It was horrible. A lot of the guys who rode my bus were real jerks. They would mess with me like I were just some plaything.” She shuddered. “When I told the bus driver h just told the kids, "play nice." I would cry for hours at night, trying to get the experience out of my head. So there. Is that enough for you to understand that I would much rather just deal with the garden variety of street people?" she said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything ill by what I said," Daniel said. If he knew who those perverts were, he would make sure the only thing their hands were feeling on would be their own bruises! Or not. Violence never solved anything. He would never let rage control him. Words were mightier than the fist.
*************************
"It's okay. I'm just not used to conversation. Most of the time for me it's just knowing how to get around trouble. I hardly ever engage in friendly talks," she said. The truth was. she wasn't used to talking to boys.
Daniel smiled toothlessly smile at her. The same smile that had almost stopped her heart when she saw him walking her way. He seemed shy to open his mouth and show his teeth when he smiled.
She felt comfortable around him. His shyness was charming, really. And since she herself was shy, she didn't feel alone with that feeling. She relaxed and found it easy to ask him, "Are you new to Mandan?"
He smiled. "Yes. Me and my family moved here last year on August 17, and I'm happy to say. I have enjoyed my stay in your town. And I don't see anything that will change were I stand. Not even that Andrew fellow," he said.
She was mesmerized by his calm voice. Most of the boy voices she heard were quick and hasty. It was frantic really, and a bit hard to make sense of the random blabber they said to each other and their girlfriends.
They talked for what seemed like hours. Daniel told her about how he ended up in living in Mandan because of his mother finding a job at a news studio in Bismarck, where she became the assistant manager in a little over a year. Stacey wished she had a TV so she could contribute more to that part of the conversation.
He also told her how different it was living here, compared to a big city like Dallas. All Stacey knew about Dallas was that it was in Texas and that the deadliest twister in history touched down on it. He also told her about how glad he was when his brother had finally moved out. She criticized him about how he took his brother for granted. She would have loved to have a brother or sister.
"As much as my brother seems to hate me, he makes it more than clear that he cares about me. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't love him either," he said. "But brothers will always be at war. It's almost like we are born with rivalry in our genes," he said, shaking his head.
Stacey reached out a hand and slapped him playfully on his shoulder. Her little hand merely bounced off his shoulder muscle. That was the first time she had felt a boys muscle in her life. Stacey was shocked at her boldness that she didn't know she had. She loved how he answered all her questions no matter how simple and unnecessary.
Other boys would have just changed the subject. Her friends' boyfriends did that all the time.
************************
Stacey had a lot to tell about herself. And every word from her lips had a powerful emotional effect on Daniel.
“I have to do everything around the house,” she said. “I'm the maid. The dish washer. The dirty laundry cleaner. I bring in the income that sustains me and my dad. And, I do that all while making sure my dad doesn't get himself into trouble. He's never even told me thank you.”
Daniel patted her on the shoulder. “I'm here to congratulate you, right?”
“Yeah,” she said, “but I still wish to hear it from his lips.”
“Yes. I understand how that must feel. Doing everything, and get nothing. It's like all you did never happened.”
“You know what he does tell me? He says that I'm forbidden to set foot inside a church.”
“Why?”
“He doesn't want to have anything to do with religion. At least, not anymore,” she said. “Goodness, I sound like my mother.”
“Do you still go?”
“Yes. But I have to sneak out. He must wonder where I disappear to every weekend. Mostly on Sundays.”
The poor girl, having to sneak out just to go to church. “Does your dad ever ask where you've gone?”
She nodded. “But whenever I have money that I can spare, I go grocery shopping after church ends. Can you guess why I do that?”
“No, not really.”
“Because, he doesn't as questions whenever I bring food.”
“Oh,” Daniel said. “So you don't have to tell any lies.”
“Yes. I don't like lies. Lies and every other form of deception.”
“I don't like them either. That Andrew guy; what a jerk.”
“True. But that still doesn't make it right for us to hate him.”
“Yeah, I know. But sometimes, it's hard not to.”
She patted him on the shoulder. Daniel, you're not a bad person. You know you don't mean that.”
He sighed. “Sometimes, I can't help but wonder. The world's a dark place. Just because you're kind, doesn't mean others will be to you too.”
“That's why I believe all the propaganda about how the idea of a God is ridiculous is making it darker. I'm not like my father. He claims it's why times have always been bad.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” she said, “that he believes the conflicts among religions is where all the wars have begun. He says, that they'll never end until people stop believing in fables.”
“So, what does he think will end the wars?”
“Surrender,” she said harshly. “Complete, total surrender, by brute force.”
“Ironic.”
“Yes. Weapons don't end wars. They only end lives. But words. Written words, not digital letters, are mightier than the gun. The rocket launchers. The helicopters. The submarines. The Reaper gunships. The bombings. The tanks. The fighter jets. And worst of all, the world ending hydrogen bombs. Because, fire can't be put out with fire. But words. Written words, from the past. They bring peace to a dying planet; for however short a time.”
“Treaties?”
“Yes. But our generation seems to have forgotten about them. They're barley even mentioned in the the electronic things that they give us.”
“It's because they're not relevant anymore,” Daniel said. “After all, trees aren't cut down to make paper anymore. But I see what you're getting at. They can still be made, even in this crazy technology age.”
“Yes. It's like the wars are encouraged. Like nobody cares that people are dying.”
“I know this sounds cynical, but they probably don't.”
“That's why I continue to rebel against my father's wish to keep me from church. I want to keep believing that people are truly good, at heart.”
“You're a strong young woman, Stacey.”
“I'm no stronger than you, Daniel. And don't tell me otherwise. You know you have strength. Just because I have to muster the bravery to sneak to church doesn't make me any stronger than anybody else.”
Daniel wouldn't have complained if his parents said he didn't need to go to church. They were in a protestant denomination so they didn’t believe that Church was necessary, but they told him he should at least want to go. There were thousands of varieties of these Churches to choose from. Religious confusion and hate was the main reason he never fully accepted the idea of a God. For how could he leave his children in confusion?
He didn't dare tell Stacey that, though. He also didn't ask what religion she was, either. It didn't matter to him. Because, really, when it came down to it no matter what religion a person was, whether it be a form of Christianity, Hinduism, or whatever, the people could be just as bad ,if not worse, than agnostics like himself. Daniel was no were near bad, so more often than not, they were worse.
Stacey and him were complete opposites in the matter of religion. Maybe not for long, because the whole dream business was making him wonder if there was something supernatural behind it. And whatever religion she was it was a good influence on her. He noticed none of the aggressive behavior that he saw in most girls that looked almost as good as her. Frankly, the too confident and demanding nature of some girls was like a radiation sign to him. To be avoided if he wanted to follow his morals.
The reason he had said that other girls only looked almost as good as her, was because her inner beauty shined just as brightly, if not brighter than her outer. She was a one of a kind, unique in a young society that was rapidly becoming even more animalistic. Only the intelligent Natalie could compare. When he had lived in Dallas, he was much to shy to even consider looking for a girlfriend, so he had never really paid much attention to them.
The biggest difference between Daniel and Stacey was that her family was shattered, while his was living in harmony. It was sad to hear that she only communicated with her mother by phone calls. They hadn't seen each other face to face since the split up.
**************************
Stacey couldn't help but smile at Daniel's attentiveness. He was facing her with unblinking eyes, his back straight.
"How old were you when your mother left?" Daniel said.
"Nine," she said.
"I'm sorry. A girl shouldn't have to see her parents split up. It's not natural."
She relaxed her posture against the wall and turned to gaze into his eyes. He looked so utterly sad as if he could feel what she went through. “Yes. Childhood is supposed to be a magical place. A land without worries. But mine was scarred way before then. Years before, my parents were fighting. I was an innocent bystander; caught in the crossfire, of a verbal war.”
“Stacey, you're a survivor. I know other kids are going through the same thing, but not all have your strength. Some have been destroyed by such a thing.”
“I know. It's so sad.”
She leaned in close to him and said, "Before my mother left, the last thing she told me was, "If there is anyone in this world who can change your father it's you Stacey. You are no ordinary nine year old girl; you are a strong, loving, and noble woman. You are anything but ordinary. No words can describe how much I love you my precious daughter, my God given gift. I await the day you make your father the loving person he was and still is deep down inside, and now it causes me great pain to tell you goodbye, but I will come back. Until then I'm going to miss you; every moment I can't hold you.” I remember every word as if I'm hearing it from her very lips."
Stacey blinked her eyes. "I can still feel her hands on my back from the last hug we shared, and every teardrop that we shed. The sound of her car fading into the distance. The headlights being swallowed up by the darkness. The waiting in the still barren driveway in the dead of night, until my tears ran out, and feeling so utterly alone, under the glow of the moon and stars."
Tears swam in her eyes as she poured out her heart to him, a guy she had only known for a couple of minutes. As she cried, she felt him scoot over, closer to her. Her hair ruffled as he took a lock of it in his hand. Even through her tears, she smiled as he brushed away her tears with it.
“Ouch,” she said, when he accidentally poked her eye.
He let go of her hair, retching his hand back to his side. “Sorry.”
She giggled. “No. Don't be. You were just trying to help. And you did. You made me laugh. So, I have you to thank.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“The pleasure is mutual.”
He cleared his throat. “Now, can we get back to your story? You've got me captivated.”
***************************
She did not go into detail over the reason of her parents splitting up or why her mother had left so abruptly and never so much as visited. To someone like Daniel with parents who hardly ever fought it was a strange and alien topic beyond his understanding. It was all he could do from blurting out, "If your mother loves you as much as she says, why has she never bothered to see you once since she left?"
Daniel did not even so much as even dare to hint that he wanted to know what she was hiding from him. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her, and never talk to him again.
As different as they were, they were similar in a number of ways. Like him, she was an independent person, and they both had the same favorite life shortening food, pizza. She even said her favorite movie director was Steven Spielberg. They joked around about how they were each bigger fans then the other. They also talked about how sad it was that he had died years ago, but were glad that he got to live in the world's in his films. Lost worlds; ones where now extinct animals roamed.
Daniel learned a lot about her in just the first couple of minutes. When he asked her what lunch she had she said she never ate lunch in school. She would go to the library instead. She also said that the reason he never saw her was because she never did anything to draw attention to herself, and because she would often sneak out to go to the library, or she and a couple of her friends would go out and eat since they had a different lunch then hers. She said it was more relaxing to eat out, rather then in the chaotic cafeteria. The best part she said was that she never had to pay.
"You're messing the healthier school lunch menu every time you eat out though. No more snacks, greasy pizzas, and thankfully no more canned fruits. Now we get lean meats, and double servings of fruits and veggies," Daniel said. He rarely went out to eat. His mother was an exceptionally good cook, so eating out was never an interest to him.
School lunches weren't the only foods that were modified; Stacey told him that fast food places were no longer allowed to give their customers large portions. Fast food restaurants were told to offer a more healthy variety of foods and, in accordance to law not to fry or include any servings containing more than a few ounces more than a pound of meat in their menus.
"At least people will be healthier now," he said.
"If you look deeper, though, you'll notice that it looks like meat is going to be banned altogether," Stacey said.
“You're actually right,” Daniel said, explaining to her what he had learned in Health class about the matter. She winced at the part about the possibility of cows being eliminated as a species. Then they resumed getting to know more about each other.
To his surprise, she said that only one of her friends knew that she lived in poverty. He was the only one besides the state, the school, her best friend Veronica, and her father, who probably didn't give a care about their social status as long as he could still afford beer. She did note, however, that she hadn't seen her father drinking since Monday. She thought it was only because she hadn't been giving him enough money to buy alcohol. She wasn't completely sure, because he hadn't been going out to drink with his friends either. She explained that it could be because they probably did something to offend him; or perhaps, he had offended them.
"Maybe he's finally giving it up," he said.
"It would be a miracle if he was. I’ve been praying for him to lay off the drinking for as long as I can remember," she said, her voice full of sorrow.
The commotion in the gymnasium was suddenly drowned out by the head Principal's voice, magnified over the intercom. That only happened when a particularly important event was to take place at school or when the student body was going to be lectured about something bad. Neither of those things were of any relevance, as nothing important was to take place for a while and all the students had, for the most part, behaved themselves.
Points: 37408
Reviews: 182
Donate