The Outback

Chapter 1

I was walking to work from soccer practice, putzing around with my soccer ball; juggling it, and doing random tricks. That's what I do before a big game, and Tuesday's game is a pretty big game. It's against Maplewood High School, a private school with very skilled soccer players. It was also the last game of the season.

My name is Cameron McAllister. I'm 16 years old and 5’8”. My hair is long and blonde, and I have greenish-blue eyes. I'm the only goalie on the soccer team and have been playing on the varsity team since I was 11. I live in Florida, which would make you think my life is amazing, but it's not. The only kids that have it made are the preps.

Prep is short for preppy. They are the rich, upper class kids that have their mommies and daddies pay for everything. They live on the other side of town, with nicer houses and everything.

Out of nowhere, JJ takes my soccer ball.

His real name is James Johansen, but everyone calls him JJ. Me and JJ have been friends since we were two. He's older than me by a month, but likes to call me kid. He has blonde hair long enough to cover his ears. Most of the time it is fluffy and wild. JJ's mom died during childbirth and his dad ran out on him when he was ten. Last we knew, he won big in New York. When JJ's dad took off my dad took him in. He sleeps on the couch in the living room.

“JJ give it back, I have to practice for the game on Tuesday” I said trying to get the ball that he was holding over his head back. JJ is about 6 feet tall, so I couldn't necessarily reach it. He was laughing at me, too; laughing at my struggle to reach the soccer ball.

“What's wrong kid, too short?” JJ teased, still laughing.

Me and JJ live on the rundown side of town called the outback. We're called paupers. Paupers are the less fortunate. We’re the poor kids that live paycheck to paycheck. Most of us ride skateboards, surf, sell fish, and get into street fights with preps or with each other; most of us have very short fuses. Also most of us have been working since we were ten.

Now not all preps are bad, like my friend Maggie. She's great. And not all paupers are good. Like Sam, who runs a strip club and sells drugs to practically anyone on the street. He's one of the boys in the biker gang that my dad was in before he died.

My dad died in a rodeo accident when I was 13. I used to ride bulls and broncs and he used to do bulldogging with his buddy Jack Murphy. One day he got pinned in between his horse and the bull, crushing him. He broke six ribs, one puncturing his lung, and the parametrics couldn't get him to the hospital fast enough. He was pronounced dead on arrival. My mom got over his death in like 3 minutes. She also made me quit rodeo and had a new boyfriend within two months of dad's death. Her boyfriend's name is Tom Brandy, and he doesn't like me very much. I mean neither does my mom, really, but Tom's worse. If you said or did anything that he didn't like then you'd get the belt. Before him and my mom were dating I beat him at a bull riding competition and I don't really think he ever got over it.

“JJ, give her the soccer ball back” said someone behind us. It was Jack Murphy.

Jack is the gang leader. He's 22 and has fluffy jet black hair that's almost down to his chin that's usually slicked back into a ponytail or man bun. Him and my dad were tight. He runs some kind of business that is a combination of a bar, restaurant and auto repair shop. Me and JJ work for him in the auto repair shop, we're pretty good at fixing cars and bikes. Pretty much anything that has an engine me and JJ could fix. My dad taught us, he said someday it might come in handy.

“Aren't you supposed to be in jail?” JJ says as he throws the soccer ball to me.

“I got my sentence reduced for working in the pound and agreeing to do community service” Jack shrugs.