MARCUS (ongoing)

Chapter 18

He walks out to see Marcus sitting on step of the door.

Josh: what are you thinking about? You look so out of space.
Marcus: nothing.
Josh: you ate already?
Marcus: I'll eat later.
Josh: look mahn I know how you're feeling, when I first got here I wasn't happy at all I barely ate or slept. With time..........
Marcus: could you just stop with the 'with time' reference it's so annoying!!
Josh: dang......... oookayyyyy...... I'm just going back in [stands to leave]

Marcus: wait; that was unfair I'm sorry. Please sit.
Josh: [sighs and sits]
Marcus: it's just I've heard that statement so many times already and I'm just over it now.
Josh: what statement?
Marcus: with time
Josh: [chuckles] really? Like who told it to you?
Marcus: a friend of the past and........
Josh: friend of the past [laughs] what, aren't you only like ten or something.....
Marcus: twelve actually. And yeah friend of the past I've been around for like twelve years. Whatever happened earlier is in the past isn't it?
Josh: I mean yeah, but you're saying it like you're fifty or something.

Marcus: [laughs] fifty really mahn?
Josh: [laughs] yeah. Anyway who else said it?
Marcus: [voice stutters] ummmm....... [clears throat] my umm.......
Josh: girlfriend? Or your ex?
Marcus: what the........ no! [Laughs] it's just I don't know what to call her at this point but she's someone.
Josh: someone to you?
Marcus: yeah, it's complicated.
Josh: dude you're twelve and you're saying stuffs already complicated? I mean yeah either of us being here means life's being crazy but looking at how you seem when you're saying its complicated [laughs]
Marcus: [smiles] I get. [With a serious tone] but it is.

Josh: you want to talk about it?
Marcus: no I'm okay.
Josh: .................

Marcus: so how old are you smart guy? You've made fun of me like continuously about being young so what's yours?
Josh: fourteen.......
Marcus: right, like your ass looks fourteen [laughs]. How old for real though?
Josh: [laughs] I'll be twelve soon.
Marcus: [laughs] so you're eleven?
Josh: what, no.
Marcus: the fact is you ain't twelve and you ain't ten; eleven.
Josh: whatever mahn.

Marcus: may I ask how you ended up here?
Josh: [laughs] I should be asking you that you seem pretty smart. No offense it's like you ran away from a rich home or something.
Marcus: I get. Like she'd say, I'm pretty smart for my age. I've being through fires and storms; seen a lot so life aged me up.

Josh: well there's a story there. Anyway, my mother would sleep around; she had me didn't even know who my father was. She'd use the good stuff, people around reported to child services and brought me here. Apparently she was in some illegal grouping years back before she had me; they had being looking for her for a while. She's in for life. Yeah that sums it all.

Marcus: oh I'm sorry Josh.
Josh: I'm over it, this place is my home now.
Marcus: wouldn't you want to be in a family though?
Josh: for about eight years I've had a family, yeah she wasn't the best but I had one. It's not easy to just move on to a next. The second I go into one I'll end up like Fred just bouncing around foster homes every two years.

Marcus: Fred?
Josh: some guy, he left a couple of months ago; my usual roommate when he's around. He's like eighteen now and he's been in over six or seven homes. Look as long as you ain't theirs, you'll never be.
Marcus: he probably hasn't met the right ones yet. I feel finding good parents is like finding a life partner; takes time.
Josh: yeah exactly why I just prefer staying put.

Marcus: it must have been some notorious gang your mom was in; life imprisonment?
Josh: yeah I think it's still about even, they call themselves...........
Marcus: The Community.
Josh: yeah. You know of it?
Marcus: a sample of them yeah, vividly.
Josh: what's yours; your story?