Losers Never Win

Chapter 6

            Time trickled to 6:00pm and Cain was back in his room. He had nothing to do, so he lied on the bed staring at the ceiling. He wandered about his mother, and hoped she was doing well. Now that he thought about it, it’s been some time since she wrote him. And that’s not a good sign. Cain sighed as he pictured his mother behind bars.           

            His thoughts were interrupted by a loud banging noise coming from the room next to his. One of the other boys must have lost their temper again. Cain had found out that this place was home to guys just like him. Some of them were even worse, constantly exploding over the littlest of things.

            Cain stirred on his bed as the racket grew louder. He had half a mind of going in there and shutting the kid up him self, but he was already in trouble for his outburst at school. Apparently the school notified Mr. Tony about Cain’s actions in Ms. Nancy’s class. Surprisingly Mr. Tony didn’t act out. He asked Cain what happened and when Cain told him, Mr. Tony said he understood. Still, Cain wasn’t off the hook. He was ordered kitchen duty for the rest of the week.

            “Hey what’s the problem?” Mr. Tony shouted, his voice echoing through the thin walls. The kid said something that couldn’t be understood and started pounding the door again. By now Cain heard enough, he had to get away.

            He picked up a pack of cigarettes, put them in his pocket, and walked out of his room. He figured he would wonder around since he didn’t get the chance to on Saturday or Sunday. Cain moved slowly through the hall, hearing less and less of the noise behind him. He went to the stairway to go outside, but something told him to go up instead. Cain traveled up the stairs to see where it led. On the top floor there was a single door that he opened so he could see what’s on the other side.

            To his non-surprise the door led nowhere. All that lied before him was the flat roof of the building. There were a few vents on the roof as well as a satellite dish, but that didn’t interest him. He turned to go back inside when someone caught his eye. A female sat on the edge of the building with her feet dangling down the side. It was the same girl he saw sitting by herself at lunch, Serena. He wandered how and why she was there.

            Cain walked to Serena slowly and stopped directly behind her. She didn’t seem to notice him; she had ear buds in her ears listening to music. Cain whipped out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth, lighting it shortly after.

            “What you doin’ up here?” Cain asked. Serena flinched at the sound of his voice; she didn’t know anyone was behind her.

            She turned around, looking at Cain oddly. Instead of answering his question, Serena shrugged her shoulders in response. Cain saw how she was sitting directly on the edge of the roof. He knew that wasn’t safe, this was a four-story building.

            “You not afraid of fallin’?” Cain wondered, still standing near her.

            Serena shook her head. “No,” she truthfully answered. But the way she said it didn’t seem right. It was like she didn’t care if she fell.

            Cain took a hit off his cigarette staring a Serena. Even though she was giving obvious signs that she didn’t want to talk, Cain ignored them. He could almost see inside her, and knew her pain was similar to his own. Because of that, he was drawn to her.

            Cain took a seat beside Serena, who slightly scooted over. “You smoke?” he offered her a cigarette from his pack. Serena looked at Cain then the pack of New Ports in his hand. It’s been a little over a week since she’s experienced any type of high, and she longed for that feeling; no matter how faint it was. Serena cautiously removed a cigarette from the pack, keeping her eyes on Cain. Cain handed her his lighter so she could spark a flame.

            “Who are you?” Serena asked. Wondering why he was talking to her.

            “Cain,” he answered, making eye contact. Serena nervously glanced away. “What about you, what’s yo name?”

            Serena inhaled the smoke from the cigarette and exhaled it from her lungs. “Serena,” she told him. Her voice was weak when she said that, as if she were ashamed of her name.

            “Like Serena Williams?” Cain joked. He saw a fragment of a smile come on her face, but it vanished quickly.

            “I wish…” She said to him. They both kind of gazed at the ground for a little bit. Cain fiddled his thumbs during the moment of silence between them.

            “So, you go to Burke huh?” Cain asked, referring to the high school they attended. Serena’s eyes widened. She looked at him suspiciously.

            “How you know?” She questioned. The thought that he was stalking came into her paranoid mind. Cain could tell she was getting worked up about something. Her body language displayed it.

            “Relax…” Cain calmly told her. “I go there too, I saw you at lunch.” Serena seemed to lower her guard again. Thinking back to it, she saw him too. He sat on the other side of the bleachers by his self, just like her.

            “Oh,” she replied.

            “Yea… that’s why I’m like, why you up, you know? Unless you stay in this building,” Cain explained.            

            He watched as Serena nodded her head slowly. “… I do…” she stated. Cain took another pull of the short cigarette and flung it over the side of the roof. “I hate this place,” Serena confessed.

            .“Who you tellin’,” Cain agreed. “I only been here for three days and it’s already drivin’ me crazy.” Serena’s lips curled in to a smile, that’s exactly how she felt. “But truth be told, I been in homes like this my whole life.” Cain froze when those words left his mouth. That was the first time he fully came into realization of what he just said.

            “Me too,” Serena added, breaking Cain from his daze. He looked at her sadly.

            “Yup. It’s like you neva get use to it. You just learn to settle,” he said.

            Serena shook her head as she finished her cigarette. “That’s the worst part…” she responded. The two sat there quietly, each getting lost in their own past of sorrow. Suddenly Serena stood to her feet. “I better get going,” she told Cain.

            He remained still, staring at the buildings around them. “Aight,” he turned his head and watched Serena walk to the door. “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow,” he called out.

            Serena stopped in her tracks, keeping her back toward him. “…Maybe…” she muttered under her breath, going inside the building.