Wish

First and Last Chapter

I ran through the school as if my life depended on it. Well, technically, my life did depend on it. I looked back for a split second, and I saw them behind me, chasing me, like a pack of hungry wolves. God, I'm so dead, I thought to myself. The confused faces of my fellow students became a blur as I sprinted down the school halls. But I could hear my pursuers catching up, and knew there was no point in continuing to run. I stopped, and turned to see Chad Turner, and his little gang of hey-look-at-us-we're-mean-and-tough-because-we-follow-the-bully crowding behind him. "Hey, Chad! How are you? I was just finishing my morning jog," I smiled. "D'ya want something?"

"You bet I do, McCloud!" He was standing directly in front of me, staring into my soul with his beady eyes. "Where's my money, Lachie?"

"I dunno what you're on about, mate," I lied. So maybe I had taken his five bucks, but he didn't know that for sure. Yet.

"Listen, I know you took it. I left it with my stuff during sport, and then it wasn't there. And guess who else wasn't there? You. Now hand it over, and no one gets hurt." By this point, a small crowd had gathered around, a cluster of seagulls squawking softly, watching us with their beady little eyes. I wasn't best fighter, but my reflexes were pretty quick, so I figured that if it did come to a fight, I just keep dodging Chads blows 'till someone came to stop us. But it's still best to avoid a fight at all costs.

"Listen, I don't want any trouble," I told Chad calmly. "But I don't have your five bucks."

"Hah! How'd you know it was five bucks? Give it here, before I pound you." God damnit, I'm an idiot. I stepped back and crossed my arms, showing that I wasn't giving him his money, which only prompted him to put up his fists, ready to strike. But just then, a girl walked in between us, a five dollar note in her hand. My I quickly checked my back pocket, and I realised the money was missing. I looked at her, surprise and annoyance on my face. She only smirked back at me, and the turned to stand with her back to me.

"Honestly, you guys. It's just five bucks." She gave Chad the money. "You leave him alone, and he won't bother you," she said to him before turning to face me again. "You stop stealing his money, and he won't give you any trouble." She then walked away, leaving me with a dumbstruck look on my face. I ran ahead of her and blocked her path. "You don't need to thank me, it's cool," She said. Confident much? I thought.

"Um, yeah, why'd you do that?"

"Because he was gonna thrash you, and you don't look like the type to take beatings very well. And it's just money."

"Yeah, well... I could've taken him."

"Okay, next time I won't help you. Why'd you take his money, though?"

"That kid's loaded with cash. Five bucks don't mean nothing to him." I explained. And it was true. Chad Turner had it all. A single child of rich parents, he was a spoilt brat who had everything his way. Then there was me, a broken child from a broken family. It just didn't seem fair that someone like him got everything, and cared nothing for those who had nothing. I guessed the anger and frustration had become evident on my face, because this girl then spoke again.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah." She smiled, and for a moment it almost looked like she actually cared about my life. But she's probably another one of them, I told myself. With loads of money, fancy cars, a happy family.

"Let's start over," the girl said. Hi, I'm Kat. And you are...?

"Names Lachie McCloud."

"Rich people frustrate you?" she asked coolly. I tilted my head at her. How did she figure that out? Maybe she was different.

"Yeah, you bet. But it's nothing really."

She sighed, and looked down at the ground. "Well, I gotta get going. See you around?"

"Yeah, I guess." We both went our separate ways.

...

That night, I got home to find my mum crying on the sofa. I tried to comfort her. I tried to tell her everything was okay, but the tears wouldn't stop. I hated seeing her like this, but I saw it almost every afternoon. She was unfit to do anything, so every night I made dinner, and we ate in silence. We sat down on our cheap chairs, at our cheap table, eating cheap food off our cheap plates. That's what our life had become. Cheap. Mum was always too much of an emotional wreck to work, so we rarely had any money. I had a small job at a café, but that was it. That was all that kept us going. I couldn't help thinking of Chad, and when I did, a burning hate roared inside my chest. Man, I envied those rich kids.

...

I woke up to the bright Saturday sun, which almost made me feel happy, and then I remembered I had to go to work. I quickly got changed and rode my bike to the café. I spent most of the day working there, serving coffee and cakes to everyone who asked. When my shift finished, who should walk through the door but Kat, her curly brown hair loose over her shoulders. She looked over at me and smiled, and gestured for me to sit with her. I was tired from working, but I didn't want to be rude, so I walked over. "Hey, how's it going?" she asked me.

"Pretty bad, actually," I told her, choosing to be honest.

"You look exhausted. How long you been working?"

"8:30am to 5:30pm, I think it is."

"Woah. Why do you work so much?" I decided to let my feelings out. I really needed someone to talk to, and Kat happened to be the one there.

"Okay, get ready for a story."

She lifted her legs and sat with them crossed, placed her elbows on the table and placed her chin on her hands. "I'm ready."

I smiled softly at her, and then began. "When I was little, my dad used to hit my mum. If the meal wasn't exactly how he liked it, he'd yell at her, and then they would fight, and I would run into my room hide under a blanket with my stuffed animals. One day, when I was about eight, my mum and I ran away. We found a house, settled down, and have tried to live our lives ever since. It hasn't been easy. Mum is still a nervous wreck, and I'm left with all the responsibility. So when Chad gets pissed that I stole five bucks, which means nothing to him, I get pissed. We have so little, and yet he can't even spare five dollars from his millions? It just doesn't seem fair. I just...wish that life was better. That mum was happy. I wish that we had money. I wish...for a better life for me and my mum." I looked down at my feet nervously. I could feel her looking at me, and didn't I want to face her.

"I'm not like them, you know," Kat said softly. "Sure, I've got a bit of money, but that doesn't define a person. Look at you. You're not rich, and yet you're one of the nicest guys in town." She reached down into her bag and pulled out a ten dollar note. She grabbed my hand and placed the money inside my palm. "You've gotta pull through, and stop wishing and start doing" she told me. "You may not be rich like Chad, you may not drive fancy cars and wear designer jeans. But you do have one thing that Chad doesn't, Lachie. Something no amount of money can afford." I raised my head and looked into the blue of her eyes, and she stared straight back when she said: "You've got a heart. And I'll be darned if it ain't the purest there is. And who knows? Maybe one day your wish will come true."