Just Scraps

❦chapter seven ❦

-Elias

Why's she doing this to me? I have more important things to worry about than "expressing my feelings." I must worry about where I'm going to sleep tonight, where's my next meal is coming from and most importantly, what am I going to do for the rest of my life?

Should I go back to my old house and let bills pile up till I get thrown out? Or, do I apologize to Mateo and live with him in Teaneck?

I wouldn't be able to face my siblings, I couldn't possibly put up with the embarrassment. Looks like I must jump from shelter to shelter in order to survive...

Today's the last day of school for me, for the rest of the month I'll be suspended for pulling the alarm two days ago. That's a hundred percent fine with me, it'll give me time to think and get my living situation together.

I went to all my teachers after school and asked for assignments that'll be needed by the end of March. My last stop was Mr. Reyes's class, my Algebra teacher. He was disappointed in me, and I don't blame him. Mr. Reyes was also Mateo's teacher for Algebra 2 and Honors Trig. Since then, he's always kept an eye out for me.

"Elias, this will be the first and last time you ever get suspended for something like this. Pulling a fire alarm? You know better than that." He said as he printed out a ton of worksheets.

"You're right Reyes." I sighed.

"I was your age too, you remind me of myself when I was seventeen years old. I was defiant, undisciplined, and a spoiled brat who needed a lot of maturing. I'd always start trouble and make my parents upset. I'm not saying you do any of those things but there's one thing that you and I both share; fear."

"Fear? What do you mean?" I asked with confusion.

"When I say fear, I don't mean little fears you'd have as a kid such as a boogeyman or Pennywise, no nothing like that. What I mean is in your adolescent years, you're afraid of failure and getting let down. When I was seventeen, I was always on my Ps & Qs. I'd never let anyone in my inner circle, or I'd get distracted. In other words, if any guy or girl were to get too close to me, I'd push them away because I didn't want to get betrayed. Do you see what I'm saying?"

Mr. Reyes was right, when is this man ever wrong? "Thanks for the talk Mr. Reyes, but I've got to get home. See you soon." I said. He and I shook hands and I went on with my day.

I ran off to Chuey's house and got my bags. "Best of luck bro, please text me when you get to a safe place. I really wish my mom would let you stay." Chuey and I hugged it out, "Yeah, I'll text you." He walked downstairs with me and waved goodbye.

As I walked through the streets, I thought about how the rest of this month would go. God, I'm going to be bored out of my mind! I'm starting to regret pulling that alarm, now that I think about it, that was a pretty stupid decision. I decided to go over to Just Scraps and talk to Raul, maybe he'll let me crash at his place. He's the perfect roommate, this shouldn't be a problem for him! I opened the front door and there he was taking down last month's theme and starting over. "Uh, hey! Raul, look over here!" I waved my hands in the air, trying to get his attention!

He dropped one of his dollar store disco balls and groaned, "Ugh, hello Elias. Do you mind giving me a hand?" I laid my bags on the ground and helped clean up the mess.

"What are you doing here? Scraps is closed today, I got a whole lot of cleaning up today man. You should go home, there's nothing for you to do." I placed my hands in the pockets of my hoodie and rocked back and forth, "Well Raul... that's the reason why I'm here. I don't have a home, I'm all alone here." I informed.

Raul froze, he didn't know what to say. "W-what? You don't have a home, where's Mateo?" He got off his ladder and took me to his apartment which is next door. He and I sat at the table, "Elias, this isn't good! How do you expect to live like this? Jumping from house to house! This can't go on forever." He said out of worry. "I know Raul, I know. I did what was right for myself!" I said as I twiddled my thumbs, afraid of making eye contact with him.

He placed his cup of coffee on the table and rubbed his temple, "Okay, I want you to tell me everything. From the very beginning, I'm willing to help out." Raul's a great guy who loves helping the youth of Camden, it's his "calling."

"So, about two or three days ago I came home from your art show and I was very upset. I came to the art show with intentions of showing Monty Diaz my art. I wanted to do it so badly but, I couldn't open my mouth! I froze, I watched as my opportunity of speaking to a legend slip away." I said.

Raul nodded his head up and down, "I see, you can continue."

"On top of that, I made a girl who I was sort of friends with cry because I was so angry! All she wanted to do was see if I was okay and I pushed and screamed at her like an idiot! Once I got home, Mateo told me that we were all moving on Wednesday morning and that tore me up inside. The next day I couldn't focus on school work so, I decided to walk out of school... and I might've pulled the fire alarm in the process."

Raul pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "You did... what?"

"I pulled—" Raul quickly cut me off,

"I know, I know! No need to repeat yourself. Please, finish your story." He groaned.

"Lastly, when I got home from pulling the alarm, I took a long nap. Then suddenly, I got pulled out of bed by my brothers and they were kicking and punching me! I begged for them to tell me what I did wrong, but they didn't listen! Because of the dumb decision I made, our family got fined for five hundred dollars. Mateo was angry, he scraped up all the money he had and gave it all to Mr. Cooney, so he could pay the police."

"Before he left, Mateo told all of us to pack our bags and that we're leaving tonight instead of tomorrow morning. The others turned their backs on me and accused me of everything that has ever happened to us. Izaac told me that I should've been aborted! This was the last straw since they all hate me so much, I decided to take matters into my own hands and run away! I'd rather spend five weeks in hell than live with them for another year!" Tears started to trickle down my cheek and onto my lap.

I was so overcome with emotion, I started crying my eyes out and I didn't care! All my life I've been hated for being myself. Raul pulled me into a tight hug, whispering words such as "it'll be okay" and "things will get better".

"I wish you could've come to me sooner, Elias. Isolation from family members is the worst feeling in the world. Being a gay boy who was raised in a strict religious home, what I went through as a kid was horrible. Hearing that you're going through the same thing really breaks my heart! I'll gladly take care of you, stay for as long as you need to!"

My eyes lit up and I wanted to jump for joy! "Really? I can stay, please don't play with my emotions!" I asked in disbelief.

Raul laughed, "I'm not playing with you! Of course, you can stay with me. There will be a set of rules though!"

"I'll do anything!" I screamed.

"There will be three simple rules. One, don't invite Marq and Chuey! I don't want them to know where I live. Two, whenever I need chores to be done here and at Just Scraps, I want them done! Finally, always remember to be positive!" Raul and I hugged one last time and he got me settled in. He gave me a tour around the apartment. Having a new home is such a great feeling. For these next few days, it'll be fun.

Raul and I have always gotten along ever since the day Just Scraps was opened back in 2015. He's a great friend and he's someone I want to have in my life forever.

Simple acts of kindness can go a long way...