Turmoil | Spruceworth 5.1 (#Wattys2018)

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Shaw

       I had to admit, I was a bit worried about Cassidy's brother trying to find me, and it clearly wasn't for any good reasons. I'd just rather not have Holden worry about it when he already had too much on his plate.

       Well, I knew no matter what, he would worry but he'd be less likely to if I didn't show I was.

       "I still think you should tell the police," Holden said while we were in the kitchen at work. I was waiting for one of the chefs to finish a plate for my table. "You know, just to warn them."

       "Holden, I told you, we can't because we don't know what he wants," I said. "Maybe he just wants to yell at me. I doubt he would actually hurt me."

       "He's related to Cassidy," Holden said. "I wouldn't be surprised."

       "Okay, but aren't you related to Clyde?" I asked. "You can't judge someone by who their family is. And don't say that it's because you're his cousin, not his brother, because Calvin is his brother and is nowhere close to being like him."

       Holden sighed. "You're right. Sorry."

       "Don't be," I said. "I get why you're suspicious. Just... Try not to think too much about it. If he does threaten me or something, I'll tell the police but I don't think it will happen. Now you need to stop worrying and do something better with your time."

       "Like stressing over me failing a reading quiz in English?" Holden asked.

       "Wait, you what?" I asked.

       "I got two out of twenty, so that's great," Holden said. "And before you ask, yes, I did the reading. I just couldn't remember what I read even five minutes after. So I read it again before class and I still failed. I hate how quizzes and tests are normally memory based. It makes me feel worse."

       "Hey, all that matters is that you tried," I said.

       "Now I'm probably going to fail English and have to take it in summer school," Holden said. "I'm actually considering dropping out since I already have a steady job and I'm not going anywhere with school."

       "Holden, you can't give up now," I said. "You're almost done with high school. And can't you get some type of accommodation during your test because of your short term memory? Like extra time or something?"

       "I can, but it won't change the fact that if I don't know the answer, I'm just not going to remember it," Holden said. "You're right, though. I shouldn't drop out when I'm so close to finishing school. Just don't be surprised if I end up failing all courses this semester."

       "Like I said, all that matters is that you try," I said.

       Holden and I got back to working since the food for the tables were served were ready. Since Holden was a part-time worker, the owner did give him less hours during weekdays so he ended up getting off an hour before I did even though my shift started before his.

       When I finally got off of work, I headed straight home so I could rest after the long day of dealing with annoying customers. Most of the time, the customers were pleasant but from time to time, we got the annoying ones who would give us 'the customer is always right' crap when they were clearly in the wrong.

       While I was on my way home, I was walking by the cafe when I saw something that made me quite angry.

       Some man I had never seen before had Holden pressed up against the wall, the collar of Holden's jacket clenched in his fists as he was clearly threatening him. I hurried over and pushed the man off before asking, "What do you think you're playing at? Threatening a teenage boy?"