The Sound Of Change

Chasing Hunter

I woke up, eager to start the day and get to school. I changed into a coral red sweater and pulled on some rugged, too old boots that my brother let me borrow for the day. I ran out the door, the October air nipping my nose. I ignored it and left, books heavy in my backpack. I went thirteen doors down to my best friend's, Hunter's, house. He opened the door, running after me as we ran to the bus. 

"Whatever have you been up to lately? Haven't seen you since the break ended!" He called after me. I was much quicker on my feet than him. I laughed and called back.

"I'll tell you if you can keep up!" I heard him call out, but I ignored it. We were so close to the bus stop. I got on the bus, immediately reaching 3 boys and 4 girls that gave me a lot of crap in my life. Their names? To be included when It becomes relevant. Because I know they do it for the fame, and the only reason I am writing this is because Mr. Hamline told me to. (A.N.: This'll become relevant later, you'll see.) I sat in the seat behind them, holding my chin up high. I could hear them scoff. 

"Ignore them, Pep." Hunter whispered, "They Don't get it at all."

"I don't care. They don't get to me. I know they just do it to boost their ego." I said, even though. Deep down, I did care. They made me want to punch them in the face. They turned to me. 

"If you could be just a bit, like, quieter. That would be AMAZING. You speak to much." She nodded and gave me a mocking smile/glare. 

"I was wondering too, if you could be, like, a little bit more NICE, that would be great. You bully people too much. Thanks." I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Fake it 'till you make it, right? They had been bulling me since I moved here and started going to Boulder Middle. Nothing major, just enough to make me feel insecure. 

"OK, so we got that part of our day over with, what's next on our agenda?" Hunter laughed and smiled at me. 

"We are..." he looked down at an imaginary clipboard. "Going to go to school, learn loads, then come home and watch the entire Marvel saga all the way from Iron Man to the new Black Widow movie. And THEN, finally, we are going to talk about my future home and all the animals your going to rescue when I'm rich... and famous!" he said, twirling his hand mocking all the rich, white people I'd ever come in contact with in my life. I just shrugged, chuckling a little and looking out at the white blanket of snow frosting the tips of the mountains. 

In some ways, the mountains looked like a looming and ominous thing. We never had mountains where I'm from. Just long, white sand beaches and crystal clear water. The mountains, though, where somewhat of a reminder that life would get better. If I just kept rising up, I could be the barrier between the wind and the sky, I could run along the plains in defiance of whatever society made me up to be: a terrorist, a thief, or a cheat. I don't care. I just wanted to be free again.

Hunter looked at me. He had soft green eyes that looked like the deepest parts of the ocean. That's what made me interested in him in the first place. He reminded me of the places I roamed before America. His eyes glowed brightly against his cold cut black hair, tussled in the Boulder wind. It was fairly long at the moment. He needed a hair cut. There was a scar that ran across the bridge of his nose, arching like the moon. 

He wasn't like the rest of them. Though Boulder was a fairway liberal town, there where still racist and demoralizing jokes that floated around. He was interesting, he was deep. He wan't just ripped jeans, blue eyes, blonde hair, good grades, and lots of friends. He cared about every single one of us. He cared about me. He cared about Vicki. He cared about Leo. He would be heart broken if any of us betrayed him. He was loyal to the end. The kind of person that could write one word at have it mean a million things. He was everything to me. He looked beyond my background, and the mud on my face, my hood over my own tussled hair, and the red sweater I wore now. He looked past my family. And he just saw me. Not the immigrant. Or the broken hearted, lost persona that I had been building like a wall over my personality. He was my lifeline. And he meant everything to me. 

He is Hunter.