Fork City: In a Brave new world

CHAPTER FOUR| Me & Secrets

"Oh crap!" Paul stuttered while still heavy with sleep. "I just had the worst nightmare-"

      He opened his eyes and gaped at us a little awkwardly. "Oh crap, still real."

     Aileen chuckled. "You talk in your sleep?"

      I rolled my eyes.

     I still really wasn't in the mood of laughing.

     Now the watch on my wrist was still functioning and, if I'd continue being quiet about it, the unmanageably heavy pressure of my guilt would...

     I looked up.

     Someone was coming.

     Footsteps. Like before. Tap, tap, tap against the composite floor.

     Soon, a blue guy stood in front of us. He too had the red line across his face. He didn't speak, and before long, he left just as he'd come.

       My sister tugged me by her elbow. "What do you think they want with us?"

        The shrug I gave was almost as silent as we all were.

       And looking back at her, she stared blankly into the bars in front of her.

+ + + + +

"Have you ever watched this series?" Paul began. "What is it called? Um..."

     "The Tick?" Aileen slurred, sounding almost disgusted.

      "Yeah, don't you like it?"

      Aileen shook her head, seeming annoyed.

      "Well, it's a wonderful series; you could binge-watch the first season in about half a day," Paul said. And he had a point. I, too, had watched that. But because of his frequent verbal diarrhea, I didn't join the conversation.

     "Well, I'd rather stick to something we could all agree of as fantastic," Aileen went on, "and that is Stranger Things."

       "You know, you have to learn to be open-minded to things even things that are underrated."

     I grinned.

       Today, I felt like everyone was being a hypocrite.

      "Chris," I heard a whisper, and I looked to my sister, Kirsten. And she whispered on, "Why the long face?"

      I tightened my face a little more and shook my head. "Nothing. I'm just... serious; that's all."

     "Hmph," she sighed, and she looked aside. "What a wonderful brother you are."

     I raised an eyebrow.

     Why the attitude?

     She was, truly, smarter than she looked. I knew she was thinking about the lie I'd told her yesternight, and how she related that to the many times she'd saved my butt.

     "... Okay, so you want to tell me that you won't watch The Tick because it has a strange name?" Paul went on bitterly. I hadn't realized that he was still going on until then.

     "I told you I won't watch it, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind," Aileen said quickly.

      "Alright, alright," he said, smiling shallowly. "You're one difficult nut to crack."

      She looked away, and he slowly zoned out as he looked up at the walls behind the bars.

      Aileen also zoned out, and soon, to my right, Kirsten was out of it too.

      My stomach rumbled a little, and it caused everyone's attention to be drawn back to me. I looked at them, almost apologetically and they all looked away, thinking...

     This couldn't be a dream, could it?

+ + + + +

"In what sort of dream do you hear your stomach rumble, huh? Tell me- what kind?"

     "Paul, shut up; you're starting to give me a headache now," Aileen said, shaking a little. And I could tell, from the way she folded her face, that she was far annoyed with him now. And the tone of her voice almost made me take her words as literal.

     "Argh!" Paul cried out slightly.

     And my eyes flicked at Kirsten. In her eyes, I saw a dead gaze stare frighteningly angrily at Paul.

     Silence settled in now, and Kirsten turned away.

     Well, at least now I didn't feel like telling the truth. Expecting that that kind of reaction would come to be, where would I get the guilt from?

     Well, at least it was for the moment.

      I wasn't ever really good at keeping secrets. But, being "a nerd" in school, I'd been able to keep a few and avoid trouble. Well, maybe that was a lie. Maybe, none. Yeah, none. No secret.

      I'd been bullied and beaten up, and sure, my loud mouth had caused me even bigger problems. But I guess there's always room to change?

     I'd changed schools a couple of times- not because of my grades or such, but because of this very reason. My mouth; my big mouth.

     Well, that was until I got to this new school, Pionear High which had banned bullying. But after getting new friends, I was able to control my mouth for only a few minor secrets. But only the minor ones. I guess this was one big step for me.

     "So much for trying to do my homework," Kirsten grumbled quietly, and I tightened my lips a little.

      It was still in my mind.

      The way I encountered the close call and how immediately after, I went to the middle of the street to pick the watch up.

      I now remembered, and it was clear in my mind, how the watch swallowed me into it.

~ The video above inspired me to write this chapter of the story~
Also, Pionear is a reference to my Highschool, Pioneer, which I've written as a tribute.