Page 3 of 4-Ever

Ronin made a strange face, like he was going to be sick or something. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who was feeling out of place.

“It’s okay, but the teachers don’t like me already ‘cause I talk too much and joke around.”

“I don’t think they like me either. I’m only good at math. And music. It’s my favorite. Everything else takes me forever to learn.”

“Same. Music is the coolest thing ever. I want to play guitar. I want for lessons.”

“My parents have me in piano class already. I can teach you to play. If you want.”

“Really?”

“Sure.”

“What else do you like?” Ronin asked me as we headed for the gym. “Do you play chess?”

I nodded.

“And video games,” I added. “I have an Xbox. You want to come over and play sometime?”

Ronin smiled at me.

And just like that, I knew that everything was going to be okay.

Ronin

I glanced at Faisel and I was happy to see him smiling back at me.

His big brown eyes were no longer fearful or welled up with tears.

I hated seeing anyone get bullied. Ciara had been teased by her classmates at our last school. I’d been made fun of too, but it didn’t bother me like it did her. And because I was bigger than most kids my age, no one picked a fight with me.

Faise was shy at first but once we got talking, he slowly came out of his shell. And he wasn’t the only one who felt relief.

I’d finally made a friend. Me.

I joked around and because of that I got along anywhere, with pretty much anyone. But I didn’t have any close friends. No play dates or sleepovers. Up until recently, I’d lived in a trailer park with my mom, dad, and sister but I never wanted to invite anyone home. Between my parents fighting and the state of the trailer itself, just… no.

I didn’t tell Faise the reason why my hair was long. It was either leave it or let my mom give me her idea of a haircut, which was just shaving it off. Which I didn’t like. We couldn’t afford to go to the barber. We didn’t have new clothes either. Or much of anything.

Being the poorest kid in the class, I didn’t get invited to parties because they knew I couldn’t buy gifts. The only time we got nice stuff was at Christmas, when the local charity organized a donation drive. Last year, I got a video game console. I took extra care of it because I knew it would have to last years.

It was fine. We got by. At least me and my mom and my sister always had each other.

And I learned that if I could make people laugh, I’d get by, no matter what. Maybe now that my mom had two jobs, and we were in a new apartment, in a new town, things would be different.

Maybe.

But wishing for something and getting it were two different things. I gave up on wishes, along with believing in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy.

After Faise and I played for a while, it was time for lunch, so we headed back inside the school. We got our bags from our lockers and headed into the crowded lunchroom.

“What do you have to eat?” Faise asked me as we found two empty seats.

“PB & J,” I replied. “My favorite.”

It wasn’t my favorite. It was what I ate every day because there was nothing else. Sometimes only the J.

“Do you want to try some of mine?” he asked as he opened his lunch bag.

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