CHAPTER FIVE
I
FRIEND OR FOE?
The Jackson Twins were more than willing to make a scene if the new boy wasn’t willing to mind his own business. They began circling him in their defensive postures, wondering what this newcomer might do if they continued to beat on Tuesday.
“Who do you think you are?” Serina asked in a rude and condescending tone of voice.
“I’m the guy that doesn’t like the odds the way they are.” The newcomer announced; clearly not impressing the twin girls with his cocky response.
“What are you going to do about it?” Jessica asked in a offensive manner, stepping closer to the boy, deciding whether to swing at him or not.
“I intend to even the odds.” He stated in an icy fashion, his blue eyes unblinking, gaze shifting back and forth between the two of them.
Serina and Jessica were clearly not pleased with the way their morning turning out, and they weren’t shy about voicing their opinions. If there was one thing the Jackson Twins were not used to, it was somebody standing up to them. Even more troubling to them, was that this infidel was standing up for the freak-girl.
“You should just turn and walk away.” Serina said in an equally cold tone. “Our business with her isn’t finished . . .”
“Leave her alone.” He interrupted, doubling up his fists and anticipating their attacks. “Leave her alone or you’re going to get more than a few bumps and bruises.” His personal philosophy wouldn’t normally allow him to hit a girl, but in the protection of an innocent person, he was more than willing to let his rule slide.
The Jackson Twins stared coolly at the new boy for a moment and then turned and slowly retreated toward the next bus stop up the hill, keeping their attention divided between where they were going, and making certain they weren’t being followed. The newcomer watched them leave and listened closely while they made veiled threats under their breath.
“Yeah, it looks like Freak Girl found someone to fight her battles for her.” Serina taunted, trying to get a rise out of Tuesday, provoking her for another attack.
The stranger then turned around to see Tuesday standing next to a tree with her head buried in her hands, in what may have been a combination of both embarrassment and injury.
“It’s OK now.” The body told Tuesday upon his approach. “They won’t bug you again for a while, are you alright?” He reached out to put his hand on her shoulder in a gesture of comfort, but she sensed it coming near and swatted his arm away.
“I’m fine.” Tuesday returned in an isolated tone. “I don’t need help.”
“From where I was standing, it sure looked like you did.” The boy countered, still trying to be helpful.
Tuesday looked up and made eye contact with him for the first time, and between them an eternity seemed to pass, exchanging a universe of expression. She certainly didn’t foresee, or even anticipate this moment. In her heart, she didn’t mean to be ungrateful to him, she was feeling humiliated that her first encounter with this boy demonstrated weakness, and it need to be corrected. After their personal eternity had passed, the boy turned to leave. That feeling in her gut told Tuesday that it would be a mistake to let the boy leave without making a proper introduction.
“I . . .I’m sorry.” Tuesday began, trying to make amends for her flash of annoyance. “I don’t know what I was thinking, thank you.”
The boy turned back around to look at her and a slow smile crossed his face as his gaze returned to her. He just stood there for a moment evaluating the girl, and perhaps making a few judgments about her as he did so. Nervously, Tuesday introduced herself to him.
“I’m Tuesday, what’s your name?” she said, half stuttering with anxiety, extending her hand to him after she wiped it on her cargo pants to make sure it was clean.
“Jason Alkali” he replied, reaching out his hand and shaking hers, happy to meet somebody in the new town in which he was living.
II
NO MATTER WHAT
It was at that next moment that the school bus came into view, and began to slow down to pick up its quarry. The air brakes hissed their solitary note as the vehicle came to a full stop in front of the children, the double doors parting and allowing them to board. A powerful feeling of anxiety instantly began to overtake Tuesday as the other kids moved toward the vehicle.
Serina and Jessica were already on board and were occupying the same seats they did every other time they rode the bus. And even before Jason and Tuesday could get onto the bus, they had begun to fill in other students of their twisted version of the events of the morning, and it wasn’t long before everybody knew that Jason had stood up for Tuesday and opposed the Jackson Twins.
Jason entered the bus, and then stopped at the top of the stairs looking back in anticipation for Tuesday to enter, who still stood outside, staring up at the entrance, the color drained from her face, frozen in her tracks. It was that moment when Jason noticed that the other kids were staring at Tuesday, whispering things that he imagined were not pleasant amongst themselves. The shrill voice of the bus driver broke the symphony of whispers.
“Hurry up, Moxley!” The bus driver commanded sharply, impressing upon Tuesday the need to save time. “We don’t have all day.”
Tuesday took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it, putting her foot on the first step of the entrance, and the next foot on the next step, with her fears increasing with each footfall, bringing her closer to a destiny she did not wish to dance with. Suddenly, without realizing it, her hand was being held by Jason’s as he guided her down the center aisle to a seat near the back, passing the onlookers who continued to taunt her with whispers and laughs. In Tuesday’s mind, each row of seats they passed, the volume of the taunting grew in her mind, drowning out any feeling of positivity she may have actually been experiencing at that moment. Just then, a wadded-up piece of paper bounced off her head, causing her to jerk nervously and release Jason’s hand. She refocused her attention on the rear window of the bus, and walked to the seat at the back of the bus with great haste, Jason following behind. When Tuesday reached the back of the bus, she plopped herself down in the seat and pulled her knees up to her face to hide herself from everybody else on board.
“Would you care for some company?” Jason asked enthusiastically, trying to get Tuesday to relax.
Tuesday was feeling conflicted about this idea, while she wanted the company of this boy who had shown her such kindness as she had never known, she didn’t want to have him witness what would inevitably be coming in the next few minutes. In the end, she reasoned that he was already on the bus, so he was going to see it one way or another, so she might as well gamble and hope that he wouldn’t treat her the same way as all the rest of the kids do. Still though, the fear was growing inside of her, and she knew that she wasn’t going to be herself. “But what if this boy truly is different?” she thought to herself. “What if I don’t have to deal with this alone?” This filled Tuesday with a small glimmer of hope, that maybe somebody might actually listen to her and make an attempt to understand her point of view for once. At least she hoped he would, and that made the invitation all the more tempting to her. Without thinking too much more on the subject, she gave him an answer.
“Yeah, sure.” Tuesday replied, her voice trailing off, “I guess so.”
Jason put his backpack on the floor and scooted into the seat close, but not too close to her, attempting to strike up some small talk with her.
“So, have you lived here long?” Jason asked inquisitively, probing for information that he could use to strike up a much longer conversation with her.
Tuesday paused a few seconds before answering, staring out the window, despondent in her tone of voice.
“Yeah.” Tuesday paused, her lip quivering as she spoke. “All my life.”
Jason could tell that something was definitely bothering Tuesday and as near as he could figure, it must be the incessant bullying of the other kids, so he
persisted on demonstrating to her that he wasn’t going to be like them, and so the small talk continued.
“My family just moved here from Phoenix.” Jason began, trying to make his voice the only thing that Tuesday could focus on. “My Dad is a big shot lawyer there, and we moved up here so my Mom could work looking after Foster children. My Mom and Dad aren’t split up or anything, he comes home on the weekends to stay with us. In fact, he hopes to close up shop there in the next few months and open his practice in here in Cadence Falls after he passes the Washington State Bar Exam.”
Tuesday perked up a little bit hearing about Jason’s home life and began listening more actively to what he was saying. He spent the next few minutes talking about how his parents work as a team in family law, and do what is best for displaced children or kids in bad situations. Jason’s Dad, Jim would go to court to represent the best needs of the child, and if that included Foster care, he would recommend his wife’s services. His Mom moved to Cadence Falls because there seemed to be a large number of children who required Foster care from children who had lost parents to various accidents in the area. Clearly, these accidents had not gone unnoticed by the State, so Lauren Alkali was the first to stand up and volunteer to open a top-notch care facility for children who had lost their parents, or for troubled children. Tuesday listened intently to this information, and it almost took her mind off of the events she knew were coming. Tuesday felt as if she should add something to the conversation, so she piped up.
“That must make life pretty interesting.” Tuesday mentioned casually, daydreaming about what it must be like to have a family.
“Yup, it sure does!” Jason replied, “We have all these kids coming and going and going and coming, it’s almost like I have a hundred siblings out there somewhere. The only real siblings I have are my younger brother John, and my adopted brother James.”
It is at that moment that Jason chooses to turn the conversation back to her, and begins to ask questions.
“So, can I ask you something?” Jason asked, hoping to find out something about the girl who had occupied his attention since he first spotted her earlier that morning.
“You just did.” Tuesday shot back, trying to be funny and hoping to divert any real attention away from her. In times of extreme nervousness, Tuesday often used sarcastic responses to deflect questions she didn’t want to answer. This was one of those times.
“Seriously.” Jason continued, hoping to get to the heart of the matter. “Why were those girls teasing you? Why don’t they like you? What’s their problem?”
“That’s three questions, actually.” Tuesday deflected, not wanting to talk about the Jackson Twins. The two of them laugh briefly, but Jason would have none of this from her, and he made a point to let her know it.
“Look, you can trust me.” He said in a reassuring manner. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”
Tuesday wasn’t used to anybody trying to be on her side, and she certainly wasn’t used to a boy taking any kind of interest in her, much less being direct with her. The feeling was completely alien to her, and she didn’t quite know how to deal with it. But she felt there was something about this boy that she was certain she could trust. There was truth behind his eyes, compassion in his voice, and integrity in his words. These things, above all else, were the things that Tuesday longed for, but rarely ever witnessed from the people of Cadence Falls. She decided it would be best to take a chance and trust this strange boy, and felt that he was trustworthy enough to hesitantly surrender some answers to.
“I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to be scared” Tuesday began, her eyes widened, and darting back and forth, as if she were expecting some sort of trouble. “And you must promise me not to tease me about it, or treat me like I’m some kind of freak.”
Jason is trying to figure out how to process this change in the tone of the conversation, but simply answers her with “What is it, Tuesday?”
But Tuesday is adamant about this vow and will not divulge information to Jason unless he makes this promise. Too many times in the past had people not lived up to the expectations that Tuesday had set in her mind for them. Too many had failed her in more ways than she could count, and she was tired of telling her story again and again, only to be abandoned by the people she had reached out to. Her mother was a primary example of somebody who didn’t have her back. She of all people should have been there for her, but was far more interested in her own activities than those of her daughter. Now this boy was seeking a friendship with her, but how could she trust him after being cast aside by so many others? Trust did not come easily to Tuesday, and after her experiences, there was no reason for it to, so she had to know if Jason was on board with her from the beginning, because if she was going to open herself up to him, and he was going to run away, she honestly wasn’t sure how she would handle such a blow to her self-esteem.
“Jason,” Tuesday continued, intensely staring into his blue eyes. “You have to promise me that if I tell you what’s wrong, that you’ll still be my friend, no matter what.”
“Lighten up, Tues!” returned Jason, trying to show her that he’s different from the other kids. “You’re the only person I’ve met here that I would even consider having as a friend so far!”
But still, Tuesday pressed on until she heard the exact response she was looking for, a very specific set of words, strung together to make a solid promise to her that he wouldn’t leave or abandon her, no matter what.
“Jason, just promise me that we can remain friends, no matter what!” Tuesday relented, “Because you’re the only friend I’ve got, and I don’t want to lose you.”
Finally, Jason gives in.
“Okay, okay!!” Jason said reassuringly, “You know, I wasn’t raised to treat people the way these kids are treating you. I know what it’s like to not have friends, and I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. I promise that no matter what is wrong, we will always be friends.”
“No matter what?” Tuesday pressed, her mouth beginning to form a slight smile, as she asked him again.
“No matter what.” Jason promised, smiling back at her, sealing his words with a handshake.
And while Jason hadn’t managed to speak the very words Tuesday was looking for, his words and actions were trustworthy enough for her to believe in him, forming a friendship.
III
DREAMS BECOME REALITY
The school bus stopped at a traffic light, and Tuesday knew they were very near the school, and her anxiety had nearly reached fever pitch. She knew that they would soon happen upon the accident from her dreams the night before, and that it would be very unpleasant. She paused for a moment, and took a deep breath, and then closed her eyes for a few seconds. When she opened them, she looked Jason fully into his eyes for the first time since they met. She did not look away from him, or wasn’t evasive with him in any manner. Jason did look down briefly and noticed that her hands were trembling and felt that he should address this.
“What is it, Tuesday?” Jason asked with utmost concern, trying to understand what was happening. “Are you cold?”
“I’m scared.” Tuesday managed in a barely audible whisper.
“I already told you that we would be friends, no matter what.” Jason said, placing his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
“That’s not what I’m scared of.” Tuesday said in a shaky, but barely audible voice.
“What is it, then?” asked Jason, his curiosity piqued to its maximum levels. “What’s wrong?”
The bus had turned onto the road that led to the intersection, a straight approach right past where the accident would be happening very soon. Tuesday closed her eyes and exhaled a deep breath, continuing to relay her story to him, wondering how much of it he would believe when she relayed it to him.
“Two blocks ahead, there is going to be a horrible accident.” Tuesday began, her voice quivering, trying to get a grip on wha
t she knew was inevitably going to happen. “A woman is going to be pinned to a tree by a moving vehicle while trying to save her baby.”
Jason’s eyes widen a little bit, waiting for Tuesday to continue her story. Her eyes snap open and lock onto his with a frightening intensity. “The driver of the car will be thrown through the windshield and killed on impact.” Tuesday said in a somber voice.
Jason doesn’t fully understand what she is saying at first, and so he took a second to process this information. “How does she know there will be an accident?” He thought to himself, rolling the possibilities over in his mind, trying to come to a consensus of how she might know such a thing.
“Whoa, Tuesday!” Jason answered, trying his best to believe what she is telling him. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that people are dead.” Tuesday said, as tears began to fall from her eyes. “People are dead, and when they see it, those girls are going to blame me for it.”
“Tuesday, that’s crazy!” Jason said, trying to sound convinced of her words. “Why would they blame you for an automobile accident?”
“Because I dreamed this would happen last night.” Tuesday cried, turning her head away from Jason in an attempt to conceal her emotional state. “I knew this was going to happen.”
“Tuesday, you had a nightmare!” Jason told her, trying his best to comfort her, reaching out and wiping tears from her eyes. “It was only a bad dream.”
“Can’t you hear them coming? It has happened.” Tuesday stated, turning back to Jason, alerting him to the sound of sirens in the distance.
The strained cries of rescue vehicles screamed their warnings and could be heard approaching their location. The students in the bus got up in their seats for a better look as the bus pulled to the side of the road so an ambulance could safely roar past them. The kids anxiously looked out the front window of the bus and saw the ambulance turn right about a block and half from where they were sitting. A moment later, the bus was underway again, moving toward that intersection where Tuesday had seen herself in her dream only hours ago.
The distance to the stop sign was closed rather quickly, and the bus was the first vehicle to be stopped at the scene of a horrible accident. The children had an incredible vantage point from their bus and could see the onlookers on scene, gawking at a car that had crashed into a tree, and pinned a woman to it, killing her. Another body lay on the ground a few feet on the other side of the tree, up near a brick wall, and was covered in blood. The entire scene looked like something from a horror film.
The children on the bus began pointing and chattering, speculating about what could be happening up the block, all of them but Tuesday, who’s sobbing had become full-fledged crying by this time. The bus driver did her best to herd the children back to their seats.
“Calm down! Okay, calm down!” The bus driver said in her sandpapery voice, trying to get the kids under control. “There’s nothing to see here! Everyone get back into your seats so we can continue on to school.”
Most of the kids did as they were instructed to do, but Serina and Jessica saw the opportunity to inflict some further damage on Tuesday and began teasing her, just as Tuesday said they would.
“Look at that!!” Jessica taunted, pouring salt in Tuesday’s open wounds. “The wicked little witch killed more people!!”
“Murderer!! Murderer!!” Serina screamed, drawing the attention of the other children on the bus, who joined in the chorus of their taunts and jeers.
It wasn’t long before most of the children on the bus began teasing Tuesday Moxley as well. The entire bus erupted in a heated verbal assault, and it was all aimed at one person, Tuesday, who had buried her head in her hands and began bawling uncontrollably. A few seconds later, Tuesday has had enough began screaming back at them, as Jason sat there wide-eyed, in complete disbelief of what he was seeing transpire around him. Tuesday turned her attack to Jessica and Serina.
“Shut up, I hate you!! I hate you both!!” Tuesday yelled at the top of her lungs. “I wish it had been you in that accident instead of that lady!! I wish you were dead!! I hate both of you!!”
Hearing Tuesday’s remarks, the bus driver radioed ahead to the school, trying to get some help to contain the situation. “We have a student threatening other students.” She shouted over the discordance of the aggressive ruckus.
There was some inaudible dialogue coming from the other end of the radio which couldn’t be heard over the shouts, hecklings, and cackles of the packed school bus. The entire morning had exploded into absolute anarchy, and Jason saw how quickly this situation had escalated, and knew that he had to stand up for Tuesday.
“Leave her alone!!” Jason squawked, trying to raise his voice over the noise of disharmony of the other students. “None of this is her fault!! Leave her alone, you bullies!!”
At that moment, the entirety of the bus began throwing things at Tuesday, which enraged Jason even further, as he continued blaring out words of support in her defense. The bus driver was still trying to communicate with the office to get some assistance for when the bus arrived.
“Yeah, it’s Moxley again!” The bus driver shouted into the microphone. “I’ll try and detain her when we arrive at the school!”
Jason did his best to shield Tuesday from the incoming wave of thrown objects, but somehow a full bottle of soda flew by him, pegging her right in the eye, leaving an instant welt. This was more abuse than Jason could stand to watch, as he leapt across the aisle and began to pummel the boy who had thrown the soda until he begged Jason to stop. And then Jason hit another kid, and another, and another. He was so busy defending Tuesday from her attackers that he hadn’t noticed that the bus had arrived at the school. As the bus came to a stop, two staff members from the office barreled on board with nightsticks in their hands as the bus driver pointed them in Tuesday and Jason’s direction. They plowed through the aisle and grabbed Tuesday and Jason, ripping them from the bus while the other students just laughed and continued taunting Tuesday, with the driver ratting them out for being the troublemakers. “Yeah, Moxley again, and the new kid is in on this too!!” She informed the staff members. Jason was in complete disbelief. Apparently what Tuesday told him was true, and even more unbelievable, not only did the students hate her; it was obvious that the adults did as well.
Tuesday Moxley and Jason Alkali were dragged to the office, kicking and screaming to spend their morning in ISS until their parents could be notified of what had transpired. It was about to be a very long day.