Avenues and Alleyways, chapter 3
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At the sound of the bell, a stampede of students thronged the hallways.
"Ok, class, we'll pick up there next week. Aaron, I want to talk to you for a minute."
"Ohhh," chorused the boys
"Piss off you assholes!" he retorted playfully.
The teacher pretended not to hear. He waited until everyone else had left before speaking.
"Aaron, you haven't handed in your last three assignments. I want to know what's going on. You're a smart kid and if you work harder you could get into any college you want. But I'm going to be straight with you; if you carry on the way you're going, you're going, I'll have to fail you."
"Huh?" he hadn't realised he had being doing that badly. He ran his hands distractedly over his face in exasperation.
"Is there something you're not telling me? Is everything all right at home?"
"Uh, yeah, everything's fine"
"Well you don't look so well. Are you feeling OK?"
"A little sick," that wasn't a lie, a mixture of exhaustion and fear at what his father would do if he failed English was making him feel like he was about to throw up.
"Here," he grabbed a sheet of paper from his desk and scribbled something on it. "go see the nurse."
"Thanks, Mr Holmes."
He walked slowly to the nurse's office in a daze. His hand was on the door knob when he noticed the sign taped to the door:
"Out to tea - Back in 10 mins"
"Screw this," he murmured. There was more important stuff he could be doing than wait for her to finish her godamn tea.
Once he had scaled the fence at the back of the school, he tread the all-too familiar path to the old alleyway where he went when everything seemed to be going wrong, when he needed to get away from everything.
There weren't any other people there today. He was glad. There are some times when you want to be with your friends, and some times there is nothing you'd rather do than just sit alone and think for a while.
He settled down on a battered trash can as well he could, but it wasn't long before the cold had seeped through his jeans. He shivered slightly. He had that feeling that he wouldn't be able to settle down to anything today.
Aaron got to his feet with a sigh. Wandering around town wasn't the most fun in the world, but at least it was something to do.
His feet carried him along the run down streets and before he knew it, to the grand old house he had broken into less than a day ago. He showed no recognition of it except that he shivered slightly and quickened his pace.
Aaron felt as if he should be doing something, yet he had no idea what. He had never felt so unsettled.
By lunch time, the sun had begun to peek out from between the clouds. Although he was glad of this, it did nothing to satisfy his aching stomach. He ignored his hunger for as long as he could, but by three o'clock he felt he had to eat something.
He ran through his options in his mind. He could buy something to eat, but he didn't want to spend what little money he had. He could go home for lunch, but his dad would want to know why he wasn't at school... or he could scab something off a friend... yeah, that seemed best.
***
Aaron watched with amusement as Dan paced his tatty kitchen, swearing at his drummer for not showing up... again.
"Dude, calm down. He probably forgot or something," Aaron tried to console him, to little effect.
"Fuck man, you don't understand. This band is all I've got. You got no idea what it's like having to work for a living. This band goes, I go." He spoke with urgency in his voice and his face creased in anger.
This surprised Aaron. He had never heard Dan talk about anything like that before. He always relied solely on himself, not caring about anything else. He guessed he was wrong, everyone has to rely on something.
"I got more idea than you think!"
"Fuck, you're only fifteen. You're still in school for crying out loud! Fuck, I just... he can't just keep skipping practise like this!"
"But..." Aaron thought of arguing with him. But then thought better of it. Nobody messed with Dan. He was as tough as they come. He hadn't seen his parents for years, not since he ran away when he was sixteen, and his kid brother had died less than a year ago. It killed some people, but just made others stronger.
"Whatever man, I'm starving. You got any food round here?"
"Uh, yeah probably," obviously thrown by the change in topic. Aaron could tell he had been preparing for a long rant on what an asshole his new drummer was. He peered inside his grubby fridge.
"Help yerself."
"Thanks," he said gratefully, pulling out a half-eaten pie type object and chewing on it thoughtfully. He hadn't realised that Dan had been watching him. Aaron shot him a questioning glance.
"Sorry man, it's just sometimes I forget how young you are." It wasn't like Dan to say something like that.
"Huh, I'm not that young."
"You're a lot younger than me." This was true, most of Aaron's friends were older than him. He wasn't sure why, he just didn't get on with people his own age so well.
"Anyway, I'm going to this gig tonight. Couple of my friends are playing. Should be a good show, wanna come?"
"Hmmm..."
"Oh, and Joey'll be there."
"Yeah, sure I'll come."
"Cool."
"Ok, class, we'll pick up there next week. Aaron, I want to talk to you for a minute."
"Ohhh," chorused the boys
"Piss off you assholes!" he retorted playfully.
The teacher pretended not to hear. He waited until everyone else had left before speaking.
"Aaron, you haven't handed in your last three assignments. I want to know what's going on. You're a smart kid and if you work harder you could get into any college you want. But I'm going to be straight with you; if you carry on the way you're going, you're going, I'll have to fail you."
"Huh?" he hadn't realised he had being doing that badly. He ran his hands distractedly over his face in exasperation.
"Is there something you're not telling me? Is everything all right at home?"
"Uh, yeah, everything's fine"
"Well you don't look so well. Are you feeling OK?"
"A little sick," that wasn't a lie, a mixture of exhaustion and fear at what his father would do if he failed English was making him feel like he was about to throw up.
"Here," he grabbed a sheet of paper from his desk and scribbled something on it. "go see the nurse."
"Thanks, Mr Holmes."
He walked slowly to the nurse's office in a daze. His hand was on the door knob when he noticed the sign taped to the door:
"Out to tea - Back in 10 mins"
"Screw this," he murmured. There was more important stuff he could be doing than wait for her to finish her godamn tea.
Once he had scaled the fence at the back of the school, he tread the all-too familiar path to the old alleyway where he went when everything seemed to be going wrong, when he needed to get away from everything.
There weren't any other people there today. He was glad. There are some times when you want to be with your friends, and some times there is nothing you'd rather do than just sit alone and think for a while.
He settled down on a battered trash can as well he could, but it wasn't long before the cold had seeped through his jeans. He shivered slightly. He had that feeling that he wouldn't be able to settle down to anything today.
Aaron got to his feet with a sigh. Wandering around town wasn't the most fun in the world, but at least it was something to do.
His feet carried him along the run down streets and before he knew it, to the grand old house he had broken into less than a day ago. He showed no recognition of it except that he shivered slightly and quickened his pace.
Aaron felt as if he should be doing something, yet he had no idea what. He had never felt so unsettled.
By lunch time, the sun had begun to peek out from between the clouds. Although he was glad of this, it did nothing to satisfy his aching stomach. He ignored his hunger for as long as he could, but by three o'clock he felt he had to eat something.
He ran through his options in his mind. He could buy something to eat, but he didn't want to spend what little money he had. He could go home for lunch, but his dad would want to know why he wasn't at school... or he could scab something off a friend... yeah, that seemed best.
***
Aaron watched with amusement as Dan paced his tatty kitchen, swearing at his drummer for not showing up... again.
"Dude, calm down. He probably forgot or something," Aaron tried to console him, to little effect.
"Fuck man, you don't understand. This band is all I've got. You got no idea what it's like having to work for a living. This band goes, I go." He spoke with urgency in his voice and his face creased in anger.
This surprised Aaron. He had never heard Dan talk about anything like that before. He always relied solely on himself, not caring about anything else. He guessed he was wrong, everyone has to rely on something.
"I got more idea than you think!"
"Fuck, you're only fifteen. You're still in school for crying out loud! Fuck, I just... he can't just keep skipping practise like this!"
"But..." Aaron thought of arguing with him. But then thought better of it. Nobody messed with Dan. He was as tough as they come. He hadn't seen his parents for years, not since he ran away when he was sixteen, and his kid brother had died less than a year ago. It killed some people, but just made others stronger.
"Whatever man, I'm starving. You got any food round here?"
"Uh, yeah probably," obviously thrown by the change in topic. Aaron could tell he had been preparing for a long rant on what an asshole his new drummer was. He peered inside his grubby fridge.
"Help yerself."
"Thanks," he said gratefully, pulling out a half-eaten pie type object and chewing on it thoughtfully. He hadn't realised that Dan had been watching him. Aaron shot him a questioning glance.
"Sorry man, it's just sometimes I forget how young you are." It wasn't like Dan to say something like that.
"Huh, I'm not that young."
"You're a lot younger than me." This was true, most of Aaron's friends were older than him. He wasn't sure why, he just didn't get on with people his own age so well.
"Anyway, I'm going to this gig tonight. Couple of my friends are playing. Should be a good show, wanna come?"
"Hmmm..."
"Oh, and Joey'll be there."
"Yeah, sure I'll come."
"Cool."
