Pretty in Punk

I could feel my eyes filling with tears as I looked around me at the unknown surroundings. “Here, Gee, I'll show you to your room,” the person, who is said to be my brother, told me. “I want my Mama,” I whimpered. He patted my back, grabbing my bag as he led me upstairs. He opened the door to a room. There was a big, soft bed with big fluffy white blankets on it. The walls were light blue and it matched the light blue chair that was in front of the white desk. There was a dresser and an empty bookshelf and a door that lead to a closet. “I hope you like it,” my brother, whose name I have forgotten, said. “We didn't really know what you liked so we just went with something basic.” “Don't like it,” I pouted. “I wanna go home.” He sighed. “How about you go unpack and I'll see when dinner’s ready?” He went out and shut the door while my lip quivered. I could hear voices on the other side of the door and I listened closer. “He doesn't like it, dad,” my brother said. “He's just scared, Mikey,” my dad said. At least, I was told he was my dad. And now I know my brother’s name. “He just needs some time to adjust,” my dad said. “But he doesn't know anything,” Mikey said. “He got scared by the car, it's gonna take a lot of time to adjust.” “I know, but we just have to be here for him,” my dad said. “I know,” Mikey sighed. “Anyways, I told him I'd ask how long dinner would take, he's getting unpacked now.” “Here, I'll go talk to him,” my dad said. The door opened and I stared at the man in front of me, hugging my stuffie to my chest. “Hey, Gee,” he said with a smile. He was short and chubby. He had a big smile on his face. His hair was black but turning grey and he had a pair of glasses on his face. “How are you doing?” He asked. “I want my mama,” I whispered. “I'm making mac n’ cheese for dinner,” he said. I stared at him blankly. “What's mac n’ cheese?” “Oh, I think you'll like it,” he said. “Do you need help unpacking?” I shook my head. “I don't need to unpack, my mama’s gonna come and get me soon.” My dad sighed, sitting on the edge of my bed. He patted the spot beside him and I sat down, making sure to keep my distance. “Son, she isn't going to be back for a while,” he said softly. “My mama wouldn't leave me,” I denied. “Sweetheart, you're gonna be here for a while,” he said, patting my back. “Dinner will be ready in ten minutes.” He got up and left the room and I frowned. There was a mirror on the wall and I walked up to it. I looked at my hair. My mama dyed it red for me and I liked it. But my eyes were red and puffy from crying and my makeup was smudged. “Mama,” I whimpered, my lip quivering. I've always lived with only my mama. We lived in our little house under the ground. Mama said it was safe there. She said everywhere else was dangerous and that's why I couldn't go outside. I didn't mind, I liked living there with Mama. But then one day these big scary men came in when Mama wasn't home and they took me away. They said they were the police and were gonna get me somewhere safe. There were some court things and I had to stand on trial. My Mama was there and she was crying. I've never seen my Mama cry before. I was taken to a man and they told me he was my dad and I was gonna be living with him and my younger brother. And that's how I ended up here. It was my first time coming here and I hated it. It's so weird. It was above ground. It was so light here and there were windows and everything. Each person even got their own bedroom. The floors weren't made of cement but instead wood and fluffy carpet. It was so warm, too. It was weird and I didn't like any of it. “Gee, dinner!” A voice called. I sighed, taking my kitten stuffie with me as I went downstairs. I could smell something cheesy as I sat at the square table across from Mikey. I looked at his blond hair and brown eyes, frowning slightly. I don't think he looks that much like me, how could he be my brother? “Here we go,” my dad said. He put down the bowl at the center of the table. It was filled with noodles and gooey, creamy cheese. “This is mac n’ cheese, Gee,” my dad said. “You've never had mac n’ cheese before?” Mikey asked in shock. I shook my head, watching as the two grabbed the spoon and put food onto their plates. I stared at them. Usually Mama likes to get everything on the plates first in the kitchen then bring it to the table. I copied what they did, staring at the goop in front of me. The other two were eating happily as I watched them. “Dig in, Gee,” my dad said. I picked up the fork and took a bite. It was very good and very cheesy. “You like it?” Mikey asked. I nodded my head, feeling Dee, my stuffie, still in my lap. “So, Gee, what kind of things do you like to do?” Mikey asked. “Um, I like to draw,” I said. “What kind of things do you draw?” My dad asked. “I like to draw me and Mama and animals and flowers,” I listed. “What else do you do?” Mikey asked. “I read a lot,” I said. “What kind of books do you like to read?” He asked. “Um, I like Harry Potter and Green Eggs and Ham and The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Princess and the Pea,” I said. “But what genre is your favorite?” Mikey asked. “Genre?” I wondered. “Yeah, the types of books,” Mikey tried to explain. “Those are the types,” I said. Mikey stared at me for a moment. “Are those the only books you've ever read?” I just stared back. “There's more books than that?” “There's thousands upon thousands and millions of books,” Mikey said. My eyes widened in interest as I thought about that. I've been reading the same five books for 17 years. “I'll show you some after dinner,” Mikey said. “I've got a whole ton of books. My favorite are comic books.” “Comic books?” I asked, frowning in confusion. “Yeah, they're like books but they have pictures with them too,” Mikey explained. “I love picture books!” I exclaimed. The two of them chuckled. We finished eating and my dad cleaned up the dishes. “You want ice cream?” Mikey asked and I stared at him blankly. “You've never had ice cream either?! Jesus Christ, we need to get you some.” He pulled me into the kitchen, opening up the freezer. He grabbed a tub of some sort and set it on the counter. He grabbed two bowls, two spoons, and an oddly shaped spoon. He opened the small tub and used the weird spoon to scoop the ice cream into the bowls. The ice cream was pink with little frozen strawberry bits in it. Mikey put the stuff away and put the bowls down as we sat at the counter. Mikey took a bit bite and smiled. I copied him, feeling the frozen coldness. I cringed, dropping the spoon back into the bowl. “What's wrong?” He asked in shock. “Cold!” I gasped, my mouth still full of the food. It melted and actually tasted good. “Of course it's cold, Gee, it's ice cream,” Mikey said with a chuckle. I took another bite but wasn't shocked by the cold this time. It actually tasted really good. Mikey could tell that from the big smile on my face. “You know, this comes hundreds of different flavors,” he told me. My eyes widened. “Can we try more?” “Sure, maybe tomorrow we can go to the ice cream shop,” he said. I nodded my head, Dee still in my lap. “There's a store specifically for ice cream?” I asked. “Yeah, they let you sample them too,” he said. “Promise we can go tomorrow?” I asked. “Sure, right after school,” he said. I felt my stomach drop. “School?” I asked. “Yeah, they mention something to you, first?” He asked. “I heard it a little but I was crying too much and too scared to really listen,” I said. “Come on, let's go up to my room,” he said. He put our empty bowls into the sink, pulling me up the stairs. He opened the door next to my room and I saw the green walls. There were posters of people I've never seen before hanging up. We sat on his bed and I looked at him nervously. “Do you know what school is?” Mikey asked. “Like in Harry Potter?” I asked. “Well, in a way it's a little like Harry Potter except less cool and fun,” Mikey said. “So school is bad?” I asked. “Well, I don't want to put a bad image in your head to scare you,” Mikey said, “But I just want to prepare you. School is a building where you go to learn things. There's gonna be a lot of other kids there, is that okay?” “I don't know, you're the only kid I know,” I said. “How many will there be?” “Almost 2,000,” he said. I whimpered quietly in fear, hugging Dee. “Th-that's a lot of people.” “I'll be with you, I promise,” he said. “When we go you're gonna speak with the principle, she's gonna bring you to a room with a teacher where they're gonna do some tests on you.” I looked at him in fear. “Tests like the ones at the doctors?” When I was taken from my home, they took me to a place called a hospital. There were doctors there and I hated it. They poked and prodded me because they wanted to make sure I was healthy. Of course I was healthy, my Mama took care of me. “No, they're just gonna have you read some things, do some math, things like that,” Mikey clarified. The door opened and my dad walked in. “You two boys hanging out?” He asked. I nodded my head and he smiled. “Come on, Gee, it's time for bed,” my dad said. “You've gotta wake up early for school tomorrow.” I nodded my head, grabbing Dee and heading to my bedroom. I changed into my pajamas, a pastel pink onesie. My dad knocked before stepping in. He tucked me into the bed and I gave him a small smile as he sat beside me. “So glad to finally have you back,” he whispered, brushing away my red hair. “You're gonna do great tomorrow.” “Yeah?” I asked. He smiled and nodded as I looked down sadly. “I miss home,” I whimpered. “I miss Mama.” “I know you do,” he said. “But tomorrow you're gonna go to school and meet a bunch of new friends.” I nodded, hugging Dee tight. “Goodnight, son,” he said. I smiled as he stood up, turning off the light and shutting the door.