Lonely Souls

Nothing I Can't Handle.

The next day I was very careful of my footing around the school. I wasn't in trouble there, and Duke had left me alone thus far, but I was worried that I would run into Nathan again. Luckily, I didn't, because I disappeared from the school before lunch to go to the library. I wasn't sure we were allowed to leave, but I did anyway.

"I'd like to register for a library card," I said and the secretary from the other day came out from the office as the girl got out a page of the documentation and identification I would need to get one. I needed something addressed to me at my new address, like a phone bill or something from the government. I sighed, that was the only thing I didn't have. "Thank you," I said and walked out as Kyle walked in. I gave him a tight-lipped smile, and he reached for my arm. I felt a static shock and jumped a little, then laughed. "You shocked me," I said, and he laughed too. "Is there something you want?" I asked, and his face never left the nervous state he was in from the shock.

"Yes, actually. Were you here to get a card?" he asked, and I nodded with a smile. "Did you get it?" he asked.

"No," I replied and he gently pulled me back to the reception desk.

"I'd like to be the witness for her card," he said and I looked at him, confused.

"I need something with my address on it," I said and the secretary smiled.

"Actually," she said, "you need that or someone to say you live here that has lived here for more than two years."

Kyle looked at me with a grin. "Four and counting."

After I had my pretty library card in hand, we made to walk out when one of Nathan's friends walked in, the one named something weird like Demitri. He watched us walk out before he came in and Kyle invited me in the car for a ride back to the school, but I told him I wasn't going back yet, so I would pass.

"Where are you going then?" he asked, and I shook my head. "Come on, I'll take you wherever you want to go."

"No thanks," I said, and he shut his door and walked around, sitting on the hood. "Don't you work?" I asked, getting annoyed that he was everywhere I was.

"At night," he said with another grin, like he cracked a joke. Made me think he was high. "I've got insomnia," and again with the grin.

"Right, I don't know what's so funny, insomnia's not a good disorder."

"Are any disorders good?" he asked and patted the hood. I walked closer but declined the space he left for me to sit. "They were all bad last time I checked."

"A thousand years ago they weren't called disorders," I said with my own grin, and his fell. His head tilted, and he seemed to stare right into me. I cleared my throat and looked away, trying to break the awkwardness that just came up between us. But why had that made the conversation so inept? It was a joke. "I should be going," I said and started without a response. "If I start walking now I'll make it to class for the bell."

"I'll give you a ride, it's practically just up the road," he offered and I shook my head and turned back to him, walking backward.

"No, I don't want to make it before class, I'm trying to avoid someone," I said and smiled, then turned again as he slid off the car. He drove past me and waved.

I made it to school and back home in one piece, seeing Nathan in the hall on the way to my last class. He'd been waiting where I went yesterday and followed me until I slipped into the girl's change room.

Like yesterday I left the school with Victoria, and parted ways with her to go home. I walked into my house and found Jenna sitting in the kitchen with my dad.

"Let me guess," I said and leaned against the doorframe. "You work at night too, right?" She smiled. I put my things down.

"You could be a little nicer," my dad said, and Jenna waved it off.

"Oh Allen, it's nothing. She's just trying to figure things out. She's only been here a few days," Jenna said and smiled again while I kicked my shoes off and brought my bag to my room. Did any of these people take a break?

"Mm, figuring things out," I hummed as I opened my door. I heard a small laugh and knew I was almost at something here. Everyone was acting weird lately, except my dad and my new-found friend Victoria. At least those two weren't crazy. "So, what's for supper dad?" I asked, trying to ignore Jenna's constant stare as I came back out.

"Well, Jenna was going to take you out tonight," he answered, and I fumbled with my phone, ended up losing it, the battery spilling out across the floor. "That's alright, isn't it?"

"Could I take a rain check?" I asked and thought about my options, and how easily I could get back to Florida within the next two days.

"How about Friday? Maybe we'll catch a movie," she suggested, and I shrugged. Maybe it wouldn't be horrible, but still. Nothing in my body wanted me to go.

"Umm, sure. If I'm not too late coming home, I have myself on a timed schedule. Go to bed at a certain time, get up at a certain time. Trying to get back into it."

"Not a problem," she said calmly. "Well I should get going Allen, I'll see you when I pick her up on Friday." With that she was gone, my dad staring after her.

"Do you like her? She's like half your age," I said when I turned to him and noticed his stare. He snapped out of it and laughed it off.

"No, no, she is mature for her age, though. She went to a University over in the East, studying History," he said. I didn't know my dad was all that interested in History. History of food maybe, but not general history.

"Interesting," I said and wondered how at twenty-four she had already gone to university and studied history and moved here and "worked at night" doing who knows what. It didn't seem practical. I looked in the fridge and noticed something new. Steaks. "Did you just get those?" I asked, and he nodded. "Cool."

"How do you like 'em?"

"Barbequed usually, but rare or medium-rare," I answered, and bitterly added. "My mother never let me have them that way. She always made sure they were fully cooked, and she usually made them tougher than leather."

"Well my buddy is bringing his wife and his barbeque over tonight, seeing as I don't have one, and we were going to have a small celebration for you. I know it's late, but after last night I feel you need a change of pace," my dad said, and I waited for the argument to come. "Why did you hit Duke with the cake?" Great. Here we go.

"He's been bothering me since I lived in Florida. Almost every day since I've been here," I said, and my dad stopped. "I don't feel very comfortable around him, and he admitted that it was him that ordered the cake. It surprised him that I knew."

"How is he bugging you?" my dad asked cautiously, standing from the chair and walking over to me.

"It's nothing," I said, and he stood there like he wanted an explanation anyway. "Nothing I can't handle."

"Are you sure?" he asked unsure, and I nodded. He hadn't known me for the last eight years. "Alright," he said and walked into the living room and opened the curtains in the main window. Someone did a good job at ruining the house's decor, or my dad had bad taste and no clue.

A very loud truck came screaming down the road and stopped in our driveway. I covered my ears and jogged to my dad. He laughed at me and pointed out the window as the engine shut off. I growled.

"Sounds healthy," I grumbled and walked back into the kitchen, took the steaks out of the fridge, and noticed a sack of potatoes on the counter. Unopened, obviously new. "Potato salad?" I asked and went to take the bag off the counter and unintentionally dropped it. Just like a sack of potatoes would drop. My dad laughed, walking to the door.

"Try not to bruise them!" he called as a woman walked in. I stared at her fire red hair that was a puffy mess of curls, her complexion of a blonde-gone-auburn and her chocolate eyes. Wow, what a mix. Was my dad's life messed up in every aspect? I was starting to think so. "Looks like you get to meet my daughter tonight," my dad said and smiled at me as his friend walked in the door. The huge fire-decorated barbeque was sitting in the back of the truck. "Denton, Beatha, this is Rebecca." Beatha pronounced bay-tha. Wonder how her parents got that name.

"Nice to meet you," I said and picked up the potatoes and set them down by the fridge. "Nice truck, sounds amazing," I said, and Denton chuckled.

"She's a funny one, Allen," he commented. I suddenly felt like I wasn't there. Beatha turned to hug my dad and neither of them said hello to me. "I'll go get the beer," Denton said and I turned from the potatoes and stared at the door where they stood.

"Oh, Denton, I'm not drinking tonight," my dad said and then Beatha looked at me, clearly not impressed by my father’s decision.

Victoria met me at school the next morning. She had her hair down this time, and it was very wavy, almost curly in a way, as dark as mine if not darker. Her eyes were a beautiful seaweed green, and she had a milky complexion. She was shorter than me by a few inches, but athletic just the same.

I found out during a family history talk at lunch that her mother was a model, and they fought a lot. I told her my mother tried to take all my father's money, and instead he opted to give it to me. She never met her father. She had two sisters, I had none. She lived with her grandparents, I never met any of mine on my father’s side, and on my mother's side they hated me for ruining the wedding.

"Oh there's soccer tryouts tonight," Victoria said and I paused. Did I want to play against my team in nationals? Why not, I thought. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, for sure." Walking out to the field that afternoon was alright, and there was a lot of parents there waiting and watching their children. A lot of other kids from the school were there too, to see who would make a fool of themselves. Nathan was there and watching me, but so were four others that had no reason to be there.

I stared at Claude, Kyle, Duke and Jenna, and then pretended none of them were there as the team captain spoke out the rules of soccer, the basic concept of how it's played, and what we were going to do this afternoon for the tryout. The basics. I rolled my eyes and got into one of the lines behind Victoria.

"Before we begin," the captain said with a smile. "My name is Kelsie, and this is what's left of the team from last year. This is Leah, Jane, Emma, Jessica and Melaney. Alright, on my whistle." I watched her put the whistle to her lips, and as she blew, a few of the cheerleaders came out of the school.

Girls began dribbling in and out of pilons, some of them give wide births, others cutting very close. The point of a pilon was for it to act as a human, and some of them were so close they were almost jumping over them.

When it came to my turn, I advanced down the field in record time, knowing I had at least five people watching me.

"Don't mess up," came Duke's taunting and I glanced to my left, he was hovering with me. "I couldn't resist."

"Back off," I whispered. "Cost me my spot, and it'll cost you your job." He faded behind me and I kept going. I came back up the field and passed to the next person. We did this twice more, and Duke looked uncomfortable on the seat. Claude looked angry, but Jenna and Kyle were the same as they were before. All smiles.

"Next, we're going to practice passing." We made two long lines while the team members picked up the pilons. There was an odd number, and I had managed to be with Victoria for the first try, but it wouldn't be the same the second or third time down the field. Victoria and I were swift and diligent down the field, passing back and forth no problem. I kicked the ball back down the entire field and we took the sidelines to get back.

The second time was a little difficult. I had to move closer in order to get the ball from her, and she was having a hard time receiving. We made it through, and the next people went. I made it to the line and looked at who was going to be my next partner, and she had the dirtiest looks for me. I didn't know why, but then I was distracted by a cheerleader, flirting, and showing off her skills right in front of Claude, more than once showing off what was covered under the mini skirt.

I rolled my eyes and turned to realize that there was only one person left in front of me. On my turn the girl opposite me started with the ball and we set off down the field. She smirked at me and kicked it way ahead of me, but I took it in stride. I caught up to it and waited for her to get ahead, slowing down a little for her, and then kicked it directly at her. The ball sailed through the air and smashed into her face. The impact was so hard that she fell backward and didn't get ack up. Many of us ran to her, and Kelsie took me aside after she was up and brought into the school to clean up her bloodied nose and face.

"That was done intentionally, and uncalled for," Kelsie said and I made a face. "That may have cost you your spot. The coach doesn't like that kind of behaviour."

"Look, she was giving me dirty looks, she kicked the ball the way she did on purpose, AND she could have moved from the line of fire. She stood and let herself get hit so I would be the one in trouble."

Kelsie paused, as if recalling the entire event, and shrugged with a quick eyebrow raise. "Alright," she said and sighed. "You'll be off the hook, but really, I shouldn't let you on the list of people to consider for that."

"And if you don't you'll lose to my old team again," I said as she started walking away. She turned back to me slowly. "Yes, it was my team that knocked yours out of the International preliminaries last year."

"Well, we only made it there by default. One of the teams from this area couldn't make it. We weren't even meant to go," Kelsie admitted and I raised my eyebrows. "We're not going to be that good this year, which is why I chose basic skills to work with rather than the advanced. I noticed you were like a breeze on the field, and obviously your anger radiates. You're dangerous. I want that, but not at the expense of the team."

"It won't happen again," I said, and she whispered what sounded like an "I hope not."

After the tryouts, Nathan made his way to me through the small crowd but turned away as Claude met me first. I turned to him, a smile hinting on his face. Victoria moved back from me and Kelsie called her over.

"You were really good," he said.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, you want a ride home?" Duke asked, and I smiled in an angry way in his direction.