Chapter Four
And another day at school ended. It was dispersal and I sat on the bench near the gate trying to keep my head straight. I was running out of cash. I felt like I might have to meet Frank or Nick for funds. I stood up intending to give the Underground a visit rather than do some benefits for two men who never left a chance they had to exploit me. I didn't wanna sell no dope putting my life in danger no more. I didn't leave everything I ever knew and the place I made all the memories with my brothers behind to get caught selling weed for some drug addicts who didn't pay me even one-fourth of what I earned from it for them.
It was getting boring sitting there doing nothing that I decided to listen to my music. Pulling my bag onto my lap I started searching in it for my iPod only to find my headphones tangled around my pens. Not having anything else to do anyways, I started untangling them knot-by-knot. By the time I was finished and I looked up, everyone had left the school grounds and there was the whole aura of serenity in the air. It felt peaceful and I realized I was famished. Racking my brains to try and remember whether I had anything at home worth devouring , I started walking towards my home.
The street towards my home was lined with dark woods on both sides, and I closed my eyes, taking in all the sounds around me. There was an immense stillness in the nature all around me. Stillness is not silence. Rather it is a beauty that makes the environment seem so peaceful and perfect. Within the stillness many sounds can be heard, but the stillness is not disturbed. I could hear the butterflies' wings flutter as they took flight. Leaves were rustling in the wind and were whipped into the air. Somewhere else the bark of a dog could be heard. Suddenly I heard raised voices, shattering the stillness. My senses were jolted from my peaceful abode. This unnatural sound was certainly out of balance with nature but my curiosity was piqued. I walked towards the source of the sound. I could see two boys who seemed to be around my age arguing in the distance at the entrance of the woods. I started walking towards them as silently as I could. But isn't it always the opposite that'll happen. The more silent I tried to be, the more louder I always became. There were dried leaves crunching under my shoes yet the soft decaying leaves made it feel like the forest floor was carpeted with the softest rug in the world.
Right when I felt I was close enough to hear them, I stepped upon a twig which snapped loudly under my shoes. Before I even had a chance to hide, both the boys stopped arguing and instead turned to stare at me. Both the boys were dressed in identical black hoodies. The boy on my right was wearing an oversized hoodies due to which his face ended up being partly covered. They didn't seem least bothered that they were disturbed mid- conversation by an unknown girl. I mumbled an apology and the boys turned towards each other and continued their conversation like no interference ever occured. I was just about to turn and walk backwards up the path I came when a strong gust of wind blew down his hoodie revealing his face. That's when I saw him.
Blonde?! I was taken aback. He hated blonde- I knew that. Yet, there he was with blonde hair, his oversized hoodie making him look huge, his trademark POLICE© nerdy glasses, black jeans and white sneakers. He was talking animatedly to the other boy now that I was still there. There were no raised voices or anything. He suddenly turned and flipping his head to one side, looked at me like he knew I was watching him. He looked down at his shoes as was his usual thing to do when caught in a lie. He looked up suddenly and murmured something to the boy opposite him leading to him pulling his hoodie down and revealing his face as well when he looked at me. It was that stuttering boy from my class who I remembered as being called Jake. Before I could even make a noise, the blonde looked at me and uttered something I couldn't hear but what I lip-read as being my name and with that he turned right on his heels and ran into the thick woods.
I had seen enough to know he was my brother. I gave pursuit and ran through the maze of trees all around me not knowing where he was headed to.