Big Mama

“Oh!” Pa-kun chirped, but before the others could herald him to stop he blurted out. “It’s Terry!” The others groaned and sunk in their seat as the calling of his name caught his attention.

Terry was a tall kid, somewhere around six-two or six-four and near their age. Rumors placed him anywhere from eighteen to twenty one years of age, but still not much older than many of the kids at the community college. Terry was from the trailer park, so he often arrived on campus early and stayed pretty late waiting for his ride. His dad dropped him off before heading to work at the construction yards and often did not come back for Terry until one in the morning leaving him to roam the arcades at the darkest hours of the night after classes. He was the queer kid, and not just in the sense that he was self-reportedly pansexual, but he was -- wierd. He had a bit of a stammer when he spoke and his hair was bleached an aggressive blonde, almost white, leaving people to guess and wonder at his natural hair color. His eyes were a deep blue, almost brown and his skin a bit pasty, his body quite lanky. Despite his frail looking form many guessed it was on account of him wearing old hand-me-down clothes that barely fit him. He was known as the local karate kid. He was pretty studious about his lessons and often helped out the gym by teaching younger kids after school. It was his only job in town as he never really seemed to focus on much else. He was sometimes seen at the construction sites with his dad leaving many to assume he worked part-time there.

“H-hey guys!” He reached up to flip back his short cut hair, which was just long enough to still fall onto his face. “Hav-ving lunch?” He looked between them, then to Pa-kun who he has known for much of his life.

Pa-kun’s family lived and worked on one of the farm’s just outside of town, still within the limits of the area so they were not quite across the bridge and lived closer up to the mountains. His family’s farm was just across the river to the trailer park. So he’s known Terry since they day they were both born. They weren’t close but they were both part of the LGBTQ community and often went to the meetings on campus where they tried raising awareness of the troubles local students often faced amidst a elderly crowd which pervaded the town. It was an ignorance built on their isolation. Sometimes the only thing the few, open, LGBTQ members of the town had was that university. It was the only place they could publically meet without --

“Yeah, I gotta head back to the theater soon though. Are you gunna eat with us?!” The hyperactive theater nut was pulled back down into his seat by Nathan who sat right beside him, his head nearly taken out by Pa-kun’s enthusiasm.

Terry reached up to rub the top of his head, looking to the counter as the line slowly receded. “N-no... I can’t.” He rubbed his neck as he inched along with the line, slowly losing sight of the others. “I -- I gotta help my dad today at the construction site. You know. He doesn’t think I should spend too much time... at the t-t-theater, you know?” Terry’s dad was one of those people the LGBTQ community had a difficult time with. “Um, b-but I’ll stop by after.”

It was always awkward for many to talk with Terry. While he was part of their group because of Pa-kun and often spent his time in the shadows of the group’s club activities: Terry was always an outsider. He made strange comments that were overtly sexualized, though he never meant any harm. He was only just coming into being open about his sexuality. It was also difficult because his closer friends knew what his father did. The bruises weren’t from karate. Terry waved and hurried to the counter.

As he approached the window to order he tucked down to better view the happy cook humming as she fried up the chicken. “H-hello M-miss Misha.” He stammered as he tapped the counter excitedly, leaning down a bit to look into the kitchen.

Misha turned, her eyes widening at the sight before her. “Ahh my solnyshko!” She praised and moved over to pinch both his cheeks, shaking him a bit. “Have you come for the meats? I saved you the leftovers.” She swore.

“A-ah yes thank you M-miss Misha. I am w-working with my dad t-today.” He was used to the treatment. Misha had said Terry looked like her nephew in her home country. She adored him and often gave him treats when he came into the diner.

“Are you sure though? I will give you the fresh meats when Bo is done preparing them.” She offered. She did hate seeing him rush off, having become fond of Terry, almost a replacement for her nephew whom she adored dearly. “You look just like Ashley. It was so difficult for Bo to move here, leaving his cousin behind.”

Back in her country Bo and her nephew had been inseparable. They were childhood friends and Bo quickly became attached to Terry, the two often quietly sitting and enjoying each other's company in the late hours until Terry had to return home.

“N-no! This is okay, it's great. I can make some good chili with the leftover patties.” He smiled as she went to the fridge to collect the patties that she had bagged for him.

“Here you go my precious solnyshko, and a treat for you.” She handed him a freshly made chicken salad and pulled him in to kiss at his cheeks. “Such a good boy, you come back to mama Misha, yes?”

He blushed a bit at the affectionate attention. “O-of course.” He would reach into his back pocket for his wallet. He looked up, only to be stopped by Misha.

“Oh, nono come this is a treat. You are family. Go. I will ask you to wipe tables later though, okay?” Misha did not give for nothing, after all. She was a hardworking woman and it would have been a surprise if Terry was left off the hook so easily. A bit of work for a free meal though was a great thing for the young man who always seemed to be hungry for a second helping.

“Of course!” He turned to wave at Jon and company before hurrying out.

When the door swung open one was able to spy his dad’s car idling outside... It was an old car, well maintained by its owner. The vehicle was a deep, copper color. It looked to be polished just on the body where it mattered for the wheels were smattered with mud and clay from wheeling around the construction sites. Hanging from the rear-view mirror was a crucifix that was adorned with angelic wings. Terry’s family were a superstitious sort that had strong ties to the church. His family had been the religious leaders when the town had first been founded, so it was expected that the family was a pious sort with ideals of hard work and family unity in the forefront of their daily tasks. They were known to be quite active during days of sabbath assisting the church with potluck dinners and mending clothing for those in need.

When Terry stepped into the car and the door shut the door. dull shouts of his dad could be heard through the tinning panes of glass. Terry stared straight ahead, holding the bag of food to his chest. The man looked towards the building, a few eyes on him and his car. He seemed to consider something, hands gripping the steering wheel, before they drove off towards the site at the edge of the bridge. There was a new drainage pipe being put in after the last one collapsed. There seemed to be some issues at the mortuary where bodies were getting flooded out of their caskets during heavy rains and floating into the pipe until no more could pass and it erupted. It caused a huge scare that the water had been contaminated, but luckily the drinking water used a different piping system to the mortuary. A lot of people were protesting the mayor’s decision to move the bodies to a new site. He even suggested having all bodies cremated to save space on the town’s land. No decision has been made on the matter yet so bodies are just continuing to be buried in the old graveyard.

After lunch the group would return to campus, dropping Pa-kun off at the theater. Nathan and Nikki headed off to the field as they had practice. Though it came to many as a surprise: Nathan was a prolific athlete who spent much of his time assisting the teams as a backup and when he wasn’t on the bench he was training his body and keeping up with his physique. Hidden beneath those loose metal-themed jerseys was a fit form that could rival many of the locals who did heavy farm work. Jon ended up on his own. Without his crew there was always a distinct feeling of isolation that grabbed hard onto the chest. Despite it being quite a joke among them: being the only black kid in town took its toll. He was either the token kid or the object of peculiar questions that seemed to quietly prode at his origins. Of course his answer was usually the same: he had been born under the brutal tyranny of a slave owner, until his mother put him in a basket, floated him downstream and he ended up here. Safe to say that it was a concern that too many locals believed the innocuous tale. It didn’t surprise him, but it was troublesome, to say the least. Nevertheless he did his best to maintain a studious attitude towards things and keep up with his grades. He didn’t want to live here forever after all.