The Unlucky Boy

Poor Charlie, was today supposed to rain on his birthday? He scurried along the sidewalk just outside the plaza downtown when he looked at this iPhone. He swiped through the apps to look for the weather one he downloaded. He found it, pressed on it and it was loading Vancouver. Et tu, phone?

A friend of his, Alex, pulled up beside him in front of the Cineplex. It was the only one in town; the kind of theatre with regular rotation from crap to good crap movies. Alex’s passenger window slide down and he was leaning towards Charlie, “Wanna ride home?”

“Maybe, I was kinda thinking for going to see the new 3D movie about zombies in Canada. Apparently they shoot some of it here in Prince George.”

“How about I park the car and come with you? At least that way, we can catch up and watch a hopefully good crap movie.”

“Sure man! That sounds great. I’ll buy our tickets and you grab the food?”

“Sounds like a plan! See you inside in a bit.”

****************************

Alex was walking to school from Wasabi Sushi when he dropped the text book he was reading. He always kept his nose in his English text book. He wanted to become a writer and to do that, he wanted to master the basics, which his teacher says, are the most important tools of any good writer.

He picked up his textbook but still hunched, he got shoved into the sidewalk. He heard laughing and running feet in the opposite direction he walked. He picked himself up, brushed off the rocks that stuck to his jeans around the knees and grabbed for his pocket mirror in this back pocket.

He flipped it open and studied his hair. He lightly grabbed a few strands from his bangs, straightened them out, patted down any hair that was sticking out and gently brushed his hair on the back of his head to flatten any strangler hairs he couldn’t see.

“FAGGOT BITCH!”

He looked behind him – there was the boys that smirked. Their pack leader, a preppy looking kid he recognized from history, a rich kid from College Heights. “Don’t look so fuckin’ faggy! Head back to Japan you fuckin’ chink!”

His goons laughed and passed around a water bottle – water/vodka the boys concocted to drink down every lunch time. Most of them don’t head back to school and drive around town harassing people like Alex - people who didn’t drive and didn’t look white or male.

****************************

“Did you see the new 3D remake of Star Wars?” Charlie asked as Alex walked up to him.

“Yeah. It was okay – could have done without Jar Jar but what can you do? I suppose every franchise needs a jump-the-shark moment.” He grabbed his ticket from Charlie and both headed to the food counter.

“I wanted to see it. When I was younger, they released it in Hazelton for a few days and I missed it.’

“How old were you when they released it? I thought you were twenty!”

“…… I was a teen. No need to peg me now. I’m not that old, dude.”

“K’ bro.” Alex grinned and ordered them two popcorns and two bottled pops. He liked going to the movies. 

It was always fun when Charlie came along – never mind the theater, he was just happy to be hanging out with Charlie period.

“I wonder if that line by the ticket checker is for us or for another movie? I hate line ups.” Charlie looked concern and was twiddling his blackberry between his fingers crosschecking the times between the movie they were going to see and what was ending and starting.

“I think ours started five minutes ago.” Alex handed Charlie his food.

“But that means they are running late.”

“I think we can go in.”

“It would suck if that was our line up.” Alex never saw Charlie pout before – it was cute and odd.

“I’ll grab the straws Bateman, you go ahead and investigate our situation. Bring your cleaver if you must.”

“Okey dokey,” with that Charlie walked up the ticket checker and pointed to the line. Alex watched Charlie’s face. Charlie may seem neurotic but he was really good at smiling and looking positively calm about any situation Alex has seen him in.

****************************

Alex was rereading the marital arts manga series Ranma ½ for the umpteenth time. He was careful to not fold the spines. He had always made sure that his manga looked as new as possible so as to last and look appealing on any bookshelf he has.

He finished Volume 1 and placed it gingerly back in the book shelf and grabbed the second and third volumes. He loved the humour, the artistry and the wild imagination Rumiko Takahashi has in her profession. The characters jumped at him and grabbed his fascination with Japanese culture – their expressions come from the eyes, the emotions in the characters subtle and unique to each character – all from their eyes. Expressions of sadness, happiness and loneliness – from even three lines that makes up an eye in his manga.

He embellished each and every line, coloured the black and white pictures with colour and shading. He brought them to life, loved them and fantasized about how well he would do in their world. He wondered what kind of fighting style he would have, what kind of virtues he would hold and imagined which of the friends and foes from the Ranma universe would be his allies and enemies.

As he lay in bed, he was trying figure out if he would adopt a more fluid style that represented water.  His cell phone vibrated. He picked it up, slid the touchscreen unlock button and saw what came to his phone.

“Eat shit n die fagot. Go fuck a dog and rot in hell. no1 in school fucking likes you. Ppl think youre a fucking goof. Wanna knife? We can bring one for you fagot.”

****************************

“Success! We get to go in!” Charlie exclaimed, “I’m pretty happy that the staff is good again. I remember waiting in line for a move I went to last summer and they were running late. They movie was supposed to start at nine that night but the line wasn’t allowed in until twenty after.” Charlie talked enthusiastically with his hands as they approached Cinema 4.

“That’s lame. Last time I came, I went to see that chick flick about the boy who fell in love with a girl in the midst of the recession.” Alex pushed the left side of the double door open and Charlie thanked him for doing so.

“Oh, did you bring a date?”

“No I went alone.”

“You are allowed to have friends Alex.”

“But last time I did, I got bullied and look what happened!” He casually pulled up his sleeve to show Charlie again the scars from the several cuts he made last year.

“It won’t be fair to tell you I know how you feel. I never have been there – but I know that I care about you and that there was a reason they chose me to be your Big Brother these four years.” Charlie gave Alex a brother side hug and tried giving a meaningful caring look.

“Stare all you want but it still won’t change the fact that the rednecks in town still try to find ways to harass me. Most come from rich families in College Heights. I’m starting to think their parents just don’t care how their boys treat people in town.” Alex felt his stomach turned, flashbacks of his mom ran through his head as she looked terrified and called 911.

****************************

Alex felt light headed. He saw lights flashing around him and can hear warped, distance voices.

His arms were heavy, legs still and his eyelids were slowly opening and closing. He can vaguely see his mother. She was wide eyed and screaming. He heard, with what little comprehension he had, her scream “Alex! Wake up! Oh my god, Alex! What the fuck did you do?”

There was silence – he couldn’t move his mouth but tears filled his eyes. He wanted to tell his mom, I’m done mom. I’m done. I just want to leave this world happier now then suffer more shit. Please just let me leave and be in control of my life. Let me have one more choice I am allowed to make.

He felt someone touching him. He heard more noises and another spot of light shined into his eyes. He tried shutting his eyes but the hand roughly pulled one open with force. He then attempted to go push the person away to find out he was pinned down. He couldn’t move.

Still there was more screaming and more hustling. He felt his body being touched and moved. He tried looking around but found his head was fixed to look only at the ceiling. He wished he can control his body once more, he wished badly that people would just fuck off and let him choose to be happy.

****************************

“That was perhaps the most boring move I have ever seen.” Charlie dropped his pop into the garbage.

“C’mon, at least there was some sexy guys in it.” Alex scanned the lot, looking for his truck.

“Well, I’m not into hot zombies so you are alone in that my friend. Why is it still raining? Someone hates me today.” He scowled and pulled up his hoodie.

Alex smirked, he always thought Charlie was more attractive when he scowled and looked stoic and manly. “Charlie, did you want to go have a few beers or a Dairy Queen ice cream cake for your birthday?”

“Surprise me. Although I thought everyone forgot.” Charlie looked at his phone, ignoring all the texts that were inviting him out. Most were people that never talked to him on a daily basis. Most only sent him applications on Facebook. He blocked almost every social app they sent his way.

“I didn’t – and happy birthday! You had to work on your birthday one year with Big Brothers and Sisters. We went to the laser tag arena and everything was paid for by the society.” Alex smiled and started walking towards his truck with Charlie following suite. “God, why does every geriatric have a license in this forsaken town? You’d think most would get caught for senility while driving and then stripped or tested for driving ability. Is it too much to ask for public safety of everyone?”

“Get into politics. Ah crap, I forgot my mom wanted to see me today.”

“I thought you loved your mom?”

“Yuppers, and she loves to talk about how much of a good boy I am.”

“That sounds sweet.” Alex tried his best to be compassionate – even though he has no idea where Charlie’s mother issues were coming from.

****************************

Alex was lying in the hospital bed. He felt terrible, body sore and drained from trauma inflicted from his wrists and alcohol. He can feel his wounds, throbbing pain from where the bandages on his arms were wrapped. He wanted to scratch his stomach but they strapped his arms down. He had to push a button for anything he needed.

Looking around, he noticed his mother was sleeping on the couch. She was in her work clothes; their family must have brought her extra stuff. There was plastic Tupperware around her and an iPod lying idle by a copy of Alex’s story. He wrote the story in high school and was published in an anthology of young writers sponsored by the Prince George Public Library.

****************************

Driving out of the parking lot, Alex was tired of slowing down for every teen girl that crossed him. “As much as I liked hanging out at the theatre, I really do hate the vampire teen movies that keep coming out.”

“Agreed,” Charlie huffed, “terrible movies.”

“So you want to see your mom?”

“Sure,” non-committal, flat and direct, Charlie was somewhere else.

 Alex pushed on, “I can come along and then we can go out for drinks. My friend owes me one this weekend, she vomited in here last week.”

“Haha! That’s a little funny . . . and gross. Sure, I think my mom would like you. If you mention bingo, she may make you play a game or two.”

“Deal – so long as you play too.”

“Deal.”

Alex finally managed to get out of the plaza and was passing Pizza Hut going towards the hospital. He was going uphill behind the slew of cars coming from the theatre. He avoided the jaywalkers as they scurried back to homes close to the theatre or back into the Hood. He looked over there, the Hospital, the jail he forced his mom to live with him for a week and recounted to the many times his mom had to suffer through his depression dips.

****************************

The sun crept through the white, sterilized curtains in a bedroom of the hospital; its rays reached farther into the room every hour. Alex counted each and every hour. He measured with his eyes how far the rays have crept in. he figured it was about an inch an hour. Lying still, his head was facing the window and his bed parallel to the doorway into his room.

He thought about the night he cut himself. The amount of vodka he took from his mom’s liquor cabinet; strong, burning and quick. He remembered opening it up and swallowing as hard as he could all the liquor. The liquid searing his throat and working quickly; he put the bottle down.

Alex’s mom came home from work early. She wanted to surprise Alex with a night out with the two of them.  She was carrying a letter from the principal. The letter was about another fight Alex got into with another boy, from College Heights. The letter recommended that Alex should seek counselling and maybe humour the idea of a restraining order.

She was compelled to believe that the restraining order would only escalate what was already a bad situation. The boys going after her boy were from rich families whose parents own successful businesses in the city. She knew these families; she was their nurse half the time. She was also aware that Alex’s whole life was here in Prince George. She felt locked into a limbo – a vicious cycle of abuse and neglect.

She put the letter down on the counter beside the door and made her way into the bathroom – something wasn’t right. Alex was usually home and playing video games in his room by now. There were no noises. She checked the bedroom and he wasn’t in there. She checked his bathroom and realized his shaver was dismantled and blades were eschewed. Her eyes widened and felt her heart begin to race. She started to walk quickly calling around the house. Each time she called his name, her voice raised, her hopes diminishing and her nightmare becoming more real by the second.

She ran into her room, and turned her head towards the bathroom. Her lungs breathing hard and heart racing, she saw all the blood on the bathroom floor, and screamed.

It was the worst day of her life – knowing that Alex didn’t feel loved . . . no matter how hard she tried to convince him that she loved him so much.

Alex broke his concentration on the rays when he heard footsteps into the room. He closed his eyes, wanting to be alone and not talk. The shuffling footsteps meant his mom came back from the bathroom and was going to retire back onto the cot provided for her. He assumed she was allowed to be here instead of work. He felt his insides burning and tears swelling, he felt the need to hide and run away from his mom. He was ashamed that he couldn’t kill himself. He was so bad at life, even death didn’t want him.

He felt a hand come over his head. She brushed it gently like he had a nightmare, like he was still her baby boy. He couldn’t stop from crying. He felt her climb into his bed and warp an arm around him. She was softly sniffing. “I love you so much Alex . . . I love you, I love you, I love you . . .”

****************************

After two games of bingo with Charlie’s mom, they popped into Alex’s truck and went towards Charlie’s apartment on 15^th. Still relishing the laughs, Charlie was grinning and again in a different world.

“Hey Charlie?”

“Yeah?”

“Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks, and a very happy unbirthday to you.”

The rest of the ride was quiet. It was as though the conversation was through merely the act of being in each other’s presences. Alex pulled up to the apartment complex and killed the engine. They sat there, watching the midnight traffic – what little there was. It wasn’t raining – in fact there were stars out and a crescent moon.

“You’re mom loves you very much Charlie, why do you resist going there?”

“She’s my only friend sometimes, and I guess I resent it somedays.”

“She loves you so much. You can tell her by the way she talked about you, how much pride and joy you 

bring into her life.”

“I just wish I had more friends like you Alex.”

“I am glad I even have one friend like you Charlie.”

Charlie finally turned his head towards Alex. He finally noticed how much Alex cared about him. Charlie felt like an idiot, his epiphany of what was actually going on tonight made him feel embarrassed. “I’m such an idiot . . . thank you so much for being a friend Alex.” He hugged Alex and held tightly. He can feel he tears coming up.

“I love you like an older brother Charlie.”

“I love you like a younger brother Alex.”

They said farewell and made plans for coffee later in the week. For the first time since the hospital with his mom, Alex felt loved. 

For a birthday that began with rain, it ended in metaphoric rainbows for Poor Charlie. It was the first time in a long time that Charlie felt loved. He crawled into bed, texted his mom a good night and turned on his small television set. He started Netflix on his game console and fell asleep to Mambo Italiano.