Dark Friends

by Mark Butler

  But life was going to change. It was the Saturday before school started and Amelia couldn't shake feelings of impending doom and despair. Confounded by her inability to control such adolescent emotions, Amelia laced up her new, bright pink sneakers and went to the park. She wasn't headed to the library, she was simply going to walk around and maybe explore a few trails that she hadn't been to yet.

  The trees didn't move. The leaves danced and twirled in the wind, showing Amelia their life. The grass grew at an angle, inviting stoned kids to lay on the soft, earthen mattress and try to make objects out of the clouds. Squirrels scrabbled through the growth, not playing or enjoying the weather, but fighting tooth and nail for their continued existence. Store food. Find a mate. Find shelter. Walking along the concrete path, Amelia thought that nature wrote it's own story, everyday, every way.

  “Hey, what's your name?” Amelia turned and a group of kids her own age were standing less than twenty feet from her. They were off of the path, huddled close to the trees, in the shade. There were four of them, two boys and two girls. The tall boy was the one who had spoke.

  “My name is Amelia”.

  “Cool name. Are you from around here?”

  “No.” Amelia said, approaching the group slowly, shyly.

  “We've never seen you before. Where are you from?” One of the girls spoke this time, a short brunette.

  “I've moved a lot.” Amelia said, not wanting to reveal her painful past.

  “We all have.” The other boy spoke this time, and Amelia caught her breath. He was slightly taller than she, with blond hair and dark blue eyes. Amelia thought his eyes were like the ocean depths.

  “Cool.”

  “You guys are so rude. Introduce yourselves! Hi, I'm Jennie with an 'ie', not a 'y', like the other girls” A carbon-copy of Amelia said. She had the same large, penetrating eyes that Amelia had. Her skinny, pale arms and modest curves made Amelia feel as though she was looking at a younger version of herself.

  “Sorry. I'm Nelson” The tall boy said.

  “I'm Elbert” the shorter boy said, his blue eyes smiling.

  “Lisa” the short brunette said, flipping her forearm up in a half-hello wave.

  “So do you all live around here?” Amelia said with more confidence than she expected, addressing the entire group.

  “Yea, we all live in that neighborhood.” Elbert said, gesturing expansively towards the subdivision on the far side of the park, opposite of where Amelia lived.

  “Y’all go to school at Von Neumann High?” Amelia asked.

  “Home-schooled.” Nelson said.

  “Private school.” replied Elbert.

  “I go to Hooke high” answered Lisa.

  “I'm at Von Neumann” Jennie said, putting her hand over her heart.

  “Well, I've probably gotta go home and do some stuff...So I'll see y’all around”. Amelia said, turning away slowly. She couldn't understand it, but all four of them looked very disappointed at her departure. She barely even knew them!

  “I'll see you at school!” Jennie yelled, jumping up and waving like they had been friends for longer than three minutes.

  “We're always here!” Nelson shouted.

  Amelia figured he meant that they are at the park often and they would like to become friends with her.

  “Bye!” She called back, her heart swelling.

  “So she can speed-read? I've always wanted to learn how that's done.” Steve said, not looking up from his newspaper.

  “She must have taught herself. Steve, what do you think so far?” Catina asked for the tenth time. She finally sat on Steve's lap, blocking the paper. “What do you think of her? Of our decision?”

  “I don't know...” he started. He had been avoiding this conversation for over a week. In truth, he regretted choosing such an older girl. For the money they had spent, they would only have her for a few short years. She was curt and shy. She may have been very bright, but Steve didn't need a genius child. He just wanted a young person who he could pass something on to.

  “I don't know how I feel about her, because I guess I never really thought about what I would be passing on.”

  “We're not necessarily passing anything on. We're just changing a kid's life for the better.”

  “Amelia gives me the creeps.” Steve blurted out.

  “I'll admit, she's a little weird.” Catina conceded. They had had this conversation several times already. It always ended with neither one of them being able to clearly express their feelings about Amelia. She gave them unusual vibes. She wasn't hostile, but she was intensely private. She wasn't outright rude, but she was terse to a fault. In short, she was a mysterious, confusing girl.

  “Maybe we're not as abnormal as we imagined. Maybe all parents of teenage girls feel this same frustration.” Catina said.

  “I don't feel like a parent. She doesn't need anything from us! What can we offer her?”

  “We've already given her everything she needs. We don't need to do anything but sit back and watch her bloom.”

  “I didn't sign up for this to sit in the audience.”

  “Me neither, but what can we do?”

  They lapsed into a pensive silence, their eyes glazing over. After a few minutes, Amelia walked walked through the front door, smiling broadly.

  “I made some friends.” She announced without preamble.

  Steve and Catina glanced at each other, unsure of what to say.

  “That's great, where did you meet them? Steven asked.

  “The park. Their names are Lisa, Jennie, Nelson and Elbert.”

  “Great.” Catina said, “Do you want to invite them over here sometime?”

  “No.” With that, Amelia swept up to her room.

  “Well, that was unexpected.”

  “Agreed” Steve said.

  “How did she make four friends so quickly? Did they just walk up to her and start talking?”

  “That's a question for her, dear wife. Me, I'm a little flabbergasted that she has more friends than I do.”

  “Everyone has more friends than you do.” She teased.

  “Cause you take up all my time” Steve replied, grabbing his wife and kissing her. “Now go talk to our daughter, and bring me back something juicy.”

  After ten minutes, Catina came back downstairs.

  “She doesn't want to talk to me.” She said.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The steaks were bursting with flavor. Their juices were not solid red, but rather a greasy, pink liquid that made them easy to chew. The corn was still in cob-form, piled high in the middle of the table. Sweet rolls, mashed potatoes and apple pie rounded out the meal. Steve and Catina sipped on dark red wine, for Amelia, she preferred grape juice.

  “School starts tomorrow, are you ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do any of your new friends go there?” Steve asked.

  “Jennie”

  “OK. Well, with how fast you made your friends at the park, I'm sure you'll have no trouble adjusting to high-school life.”

  “Why would I?” Amelia said defensively.

  “You've never been to a public high-school before. The kids can be capricious. You haven't been exposed to modern music, movies or social situations. You know it's a profound transition.” Catina said, preferring to dose Amelia with reality instead of the boundless optimism that Steve utilized.

  “I transitioned from one bad situation to another all my life. Why would high school be any more difficult?”

  “These are kids your own age. Only kids. Many of the girls will compete with you over trivial things, things you may not even be aware of. And the boys, well, the boys may try to take advantage of your...alternative upbringing.” Steve said instantly. He chose to ignore that Amelia had insinuated that she had always gone to worse situations, and chose not to exclude living with them. Catina could not, however.

  “Do you not like living here?” she asked her foster-daughter.

  “It's OK.�
�

  “But do you want to leave?”

  “Not while I'm eating.” Amelia said with a mouthful of potatoes.

  “In that case, there will always be a meal for you here.” Steve said, silencing Catina with a shake of his head. He knew women could be combative, overly-eager to share their feelings. Women, Steve believed, could avoid mountains of hurt feelings and miscommunication if they simply chose to keep a few more of their opinions to themselves, instead of seeking validation specifically from those who disagreed with them. Regardless of what happened, Amelia lived with them now and her first day of school was only twelve hours away.

  The next morning, Steven went out to grab the morning newspaper. The young man who threw the four pound stack of papers from the back of his friends pick-up truck was either developing early-onset glaucoma or he chose to throw the paper into the thorn-bushes. Steve hoped it was the glaucoma and that the kid wasn't just wantonly cruel. That morning, however, there was a package at the front door. It was the size of a large dictionary or encyclopedia, completely wrapped in brown paper. There was no note, no address and no postage. Despite the stories on the news, Steven believed in the basic goodness of people, and with that, he picked up the package and took it inside.

  Steve sat the brown package on the table and stared at it hard, wondering if he could develop x-ray vision in the next few minutes. After that experiment failed, he picked the package up and shook it, but he heard nothing. The package was as heavy as a large book. Screw this, he thought, and tore the paper away to reveal a stack of official-looking documents and a handwritten letter. Steven read the letter:

  Dear Mr. and Ms. McCrees,

  I hope this package finds you well. I apologize for the seemingly mysterious nature of this letter's delivery, but it is for the best. My name is Doctor Ailez and I first met Amelia five years ago. I was contracted by the State to conduct standardized testing at Lisson Orphanage, along with the more covert duties of assessing the quality of the children's living situation. I discovered two very important things on that fateful Tuesday morning that I met Amelia. First, the kids at that Orphanage were being abused horrifically, and I daresay many of them were being sexually molested, though I have no evidence (and still don't) on which to base my accusations. I did inform my superiors, though any kind of resolving action has yet eluded their agenda. Now, on that morning I also discovered a very special young girl, young Amelia Gannerson. She was extremely bright, polite and shy. After her standardized test and brief evaluation by me, I estimated her IQ to be no less than 160, though that was (and is) merely an estimate. Perhaps you have already noticed, but she absorbs everything. I have watched over young Amelia from a distance with a loving eye for several years now, and I have finally found the avenue through which I may capably assist her. Underneath this letter are a stack of exemption forms that need to be filled out and signed, and once done, Amelia may begin an accelerated program at Van Neumann High School. She may begin her studies at the 10th grade level and accelerate at the speed that she chooses.

  Sincerely,

  Doctor Ailez

  P.S. Do you know the man whom her school was named after, John Von Neumann? Look him up.

  Steve set down the letter and looked at the forms, which were all partially filled out and signed by the good Doctor. Hardly able to comprehend what he had just read, Steven did the only thing he knew how to when he was overwhelmed with emotion, he turned towards the bedroom,

  “Catina, come look at this!”

  Chapter Twenty

  Amelia was the first person at the bus-stop. Catina had offered to drive her to school, but the stop was less than two blocks from the house. Amelia had arisen, gotten dressed and eaten silently. She gathered the backpack that Catina had prepared for her and walked to the corner in the early light of the morning. The birds were still singing their morning songs and Amelia wondered if they suffered from the same visual impairments that plagued humans in the dawn and dusk hours. She would have to research it later.

  The wheels squeaked as the bus pulled up to the curb, and the fading yellow paint of the exterior looked sickly and old. The doors opened outwardly and Amelia climbed three slippery stairs to come face to face with the driver, a plump black woman in her middle years. There had been no one else at the stop, and there was no one else on bus as Amelia took her seat in the back.

  “Don't worry honey, there's plenty more kids to pick up, your stop is just the first.” The black woman called from the front of the bus. Then, she turned the hula-hoop size wheel and eased the shuddering vehicle onto the road. Amelia gazed out the window, wondering how long the ride would be. In less than three minutes, the bus stopped again and two black boys got on, politely greeting the driver and sitting down in the middle rows. They didn't seem to notice the pale, big-headed girl in the far back. Amelia noticed they wore near-matching outfits, the only difference being the colors of the stripes on their shirts.

  Along the drive, the bus stopped four more times, each time picking up one or two kids and no more. When she had been alone on the bus, she could hear the sputtering of the great engine and the whine of the belts and valves, but the gradual build-up of kids had created a dull roar, irking Amelia. She watched in complete silence as two kids would try to talk and have trouble hearing each other, only to raise their voices as the kids next to them rose theirs. The kids in the front tried to speak over the ones in the middle, who tried to speak over the ones in the back. Soon, one of the quiet black boys half-stood in his chair, garnering him a more advantageous position from which to voice his thoughts. It was not long before other kids were standing, too, and then they were all standing and yelling. The cacophony crushed Amelia's ears, ignited her blood. What the hell was wrong with these fools? Couldn't they see that if they all spoke quietly, then they could all be heard? She surprised herself with the anger that she felt towards the driver, who smiled serenely, like she was deaf. For a moment, Amelia wished Ellis were there; he would straighten these monsters out. When she pictured him in her mind, though, her heart seized up and Amelia tried to banish his memory from her mind, which proved impossible.

  After twenty-two minutes on the seat in the rear of the bus, they arrived at the school. The bus driver pulled up and opened the weird doors, and the kids all tried to get out at once, rubbing against each other obscenely. Amelia shook her head again, what were they in such a rush for? A small part of her was curious about this public place of learning, though a larger part of her yearned for the new-familiarity of Steven and Catina's house.

  As she entered the building, Amelia was shocked. The kids ran free, talking, jumping, throwing whatever they could get their hands on. There were Caucasian, African, Asian and Hispanic kids. There were even kids from nations that Amelia did not know, whose features spoke of desert-dwelling heritage. She made a mental note to identify their origins. They seemed docile enough, and the black kids seemed to be the wildest. At a glance, Amelia knew there were more white kids than any other race, though the blacks were much more animated and noticeable. The Hispanic kids grouped together, speaking rapid-fire Spanish. The adults, Amelia noticed, they were the most bizarre group of all. They lounged by walls and doors, watching the kids with bored expressions. If Amelia didn't know any better, she thought they were even afraid of the kids. These thoughts buzzed through her mind as she stood in the main doorway of the school, and a group of kids started shoving behind her, sending her scurrying over to the corner, her heart pounding. She closed her eyes. In a very real sense, Amelia yearned for the control and order of an Orphanage. Taking a deep breath, Amelia opened her eyes and searched for the administrative office, to check herself in as a new student.

  The office was a zoo in it's own right. Kids stood in lines, waiting to speak to counselor's to change their classes. Others waited to register. Still others didn't have the correct schedules, the correct books or, in the case of one girl, the correct school. Amelia waited patiently in line, and when she reached the small Asian
female receptionist, she couldn't understand a word that the woman said,

  “Whot zoo nama” she said in a loud, nasal tone.

  “What?”

  “Zo nama! Whot es et?”

  “She's asking what your name is.” the boy behind Amelia said helpfully.

  “Amelia Gannerson.” she told the woman. The woman scanned her computer screen for several seconds, then seemed to notice a yellow sticky pad attached to her screen.

  “Fola me” the woman said, curling her index finger in the universal sign for 'Come'.

  Amelia was led to an assistant principal's office, and she sat down in front of an obese white man with a 'Big Gulp' soft drink on his desk.

  “Amelia, my name is Mr. Romney. I'm the assistant principal for kids with last names F through L. You're here because I just received some very interesting paperwork.”

  Amelia watched his stubby fingers leaf through a few folders, eventually locating the right one with an 'Aah' and a small grin.

  “Amelia, it seems you have been identified as gifted. With that in mind, you will take accelerated tenth grade classes this semester, and if all goes well, you'll graduate high school in less than one and a half years.” The fat man handed Amelia a revised class schedule and said no more, indicating the end of their meeting.

  “Thank you, sir.” Amelia said. Who had identified her as gifted, she wondered.

  She went back to the halls and using the classroom numbering system, navigated her way to her first class; Geometry.

  The teacher was a short, brown haired woman who was reviewing the class rules and expectations when Amelia walked in, and the room went silent.

  “Have trouble finding your way here? Show me your schedule.” The woman said, stopping her teaching.