Pure-Blood (the Land Unknown)

Chapter 01

am on the swing and my dad is pushing me, ‘HIGHER DAD, PUSH ME HIGHER’ and he just laughs his happy laugh that is contagious if you hear, ‘If I push you any higher, you’ll fall and hurt yourself then I’ll have to explain your bruises to your mom and we you know that won’t be easy’

‘Mom, look at me go high-’

“JOHN, GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OUT OF BED NOW BEFORE I HAVE TO COME UP THERE” Melanie screamed from the kitchen.

‘Damn’ it was the happy dream again, been having these dreams since I was ten years. Dream about the past, about the happy times with my family, oh how I miss them. My life back then compared to now seems like a dreamed up fantasy.

My name is John Leroy Malloy, I am sixteen years old as of tomorrow and I am an orphan, who lives in Miami Lakes. I am 5 foot 7 (170.18 cm) tall, a little fat, and a typical nerd. I don’t wear glasses so as to complete me as a nerd but since my parent’s death, and almost committed suicide, let just say the pills affected my eye sight.

I head to my small bathroom connected to my room; my bathroom only has a shower and a toilet, after finishing my morning business and wearing a t-shirt and shorts. I head down to the kitchen to make breakfast for the family; you see I am more like the family slave. They only let me go to school because social services tend to do some check-ups now and again.

I make toast, bacon, and eggs for the whole family and also make coffee. I place all the food along with some spreads on the dining room table. I kneel by the entrance of the door and bow my head waiting for my ‘superiors’ (being sarcastic right now). You see Melanie taught me that by kneeling and bowing my head to them, shows them that I am pathetic, loser and how I am indebted to them for taking pity on me.

I don’t wait for long before I hear feat stomping down the stairs. They walk by me and act as if I don’t exist. They sit at the table and begin to eat what I have made; I don’t even get a thank you from any of them. I continue to wait at my position as a good little slave, after the beating I got the last time I tried to get up to go to the toilet, I still cling if I think of it. I wait for them to finish so I can eat and wash dishes.

When they finish, the twins get up and go get ready for school and the adults for work. The twins and Steve their dad walk pass me without even sparing a glance but I hear Miley say the word ugly pathetic nerd. I don’t defend myself because I have learnt to be quite when I am home. Melanie walks up to me and say ‘You can have a banana for breakfast because you don’t deserve to eat what we eat for breakfast, now go wash those damn dishes you pathetic loser’ As she heads for her room, I get up and do as I’m told.

After washing the dishes, I fetch my backpack from my ‘room’; my room is very small attic. I have two old blankets and an old pillow, the first blanket is for sleeping on and the second one to cover myself with. There’s no closet so one corner with a cardboard serves as my closet space. I take my backpack and walkout the door to take my thirty minutes’ walk to school. I walk to school and don’t take the bus because Steve believes walking will make me lose weight and they don’t drop me at school because they don’t want me to bring germs in their car.

Moon-lake Academy the school for jocks, cheerleaders, geeks, Goths and then there is me, the nerd that everyone avoids but takes the chance to bully. Today is different; no one makes remarks as I walk in the hallway to my locker. They are busy whispering about the three new learners, you can hear gorgeous, hot, goddess, angels being used to describe the new learners.

I walk to my homeroom and take my usual seat at the back by the window. The bell rings and slowly the room fills in, ‘move’ I hear someone say but I ignore them. Someone shakes me roughly, I slowly look up to them and I am not gay but damn the guy is hansom, “Are you deaf, I said move” the guy tells me. I learned from an early age that fighting back is not worth anything since everybody has something against me.

I slowly get up and slowly head to an empty seat in the middle. I take my seat as our homeroom teacher gets in the classroom. “Quite down!” Mr Stan says. The teacher takes the register, “Today we have a new learner joining our prestigious academy, James Resell you may get up so everyone can see you” The guy who took my seat gets up, and girls in front of me are gawking while whispering how hot he is.

The bell rings and then I am off to English, which is one of my easiest subjects. I take my usual seat at the back of the class, the teacher comes and speaks about Shakespeare, and I zone out. I daydream for what I think is a second before I hear the bell for next period ring. I am fully awake and happy heading to maths, which is one of my strongest and favourite subject. I love the subject and I like its teacher. I take my seat at the front row; Mrs Allyson our maths teacher gets in and greets the class. “Today learners we have three new learners, James and Brittney Resell along with Max and Mandy Jerome. Please get up and introduce yourselves”

“My name is Brittney Resell and my brother is James and his girlfriend Mandy Jerome and her brother Max. All of us are 16 years old. We moved here from Chicago because our fathers got promotions where they work.” They sat down and the lesson of the day consumed. The bell rung as the teacher was giving us homework, everyone scrambled out the class without waiting for her to finish.

The next two classes go by without such incidence. Then we off to lunch, as learners head to the cafeteria while I go to the library which is like my sanctuary, no one comes at me at the library. I reread the Harry Porter series because it is my favourite novel and because there are no new books since I’ve read everything the library has to offer. I think that is why I find English easy and boring since I am well ahead of the class. I get lost in the book as I normally do until I am interrupted by the bell ending lunch.

The rest of the classes go without any glitches. At the ring of the bell, the school day comes to the end, now let me go home without any incidents. Rushing to my locker, I do not see the punch that comes straight for my nose. "Never stare at my girlfriend! You freak" says Brandon the school football captain. I look up at him from the ground, not arguing my side but nodding to whatever he is saying. Once he leaves, I get up and head to the nearest toilet to check the damage done to my face. 'Thank God I do not have a bleeding nose' it is just another bruise that my mother will fuss over (being sarcastic)

I go to my locker, take my backpack and place my notes then head out the school doors to begin my twenty minutes’ walk home. I wonder if I will get a car since tomorrow is my birthday, finally turning sixteen (sarcastic thoughts)

After arriving home I go to put my backpack in my room, I place it near the clothes box. I head down stairs to the kitchen to make snacks for the twins who will be arriving by bus in ten minutes

I make myself a sandwich and eat it in a hurry and after eating I head back to my room to start on some homework I got and some reading for fun. Science gave us homework on comparing stomachs of cattle, goats, and chickens. After finishing science, I read about the love of Romeo and Juliet

By the time I finish with reading, it is time to go down the stairs to cook dinner for the family. In the kitchen I start by washing my hands then take out all the ingredients I will use, chopping what needs to be chopped. For tonight, I decide to cook pasta and lamb stew. Once done, I glance at the dining room and see that the family is waiting to be served their diner. As I serve diner, my head must always be down to show submission, I don’t look anyone in the eye.

Once done serving diner, I take my position at the entrance of the room and watch as they eat and talk about how their day went about. “Mom, dad can we have our friends tomorrow night for a sleep over, pretty please” I hear one of the twins ask. I don’t really pay that much on what they talk about as they have their diner.

When they finish diner, the twins go to their rooms and Melanie only lingers for a minute. “Steve J and Miley are having their friends for a sleep over tomorrow night, and I expect you to make sure you are not seen. I will cook tomorrow; you will only come down make snacks for them to eat when they come home from school”. “Yes mam” I say while bowing down

After washing the dishes, I go to my room and you may ask ‘You going to bed but you haven’t eaten’. Well as they say, ‘There is simply no food to add on your fat’. In my room I switch off the light and think of my life when I had a family to call my own, sleep takes me