The Laugh Track

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I spin around hard for the second time that day, and see her.

The stranger has dark scraggly hair that looks like it has not been washed in weeks which is at the moment tied back in a low ponytail, and a disheveled flannel shirt. She is wearing faded, ripped jeans, and old converse. Other than that, she has a small silver necklace that looks like it is a small box pendant.

"What did you say?" I ask.

"I said, they could be. Are you deaf or something? It seemed pretty clear what I said to me. Now, are you deaf or just stupid?" She responds sarcastically.

Now, I love (and admittedly, use) sarcasm as much as the next person, but her voice was just dripping with it. If her voice had been food, it would have been marinated in the sarcasm sauce.

"I retorted I'm not deaf or stupid. Maybe you are. Did you see me and my brother? Is that what this is all about?"

"So that's who that was," she asks as she raises an eyebrow.

"Eww," I respond, "but that is beside the point. What is going on?"

"What is going on," she emphasized the words like she was speaking to a toddler. I can hear a tinge of the old British accent in her voice. Then she said even more condescendingly "Is that I followed you, and listened to your conversation, and your brother is a smart boy."

"I could report you, and you could get cited for that, I retort I bet you dont have the guts to tell me your nam-"

"Nora. My name is Nora, and don't ever even imply that I am a coward again," she responded aggressively.

"Sorry, I guess I hit a nerve," I say tentatively. I wanted to ask for her last name, but that might not be a good idea. I got the point. I won't do it again.

"You better not. You better not," she repeated. I was getting the feeling that Nora had a slight split personality. She was funny and sarcastic one moment, and the next she was cold and closed off.

"I won't, now what was that about my brother?"

"I was just going to say that he is a smart boy. He understands that we need to change these things, but he obviously has limited information."

He is smart. He is the top of our grade. I defend my brother. Even if I dont know what is going on, I feel the need to defend his intelligence.

Well, I am just saying, he does not have the information that he needs. You guys need to come with me. I can show you a few things.

I look at her more closely, studying her. She has a ragged appearance, and seemed dangerous, but she also had a look about her that made me feel inclined to trust her. Maybe it was the mischievous glint in her eye, or the way that anytime she was not angry, she was always slightly smiling. She seemed okay to me.

How old are you? I ask.

Fifteen

You seem older I says suspiciously.

Im not. I feel older because I have been on my own for so long, but yes, I am 15

Okay I say, still suspicious, Ill get my brother. Meet back here in 20 minutes?

Sure. Where do you live?

In Pine Grove, near the edge. It will take me about a 15 minutes round trip, plus the time to explain this all to Rowan.

Ill come with you.

That wont be necessary. I spit, harsher than necessary. I just dont like the idea of her seeing where I live, even if I have already told her. I mean, you dont need to. Just do what you need to do until I get back.

Okay. she replies

Okay. I say back, Thanks.

I slowly back away. I am cautious for some reason. I have been told before this that all people are good, but like Adam and Eve (the old myth), now that my eyes have been opened by the forbidden, there is no going back to before. I cant unhear, or un-comprehend anything that Rowan said to me, just a little bit ago on that gravel road. I can never go back to the way things were, now that my eyes are opened.