The trouble maker

Chapter - 24

The last time I played this game might be around 7 years ago, or more, I never really counted it, I never thought I would find myself playing this game on a day like this, on a day when I'd feel nothing but sorrow. But Vernon was quite persistent and it was almost an impossible task to say no to him. Regardless, I had shot out multiple laughter because of it, all thanks to Vernon, it seemed like he really tried to put me into a better mood, and it worked.

We had the following class together and I must admit one little truth to myself, if I were to choose between Will and Vernon to lunch with, I'd choose Vernon. Of course, Will is my mate, but we never really did share anything, he seemed to like being in his world more than with me, and here Vernon was a mere classmate I had ran over yesterday but there was something about him, maybe his affableness was something that pulled me to him, his endless efforts on trying to lift my bad mood.

But there were two things which was still lingering around the corner of my mind even if I'd tried and shake away the thought the entire time, one was how my family were to overcome our current situation, which I ought to think about, and the second thing was Alex's dark eyes that swam into the ocean of my eyes, drowning.

I sighed, desperate about what the future would unfold, would we be forced to leave our home? It's not going to be an easy thing to find new stable job in the city just after we'd moved here for only a month, for either of my parents. Moving back to our old city was also not an option, should I take a part time job so I could support my parents better? It's a bad thing I ended my tuition to Alex because I was mad he lied to me about the dinner, the tuition money could really be of use, but even so, that still won't sum up to the amount of money we need, I know my parents never discussed this with me, but I knew they took a loan, for the house we were currently living in. And should we not be able to give back the loan money on time, we were pretty much done for, and that's exactly why my mother looked so devastated, we were in the possible position to lose a home we had only just settled in.

As I gave thoughts about our situation much deeper and deeper, the more I realized how delicate our situation was, we could be blown over if we took the wrong turn. We could be homeless, I know my parents will do absolutely anything to put a roof over my head and a food on my plate for as long as I breath but my heart was not steady.

It was not a choice for my mother to go ask for her family's help since she eloped with my dad and they had not been in contact since then, I never even met my own grandparents. And given the fact that both my father's parents were dead and the only sibling he had was miles away from us, in a different country. So, it was pretty much us, for as long as I can remember, and it had been wonderful. My father was the one who talked more about his parents more than my mother, and I knew a great deal of my father's dad: My grandpa Tommy.

In fact, I took a lot of his traits, that even my mother could not fight against, which she always did when we talked about whose traits I took after since she always liked to believe that I took more of her traits than anyone.

"Do you even believe your own lie?" I was drawn back to the real world by Vernon's nudge as he spoke to me, "And you said you are thinking about nothing." He sighed, "Well, you look like you could use an ear," I turned at my right to glance at him, "Even if you want two ears, I could provide that." He smiled, "I happen to have two ears."

I cracked a small laugh at that, "It's just that...it has been a long day." I took a peek at the teacher who was explaining some chapter I had no idea about, for goodness' sake I realized I didn't even have any single idea what class that was, "What class are we having?" I asked Vernon, quickly.

He stared at me with suspicious eyes, "Literature."

"But that's not our literature teacher, is he?"

He sighed deeply, "Maybe you forgot about the piece of information that he'd told us at the beginning of the class that he is to take this class since our current teacher in charge is sick, or maybe you haven't listened to any of it since you're so busy thinking something else."

"I'm serious when I said you could use an ear." He went on as I kept quiet, "It's not healthy to keep it all in." He added.

I took a final glance at the teacher who didn't even seemed to care if students were listening or not at all, most of the students were asleep anyway, "Everything just happened so fast that I... find it hard to believe the situation I'm in." I finally blurted out, and it felt better than I'd hope.

"What is this about? Alex, I presume?" As soon as the question was out from his mouth I shook my head, I still could not understand why the majority of the students were tending to believe that Alex and I are a serious thing, and I could not blame Vernon for thinking what I did everything was about Alex since people only whispered about things they wanted to believe, that I woo Alex off his feet! And he probably heard some of the whispers and rumours. I was about to explain to him that Alex meant nothing to me when a thought struck my mind, who was he to even care about my life?

"It's....nothing I can't handle by myself," I lied as I put a faint smile on my face, and I could tell from the way he looked at me that he saw through my lies.

"It's just life you know, it's what everybody goes through." He started talking as I listened to him intensively, "Hardships...are a part of life, without it life would not be life, life can't all be about sunshine and daisy but the true test is how we choose to respond to the pain we suffer." He hedged.

I could not agree more to what he said, "It would have been nice if we have a relative in this city, being a new people in a new city where we still don't know who to trust while problems hovered above us-" I started oversharing, but there was something about his affableness that made me feel like it was okay to overshare anything with him, besides there was no one I could talk to at the moment. I was chuffed to learned that my mates were absent this morning as I thought I would be able to have alone time but I was wrong, truly wrong, this was the day I needed my mates more than the other day, I needed someone to talk to, keeping it inside alone was one thing, but just talking about it out loud was a good feeling enough, even though the person who listened to it would not have a solution for it, just lending me an ear was enough.

He gave me the look that showed I should continue whatever I was saying, "A serious cash would not hurt." I could see that what I said was not how he hoped I'd continue what I saying earlier, but that was the simplest way I know how to put our disastrous condition into words without actually using the word bankrupt.

"Well, money is not everything." He stated, "But everything needs money."

I gave more thoughts to what he'd just said and could not agree more again, why does everything he said sounds so brilliant? Should it be because I was in a state where I could not think clearly and everything, he blurted out made absolute sense.

"You're in serious need of money, I could tell." He mumbled. I shot my eyes wide open at him when he made that statement, "How...how do you know that?"

He chuckled, "As I said I could tell." He commented, well from the start this boy always seemed to know more than I'd liked to admit, "Also, you just told me seconds ago that a serious cash would not hurt."

I only just stared into the thin air, wondering if it was too obvious that we were bankrupt for everyone or if Vernon was just quick to catch. "I don't know how much you would possibly need, but I might have someone I can talk to." He added.

"Oh, no, please no. I would not like to trouble you," I replied to him in haste, even though a part of me hoped he'd actually be able to help me despite the fact that we only just met properly yesterday.

"Who am I to you?" His sudden change of question caught me a bit surprised, "Do you still consider me a stranger or a mere classmate?" It sounds bad when he put it like that, "No, of course not." I answered.

"Then if there's anything I could do to help you at all, you must let me." He insisted, and a single thin line of my heart jumped with joy, I knew it was too soon, to even feel anything but listening to someone who insisted on helping me was enough pure joy.

"As you have mentioned, your family is new here, and you don't know anyone to turn to but I happened to grow up here, and I know a lot of people, and I might just have a friend who could be able to help you regarding money."

Every single word he said was tuned into my ear like a melody.