The Plus Side of Negative Thinking

Tensor 1

Jeisson was six the first time he realized that maybe he wasn't like everyone else. Or rather, other people decided it for him. He never felt all that different.

He was on the playground, trying to drown out the noise of the other kids playing. He had begged the teacher to let him stay inside for recess that day. He was in the middle of reading through an astronomy book. She had said no. 

So he went outside, begrudgingly, and read on one of the benches surrounding the jungle gym. 

"Jeisson," one of the kids from his class, Michael, called out to him from the pavement side of the playground. "Come play tag!"

"No, thanks!" Jeisson yelled back. 

"What're you doing?" Michael asked, abandoning the riveting game of freeze tag and approaching Jeisson. He had big, buck teeth that stuck out over his bottom lip sometimes.

"Reading," Jeisson said.

"What are you reading?"

"This book."

"Let me see." Michael took the book out of Jeisson's hands before he could stop him. "What is this? I can't read this. Can you read this?"

"Yeah, of course I can."

"You're weird," Michael said, matter-of-factly.

Jeisson shrugged. 

"Why don't you want to play tag?" Michael asked.

"I told you, I'm reading." Jeisson tried to grab his book back, but Michael pulled it away and held it over his head, laughing.

"You're so weird."

"Give it back!"

But Michael ran away with it. And before Jeisson could do anything about it, the book was a part of the game of tag happening on the pavement. He chased after the other kids as they passed it from person to person, like it was some kind of game. And he was "it." No one seemed to mind, or maybe they didn't even notice, that it was making him upset. 

He finally caught up to the book and snatched it out of the hands of a little girl with pigtails. He let out a shout and threw the book at Michael, hitting him square in the nose.

Then everyone was upset. And the teacher came. And Michael was crying. And everyone was telling Jeisson to apologize, but he wouldn't. Because it didn't make sense to him. Why should he apologize? He only did what was fair.

The teacher called Jeisson's parents. Which he thought was very unfair. They came to get him, and talked to the teacher for a long time in the classroom, but Jeisson wasn't allowed in. He had to sit outside in the hallway, being watched by the teacher's assistant. They wouldn't even let him have his book back.

On the drive home, Jeisson's parents were quiet, at first. Jeisson mimicked their behavior, and stayed quiet too. He watched the cars go by, and started to count them by color. 

"I just don't understand why I had to leave work for this," Jeisson's dad, Bruce, said, breaking the silence.

"It's important," June said.

"Kids fight. What's the big deal? He's seven."

"He's six. And the book he threw was the book you gave him this weekend, which he hasn't put down for two straight days."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Bruce asked.

"You don't think that might be an important detail?"

"No."

Six silver. One red. Three black. One green. Four beige. Fifteen cars so far. Jeisson stopped counting, and looked to the front of the car. June was shaking her head. 

"Look," Bruce said, "he got mad, he threw a book. I don't understand what all the fuss is about. Don't pull me out of work for this kind of shit anymore."

"You're his father."

"Yes, thank you, I know that," Bruce said.

"So maybe you should try actually getting involved in his life," June said. "You know, be a parent."

Bruce turned in his seat to look back at Jeisson. "Jeisson."

"Yeah, Dad?" Jeisson asked, his eyes wide.

"Were you angry today? At the kid who took your book?"

"Yeah."

"So what'd you do about it?"

"Payback," Jeisson said.

"Great. Maybe next time, don't let him take your book to begin with, okay? That book is yours. You earned it with those straight A's on your last report card. And you shouldn't let anyone take what's yours. Got it?"

June shook her head again. "Bruce, that's not--"

"Got it?" Bruce repeated, cutting her off.

"Got it," Jeisson said. He turned back to the cars. Another silver passed.

Bruce turned back to face the front. "There? That enough parenting for you?"

"Yeah. That's great, thanks," June said. But Jeisson got the sense that she was lying.

***

A/N: Hello, readers! This is just a little "extra" chapter. There will be a few of these sprinkled throughout the book. I'll update with a longer chapter tomorrow!

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