The Suburbs

three

People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.

[Paulo Coelho]

• • •

Kody and Sophia were sitting side by side, picking at their vegetable and avoiding talking to the two adults sitting opposite them. They were once again, playing the role of a perfect family. In London, they mostly ate takeaways or microwaveable ready meals. Their parents were never there, so dinner was never a big family event. But now that their parents worked predominantly from home and only commuted to the city a couple of days a week, they were a scene from television or a picture on a cereal box - or, at least, they would be if they were white.

"So?" Their Mother smiled at them both. "You two have barely said a word since you got home. How was school?" She questioned. She had always been the perfect Mother figure to them; she was warm and cuddly and familiar. She gave them food and hugs and unwanted advice. She cried when she needed to, laughed when she was supposed to, and disciplined her children when she had to. Unfortunately, she had been snatched away by the demanding job which aided their comfortable life. From a gorgeous apartment in London to a rich white neighbourhood in the suburbs, she took care of her family. They went on nice holidays, received good Christmas presents, and always knew their pleases and thank yous. Ultimately, she was a good role model, and unlike most of the boys Kody's age, he could never pretend to resent his Mother in order to appear cool. He loved her, and he respected her. He always would.

"School was fine." Kody shrugged.

Sophia stared at him for a moment, "Are you kidding, Kody?" She asked dryly, shaking her head in disagreement. "School was...weird."

"How so?" Their Father interjected. He wasn't a man of many words, but he cared for his children. He wanted them to be safe and happy and honest. Though he too had a demanding job, he never slacked off when it came to parenting. He and his wife both shared the cooking, cleaning, and other household tasks. Their wish was to raise their children in a household of equality, where everyone pitched in a fair amount, and no one was expected to do more or less based on something as petty as gender.

"There's this new kid called Arlo." Sophia explained, "Well, he's not new. He's been in a psychiatric hospital for four months. He tried to commit suicide."

Their parents exchanged a worried glance, "Is he okay?"

"I don't think so." Sophia told them honestly. "Everyone's talking about it; they're not treating it like the sensitive subject it is. People just want something to talk about, and it's sad that they would resort to...to this." Sophia said in disbelief, and Kody was relieved to hear that his sister shared his opinion on the matter.

"Does he at least have his friends to talk to?" Their Mother asked, lips downturned into a sad frown.

"I don't know if he has any." Sophia elaborated.

"Well, you two know what the right thing to do is." Their Father raised his brows expectantly.

"I've already tried talking to him." Kody finally, reluctantly, joined the conversation.

"You have?" Sophia investigated eagerly. "What happened? What did he say?"

"Not a lot." He revealed sincerely. "Can you blame him? After the way he's been treated at that school? I'm surprised he didn't transfer."

"Well, there's not a lot of options." His Mother input. "This is the only school in town, he probably didn't have a choice."

"I did talk to his sister though." Sophia said, as if suddenly remembering an extremely important nugget of information. "She was super kind to me on my first day, and we sort of became friends."

"Darya?" The name slipped past Kody's lips mindlessly.

"How did you know?"

"I just...overheard it somewhere." He shrugged, bowing his head as he pushed a piece of broccoli around his plate.

"Well, anyway, she said that her and Arlo are pretty close, and if she hears anyone talking shit about him-"

"Hey, watch your language at the dinner table." Their Father scolded.

Sophia suppressed an eye roll, "It doesn't count, I was quoting-"

"I don't care, we do not swear in this household." His voice was strong and challenging. Sophia backed down immediately.

"Anyway," Sophia moved on, as unfazed as ever, "Kody, I know there's not a lot of options for you here, but if you're looking to hook up with a boy, I wouldn't choose him. I think he has some serious issues and-"

"Whoa." Kody dropped both his knife and fork in shock, "W-What makes you think I want to hook up with him? I was just introducing myself!"

"Oh, please." Sophia snorted. "He couldn't be more your type. He's scruffy, he's dorky, he's white-"

"Okay, Sophia, that's enough." Their Father cut her off, though an amused smile was ghosting his features, "But Kody, I do think your sister is right. By all means befriend the kid but remember what we agreed on when we moved here."

"Can I maybe speak for myself just this once?" He asked, exasperated. "I don't like him! I don't like anyone! I just wanna make friend and do well in school, okay? That's all I want."

His Mother leant over the table, enveloping his hand in hers to give his a quick squeeze. "Sweetie, I know it's hard-"

"You know, this really isn't fair." Kody snapped. For the first time since their arrival, the weight of everyone's expectations was starting to wear him down. "I didn't even want to come here, but I didn't protest because you guys said it would be 'good for the family'." He said bitterly. "But you can't tell me that I'm not allowed to date boys. You can't control what I do or...or who I do. O-Okay?"

"Kody." His Mother tilted her head to the side in that annoying Motherly way of hers. "You know that no one here has a problem with you dating boys or girls. We get it, and we will never be ashamed of you."

Sophia scoffed, "Speak for yourself. If you wear that one yellow jumper again, we're walking into school separately." She teased.

She ignored her daughter and continued, "But we're living in a different world, hun; we're not in London anymore. It's hard enough fitting into a white community, we just don't want you to struggle anymore than you already have to."

"But it's my struggle, Mum." He argued.

"What about that boy; Arlo, was it?" His Father added. "Look how he's been treated. Do you really want the same to happen to you, after making all these new friends? We just think it will be easier if you keep quiet about-"

"You think that. I stupidly agreed to stay in the closet for you guys but it's hard, okay? It's harder than I thought it would be and I don't know if I want to do it anymore."

"Kody." Sophia sighed sadly. "Just-"

"Just what? Are you gonna make some stupid joke about-?"

"I was just going to say that whatever you choose to do, I'll support you." She smiled softly. "We all will."

"But?" Kody pressed.

"But Mum and Dad are right. I'm sorry. I've heard the way these kids talk, it's like some of them are living in the wrong century. We can't stop you, Kody, but waiting a little longer can't hurt. Just until you're sure this is what you want."

Kody ran his fingers through his matted hair, and stood up abruptly, "I'm gonna go on a walk."

"What-?"

"I'll see you guys later." And with that he left, grabbing his jacket and keys, venturing into the cool air outside.

He had a lot to think about.