We The Misfits

1//the golden trio

HE WAKES UP IN AN UNEVENTFUL MANNER.

    Mrs. Louisa Hans has her arbitrary means of waking her son up. Her most famous ways of waking her son up are as follows:

• Pulling his covers up to his waist and switching on the ceiling fan.

• Playing songs that he abhorred on the vinyl.

• Sticking her moist pinky into his ear.

• Shining a powerful light on his face while yelling "TRAIN!"

Zed jolts up, gasping as his mother dunks a bucket of cold water on him. His eyes shoot open and glare at the dark woman standing near his bedside table. She has one arm akimbo and the other holding a spatula.

    He eyes the spatula wearily and chooses his words carefully. "What the . . . I mean, mom!"

    "What?" she asks raising her eyebrows. "What's the matter?"

    "I've told you a million times to stop doing that!"

    "And I've told you a million times to wake up on time but here we are," she snaps. "Look at the time."

    Zed groans and looks at the clock on his bedside table and gawks. "It's just 7. Mom, should I remind you that I'm having holidays? Summer holidays? It's vacation? Which means that there's no scho−"

    "Don't you mock me. Remember what day it is today?"

    Zed cocks an eyebrow until it hits him. He lets out a series of mumbled curses as he gets off his bed and peels of his wet shirt. "Okay. Okay, I'm up."

•••

    Dargan Town was an old town. Zed's entire family came from there until they spread out to different cities and towns. His mom was the only one who stayed back.

    Not only was it old, it was boring. There were no particular hotspots that teens or adults went to hang out with their friends or to chill. There was a park with broken swings that no one except Zed went to. Dargan Town was also plagued with homophobes which was pretty much the reason Zed always chose to stay at home during holidays.

     Because Saxon and his gang were out of town for some sort of trip, Zed decided that he'd step out. Since Saxon and his gang ('gang' as in most of the teens in this town) weren't there, the town almost looked empty. Picnic bag dangling by his wrist, Zed walks down the street with a small smile on his face. It is hot and he could feel his makeup smudge as he gingerly swipes the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve and shifts uncomfortably as he feels sweat trickle down his back.

     "Not gonna let a little bit of heat get me down," he huffs and starts to swing his basket as he takes long strides. By the time he's at the gate, he's muttering a series of profanity with a scowl on his face.

He pushes open the gates and they swing back with a screeching creak. He always wondered why anyone bothered to close the gates since no one really came here

Once, this park was called The Seacrest Park. Well, it still is but since the plank that had the name engraved on it was lying elsewhere and since people retorted to calling the park The Haunted Park, the park lost its joviality and popularity.

When he was young, his father insisted on taking him and his sister to the park every Sunday. There he would make them play on the swings while he'd sit with his back against a tree and watch them. After his father and sister left, he rarely came. Mostly because he hated nostalgia and having to reminisce memories.

Dirty sneakers stepping onto the grass, he makes his way to the mahogany tree a couple of miles away. If Zed could summarise Dargan Town in one word: Greenery.

It wasn't the kind of greenery where you could smell the fragrance of flowers everywhere or take aesthetic pictures of. It was the kind of greenery that made every corner of the street look haunted and dark. No wonder this park's called The Haunted Park.

Zed surveys his perimeter. There's a narrow path laden with stones that had fungi on them with an expanse of unclipped grass. On one side, there's a small spot of dead flowers enlosed within a wooden fence.

Zed walks quite a distance until he spots the tree. He walks faster and sets his basket down. Opening the latch, he pulls out his rolled picnic mat and lays it on the grass. He sits down and leans against the tree with a sigh enjoying the shade of the tree.

And then he hears a peal of laughter.

Zed's eyes shoot open in alarm and fright. He sits up straight and cranes his neck to see the intruder and he sees them at the other side.

Them as in them because Zed has no idea what they're names are. Ever since they arrived, his mom wouldn't shut up about them. It wasn't just his mom at fault. If anyone dropped by, all he could hear was, "Yeah, they're here! Such an honour! And c'mon look at them."

They as in two boys and one girl. Cousins. Zed spots the tall boy leaning against a tree. The girl is seated and she's reading a book out loud while the other boy who's sat next to her rolls his eyes.

Perhaps he has stared for too long because The Golden Trio (he has decided to call them that till he gets to know their names) looks up. Zed instantly looks down, his face flushing. With the rouge on his cheek and with the embarrassment, he must've looked like a tomato. He closes his eyes and waits. Waits for the blows, the taunts and jeers.

Only it never came. The wind blows gently in his ear and wearily, he retrieves his tomato sandwich from the basket, his eyes downcast. Peeling off the cellophane, he takes a hasty bite off of his sandwich and as he feels the tomato juice trickle down his throat, he can't seem to enjoy it because of his nerves.

Slowly, meekly, he lifts up his head. He shoots another look at The Golden Trio to see that they were staring at him. The girl smiles and the boy leaning against the tree gives Zed a short nod.

He bites his red lips and gives an uncomfortable smile that he's sure looks like a grimace and then proceeds to take a huge bite from his sandwich.

•••