We The Misfits

8//a message in a bottle

    "Okay, so here's the plan," Zed says. "We'll take the nine o'clock bus to Forkside today."

    "Why?" Robyn whines. "Why can't we just stay here?"

    "Because we've been to every place here and it's getting kinda boring to revisit the places. Plus, I've never gone to Forkside with my friends...well, that's because I never had friends but I never went alone as well!"

•••

    "Still so enthusiastic about going to Forkside?" Dominic mumbles as Zed shrinks in his seat. Everyone in the bus is giving him distasteful looks, eyeing his face.

    "Well, whenever I'm on my way to school" – Zed discreetly points at a woman sitting at the back seat, glaring at Zed – "she comes to me with a Bible and starts to subtly tell me that I won't be a good child of Jesus if I continue doing whatever I'm doing."

    And what are you doing?

    "This" – he points at his face – "I guess."

    They scoff.

    Everyone in the bus stares at them in curiosity. Zed knows what they're thinking. The cousins are wearing clothes of rich material and they looked like they belonged to families of billionaires. What were they doing with this guy? What's the catch?

    Unlike usually when he'd start fearing about what people would say and what they would do, now, he puts his headphones on and plug it into his Walkman. He sorts doesn't give a shit now.

•••

    Forkside town is the kind of town that Zed envisioned the city to be, just a lot smaller. There were lots of people, tall buildings, small cars, lots and lots of streetlights. These kind of things might seem insignificant to you but Zed stared at everything in wonder.

    "Why are you walking with you mouth open?" Robyn asks, slapping the back of his head softly. They're walking down the Mayworth road with small shops on the side of the road. "Don't you go here for school?"

    "I...do." And yet, it's like he'd never been here before. It feels he's never seen these lights, these cars, these shops. It's wonderful how every place changes one's perspective because of people you hang out with.

    Zed doesn't miss the looks he gets but it's not because of his makeup. People are staring at the cousins, eyeing them in wonder an awe. Zed discreetly smiles as he spots women looking at Dominic and Harper with lust filled eyes. He starts to chuckle.

    "Shut up," Dominic says, gritting his teeth, jabbing Zed's rib as he starts to laugh. "It's not funny."

    I quite like the attention I'm getting.

    "That's because you never get attention from ladies," Dominic says flatly.

    With troubled sighs, Zed and Robyn proceed to break apart the two boys who end up wrestling.

•••

    Now, they're seated on the soft sand, their legs pulled up to their chins, staring at the vast sea, marvelling the azure colour of the sea.The sea is so, so beautiful and yet so lonely.

    "You know, Zed," Dominic says, taking another swig of his lemonade and gulps in down. "We'll be leaving in five days."

    "...huh?"

    "Come on, Zed. You know we're just here for the summer."

    "Yeah, I know," Zed says slowly, crinkling his toes in the sand. He hugs his knees and says, "Huh, time flies."