Almost Famous: The Next Phase

Chapter 18

I was never more terrified in all my life when I heard a deep voice call my name from what seemed to be just ten feet away. I don't know if I even want to see him. My brain was trying to tell my feet to keep walking but for some reason they just weren't getting the memo.

  "I'm invisible. I'm invisible. Please God make me invisible!" I quickly whispered to myself as a hand came down hard or my left shoulder.

Startled where I stood I snapped my eyes open and let out a loud yelp of fear while my heart came to abrupt halt.

  "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. Ya know ya shouldn't walk alone out here. Ma said there's some creep stalking kids in a blue van."

Meet Peter Dixon! He lives just a few houses down from me and for the first time ever in life his mom finally let him out of his cage. Back in elementary school Peter was ugly. I'm talking mouth full of braces freckle face bottle cap glasses and super skinny ugly. He was always teased by Andre and the guys and they would often do stupid shit to try to hurt his feelings. Like go into the coat closet and take a bite out of his sandwiches then put them back the way they found it. Or if that wasn't enough they would glue thumb tacks to his chair and force him to sit down. What was worse was when Andre gave him a bag of gummy worms....that were actually worms. By middle school they left him alone when I started standing up for him. Peter never believed in fighting back because he was the only white boy in the neighborhood. Prince was never on the left or right side. He just went with the flow and would either let Andre rip poor Peter to shreds or would leave him be once I stepped in and told Andre about himself. Now that we're in high school he's put on some muscle and his deep freckles have faded almost completely from his face and he got his braces removed last winter and now has teeth straighter than mine. All the girls think he's quite the cutie now. His mom still treats him like he needs to be hidden from the world all the time. It was heard around town that his parents were supposedly members of the KKK and that some of the missing black kids that we seen on the back of the milk carton were kidnapped by Mr. Dixon himself. That is of course according to Morris and Andre. I have yet to see them kidnap anyone. Then again in Minneapolis anything is possible.

  "Is it cool if I walk to school with you?" Peter asked with a smile.

  "Ummm....yeah....sure. I guess." I said to him nervously and clinging to my book bag for dear life.

We walked up the street and rounded the corner towards the intersection as the crossing guard crossed us I was trying to give her silent signals that if anything were to happen to me it was his fault. However I think I failed when she  rolled her eyes and laughed at me and waved me off. It's gonna be her fault if I turn up on the back of her milk carton one of these days.

  "So! How are you?" He asked me trying to start conversation on this rather weird and awkward meeting.

"I'm....ok. How are you?" I asked him back looking over my shoulder.

  "I don't know. I feel a little scared right now."

  "Really? Why?"

  "Because you keep looking over your shoulder like someone is after us or something. Or are you looking for someone."

The blood almost drained from my face when he thought that I was looking for someone. In a way I wasn't but then again I was. I was looking for his father to pop out from behind a bush and snatch me up and Peter would cover it up as if he never saw me. I had to think of something to tell him but I didn't know what so I just blurted it out accidentally.

  "I just don't want to get kidnapped."

Peter let out a chuckle as he patted me on the back.

  "It's ok! I was only jerkin' ya about the blue van thing. Don't be such a scaredy cat!"