Beginning Anew (TFP Fanfic)

Gecko

Justin and the other kids left Mikel alone after that. The bruises the stones had left were stinging, if only faintly. Mikel knew the real price of the rocks would show themselves tomorrow. She would probably have to wear long sleeves. 

She crossed off campus, sliding through the gate and onto the sidewalk that went through her neighborhood. It was a small developing town, on the edge of the big city, bordering the desert plains. The houses were all moderate sizes, the smallest being an abandoned brick home on the southeast corner of the lot, a couple acres that no one bothered remodeling, and the biggest being a three-story bungalow that seemed way too out of place for the urban town. It also happened to be where Justin lived. Although, to Mikel, with the way the kid took care of himself, he might as well have lived in that shack. 

The sun was high in the sky, with nary a cloud in sight, and the resulting heat kept Mikel sweating as she trekked a couple blocks before turning left. Her own house was located at the northeast end of the neighborhood. The corner house of the corner lot. Their backyard was quite literally the desert, with only a small, hand dug ditch acting a the fence between their property and the property of the lizards. Not that the lizards cared whose property was whose.

As Mikel rounded the corner, lost in her own thoughts, she became slightly aware of footsteps behind her. She sighed heavily, not knowing how much more of the stupid teasing she could bear today. She whirled around, intending to ward off her would-be enemy, but when she laid eyes on the stalker, she didn't recognize him from Justin's group of idiots. 

It was a rather skinny kid, a boy, probably a Sophomore as well. He wore a green and white striped shirt with boot cut pants that seemed too baggy for his stick thin legs. His brown hair was short but scruffy, and perched on his nose was a pair of glasses, - too large for his face, - that looked like they belonged in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The boy had an obvious freeze moment after getting caught. To Mikel, it was fairly easy to see he had wanted to talk to her, and had been following her while mustering up the courage to say something. The poor kid stood there, still as a statue for a moment before hurriedly slapping his arms behind his back, giving Mikel a shy, embarrassed smile.

"Hi," he mumbled, giving an awkward tiny wave.

"Hi," Mikel replied, a little icily. She didn't know who this kid was, or what he wanted. Sure, he was scrawny, but didn't that mean the bigger kids like Justin, could boss him around, get him to do things for them?

The boy caught on to her hostility, taking a step back. "I'm not a part of that group," he said, trying to defend his position. Mikel only arched an eyebrow. "I'm not really a part of any group. I mean, not like... well... um... Sorry." He scratched the back of his neck. "I've been watching you, well, no, not like, watching you, like, not in a creepy way, but... I saw you back there... with the bullies..."

The kid looked down at the cement and Mikel took a breath, closing her eyes from the miserable failure she was watching. When she opened them again, the boy was still looking at the ground. 

"You saw me with Justin's group," she stated, then waiting to see if he would continue. 

"Right, well," he looked back up, straight into her eyes, and Mikel felt his sincerity, coming from his eyes as he quickly said: "I think you were really brave back there."

Mikel blinked. That was an odd thing to hear, even if it was from a lanky first-grader who didn't seem to quite know what he was saying. 

"Thanks," she grunted, not quite knowing what to think. "I mean, bullies might try to get you down, but that doesn't mean you have to let them."

"Yeah. I admire that. Wherever you got that stamina, I'd like to go there too."

Mikel cocked her head at this. Her stamina? Why? Everyone had a reason why. Why... was he so interested?

"What do you mean?" she asked the boy. He stood up a little straighter. 

"I get bullied by them too. I just wish I had the courage you have. To stand up, I mean," he told her. Mikel had a feeling that what this kid was doing right now was probably the bravest thing he'd ever done. He had the quiet voice of a kid who'd barely talked, and the slouch of someone who wanted to blend into every wall, and now that he'd mentioned it, Mikel could see could see the bullied student, the bruises hidden under sleeves, the mean, self-harming comments digging at their emotions till everything was pasted under a fake expression, and sugar coated words.

"You do have courage," Mikel said, not sure why she was still talking to this weirdo. "And yours seems so... natural. I know that sounds weird when I say it, but the way I can see you having courage right now, compared to the courage I had, it's different." The boy blinked, obviously not quite grasping her meaning. Not that she was making it super clear anyway. Mikel tried again.

"Metaphorically, to me, your type of courage, is... like a weapon. You can use it to your advantage, whereas mine, it's more of a shield, a wall. Something I hide behind, and use to defend myself, because I can't figure out how to use it as a weapon." She could feel an awkward silence approaching. She felt a little embarrassed about her pep talk, especially one she'd given to a boy she didn't even know.

"What's your name?" she asked him, to avoid making the silence linger. He took a tentative step towards her, shyly pushing his giant glasses back.

"My name is McKay," he said. "But you might know me as Gecko." He shrugged. Mikel shook her head.

"I've never heard Gecko," she said earnestly. "Why would-"

McKay cut her off. "It's the name Justin's group gave me. It kinda stuck." Mikel frowned. She could definitely see why the nickname worked, he did kind of resemble the little reptiles, with his timid steps and round eyes that were only emphasised by the huge circular glasses. 

"I like it," Mikel admitted shrugging. "I think it's cute. It suites you, in a good way." McKay looked at her then smiled a little.

"Well," he said. "You can call me that, if you like." Mikel smiled back. She nodded, feeling like, even though she'd just met him, she was going to like McKay. Or, Gecko. 

"Will I see you at school tomorrow?" Mikel asked, knowing she should probably get home, so her mother didn't worry. 

"Yeah," Gecko nodded, smiling even wider. "You will." Mikel laughed, giving a little wave before turning and continuing on towards her house. When she turned back, she could see Gecko trekking the opposite way, doing fist-bumps into the hot afternoon air.

-------- When I was writing this chapter, I remembered this silly little song from a video game I used to play, and I thought I'd post it here for you. It has no correlation whatsoever to the story, and if you take the risk of listening to it, I can guarantee that it'll be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Anywho, hope you enjoyed the first part of this story! Sorry if it seems really widespread right now, I have a lot more in mind, and it all connects, I promise. Anywho... Again. Signing out.

Star --------