Erase and Rewind (Full Book)

Chapter Eight: Kaleidoscope

   

Windsor Park was perfect for jogging. It was built on funds donated by the Windsor family, a gift to the people of Mid City. It catered to moms and their little ones, though at the break of dawn the swings surrounded by flower hedges and bushes, were empty.

Malik passed by them as they whispered in the air. He stayed on the jogging tracks. It had rained the night before, and because Mid City wasn't massive, Malik noticed some of the joggers had skipped today. The leaves surrounding the tracks had been melted to slush.

Malik's week had been uneventful. He'd had class after class, his latest video passed a thousand views, and he scowled whenever he caught sight of Aaron. So far Aaron had kept the part Malik didn't like to share out of gossip. It made sense because Aaron was further in the closet than Malik, Malik suspected Aaron wasn't doing him a favor.

He was going to pull the lid off at some point. Sarah was right. It was eating at him. Liz was still cool, and they often had lunch because they had common new friends. But try as he might, none of the girls would work. He wouldn't be able to curb his sexuality with any of them.

"God damn it," he yelled at a statute of a thinking man made out of cans and water bottle caps. Aaron pissed him off, but he was pissed at himself a shit ton more.

There was no snap of twigs or cough. Malik would've liked to think it was his ingenious instincts or sheer magnetism that made him turn around and look at the boy standing behind him.

Jude was a little worse for wear. His cheeks were pinched , there was mud rising up from the soles of his shoes, and his hair was rustled. He wore the same shirt Malik had met him in, his long shapely legs were covered in form-fitting dark jeans and in his hands, he clutched the dog-eared sketchbook.

"Are you okay?" Jude asked.

Malik might've frightened a few birds. Didn't scare Jude, it seemed.

Malik smiled. "Yeah."

He was better now. There was a certain glow to this boy. He could feel his sadness but there was a strength, a quiet determination Malik felt drawn to. And the sight of him tugged at Malik's heart.

Jude nodded. He glanced at the statue next to him, a Mona Lisa, the pale French Madame of the Louvre, made up of treated and painted foil.

They stood facing, or Malik was facing, whereas Jude continued to admire the Mona Lisa's glinting facets. Malik gestured to the bench near the indie piece of art. It would be harder to checkout a person if he was sitting next to you. If Jude remained standing, Malik would end up ogling.

Jude nodded again. He muttered a serious farewell to the reimagined Mona. He waded through the grass verges to where Malik sat.

Malik scooted further. Though with Jude's slight frame, a third person could easily fit between them. He sat with his back against the bench, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Who puts these things in a park?" Malik wondered.

"Darius Baxter," Jude said, "his family owns a cosmetics company, but he's an art collector, and he knows the agents and artists...the popular ones. He thought he'd create an open air gallery...and this was a..a..rhetorical question.... I'm sorry."

The spark in Jude's voice went out.

"Go on," Malik said gently.

Jude pretended not to have heard him.

There was a moment of companionable silence. They listened to the rustle of the trees and the chirping of the birds as the light began to seep through the clouds. Jude would dart sheepish looks at Malik. He'd frown, and then his forehead would smooth, his face blank. The repose, however, wouldn't last, and Malik would be able to see conflicting thoughts swarming in that fussy head of his. It was the same as when they'd walked before, yet different. But the tension was there too. Try as he might, Malik couldn't figure it out.