Gordie POV
We were walking along the tracks, all five of us in a line, Teddy in the middle, crying, being comforted by Chris and Adelaide. Through the sobs he said,
"He ranked my old man."
Chris, in an attempt to console him said,
"What d'you care what a bad old pile of sh*t like him says about your dad? "
Adelaide continued on,
" He still stormed the beach in Normandy, right?"
Teddy sniffed and wiped a tear away replying,
"He did it."
Chris said,
"You think that pile of shit was at Normandy?"
Teddy started getting aggravated said,
"He did it, alright?"
Adelaide said,
"He don't know nothing about your old man. He's just dogsh*t."
Chris continued on for Adelaide,
"Whatever is between you and your old man. He can't change that!"
Teddy flipped his sh*it, shoved us all away and hollered,
"Forget it! alright? Just forget it!"
Vern, not noticing the awkward silence, started singing,
"Have Gun, Will Travel" reads the card of a man. A knight without armor in a savage land."
He went quiet after Chris slugged him in the shoulder. After walking for a few more steps, Teddy stopped and said,
"I'm sorry if I'm spoiling everybody's good time."
I reached over Chris and grabbed his shoulder saying,
"It's okay, it's okay, man."
Then under her breath, Adelaide muttered,
"I'm not sure it should be a good time."
Chris looked up questionably,
"You saying you wanna go back because if you do we can-"
She cut him off saying,
"No, no, I'm not saying that, but we're going to see a dead kid, maybe it shouldn't be a party."
Vern quickly nodded his head and agreed saying,
"Yeah, like if he's really bad like all cut up with blood and sh*t all over him; I might have nightmares!"
We started walking, and while Chris moved back towards Adelaide, wrapping his arm around her waist, he said to Vern,
"Come on, Vern."
Vern, ignoring the comment, continued on his babbling saying,
"You know like all guts and eyeballs . . . jumping ground?"
Chris stopped and turned around, Adelaide stopped with him as he cut him off yelling,
"Shut up, Vern."
As Chris said that, me and Teddy said,
"Come on, goddamnit!"
Vern said, timidly,
"Can't help it, sorry."
It was only a quarter to three but it felt much later. It was too hot and too much had happened. We weren't even close to the Royal River yet. We were gonna have to get moving if we were gonna have to make some real miles before dark.
Time Skip
We had been walking for a bit, and then we were on the train tracks. Teddy and Verno were upfront and I was walking in the back with Chris and Adelaide. After a bit, Chris said,
"Hey, I got some Winstons. Hawked them from my old man's dresser. One apiece for after supper."
I was sort of disconnected, but I nodded, saying,
"Yeah, that's cool."
Adelaide agreed and said,
"Yeah, that's when a cigarette tastes best: after supper."
Suddenly I yelled,
"Do y'all think I'm weird?"
Chris and Adelaide looked at each other, nodded, and said in sync,
"Definitely."
I shook my head. They weren't the way I wanted them to. I said,
"No guys, seriously. Am I weird?"
They nodded as Adelaide said,
"Yeah. But so what?"
Chris continued on for her,
"Everybody is weird."
I guess he's right. I nodded as he continued on,
"Y'all ready for school? "
I nodded and said,
"Yeah."
Adelaide agreed and said,
"Junior High. You know what that means. By next June we'll all be split up."
I was confused and asked,
"What're you talking about, why would that happen?"
Chris nodded, and agreed with Adelaide saying,
"It's not gonna be like grammar-school, that's why. Y'all will be taking your college-courses and me, Teddy, and Vern will all be in the shop-courses with all the rest of the retarders making ashtrays and birdhouses."
He looked over at Adelaide and said to her,
"You gonna meet a lot of new guys. Smart guys."
Adelaide looked at the ground and muttered,
"Meet a lot of douches is what you mean."
I agreed and said,
"Yeah, a crap ton of pussies."
Chris looked us over and told me,
"No man. Don't say that, don't even think that,"
He turned to Adelaide and said,
"And you, you have an amazing brain, don't disrespect it just because of the people inside and outside the classroom."
I looked at him and said,
"Well, then I ain't going if I'm gonna just meet a bunch of pussies!"
"Well, then you're an a***hole!"
Chris replied. I asked him,
"What's a**hole about wanting to be with your friends?"
He responded,
"It's a**hole if your friends drag you down! You hang with us, you'll be just another wise guy with shit for brains, You could be a real writer someday, Gordie."
"F*ck writing! I don't wanna be a writer! It's stupid! It's a stupid waste of time!"
I replied. Adelaide, who had been silent for most of the conversation, commented,
"That's your dad talking."
I looked over at her and called her out saying,
"Bullshit."
Chris carried on Adelaide's train of thought calling,
"Bulltrue. Dolly's right. We know how your dad feels about you, he doesn't give a sh*t about you. Denny was the one he cared about, and don't try to tell us different! You're just a kid, Gordie."
I was really pissed, so I sarcastically replied,
"Oh gee, thanks, dad!"
That remark set Chris off more. He went off,
"Wish the hell I was your dad. You wouldn't be going around talking about taking these stupid shop-courses if I was."
He was hollering at me, which switched on Adelaide's peacekeeper instincts. She cut him off by putting her hand on his chest, and she started talking,
"What Chris was meaning to say is that it's like God gave you a gift. All those stories that you can make up. God said, 'This is what we got for you, kid, try not to lose it.' But kids like you lose everything unless there's someone there to look after 'em."
Chris had calmed down and continued on,
"As Dolly said, if your parents are too f*cked up to do it then maybe we should."
Adelaide nodded and was about to say something when Vern, who was far ahead off us, cut her off yelling,
"Come on you guys, let's get moving!"
Then Teddy, who was with him, agreed saying,
"Yeah. By the time we get there the kid won't even be dead anymore!"
We jogged and caught up with them, walking on the tracks.
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A/N New Chapter, hope y'all like it!