Hello Everyone - This is a new story and very much under construction. I have inlcuded
the first chapter here for you all to read, and you will know i haven't even created the
chapters yet. I don't know when i will get the chance, possibly when I actually finish
the next chapter. This is a fairly long story - I don't know yet even though it has
a sequel which is more finished than this one.....But don't let that put you off.
THE LONG ISLAND EXPRESS
SOPHOMORE YEAR HIGH SCHOOL
The girl sat on the seat outside the guidence counsellor's office. All the Sophomores had been required to attend a personal meeting to discuss their plans for the future in the hope it would help them plan their subjects for their final two years. Mr James Mandelay opened the door and welcomed the student into his office. She stood up and diligently followed him with her head down while pushing her glasses up her nose and sat in a seat near the desk. Mr Mandelay watched the girl across the desk from him and wondered if she was making the right decision about her future. Would Tamara Wylie be a successful teacher with the ability to take command in a class of teenagers?
In another area of the school another teenager was also considering their future role in society. This student was different though; they were already seen as someone important. This was especially felt by them personally. This person never walked with their head down and they didn't have to wear glasses. His name would be spoken and many females would sigh, thinking they were in love with him. Mainly though, they were in love with his image. One person was not as enthused about how great he was as most people. Jonathon Wylie Jr ran up to one of the sixteen year olds who were busy trying to get his attention and put his arm around the young girl. She giggled and smiled wide eyed at the Senior who had noticed her. The fact she was wearing next to nothing and was quite physically advanced for one of her age helped this along. They chatted for a few minutes until his buddies called him back to their group. As the girls were left to giggle themselves one of them laughed. "How can She be related to Him?" And they giggled for a few more minutes.
From the counselors office Tamara walked away with her head held low, once again with her pride and hopes dashed because of other people's opinion. Mr Mandelay had expressed his fears about Tamara's chosen career and told her to think of other career opportunities. James felt that with her brains and abilities in both language and numeric systems Tamara had the option of making a large amount of money without out much trouble. Miss Wylie was not planning on changing her decision just because her counsellor felt that teaching would be highly unsuccessful and was extremely advantageus of her to consider as a career. That was at least the opinion Tamara had extracted from what he had actually spoken. It all meant she was not in much of a good mood as she exited the school building and made her way across the school quadrangle.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion in those few moments where so much happened. Tamara walked onto the grass near a few senior boys at the same time her own brother was throwing the football from the other end. It was largely due to the fact that Tamara was away in her own little world of frustration at everyone that she was unable to compute the direction the ball was headed. There was also a degree of annoyance from those waiting to catch the ball that the school nerd was walking in front of them that they didn't yell at her to watch out. There was no reason to care that it was their friends sister, like that stopped them any other time. Brother John really didn't have any emotional ties to stopping his unpopular sister from what could happen. This chain of events was finished as the hard football made contact with Tamara's head and sent her tumbbling to the ground.
A group of both girls and boys crowded around as Tamara lay on the ground. Her glasses lying cracked and twisted beside. Tamara looked up through bleary and fuzzy vision at the blurred laughing faces. As she looked around for her glasses John decided to make his entry into the circle and tried to help Tamara to her feet. He made some weak apology whilst trying to contain his own laughter and she pushed him away. After straightening her clothes Tamara made her exit, ran away and headed inside to safety.
Tamara pulled the door of a classroom shut and slid to the floor. Some of the people who had been in the outdoor group had chased after her and she was once again able to breathe. To Tamara the room seemed to have the air of escapism, maybe other people had hidden in here before. A cough came from the corner and the sillohette of a boy was now able to be seen in the light as they came forward from hiding. At the same time they spoke, and asked the other why they were there.
"That still doesn't explain why you are here!" Tamara directed at Damian, the boy in the room. "Like you have any special claim to this room over me and my problems."
"Listen to me Wylie, do you think you are so above me that you have more right to be in this room than I do?" Damian Kelly moved from his corner and into the part of the room where Tamara was now sitting.
"I don't think myself above anyone. You know who I am, just as much as I know who you are. Aren't you suppossed to be around the back of the school smoking and doing drugs." Tamara moved away from him.
"And yet you prove your ignorance once again. Now I know the geeks are 'better' than the freaks, just like jocks beat everyone huh. Thanks for the social psychology lesson. I'm glad I didn't have to go through life caring. You know there are some serious good points to being classed a freak. You don't have to go through high school with stupid lame labels."
"You are so infuriating. Don't you even care?" Tamara asked as she put her hands on her hips after doing up the button on her cardigan.
"Maybe the question should be do you really care? Cause it looks like you are fighting a losing battle to fit in with whoever it is you think you belong with. Tamara Wylie, who are you?" Damian walked forward and looked down into Tamara's face. She pushed him away, turned towards the door and ran out. Tamara collided with her brother and found some super strength to push him into a row of lockers before running down the hallway. John Jr laughed and walked off in the opposite direction.
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Damian Kelly,
What are you trying to prove? I walked away from yesterday and I sat in the library till the end of lunch and still I was no where nearer figuring it out. I know you probably went and smoked something and forgot all about it but I'M NOT LIKE YOU!! You have no way of even extrapolating what I am like just by those around me.
You give me an an honest answer about what you think you were trying to prove by acting like you are the most important individual out of the two of us and maybe then I can put you and your crazyness down to some common social disorder.
Yours sincerely,
Tamara Wylie.
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T.W,
Why should I even have to prove myself to you? Although it answers the questions I posed to you on Wednesday when you burst into, may I remind you, the room I was quite happily spending time within. You have a very limited view of what you think of people who are unlike you. I know who your brother is before you launch into some critique of high school and the different social classes.
I am not trying to prove anything, like I said, I think that is more what you need to answer. You don't have to prove anything to me. I am just one person in the world with differing views to many others in this world. That is something I am glad for every day might I add. My whole philosophy is based around making myself happy, I don't have to do anything that others expect of me. I think this is what you are meaning, you want to know my motives of why I don't at least try and make it into the A group, or any other groups. I don't have your brains so I wouldn't make it as a geek. I don't have any sporting skill and don't actually wish to be the center of attention. My parents aren't that rich that I can pay people to like me and thus I wouldn't make it into the A group. I don't act. Dad is the art teacher and we have differing views. I can handle music, but not the kind the band plays. The only people I can stand in this school are the so called 'freaks'. Where else is there for me to go? Tamara, oh wise and powerful one with all the knowledge of books, what else can I do that this school provides?
I don't know if you seriously believed I would answer but here you have it.
D.K.
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D.K.,
You don't know anything. You think I like living with a label. I wish I could be like you and live like nothing matters but I don't have that luxury. My life has been dictated to since the time I began school and teachers began comparing me to my brother. Do you think it is easy at age eight to be told to "lose weight, but I suppose you have the brains and your brother has the beauty.". How could I have competed with stereotypes that ingrained. Being told from such a young age that I would be a success because I was so bright. People do not care about smartness. That doesn't get you invited to birthday parties and dances. What gets you invited is knowing how to throw a ball or bat your eyes.
My parents were worse. They would alternately send me to fat camp or smart camp in the summers. Do you think that's easy, knowing exactly how your parents felt about you.
I did not choose this for myself.
T.W.
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Tamara,
I'm sorry. I had no idea.
Damian.
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Another warm Summer day arrived which resulted in high school students migrating outdoors at lunchtime. The seventeen year old boy that was standing in the doorway of the cafeteria surveyed the grassy area and searched for one particular girl. Damian walked out toward a tree where a small group were sitting and sat down beside one of the members. He pushed a can of Coke onto her lap and lay back in the shade of the tree.
Tamara pushed it aside and went back to reading her notes. The other people in the group were also reading and had not taken much notice of the new arrival. Damian just lay there for a few minutes waiting for his moment. He picked up Tamara's papers and put them to the side before standing up and making her stand up as well.
"What do you want?" Tamara asked as she was pulled away toward the back of the school.
"What do I want? I want to know what I've done wrong. I sure as hell cannot answer that for myself." Damian had now let go of Tamara's arm and instead had his hands on his head and was leaning up against the wall.
"Well, for one thing I don't know what to make of this letter." Tamara pulled a well folded letter out of her pocket and thrust it at Damian. Damian in turn smiled at her.
"For someone who knows as much about things as you do," Damian shook his head, "I'm trying to tell you that I *gasp* think you are all right. And I thought that you already knew." Tamara still looked somewhat puzzled. "Do you want to continue just being penpals? Or would you like me to speak slower. Ta-ma-ra, I - wa-nt-to-be-yo-ur-fri-end." Tamara finally looked relieved.
"Cripes you scared me there Damian. I thought we were already friends and when I got that letter I thought you were trying to seduce me!" Damian cracked up laughing as Tamara finished. Damian liked her as a friend, but anything else would be strange. They walked back to Tamara's group. They weren't true friends, just people forced together because of those high school labels. They liked maths and didn't like sport. Tamara introduced Damian. Even though he was in some of their classes they did not know each other.
Summer holidays were fast approaching. Tamara was looking forward to the end because then her brother would be leaving school, going for his annual Summer holiday and then off to California for College. She would never again have to watch her back to see if John Junior was ready to jump out with a bucket of some substance. Now it would only be the rest of the school.
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