I sat at the dinner table as I waited anxiously for the frozen waffles to pop out of the toaster. I was a little excited because today we were having blueberry waffles instead of the usual plain. When you had no syrup, the plain waffles barely tasted like anything, but I supposed it was better than starving to death.
"Me first! Me first!" Kevin exclaimed like he always does when the first two waffles popped up.
"Only take one Kevin, we don't have enough for everyone to have two." My mother said when he reached for both of the waffles. Even though I'm now sixteen, my family is still poor as shit, not that I really expected anything more.
My dad took the second waffle, causing me to glare at him, that one should have been for Karen. I could excuse Kevin, a TV fell on his head when he was a baby, giving him slight brain damage. However, he wasn't so bad that he had to be in the Special Ed class or anything like that.
As usual, I ended up getting the last waffle, that didn't matter much though, at least I got something this time, unlike last week when there were only four frozen waffles instead of five.
"So, Kenny, I saw you talking to some black boy today." My dad said with his mouth full of waffle.
"Yea, so?" I asked.
"I don't want you associating with those kinds of people, they think that the whole world owes them just because they're black, they can just sit on their ass and get everything handed to them, while I have to work for a living." He rambled.
Yea, like sitting on your ass drinking really qualifies as working. I thought to myself, not daring to say it out loud though.
"Dad, they're not like that, at least Token isn't, he's different." I said.
"I don't want to see you associating with that boy anymore, us McCormicks stick around with our own kind." He said.
So drunkards and drug addicts? I thought to myself, once again, I dared not say it out loud.
"This is so unfair!" I exclaimed, pushing my half-eaten waffle over towards Karen, before storming to my room, ignoring my dad yelling about how life isn't fair.
After a few minutes of looking at my Playboy mags, I decided to go for a walk to clear my head. As usual, my parents didn't acknowledge me when I left, not that I minded much anymore. I walked until I reached Stark's Pond, I smiled when I saw Token on the bench reading a book.
"What are you reading?" I asked, sitting down beside him.
"Oh, just a book for my debate class."He replied, carefully sitting it down on the other side of him.
"Is it any good?" I asked as I scooted closer to him.
"Well, if you think text book type books are good, then yea, it's good." He said, placing his hand on top of mine.
"So, why are you reading out here in the cold instead of your big fabulous mansion?" I asked before planting a kiss on his cheek.
"My parents and I had a fight." He said. That shocked me, Token's family hardly ever fought, especially not with their perfect straight-A athletic son.
"What? What about?" I asked.
"Well, they don't like the fact that we're together, they said I could do way better than some white-trash piece of shit, their words not mine, and they said that if I didn't end it with you, then they're going to send me to a boarding school." He choked out as his eyes filled with tears. This shocked me even more than fighting with his parents, he NEVER cried.
"Wha- you're not, you're not breaking up with me are you?" I stammered out, feeling tears of my own spring up into my eyes.
"No! Of course not! I don't care what my parents say, I love you and I want to be with you." He said firmly.
"But, what about getting sent to a boarding school?" I asked.
"I'll run away, heck, I'll move in with you, we could live together." He said with slight excitement, taking my hands in his. I let out a light sigh, hating to be the one to drop the bombshell of hell and disappointment on him.
"Um Token, as much as I love that idea, and as much as I would love nothing more than to live with you, my parents don't approve of us being together either."