Feelin' the Same Way All Over Again
Evening was settling over the more well-to-do suburbs of Philadelphia bringing a sense of calm. The day was coming to an end, and everything and everyone were winding down for the night. Fathers sat reading to the children, while the mothers served dinner. The streets were quiet, the lawns neatly cut and everything was in it's place.
However, not far away, in a part of the city most people would rather forget the Pink Flamingo trailer park was brimming over with people down on life and down on their luck. The permanent layer of dust that settled over everything in sight was also to be found in the hearts of those who dwelled there. Silence here was not peaceful, but foreboding.
As a rather expensive looking Harley Davidson pulled into the trailer park, more than a few heads were turned. This was an outsider, and the only people trusted less in the park than the neighbours. The motorcycle pulled to a halt in a cloud of dust. The young pillion passenger removed his helmet and shook his brown hair back into place. He slid off the bike, and stretched his legs. The driver flipped the visor of his own helmet, and turned to talk to the boy.
"You're positive you don't want me to come in, Hunter?" the man asked, searching the boys face for the truth, all the while getting visibly more and more uncomfortable about the residents staring at them.
Shawn Hunter shook his head vigorously. "Nah, Jon, bud, I'm fine. Honest." Then, leaning in closer so no one else could here. "I think you'd better go, Jon. Looks like the vultures are just about ready to sink their talons in."
Jonathan Turner looked around at the surrounding trailers, and saw face upon unfriendly face. The thought of leaving Shawn here by himself made Jon physically shiver. Giving Shawn a concerned look, Jon reminded the boy "Well, you've got the cell phone I gave you, so any problems…" He would've tried to talk him out of staying if he'd thought it would do any good, but once Shawn got a plan there was no stopping him.
"I'll call the first sign of trouble, but I really think Dad has changed. He says he has a job, and a new girlfriend."
"Well, okay. But your ring if you need me. Otherwise I'll see you at 7."
"Thanks," Shawn grinned, then heading towards his old trailer, he called over his shoulder. "But I'll be fine!"
Shawn could not help but feel both nervous and hopeful as he approached the trailer he had once called home. It had hardly changed – the same lopsided letters attached to the door spelling out Hunter, the paint peeling just as badly as it always had, the cover to the light that hung over the steps still broken. Shawn felt his heart sink. Was this a warning? Had his father really changed? He started to doubt himself now. It had been over a year since he had last seen his father. Father, Shawn thought, with disgust. He could hardly bring himself to call Chet Hunter his father. The last memory Shawn had of Chet was him looming over Shawn with an empty beer bottle, just before he'd delivered the blow to Shawn's head that had landed the boy in a coma for the following two weeks. After that Chet had gone to jail, serving an eight month sentence for assault. Assault…the word didn't really seem to cut it in Shawn's mind. It hardly seemed adequate to convey the fact that Chet had taken to his son in a drunken rage and beaten him to within an inch of his life. There was no question that Shawn would've died had his best friend Cory Matthews not come looking for him the next day when he never showed at school. Shawn then was hit by a wave of guilt for Cory having to be dragged into this. For years Shawn had tried to keep the truth about his father from Cory. Cory lived in what Shawn saw as a perfect world, and he hadn't wanted to spoil that for his friend.
After Shawn had recovered he had returned to live with Jonathan Turner. He had resided with the teacher previously for a year, when his father had ditched him to go search for Shawn's mother, who had finally roused up the courage to leave. It could just as easily have been her lying in a pool of blood that day…
Even though Verna Hunter had left him behind, Shawn did not feel angry at his mother. He had seen the tough life she'd had with Chet, the constant put downs and beatings. It was a miracle that she'd managed to survive it all.
The last year of Shawn's life living with Jonathan had been close to what Shawn considered perfection. Now his worries were which girls he was going out with this weekend, and what excuse for not doing his homework would work this time… not how would he explain the black eye, and when would his father nut off again…
So, after all of this, naturally Shawn was not in the least bit interested when his father first started to try and contact him. In fact, the first half a dozen times Chet Hunter had telephoned, Shawn had slammed down the receiver. Yet, finally Shawn had given in, and talked to the man, and after a month or so of conversations over the phone, Shawn had been convinced that his father had changed enough that it was time to give him another chance. One last chance.
Yet, here, back where it had all happened, Shawn wasn't so sure.
Finally mustering up the courage, Shawn knocked hesitantly on the door…