Plants And Animals
Chapter One: Goldfish
Seaweed rocked back and forth on his heels, bobbing his head a little to the music. His mother was having another one of her parties—the loud music, the loud people, the loud everything. It wasn't that he didn't like them. On the contrary, he lived for them. Dancing around like a maniac, seeing Maybelle's friends—it was the most exciting thing in the ten-year-old's life. But Maybelle's parties tended to give people a headache after awhile. Especially when she invited her best friend, Essie Sanders. That woman's voice could be heard from Chicago, Seaweed was sure of it.
An unfamiliar looking boy sat in the corner, looking sullen and withdrawn. He was staring down at his sneakers, knuckles gripping the couch cushions with an unyielding intensity. Seaweed walked closer to him, slowly, as if he were a dangerous animal.
The boy looked up and saw Seaweed approaching. He scowled at him. "What you want?"
Seaweed was taken aback by the other boy's tone, but he flashed him a confident smile nonetheless. "I'm Seaweed. Seaweed J. Stubbs. What's your name?"
The other boy stared at Seaweed for what felt like a long time, his eyes piercing holes in the dancer's head. "Johnny Sanders," he grunted, looking down at the ground once again. Seaweed didn't move, even though his mind was screaming at him to walk away. He just folded his arms across his chest, hoping to start a conversation. Maybe this Johnny guy wasn't as strange as he appeared.
"So, Essie's your mom?" Seaweed asked, raising his eyebrows. "I didn't know she had any kids. She's not married, or anything."
Johnny sighed. "Essie's my aunt. I'm living with her now."
"Why're you living with her?"
Johnny looked up at him, and he appeared to be on the verge of tears. It was obvious he was trying to fight them. He glared at Seaweed, trying to look intimidating, but he ended up looking like a goldfish.
"None of your business, that's why," Johnny muttered.
"Oh," Seaweed breathed, biting his lower lip. "Well…maybe, you know, you could play with me and my friends sometime?" Maybelle had always taught him to include others, even if he didn't like them. If there was one thing that Maybelle didn't like, it was exclusion.
"We're always a person short for basketball," he continued. "And you look pretty tall. Do you play?"
Johnny's expression didn't change as he nodded his head. But, when he spoke again, his voice was much harder than it had been before. "But I don't wanna play with you."
There was an awkward silence. Seaweed could feel his cheeks growing hot with embarrassment, although he wasn't sure why he felt that way. Without another word, Seaweed turned around and walked back to the crowd.
Little did he know, he had just met the boy that would soon make his life miserable.