***
"Hey Jordan! Toss it over here will ya!" Yelled Lucas across the High school's crowded hallway.
"Go long!" yelled Jordan back. Lucas started jogging backwards as Jordan tossed the Koosh ball towards him. Lucas made a little hop into the air and snagged the ball. He lost his footing and tumbled towards the floor.
EJ laughed as he snapped the door of his locker closed. "Gee, Lucas. For a kid as smart as you, you don't have very good coordination."
"I've got my strengths, okay?" grumbled Lucas as he dusted himself off. He jogged over to where the rest of the group was hanging out. They were at their lockers between classes. Luckily, most of their lockers were close to each other. Lucas looked up at a teenage boy scribbling hurriedly in a notebook. "Hey, whatcha doin'?"
"Calculus homework."
"Want help?"
"Number 34, will ya?" Lucas glanced over at the question and provided the answer. "Thanks."
"Gee Davis," teased EJ. "Getting a 10 year old to help with your homework? Tsk Tsk."
"Get lost EJ," said Davis, not taking his eyes off the paper. "I don't care as long as I get this homework done."
"Don't you feel used?" asked Lori to Lucas. He shrugged.
"Don't really care. I mean, that stuff's easy for me. Besides, he doesn't ask unless he really needs it."
"Very logical, kid," said Jordan. "Now how about tossing that Koosh back at me, huh?" Lucas grinned and flung the ball back at him. "Nice throw, little bro," teased Jordan as Lucas missed him by a few feet. Ever since the group had taken Lucas under their wing they had been pretty protective of him. They didn't baby him though. He may have been eight years younger than them, but he sure matched if not surpassed them intellectually. They were there for him when he needed a friend in the big high school world of teenagers. He was something like a little brother to them. Lucas didn't mind at all. He didn't have any siblings and his parents…well, they were another story.
"Luke-Luke-Luke-Luke!" cried Davis. "45-45-45-"
"It's the derivative of the previous problem. And don't call me Luke!"
The loud ringing of the bell snapped them out of their little hang out session. Lori yelped and yanked at Lucas and EJ's' arms. "Lucas! EJ! We're gonna be late for history!"
"Erk!" He barely had enough time to close his locker before Lori dragged him into class. They made it before the teacher noticed their tardiness.
Lucas twirled his pen absently in his fingers. The teacher was droning on and on about something. He had pretty much lost all interest five minutes into the period. So did the rest of the class. He stared out the window.
"Lucas, you alright?" Lucas turned. It was Lori. She gave him a concerned smile. "You looked a bit down and out lately.
Lucas plastered a grin on his face. "Yeah. Yeah, 'course Lori. It's all okay." He laughed and hoped Lori couldn't tell the difference.
Lori looked at him a bit suspiciously. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Sure. S'all good." The dismissal bell rang. The whole history class leapt to their feet and made a massive crowd for the door. Only Lucas was left at the desks, slowly packing his books. He was in no hurry to get home. His dad was back from a business trip and that meant hell to pay.
"C'mon, on the bounce, Lucas," said EJ already at the door.
"I'm goin' I'm goin." Lucas slung his bag over his shoulder and scrambled for the door. Davis, Jordan and Krys were already outside the classroom waiting for them. Lucas grinned. "Hey! How'd you get here so fast?"
"Super powers." Said Jordan. He hustled them towards the high school's exit. "Come on guys! I got a baseball game today."
"Who are you playing?" asked Krys.
"Clariston High."
"No problem," said Lucas. "They suck."
The group made it through the exit doors and walked down the steps. Davis was busy telling Lucas a dirty joke when Lori stared reprimanding the older boy. Lucas was cracking up.
"You'd laugh at anything, wouldn't you Lucas," said EJ.
"Pretty much," grinned Lucas.
"Isn't there anything that gets you depressed?" said Jordan.
Lucas made a show of thinking. "Not really. Not much." Hah. Yeah, just being home. Hey, any of you guys free today? I wanna hang out."
"Sorry man," said Krys. "I have work." She headed off to the buses. "See ya guys!"
"How about you, Davis?"
Davis shook his head. "I'm retaking the SATs so I gotta study. You're lucky you scored good the first time around."
"Good?" scoffed EJ. "This dude left us in the dust." He ruffled Lucas's sandy blond hair. Luca batted the hand away.
"Sorry Luke." Davis jogged off towards the parking lot.
"Lori?"
She shook he head. "Physics exam." She smiled apologetically. "Call if you wanna talk, kay." she left EJ and Lucas.
Lucas sighed and looked at EJ hopefully. EJ shook his head. "Sorry Kiddo."
"Aw man." Said Lucas dejectedly. "I don't really wanna go home straight."
"Boring?"
Lucas frowned. It was depressing, upsetting, dull, tense, hostile… "Yeah, it's boring."
"I'd love to hang with ya little bro, but not today." Said EJ. He gave the boy a clap on the shoulder before heading off to his car.
Lucas stood silently in the middle of the High school's front steps. All that was left was he and the various loose-leaf papers blowing across the pavement. He was alone. Again. He perched himself onto a bike rack. No matter how many friends he had at school he was always alone. He looked at his watch. His mom was late, as usual. He had a feeling the company had some pressing dilemma that need his mother's attention just when she was headed out the door. He could have easily walked home, all ten miles of it, or hitched a ride on a bus, but no, his parents didn't want to put him through such trivialities of common life. What a laugh.
The blaring sound of a car horn sounded. His mom was in her new Lincoln town car waving impatiently at him. He jogged towards the car and yanked the door open. "Hi mom."
"Hey sweetie." She barely glanced at him as she pulled the car into the main road. "How was school?"
"Good."
"Anything new?"
"No."
"How was your physics final?"
"That was a month ago."
"Oh…so how did you do?"
"98."
"That's good."
They rode in silence for the rest of the car trip. That was just fine for Lucas. He couldn't think of anything productive to say to his mom. It was just a waste of breath. It wasn't like she was going to listen to him anyway.
"Is dad going to be home today?" Lucas already knew the answer but a shimmer of hope persuaded him to ask.
His mom sighed. "Sorry, Lucas. I think he's going to work late today."
"Like every day this week." Pointed out Lucas.
"We'll, what can you expect from your father." 'Your father.' Here we go again with the third person.
"Right." Lucas hopped out of the car as soon as it came to a full stop. "I'm gonna go study." He headed for his room. He seemed to do that a lot. It was the only escape he had from the bitter reality of his parents. He'd hole up in his room study, tinker on the computer, read, or talk on the internex with his newfound hacker friends for hours at a time. At least they made time for him. Other times he'd just lie on his bed feeling sorry for himself. This was one of those times. As soon as he entered the room he locked the door and collapsed onto the bed with his face to the ceiling.
"I can't wait 'till I get out of here." Thought Lucas. "Just a few more months 'till I get to go to collage." He sighed. "I guess I'm stuck here for now." He put his hands behind his head. "What I wouldn't give for a brand new life." He grinned, already lapsing into his world of daydreams. "If I could have any life I wanted, it would have something to do with dolphins and computers. The two things I love to think about most. That'd be cool." He imagined himself swimming with the dolphins in a crystal clear blue bay. A whole pod of dolphins surrounded him, squeaking happily. He laughed as they splashed him with the cool salty seawater. None of his parents were in sight. There was no sound of them arguing, all Lucas could hear were the cheery chirps of the dolphins and the waves against the shore. Lucas sighed. Now that's my idea of wonderful. At the mention of the word, glowing angels replaced the blissful image.
"Everything will be wonderful some day."
Lucas held the image of the hopeful angels for a moment. He pulled out his little angel pendant from around his neck and rubbed its wings. For years they had assured him, yet, it hadn't gotten any better. The angels' glow started to fade away as the image shifted back into dolphins. They were still chirping happily at him, but this time, he could understand him. One of them swam up to him and rubbed his nose against his arm.
"Lucas sad?" is asked in a peculiar computer squeaky sounding voice.
"Yeah, I am."
"Don't be sad Lucas. Lucas be happy soon." It assured him. It joined the rest of its pod and swam off into the ocean.
Lucas opened his eyes and sat up. The dolphin had somehow made him feel better. Why should he believe the dolphin? He had no reason to, yet he did. A talking dolphin. Lucas laughed. It was weird enough imagining angels but dolphins? Lucas paused abruptly in thought. "Talking dolphins." He muttered. He got to his feet and paced the room. "Not a bad idea actually. It's possible…translation program…mimic and convert squeaks into speech…" Lucas grinned and turned his computer on. It could be done and he planned to be the one to do it. He certainly had the brains and knowledge to do it. There was nothing the young hacker/computer expert/child genius couldn't accomplish if he put his mind to it. He set to work.