The People I Know - Eric Hutchinson
David woke up the next morning to a loud horn blowing.
He yelped and jumped off the bed, faceplanting on the ground.
"What the-"
Ian was standing in front of him, David's trumpet in his hands, "Anthony's back. Go home."
"Do I have to?" David rubbed his head, which he had hit against the table before smashing his face into the carpet as he jumped off the couch.
"Holy fuck, David!" Kalel ran across the room, "You're bleeding."
She grabbed a towel and held it under his nose.
"I brought you a glass of water for your pill." Ian handed him a cup.
"Thanks." David eyed him before looking back at Kalel, "Stop that I'm fine."
"You're still bleeding."
"I'm fine." He pushed her away gently and swallowed his pill.
"Alright..."
"Just leave me be." David grumbled.
"You shouldn't have woken him up." Kalel frowned, "He's obviously exhausted."
Ian frowned, "I'm sorry, Moss."
David waved a hand. He really didn't care. He felt the medicine kick in slightly and he felt ready to take on the day.
"Who wants to go do something today?" He grabbed his backpack and swung it over his shoulder.
"You slept in your jeans?" Kalel frowned, "Honey, that just won't do."
He frowned and slipped his shoes on, "Whatever."
"Where are you planning on going?" Ian asked.
"Well, I'm actually going to get my prescription refilled since it takes about a month to get here and I now have twenty-four pills left. I also need to go to the store and make sure that Mari has her favorite dinner when she gets back tomorrow night."
Ian smiled. He actually smiled a genuine smile. It was a rare sight for David, since Ian never seemed happy when he was around.
He felt something trickle down his lips and he wiped it off with his hand, which he then wiped off on his pants. He had seen several things on the internet about nose bleeds and specific people, but he didn't realize it was true. Then again, his nose was already bleeding.
"Actually," Kalel butted in, "we're all going to Anthony's beach house then, remember?"
"Oh that's right." David put his hands in his pockets.
"Where's Anthony?" Ian turned around and headed upstairs.
Kalel crossed her arms, "What happened last night?"
"Nothing. I slept down here by myself."
"You're the worst." She rolled her eyes and pushed him back.
"What?" He frowned, "You think you're better than me because I'm still a virgin and you're not?"
David found it oh so funny that Kalel looked at him, laughed, and walked away.
"David." Kalel smiled, "You promised me you'd take me to get my hair done, remember?"
He turned around, "Yeah. I know I did."
Anthony frowned. Kalel smirked at him. He never took her to what he called 'girly places' like the mall or the salon.
"So, are we going?"
"Sure. Just let me gather my things."
"They're all by the door." Ian frowned, "I set them out for you."
"Thanks."
"You should leave now."
"Jesus Christ, Ian." Kalel snapped, "David is a person too, okay? So chill the fuck out."
Ian watched her before turning away and leaving.
"He'll come around eventually."
"You think so?" David frowned, grabbing his backpack and trumpet case and heading to the car.
"Yeah." Kalel nodded, "You want to drive?"
"Uh..." David looked down, "Sure. Why not?"
"Here." She tossed him the keys.
He looked at them and sat in the driver's seat, taking deep breaths. Kalel frowned. To her, it looked like David had no idea what he was doing.
"Where do these go?" He blinked, staring at the object in his hands like it was from another universe.
"The keys?" Kalel frowned.
He nodded.
"You don't have your license, do you?"
"I've never driven a car in my life."
"You just said you'd drive."
"I didn't you'd really let me." He said, "You drive."
Kalel nodded, "Why haven't you driven?"
"I'm sure Mari has told you all about my life." David said as they switched seats.
"No, she hasn't."
"Can I tell you then?"
"Of course."
"I...I grew up in an orphanage pretty much. Since I was like...four or five. I don't really know what happened, but I'm not extremely curious as to why either. I'm fine being ignorant. Anyway, I was fed up with the owners running it like it was a dictatorship and I finally just left. I ran off. I obtained a laptop. I was caught and brought back, but they never found the laptop. I used it. I started one of those YouTube channels to try to get people to notice me. I wanted freedom. I called myself Lasercorn."
Kalel's eyes widened and she slammed the brake, "That's you?"
"Keep driving." David nodded, "But yes, that's me."
"Jesus Christ. Keep going."
"You keep going. You need to drive."
She rolled her eyes.
He sighed, "I got surprisingly popular and a lot of people started finding me in multiplayer game plays. One day, I met a peculiar little girl named AtomicMari. She was fascinated with me as a person, not a gamer. We talked about our own personal interests rather than just games. She acted like she didn't know how popular I was and just sort of humbled me."
"Mari?"
"Her name was Mari Takahashi. I met her four years ago. I was barely thirteen and she was twelve. She's been my best friend ever since. I told her my whole story a year ago, and she told her parents. They decided not to inform the authorities, but rather to get me the hell out of there and help me run away. Mari sent me plane tickets that I could print out. I had enough money to catch a cab to take me to the airport. I took a plane from Ohio to Sacramento. When I got here, Mari's family was there. I didn't know who they were or what they looked like, but the racist little bastard in me guessed that they were the only Asian family there. I was right, and Mari didn't question anything. She just ran up and hugged me and I'm not going to lie, we both cried quite a bit that night."
Kalel bit her lip, "Wow."
"I wouldn't be hear without the people who helped me out. I couldn't live with the people I know."
"I know how you feel." Kalel said.
She really did. She was telling the honest truth. What David had said had made her realize how important the people in her life were, wether or not they were good or bad. She thought about Anthony, and how he was the most important thing in her life right now. David was right up there underneath Anthony since Kalel had finally found someone she could really open up to.
He shrugged, "Don't tell anyone, okay?"
She nodded, "What happens in my car stays in my car, deal?"
"Deal." He said, smiling weakly.
