Chapter 10: Alfred - Skipping Stones

Saturday

We walked for some time and I could see the park is just up ahead. I figured it's a good day out to go to the park, plus there's something I wanted to try out but needed someone to try with me. When we arrived at the park, I looked at him and he seemed a bit out of it. I called out his name and he was brought back from whatever la la land he was in. For some reason I find his curious look to be kinda cute, if I didn't know he's a guy.

But I told him where we were and, I admit I have a great time trying to get him to pronounce the word 'park', but I have to be easy on him to. He's a good guy after all. I continued to walk around the area until I lead us to the pond where I wanted to try out the skipping stone thing.

I skipped stones before with some kids back in Illinois when I was about eight. But I remember that we weren't there long before Dad decided to move us again. The stone skipping was the only thing I had a lot of fun with and I wanted to show Honda that as well.

I had to hold in my laugh when he looked so surprised to see my stone skip across the water as I handed him a few stones for him to try out. I watched as he threw the stone, only to be a failed attempt. I could see he didn't seem happy about it, even turned a soft shade of pink. I knew the feeling as I tried my best to guide him to how it's done and let him try again. It took him a lot of tries, but he managed to skip the stone three times on his last stone.

I praised him on a job well done and he blushed again. I swear he looks like a girl when he gets so shy and blushing like that. Maybe that's why people are looking at us strangely, which I noticed while he was throwing his fifth stone or something. He looks younger than me and he looks like a girl, and we're the same height. I have to laugh at the scenario as people might mistake this outing as some kind of date, though he might not make a bad girlfriend, if he's a girl for starters. But oh well, the main thing is that he learned how to skip a stone, and he seemed to enjoy it too which was great in my opinion because we now have something we can do together.

I then grabbed his hand again, which could also be another indicator to anyone looking at us that we could be mistaken as a couple, but I rather let them think that then try to hurt him. From what I've seen with the black students in past schools, they were looked down on a lot. Even in my new school where I saw more nationalities than I care to know, only to see that there's a major bully problem in all sorts of levels. I didn't want Honda to experience that, especially on his first weekend, but then again he'd already experienced a minor form of harassment from his work place where his only companion is that guy that takes him to work and brings him home. He's a nice guy, but even he has to do something and leave Honda to defend himself. I could tell he's strong and can handle it, but there are some things that even a hero can't control.

o0o0o0o

I lead us back to the neighborhood and another thought popped in my mind as I saw the house I live in coming up. I've always go to Honda's place after school, just so that I wouldn't be lonely again. The radio was only a temporarily relief in the house, but ever since I started to hang out with my neighbor, and even though the language thing is difficult, I felt not so alone anymore. Maybe because he and I are kind of similar in a way. He's in a world completely different from his own, alone, and expected to work in a place that's not really foreigner friendly but tolerated if the work is done right. And I've gone to so many places that sometimes I don't even bother to unpack the boxes in my room, expecting us to move again soon. But now things are a bit different, and I can honestly say that Honda, a Japanese man, is my very first friend I can truly be comfortable around with.

It didn't matter to me that we're a bit different, because that was the point of culture, everyone is different. Heck! Even the families here in America are different in their traditions. I knew a kid always talked about his family tradition around Christmas and I always envied that guy because my Christmas tradition was open the small number of gifts that Dad was able to get me and have a quiet breakfast with him and then go to church, the only best part of that tradition, and go home and just be left alone again.

I stopped and tried to not look too desperate or anticipative as I looked at him. "Would you like to come to my house?" I said as I pointed to the house. "I've always gone to yours…" I knew he couldn't fully understand me yet, but I wanted to get my point across, which he smiled and nodded. I'm really glad that he's patient. He may not talk a lot, but that's probably his thing as I led him up to the door, opened it, and walked in.

o0o0o0o

I then noticed that the curtains weren't open as I went there first and brought in some light. I looked to see that he was observing everything in the area, which wasn't much, but enough to make it look like a cozy home environment.

I led him to the kitchen, probably the only place that I can feel like I have control over besides my schoolwork, and took out two coke bottles and handed one to him. I don't know if he had one before, but I realize immediately he never seen anything like it. It was kinda amusing just watching him curiously look at the liquid in the bottle. "It's called cola." I said, using something simpler for him to understand, that and its sounds nicer than coke, for now at least since he's still learning the whole language thing. I helped open the cap off of the bottle as I took another swing of my bottle, looking away so that he wouldn't think he's being pressured or anything.

But when I looked at him again, he took a small amount, like he was drinking his tea, and I could tell he was hooked to the drink by how he was staring at the bottle and taking another, longer sip.

Yep, he's just one step closer to blending into the American society.

When we're both done, I placed the empty bottles to where Dad's beer bottles are, and I hope that Honda never has to drink that crap. I tried some once, it was okay, but I've seen my dad have too much one night and I didn't stick around the house until morning came up, and it was a school night of all nights for him to stay home.

I then gave him a tour of the place, but passing Dad's room because I don't know what he's done to his room. I also had some bad experiences when it comes to entering that room whether he's in or not, so I don't bother with it anymore, no matter where we are.

Then I figured I could pick back up the English lessons by picking up a book and we spent a good few hours of me pronouncing the words and him listening and trying to sound it out, though his accent was very different when he said it, but as long as he knows what the words are then the speaking can develop naturally as long as we're going along.

o0o0o0o

Soon my stomach began to let its needs know and I laughed. "Time to cook!" I said as I got up and headed to the kitchen, Honda following behind me. I got most of the stuff out and I let him help by covering the ground beef in the stuff I placed in a bowl. He didn't seem keen on the idea, but he did it anyway. If he didn't want to do it he didn't have to, but I let him be as I got the stove to the right heat set and a frying pan out.

Once the hamburgers were made, I was eagar to bite mine, but he looked at his before taking a bite. He took another bite, but for some reason I feel that he didn't enjoy it like he enjoyed the coke. Oh well, at least he doesn't downright hate it.

After that I figured it was time for him to write some letters in English. I could tell he has difficulty writing, no doubt he wasn't used to the way I write, because he kept writing the print differently. I knew he would do better cursive, but I wanted to teach him print writing before cursive, because not a lot of people like to read cursive all the time and print was a lot simpler to read. And after some accomplishment with the alphabet, I made him write things like 'cat' and 'dog', just something easy for him to write.

Then I got a little curious about how he writes, since I've never seen him do that and he showed me how and I understood why he was having such trouble writing the alphabet. For one thing his hand was a lot steadier when he was holding the pencil, and his… letters are something I can't understand. He then sounded out each one that sounded like the vowels and he taught me how to write the vowels. Now I understand how he feels.

o0o0o0o

After an hour or two with that I mentioned him to stay where he was and went back into the kitchen, headed to the pantry, took out a chocolate bar and went back out to share it with him. I wondered if he liked chocolate as he looked at the piece before he took a tiny bite of it. I have to smile as he reacted the same way as he did with the coke as he looked at me and I gave him another piece.

"Chocolate." I said as he took the piece.

"Chokorate…?" He tried sounding it out, but I didn't try to correct it as I sat down next to him and we enjoyed the chocolate together.

It was really nice to have someone over and hang out with for once. Sure he's mostly quiet and doesn't understand a lot of English yet, but just being there was enough for me and I could tell he was having a good time as well.

I convinced him to stay the night, since he let me stay at mine last night and that night I wondered what we could do tomorrow before falling asleep.