Here is part 2 of the Mini-Series.
Chapter 21: Tennessee (Part 2) [Knoxville]
The Rev Set explored Knoxville the next day. The visited every major community possible (yes even the ones outside the city limits).
Peggy's favorite stop was the Sunsphere in Downtown.
Eliza's favorite stop was Market Square in Downtown which is also where the Tomato Head they ate lunch at was located.
Lafayette's favorite stop was the Clover Cottage Antique Shop in Powell.
John's favorite stop was the Fountain City Park where he saw a family of turtles.
Hercules liked the Simply Blessed Boutique in Cedar Bluff because so got clothing ideas for a dress he was going to make for Eliza for her and Peggy's birthday.
Alex was favoriting a quaint Christian bookstore in the historical community of Marble City. Alex, nor any of his friends, would consider themselves religious in any ways. But to Alex, this place was different.
"GoogleMaps said this is the place. Tree of Life Bookstore/Prayer Office, right here." Alex said.
"It looks like a house," said Hercules.
"It honestly seems fairly sketchy," Peggy added.
"I'm sure it isn't that bad." Eliza said. She always saw he best in everything.
"Mon ami, why exactly do you want to go in a religious bookstore?" asked Lafayette.
"You know me. I love any kind of bookstore. I'll be right back." Alex said as he jumped out of the car and walked to the side of the building that looked more commercialized. Alex noticed that there were 3 breaker panels on the side of the house. He assumed that the house was broken up into 3 apartments. He proceeded to walk to the porch of the apartment facing the bigger street (the building was on a corner of 2 streets). He noticed the sign said "Open" on the door. Alex walked in and was dumbfounded. He was in a tiny foyer with a bathroom to the left and a kitchen to the right. He walked straight into the large room that held the books. He didn't even see a cash register, but there were 3 or 4 large shelves of books against the walls. There was an old space heater, a piano, and chairs in a oblong circle.
Alex was confused. He was about to walk out when a boy who looked to be about 14 (a/n: yes this is me) walked out of the door to the right that Alex hadn't noticed (is was presumably the office).
"Can I help you?" the boy aksed. He was wearing a Steven Universe shirt, khaki joggers, and Nike flip-flops (hardly an employee uniform.
"Oh, hi. I'm from out of town and I saw on GoogleMaps that this was a bookstore, but I was wondering if you had any books that aren't really... religious." Alex said, internally cringing at the thought that he had possibly offended the boy.
The boy's eyes lit up. "Yes," he nearly screamed.
Alex jumped back nearly 10 feet. The boy quickly apologized. "I'm so sorry, sir. It's just that, this is my grandmother's store and she's extremely religious. I brought up the idea of selling other books to draw attention to this store, considering the witchcraft shop across the street, and she shut it down immediately. But I have a box back here if other books!"
"Thank you!" Alex said. "I can't find a good, non-chain bookstore around here! They're everywhere in NYC. I'm Alexander Hamilton, by the way."
"Alexander Hamilton, nice to meet you. I'm Logan Owens."
"Nice to meet you, Logan, so are you in High School?"
"I'm going into 9th grade next school year. I'm just trying to get my Nation Junior Honors Society hours before then. That's why I'm volunteering here."
"Wow, you look older than a 9th grader. I'm a senior in college and you're as tall as me. Well, I guess I'm just short." Both boys laughed.
After Logan showed Alex the books he had, Alex quickly perked up. All these books seemed amazing. Alex ended up buying 5 books. All the while that Alex browsed, he and Logan talked about school.
Logan had been accepted to the first ever honors class program at his small private school, First Baptist Academy, which was right down the road from The Clover Cottage in Powell. He also told Alex that he planned to go to the University of Tennessee and major in criminal law and minor in some form of art. Alex was overjoyed because he was majoring in criminal law as well.
Alex also got to meet the store cat that Logan and his grandmother had rescued as a kitten from a motel parking-lot in Townsend. The cat's name was "Faith Cat". Apparently that was Logan's grandma's idea.
"You're grandmother sounds like an... interesting person," Alex said, hoping that wouldn't offend Logan either.
"Um... well, it's confusing. I won't load you down on details, but my parents got divorced when I was 3 and my mom died last November due to her alcoholism. It all stemmed from sexual abuse on her from my uncle. The entire family except my dad and step-mom try to sweep it under the rug." Logan looked up to see Alex in shock. "Oh, wow. I just dumped that on you, someone I barley know."
"No, no! It's ok! I understand. My dad abandoned my family when I was 10 and my mom and brother died in the deadly Nevis hurricane last year. That's where I'm from... Nevis."
"Wait! You're that Alexander Hamilton? The prodigy from Key West... well I guess it's actually Nevis. But I read about your scholarship in the Newspaper. I can't believe that's you! I'm so stupid!"
Alex was bashful. Actually, he was kind of feeling awkward for getting all this praise. He started doing something that was not good. He started doing the thing that made John find out about his suicidal actions. He started fiddling with his sleeve nervously. Logan asked about it, and Alex couldn't lie to him after all that they'd talked about. With tears beginning to swell in his eyes, he caved... to someone he'd met not an hour ago.
Alex lifted up hair right sleeve and showed someone something that only his closest friends knew about.
Logan gasped. But then... he smiled. It was a caring, sweet smile. Alex, a college student was crying in front of a 9th grader.
"Alex, look... I know how you feel. You can't tell now, but I used to have lots of little scars on my arm. Get this though, after telling my best friend, Jay, and my now ex-girlfriend, Sam, about it, I felt this weight lifted off my shoulders. Just know that there are other people who understand you."
Alex had just been given a huge reality check by a 9th grader and he felt happier. Any bystander would've thought this whole ordeal to be weird, but for the two people standing in the bookstore with only a cat to be witness, this was the start of a great friendship.
Alex hugged Logan, and... it wasn't really awkward. Alex had expected it to be, but it wasn't. It lasted for about 5 seconds until Logan's phone dinged.
As Logan unlocked his phone, Alex noticed that the home screen was of Logan and another girl who he presumed to be Jay.
"So, Jay... do you like her more than a friend?" Alex asked bluntly.
Logan's face turned as red as Maria's favorite hoodie. He laughed bervously and coughed out, "Yes."
Alex sent him an annoying look, and Logan explained. "Ok, A. She doesn't feel the same. B. I just got out of a relationship with our mutual friend, Sam, and I don't want to seem like a player. And C. I'm not ready for another relationship."
"I get it," said Alex, "but if I were you, I'd pounce on the opportunity as soon as possible."
They both laughed and then Alex's phone dinged.
Turtleboi: Alex, babe, you've been in there 45 minutes.
"Oh my god. It's been 45 minutes. My friends are in the car," screamed Alex. "Oh, how much do I owe you for the books?"
Logan picked up the books, write something on a nearby paper, and slid it into the first book. He handed the books to Alex and said, "After all the listening you've done, it's free of charge."
Alex smiled and said, "Thank you, for everything!" With that, he left. But when he got outside, he opened up the book with the paper and noticed it had a phone number in the paper. Alex chuckled to himself and added the number to his contacts as he walked back to the car.
He made a new, lifelong friend at a quaint, little bookstore in one of the more forgotten communities in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Who knew that a trip to East Tennessee could change all their lives forever?
Yeah, I wrote myself into the story. Whatcha think about that? Also, every hit for about the story was true, except that I don't volunteer at my grandma's bookstore. I'm not ashamed to tell everyone that my mom's family (that includes the super religious grandma who owns the Bookstore) is extremely disfunctional for many reasons.
I'm also not afraid to admit that I struggle with social anxiety and depression as well as suicidal thoughts. And yes, I did have scars on my arms that went away.
Please feel free to PM me if you need to talk. I know a lot of people struggle with what I do, so if you need to talk, PM me or message me on GoogleHangouts under GravityUniverse Productions.
-GU