Chapter 7
Matt woke up with a very uneasy feeling to his stomach. He wasn't sure if it had something to do with the Viscount saying poison, or if he ate anything. But Matt was not feeling well. He got ready for school and headed downstairs. Dipper and Mabel were already working on the shop and Tyrone was hard at work with breakfast.
"Hey little man! Your already up." Said Tyrone excitedly.
"Your in a good mood today." Said Matt.
"Yeah because something exciting is happening in town!" cried Tyrone.
"Really? What's up?" asked Matt.
"The citizens are having a town meeting on how to stop the Viscount." Said Tyrone.
"You mean the old goat from yesterday? Is he really bad?" asked Matt.
"He is. Apparently, he's been trying to kick a lot of people out of their homes and shops. Everyone is fed up with him and everyone is teaming up to settle something against him. I heard from Dipper that Pacifica is going to take charge." Said Tyrone.
"Do you think people will listen to her?" asked Matt.
"I'm sure. Now eat fast little man. The bus is on it's way." Said Tyrone.
Matt ate his cereal and quickly put his dirty dishes on the sink. He then hugged and kissed Tyrone on the cheek, and headed straight for the bus.
Once there, Matt sat down on a seat while the rest of the kids were unsettled. "Keep it down brats!" cried the bus driver.
He then pressed the pedal and drove quickly to the next stop. And the next. And the next. Matt didn't notice much. He just looked out the window deep in thought. He truly felt different for some reason. He wasn't sure why. He got the idea that perhaps the words the Viscount said the day before could have affected him deeply than what he imagined. He shook his head in disgust and breathed in deeply.
Just then, a boy around his age sat next to him. "Excuse me, is the seat taken?" asked the boy.
"Go ahead." Replied Matt.
"Thanks a ton. Finding seats in this bus is really hard." Said the boy as he got out a small book and began to read. Matt looked over and noticed the boy was reading a book in Japanese. Matt looked at the boy and realized he was Japanese himself. He had round glasses and he was wearing a clean navy blue shirt with a long red stripe running down the shirt.
"What are you reading?" asked Matt. The boy turned and smiled at Matt.
"I'm reading an adventure novel about an archeologist that discovers ancient ruins and cursed treasure. My Parents gave me this book as a gift." Said the boy.
"That's cool. I haven't seen you around. Are you new?" asked Matt.
"I've been here since the year began. I have seen you a few times, but I never got to say hello or anything like that." Said the boy.
"How silly of me. I'm Mateo. But my friends call me Matt." Said Matt.
"I'm Shinji." Replied the boy.
"Shinji huh? Nice name." said Matt.
"If you don't mind me asking, you look really blue today." Said Shinji, noticing Matt's tired eyes.
Matt nodded. "How can you tell?" he asked.
"Your usually in a good mood at School and you make funny jokes sometimes in class. But today, you look different." Said Shinji.
"It's complicated." Said Matt.
"Family trouble?" asked Shinji.
"No. Yesterday me and my big brother went to the arcade and we met this guy who said a few racist things to me. His words still ring in my head from time to time." Said Matt.
"Sorry man." Said Shinji.
"I think maybe that's why I'm blue." Said Matt. Shinji opened up his backpack listening to Matt and quickly pulled out a few gummies.
"Try these. They are gummies from Japan. You'll like them." Said Shinji. Matt thanked him and put a gummy in his mouth.
"It's good. And really sweet." Said Matt.
"I'm glad you liked them Matt." Said Shinji as he pulled another book from his backpack. This time it was a detective novel, in English.
"You should read this book. It's really cool! It's about this detective who is actually from Iraq. But people discriminate him because of the color of his skin. But he doesn't let that bother him." Said Shinji.
"Really? How does he do it?" asked Matt.
"In the book, the detective surrounds himself with people who understand and even respect him. Not to mention love him. He has a wife, two kids, a good friend next door, and the police department respect him for his work. Society doesn't appreciate him, but he knows deep in his heart he's doing the right thing." Said Shinji.
"This guy must be made of steel." Said Matt.
"Don't feel bad about what you heard. You have a family. Did you talk with them about it?" asked Shinji.
"My big brother tried to cheer me up afterwards. But I've been down on the dumps and he's been a little worried." Said Matt.
"There you go. A big brother. I don't have one of those. I'm a single child. Oh, but you got me! I'm a friend!" said Shinji cheerfully.
Matt smiled. "Yeah, I guess you are!"