Blood Bonds
By Tygerlilee
Chapter Twelve
The Other Average Boy
*Disclaimer: Here we go again...I don't own GW and never will. I ain't mak'in no $, so don't sue...also, I don't own the poem "The Average Child". We read it in my speech class last year, but the paper doesn't have who wrote it on it, so I can't give them credit–sorry.
"Heero, how did you do on that last test?" Etrea asked as she walked between him and Huy on their way to lunch several weeks after Heero first arrived.
Before Heero could answer, a loud slapping noise, much like skin smacking vinyl, riveted off the walls.
"What do you think you're do'in? Huh, you little slut?" a cracking voice echoed through the hall.
"CRAP!! He's doing it again," Huy growled before sprinting down the hallway. Heero and Etrea ran after him to see what again' was.
An average sized boy was standing over a cowering girl. The girl was in tears and apologizing profusely. "We weren't doing anything! I swear!" she shrieked, hick-upping between sobs.
The boy grabbed her by her shirt collar and raised a fist, preparing to strike. "Yah, well it looked like a bit more than that you little...what the!" he yelled as Huy intercepted the punch, holding the boys arm in mid-strike. "Let go of me Iwasato! "
"What for? You'll just beat her again–like you did last time! I warned you that if I caught you hitting another girl again, not just her, that I'd knock the pants off you! Now leave her alone before I make good on my threat," Huy glared back, thus making him look even more like Heero.
The boy looked slightly nervous, but he was standing his ground–verbally. He wasn't stupid enough to challenge Huy physically. "You think you're so tough Mr. Star-basketball-player! Funny how such a short little yellow boy can be so big out there–but then again, it's all steam. I hear that Jimbo's getting all the attention. You jealous Iwasato? You're getting put on the back burner with all the other average players. I would be jealous if I were you. All you guys with average height will never be anything!"
"Hn. You ignorant little twerp! You hear' rumors. Besides, Jimbo's a friend. One doesn't let competition get in the way!" Huy yelled back.
The boy's verbal assault wasn't getting the reaction he wanted, so he decided to pick on a different aspect of Huy. "You're just another stupid jock anyway Iwasato. One day you'll get old an decrepit and you'll starve because you haven't brains enough to flip hamburgers!" he spat nastily.
"Well, I'm not any girlfriend beater and that alone makes up for any handicaps! You're a coward who'd get jealous if his shadow got to close to your girl," Huy gritted back through his clenched teeth. His shoulders were rolled back like a cat preparing to pounce.
The boy sneered and walked off, leaving his sobbing girlfriend huddled on the floor. He obviously realized the imminent danger he was in and decided not to push his luck–Huy was unnaturally strong and it was rumored that he had a black belt too.
Etrea hurried to the girl and helped her up as Huy stood staring angrily at the direction that the boy had just left.
Heero watched silently.
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Heero walked to the little park across the street from the girl's dorm building and sat down at the far end under a tree. He pulled out the newest essay that Miss Kiloah was having them write, when he noticed Huy sitting on a bench staring at his shoes.
Heero narrowed his eyes and got up to join him. He stood in front of Huy and looked down at him until his roommate took notice of his presence.
"What do you want Heero?" he asked softly.
"Don't you have basketball practice?" Heero inquired.
"I told the coach I was sick. I've never missed one before, so he let me off," Huy said solemnly. He let out a harsh ironic laugh, forced through his nose. "He'll probably run me to death tomorrow though," he said bitterly, his face turned away from Heero.
"Shouldn't you be resting if you're sick," Heero stated the question.
Huy looked up at Heero's face, his eyes slitted into a facade of disbelief. "What do you want? Are you messing with my mind? Is that it–why don't you just leave me alone and, and, solve some calculus problems," he spat out the word calculus as if it were a fatal disease.
Heero sat down on the bench next to Huy and picked up Huy's English Literature book. There were several papers stuck in here and there–Huy was using his book as a folder too. Heero took out the paper on top and read it to himself, while Huy continued to stare at him with a mixture of anger and disgust and annoyance.
"None of you're business. You never answered my question. What do you want?" Huy was really getting annoyed now–why couldn't Heero just leave him alone?
"The Average Child," Heero began to read.
"Stop, just put it away," Huy's voice sounded slightly panicked as he reached for the paper.
Heero held it out of Huy's reach and continued to read,
"I don't cause teachers trouble
my grades have been okay.
I listen in my classes
And I am in school every day."
*Crash* Huy's books feel into the dirt as he lunged for Heero.
"My teachers think I am average
my parents think so too.
I wish I didn't know that
Cause there is lots I would like to do.
"I would like to build a rocket
I have a book that tells you how,
Or start a stamp collection
well no use in trying now."
Heero had to pause for a moment while he stood up on the bench and pushed the now nearly frantic Huy away from him, causing him to fall heavily into the dust.
"Cause since I found I am average
I am just smart enough you see
To know there is nothing special
That I should expect of me.
"I am part of the majority
who listen for the bell
and spend their time unnoticed
in an average kind of hell."
Heero paused and looked down at the infuriated dust-covered Huy. "What that guy said about you and the basketball team is true, isn't it," he said calmly.
Huy glared and got up, dusting himself off. "That poem has nothing to do with anything! My English teacher ran copies of it off for everyone. I just stuck it in there!"
Heero looked at Huy–his eyes piercing and cold. "You're a terrible liar, Huy. You think of this kid as you, don't you." Again Heero wasn't asking, but telling.
Huy looked back down to his shoes. "What would you know about that anyway Heero. You're not average–you're the smartest guy I know. You'll never have any problems with anything. Crap, your writing is amazing too. You can go places and be whatever you want. Just leave me alone," Huy said sulkily.
"Huy, what makes you think you're average? What makes someone average in the first place?" Heero asked after a moment of thought.
"I used to be abnormally tall for my age, but then everyone else grew and I didn't. I can play basketball, but only to a certain level. Once you get advanced enough, you HAVE to have height, so I'll always be average from this point on. And that guy was right–I am a dumb jock. Crap, I'm barely surviving with grades just high enough to stay on the team!" Huy sighed bitterly.
"
"
"How can you talk about not answering questions? You never answered mine!" Huy said angrily.
Heero looked back at the poem in his hand. "Have you ever asked for help with your homework?" Heero asked.
"Yah, dozens of times, but no one can explain things to me. Nothing makes any sense!" Huy said bitterly.
"You've never asked me," Heero said pointedly.
Huy snorted. "Are you offering to help me?" he asked, his voice wary.
"If you want me to help you, I will," Heero offered.
Huy looked at his dusty hands and closed his eyes for a second, then nodded. "Alright Heero. I'll take you up on your offer," he said seriously.
Huy grabbed the English book from the dust and grass and flipped through several pages until he reached a section of John Donne's writings. "What the HECK is this guy saying? I don't get it. What does he mean the ask not whom the bell tolls for, it tolls for thee' and all of that gobbledygook?"
"Do you really want to go ahead and get started now with this?" Heero asked.
Huy nodded and Heero began to explain. "The problem with literature interpretations is that they are all speculation and opinions. That might be your problem in Lit class. Most teachers have an obnoxious arrogant attitude that their opinion is correct and everyone else's is wrong. The key is to figure out what they want to hear and give it to them. The only teacher I've ever had who isn't like that is Miss Kiloah, but teachers like her are very rare. A teacher I had at my old school liked very strange stuff, so I wrote about the little dents that spiky high-heeled shoes make in floors.
"
"Yah, that's what I thought, but teach said that I was wrong," Huy said more to himself than to Heero.
"That's because you think in that way and the teacher thinks in another. Either interpretation could be correct. Unfortunately, the teacher gives you the grade, so you have to understand what they think and how," Heero reminded him.
"Huy, if it's any consolation, I don't think that you're stupid. I just think that you have problems perceiving how other people think and that makes it hard for you to comprehend their explanations," Heero told him.
Huy looked up and smiled at Heero, the corner of his mouth raised into a smile.
"Why don't we go to the dorm and get your Pre-Cal book," Heero suggested.
Huy nodded.
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A/N That was not the fight scene that I was referring too...but it's getting closer, sort of. This story just keeps getting longer and longer! Right now I'm planning on over thirty chapters! Wooh!! Anyway, I won't leave you hanging, but if I don't get this story done before school starts then the breaks between chapters will be longer, Alexandra. Diamondgirl, I'm glad you like it so much! Thank you for your comments!! Thank you SO MUCH everyone who has been reviewing me. It really keeps me going. Thanks for sticking with me this far and tell me if I'm getting long winded or boring so that I can spice things up!! I tend to get like that sometimes (just ask Fyerbelle–she'll tell you!).
Toodles for now, Tygerlilee =^.^=