Barbie Boy Chapter 8: Careless Carpooling
A/N: Hiiiiiiiii *hugs everyone* Happy Mother's Day.
Guess what! xxbeyondxbirthdayxx is updating Too Sexy For My Shirt again! WHOO
WARNING: I have not lost my brain to cliche land. I swear I haven't!
Chapter inspired by 21st Century Schizoid Man by Ozzy Osbourne….don't ask how XD
*cough* But you want hear about Matty's first morning of school, right?
"Wake up, Matty! I've got a surprise for you."
The boy rubbed the sleep from his eyes as his excited mother bounced on his bed with a laptop in her arms.
"Hey Matt. Don't you want to say 'hi' to dad?"
The redhead shot up in a sitting position and his mother giggled at him as she turned the laptop towards her son. Streaming on the screen was his father, dressed head to toe in dusty military attire and smiling like crazy, sweat dripping down his dark skin.
"Dad!" Matt was so ecstatic that he actually hugged the monitor.
Asisclo Jeevas had been gone for nearly two months and the boy was suffering from some major detachment issues. He would monopolize everything in the house that reminded him of his dad. Gina would often find Matt curled up in his father's big coat, sleeping on Asisclo's favorite armchair. They both missed him terribly but the true sufferer was Matt as he didn't have friends his age to play with. The mother and son spent most of their days together so Matt didn't generally feel alone, but the child needed the stimulation that only other children could provide. He didn't complain and for that his mother was grateful.
Mrs. Jeevas was getting a little worried, however, as she hadn't yet found a steady job to supplement their income. Highly trained, educated, and qualified for a variety of work, there shouldn't have been a problem for her. She'd completely underestimated the tight-knit community, and while she was loathe to admitting it, punching Leanne Keehl had had more consequences than just a night in jail and a misdemeanor on her record. The Jeevas family was unwanted and Gina was feeling the animosity seep through many aspects of life. The tactics were subtle: getting overcharged at the farmer's market, citations for imaginary traffic violations, and annoying things like anonymous hate mail. At least none of it was directed at Matt.
"I'm going to school today!"
"You're growing too fast, little man! By the time I come home, you're going to have a beard." Mr. Jeevas laughed through the monitor, "I have to go now. Take care of your mother, Matt."
"Bye dad! I love you!"
Gina Jeevas closed her laptop when the boys were done and set to dressing her fiery fluff ball for school.
Goatwick Elementary required uniforms. Ugly itchy uniforms. Matt hated it.
"No!" he pouted, throwing the cardinal polo to the ground.
"Matt, you have to. They won't let you go to school if you don't wear this."
"It doesn't feel very nice. I don't like it."
Matt quietly acquiesced after Gina threatened to take away his videogames. As he brushed his teeth in front of the bathroom mirror, he tried to smile at the reflection. He was uncomfortable wearing his shirt tucked into the beige pants and the collar was simply too high and suffocating. He knew adults sometimes dressed like that to go to work, but his arms couldn't breathe right like that! He wanted his fun clothes back. Matt wanted to throw the tight little black shoes off and put his well-loved tennis on his feet…at least they didn't pinch his toes.
When he sat down to eat his cereal he thought spilling some milk down his front might get him out of wearing the stupid shirt, but Gina just yelled at him.
Despite the discomfort of his uniform, Matt really was excited about his first day of school. He was fidgety in the car ride and kept wondering if his teacher would be a robot or not.
"What if the pinsible eats bad kids for luntz?"
"Matt, principals don't eat children."
"Will Meadow be there?"
Mrs. Jeevas cringed. She thought her son had forgotten about the Keehl boy. There was no way Matt could be friends with the blond after the incident. All the hostility they felt from the community was more than enough proof of that. America: a place of liberty and justice for some. Some people were simply more equal than others, and those with clout sure knew where to push. Gina turned to her son for a moment, sadness in her eyes. Would the other children carry the same prejudices as their parents? Would he feel the hatred she'd been shielding him from once he was alone in their classrooms and playground?
"Mom, look out!"
The woman whipped her head back to face the road just in time to slam the breaks.
"Shit!"
A woman pulled a boy into the street with her, not caring about the oncoming traffic as they jaywalked. She barely even looked up as she heard the screech of tires.
"Oh my God! Are you crazy? Are either of you hurt?"
Gina pulled to the curb and parked, rushing out of her car to make sure she hadn't scathed the woman or the boy walking in the street. Her heart was pounding from the adrenaline spike and she cursed her careless driving but neither the woman nor the boy seemed hurt. The woman merely shrugged and released the boy's hand as the redhead hammered her with questions. Gina Jeevas was incredulous at the brunette before her: sunken bloodshot eyes and wandering attention.
"What kind of imbecile walks into the street? Have you no common sense? And you have a kid with you…"
She couldn't tell but the boy seemed a little older than Matt. He was wearing the same uniform, though. Suddenly he bolted to the Jeevas' car and opened the side door, seating himself inside. Mrs. Jeevas ran after him and pulled the passenger door ajar, wide-eyed at the child's actions. He'd already seat belted himself next to Matt and was making introductions.
"Hi, I'm Benny. Who are you?"
"I'm Matt." The goggled boy extended his hand to the other, confusion running across his features.
"Hey kid, what do you think you're doing? You can't just get into someone's car."
"I'm just doing what momma told me to do if someone stopped for us." The brown-haired boy stated matter-of-factly.
"What exactly did your momma tell you?" Gina looked back towards the street to find that the woman was gone.
She'd left the kid.
Gina swore and kicked the curb before returning to the driver's seat. A million questions ran through her head and she didn't like the answers her imagination was supplying. Instead of driving straight to the police station, she kept her route to the school, all the while trying to get answers out of Benny. He didn't know where he lived and wouldn't tell her any information.
"Where did your mom go?"
"She disappears sometimes."
They were late so Mrs. Jeevas pulled into Goatwick and took both boys to the front office.
As soon as they walked through the door, the office worker greeted the brunette boy with a smile, "Late again, Benny."
Benny smiled back and ran right through the doors into the gated elementary, as if such mornings were a common occurrence.
"Excuse me, but that boy there, his mother sort of just vanished and I didn't know what to do with him."
The attendant looked at Gina with sympathy, "I'll make a report on file, but this isn't the first time he's shown up with complete strangers."
Claire Leeds was a name well-known in the community. She'd graduated top of her high school class and had been accepted out of state, to attend Rutger's University as a pre-med student. She'd been a good kid with high hopes and a bright future.
One night with Joseph Drum was all it took to unravel every one of Claire's dreams.
And the ridicule and shame didn't end nine months later…because by the time Benny Leeds (she couldn't bear to name him Drum) was born, Claire's parents had thrown her out of the house and few local employers wanted to hire her tainted name. The girl finally found herself in a hooka bar, and was a favorite attendant to the men who frequented there, as she provided 'extra services' in a backroom of the bar. Bible Belt her ass, they were all hypocrites every last damn one. Matt's mother tried to keep silent as they were told Benny's story and how careless his mother was, but she couldn't help a small outburst. She refused to feel an ounce of empathy for Claire Leeds.
"Giving up on yourself because you have a child? That's the most pathetic story I've ever heard in my life. Why hasn't the boy been taken away from her?"
"I'm could lose my job if I told you that kind of information."
Matt didn't understand what was going on around him, or why his mom's fists had been clenched so tightly to her purse strap, but sooner than he liked, the attendance clerk was walking him down a gray hallway and his mother was no longer in sight. He was ushered into a room with about twenty other children, all sitting cross-legged on the floor.
His focus fell to the elderly man in the room, the teacher, as the door behind him was sealed.
"Welcome, welcome. Don't be shy. My name is Mr. Ruvie and I'll be your teacher."
Next chapter. Matt and Mello reunite 3 Review please. I like talking to you all.