Shadows of Silverlake

Bouncer' ought to be a word used for athletes or someone that's always active, not someone who's a glorified bully, paid to intimidate the physically non-domineering' Clyde said as he plopped into his seat with as much noise as could be generated in taking one's seat.

I noticed the slight wetness of his hair and the redness of his face, with the upturned mouth. It was either one of two scenarios; it was either Clyde had somehow left his house in a hurry that he hadn't dried his hair, which was about an hour from school, or he'd had a 'friendly' chat with the Muzzlers .

But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself, where are my manners? My name is Elowen, but you can call me Elowen, Loe, Lowe, Lo, Low; heck, you can even call me Desert storm or Pharaoh. I'm just kidding, but go crazy, I mean what's in a name, ...as long as it's endearing. I can be endearingly poetic, as the reference to Shakespeare will allude to, and analytical to the point of being annoying, because sometimes people don't want to think things through. I do not like fried eggs in any form apart from a tomato omelette.

" Did you take the bus to school?' I asked Clyde.

'Yes', he answers with a confused look at the unexpected question.

Clyde took the bus to school, which would mean that he had gotten to school at the same time as most of the kids in school, and that would mean that he's been in the school premises for at least an hour and a half or so, ample enough time for ones hair to get dried, even if they had a late shower. This would bring us to the second and most probable option.

' The Janitor's closet has a lock on the inside, and it's the safest place to keep things out of reach of people ' I said , somehow making his look of confusion deepen.

I sighed, ' Next time you see the Muzzlers, just get into the Janitor's'

He looked at me with wide eyes and a dark flush, then he looked away.

The Muzzlers aren't a wildlife awareness group, neither are they animal control. They are a group of special people in Silverlake High, who have a signature move of dipping the heads of kids in toilet bowls, like fries in ketchup, and expanding underwear in creatively painful ways. They can be quite the creative bunch, ready with new ideas and methods of subduing children. The wet hair upon Clyde's head would mean that they would have taken a trip to the toilet bowl.

I am already exhausted ahead of time for the day ahead of me. Today is one of those days when you really contemplate the importance of the formal schooling system. I would much rather be asleep right now than listen to another mathematical formula being coined.

' Okay now, everyone settle down', Mr Sigmund said as he walked in, his signature move at trying to get the attention of the class.

This is the part where I zone you out, I love school, but today, I can't stand it, talk less of letting you go through it. I'm not apathetic to school, but because I spent the last night alternating between watching comedy club and a documentary on the evolution of potato chips. I don't want to hear any judgement okay, I needed to de-stress from the math equation that just wouldn't give.

So, here we are, you listening to me as I zone out, in a bid not to take an involuntary nap in History. I've tried doodling, but somehow I end up making scraggly incomprehensible lines that just speak of paper wastage.

To my left, are Lexa and Dean laughing over a viral video of a kid found buck naked in the gym locker room. Why that is supposed to be funny or endearing to the public's appeal is beyond me. I can't walk three lockers without seeing someone snickering over their phone.

Lexa and Dean are being very obnoxious in their laughter, and half the class can hear it, but somehow Mr Sigmund remains oblivious to all that's going on.

Fast forward to lunch break, and here I am sitting at a table, with my ham sandwiches and peanut butter banana splits. I watch the cafeteria scene play out, like any ostracised weirdo kid character in a story. I can spot the new kid, kind of obvious by his 'Bella Swan' awkwardness and fast darting eyes moving from table to table, trying to decipher who is not a shark enough to allow him to sit with them.

I know this should be the part where I wave them over and tell them to sit with me, make them feel comfortable and at home, like they gave that one friend they can rely on, but not today. My response is torn between staring out ahead or avoiding all forms of eye contact. But before I can do either, this kid walks up to my table with all the grace and poise of a duck on roller skates, and plops into the seat across from me.

' You've got some balls, kid, you realise that it's bad manners to sit when someone doesn't ask or invite you to. What if I'm one of those mean kids that will make it their life's aim to make your life miserable for something as flimsy as taking a seat?' I said to the kid, amused at his actions.

' I'm sorry, it's just that I didn't know where else to sit, and you were looking at me' , he said, packing up his lunch and getting up.

I laughed at his discomfort, ' it's fine, I'm just messing with you. You can sit here '

I could see that he wasn't fully at ease, and looked just about ready to bolt.

' What's your name?' I asked, returning my attention to my food

' Ken ', he said

' You sure don't look like it though' , I said , not sure if I was trying to make a joke or a well placed barb.

'Huh?', he said, confused.

' With all the buzz about the Barbie live action movie that's out, it's quite humorous that your name is Ken, and yet you look nothing like him, or what should be a possible Ken'

It was true, instead of blonde movie star worthy hair, this Ken had a head of messy frizzy curls that were chestnut brown. This added with his cleft chin, pale skin and grey eyes behind glasses gave a very contrasting picture to the Hollywood expectation of Ken.

'Way to beat the odds though, so take it as a compliment' I said with a hint of calculated obnoxiousness .

Ken was still at a loss as to how to react to that, and I sighed in exasperation.

' You're supposed to give a demure smile and thank me with all sheepish confusion ' I said, in hopes that he would catch up with my attempt at humour.

' Thank you ' he said, more as a question than a statement of gratitude.

' You're welcome ', I said, taking it anyway.

' What's your story, did you move from a different town or you changed schools because of a terrible past record? ' I asked, licking a smudge of peanut butter off of my thumb.

' I was involved in a car accident in my last school, some kid got hurt, I was the one in the driver's seat. It was a crazy night. My parents thought the next best line of action would be a change of school and all forms of established human connection, that is friends' , he said, opening a can of potato chips.

' So, it's a complicated case of a new town, new school, new friends, angst, ...touché', I said taking in his lunch of choice, store bought potato chips, Oreos and chocolate milk.

' Yeah, you can call it that. I don't really like to talk about it much, plus it's more complicated than it sounds when you sum it up'

' It does make you sound more interesting than you appear', I said with begrudging respect.

'Yeah, it does ' , he said.

' Sophomore or senior?', I asked.

' Junior year'

' Jock or geek'

' Somewhere in the middle'

'Ever bullied anyone?'

'Maybe...?'

' Aspen, Hawaii or King's Cross?'

' Star wars person '

' Inconsequential ', I said with a brush of my hand in the air.

' What..??', he sputtered, nearly choking on the chocolate milk that was halfway down his throat already.

' I said it is inconsequential ' , I repeated, with an eye roll for effect.

'And no, we are not about to banter on whether or not your intense obsession with Star wars is healthy or otherwise, neither are we going to go intonations an all out, verbal documentary slash commentary of Star wars' , I said

I watched as he literally swallowed his prepared comeback, with a gulp of chocolate milk.

' Anyway, I presume that you can handle your own in the halls?'

' If you are talking about school bullies, I can hold my own' , he said with a levelled look

Something about this kid's part wimpy, part exotic look, coupled with his response made me burst out in laughter.

' Did I say something funny? You don't believe I can handle a couple of school bullies?' , he said with irritation written on his face.

' No, no , it's not that. I'm sorry about how that might have come off' , I said wheezing from the laughter

' But it'll be great to know that the Muzzlers will have someone who can give 'em some of their own medicine'

' Like I said before, respect '

' Wait , who are the Muzzlers?' , he said looking up with a funny look.

' Don't worry, you'll see. They're just our designated school A-holes '

At this point there was a weird lull in the conversation, and I focused on my sandwich instead. We stayed that way for the rest of the lunch period, us eating in silence and me occasionally checking my phone for unexpected texts, from who you might ask, but even I don't have the answers for that.

I trashed my food wrappers on my way out of the cafeteria, and headed to my geology class. I could still see Ken sitting at my table as I left; it seemed like someone was eager to get in the bad books of the principal. Our school principal absolutely and intensely hates seeing people lurk around the hall or the cafeteria.

At the end of the school day, I head for the local library, so I can return the book on planet geology I borrowed. The librarian greets me with a warm smile and her afternoon coffee in hand. I'm guessing it'll be the fifth one for the afternoon she's on, because Miss Camille is one of those librarians, or would I say people, who cannot seem to function with a full cup of coffee in their hand. My only consolation is that she doesn't take it black, but with enough milk and sugar to feed a literal army. It's a surprise to me that she doesn't have diabetes or something .

After turning in the book, I walk around the library a bit, in search of a new read. I still have a few minutes before I head for the animal shelter. Don't swoon, okay, I only work a few shifts at the counter that only last for a few hours. I don't really know my way around animals, one minute I'm chilling with them, the next I have a dog barking madly at me, looking like it wants to take a bite out of my hand.

My comfy black loafers make a scuffing sound as I walk around the shelves. I run my index finger along the spines of the books, and then I randomly pick one out. The silver embossed writing on the cover says that the book is about historical myths and urban legends. I look up and I realise that I'm in the mystery novel section, but the book in my hand doesn't look like a novel, in fact it looks more like a textbook. Maybe, someone put it over here with these books by mistake, I thought, but then Camille is so meticulous and efficient with how she treats and keeps her books, you'd think she was a neurosurgeon at some point in her life.

I take the book either way, promising myself that I'd keep it properly when I return it back. Camille is on the phone when I get to her front desk to check the book out, so she just runs me through and waves me off with a greasy donut.

At the animal shelter, I try to watch some TV, but there's nothing good enough on. The chatter of the oldies waiting to check out the animals is quite distracting, as I find myself listening more to whatever gossip they're spewing than concentrating on reading the book I borrowed from the library.

' I heard Mrs Bell's daughter ran off with a boy', one of the women said, clicking her teeth with as much judgement as could be mustered without incisors.

' Well, I never thought Mrs Bell would ever let that out ', the other lady said .

' But are you sure about Kalen running away?'

' Well what other explanation or reason do you have for a young teenager to suddenly disappear into thin air ', the No Front Teeth lady said.

' She could be kidnapped or worse killed, you dumbasses', I scoffed under my breath.

' Darling, did you say anything? ', she looked up at me with her missing teeth smile.

'No, ma'am ', I said, responding with a fake megawatt smile of my own. Ice cream forbids that I would be the one to chase these judgmental idiots from adopting an animal, but then again, I think these animals are safer here than with these blundering idiots.

" What if she was kidnapped?", one of the ladies piped in, as they returned back to their conversation, and I'm tempted to lift my hands to the heavens at the thought of one of these ladies being sensible.

' Well, that's a possible option, but it's kind of far-fetched, don't you think? I mean Silverlake is quite peaceful, why would anyone want to kidnap anyone ', Toothless says with a laugh.

The level of ignorance this lady possesses marvels me every time.

' I personally think that the police should get in on it, try to find out what exactly is going on, it wouldn't hurt ' Lady Two days.

' Well, whatever, that's Mrs Bell's decision to make, but I wouldn't blame her if she didn't go to the police, Kalen had quite the reputation in Silverlake, I would say ' Toothless says.

I'm about to scratch my nails on the wall, so that their ears can hurt for a bit, but that's when Mike comes along, and I am more than eager to hand over these nut jobs to him.

'Have fun', I say, patting him on the shoulder as I leave, and I can feel his shudder as he realises that these women are now his problem for the next few hours.

' Can't I spend some more time out back with the animals instead? ', he asks

' Nope, spend some time with these ones out front right here, and boy do they seem excited to see you ', I said as I headed out the door.

Five minutes later I'm back through the door

'You had a change of heart?', Mike asks with a hopeful expression.

' How cute, I only came back because I forgot my book, and I'll be out that door once I get it, thank you very much ', I reply, unmoved by his puppy eyes.

" Save the puppy eyes for the ladies or your parents', " I say, zipping up my backpack after putting the book into my bag.

Today, I'm back at my table in the cafeteria, it's Thursday and Ken is sitting across from me again.

' What brings you about these parts?', I ask with a smirk.

' Nothing much, just take a stroll around the cafeteria, and I saw you were eating alone again, so I decided to keep you company ', he said and I rolled my eyes.

' Give me a break please, you realise that I didn't tell you that you could sit here, right?'

'Well, you also realise that you didn't tell me not to sit here, so it's agreement by silence ', he said as a comeback.

' I see that someone's balls are getting bigger, well played ', I said and he snorted soda at my words.

I smirked and put back the next barb that came to mind.

We settled back into silence like the last time, and I picked up my book, to keep myself occupied while eating.

' What are you reading? ', he asked.

' It's a book on an unexplored type of business', I said.

' What kind?'

'Nunya', I said without glancing up.

'Nunya...nunya business ...what kind of business is nunya business?...Ohhh', he said as it finally dawned on him.

'Nice one...', he said and we had a few extra moments of silence.

' You realise that I don't even know your name right?'

' Now, who's fault would that be?', I replied, still not looking up.

' What's your name?'

'Elowen, but you can call me Loe...in the next fifty years or so', I said.

' What year?'

'Huh?', I ask, confused about what he's talking about.

' What year are you in, sophomore or senior?', he asked, clarifying this time.

'Junior year ',

' How come I've never seen you in class?', he asked.

' I don't know, maybe you're blind, if you don't take notice, or your glasses need to be changed '.

' Plus, I take a lot more AP classes', I added.

' That explains it'.

' Explains what?'

' Why you act superior '

' I do not act superior, I only act like I'm superior around people I'm suspicious of and or do not like. Apart from these, if I still come off as superior, then maybe I am'.

' That would infer that you are suspicious of me, which translates to fear'.

Now, why on earth would I be scared of someone who looks like a 'Before' picture from a glow up show.

' I'm not the one drinking Kool-Aid from a fitness water bottle '

' I'll have you know that I take way better planned and executed health choices than you do '.

' Oh really , what makes you think so?'

' The cheese filled taco in your hand and the fudge bowl on the table ', I said pointedly.

' Give it a rest, ya, some of us would rather enjoy our lives than not', he said.

" Who's your partner for the geology project?" I asked.

' Lander ' ,

' Hmph, fair enough', I said.

'He likes Skittles, you guys can bond over that I guess '

' He does seem to have good taste in food ', he said thoughtfully.

I rolled my eyes again for the hundredth time in the last half hour.