didn’t matter if an atomic bomb dropped in the center of town and radiation fell all around them; if he needed to act normal, then that’s what he was going to do. Wouldn’t even stand up in a hurry as the fallout rained down on his head.
Thera tried to keep the conversation going, telling them about college letters she was receiving, and asking about theirs. Or Bryan’s at least. Michael just peppered them with questions about which ones they wanted to attend.
It was an awkward lunch.
----
M ichael’s binder lay open across his desk and his pen rested in his hand. Mr. Malone was talking at the front of the class, and Michael looked at him but didn’t hear anything he said. Michael was still at lunch, still thinking back to Julie heading to study hall instead of eating with them.
It was all bullshit and everyone at the table knew it. They held up appearances and Thera guided them through the conversation as best she could, but the truth was there, running underneath whatever facade they all decided to show. The truth hurt though, hurt and angered, so they would act like it wasn’t there. They’d act like everything was okay so that no one had to face what they were thinking.
Which was, simply, Julie deciding to take her place in the lower upper class a few years early. Michael saw that pretty clearly, and what could he do about it? Flip out? Tell her, no, she had to slum it for the rest of her life? Taking in little street urchins like some kind of nun? No. He had known this wouldn’t last forever, was surprised it ever began at all. Not in the beginning, of course; in the beginning he was too young to see what was happening, that socioeconomic classes were mixing.
Michael knew his place, knew his father’s place too. He was trash. White trash, trailer-park trash, it didn’t matter what you called it. He flipped chicken for cash and his father sat on a chair and watched ghost stories while his disability checks rolled in. People like Thera, Julie, and Bryan didn’t hang out with people like that forever. Well, Thera might, but that was different. She was different in a way that Michael wasn’t, different, really, from anyone.
Julie and Bryan, though?
To be honest, Michael was surprised their parents let those two hang out with him as long as they did.
It was a nice run, he supposed. A better run than he actually deserved. What could he do? He wouldn’t beg them to stay friends, and when they left for college next fall, there wasn’t going to be a lot of calls coming in. Michael felt alone whenever he went home, and the only difference next year would be that he felt alone when he wasn’t at home. Again, what could he do? This was life.
He thought this was coming and today confirmed it. The reason Julie brought it up now probably had to do with the party tonight. Thera told him about it, though Bryan hadn’t. Thera asked if he wanted to go, and he said sure. But Bryan hadn’t. Bryan ate his pizza and kept his eyes down for the most part.
Malone was still talking and Michael knew he needed to pay attention. Even if he wasn’t going to college, he wouldn’t let his GPA drop. There was some pride to this, after all. The rest of the class might be going to college, most to community colleges, but higher education none-the-less—yet only a handful in the whole school would be able to say they did better than Michael in high school.
He let the thoughts of Bryan and Julie go. He’d prepared for this nearly his whole life, even if they hadn’t.
4
Present Day
T hera watched Michael close the trailer door.
Another thing that would end soon, her watching this. They were eighteen now, and she’d seen this act since they were sixteen. Fifteen, really, if she counted the times she stole her parent’s car to sneak out at night. And before that? Six years watching him leave this same trailer. A lot had changed in that time though, more for Michael than for her.
Take it in, she thought. Take it all in,
Thera tried to keep the conversation going, telling them about college letters she was receiving, and asking about theirs. Or Bryan’s at least. Michael just peppered them with questions about which ones they wanted to attend.
It was an awkward lunch.
----
M ichael’s binder lay open across his desk and his pen rested in his hand. Mr. Malone was talking at the front of the class, and Michael looked at him but didn’t hear anything he said. Michael was still at lunch, still thinking back to Julie heading to study hall instead of eating with them.
It was all bullshit and everyone at the table knew it. They held up appearances and Thera guided them through the conversation as best she could, but the truth was there, running underneath whatever facade they all decided to show. The truth hurt though, hurt and angered, so they would act like it wasn’t there. They’d act like everything was okay so that no one had to face what they were thinking.
Which was, simply, Julie deciding to take her place in the lower upper class a few years early. Michael saw that pretty clearly, and what could he do about it? Flip out? Tell her, no, she had to slum it for the rest of her life? Taking in little street urchins like some kind of nun? No. He had known this wouldn’t last forever, was surprised it ever began at all. Not in the beginning, of course; in the beginning he was too young to see what was happening, that socioeconomic classes were mixing.
Michael knew his place, knew his father’s place too. He was trash. White trash, trailer-park trash, it didn’t matter what you called it. He flipped chicken for cash and his father sat on a chair and watched ghost stories while his disability checks rolled in. People like Thera, Julie, and Bryan didn’t hang out with people like that forever. Well, Thera might, but that was different. She was different in a way that Michael wasn’t, different, really, from anyone.
Julie and Bryan, though?
To be honest, Michael was surprised their parents let those two hang out with him as long as they did.
It was a nice run, he supposed. A better run than he actually deserved. What could he do? He wouldn’t beg them to stay friends, and when they left for college next fall, there wasn’t going to be a lot of calls coming in. Michael felt alone whenever he went home, and the only difference next year would be that he felt alone when he wasn’t at home. Again, what could he do? This was life.
He thought this was coming and today confirmed it. The reason Julie brought it up now probably had to do with the party tonight. Thera told him about it, though Bryan hadn’t. Thera asked if he wanted to go, and he said sure. But Bryan hadn’t. Bryan ate his pizza and kept his eyes down for the most part.
Malone was still talking and Michael knew he needed to pay attention. Even if he wasn’t going to college, he wouldn’t let his GPA drop. There was some pride to this, after all. The rest of the class might be going to college, most to community colleges, but higher education none-the-less—yet only a handful in the whole school would be able to say they did better than Michael in high school.
He let the thoughts of Bryan and Julie go. He’d prepared for this nearly his whole life, even if they hadn’t.
4
Present Day
T hera watched Michael close the trailer door.
Another thing that would end soon, her watching this. They were eighteen now, and she’d seen this act since they were sixteen. Fifteen, really, if she counted the times she stole her parent’s car to sneak out at night. And before that? Six years watching him leave this same trailer. A lot had changed in that time though, more for Michael than for her.
Take it in, she thought. Take it all in,
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