I stand on the back of Stephen's wheel chair. What a sight we must be, two kids, one in a motorized wheel chair covered with smiley face stickers and one in all black with a bonnet on racing down the hill. Neither of us could care less. Stephen and I are doing our Friday after school ritual.
Which is racing through McGregor Park to the subway singing Friday by Rebecca Black as loud as we can. There's the people who find us as a relief from the kids who only care about appearance.
"Wanna do something new," Stephen asks as we stroll through the underground.
I look at him sideways. Stephen never wants to do new things. "Sure!"
"Good then we need to go into NYC," he flashes his pass under the scanner. The Big Apple is the only place we aren't allowed to wander alone. Anything else in the state is fair game as long as we are home by eleven.
"Feeling adventurous," I tease, scanning my own pass as he waits patiently.
"You could put it that way," he shrugs. I feel a rush of adrenaline. We were breaking the only rule our parents gave us. To stay away from the clamoring and pick pocketing crowds in The City.
We follow the crowds in silence. That's one of the things I've always like about Stephen, if I wanna be quiet I can. We quickly find the sub to New York. It isn't hard, there's lots of men carrying brief cases in suits coming off. We know the drill, Stephen and I head to the end cart, the least crowded.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
The tram cart lurches to a creaky halt. "Now will you stop," Stephen asks a bit irritated.
"Yes...," I say with a sigh. I had been tapping on the glass as I do when we go somewhere new.
"Thanks," he says, finger combing his wavy brown hair. I nod and bend down to undo the clasps holding his wheel chair in place. Unlike the others, these unclasp smoothly. Must be used more often, I think.
"Done down there," Steve asks, looking down at me.
I blush at the awkwardness of the situation. To make matters worse, a well muscled arm reaches down to pull me up. "Need a hand," The voice rings in my ears as A.J.'s hand "talks" to me. I grab his hand and he pulls me to my feet.
"Thanks," I stutter. Stephen snickers lightly beside me as we get off the tram.
"Well I have to pick up my sister from daycare, so I'll see you later," A.J. takes off with a wink and a wave, leaving me breathless beside Stephen.
"What was that," Stephen teases.
"What are you talking about," I ask suddenly very interested in my chipped nails.
"You're funny."
"Thanks."
We banter back and forth while Stephen makes turns. Left then right the right again. We walk for close to twenty minutes before he stops. A large grey gym-like structure hovers over us. Steve stops. H
"Where are we? What is this place," I ask as a tall man on crutches narrowly avoids me on his way out.
"I told you I'm learning to walk," Stephen's eyes do the thing where they light up like a kids on Christmas morning.
"What is this place?"
"A rehab center to recover motion in your legs," a voice next to me says. I turn towards it. A tall girl with sticks for limbs smiles at me with her sea green eyes. I blush at how cute she looks in her short sun dress.
"I'm Addye I'm here with Stephen," I look at her unable to tear away.
"I know Stephen," she pauses and smiles at him. "I'm Stephen's trainer, Erin. He's told me some about you."
"H-he has," I look at him, semi thankful.
"Yes of course," Stephen seems unfazed by this young woman's beauty as we walk in. The front half of the room is a waiting area with a long, granite counter. Stephen wheels over to the old man behind the desk. "Hey Tim! I brought a guest," he gestures at me to come forward.
I stumble over my own feet on the way over. The man, Tim looks old but muscular. Like WWE muscular. I must look terrified cuz when Stephen looks at me he has this smirk I see only when he's right.
"BOO," Tim has leaned over and booed in my face. I scream loud, everyone in the lobby, including Erin, turns to look. My face goes bright red as they burst into laughter. A girl with one leg and pigtails claps.
"That was not funny," I stamp my foot on the thickly carpeted floor. It echoes around the domed room as one by one these immobile people fall silent. And I realize me, Erin, and Tim are the only ones in the room who can do what I just did.
Stephen looks at me with his gorgeous eyes, filled with not hurt but amusement at my action. I look at everyone else. They don't have amusement in their eyes, but something around resentment and jealousy. Erin comes up behind us and speaks softly, "Come on Stephen we only have an hour today." I watch Tim wave them through then beckon at me.
"You too," he rumbles. I follow quickly, leaving the people in the lobby watching me walk.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-end of chapter 2.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
I breathe in the sharp fall air. Full with the promise of snow and the crunching of leaves. Stephen's soft vrooming sound is the only thing I can hear as we make our way to our Saturday hangout. Hobo Steve's.
I see the brightly colored tent from a block away. "God so help me," I hear Stephen mutter next to me. I can't help it, within seconds I'm laughing. Every Saturday Steve insists on putting on a "trick show" with his pony. Yes we are friends with a homeless guy with a pony. A pony named Cerberus.
Chapter 3 part 2
"Oh hush up! You enjoy all the attention," I
tease and ruffle his hair. Stephen sighs as a tall man with ocean eyes darts
towards us.
Kai's eyes twinkle as he throws his thin
arms around me. Surprisingly, this homeless man doesn't smell bad. In fact, I
can detect the faded scent of Axe on his tattered t-shirt. Kai lets go of me.
"You've gotten so big," he jokes to both of us. I laugh at Stephen's expression
as he tries not to groan.
As much as he'd hate to admit it, this is
the highlight of his weekend. I slowly gravate towards thhe brightly patterned
tent. "Anxious to see Cerberus are we," Kai grins
cheerfully.
"As always," I smile
back.
'Horse freak," Stephen
mutters.
"Creeper," I retort as I follow Kai into his
tent. A carpet on the floor, a crate of food in the corner, and a miniture pony
passed out in the center of the colors. The usual Saturday morning. I cluck
softly and Ceb picks up his head to look at me.
"Stephen, heard you're learning to walk,"
states Kai. I plop down on the next to Ceb to listen to Kai and Stephen
talk.
"Yup! I have. It's hard," Stephen boasts.
Kai always manages to bring out the best in people.
"That's great! Are you gonna play sports
again?"
"I-i dunno. I might not ever be able to
run."
Kai falls slilent, not even he can find the
positive there. I lay my head on Ceb's plump stomach to relax. I close my eyes
and wonder what it's like to be blinf. Using your sense of smell and touch to
find your way around.
wow it's long