Chapter 3

Ten minutes later both of them left the office to get to the next class. Jackson was clearly concerned about what he had just heard.

“What’s up?” Zach asked.

“Damnit, I’m going to get it when I get back home. My mom will not let me hear the end of this. Community college doesn’t actually matter to me, but my mom has other plans for me.”

“Maybe she just said it to scare you, and your mom hasn’t heard any of this.”

English class was next, so they walked to their lockers. Jackson looked around for his English books, but couldn’t find them. Zach had his, so they’d just share. The only thing he does during English is write lyrics anyway, the teacher seemed to ignore him.

Mr. Steinbeck was already waiting. He looked his usual, with his strawy haircut and big glasses. He looked as if he was stuck in the seventies, especially with his tweed jacket. Zach and Jackson sat down in the last row in the back of the classroom, and toppled their chairs to lean against the wall. Zach grabbed his drumsticks out of his bag and started drumming away on his legs, while Jackson started humming and writing a new song.

What happened to you,

You played the victim for so long now in this game

What I thought was true,

Is made of fiction and I’m following the same

Class went on around these two kids, but it passed them by as if it was nothing. Before they knew it, class was over, homework was on the board and Mr. Steinbeck was beckoning them to leave.

Whistler High was a busy school, you couldn’t find a deserted hallway anywhere. There was always someone there. Almost every group had its own corridor, its own ‘territory’. The hallways around the gym belonged to the jocks and the cheerleaders. The hallways near the science and math labs belonged to the nerds, the braniacs. The ‘gangstas’ hung around near the school cafeteria. The elites hung around on the second floor, where all you would see is Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Laurens and D&G. The only group that didn’t have a ‘territory’ was the group that didn’t belong anywhere anyway, the goths, skaters, musicians and emos. These kids hung out on the school grounds most of the time, mainly to avoid the other kids. Zach and Jackson were part of this last group.

The next class was maths, the most boring part of the day. At the same time, this was the perfect time to drift away. There weren’t enough math teachers for all the classes, so maths was given in the auditorium to four classes at the same time. This meant there were about a hundred students around, enough to not be paid attention to. They still had to sign in though, so they had to be in class.

Jackson and Zach walked into the auditorium, looking around for a spot to sit down. Jackson saw a hand go up on the other side of the room. It was Robert, another member of the band. He was the only other band member in Jackson’s band that came from Whistler High, the only other band member came from the town down the road and had already graduated. Jackson and Robert grew up together in Whistler having sat through the last year of primary school together, and now attending the same high school. These two always ended up getting into trouble together. Robert was however very different from Jackson. Jackson was a fairly loud guy, while Rob was the shy kid that, the first time Jackson approached him, was sitting in the classroom corner with his knees pulled up to his chest, looking like a boy that was lost and just wanted to go home. Jackson remembered when Robert first looked up at him, messy long hair covering his face, trying to hide behind it. His bag was full of drawing utensils, and even though Rob was only 11, he was an amazing artist, he was just born with talent. Jackson was 12, being held back a year turned out to be a good thing after all, he just didn’t know it yet.

“Hey, I’m Jackson. What’s your name?”

The boy looked at him hesitantly, as if he was amazed that there was someone there. “My name is R-R…obert, Rob.”

“You’re new, aren’t you? I haven’t seen you around here before.” Jackson returned.

Rob remained quiet for a while. Who was this kid that was so interested in him? I’m just another kid in another primary school. He noticed Jackson was waiting for an answer, so he decided to give it anyway. “I’m from Lincoln.” muttered Rob. He wasn’t really in the mood to talk, especially not to someone he didn’t know.

At the same time, class was starting and Jackson was beckoned back to his seat. Rob was kind of glad that he could avoid talking to anyone for at least another hour. He looked over at Jackson, who was already scribbling away on a piece of paper.

Rob’s mind drifted away to his attic room and his piano. The piano was the one thing he really loved at home. He could sit behind it for hours, get lost in his thoughts and just let the sounds float throughout the room. Behind the piano was where he felt safest, where he felt at ease. Nobody could touch him behind his piano, behind that black beauty, he was king.

There wasn’t much that kept him at home, both of his parents worked, so were only home at night. But as he didn’t know anyone in Whistler, he went home straight after school. Homework managed to get done, but he sat behind his piano for hours on end, playing so many different songs, from symphonies to covers of popular songs. The keys were his friends, the piano was his shepherd. Rob was the type of boy that was very closed to his outside surroundings, until he touched a piece of paper or the ivories of his instrument. At these moments, he would open up and let it all go.

Rob was a big city kid, having been forced to move here because of his dad’s work. In the big city he was one of many, and could get around without drawing attention to himself. In Whistler, it was different. Here he could not avoid being noticed, because he didn’t fit in with the crowd. Was it this that made Jackson come over? Just because he looked different?