A day had passed since Korin arrived with his parents. His parents mingled and merged in on their own quite nicely. Ernesto and Dad definitely got off on the right foot, but Korin just still left a bad taste in everybody's mouth. Here, the adults looked upon him with an annoyed look. As if Korin should be punished, and should've been punished as a kid, but two people weren't good parents and now it's showing.
I know for a fact that if I had a mouth like Korin did, Dad would slap me upside the head forty times or until I fixed my behavior. Ernesto was more of Korin's friend than a Dad, and it was unfortunately very obvious.
Ernesto fit in with the other adults, and especially well with Bob and Jason. The three shared similar talents and traded information accordingly.
Grace shared a lot in common with Gammie as well, being a good cook and all, and knew how to make some things that Gammie didn't. The two came together to write a recipe book with scrap paper and pencils all around, which kept them busy for the day previous. Now, Korin, Cody, Connie, and I all sat at the lunch table while talking amongst ourselves. Korin really wasn't a part of the conversation at all due to my own direct hatred of him.
"I miss being a kid," He said while we were in the middle of talking. We completely ignored him and continued onward with the world discussion we had going on. We were trying to name all Seven Wonders of the World.
"You guys just don't have a care in the world, and it's so obvious," Korin said. I ignored him again and continued on.
"The Great Pyramid of Giza! That one is my favorite... what other ones are there?" I asked. So far, we had down the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal.
"I wish I could go back to being a kid," Korin said yet again. Connie got fed up, slammed her hands on the table, and leaned in toward him.
"Holy crap man! I don't care! All you ever do is talk about yourself, and it's really annoying! Go talk to somebody who cares to listen, like a wall! Just leave us alone, for the love of God!" Connie screamed out to him. Korin was visibly shaken, but his often cues to redirect the conversation in his favor were very, very, very irritating. I didn't have the guts to say it, but Connie did. I was grateful for that.
"You don't get it yet little kid! All you do is sit here and talk about pointless crap when the dead walk the world! I've had to kill people!" Korin obnoxiously brought up again. It was the only thing he cared to talk about.
"Why is that all you say? You had to kill people, you're dangerous, blah blah blah, don't you like anything else? You said you want to be a kid again, well why do you keep trying to be an adult?" Cody lightly asked. He wasn't very confrontational, but he did have stuff to say at the right moment.
"Hey guys, let's not fight. We're all here to get along. So, what's going on? What's the problem here?" Mary, Connie's Mom, asked everybody.
"This guy keeps wallowing in his own suffering, and we're trying to have a conversation. Why don't you leave?" Connie asked Korin.
"You want to kick me out into the world that made me into a monster? How compassionate of you, you're just a stupid kid who doesn't know anything," Korin sighed confidently. I wanted to find the words to make fun of him, but they would've fallen short. Simply put, Korin would never fit in here, but his parents made great additions... so, we're trapped, and can't go anywhere so long as he sticks around.
"Hey, we shouldn't call people stupid here. We're all supposed to be friends. Connie, apologize to Korin, Korin, apologize to Connie," Mary told the both of them.
"For what?! He came to our table and started being stupid, why do I apologize for his lack of intelligence?!" Connie yelled out. I was impressed with her volume, she continued to be loud, attracting the attention of everybody near the lunch room.
"Because you're insulting him! I'm sure Korin is very smart, we just need to give him a chance here. We don't insult anybody, no matter what," Mary sternly said to Connie. She sighed in irritation and looked at Korin's chest while she spoke to him.
"I'm sorry I insulted you," Connie said. Everybody in the room could tell it wasn't sincere, but that didn't mean it wasn't said. She did as Miss Mary said, and that was all that she had to do.
"I forgive you for now, but I think it's important to remember who you're talking to. After all, this world has turned me into a dangerous person," Korin openly threatened Connie right in front of her mom, and I finally jumped in after the anger had built up.
"Connie may have to apologize to you for insulting you, but that doesn't mean I have to, you fucking idiot," I told him. I stopped tapping my foot underneath the table and caught my mom's attention while watching Korin shoot back in surprise.
Although my mom perfectly witnessed me using the worst word I could've, she paid no attention at all. To her, it didn't happen. When Korin noticed this, he called her over.
"Hey! Kristin! Your kid is swearing at me, make him apologize to me!" Korin yelled out. I didn't falter, looking at him as Mary's warped face started to direct itself away from the table. Mary walked away, and Connie sat on the actual table part of the bench while staring at me.
I was never one to swear, and I always kept my mouth shut. I barely ever talked since I stupidly walked outside to see what was happening when Dad killed the dead. I see it in his eyes, I know that true people who have been adjusting to this world don't brag about it in the way Korin did. Something was seriously wrong with him, but not with Dad. He was my compass for learning about this world, so if Dad wasn't affected by something, then it obviously wasn't too important.
"Woah... alright Leon! About time you told this guy what was up!" Connie said. She stuttered halfway through her sentence, thinking it was a good time to swear in conjunction with me. She slid herself off of the table as both Bob and Dad walked in. Dad had his hand on the holster of his gun again, resting it once more as he has since Korin first entered the school.
"Perfect time Charlie. Look, your kid just swore at me and insulted me. Don't you think he should be punished for that? Maybe, in front of everybody?" Korin asked. He was leading everything to a certain point, something to satisfy himself.
"Depends, were you actually being a fucking idiot? My boy doesn't swear, so if he did, then he meant it as clear as day," Dad came to the rescue by backing me up. He wasn't a fan of swearing as I mentioned previously, but the events that transpired since Korin joined our ranks made it justified.
"I cannot believe this. You people are so okay with open disrespect, it makes me feel like you have no idea how to lead! You guys must need a real leader... and I guess that's going to have to be me," Korin said. He rose his hands up in a shrug and sat back down on the chair he was originally sitting in with his legs crossed, up on the table.
The whole time, Ernesto nor Grace ever did anything. They shamefully looked away while Korin made a fool of himself yet again. At this point, I genuinely started to wonder about the family dynamic between the three. It appeared to me that Korin held an iron fist over his whole family, but why?
Skylar and Niko both always positioned themselves far away from Korin, and I knew Niko used to try to act like this around Dad, but was very quickly fixed. So, what was up with Korin, and why was he so different?
"Korin quit it with the threats. I will kick you out if you don't learn to get along. I want you to apologize to everybody again. If you find yourself doing this for a third time, you will be asked to leave politely," Dad clarified. Korin sighed and agreed to his terms in a loud voice, claiming that it was all against him.
"I guess you people really do hate success... it's a shame I'm so good at everything I do. I apologize for being realistic, and it won't happen again, don't worry Connie or Leon. I'll be good from now on," Korin said. He tried to put on a smile, but it wasn't working. We ignored him once more and began our conversation about the World Wonders again.