"I don't want to talk about it," I told them and turned my back.
"Why not?" Diana asked, adding, "Was I correct? Did you kill someone?"
"No! I wouldn't be here talking to a bunch of losers if I killed someone," I said, rolling my eyes and looking at the free-range chickens running around.
"But my mom said rich people get away with a lot of things," Natasha probed.
I can only laugh in disbelief. "Well, not me."
"Hey, guys. Let's not force Joaquin to share personal things. He'll do it once he's comfy. Right?" I looked at Dominic after he said that. He still has that cheeky smile I first saw him with earlier.
Despite his keen approach to befriending me, I turned my back against him and refused to answer. We couldn't exchange any more words, anyway, because someone arrived.
"I told you that these nerds will hang out here."
It was the guy from earlier. The one who with the stupid bowlcut. Honestly, with a face and look like that, where did he get his audacity to call other students and act as if he's some cool jackass? It's beyond me. He also had two other guys behind him, who stands up with their arms crossed.
"Get outta here, Riven," Diana stood up and walked beside me. The same goes for Daniel, who was mildly laughing as he whispers, "Don't mind them, Jay. They're too frail to hurt you."
"Yeah. They have 3rd-grade syndrome."
I looked at Diana. "What's that?"
She chuckled, saying, "Check it out."
"Why don't you go? It's almost time for afternoon classes, and you four are still here," the fattest one in their group warned.
"You don't want us to have you disciplined, right? So, get the heck out," the tall dude on Riven's right said.
"Oh. So you guys are like… hallway patrols or something?" I asked, biting my lips to prevent myself from laughing out loud.
"No. We're just not assholes," Riven says.
"Yeah. You're overcompensating nerds who have connections with the teachers," Diana confided, making Dominic and me laugh.
"Oh, you're laughing?" The fat one questioned, offense taken.
"Yes, we are, Asher."
"No, I'm not talking to you. You're hopeless, Keagan. We're talking to you."
The guy who's apparently named Asher pointed at me. "You think this is funny, new kid? Let's see where that laugh gets you."
"My father will hear about your cocky attitude," Riven said and stepped closer to me, but I just let him.
"Well, at least I don't have a bowl cut…"
We straight up cackled and so did his tall friend, but Riven looked back and tapped him to make him stop. His face was reddened by anger. I could feel his mouth about to twitch and scream the most blatant insults he has in his pocket, but we were stopped before Riven could have a mental breakdown.
"What are you still doing here?"
We looked at where the voice came from in unison. It was a man wearing white long-sleeved shirt, sleek black slacks, and a red lanyard atop his black necktie. His hair was dark and despite his creased brows, he had half a smile that entailed his soft, youthful features. Judging by the little nameplate on his shirt, I surmised that he's a teacher.
"Dad!" I almost dropped on the ground when Riven called the man that.
"That's his dad?!" I audibly questioned in disbelief. Theman looks like he's in his mid twenties, but if that's Riven's father, then he should be around the same age as my father, who looks like a rotting corpse, by the way.
"Yup. The apple falls far from the tree…" Diana says.
Riven's father walked toward us with his hands in his pocket. "What are you kids doing here? Are you fighting?"
"Riven's terrorizing the new kid, Sir Ron."
Riven's father looked at him. "Is that true?"
"No! I'm just telling them to go back in their class because breaktime's over, but they're putting up quite a fight!"
After spouting that nonsense, Riven's father looked at his son's friends. "Is that right, Damon?" he asked the tall dude. So, that other kid's name was Damon, huh?
"Yeah… We're just letting him know the rules," Damon said and pointed at me, which made the former look at me. We met gazes and I had a clear view of his face. You can't tell me Riven's not adopted.
"You guys, go to your classes and avoid further trouble," he told everyone without breaking eye contact with me. Of course, I held my gaze too because I won't back down. I gotta show these people I'm someone they should fear.
Riven and his friends started to walk away and so did we, but before I could take any more steps, Riven's father stopped me. "Except you…"
Only Riven's father and I were left when everyone went back to the building for their afternoon classes. "I'm Ron," he introduces himself as we stood next to each other awkwardly under the scorching heat of the sun with nothing but the tattered basketball ring shading us.
"Joaquin… Joaquin Astley," I replied and looked at the river.
"Come here…" he said and signaled me to follow him at the big stone Diana was sitting at earlier. He sat there first and gestured me to follow. "Nice to meet you, Joaquin Astley."
"Uhm, okay."
"You're probably thinking why is this old, unrelatable man talking to me." He chuckled after saying that. I could only smile because he knew exactly what I was thinking. I didn't say anything and just let out a forced hem. This is really awkward. Why did he even hold me back? I have a science class next. Shouldn't he let me go?
I look at my watch and indeed, I'm four minutes late. "I'm your science teacher. I'll let you off the hook."
"Oh…"
He laughed and straightened his back. "I just wanted to get to know you because we're fairly similar. I heard about your little meltdown last night."
He must be referring to how I told everybody off. "My father's the sheriff."
"Theodore?"
"Yup, Theodore, but I call him dad," he laughed again and I just looked down. What's this now? Does everybody know? Are people gossiping about me? If so, then great. Let everybody know that I'm a piece of shit so they stay away from me.
"You don't have to worry. They adore you and even felt bad for ganging up on you the moment you arrived. Actually, that's the same reason I wanted to talk to you. Joaquin, you remind me a lot of myself. I was around the same age as you when my family moved here. Like you, I grew up in the city."
Somehow, I was interested. Ron seems like a cool guy, so I wondered if him moving here affected his composure and dumbed him down to a rural imbecile.
"I hated it and had the exact same meltdown when I saw the place. Everything is boring. There's no club, no cute girls, nothing. All I see was crops, that mountain, the stupid sea…" Shaking his head, he scoffed and added, "Everything sucked."
"I agree," I seconded and he looked at me. For a second, he didn't speak.
"You agree, right? Well, it doesn't always have to suck."
"What do you mean?"
He stood up. "I found people I could relate to. It sounds a little bit of a stretch, but things started to become better the moment I began to make friends. I know this sounds a bit textbook-ie and is kind of a stretch, but believe me… It changes everything. The next thing you know…" He suddenly ran to the ring and jumped so high I slightly propped my back. He reached the top of the backboard with no difficulty, landed cleanly, and said, "You already like living here."