The morning sun shines brightly on the water as the early fishermen ride their boats across the calm water. Isaac, still thinking about last night, sits on one of the boats towards the back with his posture slouched and his head facing upwards towards the sky. "Keep pondering like that at your age kid and you'll end up with no friends and a bad financial status, trust me, I know all too well" the old fisherman says laughing in a raspy tone while holding his beer in one hand and a fishing rod in the other.
"Manny, I think you've told me enough stories for me to avoid being in the same position as you." Isaac says, pulling his hat over his face and putting his hands behind his head.
"Hehe little shit. Isn't it almost school time for ya anyway?" Manny says nodding his beer at Isaac
"Fuck" Isaac says calmly while still in the same position.
At school everyone is talking and laughing with their table mates. Raya and Clara are talking at the table in the back corner of the room and Isaac and Etien are sitting in the middle. Everyone's heads but Clara's turn toward the entrance when Charlie walks in. Quietly, Charlie walks to his seat as most of the conversations died down as soon as he entered. "Dude, now's a good time" Etien says, nudging Isaacs shoulder.
"Hey, Charlie," Isaac says, walking over to him. He puts his hands on his table and leans in "How would you like to come to football practice Friday afternoon?"
Charlie looks around the room to see a few people staring at him. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea" He says laughing nervously.
"No need to be humble Charlie. You like to play right? So let's have fun, Okay? Friday afternoon." Isaac points at him as he walks backwards towards his seat. Charlie's eyes lit up. Although he would never actually say it he was incredibly excited and happy Isaac asked him to join.
"Sure." Charlie says. All the tension leaves Isaacs body and he lets out a sigh of relief. The few people who were in the class and on the team all cheered. Isaac looks Charlie in the eyes and thanks him. For Isaac the moment was joyous, however it was only for a second. He can see out of the corner of his eye that Clara was absolutely furious that he went through with it. Isaac chooses to ignore it and tries to play it off by fixing his. All throughout class Isaac could feel Clara's glances burning through the back of his head as he tried to focus in class.
Friday afternoon quickly comes and all the boys are putting their gear on. Isaac, Etien, and a couple other boys put their bags next to Charlies and start to warm-up. "GK huh? I expected a more aggressive position from you to be honest." one of the guys says stretching.
"It's fun, and easy, a strong defense is just as important as a strong offense," Charlie says. Isaac is staring at Charlie's face. Although he had a small smile on his face, he still looked as though he was sad, like it hurt to be here.
Everyone finishes stretching and with the clap of Isaacs hands everyone's attention is grasped attention "BOYS!!" everyone turns to Isaac 'for those who don't know and may not have noticed, today we've got a new player, Charlie" Isaac nods in Charlie's direction. The field fills up with cheers and whistles "Let's make this practice enjoyable and fun okay!!" Isaac claps his hands again and everyone starts getting ready and spreading out on the field into their positions. "Oh and Charlie, at least try to have fun today" Isaac says with a soft smile. Charlie nods and heads over to the goal post and football practice starts.
At the same time, in the school classrooms, Clara and Raya finish their homework. The sunset glows orange hues into the room highlighting Raya's annoyance. "Okay what is?" Raya says, tilting her head at Clara.
"What is wha-" before Clara even finishes her sentence Raya interrupts her.
"Don't play dumb with me Clara, we've been friends since we were kids. I can tell when you're upset." she says, closing her book.
Clara takes a deep breath in and relaxes her body. "It's Isaac, I don't think that he's really in love with me anymore" she says, putting her head down and playing with her fingers.
"Why would you say that? He seems pretty in love with you from what I can see" Raya leans back getting comfortable.
"For starters he barely listens to me anymore. Our relationship was so easy when I could tell him something and he would just believe me or do it. Now everything that's said or done needs to be challenged, it's exhausting." Clara says, shaking her head. Clara lets out a huge sigh and closes all of her notebooks. She stands up and starts putting her books and papers away into her backpack.
"Well," Raya says, also standing up and packing her stuff. "Have you tried talking to him about it? I'm sure he has his reasons and his own side of it. Maybe you two will understand each other more after you talk it out."
Clara shakes her head negatively as she and Raya put on their backpacks and walk out the classroom. "His reasoning wouldn't even make sense. Not to mention that he has Charlie whispering in his ear. It's only been a week and a half since he's been here and he's changed Isaac so much, I can barely tell what he's thinking anymore. It's like he's a whole different person, it's scaring me Raya."
"What's up with Charlie?" Raya says "I think Charlie is pretty funny, he is super quiet though. Maybe you're just misunderstanding him."
Raya and Clara come to a stop at the end of the hallway just outside the doors that lead to the field. "He's like an infection in Isaacs mind and there is no misunderstanding that. Lately with Isaac it's been "Charlie this" and "Charlie that". Whatever Charlie is saying to him is brainwashing him. He's becoming a liability to me and Isaacs relationship."
"But he's new, he just has a different viewpoint that interests Isaac. It doesn't mean that Isaac doesn't love you, it just means he's searching for a better version of himself, and maybe he's doing it for the two of you. Whatever it is you're thinking, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think." Raya says, hoping to cool off some of Clara's hostility.
"It is as bad, I know it is, and I plan on doing something about it." Clara takes a long sigh to cool herself down "But enough of that, let's go watch the rest of their football practice." Clara says as she and Raya exit through the doors and go outside.
From around the corner, Charlie was standing over a water fountain. He had heard everything. He wasn't mad, but disappointed. He hadn't known that he was being such a 'liability' to everyone. He stands there staring at the wall before deciding to go outside. Pacing as fast as he can in order to avoid everyone, Charlie grabs all of his bags and walks out of the field. Isaac notices and rushes over to follow Charlie out.
"Charlie?, HEY CHARLIE!!" Isaac says speeding behind him "Where are you going man wait up". The sound of their cleats scraping against the gravel gets harder and sharper with each step.
Charlie whips around and Isaac quickly comes to a stop. "I'm leaving," Charlie says in a cold tone.
"What? Charlie? Why are you leaving? Where are you going?" Isaac says, puzzled.
"We should leave each other alone. Since I'm ruining your relationship and putting things in your head." Charlie says exaggerating his hand motions.
"Who said that? Charlie? What happened?" Isaac says trying to step closer, but every step he took Charlie took two steps backwards.
"Your girlfriend, Clara. She thinks I'm just a Parasite in your brain." he says, his face obviously in pain.
"I'm sure she doesn't mean that. She was probably angry at something I did and spoke without manners, she does that sometimes. We can all talk this out." Isaac smiles, but his smile wasn't out of joy, it was fear. Maybe the fear of losing Charlie or having to confront Clara.
"I get it Isaac, I do. You want to make everyone happy and be the center of joy for everyone. But you can't please everyone Isaac. Sometimes you'll need to choose one person. Your happiness with them, or your loneliness with the other-" Charlie says his voice is starting to shake. "I know you said we could talk it out. But you're not ready for that, and she isn't either." Charlie wipes away a tear that was falling from his face. "just…stay away from me Isaac". Charlie turns and walks away leaving Isaac on the pathway.
Isaac was too shocked to speak. He was holding his stomach and biting his tongue. Isaac was incredibly hurt, he stood in the same position for maybe five minutes, staring at nothing, Charlie's words echoing and repeating in his head. He knew he had to confront Clara about her behavior towards Charlie, but because of his hesitancy not only did he get hurt but Charlie got hurt as well.
Isaac returns back to the field and gathers everyone's attention. The team could notice his upset mood but none of them wanted to intrude on his issues. As the last person leaves practice Clara walks up to Isaac smiling and skipping. "The boys seem to be improving a lot, I guess that's because they have such a great Capti-" Clara is interrupted by Isaac while he's taking off his gear.
"Why do you do this?" Isaac says depressingly.
"What do you mean?" Clara responds.
"Do you like seeing me sad? Do you not want me to be happy? Or maybe you just like it when I cry and humiliate myself" Isaac paused for a moment, thinking before continuing to take off his gear.
"I have no clue what you're talking about Isaac, let's just go home, it's getting cold." Clara tries to change the subject. She has a feeling that she knows what Isaac is talking about but how is it possible that he would even know.
"Charlie overheard you, everything that you said." Clara's stomach dropped and her heart sank. "A parasite, fucking seriously Clara?" Isaac says calmly as he starts to aggressively put everything in his bag.
"Isaac I seriously don't know what you're talking about. Let's just leave, please we can talk about this later, the wind is starting to pick up." Clara laughs nervously trying to convince Isaac that he's speaking nonsense.
Isaac finishes putting his equipment in the bag. "You can walk home tonight Clara" Isaac says, leaving her on the field. Clara had nothing to say. She was lost and confused.
The sound of a doorbell rings at Raya's home. "I'll get it," Raya yells. Opening the door Raya jumps at the surprise of a sad Clara standing at her doorstep. "Clara? Come in, come in." Clara walks in the house and takes off her shoes. "Are you okay?" Raya asks. Clara shakes head negatively "Do you want to bake some cookies?". A light smile appears on Clara's face and the two head to the kitchen.
It's a Saturday morning and Raya and Clara are sitting on the porch of Rayas house. The sun was covered by the clouds today, but the air was fresh and the breeze was perfect. "And he actually made you walk home?" Raya says holding a cup of Hot Chocolate in her hands. "That's so fucked up".
Clara sighs "do you think he'll let me make it up to him?" Clara asks Raya while staring into her Hot Chocolate.
"Give him some time to cool down first, no doubt he's still angry so I'd keep my distance from him for now." Raya says.
Issacs morning was going completely different though. Instead of Hot Chocolate and a nice breeze, Isaacs morning was filled with thoughts and tending to the farm. Isaacs moods seemed to only worsen as the day went on, so much so that even the little animals could tell that he was sad as he harvested crops.
"Poor boy," Charlie's mom says, eating cookies on the back porch.
"Him and Clara have a lot of trouble in paradise but it's been a while since I've seen it so bad even the animals are sad" Isaac's mom says also eating cookies while sitting next to Charlie's mom.
"What's up with that anyway?" Charlie's mom asks
"What? The animals? They watched that boy grow up into the young boy he is now and he's been taking care of them and the ones before them ever since his first words. Although he will never say it or admit it, he has a natural bond with all of the living creatures on this farm, plants and animals." Isaac's mom smiles proudly but also depressingly.
Isaac sits on the fence post thinking to himself before getting a phone call. "Hello?"
"Yo bro you wanna come down to Ryan's boathouse today, we're gonna have a fun get together, drinks included~" Etien says over the phone.
Isaac scratches his head thinking about it. He knows he needs time to himself to think about Clara but he also knows that the last thing he wants to thing about right now is Clara "Yeah, I'm in"
"YESS, Perfect, see you in a bit my friend" Etien says hanging up the phone.
Isaac puts the phone in his pocket and brushes his hair back out of his face. Sighing he continues tending to the stables until his mom eventually walks in. "honey? Is everything alright? Charlie's mom just left she forgot to grab flour when grocery shopping" Isaac was debating telling his mom what happened. Ultimately he decides not to.
"Yeah, it's nothing I can't handle." Isaac says in a semi-shaky voice as he pulls the carrots from the dirt. Isaac's mom gives him the okay and kisses him on the forehead.
She picks up some of the utensils and they both start walking back to the house "Those cookies you baked were delicious by the way, as usual,. When are you going to spill your secret."
An hour goes by and Isaac finally arrives at the boathouse. Etien was already outside waiting for him and brought him in. "Guess who's late again!!! Pay up losers" Etien says walking around collecting everyone's money and stuffing it into his pockets. Isaac begins to smile and laugh before looking over into the corner and seeing Charlie sipping on his drink. Isaac thinks about walking over there but stops himself as he realizes that Charlie hasn't even glanced at him since he walked in.
"Come on buddy let's loosen you up with some drinks, eh?" Etien says, pulling him towards where all the drinks are. Isaac picks up a cup and starts to drink. As the party continues he can feel his mind start to wander because of the alcohol.
Hours pass and the sky is starting to turn dark. By now many of the boys have moved onto swimming in the water. Isaac though was eating some crackers he grabbed off the table. "Hey Isaac" Etien says walking back into the boathouse "Do you remember that wooden cabin we all used to masturbate in together when we were kids, can you show me the way you know my fear of the dark" Etien says laughing nervously.
"Sure, but next time when you ask you to leave out the second part, I don't think many people need to know that. Also you need to get over this fear bro, I'm telling you how would MC Snuggles react when he figures out you're still afraid of the dark" Isaac says making fun of Etien.
"Do NOT bring MC Snuggles into this" Etien says as he and Isaac walk out the boathouse and into the forest behind it.
Climbing upwards the moon gazes perfectly on this trail. The cabin is in sight but Etien stops for a little while "What are you doing?" Isaacs whispers loudly
"The alcohol is making me have to piss dude. Just go up there without me and wait for me. I think I can make the rest of the way on my own" Etien says, bouncing away into the bushes.
Isaac sighs and face palms "He can never hold anything". Isaac proceeds into the cabin and sees a figure already in there "Hello? You scared me. Who are you?" Isaac says, trying to pull out his phone light. Just as the figure turns around Isaacs phone flashlight turns on "Charlie?"