Soundscapes: Endurance Episode 2

Episode 2

Gopaul luck eh seepaul luck…

His eyes burned as he forced them open; soreness from football practice the night before reminded him he had training tonight. Max groaned in pain as he rolled onto his back. A sudden image of Mei’s beautiful face seemed to give him the spark he needed to get going.

“Max!” his stepbrother Justin stumbles through the bedroom door. Justin’s clothes hung on him as if it was fighting for dear life.

Your Dad has been looking for you; where have you been?” Max asked as he got off his bed to grab a nearby T-shirt.

“Why was he looking for me?” Justin asked, as he tried to smooth out his clothing.

“Why do you do this? You have a Mom and dad who love you. I feel sorry for the Dude. I'm speechless around him now.”

“Not everyone has it like you, Max; your dad treats you like royalty. I wish my dad would put twenty-five thousand in my bank account each month. Is that how it is in Trinidad? Ya’ll people rich like that,” Justin spoke in a condescending tone.

Max shook his head as he thought about his father’s poor beginnings in Trinidad. “People have it hard everywhere; my father’s family had nothing; they raised livestock and ate what grew out of the ground. Stop thinking that you have it hard. Besides, every penny you get goes to drugs; you would kill yourself if your father handed you that much money.”

“Speaking about money, let me borrow a fifty,” Justin changed the subject.

Max sighed and inspected his stepbrother. He smelled like he had been sleeping in the trash for three days. Justin couldn’t make eye contact with him, and his toes peeped through the top of his sneakers. Max could barely recognize the happy-go-lucky blonde hair blue eye’d kid he grew up with. “I can’t. You will not kill yourself on my dime. I’m sorry.”

Justin verbally attacked Max, calling him various hateful names as he walked out of his room. Justin could be heard arguing with his father until his father caved and shoved money into his hands a few minutes later. Instantly, as if a switch was flipped. There was silence once again.

Max listened as his stepbrother left the house; he released a heavy breath as his mind quickly sought anything else to focus on. Mei Gordon was the perfect distraction. He walked into his bathroom and started the shower. His large, six-foot-two, muscular frame moved in and out of the bathroom as he picked out his clothes for school. His deep caramel complexion and thick curly hair complimented his grey eyes. As Max is finally ready to get into the shower, his phone chimes. He found it impossible to ignore. He checks the message then instantly has regrets. Taisha, a girl he had messed around with, was begging him for a ride to school, claiming she had missed the bus. He put his phone down on the bathroom counter, hoping that she would have taken the subtle message by the time he was ready to leave for school.

Max stripped and stepped into the shower. The warm water hit his skin, waking all of his pores. He allowed the water to pour over his head, hoping it would drown out the sound of his cell phone constantly ringing and chiming. Max could only assume it was Taisha.

Reluctantly, he ended his shower early and answered his phone. “Yes, Taisha.”

“Okay?”

“Your text, I've already seen it. We'll swing by after picking up Nelson.

“Thank you, thank you so much!”

“No problem. See you in a little.” Max said before ending the call. “URGH!” Max put the phone down, frustrated. It rang again. “What!”

“Well, good morning to you, too.” His uncle Tamarius’ voice booms through the phone.

“I’m sorry, Unk, this chick-”

“what did I tell you about women’s hearts?”

“They are not to be played with,” Max repeated the words his uncle always drilled into his mind.

“But, Unk, I know what she’s after. She just wants money.” Max tried to defend himself.

“And you realize this before or after you had sex with her?” His uncle was no fool.

“I thought she could distract me from the girl I like,”

“Mei?”

“Yes, but I don’t know. I just lost interest in her.”

“Instead of settling, why not pursue the one you want. Dating only after getting to know her, no sex.”

“Mei doesn’t notice me; it’s like I’m invisible to her,” Max said.

“Hmm, I like her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Means you need to let go of your pride and humble yourself. Unless she makes it clear, she doesn’t like you. Pursue the one you want. She's a gift despite what the world says. I gotta go. I just wanted to check on you before school. See you tonight.”

“Sure, see you later.” Max ends the call, but his uncle’s words still lingered.

It didn’t take long to pick up his best friend, Nelson, and Taisha. Keeping his uncle’s words on his mind, he contemplated how he had handled Taisha so far. He observed her body language. She moved as if they were a couple, and Max had to accept he had led her on.

Max parked his new vehicle in the student parking lot. His training was passed down by the men in his family. He walked around to the passenger’s side and opened the door for Taisha.

Nelson had already exited the vehicle and shouted over his shoulder to Max that he would see him later. Max nodded, but his focus was to talk to Taisha. “Hey, I’m sorry if I was short with you this morning, but there is something that we need to talk about.” Max began.

“Sure, what is it?” Taisha asked as she put her long, dark braids up into a ponytail.

“Taisha, you are a beautiful girl, and I know you deserve better. I told you I wanted nothing serious with you, so I think it is best if we just remain friends.”

“Friends!” Taisha's eyes bulge.

“It is not fair to either of us.” Max knew she would not take the news with grace.

“I can’t fu-” The school bell blared, cutting off her words, but Max understood clearly. Taisha added a few more curse words of Max and stormed off towards the school’s main entrance.

Max watched as Taisha disappeared into the crowd before taking another step. He glanced over at the school bus drop-off site and felt lucky to see Mei exiting the bus. Her soft curly hair was in a loose bun; she wore an oversized sweater and black jeans. No makeup, no drama, just a girl focused on school. He couldn't talk to her now. He told himself he would give Taisha time to accept the break-up.

As Max walked towards the main entrance, he monitored Mei and a guy, trying to get her attention. Max quickly recognized it was Zack. A smirk grew on Max’s face, feeling relieved that he was not the only one Mei seemed to ignore. Abruptly, Zack tapped her on the shoulder, startling Mei. She spun around to see who tapped her shoulder and lost her balance. Although Max was a reasonable distance away, he ran towards her as if he could reach in time to catch her. Jealousy shot through his heart as he watched Zack wrap his left arm around Mei, preventing her from falling. Mei’s left hand pressed against Zack’s chest as Zack made sure Mei was safely back on her feet.

Max grumbled to himself as he walked past them, pretending not to notice

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