Chapter 11 - Medelijden

medelijden

Past

“Hey, have you seen that new guy? The transfer kid?”

“The creepy one?”

“Yeah, that one!”

“You seen the way he’s always by himself?”

“Yeah! Why is he even here? It’s the middle of the year!”

“I know! You’d think he would at least finish the year before transferring!”

“Maybe because he’s so creepy he got tossed out of school!”

“If that was the case, he wouldn’t be here, dumb shoot!”

The gaggle of children laughed, not caring that the object of their scorn and laughter sat alone by the window, staring out at the blue sky covered in clouds.

However, that blue sky was not what I was staring at. I did not even see those white clouds or that blue sky. My mind was far from that stuffy classroom.

They will always laugh at you, no matter what you try to do or say. They will always tell you that you do not belong. Nevertheless, you must endure their scorn and their laughter; you must not let yourself get angry. They are not worth the effort. Moreover, if you show your anger or irritation in any way, it will never stop. Just ignore them. They do not understand a thing. It is just the way humans are, all of them. Therefore, you must endure it, Lijden. You must endure it for us all. Do you understand that? Humans will not change; they will laugh at you, they are mock you. But worst of all…

My grandfather said more, but I cannot remember it. I remember what kind of day it was; I remember the smell of the air, pregnant with moisture. I remember he was very serious, with his wrinkled mouth in a frown.

Nevertheless, I do not remember what else he said to me. I do not even remember what he looks like anymore. I remember what he said was important, and I remember that he was trying to pass on a pearl of wisdom, from his own experiences.

However, I honestly do not remember.

As I sat there, in that stuffy classroom, trying to remember what it was he said to me, he came up to me. I did not hear his footsteps. The first time I noticed him was when his voice cut into my train of thought.

“Hey, you’re that new kid, right? My name’s Aiuto Mantra. What’s yours?”

I glanced up, expecting to see one of the boys who had kept making fun of me, ever since I got to the classroom. But that’s not who I saw, to my surprise. It was a boy I had yet to see.

He stood there, beside my desk, merely smiling down at me, waiting for an answer.

It would be too much of an understatement to say I was surprised he was even talking to me. Heck, it would be a lie to say I didn’t want to talk to him, or that I wasn’t grateful that someone was talking to me!

But the look in his eyes…I couldn’t help but think he had an ulterior motive.

“Lijden…Lijden Hoop…” As I said my name, I glanced over Aiuto’s shoulder. The mockers were watching us, silent as the dead. Unnerving, to say the least, but I said nothing. I knew I would regret talking with this Aiuto Mantra.

“You shouldn’t be talking to me,” I murmured, glancing away from the boy, “the others will probably shun you or something.”

I found out then that Aiuto is full of surprises. He pulled out the chair in front of me, turned it around, and sat down. All I could do was stare at him as he did this. Was he putting on a performance, just to gain my trust and crush my hopes of having any sort of normal, human friendship?

Well, too bad for him; I am not the trusting type.

“Oh, how sad,” Aiuto smirked, “the popular, annoying, preppy kids won’t talk to me anymore!” The boy pouted, then laughed. “Trust me, I don’t give a crap whether or not those guys talk to me. As I just said, they’re annoying and don’t have a thing between their ears.”

I have to admit, I smiled, if only a little. “Well, we have something in common.”

“What, you don’t have a brain, either? Boy, did I pick the wrong person to talk to!”

And we laughed. I couldn’t help it. He just gave off that sort of aura, the sort of air that you would expect of someone that everyone likes and trusts.

I hate to admit it, but I fell into that line; Aiuto is a trusted friend of mine, and has been for the past four years.


Present

“Hey! Li! Wait up!”

Grumbling, I turn to the pest who’s always following me, my darling lost puppy.

How irritating.

“Aiuto, I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Aw, com’on! Call me by that nickname!”

“Aiuto, I’m not calling you ‘Ai’. Why would I call you that? Really?” I rub my temples as I turn from him.

“Aww...I thought we agreed that I would call you ‘Li’ and you would call me ‘Ai’. They’re nice and short and easier to say!”

“Why would I agree to such a thing?” I start to glare at him, but then I realize the answer to my question.

With tears building in his eyes and his hands held before him, his lip quivers in the classic ‘puppy pout’.

“Right. This is why.”

“Pweeeeeeease, Li-li?”

“Call me that again, and I will never see you. Ever. Again.”

“Liiiiiiiiiiiiiii...”

I can feel a headache coming. And the summer heat is not helping the situation.

“Fine, but you’re buying me lunch for the next week. Anywhere I want. Fair?”

And he strikes his victory pose...

“That’s getting old, Aiu-”

“’Ai’! You promised!”

Gritting my teeth, I glare at the pest. “Alright, ‘Ai’, but no more victory poses.”

“Not a chance.”

I sigh. “I can always try...”

“Yup, but it won’t get you anywhere!” That pest of a boy laughs without a care in the world as he starts up the street in the direction I was headed. I cannot help but shake my head as I watch his retreating back.

“What am I doing…?” I murmur to myself, smiling ever so slightly. “I can’t believe this foolish boy has me under his thumb…”

“Hey, Li! Come on! We’re gonna miss the movie!”

I smile once again. “Coming.”


Future

“Ai, I think I remembered what my grandfather told me,” I lean back into the couch, stretching, hoping to release some of the tension in my muscles.

“Really? You’ve been trying to do that for…what, ten years? Twelve?”

“Fifteen. I’ve kept track.”

“So, what’d the old man say?”

I laugh at him, thinking back to that day when the moisture stuck to the windows and my grandfather sat in his favorite chair, holding a picture of my grandmother. He always kept it with him, in those last few days. He may have been going senile, but he always wanted to remember Grandma.

“Grandfather…I understand what you were trying to warn me of.” I glance over at Aiuto as he flops over the back of the couch chair. “He told me that my peers would mock me, laugh at whatever I said, even bully me. But he said…he said the worst they would do was pity me.” Just like Grandma did for you, Grandpa.

That stops Aiuto, but only for a moment. He lifts his head and smiles his idiotic grin. “Well, that wasn’t much of a warning, was it?” He laughs as he rolls himself onto the seat of the couch.

“You’re right, but I understand it now.”

“Uh, great, cuz I sure don’t.”

That’s a good thing, Ai. If you did, you would probably laugh at me, maybe even leave me all alone. Right, Grandpa?



Characters:

Lijden Zonder Hoop= meaning in Dutch “To suffer without hope”; main character, typical outcast who is picked on by everyone, his only friend being Aiuto Mantra; doesn’t trust very easily, but somehow trusts Aiuto very much, probably with his life; however, he doesn’t trust Aiuto with his secret thoughts.

Aiuto Mantra = meaning in Italian “Help” Mantra; best friend of Lijden, someone who is liked by everyone and no one can really stay mad at him; known for his ‘puppy pout’ and victory poses, as he can successfully manipulate almost anyone into doing almost anything; though he can manipulate “anyone”, he is extremely gullible himself.

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