So I guess you want to know who I am, my age, my race, my family’s backstory and all of that boring stuff. I’ll gladly do all of that for you since it’s the only thing I’m doing in this story. Well, to start off, my name is David. David Kedrick. However, most pea-brains call me Dave. Also I’m sixteen going on to seventeen in a few weeks. For those who dare to ask, no I am not having a birthday party or thinking of doing anything. I could care less if it were my birthday to be honest with you. Besides, it’s not like my parents or friends will have enough money to buy or do anything for me anyways. My family doesn’t have enough money or time to be celebrating the day someone was born. Especially when we live in the small village in which I live, Mvezo, South Africa. Now onto my background, the first thing you ought to know is that I’m adopted. The moment my parents found out that they were expecting me they immediately tried to get rid of me in the safest way, for they did not desire to have kids. Lucky for them they knew someone that did want children. My mother’s friend from college, Amara, was an exchange student from South Africa. She desired to have children but could not. Amara and my parents set an agreement and signed a load of papers, giving me up for adoption. The deal was, the moment that I was born I automatically belonged to Amara; and my birth parents would have nothing to do with me from then on. The funny thing is, they did all of this paperwork while my mother was barely four months pregnant. Meaning my parents set their unborn child into adoption. I know I should be upset or confused by that, but I actually start to crack up at the thought of this. Look up the movie Juno, and then you will fully understand my feelings towards my ‘unborn adoption’. Okay, now back onto the whole ‘Amara and adoption thing’. Amara stayed in America and named me, well you know what my name is. When I was at the age of three, she moved back to her home land, Africa. Her father (a.k.a. my grandfather) had suffered a heart attack and was in grave conditions. He survived, but needs to be taken care for, in which my mother took a major role in. Fourteen years later you got yourself a sixteen year old wasting his time talking to a bunch of weirdo’s (that would be you) about his life.

 The past fourteen years of my life here in Africa were by far the worst. I don’t have the slightest idea on how life may be for you, but my life is a complete disaster. All thanks to school, work, bullies, the constant burning sun, my siblings and my obnoxious girlfriend. Allow me to explain. School in Africa is hard. Ever since I started school I’ve done nothing but fail. Most people say it’s because I never pay attention and should study more often. But to be honest with you, I actually try to pay attention and I really do study. I just don’t get it. Everything from solving a math problem to closing a pizza box confuses and frustrates me. No, I’m not kidding. The thing is I never really told anyone about this; not even my mother. I just go along with what everyone thinks and say, that I choose to fail. That way I can look a lot cooler; it’s a teenage thing. Other than school I have a job; a horrible job. Amara makes me go my uncles house, Simba, (no, not the lion from the movie you nitwit) to help with his chores and farm. Uncle Simba is an old chap and can’t really do things on his own. As simple as it sounds, working at uncle Simba’s is terrifyingly painful. This guy has packages full of worthless junk in his living room ready to be moved into his storage room every day. The worst part is, his storage room is across the field, approximately one mile away. Not only that, I have to do all of the cropping, watering and feeding while Simba reads the same book over and over again. I haven’t had the chance to see the book’s name or what it’s about, with this entire load on my back there is no time. What makes this job even more challenging is the scorching sun. Try working in 103 degrees Fahrenheit every day then come and tell me how you feel. Other than the long walks to the storage rooms and cropping and boiling temperatures or whatever I complained about earlier, I have to check up on Phoebe, my uncles most treasured animal on the property. Phoebe is a pregnant, female cow that is a great pain in the butt, literally. She’s exactly like every other pregnant female; obnoxious, moody, very, very hungry, lazy, picky and commanding. The only difference between a pregnant human female and a cow is that the cow frightens me. One mistake I make and she kicks me in the rear; which explains the great pain in my butt I mentioned before. The thing is, uncle Simba loves this cow so much that if I do something wrong or unsatisfactorily to Phoebe, he gives me another great whooping in the rear. I asked uncle Simba if we could sell her; his response was an extra days’ worth of work. Later on I asked if we could have a nice little cook out with the main dish, grilled cheese burgers; his response was, well you don’t want to know. Next on the list of things I despise in this life is my girlfriend Lexis. She’s the only American other than me in our school and town. She’s a pretty, short brunette with many freckles spread all over her face. Lexis is originally from Florida and had to move to Africa when her mother married my neighbor, Berko. Lexis also has an older brother named Nelson. The thing is, ever since Nelson and his family came to Africa he took a major role. He became the biggest and meanest guy in school; in the whole village to be exact. He’s not much older than me but a whole lot taller. I’m talking about almost seven feet of height. The worst part is, he adores his sister and does everything he can to please her. The first day she went to school I welcomed Lexis to Africa and suggested that we get to know each other and I offered to show her around. Unfortunately she took it the wrong way and has been obsessing over me since. I tried to tell her more than a thousand times that all of it is in her head and that I only meant to be nice and friendly. However, her pretty little mind chose to ignore. Geez, the one time that I chose to be nice everything goes wrong for me. I try to be nice and welcome the new girl and next thing I know she thinks we’re soul mates. On the other hand, I don’t blame her; I mean come on how could she? I’m irresistible. Anyway she mentioned her insane feelings towards me to Nelson and the very next day he demanded me to go out with her and make her happy. As wimpy and dumb as I am, I agreed. At first I thought it would work. I mean she was pretty and all but little did I know she was clingy. She won’t even let me take a breath without telling her. After school I have to walk home with her, and if I don’t she would immediately come to look for me and make a scene on how lonely she was. Not only that but she thinks she’s the most important thing in my life. She goes on and on everyday bragging about how wonderful we are together, and how I treasure her. No, I don’t think she’s the greatest thing in my life and no I do not treasure her. At least not the way she says I do. What I despise most about her is her loudness, perkiness and the nicknames she calls me from time to time. So far she’s called me, cutie pie, Davy wavy, Davy poo and munchkin. I really, really hate these names, wouldn’t you? Her brother is the only thing keeping me from telling her what an annoying girlfriend she is. Her brother is also the main reason why I’m afraid to do anything. He’s the bully in this story if you haven’t noticed. Well I can go on and on about what irritates me in this life, however I can’t. Why? Because I don’t want to. Talking about all of this stuff gives me a head ache. I already have to live through it every day so why think about it, catch my drift?

Other than my mother Amara, I have quite a few of other family members living with me. In total, I have eight companions in my small home. Four of them are my siblings; they are adopted as well. The oldest, who beats me by a year, is Caroline. She just turned eighteen not too long ago. She’s from Hawaii. Cool huh? Next is my younger sister, Violet. I beat her by four months. She is also from Hawaii and is Caroline’s biological sister. Mother found them in a foster home when they were very young. Next are the twins, Bryce and Colton.

            They are the youngest of the group and let me tell you, they are also the best. They are just like me in every way possible. They think of things the same way, talk like me, have the same style and strangely they even walk just like me. I mean they’re even as stunning as I am. Not everyone is fortunate to have my astonishing qualities, but to be able to have my looks, that is pure luck my friends. Now back onto the main subject, they are younger than Violet by two months. To sum all of this up, Caroline is eighteen, I’m almost seventeen (in three weeks), violet is sixteen (almost seventeen) and the twins just turned sixteen. There, got it? Good.

            Other than my siblings, my grandparents and cousin also live with me. My grandmother, Adana, is the warmest, sweetest and most caring person on earth. On the other hand, my grandfather, Zahir, is a bold, macho know it all. He pushes you to do the impossible and punishes you for failing the hardest of tasks. One time when I was very young, I fell off of the roof of the house and broke my arm. I cried and he laughed at me the entire time I was in pain. He later on yelled at me for crying so much at the hospital and told me to man up.

            He then made me carry hay stacks with my bare hands from one end of the yard to another. Although his advice and commands can be painful and quite irksome, there are helpful and have helped me get through a lot; and when I mean a lot, I really mean A LOT. Last on the list is my cousin Kanye. He’s quiet, loyal and trust worthy. Mother and grandmother trust him for everything and put him as leader whenever the adults are not there to take the position. He moved with us when his mom (my mom’s younger sister) died because of cancer. He is the same age as Caroline and the tallest of us all, including my mother and grandparents.   

            My best buddies include the twins, Jaheim, Nelly and the only girl in the group, Gemma. I met every single one of these rascals (except for the twins) when I was five, and we’ve been playing tag and pushing each other off of slides for the rest of our childhood. Nowadays we act cool by pulling our hoodies over our heads and walking slowly, yet awesomely. That’s how we roll. Let me give you a brief description of the crew. The twins, well like I said their just like me, Jaheim is a bald shorty that loves poetry and artistic stuff, Nelly is a slender smarty pants that can outsmart anyone, henceforth the nickname. Gemma, although a female, is like any other cool teenage guy. She’s funny, smart, sassy, cool, athletic, ruthless, nice, clever, fashionable and attractive. The truth is I’m jealous on how ridiculously awesome and gifted she is. I mean come on, have you seen how many commas I had to use in the past sentence to separate just a few of her qualities? Do you catch my drift?

 Depending on how much attention you paid on everything I just told you, now you know all of the basic stuff about me, my life, family and friends. As much as I love to talk about myself and my ‘marvelous’ life, I have to start explaining and letting you in on the good part of the story. Remember how I stated earlier that I don’t regret doing what I did? Well this is going to clarify what I did, how and why I did it. I propose you pay great attention to the following section, for it will aid you on understanding the purpose and commencement of a remarkable adventure. It all started when I developed curiosity. My mother, Amara would always go to church on Wednesdays and Sundays. She goes to a Christian church that is located a few blocks away. I used to go with her when I was younger, but I stopped going when I was ten. It’s not that I don’t like it or don’t believe in what they practice and have faith in. It’s just that I don’t feel comfortable going. I’m the only white kid in the entire building; and people tend to make rude comments about it. At times I pretend to ignore just to make it look like I could care less. However, as much as I try to act and ignore those thoughts and words truly hurt me and bring me down. Though, not everyone knocks me down the way others do. Some of those people feel bad for me and try to make me feel better by talking and hanging out with me to show that I’m not alone. It’s nice and all what they’re trying to do for me but in a way it makes me feel even worse. With all the attention and sympathy being felt for me I get stressed and embarrassed. That’s why I stopped going years ago. The other day, as my mom was going to church again, I saw how lonely and deserted she looked. I don’t like seeing my mother that way, no one does. I thought about it a bit and wondering how church was nowadays. Mother always tells me what a wonderful and fun time she has at church. I pictured her coming back from it every Wednesday and Sunday afternoon in my mind and recall the beautiful smile she always had on her face. That’s when I got curious and considered the thought of going once again. Is it still the same as it was before? Will I get teased at once more? Or will I end up as happy and in love with it as my mother is with it? I thought as my mother was heading for the door. That’s when I made my decision. Life is about taking risks; so that’s exactly what I did. I got up from my chair and spoke up. “Hey mom!” Mother stopped and turned to look at me. “David, whatever you have to tell me do it some other time. I have to get to church; I’m already seven minutes late.” She continued to walk out the door. I knew that I had to go after her but I was too comfy and lazy to get my butt off of the chair. Once I caught up, I spoke and stopped her again. “That’s the thing that I want to talk to you about, church.” Suddenly all of her attention was focused on me. “What do you mean by that dear?” “I want to go with you” She smiled and beckoned me. I did as she wanted and walked up to her. We stood there in dead silence for about five seconds. She stared at me the entire time while also giving me warm smile. She was surprised and glad that I asked to go with her. As rude as I can be, I interrupted our stare off and spoke up. “Well let’s get going now. We don’t want to waste more time now do we?” She nodded no while still giving me that weird smile and we continued to walk, together. We arrived at church and let me tell you, it was a whole lot different than it was as a child. The church seemed bigger and it was filled with even more people than I remembered seeing here before. The best part was there was more than one race in this building. At the first glimpse I saw Asians, Americans, and even Europeans. Never in my life have I seen so many different wonderful races in one place. I mean sure, I’ve seen quite a few Americans and Europeans around here in Africa, but no more than that. For once in my life, I felt joy and relief knowing that I’m not the only one; the only different one that is. “Mom, since when have things changed so much around here? You always knew the reason why I never wanted to come. Now that the reason has changed and things have gotten better, why haven’t you told me or try to convince me to come back?” “Things have never changed around here David. Only a few more people started to come here, that’s all. As a child and even now, you always looked at things the wrong way. Sure, some people didn’t accept you for who you are, but they were young and dumb. Look around you dear, every person in this room that once bothered you has nothing against you anymore. You know why? Because they grew up and matured, I suggest you do the same.” I had nothing to say. I had neither thoughts nor certain feelings towards her advice. Amara is a wise and intelligent woman; this is something that everyone knew. After every single piece of advice she’s given me in my life, this is one that hit me hard; because I knew she was right. “As always, I agree with you” This was all I could think to say. With urge, we went to our seats and I began to sing and praise like never before. I’m back and better than ever. Afterwards, when everything settled down, the pastor began to do what he was born to do, preach. As convenient as things can get, the entire preaching was about change. “Don’t be afraid of change. Yes, you might lose something good, but you will gain something better!” Everyone yelled “amen” and nodded in agreement. I did the same. “If you don’t like where you are, change it. You are not a tree. You have a brain in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You have eyes to see the great and the bad. You have ears to listen to what you want to hear and what you don’t. With all things said, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose. It’s all up to the changes you’ve made and want to make.” I slowly put my head down realizing that the man was right. “There are three simple rules in life.

1. If you do not go after what you want, you’ll never have it.

2. If you do not ask, you will never receive.

3. If you do not step forward, you will always be behind.

And if someone says ‘you’ve changed’ it simply means that you have stopped living the same way you always have; it means you’ve stopped living their way. Don’t be afraid and hide from what’s to come, go after it and find it.” The entire church stood up and applauded the pastor. I stayed on my chair in the same position I was in before, with my head down. I felt ashamed and somewhat afraid. As I said before, the man was right. I didn’t want to be afraid and hidden anymore so I looked up, stood up and clapped. My mouth formed into the wonderful smile that has been on my mother’s face for the past seven years.

 Believe it or not that’s how my adventure and walk on this railroad began. I began going to church more often, started reading the bible, prayed every day and did everything I could to improve my relationship with church and everything that has to do with it. I also took most of the pastor’s advice; I stopped being afraid and stopped caring too much about what others thought about me. As a result I broke up with Lexis and finally got her brother off my back and trust me, it wasn’t easy. Here’s how it all went down. After I talk about all of the things I did that prove that I’ve changed, I’m going straight to the good stuff, you’ll see.
 

            After school on one of our walks home from school Lexis tried to arrange a double date with us two and her best friend and new boyfriend. Even though I didn’t want to, I had to agree for my safety. As perky as she can be, she jumped up and down and constantly expressed how happy she was, as if it were the first time I ever agreed with what she wanted. She than tried to hug and jump on me while yelling,

“OH I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I KNEW YOU WOULD AGREE! I CAN’T WAIT TO TELL MY BFF THE GREAT NEWS! YOU’RE THE BEST BOYFRIEND IN THE WORLD AND I WILL NEVER LET YOU GO!” I was fed up with all of the perkiness and screaming so I let myself go, completely.

“You know what? Get off of me and quiet down, please!” Lexis did what I said and looked at me stunned.

“What did you just tell me to do? I’m your girlfriend! The love of your life and you shouldn’t talk to me like tha----” I cut her off.

“Look munchkin, you are not the love of my life. In fact, I don’t even like you that much.” She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand dramatically. Then she started tearing up. Oh brother. There she goes. I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes and covered my face with both my hands. Nice job Einstein! You made her cry. She might be really annoying, but it’s not enough for me to make her cry. After all, I am a gentleman. I walked up to her in an attempt to wipe off her tears. Suddenly, as I got closer she backed away and took her hand off of her face and swung it hard at mine. Words wouldn’t describe how much that slap hurt.

“Geez girl what’s wrong with you! I tried to help you out!”

“Jerk! You deserve a whole lot more of that for what you just said to me!”

“I’m trying really hard to make this easy for the both of us and you’re making it a whole harder. So please settle down and put that slapping hand away from me okay? I’m sorry but I’m breaking up with you, and that’s that.” God it felt good to finally say what I had to say. To my surprise Lexis simply wiped her tears, straightened up and folded her arms.

“Sure” Then she just walked off. Okay then. I guess that’s it. After I knew she was gone from my sight I walked home. This time I walked home with ease knowing that I’m a free man; a free, changed man that is.

            I went home and did what I always do. I ate a snack, cleaned my room, took a shower, read the bible and went to uncle Simba’s house to help him out. I’ve been trying to stop complaining as much and look at things on the positive side. Instead of calling my time working at Simba’s house a horrible job, I now call it ‘my daily workout or my miracle job’. Seriously, my legs and muscles look great because of all the work I have to do over there. You see? I’m thinking positive. Furthermore, my ‘crew’ as I would call my friends, agreed to come and help me out a bit with the job. Besides, they need the work out; they got noodle as arms and twigs as legs. After seeing the results of the work out on me they were quite impressed and couldn’t resist coming and doing the same. Just when I though I couldn’t get any sexier, I did. Anyhow, the ‘crew’ met me at Simba’s house and we began to work hard. Watching them do this tuff job was by far the funniest thing ever. Especially Jaheim since he’s the smallest of the group and can’t carry a single haystack since it’s bigger than him. Nelly falls at least five times before making it to the storage room and the twins actually handled it pretty good, they like to work out regularly and work like this doesn’t affect them so badly. Gemma on the other hand is capable of doing the whole job on her own without breaking a sweat. This girl was just on a roll. In only thirty minutes she had already carried twelve haystacks from the farm to the storage room. Like I said before, she’s so awesome that there wouldn’t be enough commas in the world to separate her awesomeness.

            After finishing the work, uncle Simba let us in to have some lemonade and rest. As usual, he was reading that book that he would always read. Now that I actually have the time to rest and talk, I asked him what the book was about.

“You mean this book right here?” I nodded.

“Well you see Dave; this book right here is a life changer. It’s a miracle that I thankfully came across. I first read this book about fifteen or sixteen years ago. After those many years I still have it.

“What’s it called Simba?” Jaheim asked impatiently. This kid was already interested and eager to learn more about the book. Anything that has to do with literature or even anything with words in it, Jaheim has to know all he can about it.

“It’s the Catcher in the Rye. The main character in this story Is Holden Caulfield. Holden is a sixteen-year-old junior who has just been expelled for academic failure from a school called Pencey Prep. He was ordered to leave school early before Christmas break. But he leaves about a week early because he was tired and sick of the place and the people inside of it. Holden goes out into the world not knowing where to go or what to do. Holden begins his story in Pennsylvania, at his former school, Pencey Prep. He then recounts his journeys in New York City. This amazing book is primarily about his adventure and what he has done throughout the entire time alone out in New York, and how he learns to become an adult.” Uncle Simba stopped at that instance and suddenly began to tear up.

“You know kids, this book really inspired me. It changed the way I thought, talked and did things. It helped me get through a tough and lonely time; the time your mother-” My uncle turned to look at me “left Africa to go to school. She was my best friend and the only sibling I had left since Kanye’s mother died about three weeks before Amara left to America. It was a dark time in my life and I began thinking of things the wrong way. That’s when I first read this book.” Everyone stayed quiet and had a sorrow expression on their face as Simba’s tears rolled down his cheeks like marbles.

“Don’t just sit there feeling bad for me! Take the book and read it! I have a load of copies of the novel in my room. As a gift for helping me out whoever wants to can take a copy and keep it.” Jaheim, Nelly and I were the only ones that got up to take a copy, the rest of the crew went home because it was getting late and they lack the need for brain stimulation.

            A few hours later after we all went home I began to read the book that Simba was kind enough to give me.

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them. They’re quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They’re nice and all - I’m not saying that - but they’re also touchy as----”

            I was interrupted by a knock on the door. I put the book down and walked up to the door and looked through the window beside it. Great, it’s Lexis and oh look! Her brother was right behind her. Aren’t I in for a treat today! I slowly opened the door.

“May I help you too?” I asked. Lexis and Nelson simply stayed quiet and walked inside my house without an invitation.

“No but we can help you” Nelson responded.

“I’m giving you the chance to apologize to Lexis so you can get back together. Hopefully no problems will occur and we can go back to being friends. However, if you disagree with what I am proposing or hurt my sister again I’ll hunt you down and beat you with a fish” I stared at him with confusion.

“Yeah I said it, a fish!” Okay then. Lexis walked up to me and began to ask me questions.

“Do you agree to make me happy again?” I didn’t hesitate.

“Yes”

“Do you agree to never do that again?”

“Yes”

“Do you love and treasure me?”

“Yes”

“Really?” I smirked and folded my arms.

“No” Lexis gasped and stepped away from me. Nelson on the other hand came towards me and tightly grabbed my shirts collar.

“What did you just say?” Nelson asked.

“I’m sorry; do you need a hearing aid? No? I didn’t think so.” I replied.

“What’s that supposed to mean Davy wavy?” Nelson responded sarcastically. He knew very well that those names aggravate me.

“Since you’re deciding to do the wrong thing, I think Lexis and I are going to have to stay awhile to have a talk with you and set things straight. That wouldn’t bother you would it? I don’t think it’s going to be a problem right? I bet you are glad that we are here aren’t ya buddy?”

“I'd like to say that I'm glad you’re here; I'd like to say it.” Nelson laughed. He let go of my collar and clenched his fist. He pulled it back and prepared his arm to launch off. I closed my eyes and waited for his fist to come in contact with my face. Suddenly I heard someone from behind.

“I’m sorry were you about to do something to my grandson?” It was my grandfather Zahir. Nelson dropped his fist and stood in front of my grandfather while staring him down. Then he turned to look at me and asked me,

“Hey Pinocchio what’s Mr. Geppetto doing in your house?” Nelson and his sister began to laugh and they began to walk away, towards the door.

“I guess we’re going to have to leave. I wouldn’t want a poor old fella looking at a rated R fight in his own house. Maybe some other time, and remember Davy wavy, I’m bringing my fish with me.” Before they could leave grandpa Zahir went into the kitchen and came back with something slimy in his hands, it was a fish.

“You mean this fish?” He went up to Nelson and swung the fish at him several times. Nelson struggled and couldn’t fight back so he opened the door and ran out, with Lexis running after him. Thank God that was over. I turned back to look at my grandfather, I gave him a ‘thank you’ look.

“No problem” He responded.

            After that Lexis stopped bothering me. After that I also started to put a small fish in my locker so if Nelson tried to start something I could get rid of him easily. So far I haven’t had to use it, but if I did, BA BAM! Nelson gets fish slapped. Unfortunately, my locker is kind of smelly now, but who cares? My safety is more important. Anyway, other than manning up a bit, I also got my grades up; way up. I was taking advanced classes. You wanna know how I got this high? I talked to someone about my trouble in learning. I talked to uncle Simba to be exact. He helps me out every day when I would go to work at his farm. This guy is a genius and because of him I’m becoming a geek; a cool geek that is. Me being smart stunned many people; they thought that only unpopular people could be smart. But when they saw me getting smarter and smarter they began to consider learning pretty cool. You see? I’m so good that I make education awesome.

            One more thing on the list is that I have accomplished since I began to change, I finished reading the bible. I read everything and loved it. I knew even more than Amara. She claims to forget sometimes because she’s getting old, but I’m not buying it. Amara and I both knew that I had more knowledge of the bible than anyone in the family, and we were both equally proud of it. At least that’s my point of view. My favorite section of the bible was the story of Abraham. This wonderful man had many stories and happenings in his life, but my favorite one was the story of his journey. It is said in the bible that Abraham was called by God to go and leave; to leave with his wife faraway into a desert without anything or anyone other than each other.

            They left behind their families, belongings, the wonderful food they ate and their way of life. They left their entire life behind because they trusted the Lord and had to see what he had prepared for them. This is why I love this story so much. Because they trusted him and would do anything he said. Also because they took off without anything just to find their destiny and what God had in store for them. They didn’t know where they were going, or what they were going to come across. That is what I want to be like and do; I want to trust and go without fear. I mean come on; wouldn’t you be afraid to just go somewhere in which you don’t even know its location? Do you catch my drift?

            I guess ever since I was inspired by that pastor’s preaching I’ve tried to change my old ways; or my bad instincts to be exact. I stopped being afraid and confronted Lexis and the bully she has as a sibling, Nelson. I began to think of things on the positive side, got my friends to help out and work together, started reading an amazing book, finished the bible, got my grades up and morally, I built up my confidence. I guess you can say that I’m a changed man.

The results of that one visit to church were magnificent. I changed for the better and did things I never thought of doing. I also got to finish ‘The Catcher in the Rye’. And I have to say, this novel is breathe taking; literally. I almost choked on the part when he came back home to visit his sister and almost got caught, and when he tried to run away with Sally, and when he got drunk, and when he got freaked out about the old guy petting his hair while he was asleep and when he got beat up by a bust boy and when—well I think you get the point; I almost choked on a lot of parts. However that’s just how great the book is. I could go on and on all day talking to you about it. The book it mainly about a young guy named Holden Caulfield that was around my age that gets expelled from his private school because of his low grades and cooperation. He decides that life and everything else is stupid and worthless. So he travels to New York all alone without knowing where to go or what to do. He goes to hotels, bars, parks and theaters all over the city in hopes of entertainment and hope. He also encounters bar tenders, bust boys, drunkard’s addicts, nuns, prostitutes and old friends. He thinks of running away with his ex-girlfriend, Sally, but she realizes that he was insane so he decides to run on his own. However he had to see his favorite little sister, Phoebe before he leaves. After all of this, he decides to stay for his sister. That’s exactly what made me come this way; to the railroad to be exact.

            A few months after the whole ‘changed man’ thing my grandfather he--- he died, and so did uncle Simba. It was the worst thing that could ever happen to the Kedrick family and it completely tore us apart. And it really hurts to have to talk about this right now. Remember how in the beginning of the story I mentioned that we had to move to Africa because my grandfather had a heart attack. Well he had another one, and this time it didn’t weaken him, it killed him. It was the first time I ever cried and the first time I ever felt a great aching pain in my heart. Uncle Simba was the one that took his death pretty hard, and he began to drink a lot.

            One day on his way to the cemetery (while drunk) where my grandfather was buried he came across a couple of police officers. You all obviously know how ridiculously stupid drunk people act right? Well that’s how Simba was. He tried to annoy the police men by grabbing their drinks and police caps and throwing them on the floor and stepping on them. The police men tried to arrest him but my uncle fought back. At one point he got into it with them and as a result they tased him and he died. This made it even worse for my family. First we lose Zahir then we lose Simba I was so devastated that I stopped going to school, stopping going to church, stopped talking to my mother, friends and sibling and stopped eating. I simply locked myself in my room remembering when my grandfather helped get rid of my bully, and staring at the cover of the catcher in the rye and remembering the love my uncle had for it. Things were so confusing for me at the time, the pastors preaching, the bible’s stories, my efforts and beloved family members deaths’; they were all revolving around my strained brain. I was depressed and realized that I was meant for more than what I was going through. God had a purpose for me and all I needed to do was find it. So I left. I simply ran away from home. My life wasn’t meant for this and going somewhere far will hopefully bring me to where or what I was destined to be. You catch my drift right?

            I ran away the same way Abraham did, prepared and fearless. I ran away from home the same way Holden Caulfield did, independently and careless. All I took with me was the bible, the catcher in the rye and a few hundred dollars. I didn’t even get to say good bye to anyone or anything. I just did it. I just grabbed a few of my stuff and took the money from my mother’s purse. Yes I know stealing is bad and all, but thinking about doing the right or wrong thing didn’t matter then. First I walked about three miles and then I took a bus. I stayed in the buss until everyone was gone and the driver wasn’t driving anymore. That right took up about 25 miles. It was completely dark and silent. Then I saw a small motel about three blocks away. I registered in and spent $45 for one night. Cheap place huh? However, I couldn’t sleep. I got up from bed only three hours after registering into the motel. There was neither TV nor room service so I left the joint and went to a bar nearby. I wanted to live through the same situation Holden did; he couldn’t sleep so he left to go to the bar and wasn’t even allowed to drink. When I got to the bar the air was filled with fog/smoke and music. It was something I’ve never seen or been in. But life is about taking risks right? Right. I sat down on one of the tables that were located far in the back. Everyone looked at me confused and pitifully; including the waiters. Finally after staring me down like an idiot, one of the waiters comes up to me to take my order or whatever.

“What would you like kid?” I looked at the menu and asked for the same thing Holden did.

“Give me Vodka will ya?” I tried so hard not to laugh. I was doing the exact same way Holden did. He sits down on a table that was far away from the others, and bravely asks for a drink he knows he can’t have.

“I’m sorry sir, how old are you?” I was glad he asked.

“Me? I’m 87” This time the waiter had enough.

“Okay a cup of water it is.” He then walked off like nothing ever happened. I started chuckling as he left and received my drink. Acting like the world’s cockiest and most rebellious teenage boy in history brings me a feeling of joy and a smile on my face; something that I’ve needed for quite some time now. 

            The waiter came with my drink and a red lollipop.

“Here you go buddy, nice cup of water and a cherry lollipop for a nice little boy.” Ha very funny. I gave a grateful smile to the waiter.

“Thank you sir, it’s nice to know that I’m appreciated and taken into consideration here.”

“Sure thing kid” He walked off and that was the last time I ever saw him. After I took my refreshing drink of water and sucked my lollipop a few times, I let a tip and left. The cup of water was free and the lollipop was on the house, so I didn’t have to pay a thing. Once I walked out of the bar I went to a small park nearby and sat down on the grass to read my novel for a while. There was a light post right above me so I had all of the light I needed. The grass was nice and warm and no one was around; the perfect scenery for a fella like me to read and worry about nothing. When I opened my book I went back to chapter 10, where Holden does to the bar. I wanted to re-read it for some apparent reason, I really didn’t know why.

‘It was still pretty early. I'm not sure what time it was, but it wasn't too late. The one thing I hate to do is go to bed when I'm not even tired. So I opened my suitcases and took out a clean shirt, and then I went in the bathroom and washed and changed my shirt. What I thought I'd do, I thought I'd go downstairs and see what the he** was going on in the Lavender Room. They had this night club, the Lavender Room, in the hotel. While I was changing my shirt, I da** near gave my kid sister Phoebe a buzz, though. I certainly felt like talking to her on the phone. Somebody with sense and all. But I couldn't take a chance on giving her a buzz, because she was only a little kid and she wouldn't have been up, let alone anywhere near the phone. I thought of maybe hanging up if my parents answered, but that wouldn't've worked, either. They'd know it was me. My mother always knows it's me. She's psychic. But I certainly wouldn't have minded shooting the crap with old Phoebe for a while. You should see her. You never saw a little kid so pretty and smart in your whole life. She's really smart. I mean she's had all A's ever since she started school. As a matter of fact, I'm the only dumb one in the family. My brother D.B.'s a writer and all, and my brother Allie, the one that died, that I told you about, was a wizard. I'm the only really dumb one. But you ought to see old Phoebe. She has this sort of red hair, a little bit like Allie's was, that's very short in the summertime. In the summertime, she sticks it behind her ears. She has nice, pretty little ears. In the wintertime, it's pretty long, though. Sometimes my mother braids it and sometimes she doesn't. It's really nice, though. She's only ten. She's quite skinny, like me, but nice skinny. I watched her once from the window when she was crossing over Fifth Avenue to go to the park, and that's what she is, roller-skate skinny. You'd like her. I mean if you tell old Phoebe something, she knows exactly what the he** you're talking about. I mean you can even take her anywhere with you. If you take her to a lousy movie, for instance, she knows it's a lousy movie. If you take her to a pretty good movie, she knows it's a pretty good movie.’

“Hey you!” Once again I was rudely interrupted while reading my book. I hoped that Nelson and Lexis hadn’t followed me and interject my reading again to attempt to beat me up. I took a breath of relief when I saw that it wasn’t them. It was a tall and buff guy around my age.

“Hey!” he shouted again. I fully closed my book shut and got up from the grass.

“Yeah?”

“Whatcha doing out here bro? It’s dark out.” I padded my thighs and brushed all of the grass and dirt off of them.

“Yeah I can see that.” Finally the young guy made it in front of me and pulled out his hand from his pocket and stuck it out as a gesture to shake hands. I shook his hand and he began to introduce himself. Great now there’s going to be a conversation.

“My name is Swanky, Swanky Jones. What’s yours?” I smirked.

“Trever Shartzgoogle.” This guy is a complete stranger, and that’s what I love about people like him. They know nothing about me which gives me the chance to mess around with them a bit.

“Wow, that’s an odd name. It’s pretty unusual don’t you think?”

“Yeah swanky, my name’s unusual.” I said as I sat back down on the grass.

“I find my name to be very attractive just like me. Don’t you think?” He made this too easy for me.

 “I just met you and all, but I happen to think that you are dark and handsome; when it’s dark, you are handsome.”

“I’m sorry what did you just say? I’m having trouble understanding that last sentence and I dare you to repeat it.” I sighed, lay on my back and opened my book.

“I’d explain it to you, but I don’t have any crayons with me.” Swanky was ticked off. He got close to my face, so close I felt his bad breath. I gulped, knowing that I’m going to get it, and get it real good. Like I said before he’s buff, with muscles like that I could end up having raccoon eyes. Once again, I prepared myself to receive a big butt whooping. Only this time my grandfather won’t come to save me. He squint his eyes at me and lifted up his hand with his fist clenched. Suddenly, he pointed at me.

“You know what Trevor?”  For some apparent reason, I began shaking and sweating, I was afraid. I was so terrified that my voice got high and squeaky.

“What?”     

“I really like you! I love your humor and all, it’s just so, so entertaining to watch you go and hear you talk nonsense. I enjoy hanging out with people like you.” What just happened?

“Uh yeah, I mean I like myself too. Now we both have something in common.” He started laughing his butt off while slapping me hard on the back. I was really starting to hate this guy.

            He asked me several questions and I answered, but so truthfully. He asked me why I was out here all alone. I told him that I lived nearby but my mother kicked me out for roaming around the house in my underwear, only my underwear. I came to the park because it was the only place I could go to. As kind as he was, he offered to let me stay at his place, with a bed of my own, food, television and a bathroom. The best part was it was all free. However I reclined it, it wasn’t good enough for me. Ha! just kidding I immediately said yes the moment he mentioned the TV. Soon he took me to his house, and I received the surprise of my life. The moment I walked in there was a woman inside holding a newborn baby in her hands, while telling another to shut up so the baby could fall asleep.

“Hey Swanky, are you aware that there’s a woman and two children in your living room?” He laughed.
“Of course I am, she’s my wife, Ruth, and these are my two children, Marilyn, she’s four, and the newborn over there, is Bennett. He was born three days ago.” His wife spoke up after putting the baby down in his crib.

“Swanks, honey, who is this young gentleman?”

“He is an old friend of mine and lost his home, it burned down. Is it okay if we let his stay for a few days or weeks?” Looks like I wasn’t the only liar around. Yet, he has a reason to lie; I mean would you tell your wife that you’re letting a total stranger you met in the park that was kicked out of his home for going around in his underwear? I didn’t think so. On the other hand, I’m lying for the fun of it. But who cares? Did you see were my lies got me? It got me to a free place to stay, eat and watch TV. Lies always lead to results; whether it’s good or bad.

            After I met everyone, I went straight to bed. I was finally beginning to get tired. Once I walked in the room, everything came back to me; everything. The room I was staying in had so many things in common with my room. Sporty layered wallpaper, a checkered beg blanket, a silver lamp and a small book shelf in the corner. I felt like I was at home. But it wasn’t. I shook off the insane idea and jumped onto the bed like a child. Soon, I was completely knocked out.

            The next day went by, and so did the next, and the next, and the next. Soon five weeks went by and I was still living the same way I was on the night I first got here. I spent a bit of my money and bought me clothing and even a few toys for the kids. We got really close in the past few weeks; so close I feel like their part of my crew. Marilyn is a cute little sassy pants and the Bennett, well he’s just a baby. But he’s a really cute baby that can last more than seven hours without waking up in the middle of the night. That’s good enough for me and my sleep. However Marilyn and I like to mess around with other people. This one time I took Marilyn and I went to the pet shop. When we walked in she purposely pointed at one of the employees and shouted,

“I WANT THAT ONE DADDY! IT’S SO CUTE AND FURRY JUST LIKE I WANT IT!” I responded with,

“Now, now sweetie. You are just going to have to wait. We don’t even know if it’s trained yet or if he has fleas.” We ended up getting kicked out; turns out he wasn’t an employee, he was the store manager. This other time she gave me an amazing idea that I never thought of doing. She wrote a message on a small paper saying “They're onto us. We need to go." So what I did was go into the men’s bathroom at the mall and went into a stall next to this other guy. I then passed the note under the door next to me. A few moments later the paper was passed back to me saying,

“Don’t worry Tito, I got your back. Plus I lead the cops to a different location. We’re safe for now. And hey, what did you do with the money?” I was stunned yet excited when I received and read this. I replied back saying,

“I spent it on a monkey.” Next thing you know the guy in the stall next to me says out loud,

“What?” I got up and ran out of the bathroom. I also called the cops and showed them the note. I told them I was just pulling a prank and I ended up finding out that he was one of South Africa’s most wanted; he was stealing money from people on busses and his partner, Tito would steal from houses. You see? Because of a silly prank I found a most wanted criminal. I got a reward of $200.

            However, one day I had to come clean. I came so close to Swanky and his family that I could no longer lie to them. They still thought that my name was Trevor and that I got kicked out my house. I told them the truth, all of them, including Marilyn. I told them about my inspiration, the wonderful man I turned into, the tragedies in my life and why I left. They stayed quiet the entire time until the end.

“So this is really you huh?” I nodded.

“Look I don’t blame you for what you did. I mean you just ran away from home and couldn’t expose your identity. But there’s one thing you never told us, what’s your real name?”

“My name is David, David Kedrick.” Marilyn then spoke up with enthusiasm

“Like David the King?!”

“What?” I asked.

“The David that was a king from the bible! He’s the one that defeated the big giant Goliath.” She knows about the bible? Ruth spoke up.

“Yes darling. They have the same name.” She turned to look at me, “Mary loves to read the bible and we always tell her some stories to entertain her. As you can see the story of David is her favorite.” After almost two months of living with them, I never knew that they believed in what I believed, or that they read the bible. We all started to talk when suddenly the idea of calling my family to let them know that I am alright came up. Swanky and his wife urged me to call them. I refused to until Marilyn asked me to.

“Please King David. Let your mommy know that you are okay. I bet she feels really sad that you are gone.” I looked down at her and smiled; the same smile I gave to the entire church after the inspiring speech about change.

“Sure thing kiddo. Anything for you” I used a pay phone that was located outside and dialed her number. Ring, ring, ring---

“Hello?” She answered.

“Mom?” I heard a small gasp come through the phone.

“DAVID? Please tell me it’s you.” I sighed.

“It is.” She began to cry.

“Oh my! David where are you? Why did you leave? Are you okay did you get hurt? Where and who are you staying with?”

“Mom, calm down I’m fine. I have been staying at a nice family’s house many miles away from Mvezo. And please don’t come looking for me because you won’t find me. And I’m not coming back home. I am almost of age and decided that I need to find my own future and destiny. You always told me as a child to grow up and mature. So I am. I’m going somewhere, somewhere far. I don’t exactly know where it is or what’s going to happen. But it wouldn’t matter any way because God will lead me; he will protect me. And you know that very well. Grandpa taught me to grow strong and prepare for the worst, and uncle Simba taught me to live life, explore and change. I don’t plan on letting those lessons go to waste. I’m doing what they would want me to do; discover and learn the ways of life. So please, I hope you understand. All of this doesn’t mean that I don’t love you any less than I did before. I’m going to miss everyone and don’t worry for me. I’m in great hands; righteous hands. Thank you for everything Amara; thank you for wanting me when no one else did.” I hung up before she could say anything else. The pain was just too much and I knew that she would say something that would convince me to stop. But I didn’t want to stop; I wanted to proceed. I knew that the only way for me to go on without a doubt was by hanging up. Good bye mother; good bye to everyone.

            After the call I went back to Ruth’s and her husband’s place and packed all of my stuff. If I was going to go through with this, I might as well do it now. I said good bye to Swanky and his wife and thanked him for letting me stay at their place. I kissed Bennett on his gentle forehead and petted his hair softly. Last of all I said good bye to Marilyn.

“I’ll miss you Kind David. And remember if that mean old giant tries to hurt you, don’t be afraid. If you can beat him once you can beat him again!” We all laughed together and I nodded yes.

“Trust me kiddo, I won’t be afraid. Because I have all the protection and knowledge I need to knock him down. And I suggest you think the same way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Giants like Goliath are everywhere; even though they don’t look like it. They can be bullies, they can be hard problems or they can simply be words that put you down. Don’t let them knock you down or make you feel small or worthless; because David did at one point. He had no armor, no experience and he wasn’t trained. But he didn’t care, he had confidence, and so did the giant. The only difference was that David had confidence in God, and not his own strength. This is something very important that you should do. You should have faith in him and never give up. Will you promise me that?” She nodded yes. I gave her a hug and kiss on the forehead.

            Several hours later I end up here, on a dusty railroad thinking about everything that has happened in the past few months. I went to church for the first time in many years, I changed for the better, I stopped being afraid, read the bible and believed in it, two people I loved left this life, I ran away, I had moment of fun and sadness on my own in a different city far away from home, and I inspired a child to trust in the Lord and to not be afraid like the way I used to be. I repeated the beautiful words that came out of my mouth that I said to Marilyn,

‘Giants like Goliath are everywhere; even though they don’t look like it. They can be bullies, they can be hard problems or they can simply be words that put you down. Don’t let them knock you down or make you feel small or worthless.’ I then realized that I had missed something very important. Giant’s like Goliath can be something else other than bullies or harsh words; it can be life. Correction, it is life. I am a small, vulnerable kid that can be knocked down easily by this great yet mysterious thing called life. But yet again, I have the strength and capability to get right back up. I may not have any armor, experience or strength big enough to beat my opponent, but that would never, ever stop me from trying. So here I am and here I go, walking with a bag on my back with a few rags and two books, walking on a corroded piece of metal that trains ride on -waiting to face the giant.