I wonder what people think when they come here? Must think it's a bit rough around the edges. To me, it's just home. It is where I've grown up these first sixteen years of my life. I don't love it, but I don't hate it, and when I leave it I always find myself missing it. Transcona has a way of doing that to people.
Despite my lame parents and bitch sister, home life isn't bad. I'm hardly here, anyway. I'm usually out with friends and shit. Not much for a kid to do in T-town though, especially in winter. Now that it's coming up to summer at least we can chill outside and try and sneak into the bars, we always get caught though. It's not like we ride bikes or anything. We usually make our own fun; video games, hanging out, go to the mall and all that. Lately we've hanging out on the hill across from school and getting high. I've only done it a couple times, but It's fun. Sometimes, we'll skip out of school too. My parents have been receiving a lot of mobile messages lately from the school's notification system. It sends them one when I don't scan in. So there's kind of no way around it, but some days I don't give a shit and don't want to go to school.
I'm in Grade 10 at Murdoch Mackay high school. I've got two months left before summer, and if I don't bomb everything, then most of my classes next year should be all Grade 11. I want to be able to graduate on time in 2032. It would be nice to graduate with all my friends and not have to do an extra year, but we'll see what happens.
I was just starting to chill out in my room when my sister came home from school. She knows how to let the house know she is home, that's for sure. All of a sudden I hear this bang on my door.
"Ollie?" I heard her say, but thought I'd ignore her and make her call again. "Ollie!" she shouted and banged the door even harder.
"Screw off!" I shouted back. No use, she still walked in. More like barged in.
"You know, Mom and Dad are going to be so pissed when they get home. Dad is going to throw a fucking fit that you skipped school again today," she told me.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm sick," I replied.
"You're so full of shit," she shot back.
I sat up in my bed and turned around to look at her. Yeah, she was one of those types of girls that wears too much make-up and dresses like school is a night club rather than a place of learning. I guess that's my polite way of saying she looks like a whore. Yet, she's Daddy's little girl when she wants something. "How do you know I wasn't at school anyhow? Maybe I was just avoiding you all day,"
"Because your locker is down the same hall as mine and I always see you,"
I stood up and started grabbing random clothes off the floor. "I don't know why you're so pissed off about it. It's not like it gets you in trouble," I said, as I tossed a bundle of socks and a pair of jeans in my laundry bin.
My sister didn't look impressed. "Fine, repeat your classes next year. See if I give a shit," she told me as she walked away.
"Oh, Tara," I called. Sometimes to piss her off I call her "Tara-rist"
"What?!" she shouted back.
"Fuck you too," I replied.
A rubber ball came flying through my doorway and smacked hard against my Led Zeppelin poster. I hit the deck screaming "GET DOWN, IT'S A TARA-RIST ATTACK!" and landed on the floor with my hands over my head. I started laughing hysterically. I love pissing my sister off. Next thing I knew our little Jack Russell Terrier came running in to look for the ball. "Get down, Charlie, get down! It's an ambush, we need back-up!" He licked my face a few times before resuming the search and rescue mission for his ball. "I don't think she was throwing that for you, Charlie," I said as I reached under my bed to grab it for him. I tossed the ball back out into the hallway and he ran after it, tail wagging at sonic speed.
I got up and sat back down on the edge of my bed. I thought about life as a dog, must be pretty sweet. I just sat there staring at the floor and sort of tapping my feet as I thought deeply. I stopped tapping and lifted one foot up and tried scratching my neck with it, you know, like dogs do. It didn't work too well, though. I kept trying for a few more minutes before a voice interrupted.
"What are you doing?"
Whoa, it was my Dad. I'm a dead man. "Ah..." I stumbled for an explanation. "Scratching...myself?" I'm such a tool.
"I see," said my Dad rolling his eyes. "Oliver, why did I get another notification from the school today? Where the hell were you?"
Man, he was pissed. "Oh, I was sick, Dad. I just thought I'd stay home," Another lame cover up.
Dad just looked at me and shook his head. He knows I'm full of shit. "No, it's the same story every week. I don't buy it and neither does your mother or the school. This is going to stop. You're grounded for the weekend, starting now," he stated with his eyes piercing through me, a look I got a lot.
"But it's only just Friday," I boldly shot back,". Bad idea.
He stepped closer toward me, even more menacing. "What the hell did I just say? I'm going to have your chip routed to my phone if it comes down to it, Oliver. Then I'll know exactly where you are when you should be at school,"
My heart sank. I looked at my left hand and brought it in close to my chest and covered it with my other hand. I shut up right away. He was referring to my RFID Chip that they gave me when I was six. Parents have the option of having their child implanted with a microchip when they begin school, incase they get kidnapped or lost or something, as well as other reasons. When the kid turns eighteen, they can have it removed if they want. But I was ready to rip mine out now. That's the last thing I needed. My parents tracking my every move.
"Okay," I said. I gave in.
"Stay in your room till dinner," he replied and shut my door.
I looked back down at my floor and a smirk came across my face. Screw this, I thought, I'm heading out. I grabbed my phone and called up my good buddy Madge. No one called him by his full name except teachers. Why the hell would you name your kid one thing, then call them something different? Either way, I called him up and we agreed to meet up at Park Circle Station and catch the Pulse to the mall.
The Pulse is the rapid transit system in Winnipeg, the city that Transcona happens to be a part of. It's fast rail system. It can get you from Transcona to St. James in twenty minutes if you catch the right line. The Pulse isn't so bad anymore now that they've fixed it up a bit and made it modern looking. It was starting to look really old before.
I soon opened my window and popped the screen out. I grabbed my shoes and stepped up on my dresser and got my legs over the ledge. It was a six foot drop onto the backyard, so wasn't too bad at all. I landed on the grass and quickly got the hell outta there and ran down my back lane. I live on Melrose Ave, so I'm close to everything in town. I was at Regent and Day Street in no time, laughing the whole way. I thought about what my Dad said about my chip. I almost hesitated and thought of going back. However, I figured I could deal with three more years of that shit before I get them to rip it out. Besides, sure they'd know where I was, but what the hell could they do about it?
Madge and I were doing the town tonight. It was going to be one hell of a Transcona night.
Despite my lame parents and bitch sister, home life isn't bad. I'm hardly here, anyway. I'm usually out with friends and shit. Not much for a kid to do in T-town though, especially in winter. Now that it's coming up to summer at least we can chill outside and try and sneak into the bars, we always get caught though. It's not like we ride bikes or anything. We usually make our own fun; video games, hanging out, go to the mall and all that. Lately we've hanging out on the hill across from school and getting high. I've only done it a couple times, but It's fun. Sometimes, we'll skip out of school too. My parents have been receiving a lot of mobile messages lately from the school's notification system. It sends them one when I don't scan in. So there's kind of no way around it, but some days I don't give a shit and don't want to go to school.
I'm in Grade 10 at Murdoch Mackay high school. I've got two months left before summer, and if I don't bomb everything, then most of my classes next year should be all Grade 11. I want to be able to graduate on time in 2032. It would be nice to graduate with all my friends and not have to do an extra year, but we'll see what happens.
I was just starting to chill out in my room when my sister came home from school. She knows how to let the house know she is home, that's for sure. All of a sudden I hear this bang on my door.
"Ollie?" I heard her say, but thought I'd ignore her and make her call again. "Ollie!" she shouted and banged the door even harder.
"Screw off!" I shouted back. No use, she still walked in. More like barged in.
"You know, Mom and Dad are going to be so pissed when they get home. Dad is going to throw a fucking fit that you skipped school again today," she told me.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm sick," I replied.
"You're so full of shit," she shot back.
I sat up in my bed and turned around to look at her. Yeah, she was one of those types of girls that wears too much make-up and dresses like school is a night club rather than a place of learning. I guess that's my polite way of saying she looks like a whore. Yet, she's Daddy's little girl when she wants something. "How do you know I wasn't at school anyhow? Maybe I was just avoiding you all day,"
"Because your locker is down the same hall as mine and I always see you,"
I stood up and started grabbing random clothes off the floor. "I don't know why you're so pissed off about it. It's not like it gets you in trouble," I said, as I tossed a bundle of socks and a pair of jeans in my laundry bin.
My sister didn't look impressed. "Fine, repeat your classes next year. See if I give a shit," she told me as she walked away.
"Oh, Tara," I called. Sometimes to piss her off I call her "Tara-rist"
"What?!" she shouted back.
"Fuck you too," I replied.
A rubber ball came flying through my doorway and smacked hard against my Led Zeppelin poster. I hit the deck screaming "GET DOWN, IT'S A TARA-RIST ATTACK!" and landed on the floor with my hands over my head. I started laughing hysterically. I love pissing my sister off. Next thing I knew our little Jack Russell Terrier came running in to look for the ball. "Get down, Charlie, get down! It's an ambush, we need back-up!" He licked my face a few times before resuming the search and rescue mission for his ball. "I don't think she was throwing that for you, Charlie," I said as I reached under my bed to grab it for him. I tossed the ball back out into the hallway and he ran after it, tail wagging at sonic speed.
I got up and sat back down on the edge of my bed. I thought about life as a dog, must be pretty sweet. I just sat there staring at the floor and sort of tapping my feet as I thought deeply. I stopped tapping and lifted one foot up and tried scratching my neck with it, you know, like dogs do. It didn't work too well, though. I kept trying for a few more minutes before a voice interrupted.
"What are you doing?"
Whoa, it was my Dad. I'm a dead man. "Ah..." I stumbled for an explanation. "Scratching...myself?" I'm such a tool.
"I see," said my Dad rolling his eyes. "Oliver, why did I get another notification from the school today? Where the hell were you?"
Man, he was pissed. "Oh, I was sick, Dad. I just thought I'd stay home," Another lame cover up.
Dad just looked at me and shook his head. He knows I'm full of shit. "No, it's the same story every week. I don't buy it and neither does your mother or the school. This is going to stop. You're grounded for the weekend, starting now," he stated with his eyes piercing through me, a look I got a lot.
"But it's only just Friday," I boldly shot back,". Bad idea.
He stepped closer toward me, even more menacing. "What the hell did I just say? I'm going to have your chip routed to my phone if it comes down to it, Oliver. Then I'll know exactly where you are when you should be at school,"
My heart sank. I looked at my left hand and brought it in close to my chest and covered it with my other hand. I shut up right away. He was referring to my RFID Chip that they gave me when I was six. Parents have the option of having their child implanted with a microchip when they begin school, incase they get kidnapped or lost or something, as well as other reasons. When the kid turns eighteen, they can have it removed if they want. But I was ready to rip mine out now. That's the last thing I needed. My parents tracking my every move.
"Okay," I said. I gave in.
"Stay in your room till dinner," he replied and shut my door.
I looked back down at my floor and a smirk came across my face. Screw this, I thought, I'm heading out. I grabbed my phone and called up my good buddy Madge. No one called him by his full name except teachers. Why the hell would you name your kid one thing, then call them something different? Either way, I called him up and we agreed to meet up at Park Circle Station and catch the Pulse to the mall.
The Pulse is the rapid transit system in Winnipeg, the city that Transcona happens to be a part of. It's fast rail system. It can get you from Transcona to St. James in twenty minutes if you catch the right line. The Pulse isn't so bad anymore now that they've fixed it up a bit and made it modern looking. It was starting to look really old before.
I soon opened my window and popped the screen out. I grabbed my shoes and stepped up on my dresser and got my legs over the ledge. It was a six foot drop onto the backyard, so wasn't too bad at all. I landed on the grass and quickly got the hell outta there and ran down my back lane. I live on Melrose Ave, so I'm close to everything in town. I was at Regent and Day Street in no time, laughing the whole way. I thought about what my Dad said about my chip. I almost hesitated and thought of going back. However, I figured I could deal with three more years of that shit before I get them to rip it out. Besides, sure they'd know where I was, but what the hell could they do about it?
Madge and I were doing the town tonight. It was going to be one hell of a Transcona night.
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