The Catalyst, Ch. 2
#2 of The Catalyst
Chapter two. We introduce a minor antagonist and set the stage for the first of many regrets.
Chapter Two - "... and the board he rode in on."
Do you know those pitiful people that have just the right combination of arrogance, nihilism, and sociopathic lack of empathy that degrading others brings them joy? What am I saying, of course you do. Even the end of the world couldn't prevent high school bullies from acting like idiots.
"HOLA MUCHAHOS! Table for two in the corner, yes? It is good to see you, has been too long since you stopped by." Israel gave them each a firm slap on the back as they thwomped their way into Pizza Stop. The slap was a practical move as much as a friendly one; After a full morning on the slopes, and a few less than graceful attempts at showboating, Jacqueline and I both carried enough snow it'd soak us through it if wasn't knocked off at the door.
"Izzy, mah man! How you been, pops treating you right?" Israel was a good friend of ours, recently graduated from high school. He'd gotten a job working at his family's pizza joint while he took online classes for college. He was tall for his Hispanic heritage, with a firm grip, a warm handshake.
"Ackh, he's overworking me Kael. Has me slaving away for the pittance that is minimum wage!" From the kitchen, his dad's barely audible shout issued forth. "I'm paying for your college, pendeho!" They shared a laugh at his expense and made their way to their favorite table where he leaned against the wall for a moment. "What'll it be today? Half supreme, half meat-lovers, one hot sweet tea, one coffee with two cream one sugar?"
Jacky smiled and nodded, blushing just a bit. "You ask every time Iz... and you didn't need to memorize our order!" I gave her half of a look and she returned half of a glare; she'd been crushing on him when he was a senior, and now that he was a college boy that crush had only deepened. I always threatened to tell him, and she always threatened me with no shortage of creative and unsettling punishments if I did.
Israel didn't see either look, he was already laughing his way to the kitchen. "I only did out of self-defense! Takes ages to write that all down." He traded a few words with his dad before the shop's bell rang, calling his attention back to the front.
"Man, it sucks that you get nightmares, but you gotta admit, nothing beats fresh powder after a storm. I can't believe you went for that one jump, I swear it looked like you broke something in that bailout..." We talked for a while with the ease of good friends, Iz returning with our drinks and pizza in due time. He didn't get much chance to socialize as the pizza bar filled with the lunch hour, but all in all, the morning was good enough that I wasn't even in the mood to begrudge mind-scarring nightmares. It was looking to be a perfect day right up until I heard the sneer of an unmistakable tenor permeate the air, in exactly the same manor that bad garbage wafts along on a breeze.
"Lettuce boy!" Five and a half feet of post-teenage angst stomped in, decorated head to toe in death metal regalia in an unfortunate attempt to draw attention away from his forgettable face and spoiled personality. "Since when did they start serving salads here?"
"My name's Kael..." I mumbled it under my breath with a frown. He'd been calling me some variant of Salad Boy ever since he'd learned that kale was a leafy green. It was upsetting at first, but eventually it become more annoying from sheer repetition than from any actual cleverness of the insult. I knew that disinterest was the quickest way to make him leave, but that was difficult when he could see my knuckle clench around my mug.
"Kale, lettuce, same thing. They're both delicious when served up with ranch." He turned and high fived one of his junkies, a fellow wannabe with strict enough parents that Zane seemed like a cool rebel. I took a sip of tea, needing something sweet to wash the bitter flavor of silence from my mouth. If I said nothing, he'd eventually go away.
"Oh please, judging by your waistline you haven't seen a salad since the last time you went on a family picnic." Ah, good ol' Jacqueline, at her finest. It didn't matter that she was younger, she stood up for me whenever she could. Given that I was the weird mountain kid, she never lacked for opportunities.
"The hell did you just say to me?" Zane's voice went deadly calm, and silence fell over the nearest three tables as classmates turned to watch the exchange. His parents were in the middle of a messy divorce; they likely hadn't had a family picnic in years.
"Let me break it down for you. I called you fat by insulting your weight, I called you stupid by reminding you that you don't know jack about salad, and your parents shout loud enough that I can hear them from all the way up the mountain. Of course, none of that would matter if you actually knew how to ride that snowboard daddy bought for you." Prime form, and nothing less than I expected from her. This wouldn't end well, but I couldn't stop the smile as I innocently sipped at my slurpage.
"I can ride, better than your fat ass at least you... fatty!" She weighed in at 120 pounds, and responded only by sticking her hip out to accent her figure. "You and me. Summit race. Tomorrow at Noon. Back country to the main lift."
"What, you expect me to race you?" She raised one eyebrow inquisitively, a skill that I knew she'd been practicing for just such an occasion of disbelief.
"Damn right I do, unless you care to take back everything you just said!" It spoke volumes about Zane's character that, of the carefully crafted insult she'd fired through him like an arrow, the slight to his snowboarding skill was what stuck to him.
"Fine. I'll meet your cronies at the finish line, but don't expect me to wait for you." He fumed silently for a few seconds more before turning and stomping out the door, snowboard boots exaggerating every footstep on the hard wood floor.
"Hoooooey! Esta chica es picante! You sure put him in his place." Israel slid back in with our check, which I grabbed before she could. "I'm glad you're my friend Jacky, you look like you'd make a wicked enemy."
"Well someone has to put him second." For a moment, she was too infuriated with Zane to remember that she was crushing on Israel, meaning that she was actually able to communicate and interact with her senpai in a meaningful way. That was a first.
"Man, I'd pay good money to see that. Hey they still rent out those Go-pro helmet cams, right? If you figure out a way to stream it to the internet, I'll convince Pops to let me play it on the big screen here."
I handed him the bill, but my attention was on my sister. "You can't honestly be planning to race him, right? Back country's dangerous even when there isn't a fresh layer of unsettled snow on it. Let him waste a few hours hiking up to the top and back while we-"
"No way, not gonna happen. You know if I did, he'd gloat about 'winning the race' all season. Besides," She said in a hushed tone, leaning in closer. "I just challenged him in public, and I know at least three of the people who looked our way. I can't back out now."
One of said friends, who apparently didn't know how to correctly eavesdrop, turned around and chimed in. "She's right you know. If she no-shows, the school will burn with that gossip for the rest of the year, at least. If the race is tomorrow, that gives the snow a chance to settle, and Zane's trash on the slopes. All mouth, but no bite. Your girl got this."
I looked between her, Brock, and Israel with a sigh. I was outnumbered. "I guess that means we have the rest of the day to figure out how to stream a helmet cam to the internet."