A Bright Past

(Jayden)

7 years ago…

"Here you go young man," somebody placed a twenty dollar bill into my cup.

"Thank you sir," I smiled. I then handed him a piece of paper.

"Is this a poem?" The man asked.

I nodded, "Made it myself, this is how I make money, but you just made my day, so here, take it!"

The man smiled, "Thank you."

It was just another normal day for me. Young Chris as they called me. That was my legal name, but I preferred to be called Jayden.

"So, you're still here," Said a voice.

There was a police officer wearing a badge that read Boston Police Department.

"I thought I told you to scram!" He said loudly.

I sat up, "Sorry sir, I'll go right away," I quickly gathered up my things and hurried away.

He had been bothering me for weeks. At least that was done now.

I walked into the large shopping mall to go find some food. The people who worked there knew who I was and would give me free fries and water.

"Mr. Hodges, great to see you again!" said one of the cashiers.

"You too Pracilla," I handed her the twenty dollar bill. "Could I get a burger and fries?" I asked.

Pracilla was an asian woman. She wore a fast food uniform and an orange bow in her dark hair.

"Lucky day huh?" She asked.

I nodded, "Somebody gave me the twenty, I was planning on buying some new clothes, but I like this jacket." I looked down at my dirty soft furry jacket.

"You know, you can go to the dry cleaner down the street, I'll take you," Pracilla said. "After I finish my shift that is."

Pricilla was like an older sister to me, she was so kind and took me everywhere.

"Thank you Pricilla, you're so kind." I said.

"I'm surprised you haven't found a foster home, you're, how old?"

"Nine, and I like my life, I wouldn't have met you," It was cheesy, but perhaps it was better this way.

"That's sweet, now I have about half an hour left on my shift, then I'll take you to the laundromat, then you can go eat dinner with me and my boyfriend."

"Oh, you mean Eddie?" I asked her.

"Eddie Chung, nice guy, you'd like him." Pricilla smiled.

"Well, perhaps I could go with you," I said.

"Kids your age shouldn't be doing this kind of thing," Pricilla said. "Living on the streets I mean."

"I know, but it's hard to trust people nowadays," I said.

"You trust me, don't you?" Pricilla winked in my direction.

"That's true," I laughed.

"Now, go eat, meet me here in half an hour."

I nodded and ran to a booth.

I opened up my bag and placed a large laptop onto the table. It was old and dusty, but it was still in working condition. The charger sat inside my bag. This was my father's old computer, the one I had stolen before I was dumped off.

I used it to write and research. I sat while eating my burger working on a new poem. This was the only way I made extra money, but it was still fun.

I continued to eat while I waited for Pricilla. While I waited for her, a man came walking into the food court. He wore a grey hoodie and sat next to me. His black hair was greasy. He had a flat nose and freckled skin. He was tall, and I mean tall. He looked to be about six feet five.

He sat down across from me and looked at me. "So, you're Christopher Hodges," The man said.

I nodded not making eye contact.

"I'm Eddie, Eddie Chung," The man said.

I smiled, still not looking up.

"Come on kid, say something," He said.

I looked up from my computer. "Name's Jayden Davis." I said to him.

"You didn't legally change your name did you?" Eddie asked.

I shook my head, "No, but I didn't want to be called Chris, now please leave me alone."

Eddie smiled, "He's a shy one, ain't he."

"If he doesn't know who you are," Pricilla was back from her shift. "Ready Eddie?"

Eddie nodded, "I was born ready!"

Pracilla laughed, "You don't need to be so dramatic."

I placed my laptop back into my bag. "Um Pracilla, the laundry mat?"

Pracilla's eyes lit up. "Oh crap, I forgot about that."

I placed my hands on my hips, "That's Pracilla alright," I sighed.

"Yeah, she's so forgetful," Eddie laughed to himself.

"Yeah, she can be," I said.

"Quickly guys, we don't want to be late!" Pracilla called.

I smiled and hurried after her. This was the feeling I missed. The feeling of a family.

(Bianca)

2 years ago…

"Jayden Davis," A young boy walked up to the stage in front of the entire choir. His brown hair had been grown out and laid on one side of his covering his left eye. He looked extremely shy and hid behind the microphone.

"Go ahead Jay," Ms. Garcia said.

The young boy opened his mouth to sing.

"This is going to be really annoying," Chloe commented.

"Don't be hard on him," Sydney said, "He hasn't even started yet-"

He began singing a pop song, but instead of the squeaking we had heard from everyone else, he began belting out runs and riffs like it was nothing. He was hitting those high notes and low notes with ease.

Chloe's mouth dropped. "I.. how did he?"

"What were you saying?" I asked her.

His voice was beautiful, but his body posture was terrible. He sank lower and lower into the ground as more people began to take him seriously. His voice got quieter and he completely stopped.

Everyone groaned. It was just getting good.

Ms. Garcia clapped. "Well well," She said as she lifted up her glasses. "You've got quite the voice."

He smiled shyly. "Thank-" He tripped over the mic stand. "Thank you ma'am."

The choir began to chuckle a bit.

There was something different from this kid.

The other kids were so full of themselves but were horrible.

This guy though, he was so calm and shy.

I rushed down to the stage where the young boy was exiting. "Wait!" I called.

The boy turned around and I toppled over him into the foyer. Luckily there was nobody there.

I landed directly on him, he stared at me and I stared at him. "This is awkward," I said.

The young boy's eyes went wide. He tried to scoot out from under me.

"Hey, I'm Bianca," I smiled.

The boy looked to the right where the door was. He didn't say anything.

"Are you shy?" I teased.

The boy nodded still wide eyed. He frantically reached for the door.

"Not going to let you go until you introduce yourself." I said.

The boy took a deep breath, "My name is Jayden and yes, I'm shy!" His voice was so full and loud. He sounded american, which was weird because we were in Manchester.

"So Jayden, what made you choose choir?" I asked him.

"I don't know, my parents wanted me to, I guess," He said. "Now can I go?"

"No, you need to make friends!" I said to him.

Jayden shook his head, "I rather not." He was an introvert, but I needed to break that.

"How about we go out, you me and a few friends," I suggested. "The mall is just down the street, and we were going to go eat out anyways."

"I don't want to impose, now excuse me," Jayden walked out the door and into the parking lot.

I sighed, why was he avoiding me?

The next week, he entered the choir hall.

"Jayden!" I called.

He ignored me and walked over to the edge of the riser where he sat alone. He pulled out a pen and paper and started writing in it.

"Bianca, why don't you go over and talk with him," Chloe suggested, "He's really cute!"

"Oh shut up Chloe," Sydney slapped her friend in the back, "He is not!"

"I was talking to Bianca," Chloe laughed.

I smiled coyly, "Oh, you were?"

"No need to look so mischievous, look there he is!" Chloe said.

Jayden tapped me on the shoulder, "Um, hey Bianca-"

"Oh Jayden," I said, cutting him off, "How are you?"

Jayden looked down at his feet, "I'm feeling great, thank you," He said quietly.

"God, you were right!" Sydney said. She tried so hard to sound american.

"Are you ok?" Chloe asked her.

Sydney shook her head, "No, being american is hard, their accent is so forward!"

Jayden laughed, "Well I guess it is."

"He laughed!" I whispered to Chloe.

"I know, I know!" Chloe gasped.

Sydney gave us a disapproving sigh, "Guys, he's right here!"

We turned to Jayden. "Oh sorry about that," We said in usion.

"That's…" He paused, "That's alright."

He was so calming, but little did we know, something was about to happen.

"Ok, we're going to continue auditions in the theatre!" Ms. Garcia called into the choir hall. "Come!"

The choir walked from the hall to the theatre.

Jayden stayed behind me. We would make eye contact every now and then, but he would quickly turn away.

We took our seats, but Jayden sat up in the top row alone.

"He's a shy one isn't he," Sydney said.

"Do you think he was scarred as a child?" Chloe teased. "Ouch!"

Sydney elbowed her in the chest, "That's not something to joke about Chloe!"

I looked up at him.

He had his eyes fixed on his notebook.

"Miss Jefferson, can you ask Mister Davis to come join you?" Ms Garcia asked.

"Of course," I responded, "Jayden!!!"

Jayden sat up.

"Come down, sit next to me!"

Jayden was reluctant, but he made his way down the stairs and into our row.

"Cindy Ringer!" Ms. Garcia called.

A young girl in a pink fluffy dress hopped onto the stage.

"This should be interesting," Chloe laughed.

Jayden kept writing, completely ignoring the singers.

I just so happened to peek over his shoulder.

He was writing a poem, the title was Another Day Another Star.

However he saw me and panicked.

"That's beautiful!" I exclaimed.

Jayden covered up his notebook. "I.. It's not what-"

He was gaining attention from everyone.

Even the girl who was named Cindy stopped singing.

"What's going on?" Ms Garcia asked.

"Nothing, it's really nothing, Cindy can move on," Jayden said nervously.

Ms Garcia eyed him curiously.

"What was that?" Chloe asked.

"I didn't know you were a poet!" I said to him.

Jayden hid under his jacket. "No, I'm not a poet, I can barely spell anything."

"You were fine, don't worry," I said.

His grip relaxed a bit from his notebook.

I quickly snatched it and flipped through it.

Sydney and Chloe joined me as Jayden tried to grab it.

"Hey, look at this one!" Chloe smiled. "It's labeled Happy Thoughts, aw."

Jayden gave up on trying to get the book.

"Where was the one you saw?" Sydney asked me.

"I believe it was labeled Another Day, Another Star," I told them.

"Ooh, romantic!" Sydney said.

Jayden sighed, "Yeah, I guess."

"Who's it for?" I asked.

"It's for a conflict," Jayden said. "If I have to make a choice between two people."

"That's adorable," Chloe said and placed her hand on her heart."like that'll ever happen though."

"Shhhh," Ms Garica said.

We sat up and watched the stage.

Cindy was still screeching away.

"Ok, ok, ok Cindy That's enough!!"

Cindy paused, "Yes?" she asked.

"I'm sorry darling, but you just don't make the cut."

Cindy burst into tears and ran out of the room.

"Britins." Jayden said softly.

Everyone turned to him, "Oh, sorry sorry, I didn't mean… I mean I."

Everyone ignored him and waited for the next person.

"Rachelle Turner!" Ms. Garcia called.

Everyone waited for the next person.

Jayden didn't seem to care. He just sat and wrote.

"Let's see how good this next person is," Sydney said.

(Chloe)

2 years ago…

"Excuse me!" Said a girl.

I turned around, "Hey."

The girl was skinny and had a pointy nose. Her hair was short and blonde. "I'm Rachelle and I'm new here."

"You are, well, welcome to our choir!" I said in a fake game show announcer voice.

"Eh hem, so I was wondering if I should know about anyone here?" She asked.

"Ok, so the main people I hang out with are Sydney Liu, she's smart, extremely british and she has a really good soprano voice," I said to her.

"Smart and sings high," Rachelle said as she wrote it down. "Isn't everyone here british?"

I nodded, "Except for Jayden Davis, he's shy, loves writing, from america and is the only boy I'm willing to hang out with in this group."

Rachelle continued to write down her notes in her journal.

"Finally you have Bianca Jefferson, she's really into tennis, athletic and is an alto singer."

Rachelle smiled, "Well thank you, I'll go talk with them."

"You should, get to know the people, don't be shy!" I said loudly. "Hey Sydney, come over here!"

Sydney made her way over to us. "Hey Chloe, what's up?"

"This is Rachelle, she was wondering if she could join us for dinner tonight," I said.

"I never asked-"

I elbowed her in the chest. "Rachelle, you said you wanted to make new friends."

"But with your friend group?" She said.

"They'll be happy to meet you!" I told her.

Rachelle nodded. "Sure, I can go."

I giddily jumped up and down. "We're going to have so much fun! We're going to go eat out then you can talk with Bianca and Jayden then-"

"Ok, she gets it Chloe!" Sydney snapped. "Just calm down, break's about to end.

"Who cares about that, we have a new friend!" I said in a delightful manner.

"Um, I think your parents will care, so why don't you get on the risers before you get kicked out for being an incompatent little-" Sydney paused. "Oh, hey Bianca, Jayden."

"Hey Sydney," Bianca said. She wore a tennis skirt and a lime green t-shirt. Her glasses lay on her nose perfectly.

Jayden just waved and hid behind Bianca.

"Um, hi.. Jayde.. Jay-" Rachelle stuttered.

Jayden's hair covered his eye making him look like a teen girl. "Hi."

Bianca moved aside but Jayden followed. "Go say hi," she said.

Jayden shook his head.

"We've been over this, why are you so scared?" Bianca asked.

Jayden looked over to Rachelle. He shook his head.

"Jayden, you've got to say something!" Bianca said.

Sydney and I both waited attentively for him to speak.

"Hi," Jayden Murmured.

Rachelle stared at him. "It's ok, no need to be shy!"

Jayden took a step back.

Rachelle kept moving closer and closer to shake his hand.

Jayden closed his eyes and stuck his hand out.

They shook hands.

"That wasn't so hard was it?" Bianca asked.

Jay nodded and continued to hide behind her.

"Don't worry about him, he's always like this," Bianca reashurred us.

Rachelle nodded, "Don't worry about it."

Jayden took a deep breath, "I promised my mom I wouldn't act like this," He said. "My name is Jayden Davis."

Everyone stared at him in awe.

"You actually said something!" Bianca gasped.

"I'm not that shy, I just don't like talking to strangers!" Jayden shouted.

Everyone paused, including Ms. Garcia.

Jayden whelped and hid behind Bianca again.

"Thanks a lot guys!" Bianca accused them. "We almost had him!"

Everyone continued their conversations glancing over every now and then.

"So dinner at the mall, we walk over right after choir!" Sydney said.

Everyone nodded.

The walk was rather fun.

Rachelle explained that she was from London and had moved here to meet new people.

I had to tell her about choir and all the people there.

Jayden and Bianca were having quick conversations but quickly ended them once Sydney would glance over.

"He's a weird one," Sydney laughed.

"Oh not that weird," Rachelle responded.

I chuckled. "He's so introverted!"

However, Rachelle had lost all sense of time. She just stared at Jayden and Bianca.

"I think she likes him," I said in a hushed tone to Sydney.

"You think, look at them," Sydney said.

"No no, not Bianca, Rachelle."

Rachelle stared longingly at them.

Sydney gasped. "You're right, she does!"

Rachelle turned back to them. "No I don't!" She had obviously been paying attention.

"Ok, but Bianca's already got him in her clutches!" Sydney said.

"I just have to pry it out of him," Rachelle said confidently. "He can't be that hard to get."

I gave Sydney a look of disappointment.

She seemed to get my message. "Rachelle, you know he will always be with Bianca, they can't be separated!"

"That's crazy, it's not like they're inseparable," Rachelle paused and realized what she was saying.

"Yeah, they kind of are," I said to her. "And you won't woo him by just standing here."

"Then how?" Rachelle asked.

"Well, get on his level, you know try to appeal to him," I recommended. "He's a poet, try to woo him with that."

Rachelle grinned, "Thanks Chloe you just gave me an amazing idea."

"You're not going to confront him now?" Sydney gasped.

"What's the point, better to do it now then-"

"You should get to know him first, idiot." I said to her.

Rachelle sighed. "Fine fine, but don't blame me if it doesn't work."

We reached the mall and quickly ran inside. We entered the building and quickly rushed over to the food court.

"Come on Jayden!" Bianca said, grabbing his arm.

However, Jayden didn't seem to want to go.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

Jayden's head perked up, "Oh nothing, can we just move on."

Sydney and Rachelle found a table and we all sighed with relief.

"Thank god we found a spot," Sydney said.

I nodded, still panting. "Yeah imagine what we would do if we didn't find a place.

Bianca agreed, "Yeah, we would probably have to sit on the floor."

However, Jayden didn't seem to be paying attention. He was staring over at a burger joint nearby.

"You want to go get something from there?" Bianca asked.

Jayden shook his head, "No, it's just that it gives me bad memories."

"Jayden, what happened to you?" Sydney asked. "You seem so guarded."

Jayden took a deep breath, "First of all, you can call me Jay, makes me feel a lot better."

Everyone turned to him.

"Wait, he's opening up!" Bianca gasped.

"He is, he is!" Sydney said happily.

"Second, I can't tell you guys anything…"