Power Games

Sunday mornings are relatively quiet in Yellow Peak, so I head out for a morning walk as always heading up the road to the park and sitting down waiting for Danny who always brings the kids for some Sunday morning fun. Danny turns up at about 8ish with coffee and breakfast which he always grabs “You do remember that I don’t have the kids this morning, so I could’ve stayed in bed”.

I laugh “I know but it’s still Sunday and we always do this and I wasn’t going to sit here alone,” I say as he rolls his eyes and gives me the usual Breakfast Roll from the Lunchbox Café which sits in the main street of town. Danny sits down “So met the new neighbour yet?” he asks me as I nod as I start eating “Yep… and the rumours are true, it’s Isaac Keppel and I’ve talked to him a few times”.

Danny shakes his head and rolls his eyes “Why would you do that, you know what those kinds of people want and why the fuck would you even make him feel welcome, he’s the kind of person that is only going to bring trouble to town”. I sit there listening to Danny get annoyed about the fact that it’s Isaac Keppel that moved in.

“Look bro, I’ve talked to him and helped him out yesterday and from what I’ve seen he’s not here to cause trouble and if anything, leave trouble behind because of the way he spoke about his family, I truly think he doesn’t want to be a part of that life”. I say trying to defend Isaac because I can see that he wants to make a change in his life.

“I don’t trust him as far as I could throw him you know that, those types want something with an ulterior motive, he’s a plant on how to get his father's campaign popular, and coming here is an election ploy,” Danny says still not believing me.

“I understand that you don’t like him, but at the same point can’t you at least give him a chance to meet him and just play niceties with him because I’m going to invite him around this afternoon to meet a few people. I just want him to at least feel somewhat welcome” I say looking at Danny pleading with him. “Just do it for me, bro, you don’t have to like him but just play nice like you did with Scott before you and he got close”.

Danny lets out a sigh “Fucking hell Adam, you need to not trust everyone so quickly bro, I get you’ve got a heart of gold bro but how many times have you been hurt before” he says as I think about where I’ve been hurt in the past.

I think back to when I finished Uni and got my first teaching job in Walker Park which is just outside Grantham. I was there for close enough to 2 years and I’d met a guy that I knew from uni and we dated and got an apartment together. I got to know his family well and I thought that things were great and I paid for pretty much everything because I knew that his family wasn’t well off and he was paying to take care of his mother who was sick. Our relationship was pretty good and always talked about long-term things, until one night I found my bank account completely drained and his things just gone from the apartment.

I had quickly found out that he was using the money he earned to fund his drug addiction and that little things around the apartment had gone missing which turned out that he had pawned for more cash. The turning point came when I had just got home from work, to find what was left in the apartment completely ransacked by some random thugs trying to find what Jake had left behind.

That was the turning point, I was hurting and had absolutely nothing left to be staying in the city for but I couldn’t tell my family what had happened. I trusted Jake with everything and he betrayed me and left me so broke and desolate that I didn’t know what to do and I couldn’t just go back home because I loved my job teaching at the school.

The only person I could talk to was my lifelong best friend Danny who would come up with the right answers to help me. In the next few weeks, Danny came and stayed with me on and off when he could until an opportunity opened back up in Yellow Peak once Mrs. Elliott finally retired after 50 years of teaching. I decided to apply for the position just to head back home because I was worried that I was too trustworthy and had to go home with no money in my account where I would be safe.

A few weeks before I left the city, Danny told me that he would take care of things and I didn’t ask what he was doing or what happened because I don’t really want to know but in the week that I was heading back to Yellow Peak, Jake got in contact with me and left me with all the money that was in my account with a bit extra that I didn’t ask about. I know Danny had an effect but on the same night, Jake was found beaten to an inch with his life and it was put down to Jake’s drug connections but something inside me always thought it was Danny but I’ve never asked and he’s never told which is why I think he is more protective of me than anyone else.

I sit there listening to “Look, I know you’re referring to what happened with Jake and that was my mistake, Danny alright but I’m older and smarter and I’m not getting attached to Isaac, I’m just treating him like I would any other new neighbour in town”.

Danny sits there “Fine, don’t think I’m ok with it because I’m not because he seems like an a-grade fuckwit and I just don’t want anything to happen to you or anyone here in Yellow Peak, ok?”. I nod as the tone in our conversation hits a bit of a confrontational moment and we sit in silence for a little bit before I change the conversation.

“How are the kids enjoying their trip away?” I ask Danny as he finishes eating “I talked to them last night well talked to Tash at least which was good because I miss her and the boys even though their back later tonight” I nod and can understand his point “Well that’s good at least and I’m glad they're having fun down there” we both smile. “I didn’t mean to get angry with you bro being protective I appreciate that but I never wanted to change the way I am with people and I’m all about given them second chances because they deserve it”.

I stand up to put the rubbish in the bin and Danny follows me and hugs me “I know that’s you Adam and I still worry about the fact that anyone could turn up one day and just ruin everything that you rebuilt” he says almost pleading with me to stay safe.

We finish up and head to Danny’s car because he insists on giving me a lift home “Can I ask a favour when you come and mow the lawn for me?” I say as Danny looks at me “You want me to do Keppel’s too don’t you?” he says with a sense of disdain for what I’m asking. “Yeah, he asked me yesterday if there was someone who he could pay to do it and I said I’ll ask you when you do mine, he’s happy to cover any costs that you want to charge”.

Danny shrugs “It’s fine, I’m doing yours for free and I’m happy to do it because if everything you’ve said is true about him then it’s the least that I can try to do”. We drive back to my place as Danny drops me off and tells me he’ll be back in the afternoon to do the lawns and have dinner together.

I get out of the car and head inside my place and finish off some schoolwork marking their homework and spelling tests that I didn’t get around to over the weekend. I finish that up and head around next door to Isaac’s and knock on the door but hear something around the back and call out “You around there Isaac” as I open the back gate and see him pulling apart some furniture

“Hey man, I knocked on the door but nobody answered and heard you around here,” I say as he gets startled by me coming round and I’m not sure why. “Oh hey Adam, yeah I was just pulling apart these old bits of stuff I got yesterday so that I could build some new furniture cheaply rather than having to buy everything”.

I look at Isaac “Build furniture?” I say a bit confused thinking a guy like him would never be able to build anything with his privileged background. “Yeah, I always used to help grandad build things when he went out to the workshop and things like that,” he says as he keeps pulling apart the furniture. “We built birdhouses, benches, shelves, and all that stuff when I was a kid and then growing up through High School where I actually took Woodwork as a class right through which I enjoyed”.

The surprise on my face must be obvious because Isaac can’t help but smirk “You probably thought I was just a privileged kid doing the easier subjects or doing Health or extra sports classes didn’t you” he says as laughs. “I won’t lie, I probably didn’t expect that from you but again it makes you feel a lot more normal than what the reputation and look is”.

We both laugh as he finishes pulling the furniture apart and heads inside through the front door “Any reason for going through the front door and not the back door?” I ask as he puts a cheeky smirk on his face “Keep the backdoor for special occasions” Isaac says winking at me which makes me blush before adding “Nah, the backdoor lock is stuck so can’t use it, just something else that I’m adding to the list of issues here”.

“Yeah, in all honesty, Mr. Thompson who had this house before you didn’t keep it in the greatest condition, and then it sat for two years before you moved in very quickly,” I say looking around the empty house that’s got a lounge and that’s it at the moment. “I came around for two things, one Danny said that he’s happy to mow the grass for you and doesn’t want anything for it plus two, I was wondering if you’d like to come around for dinner tonight, Danny and a couple of other friends are going to be there, so I just wonder if you’d like to come over and meet some new people”.

Isaac stands there for a moment “Yeah, I’d like that and if you think that it’s a good idea then I’m happy to do it” he says smiling and actually looking excited. “Well that’s good, I just think getting to know people will be something that helps you make some more friends here”.

Isaac looks at me “More? Does that imply that we are friends?” he says smirking trying to bait me for an answer “I suppose it does but tentative ones at that alright?” I say as he nods to me understand where we sit now in our friendship as I head back to my place and get back to doing schoolwork.