The Tides of Change, a Novel by @rodeo670: Part 9

rodeo670 (61)in #thetidesofchange • 6 years ago

This is the story of Jordan Dela Cruz, a USMC Iraq War veteran who comes home to Saipan and becomes a History teacher to help the next generation break free from the shackles of the cultural generational poverty mindset, which keeps the status quo alive and keeps the people of the CNMI disempowered and believing that nothing will ever change.

Read Part 1 HERE
Read Part 2 HERE
Read Part 3 HERE
Read Part 4 HERE
Read Part 5 HERE
Read Part 6 HERE
Read Part 7 HERE
Read Part 8 HERE

Upon arriving at the library, the four of them went to the back and found a table to sit at that they decided would be the perfect location for their petition researching and writing needs. They quickly got situated, setting their backpacks on the floor next to their chairs as they began to discuss what their next move would be. Hannah cleared her throat and said, “Ok, so we’re here now…how do we start this thing?”

Chris, still feeling excited at the thought of doing something meaningful that would finally prove his parents wrong about him, immediately took charge of the situation. He said to the others at the table, “Let’s split up into two groups. Hannah and Kyle, you two should go to the computer area and research about petitions and how people write them.”
“Just us?” Kyle asked. “What about you two, what are you and Mike going to do, then?”

“Laña, if we’re gonna write a petition and get other students to sign it, we have to come up with things that will convince the others to sign it, noh? So Mike and I will stay here and start coming up with ideas while you and Hannah find out how we can write this petition,” Chris explained. “It’s better like this nai so we’re not all sitting here wasting time doing the same thing!”

Kyle was taken aback by Chris’s motivation and quick thinking. Chris obviously felt very strongly about this matter, so Kyle agreed to do the research with Hannah. “Ok, fine, I see what you’re saying, Chris.” He looked over at Hannah and said, “I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Uhhhh, alright, I guess we should go now…we can’t waste any time, yeah?” Hannah said to Kyle.

“Shoot shoot! You guys go do that, and Mike and I are gonna stay here. Let us know if you find anything,” Chris told them as they got up and walked over to the computer area of the library.

As they walked away from the table, Mike reached into his backpack, pulled out his binder, and took a fresh sheet of paper out. He was a bit disappointed that he ended up with Chris, because he had never really liked Chris in all the time that he had known him. “Well,” he said as he turned to Chris, “how do you wanna do this, dude? Are we just gonna start coming up with stuff about Mr. Dela Cruz and then write them down, or something like that?”

“Yeah, par, that’s exactly what we’re gonna do!”

“I guess that makes sense for now, since we don’t know how to write the actual petition…so what do you wanna put down first?”

“Ummm….let’s put that Mr. Dela Cruz is a great teacher who always reminds us of our true potential,” Chris suggested.

“Alright, that’s a good start, I guess,” Mike said as he wrote down what Chris had said. “What else….hmmm….how about if we put down that he isn’t like other teachers because he truly believes in us, that we can be something great someday?”

“Yes! That’s badass! Bat, that’s one of the main reasons I’m doing this now,” Chris exclaimed, pleased that he and Mike were finally finding some common ground. Mike had never said it outright, but Chris was well aware that Mike didn’t like him very much. He had caught Mike giving him judgmental looks a couple of times in class, and even now, sitting in front of Mike at that table, Chris could sense the tension building up slowly but surely. Despite this, Chris tried his best to stay focused on the task at hand. “What about….he makes learning fun because he makes sure that we learn stuff, but without making us memorize stuff just for tests?”

A smile lit up on Mike’s face as he replied, “Yes dude! That’s perfect. That’s actually one of the reasons I love his class so much!” Mike was amazed. This was the first time that Chris had said anything that actually impressed him. In an attempt to top that, Mike offered up another point to include. “We should probably also put that he was suspended from teaching because he was so dedicated to fighting for what is right in order to try to secure a brighter future for our generation, you know?”

“Leche, that has to be in there for sure, bat! That’s probably one of the most important points we’re gonna use,” Chris replied. “We gotta think of some more, though.” He took a few moments to think about what else they could include in the body of the petition.

There was a deafening silence at the table as Chris thought of something else to add, while Mike silently observed him, thoughts racing through his own head. However, Mike’s thoughts had shifted from the petition to how he saw Chris. Mike was reevaluating his view of Chris, as this brainstorming session had begun to make him see Chris in a new light.

He thought back to something that Chris had said in class earlier that day, and he decided to break the silence with a question about it. “So….” Mike began, taking a deep breath. “That thing you said in class earlier, about your parents, is that true? Did they really say that you won’t amount to anything in life?”

Chris was surprised by this sudden change of topic, and he was amazed that Mike would even be asking him anything about his life. Confused, he gave a nervous laugh and replied, “Yeah, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about. Besides, what do you care anyway? I think we both know it’s obvious that you don’t really like me.”

Despite the truth in Chris’s words, Mike decided to try to continue the conversation, because he saw this as an opportunity to finally try to understand where Chris was coming from. If they were going to work together on this petition, he knew that he had to get over his personal dislike of Chris, at least long enough to try to understand him. He was even willing to share something about himself in order to convince Chris of his sincerity.

“Well,” he began, slightly embarrassed that his dislike of Chris was so obvious to him, “I’m not gonna deny that I don’t like you, dude. It’s because I’ve seen how you are outside of class. You make fun of people and bully them on a regular basis, and there’s nothing I hate more in this world than bullies. But right now, because we’re going to be working on this petition together to help Mr. Dela Cruz, I’m willing to put that hatred aside long enough to get your side of the story.

"Because it’s like my granddad used to tell me: everyone has a story and we all have reasons that we are the way we are. I come off as an asshole to most people because I was bullied so much growing up that I decided to just be mean to everyone as well. I never took it as far as bullying anyone, but I made sure that they knew not to talk to me. Everyone’s different, but I’m asking you this now because my dad tells me all the time how much of a disappointment I am because I chose not to play basketball in high school like he did. So, what’s your story?”

Shocked by Mike’s sudden openness and interest in his life, Chris had to take a few moments to internally assess the situation. No one had ever bothered to ask him about his home life, not even the few friends that he had, and even if they had asked him about it, Chris wasn’t sure he would have told them anything anyway. However, intrigued by Mike’s admission that he was also having issues with his own parents, he decided to entertain his question.

After what seemed like forever, he finally looked up at Mike with a hopeful glance and said, “If you really wanna know, yeah, my parents always tell me that. It’s so nonsense bat, what kind of parents tell their son that? It’s like they don’t even care about me, you know? You see on TV how parents ask their kids questions like ‘How was your day at school?’ or something like that, but no, bat, my parents never bother to ask anything like that. So that’s why I bully people and get into fights nai, to embarrass my parents when I get in trouble for it and to get attention since they won’t give it to me any other way!”

“Wow,” Mike said. “That’s crazy, dude! I wish my parents would leave me alone like that….but instead they pay too much attention to my life, and not in the good caring parent kind of way that you mentioned, either. They keep telling me what to do with my life even though it’s stuff that I don’t like, like basketball or whatever. I mean really, look at me dude. Do I look like I could ever be one of those self-centered basketball jocks? Hell no! I may be an asshole, but self-centered, I am not.”

“Leche, at least your parents care about you enough to want to be in your life like that…my parents really don’t care. They just leave me alone to do whatever,” Chris replied.

“You think they care about me?” Mike laughed. “You wanna know how they cared about me? I used to come home with bruises and my eyes would be swollen from crying so much after being bullied all day, and you know what my dad would tell me? ‘Get over it and get strong, kid. That’s the way life works. You’re either strong or you’re weak, and I sure as hell didn’t raise my kid to be a weakling.’ What a great way to show me he cared, huh?

"So that’s what I did, dude. I got strong, I shut everyone out, and I became an asshole to everyone I met. It was just easier that way. But even then, it wasn’t good enough for my Dad. And my mom…don’t even get me started on my mom. She was so in love with my dad that she never wanted to go against anything he said or did. Some family.”

Thank you for reading! This is just a part of a chapter of the novel...I would have posted the whole chapter, but it would have been way too long and you probably would not have stayed to read the whole thing. So I decided to break the chapters up into smaller parts for easier reading on Steemit.

As you read my novel, there will be words that you don't understand...those words are commonly used in our vernacular back home in the CNMI (the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), kind of our own special version of English, I suppose, which mixes in words from other languages. Feel free to ask me what they mean in the comments below!

If you liked what you read, I hope you will consider translating that into an upvote and leaving a comment below to start a discussion with me about my novel!