章節 19: What Are You Good At Bud?
The atmosphere thickened as Dad looked upon Korin with a weird gaze. Sort of like annoyance, but also of surprise. An unfiltered look from Dad wasn't something you'd see every day.
A small talk happened between Ernesto, Grace, and Dad, which revealed that they had their own unique skill sets as well. Ernesto was a lot of things in his life, as he explained he had practice in construction and plumbing, and just like our other people, he was a good electrician too. Having so many people good at things like that was a blessing in disguise.
Grace on the other hand used to be an author and knew her way around talking. She was a diplomat in my eyes, but she would be a good summarizer for the work we do here for Dad. I thought she would be a great leader with Mom and Dad, but she can't walk around with Korin and be a leader because he's too sporadic to control.
After talking to both of Korin's parents, Dad finally answered Korin's repeated, embarrassing statements about how tough his life was.
"The spotlight is on you. What are you good at?" Dad asked him. He didn't have that chipper tone and rarely looked Korin in the eyes. Korin didn't notice because he was too busy being full of himself, but everybody else in the room found it so obvious that we didn't even have to watch the conversation happen.
"I'm good at killing zombies. You don't have one of those here, do you? Been sheltered a little bit?" Korin asked. He put on that deep voice again, leaning his body against the wall while looking down the hall with a blank stare.
"We've had our fair share of action, but you're right, we don't have one of those here. We'd love to recruit you in that department, what are you good with?" Dad asked him.
Dad set both his gun and a hunting knife on the table in front of the two of them, pointing the gun at the wall, and the knife in the same direction. Korin went to put his hand on the gun, but Dad immediately slammed it down, shifting the table, and scaring Korin.
"What, your words don't work? You're good with guns then, right?" He asked Korin.
"I can't show you my aim if you block me from grabbing it. Why don't you hand it over, I'll prove my skill," Korin said. He tried looking at Dad with an annoyed gaze, but Dad was too brazen to fall for his tricks. I was scared, but only because I didn't want Korin to even touch a weapon.
"You'll prove your skill? With a gun? Indoors? That somehow doesn't sound the safest. Why don't you take that hunting knife instead, and show me you can kill the dead with it first? After I learn to trust you, I'll give you a gun," Dad stated. He set the gun back into his holster, letting it slide in and clipping it down with the leather strap while shifting his body in conjunction with Korin's.
His plight to get a gun was far too obvious for anybody else to just remain comfortable. Any person could say they're good with a gun at close range so long as they weren't blind. It only takes one bullet, one second to end a person's life. Dad of all people knew this very well, as he did what he had to do to protect Henry back when he was alive.
"But I'm not strong enough to use a knife... you know, I sort of think you're here to embarrass me and downplay my skill. You don't know what I have had to do, so why are you acting like this? Trying to be the big man? The alpha dog? Listen, Charlie, you don't want to fuck with me," Korin said to Dad.
Mom covered her mouth and chuckled while turning her head away, as did Gammie, and Papa even stuttered a little while sighing with a laugh.
When Korin said Dad's first name, which wasn't very polite, to begin with, but also in a demeaning way was beyond acceptable, Dad tapped his foot. I assumed he was doing this to focus his mind on something else and be patient so as to not upset Korin or visibly show signs of wanting to throw him on his ass outside. However, Korin sealed the deal when he told Dad not to mess with him.
I was shocked, looking back and forth between Korin and Dad, and watching the two unravel a conflict I still couldn't fully understand.
"So, you're saying you want to go back onto the street and not live here at all? Ah, I see, well, it would've been nice to have you, but we're not accepting people, so please, leave," Dad said. I knew he was older than Korin but if I were in his shoes, I might've punched that stupid kid in the face.
"Scared, are you? You're going to send me out there, and you don't even know how dangerous I am? Come on, you're stupid for sending me off, but we can all fix this when you apologize to me," Korin said. He crossed his arms, and Dad broke out in laughter in front of him.
"Hahaha! Ahahaha! Sorry, I just can't take you seriously anymore. So, is this some kind of prank or something?" He asked Ernesto and Grace. Based on their absent looks, and the way their eyes scanned the ground, it didn't feel like a prank.
"You think this is a prank? Maybe you should take that back," Korin said. He pulled out a very small pocket knife and put it on the table while looking up at Dad.
Naturally, the gun came out of Dad's holster and it was pointed straight at Korin's forehead before he touched anything with the knife, which freaked him out. It seemed that the longer Korin stared down the barrel of the gun, the more he started to get smarter and smarter.
"Okay, I give in. You can have the knife," Korin stuttered through his sentence in fear. I could see the straight-faced, eager look on Dad's face for this kid to try anything, and everybody around us knew to back away to get distance from Korin before he tried anything.
"You're going to give me the knife, and think this is just going to go away? You threatened the people who live here kid, I'm not messing around. Get out, and don't come back," Dad said again.
Korin was on his knees. The fake deep voice vanished and he was pleading to stay. He claimed that he couldn't live out there any longer and that he only put on the show to seem threatening so he wouldn't be taken advantage of.
In all honesty, Dad was a lot more threatening in the situation. That's not to say that Korin didn't overstep his bounds and honestly asked for it, but if the situation was reversed, Korin would've been dead on our front lawn if he tried anything.
"You're really that sorry, huh? Tell me, kid, is there a reason your parents aren't speaking up for your actions? Is this a common thing? Do you embarrass them, disappoint them, maybe even upset them that often? Sure, you can stay, but you'll be far away from us on the opposite side of the school, and you won't be allowed to leave at night. If you and your parents can come to an agreement on those rules, then I'll let you apologize to everybody individually here for scaring them, and you may live here," Dad said.
Uncle Brandon had been circling around to the front of the school with his own weapon, peeking into the front door behind Ernesto and Grace in case that anything would go down. Luckily, it remained peaceful and both Ernesto and Grace agreed to the rules. Korin agreed as well, handed over his pocket knife, and profusely apologized to everybody, even Cody and me.
"Yeah... I forgive you I guess..." I muttered. Korin wasn't satisfied with my half-assed answer and looked up at me with irritation.
He faked a smile, as I was the last one to apologize to, and then wrapped his arm around my neck with a smile.
"I'll be friends with you, and prove how useful I can be! How does that sound? I'll get you to like me, Leo!" Korin told everybody out loud.
Leo... I hated that name...
"I would vouch for me if I were you... I would hate for us to get off on the wrong foot, or maybe, the wrong side of a knife," Korin whispered in my ear.
Cody caught what he was saying, and I was too petrified to move after that point. Korin let go of me and clapped his hands together after everything was settled.
How could he embarrass himself like that... and then do everything still with a straight face? I would be so ashamed of myself if I acted like him.
Korin and I were already enemies, and things weren't looking good for either of us.
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