Page 21 of Lost
For a moment after Brendan departed, Zack and Lysander just sat there, watching the number of comments grow larger and larger. Zack was used to it, but he could only imagine what was going through his son’s mind. They were already at triple digits, steadily making their way to four.
“You wanna read some of them?” he asked.
Lysander thought about it for a moment, but then he shook his head. Zack didn’t blame him. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure he was ready to read what the fans were saying either. Although he knew what to expect — the good, the bad, and the just plain pointless — there was still a huge unknown that hovered over them all. This wasn’t something you saw posted every day. These wouldn’t be your typical responses.
“I should get started on my homework.”
Lysander stood, slinging his school bag over his shoulder as he went. He slid his chair back to where he had gotten it from, then paused. Zack watched him carefully. He could almost hear the gears turning in the boy’s mind.
“What you just did,” Lysander said slowly. “It’s more than I expected. And I know there aren’t enough words, but...” He licked his lips, hesitating for a moment before finishing with, “Thanks…Dad.”
The word lingered in the air between them. Zack was tempted to look over his shoulder to see who Lysander was talking to, because it couldn’t be him. He wasn’tDad. The word sounded foreign to his ears, like a nickname that had come about without meaning.
But…he couldn’t deny that it made his heart race. And most importantly, it made him feel like he was doing his job right.
“We’ll find her,” he said, and this time he felt confident in saying it. “We’ll find her, kid. It’s just a matter of time.”
“I know,” Lysander said.
And for the first time since their meeting, Zack truly believed it.
CHAPTER EIGHT
There was no wiping the smile from Lysander’s face as he walked into school the next day.
He’d known from the start that Zack would manage to have Dakota found. That was the whole reason he was here. It was taking longer than he’d hoped it would, but this… This was progress. It was more than he’d hoped for. Dakota could be a matter of days away now. A matter ofhours.
He took his place next to Jack in English, returning the boy’s greeting enthusiastically. If Jack was curious about the sudden lift in Lysander’s mood, he wasn’t given the chance to ask, because Ms. Lowe was already strolling through the room handing out slips of blank paper for her free writing exercise. He and Jack took theirs without a word. Jack was working almost before the paper hit the desk, but Lysander took a moment longer to think about what he was going to write. Of course, there was only one thing on his mind.
I’m going to see my sister again, he scribbled down.I always knew I would, but now I know it’s going to be soon. She’ll be safer here in California, and then we can finally start getting over everything that’s happened. She can meet Zack just like she always wanted, and maybe then we can start being a proper family. Even though it will be without Mom.
He thought back to all the times Dakota had voiced her daydreams to him, of all of them being together and living happily. His mother hadn’t dated much over the years, and when she had it had always ended in disaster. It would have been nice to see her happy and smiling, side by side with their father.With Zack. Lysander had never cared much for that fantasy, but…he could see the appeal.
Their mother would no longer be a part of that story, but maybe there was still hope for the rest of them. And for Georgia, whom Lysander knew was doing her best.
I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank Zack. He’s done more than I ever thought he would, and I think he’s actually looking forward to meeting Kota. I guess I really was wrong about him. Sometimes it still feels like he doesn’t want me around, like I’m an intruder in his life and things were better when he didn’t know about me, but other times he makes it clear he’s happy I’m there, and he’s sorry that it couldn’t have happened sooner. I’m trying to remember that this is harder for him than it is for me in some ways. He’s still learning how to be a father, but I’ve always known how to be a son.
When time was up, he handed his paper over willingly. There was a rush about the room as Ms. Lowe ordered everybody to get into their groups again, and a moment later he and Jack were joined by Eliza Beth and George, the latter of whom ignored them like always. George, who sat as far from Jack as possible, Lysander now realised.
“I never got the chance to tell you,” Eliza Beth said, drawing his attention to her instead. “I thought what you did for Jack that day was amazing. Standing up for him like that. It was about time somebody did.”
“Thanks,” he said, a little stunned. It was unusual for Eliza Beth to say more than two words to him. Not that he was about to complain.
“It was a stupid move if you ask me,” George said before either of them could say more. “Now everybody’s gonna know you’re a fag too, and you’re gonna get just as much crap as Avery does.”
“I’m not gay. And I’m not afraid of morons who think they can put people down just because they like the same sex.”
George looked like he had been about to say something more, but changed his mind and shut his mouth at the last moment. He looked down at his hands and pretended to be interested in his fingernails. He didn’t look up again.
“So you’re not gay?” Eliza Beth swivelled her gaze back to Lysander. She twirled a finger into her dark hair. “That makes what you did even more impressive.”
“I don’t see why it should,” Lysander said, but his chest swelled with pride regardless. “Jack’s my friend. And even if he wasn’t, nothing gives anybody the right to bully him. Anyone would have done the same thing.”
“No, they wouldn’t,” Jack said as he pulled out his copy ofMacbeth. “Most people keep their mouths shut so they don’t end up in the emergency room. There are closeted guys who don’t want the target on their backs. Some of the girls will stick up for me sometimes, but...”
“But it’s fine for us.” Eliza Beth shrugged. “Those guys may be idiots, but they’d never hit a girl. And they never take any of us seriously anyway, because they know that none of us could hurt them.”
Ms. Lowe was already busy writing questions up on the whiteboard, and Jack promptly got to scribbling things down in his notebook. Lysander took a quick look at the first couple of questions —If the main theme of Macbeth is ambition, whose ambition is the driving force of the play? What role do Macbeth’s visions and hallucinations play in the development of his character?— and grimaced. Even though he’d done his homework and read this play, he knew he couldn’t answer any of those questions. Why were they even learning Shakespeare?
