Skeptics and Psychics Chapter1

Outside the window was just a blur of green and brown and sometimes grey. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad but after four hours of extremely sparse communities and no sun Stardust was bored to tears. It probably didn't help that the end destination wasn't one he was particularly interested in.

It would be fun, his mom had spouted, to be out in all that nature for the summer. Parents shelled out hundreds of dollars for their kids to have that kind of experience but he was lucky and could just go up to his dad's instead. He hadn't bothered to point out that those kids were usually still that, kids, not teenagers with only a year left in high school, or that this was the only way he'd get to experience it. She wasted all of their extra income on those stupid phone psychics who only told her what she wanted to hear. That was the real reason he was trapped in this car, staring out the window and into a void. One of those phone psychics had told her that this would be ‘good for your son’ and ‘you need some me time’. It was bullshit. She needed time away from her son shouting at her to hang up in the background. More time for them to rack up the bill.

This stupid town really was in the middle of nowhere. His mom had given up on trying to chat with him at least an hour ago, tired of his snappy responses. In his eyes she only cared about what her precious psychics told her, she didn't think about the risks of sending him to some small town. It was probably full of racist, homophobic assholes who would kick his ass over his name alone, not to mention his sexual orientation and skin colour. So really what he was being sentenced to here was a whole summer of binge watching random shows online. He could have done that at home but no, he ‘needed an adventure’.

Stardust just wanted out of this damned car by now, his neck hurt, his shoulders hurt, his back hurt, even his legs hurt. Every time he tried to fall asleep to try and make the rest of this pass unseen his mom would pipe up about how close they were to their end point. He’d slept the first couple of hours but now he was starting to think she didn’t know where she was going if she was keeping him up this way. If he had data or the trees had wifi he could google it to check but no, he was limited to staring blankly at a map he couldn’t read and he was pretty sure his mom couldn’t read it either. Adventure. The adventure was going to get them lost in the middle of nowhere without cell service.

“Okay baby. This is it. You tell me if you see a Timmies. Your dad said he'd meet us at the one in town.” In all honesty Stardust was actually surprised to see the town name sprawled across the next sign they passed. So they hadn't ended up in a ditch or on the side of the road praying for help.

“Yeah okay.” His mom had decided against dropping him off at his father’s doorstep. She was more than willing to drive for four hours to get him to the same town but it would be too weird to actually go to her ex husband's home. Instead they had to set up some drop off point elsewhere in town, Stardust was expecting that to be more of a “get out of the car, get his stuff and wait on the curb for his dad to show up” thing. His parents had split on less than amicable terms and she still seemed to have a lot of heartache over it, or maybe she just didn't want to be reminded of past mistakes. Either way she was just going to dump him in a parking lot and not wait to make sure he got picked up first and it wasn't like Stardust had a phone to call his dad. Once he was out of the car he lost access to his mom's phone.

“There.” He pointed to the right, the coffee shop was closing in on them. They were a little ahead of schedule, that was to be expected. His mom wanted nothing to do with his father beyond the short series of emails they’d exchanged to arrange this whole summer drop off. At least she bought him a muffin and a cold drink before she took off, leaving him with a phone number she promised belonged to his dad. He could go into the coffee shop and ask to use their phone if his dad was late.

At least it had stopped drizzling mostly. Plus the Tim Hortons had an awning that kept a bit of the sidewalk dry enough to sit on. With an iced coffee and a muffin he probably could have sat inside for a little while without being asked to leave but he already felt uncomfortable here. He could see the eyes of the employees and regulars sizing him up, taking him all in before whispering to their companions. Small towns were not really someplace he wanted to be a stranger in. Sitting out in the thankfully cool breeze Stardust was starting to wonder if he should have listened to his mom and at least dyed his hair back to its natural colour before coming up here but it was too late now.

Cars that drove by slowed, just a little, so the occupants could take a look at the dark skinned, pale peach haired boy. Even with the summer heat starting up Stardust felt compelled to pull his hood up over his hair, maybe that would help disguise him from their eyes, at least for a little while. His mom has called him crazy for putting a sweater on when he got out of the car but this was exactly why. He hated being stared at, hated when he was examined. He didn't want anyone to know about his life, it was embarrassing enough to live it let alone explain it. He tried to keep himself as invisible as possible, picking at his muffin and glancing at his watch, eager to get out of here.

It wasn’t so much that everyone could tell that he was new here, it was more because he had a small pile of things next to him and it was clear he was travelling. It was just more curiosity about what would bring someone to wait where he was waiting. The bus terminal in and out of town was closer to the centre of it and the buses really only came in and out once, sometimes twice a day. It was strange to see someone looking a little like a runaway this close to the outskirts.

When his drink was all but melting ice in the glass and his muffin was no more than crumbs, Stardust started to wonder where on earth his dad actually was. His mom had said he was supposed to be here by one o’clock but it was nearly two now. This was just great. He was currently stuck in some small town, hours north from home with only twenty bucks and no cellphone. When his watch flipped over to two exactly he begrudgingly got to his feet, grabbing his backpack and suitcase to drag himself into the coffee shop to beg use of their phone. The girl behind the counter looked sympathetic as she handed over their handset, punching in the code for a line out.

“Cell doesn’t work out here? There’s only like two companies with service out here and even then if can be kind of spotty.” She was assuming it was just a bad phone plan, that was better than her figuring out he didn’t even have a cellphone. A lot of teens thought it was crazy to not have a phone these days but it wasn’t in the cards for Stardust. He didn’t have time for a parttime job, not with how hard he studied in the hopes he could get a scholarship along with his student loan.

“No. It doesn’t, thanks.” She just nodded when he started punching in the numbers on his post-it note, not wanting to be rude.

It rang once, twice, five times before the voicemail picked up, announcing it was Torvald Presley’s home and that he’d get back to the caller if they would just leave a message. The number his mother had given him wasn’t even his father’s cellphone number, if he was out somewhere there was no way for Stardust to reach him. Great. That was just perfect. He was actually stranded here. He left a short message, saying that it was his son and that he was at the Tim Hortons, asking him to come whenever was most convenient. If was just that his dad didn’t want him for the summer anymore, that was fine, he would just need to figure out how to get Stardust home again. Just more proof as to why his life sucked. He handed the receiver back to the chatty employee who offered him another iced coffee, her treat. He was inclined to say no but his sweater really was starting to get a little too warm for his liking. A thank you later and he was back outside, curled up in his previous seat a little smaller than before. It was really starting to drizzle.

When it was nearly quarter to three he was ready to call his mom and just deal with her annoyance over having to turn around. He got to his feet in time to see a silver car pull into the parking lot a little too quickly, swerving to get around the drive through line up. It pulled up in the parking space next to where Stardust had been sitting, the car at a severe angle when it killed the engine. The door opened to reveal a man climbing out into the soft rain, worried expression on his face that melted into relief. The colour of his skin, the shape of his eyes, these were small things that Stardust remembered about his father, they hadn't changed.

“Oh thank god, you’re here.” The man, Torvald Presley hustled over to the waiting bags, grabbing the suitcase before Stardust could.

“Hey dad.” Stardust had to keep himself from sounding too annoyed or sarcastic. That kind of attitude wasn’t going to help him at all and he really didn’t want to make his life any more difficult than it was already going to be this summer.

“So I told your mom the Timmies and totally forgot there’s actually two in town now. This one is the new one, I’ve been waiting at the other one. I thought she was maybe just late and then I got home and heard your message and remembered this place.” His father explained his lateness as he got his son settled in the car. It was kind of terrible, that he sounded so sincere, because it made it harder for the peach haired boy to stay so angry with him. Still, he was damp from the humidity now and he’d actually thought he’d been abandoned up here so he wasn’t going to forgive his father quite yet.

“Mom’s never late. She didn’t give me your cell number.” He got into the unfamiliar car, green eyes turning to the window. This was slightly more interesting than the car ride with his mom had been, in that at least it wasn’t all trees and rocks. Not that the collection of tourist shops and grocery stores was all that much better but it was an improvement on the coffee shop parking lot and that was important.

“Still as punctual as ever?” His dad chuckled a little, a sound that rumbled deep in his throat and drew out a few faint memories from Stardust’s childhood. He didn’t really remember his dad’s laugh, if he ever did laugh, beyond of course the subtle sound like the one he’d just made. “Good to know that hasn’t changed about her.”

“I think she just didn’t want to see you at all. I’ve been here since before one.” Stardust wasn’t engaging in this conversation. The teen was moody and lost in his own thoughts about how likely this summer was to be the worst summer he’d ever experienced.

“I’m really sorry about that kiddo.” Even his apology sounded sincere. How was Stardust supposed to hate him all summer if he actually cared about being on time and having conversations? It was far easier to hate someone when they were absent than when they were directly in his face. “So do you have any nicknames? I’m sure you find Stardust to be a bit of a mouthful.”

“If by a bit of a mouthful you mean completely embarrassing and terrible.” At least he could be venomous about his name, that was still something his father could have stopped. “But no. To have nicknames you need friends that don’t think you’re some washed up piece of free love trash.”

There was a long silence after that. It hung in the air, heavy as it rested on both passengers’ shoulders. The words had come out more harshly than Stardust had originally intended but it was a truthful answer. If he could have the chance to change any one thing about his life, his name would be a top contender. So many thought it was just a joke or an attempt to be ‘unique’ and ‘special’, plenty of teachers had accused him of lying about it. More than once his mom had had to come in with his birth certificate to prove otherwise. Then they shut up about it and the teasing from his peers began.

“Your mom was so set on Stardust. She wanted it to be Stardust Moonbeam but that was too much for me to let slide. Even with all the mistakes I’ve made that wasn’t one I was going to live with, or make you live with for that matter.” Torvald spoke as if the last thing his son had said hadn’t been dripping with poison and contempt. Instead he was offering up a true story, one that he could recall while still keeping his eyes on the road home. “In all honesty I caved to Stardust because I was a real David Bowie fan then. I mean, I still am, but I was a real groupie back then. I used to sing his songs to you. Called you Ziggy because it was less of a mouthful.”

“Ziggy? That’s not even close to Stardust.”

“Are you telling me you don’t know what Ziggy Stardust is-” His father’s enthusiastic reply was cut short. Stardust really didn’t want to be having any serious heart to heart with his dad about their different tastes in music.

“I’m pulling your leg. Of course I know Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.” He could hear his father’s sigh of relief but he still refused to look at him. He was going to have to see him all summer, for more than two months and he wanted to keep himself from getting sick of it. “Mom calls me Star, sometimes Dusty.”

“Oh thank goodness. If you didn’t know I would have had to educate you. I’ll still give out that lesson but not right now at least.” There was another chuckle then a very long awkward silence, one that started off weighing less but slowly added to itself over time until Stardust considered if the injuries he obtained by pushing open the moving car door and barrel rolling out were worth it. His fingers actually hovered above the handle, tapping it occasionally as he tried to weigh the pros and cons. He might have actually done it too if they'd not turned into a driveway when they did.

“Well, this is it, home sweet home. It's not much but for the summer, think of it as your home.” His dad spoke loudly enough to be heard over the sound of seatbelts unbuckling and doors opening and closing. Stardust didn't fight him when he went to carry his suitcase again, he just wanted out of the rain, waiting in the little porch for his dad to hurry up. “I've got a key inside for you and my only rule is that if you're going to be out after midnight, you need to give me a call to just let me know. I'll get you to program my cell number into your phone when we get inside.”

“I don't have a cellphone.” The teen didn't need to see his dad’s face as he slipped inside the house, grateful for the protection from rain that had decided now was the time to pour. He could feel it in the pause of conversation, he could sense the way his dad was scrambling to find something to say next. “Nice place.”

Torvald had said it wasn't much but this place was a castle in comparison to the home Stardust was used to. Back in the city they'd always lived in variations of basement apartments or trailer homes. This was a house, a real one,with two stories and everything. It had two bedrooms and one and a half baths, though his father had changed the basement around so that it held a third guest bedroom. Maybe it didn't smell like fresh paint and varnished wood but there was a hominess in the smell of fresh coffee and clusters of books that was more welcoming than the son would have expected. It called to mind a few old memories of a house they'd only briefly lived in, when Stardust was still very young, before his father had left. The ache that nostalgia brought would be unbearable if he had to feel it all summer.

“Thanks. Let me show you to your room?”

The room that he was being put up in, didn't feel much like a guest room to Stardust. There were no tacky floral print curtains with matching bedspread or serene paintings of lakes or forests. Instead the bedstead was just a plain dark blue and there was a small TV on the dresser. It looked a little silly where it was placed and the teen silently wondered if it had been moved in here just for his sake. It would be nice to have a real TV for once, not just the monitor to his desktop computer, tilted to be viewable from his bed. He would never admit it out loud but this actually looked like a nice room to be in. If he had to be here this room would at least be a fairly acceptable prison.

His dad left him to get settled, which Stardust took to mean that he should probably unpack but that just seemed depressing. He really hadn’t brought all that much, his limited outfit selection spread out in the wardrobe’s drawers barely took up any space. It was kind of sad. Out of his backpack he pulled a beat up looking notebook and sketchbook, setting them next to the TV before he pulled out the item that would save him too much boredom hopefuly. A hand me down tablet from one of his mom’s friends. It had a few games and if his dad was nice enough to give him the wifi password he could at least watch youtube on it when there was nothing else on. He plugged that in, leaving it to charge while he checked the room over. That was it, everything was out or away, it was time to explore the rest of the house.

“Star?”

Maybe exploration would have to wait until his dad wasn’t actually home. It would probably be just a little too rude to ignore his dad and keep wandering, even if he wasn’t really up for the conversation that was about to happen. Sure he got pretty great grades and was on both the track and field team and in the school choir but really he only pushed himself that hard so that he could use them when he applied for scholarships. He would rather drop the extracurricular stuff, because they sometimes cost money he didn’t have with events but it looked so good to say he was on a gold winning team and a top class school symphony and he always had to talk about it like he was really invested. Otherwise his intentions would be questioned and that was just a tiring set of answers.

Strangely enough his dad didn’t push him to go into any details when all Stardust offered was vague replies. He just nodded and moved on, impressed with all the extra work his son seemed to put upon himself. At least he didn’t bug him about getting a part-time job, in fact he agreed that there was clearly not enough time for it. It was a refreshing conversation to say the least, his previous experiences with adults and socializing almost always ended with him storming off and ranting about how teenagers were expected to know what they wanted to do with their life even though it had barely begun. When his dad headed into the kitchen to find a take out menu Stardust didn’t feel the need to yell on his blog about unrealistic expectations, he felt listened to.

They ended up picking an assortment of things from what looked to be the only chinese food place in the town, probably way more food than either of them really needed but his dad said it didn’t matter. They could have leftovers for lunch and this was meant to be a celebration to welcome him for the summer. It was an almost disgusting amount of food when it arrived but it was nice. They just spread it out on the coffee table and put on some crappy TV movie about aliens for background noise while they ate. Stardust couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this much take out all at once, it really was a treat.

Torvald Presley turned out to be in charge of a few of the tourist attractions up in this small town, the local museum and a ghost walk that was linked to the town’s history. He’d actually grown up here and met Stardust’s mother in the city only because he’d gone to university down that way for business. When their marriage had crumbled for reasons neither parent was all that willing to talk about he’d moved all the way back here to be around friends, even if his family had all passed on. It was kind of sad, he’d lost his parents just a few years before the divorce and when he’d come back only a handful of his friends still lived up this way. The summer months weren’t so bad, there were more employees working for him and tourists who loved to chat but it could still be a lonely life. It was clear to anyone who knew him well that his son's extended visit was a huge deal to the man.

Stardust of course knew nothing of this, of how every year his father drifted further from his old friends and deeper into loneliness. He just knew that so far this visit wasn’t as terrible as he’d thought it would be, at least not yet, if he ignored the super long wait at the Tim Hortons. The problem would arise as the summer went on he was certain. He already didn’t know what to say to his father, he was really going to be tongue tied once they ran out of things to say. Still, sitting here watching a crappy movie was weirdly nice, especially since they both seemed to find the same sorts of mistakes funny. They made that the rest of their day, the station was having a marathon of movies, all within the same series. How something so awful had managed to get not just one, but many sequels was beyond Stardust but he wasn’t going to complain.

It was well into the evening when his father decided he was going to head to bed. Of course Stardust wasn't required to do same, his dad had meant it about their being no rules, but there was something off putting about being alone in a dark, strange house at night. At least if he was in his unfamiliar room, it was just that room and not a whole host of creaking floors and windows. In standing up from his chosen spot on the couch he was greeted by an unusual site.

The living room faced a backyard deck that overlooked more trees than Stardust usually saw at one time. That wasn’t all that strange but the mist that had rolled in and created a thick, ground hugging cloud was. He’d seen fog before but never really like this, where he could really see the top of it. The stars were still clear in the night sky, any covering that they might have had earlier in the night had sunk to the earth, obscuring grass and roots instead. It looked like something out of a dream or maybe a horror movie. Even though he wasn’t a little kid anymore he still stared like one, almost entranced by the sight.

“We’re near enough to the lake here we get a lot of mist and fog like this.”

Torvald broke the spell over his son, letting the teenager turn away and face the stairs his father had just started to climb.

“It can get really thick sometimes, barely see more than a foot in front of you. Please be careful on days like that, if you can avoid going out, that’s best. Otherwise we’ll make sure you have some really bright clothing and stick to the inside of the sidewalk.” The man looked serious and Stardust could believe that the fog was likely the cause of many accidents. People were stupid in bad weather, no matter where you lived.

“Yeah, okay.” Stardust wasn't planning on going anywhere in this town ever really. There was nothing here. He wouldn't tell his dad that however, he just promised to stay safe and followed him up the stairs to try and get through his first night here.