What Goes Around, Comes Around

he next day, Sydney looked for Finn in the school cafeteria and found him at a table alone. He looked depressed, and she wondered what had happened to put him in that mood.

She started for him, then paused. After all, she didn’t know him that well, and maybe he wanted to be alone.

She watched him play with his milk carton for a moment and then decided she would put herself out there and see if he wanted company. After all, the worst he could say was no, right?

After taking a deep breath, she walked over and stood in front of him holding a tray full of food. He glanced up and warmth filled his eyes when he saw her.

“Hi,” he said with a smile, and gestured to the spot across from him. She returned the smile and sat down.

“What’s up?” she asked, opening her milk.

“What do you mean?”

“You look like your dog died.” Sydney took a drink of milk as Finn smiled.

Shrugging, he replied, “I don’t have a dog. But I have a mother, and she wants to see me.”

“Is that bad?”

“Dad said he thought she was going to try to talk me out of my choices.”

“Choices?”

“My gay choices.”

“Oh. Is that a choice?”

“Not in my book, it isn’t. But others have different views. Some think you can talk someone out of being gay.” He sighed. “Like my mother.”

“What’s her problem with it? You know, in my culture, traditionally we hold people with alternate life choices in high esteem.”

“You do?”

“Yes. They have chosen a difficult life path, and we give them a lot of credit for that.”

“I wish I was Native.”

Sydney smiled. “Or maybe that your mother was?”

“Yeah.”

Sydney sighed. “Look, you are a reasonably intelligent guy.”

“How do you know that? We just met yesterday.”

“Because you’ve chosen to become my friend.”

He laughed. “Oh, I see.”

“That being said, listen to what she has to say. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. Think about it, and then respond.”

“But I already know what she’s going to say. She is going to tell me it’s against God and . . .”

“Do you think so?”

Finn sighed and looked away. “I don’t know,” he muttered. “I’m not really into religion.” He turned back to catch her eyes. “Do you believe in God?”

“I believe in Gitchie Manitou.”

“What is that?”

“It’s a who.”

“Okay, who is that?”

“The Great Spirit.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Possibly. But . . .”

“So what are you two up to?”

Sydney and Finn glanced up to see Amelia standing in front of them.

“I can’t possibly see what business it is of yours,” answered Finn, staring at her.

Amelia glanced over at Sydney. “Two peas in a pod, huh? That’s interesting news.”

“Which I’m sure you would love to spread all over school,” replied Finn, his eyes narrowing. “Sydney and I are friends and that’s all. She doesn’t need to deal with all your backstabbing lies as you amp up the rumor mill around here.” He looked over at Sydney and then back up at Amelia. “Leave her alone.”

Amelia shrugged, hugging her books closer to her chest. “Why should I? What are you going to do about it?”

Finn sat forward and pinned her with his eyes. “I’m sure your boyfriend would love to hear about your meetings behind the building with Paxton.” His smile was not pleasant. “Isn’t the dance coming up in a few weeks? I would hate for you to have to go alone.”

“You . . .”

Finn shook his head. “Leave, Amelia. Now!”

Amelia started to say something and then closed her mouth and stomped away. Sydney held her breath until the girl was out of sight and then she turned back to Finn.

“I hope that didn’t make things worse for me,” she said.

Finn shook his head. “You just have to know how to deal with these people.”

“I guess.”

“And I have lots of practice.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Finn shrugged. “I can handle it.” He started to eat his almost-cold food, and Sydney followed suit. For a moment, no one spoke.

Finn finished off his milk, then asked, “Need a ride home today?”

She shook her head.

He glanced over at her and his eyes narrowed. “Hey, is everything alright?”

Sydney sighed. “I guess. I’m just worried about Amelia. They’ve been harassing me for weeks now.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

Finn nodded. “I saw you walking home from school a while back. I saw them bothering you.” He paused, then added, “I thought perhaps I’d found a kindred soul.”

Sydney smiled at his use of the words she had used to describe him earlier.

“But you said you thought I was popular,” she replied.

“Initially, I did think that. I thought you were just goofing around with them. But then I started to listen to what was being said about you and realized I was wrong.”

“What’s being said about me?” Sydney asked quietly, looking at the floor.

“It’s not important.”

“Yes, it is. I want to know.”

“Sydney, you’re none of those things. Why do you care what people think?”

“I’m trying to fit in here.”

“Why do you really want to be like everyone else?” Finn shook his head. “Backstabbing liars and rumor spreaders . . .”

“They’re not all like that.” Sydney caught his gaze. “I’m not like that.” She paused at her words, surprised she had said them. She was like that, wasn’t she?

Finn nodded. “I agree. That’s why we’re friends.” He got up and took their trays. “Let’s go outside and talk. It’s nice out.”

Sydney followed him outside, and they sat in the grass near the fence.

“What are you doing this weekend?” he asked.

“I’m going to a funeral.”

“Oh . . . I’m sorry. Who died?”

“Mary. She’s a good friend of my mom’s.”

“And of yours, too?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry. What happened?”

“She died in her sleep.”

“That’s the way to go.”

Sydney’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

Finn shrugged. “Well, if you’re gonna go, that’s the way to do it, isn’t it? No pain, just drifting off to sleep.”

“I guess.”

“So what’s an Ojibwa funeral like?”

“Nowadays, it can be a mixture of traditional and Christian.”

“What’s the traditional part like?”

Sydney thought for a moment before speaking. “Native people believe that we just occupy this physical body during our lifetime. We are put here to be caretakers for the land and to walk our path. When we die, a spiritual leader will guide our spirit to another world.”

“How do they do that?”

“Relatives are given a list of items from the spiritual leader. On the list are things like moccasins.”

“If the person is dead, why do they need moccasins?” asked Finn, frowning. He picked up a blade of grass and tried to blow into it to make a buzzing sound. It didn’t work, and Sydney laughed.

“Because the person who had died will walk down a path that others before them took,” said Sydney. “They will recognize the moccasins of others who have gone before them.”

“I see. What else?”

“Well, the rituals last five days, and that will include a fire, starting on the first day outside the person’s house. Tobacco and food are offered to the spirit. They are put in birchbark baskets to feed the soul as it makes its journey.”

“What kind of food?”

“Things like venison, wild rice, and fish.” “They eat on their way to heaven?” asked Finn, grinning.

Sydney laughed. “You could put it that way.”

She smiled and looked away, and Finn tilted his head to one side and caught her glance. “What are you smiling for?” he asked, and she shrugged.

“After their journey, they arrive at Gaagige Minawaanigoziwining, which means ‘the land of everlasting happiness.’ When they see the northern lights, that’s our people up there, dancing.”

Finn smiled. “That must be a beautiful sight.”

Sydney nodded.

“So, when are you leaving for the funeral?”

“Tonight.”

“Is the funeral being held on the reservation?”

“Yes.”

“I bet you miss your friends. Maybe you can see them while you’re there.”

“I plan to.”

“Good. Hey, how about if I walk you home tonight? I can have my dad pick me up from there.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Sure I do. I bet your mom wasn’t too happy you let a boy she doesn’t know and his father drive you home. Maybe I can meet her.”

“How did you know that?”

“Well, I’d be upset if it was my daughter.”

Sydney laughed at his expression. “Yeah, she wasn’t too thrilled.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I told her you guys were cool.”

“Oh, well, thanks for that. But I bet she’d like to make up her own mind.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“So, I will meet you at the front door right after school.”

“Alright.”

He reached in his pocket and took out his phone.

“Hey, you’re not supposed to have that in school,” said Sydney, looking around.

“I know.” He put the phone up to his ear and paused. “Shoot, he didn’t answer. Hi, Dad. Don’t pick me up from school this afternoon. I’m walking Sydney home. You can pick me up there. I’ll call you later.”

He hung up and shoved the phone back in his pocket.

“So, what are you going to do this weekend?” asked Sydney.

“I don’t know. Homework for sure. I have a ton of math to do. Dad can help me, though. He’s an engineer.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that. What’s your dad like?”

“He’s left-brained, you know. He likes things neat and orderly.”

“What’s your mother like?”

Finn didn’t answer for a moment, thinking. “Well, she’s a homemaker. I mean, she didn’t work outside the home when my parents were together. She’s kind of old-fashioned. She likes to cook and sew.”

“My mom is an office administrator for a large company in St. Paul,” said Sydney. “She runs the office and works for the vice president of the company. She seems to like it a lot.”

“That’s good.”

“Sometimes she can work remotely from her home office.”

“Are you guys close?”

“Yes.”

“And your father?”

“Gone,” stated Sydney. “Moved out and away. I don’t know exactly where he lives, and I don’t care.”

“I take it you two don’t get along?”

“He was never satisfied with anything involving me,” answered Sydney. “I made straight A’s at the reservation school, but he always found a way to make me feel like that wasn’t good enough. He was always pushing me to do more, do better, be the best.” She sighed. “I hated it.”

“And him? How do you feel about him?”

“I don’t know anymore. He’s still pushing Mom and me, but from the outside now. Mom’s had enough, and so have I.”

“Do you see him?”

“Rarely.”

“Is that his choice or yours?”

“Mine.”

The warning bell rang, and Sydney and Finn got up to go to class. They waved goodbye at the front door, and as Sydney took a right inside the building, Finn went left.

After school, they arrived at the front door at the same time. They smiled at each other and headed down the steps and down the road.

It wasn’t long before Sydney’s tormentors started up their usual banter as they walked by, and, as usual, she tried to ignore them.

This time, however, they started harassing Finn, too. Finn tried to ignore them as well, until someone threw a rock that hit him in the face. He dropped to the ground in pain, kneeling on the sidewalk. When Sydney saw the blood running down his face, she’d had enough. The old Sydney took over as she glanced around and then took a step toward them. They kept on laughing, until Sydney dropped her book bag on the ground. One of the boys asked if she was going to scalp them, and she gave them a smile that made more than one of them uncomfortable.

As she stared at each of them, Sydney realized that she had been just like them not so long ago. She would have been the leader of that crowd, laughing and harassing poor Finn as he lay bleeding on the ground. She was uncomfortable for a moment, as she realized the tables were now turned.

What goes around comes around, she thought to herself. Maybe she deserved this treatment for her past mistakes with Autumn, but Finn did not.

Relying on the old Sydney for a moment to make her fearless, she gestured to them to come closer, and when no one moved, she laughed.

“Pretty brave over there, aren’t you? But no one here will stand face-to-face with a girl?” She snickered. “Cowards.”

Finn watched her with astonishment. A couple of the boys moved forward then, trying to save face. Sydney met them halfway.

“Let me tell you something,” she snapped, and then bent over to whisper something to them. She patted the pocket of her coat, and they glanced down at it and then back up into her eyes. Not liking what they saw there, they took a step back. The color left their faces as they quickly turned and walked away, pulling the others with them.

Sydney walked back to Finn, helped him up, and gave him a tissue out of her backpack. With one last look at the now-silent crowd, she and Finn continued their walk home.

“You okay?” she asked.

“I think so,” he replied, dabbing at the wound. “It just missed my eye.”

She glanced at it and saw that it was still bleeding. “It’s a facial wound,” she said when she saw his distress over the blood. “They always bleed more.”

He nodded, and they were silent as they walked. It wasn’t until they cut through Sydney’s yard that Finn glanced at her.

“You were pretty scary back there. What did you say to them to get them to back off?”

Sydney smiled. “It’s not important. I would be surprised if they bother us ever again, though.”

They stopped and sat down on Sydney’s front step. Finn pulled out his phone and called his dad to pick him up. Then he shoved the phone back into his pocket and turned to look at her.

“You’re very surprising,” he said, shaking his head. “That group has been giving you a hard time for weeks. Why did you decide to stand up for yourself now?”

“I didn’t.”

“What do you mean? I saw you . . .”

“I stood up for you. The fact that they will probably leave both of us alone now is a bonus.”

“But you must have said something pretty powerful.”

Sydney shrugged.

“Come on. What did you say?”

Sydney shrugged again, and Finn laughed.

“Really? You’re not going to tell me?”

“Okay, so I told them yesterday I called the police on them and they were being watched at the moment. They were going to arrest all of them, and we were filing charges. They would get expelled from school.” Sydney pushed her hair out of her face and added, “And this was their last chance to leave us alone before they spent the holidays in juvie.”

“Juvie?”

“Yeah, you know. Juvenile detention.”

“And they bought that?”

Sydney shrugged. “Apparently. They backed off.”

“You didn’t really call the police, did you?”

“Nope.”

“Then how come they believed you?”

“I noticed a police car pull up down the road from us. The officer was still in the car when I told them that.” Sydney grinned. “He was very convincing. I was grateful he was there.”

“Boy, you can sure think fast on your feet.” Finn dabbed at his wound and then asked, “What’s in your pocket?”

“My pocket?”

“Yeah. I saw you patting your pocket when you were talking to those guys. What’s in there?”

Sydney slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out a small brush. Finn frowned.

“It’s a brush.”

“Yup.”

“So . . . I don’t get it. They seemed scared . . .”

Sydney smiled. “They didn’t know it was a brush.”

Finn stared at her wide-eyed. “Did they think it was a gun?”

Sydney laughed and shook her head. “No. They probably thought it was a knife.”

“What? You told them you had a knife in your pocket?”

She shook her head. “No. I just made a comment about how Native people deal with their enemies.”

Finn laughed and shook his head. “The look in their eyes was priceless. You amaze me, Sydney.”

She grinned back, and they were quiet for a moment. Then Finn turned to glance at her.

“Why did you stand up for me when you wouldn’t stand up for yourself?”

She looked away. “You know, for some reason, it was easier. I deserve to be treated that way. You do not.”

“I don’t understand.”

She was quiet for a moment and then turned to face him.

“I was them, back at the rez school. I was their leader.”

“What?”

Sydney shook her head and tried to find the right words.

“I teased and tormented this girl at school, Autumn. I don’t know why I did it. She never did anything to me. But I wouldn’t leave her alone. It made me feel . . . I don’t know . . . better than her in some way.”

“What happened?”

“I moved.”

“So you tormented her and then moved?”

“Yup.”

“You haven’t spoken to her since?”

“Nope.”

“So she still thinks you hate her?”

“Well, our last couple of conversations were different. But I didn’t apologize.”

“Why?”

Sydney looked down at the ground. “I was ashamed of my behavior.”

“Isn’t that all the more reason to apologize?”

“Probably.”

Finn shook his head. “So, underneath it all, you still have that in you?”

Sydney shrugged. “Don’t we all?”

“Yeah, but not all of us act on it.”

Sydney looked away and said nothing, as Finn tended to his wound, which had finally stopped bleeding. His father came shortly afterward and Sydney explained what happened. He thanked her, and he and Finn left.

Sydney sat back down on the step and closed her eyes. She could still hear Finn’s words echoing in her mind: “So, underneath it all, you still have that in you?”

She was still sitting there two hours later, when her mom came home.