Something Like Fall

Chapter II- October 2015 (part III)

We left. Both of us- Aaron and I- we're fucked! The principal called our parents right after she shouted at us! We're not suspended, but we have to clean the school till the end of November, 3 hours after our lessons...every day, excluding weekends. Besides, we have to present a presentation in front of the whole school, with all the students and teachers included about... harmfulness of cigarettes, alcohol, and intoxicants on our life and health. I hate public speeches. Damn, everybody, we'll be laughing at us till the end of the school because of that presentations. How are we supposed to preach to all students that they shouldn't be smoking or drinking if both of us do that anyway. I hate this school! I hate my technology teacher! The worst part of that isn't cleaning the school, but the fact that I'm still going to have lessons with him till June. After that incident, he'll try even more to fail me! I can't imagine my lessons with him after he reported on me to the principal. Damn! I was so lost in my thoughts and worries that I forgot about Aaron being next to me. "Hey, are you okay?"- asks me with a warm smile touching my arm. "I don't know."-I answer him with a forced fake laugh. "Don't worry man. Everything is going to be alright, Oskar". I'm shocked! "Wait, so you remember what's my name?". He gets abashed and wonders about what to say so he just simply answers "yeah". "Why haven't we been saying hi to each other through all this time? You know me. I know you. We came across each other really frequently, especially lately. Why? I thought you forgot me!". "You know, we've met like 2 times? Since then we haven't really met each other anymore. It's hard to remember someone whom you talked to like only 2 times 2 years ago. You forget. You move on". I feel like I'm shattered. He's right, but it hurts. "Yeah! I just remember at the beginning of this school we've been shaking hands, and one day suddenly we came across each other and you stopped doing that!". He's about to say something but I think it's stupid to remind him of things he didn't do. We're practically don't know each other. "You know, forget it! What about you? How do you feel? Scared? Don't care? Chill?". He tells me he had been through many troubles in the past, but it never really was as bad as it is right now. "You know! We'll get through this...somehow!". He smiles at me and says "of course! Don't worry! Chill!". "Do you worry about your parents' reaction?"-I ask. He laughs. "My mother and step-father are more chill than most of my friends! I bet we'll be just laughing at this situation together when I'll come back home, haha". Wow, interesting. "Wow, so you have also a step-father. Man, I'll bet my mother will be triggered, not even talking about my grandma. I live with grandma in a flat, my mama and her boyfriend live a few blocks away from us. Long story. She had been working in Spain for over 10 years, I was supposed to go live there but I did prefer to stay in Poland so I stayed with my grandparents. She came back for good 2 years ago, somewhere around the time you and I met for the first time. But I still live with grandpa.". He tells me he doesn't really know his father as his mother gave birth to him when she was 18 and his father just left her all alone, without any help. I said that it's exactly the same situation me and my mother went through with my father. He left us when I was few months old. The only difference my mum was in her 30's when she gave birth to me, not a teenager. He told me he was also going to live in England when he was a child as his mom worked there, but he also didn't want to go abroad so he stayed with his grandparents. His mother lives temporarily in Poland with him but they are planning to move to England permanently. We can't believe there's so much in common between us. Our past sounds almost the same. "We have to be 1 person in 2 bodies, cause stories of our lives are almost the same". He laughs hard and says "yeah!". He sees me to my classroom, but we stand like 15 minutes more before the door before I enter my lessons. I say he can come over to me to start doing this anti-drugs project. He says I'm also welcome at his place. "Are we supposed to start cleaning school today?"- I ask. "I don't know"-answers. He adds "I don't like it. I was about to go out with my friends today. Nah, I don't stay today". -"I think she meant that we should start with today. We'll have to enter the cleaners room and ask them how can we help them today". He isn't satisfied with what I said. I mean, I'm not too. 3 fucken hours every day?! Both of us have to prepare for the final exam this year+ there's a lot of studying for the current material too. Usually, I end my lessons at 2 PM or 3 PM, so I'll be at home usually at 6 PM...damn! On Tuesdays, I end at 12 o'clock but.... "I don't imagine sitting till 5 PM at school on Fridays, while everybody else will be already chilling!". Aaron answers "I also don't imagine that, hahaha". I tell him I am going to start from today cleaning the school, but he offers me to...hang out with his friends instead. I...agree! Whatever. I mean, maybe she, the principal, didn't mean we have to start from today. He smiles at me when I say yes and he tells me he'll be waiting for me after the lessons in front of the school. We shake hands...for the first time in 2 years. FINALLY! I've been waiting for that SO LONG! When he walks away I shout "Aaron!". He stops and asks "yes?". -"You didn't tell me why you landed in the principal room". He winks and tells me he'll tell me about it after school! I enter my class. It's half of the lesson. My teacher asks me what is that supposed to mean. I answer that I was in principal. Everyone in the class is like "OOOOH!". I always complain that I'm never in the center of attention, but lately, I find myself all the time being the center of attention. Yeah, I always deep down inside wanted other people to pay attention to me, but when I thought about the attention I didn't mean THIS KIND OF ATTENTION. I sit at my place next to Justin and everybody's looking at me wanting to ask me what happened. A teacher tells everyone to calm down and focus on the lesson. Everybody turns their heads to books, and when it gets quiet again this hot tall Andrew whispers to me curious to find out what happened, and I tell him straight-forwardly that I was caught by our technology teacher smoking cigarettes in a toilet and that he got so furious he took me by arm to the principal. Half of the persons in the classroom hear what I said and the rumor raises again. Andrew opens his mouth widely being shocked and starts laughing and points a finger at me and tells me "Damn, I didn't suspect you're such a rebel.  Take care, man!".