Windorm

            "Wake up, Dage!" yelled my mother. "You're going to be late, again!" I groaned and rolled out of my bed, all caught up in a blanket.

            "I'm coming, I'm coming..." I said. I slowly stood and went to a mirror on my dresser. I finger-combed my reddish hair. Mom called it 'burnt-orange', but that sounded like a grilled fruit. I pulled my bangs into my eyes and put on a tight black shirt and black jeans. I raced down the stairs and ran into my mom, Anna.

            "Gah! Watch it!" I joked. She playfully pushed me and I went to the kitchen for breakfast. While making toast he turned on the television in the living room and the news was on. He planned to change it, but something caught his attention: fire.

            ...killed his father and then set fire to cell-mates when brought to jail before escaping through a barred window and he flew away, says a guard who was with another when trying to stop him...

            Wow. My mother was watching behind me and she sighed saying,

            "This is the outcome of an imperfect world, Dage." I nodded solemnly and took the unbuttered toast and left for school, my mother yelling out she loved me. I know she does, she doesn't have to announce it. I walked down the sidewalk to a few houses down and found Andy sitting on the curb.

            "Hey, Andy!" I called to him. He didn't hear me. Him and his damn music. I came behind him and slapped him on the back of the head. He jumped and looked behind him, flinching. I laughed and he pulled out his headphones.

            "Oh, it's you. What took so long?" he said accusingly. I shrugged and pulled him up. "You're going to make me late again, you know." This entire subject was getting on my nerves.

            "You know, better late than having your ass kicked. So, stop complaining or you can just go by yourself." I growled. I looked him in the eyes and instantly wished I could take my words back. "I'm sorry, Andy. I'm just getting aggravated with everybody saying that. You know you've always got me, friend." I apologized.

            "It's whatever." he mumbled, his pace increasing. Andy was hit by his single father sometimes and was weak and scared. He had no friends except me. He was different and that's what I liked about him. I had to walk him to and from school so he didn't get beat up by other kids though. Things were especially bad now that we were in High School and I felt more like a body guard to him or a therapist. I got tired of the complaining. I sighed and carried on. He was also my only friend.

            I looked up and noticed gray clouds gather in the sky.

            "We'd better hurry before it rains." I told Andy. He nodded and we sprinted to the school, entering the doors just as the first drop hit the earth. I ran to my locker and Andy left to his class. I opened the locker and the bell rang. Damnit I'm late, again, I thought. I cursed and rushed to my first class. As I barged into the room the teacher stood and said,

            "Welcome to class, Mr. Howard. Glad you can finally join us. Late again, though." my fingers curled into a fist. She pointed to my desk and I sat down, surrounded by giggling students, snickering about how stupid I must be to continue being late to class. I wish I could beat the crap out of all of them. Then the teacher continued her slideshow and I began taking notes and the day became a normal, rainy school day. At least it was till lunch. Andy and I sat at this corner table next to the door. Usually we sat outside, but not today because of the rain. Andy brushed his long, brown hair out of his eyes and drank his carton of milk from a straw. I drank it straight from the carton and kept my hair in my eyes. Looking at it, it looked like a wall of dull flames in my face.