Nothing ever Changes

8

"Jake, let's go!" I call from the door. I'm wearing a hoodie and jeans.

He's in the bedroom, but trudges to me, rubbing his eyes. School doesn't open till eight, and it's a thirty minute bus ride, but the bus gets to the stop at seven, so we have to wake up at six, which he hates.

"Do we have to go?" He mumbles, looking at me with tired eyes.

I nod. "Yes."

Neither of us expect to go to college, which is fine. We go to a public high school, School of Life. Everyone calls it SOF, though. It's honestly terrible. The teachers don't care if we skip, or use our phones during class, as long as we don't talk. They teach, but half the class doesn't turn in homework.

We used to go to another school across town, but when our families kicked us out, we didn't want to go anywhere near there. We also don't want to deal with the other people who went there.

Jake and I try, but some days neither of us feel like dealing with people, and we'll stay home.

Today, though, is not one of those days.

He goes back to the bedroom to get dressed, and I wait for him at the door. He comes back in sweatpants and a jacket. We grab our backpacks, and walk out.

It rained last night, and we avoid puddles as we walk to the bus stop. Jake's too tired to talk, so we walk in silence. There aren't lots of people up, so the sidewalk is fairly empty. The sun isn't up yet, and it's dark.

We get to the bus stop a couple of minutes before the bus gets here. The bench is wet from the rain, so we stand and wait.

I check my phone for texts from Ari, but they're as tired as Jake in the morning until they have coffee. I do have a text from Ace, though.

Ace: I forgot to give you your jacket back.

Me: Keep it, I've got plenty.

When the bus finally arrives, we get on. There are a few other people, but no one talks to us. No one's ever in a talkative mood at seven in the morning.

Jake falls asleep on the bus, his head on my shoulder. I keep an arm around him as I check for texts from DJ or Ace. I stop.

I don't get attached to people. Is that where this is going?

I look up as the bus stops. "Jake, wake up, let's go."

He blinks his eyes open, and yawns. I pull him off the bus, and we walk to the school.

It's seven-thirty, so we have time to get breakfast. There's a gas station across from the school that lots of people go to for snacks during the day. They also have coffee, which is helpful in the morning.

"I'm going to go to the gas station." I tell Jake, who is half asleep. "Do you want to come?"

He looks over. There are a few cars there, and he shakes his head. "I'll wait."

I come back a couple minutes later, snacks in my bag. I hand him a bag of mini powdered donuts for us to share, and a coffee.

We go to the front of the school where there are tables and benches on the wet grass. No one else is here-people don't usually start showing up till a little before eight.

Jake drinks half the cup of coffee before he actually seems awake. The sun finally starts to rise, and a few cars pull up in the parking lot.

We're sitting on a bench under a tree, and the people that pass don't even notice us. People slowly start showing up and going in. We wait for Ari, and knowing them, they'll be super hyper after coffee.