Diamonds In The Attic

Chapter Three

When the alarm rang, I forced myself out of bed and got ready for school.

When I got done, I walked down to the kitchen to see everyone in there eating breakfast. I sat down after pouring me a bowl of Cheerios and ate. Dad was sitting in his seat reading the paper and smoking a cigarette.

Mom didn't like it when he smoked in the house but it helped him think and concentrate on the paper so she let him. Otherwise, she would've thrown him out on his ass telling him to quit smoking or else. But luckily that never happened.

Mom was sitting down eating some cereal as well. Jake was eating cereal and reading a comic with intense interest.

"Hurry up on your cereal or you'll be late for school." Mom said.

"Yes ma'am." Jake said and he ate his cereal. He closed the book and snuck it in his backpack. I finished my bowl, filled it up with water, and set it in the sink. Mom always liked us doing that. I gave a hug and kiss to both Mom and Dad before going away to school.

I walked through the neighborhood and met up with Nicole and we walked to school. That was the way we always did it. We got up to the school and finished our conversation on whatever was going through our teenage heads at the time. Whether it be school drama, crushes, teachers, whatever.

We got to the table we always sat at and conversed a little more until the bell rang for us to go our separate ways for class. James came over and sat with us and we let him. We were both ok with James. He was cool, kind, and wasn't disgusted with girl talk. He was a closeted bisexual after all so that most definitely had a part in all of that.

The thing we liked about James was you couldn't tell he was bisexual unless you knew him personally like we did. He was good at hiding his sexuality which was kind of a necessity for that time since alot of people weren't use to having gays run around town like they do nowadays. People who knew no better called them 'faggots'. It was a racial slur to him and his community of bisexuals and it was wrong but it was a different time period.

My first period was History class. So I walked towards the door to the class and saw Mr. Williams standing next to it. He was wearing a suit that looked like it was last worn in the 1880s. His scruff white beard matched it perfectly. If I had known better I would've assumed Charles Darwin was taking over the class. I nodded at him and he returned the favor with a smile that lit up his face from cheek to cheek.

I went to my desk and sat down. I grabbed out my things and got ready for what I was to learn. Soon, before I knew it, class had started.

Mr. Williams walked over to the board and picked up his yardstick he used as a pointer for things he wanted us to focus on.

"Good morning class, I hope everyone has had a good morning so far. Mine is too early to tell. Uhh, today we are going to be discussing a certain event that I feel is a great life lesson about why we should all remember where we have come from. Whether that be an exchange student who is from a foreign country, or a native who has been here their whole life. We are going to be discussing the Christopher Columbus voyage. Any questions before we begin?" He asked. No one said anything. "Alright, let's get started."

He walked around the class and spoke about how in 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos in Spain with three ships to find the ends of the world but found an island called America which he claimed for Spain.

"Wait, so he just barged into a land that wasn't his own, kicked out the natives, and claimed it for his country? And we praise this guy when what he did was most extremely heinous." Brad said. He was a 'jock' as we called him and his type. He was a slack off who was only passing because his father forced him to get off his butt and make better grades or he would lose his position on the football team. But he could still be a douchebag. Just a douchebag making good grades. Mr. Williams smiled at Brad's remark and even chuckled a little.

"Mr. Connell, we do have a holiday in memory of Columbus. And the memory of what he did was both good and bad. What is bad about it is exactly what you mentioned, kicking the natives out of their own land. Their own homes. But if it wasn't for that, we would all be living in Spain. Which would be great with all the beautiful scenery and the extremely interesting culture. We wouldn't have the same freedoms as we do now. So we have alot to owe Mr. Columbus for. Even if it is because of a rotten deed." Mr. Williams said.

He was walking by the class. He woke up a couple sleeping kids by knocking his knuckles on the hard wood desks close to where their heads were. Brad nodded. And class continued.

After class was over, I got my things and made it out into the hall and towards my next class (Theatre). Russel snuck up behind me and gave me a little scare.

"Jesus Russ, you scared the shit out of me!" I said. A mixture of fright but also laughter choked my voice as I said or screamed that.

"Doin' what I can with what I got." Russel said. He was wearing his athletic jacket which had the school colors on it. It was leather and it fitted him well. Made him look attractive. "Where ya headed?"

"2nd period." I said. He rolled his eyes.

"Nah babe, I know that!" He said chuckling. "I mean what class?"

"Mr. Barrett's." I said.

"Theatre. Good luck. See you after lunch." Russel said and he walked away to meet up with some of his football buddies.

"There he goes, that one nice piece of ass playing for Winterdale's Blizzards." Nicole said. I laughed.

"You're so weird honestly." I said happily.

"Which is what makes us such good friends. From one oddball to the other. See you at lunch." Nicole said walking away.

"Yeah, see ya." I said as I made my way towards Mr. Barrett's class for 2nd period. Theatre was my favorite class. Mr. Barrett was a great teacher. His voice was strong and masculine but had a complexity with it that made him drift off into the feminine spectrum. Most theatre teachers I knew had that range. So, it was just common amongst them. And I was okay with that.