After Class

Jason looked over the edge of the building. It was so far down, and people like him still came up here. Seemed kinda dangerous. A person could fall if they weren't careful. He took a deep breath of fresh air. He always came up here when things were too much for him to deal with. He took one last look, then stepped down and went back inside.

It was 9:10. He needed to be back by 9:00 if he wanted to sleep well. Quickly, he slid down the stair railing and crept to the front of his family's apartment.

32A

Jason carefully opened the door and stepped through.

"I can't BELIEVE you! Why would you do that!" someone screamed.

"It's no different from what you do every night!" someone yelled in response.

Jason covered his ears and ran to his room as quietly as a person could run. He plunged face-first into his bed. His parents usually didn't fight that much. He couldn't bear their screaming. They were supposed to love each other, weren't they? It had been going on for a while now.

He put his pillow over his ears and curled up, trying to get some kind of sleep.

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The next day the arguing had stopped. Jason wiped some tears from his eyes and got dressed for Monday. He grabbed his bookbag and slipped out of the door, avoiding waking his parents.

The school bell rang. He had just gotten into his seat. The teacher got up. "On time I see... for once in your life." Jason held his tongue. He didn't want to end up with detention again. "Class," the teacher said, "Today we have a new student. Their name is Kurre. Be kind or die."

Jason stood up from his homework. New student. Meh. Then Kurre sat in the desk next to him. Not so meh. Kurre took out a pencil and a sheet of paper. Kurre leaned over to Jason. "Hey. What's your name?"

"Why do you want to know that?" he asked suspiciously.

"Because I need to know the name of my desk buddy if we're gonna get to know each other," they responded flatly. Jason froze. Someone wanted to get to know him? Nobody wanted to know him. He was the loser kid of the school. If people didn't ignore him, they teased him and bullied him.

"Oh.. I'm Jason." Kurre smiled.

"Nice to meet you Jason. I'm Kurre. Maybe you could show me around after class?" Jason grinned.

"Sure. Meet me by the front doors after classes." Finally. A chance to meet someone and not get punched in the face.

The school bell rang and classes ended. Jason waited and the front door like he had said. One minute passed... then two... where was Kurre? Kurre walked out the doors with a bunch of stuff. "Sorry I'm late!"

"No problem," he responded. "Can I get some of that for you?"

"Sure," Kurre said. Bags were passed to him. Jason grunted and lifted them onto his shoulder.

"So, what do you want to see?"

"Everything!"

"Well that helps." he chuckled. "How about we start from your house and work our way around town?" Kurre paused and thought.

"That sounds great."

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It was 9:00, but Jason didn't care. Showing Kurre around, he had had the time of his life. "Have fun?" he asked.