The Outcast

Chapter 22: The Storm Hits

Chapter 22: The Storm Hits

“We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness- and call it love- true love.” –Robert Fulghum

River Quinn

I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder and shoved my camera in the front pouch. It was Monday morning, the birds were singing and I was in a great mood. I hadn’t seen Nirvana over the weekend but today I’d finally get to see her at school or maybe even sooner if I caught her in time to walk together. That was why I’d woken extra early to see if I could catch her before she left. Mom had taken the car today after much insisting on my part and our small argument about her new ‘friend’. She had been telling me she was getting rides from a co-worker but if Mr. Hendricks really did own a car dealership, like Nirvana said, then it was a lie. My mother worked as a journalist for a magazine therefore it was impossible.

It wasn’t that big of a deal but I was pissed at her for lying to me. She treated me like a kid when it came to her dating matters meanwhile I was the adult in the house most of the time.

My mother was known for being fickle and having the worst judgment in the world when it came to guys. A couple months after my dad left she got together with a cop who turned out to be the biggest asshole on the planet. We even had to call the cops on the cop himself. When she’d gotten over him she started dating a lawyer who’d ended up being a married liar. She liked men with money and they tended to be arrogant pricks that didn’t treat her right. She was too blinded by appearances and statuses to see people for who they really were and then when she finally did realize it was too late. She’d been hurt a lot in the past and that was the reason why I was protective and suspicious of any guy she got close to.

This Henry guy didn’t ease my mind at all. I had a bad feeling about him and the fact that he was Tara’s dad didn’t help matters. I was hoping it was just a casual fling and that nothing was actually serious between him and my mom.

After grabbing my iPod and house keys I left the house and walked over to Nirvana’s. But just as I was getting there I saw a black fancy car pull up in front. I stopped walking and observed the scene. I knew the car well. It was Will’s. The same one I’d driven both him and Ana home the night of the crazy party. A couple of seconds later, Nirvana came out and hopped into the car which surprised me a lot. She had told me they weren’t even speaking to each other and now he was picking her up for school? I guess they must have fixed whatever issues they had. I was both happy and disappointed at the same time. If he was back in the picture I’d have to share my time with her with him too now. I also knew he was crazy about her which only complicated matters for me.

Once the car had driven away I started walking towards school. Will already had a big advantage over me and that was time. He and Ana had grown up together. They knew each other well and she was used to him. She trusted him but I, on the other hand, was the new guy and even though we got along great I knew there were things she didn’t tell me. Ana was the type of person who had trouble making friends but she had surprisingly accepted me pretty quickly.

It took me two full Nirvana (the band) songs to reach the gates of school and when I arrived I noticed the place was buzzing. The halls were alive with some kind of gossip that was spreading around like wildfire. Everyone I passed was either whispering or reading the school paper. You would think a teacher was found in the janitor’s closet with a student or something from how excited people were about the latest scandal. There were also various flyers stuck to the walls and lockers. I ignored them, turned up the volume on my iPod and tuned out all the noise. Frankly, I really didn’t care about silly school rumors. I had better things to do with my time than listen to that crap.