Blurred Lines

Chapter One

Mark Loren walked outside lazily on the first day of his senior year of high school.  He carried twenty bucks in his pocket and a sandwich in his hand.  His friends, Jake and Ethan, were on the sidewalk across the street.

"Hey guys!" Mark shouted.  He walked over to them because they walked to school together every morning.

"Hey dude, what's up?" asked Jake, giving Mark a fist bump.

And after that Jake and Ethan began talking again while Mark tried to hide his depression.  He lit a cigarette and faked a smile.  After what seemed like an eternity of third-wheeling they arrived at Harrison High... Hell, really.

Mark did well in school.  He tried to hide it and give off a care-free vibe, but he really did care.  He would study for hours at night and dreamed of being a pediatrician one day.  Mark loved being at school because it helped to distract him from the death of his mother, the alcoholism of his father, his own addictions, and the overwhelming consciousness of his abnormal sexual orientation.

Mark walked eagerly into his photography class first period.  A thin, elderly Asian man stood in the front of class.  He looked very happy and his smile made his dark eyes seem brighter than the sun.  When the bell rang and everyone had settled down for class, the man spoke.  "Hello everybody, my name is Mr. Tai and I am your photography teacher this year.  Why don't you go around the room and everyone say your name?  And say something about yourself.  Let's start with you."  He pointed to a girl in the corner. 

"I'm Dasia" she said.  "And I like weed."  The class laughed but Mr. Tai frowned.

"I'm Mark and I also like weed." said Mark with smirk.  Dasia turned around and gave him a high-five.  The two stoners talked as the rest of the class introduced themselves.   Dasia was the new girl, already quickly gaining popularity.  She had dark brown skin with dark eyes and curly black hair that went half way down her back.  She wore ripped black jeans with a grey tank top and a red flannel.  Her makeup was simple: eyeliner and mascara with red lips.  She gave off confident, punk vibes.

Mr. Tai cleared his throat and announced the names of every student as they walked up and got their school-assigned Kodak camera.  Mark hid his excitement as Tai explained how to use them.  The bell rang and the rest of the morning passed slowly.  Mark itched with excitement of trying out the camera.

Mark, Jake, Ethan, and Dasia walked outside during lunch. 

"Got twenty bucks?" asked Ethan, who sold weed to all the stoners at Harrison High School.

Mark and Jake pulled out their money and handed it grudgingly to Ethan.  Ethan looked expectantly at Dasia. 

"Is it the good kush?" asked Dasia with a smile.

Ethan smirked, "hell yeah."

The friends happily passed around the blunt and laughed together.  Mark didn't remember much from that hour, but when they were finished with the blunt Mark felt a pang of depression.  He felt hyperaware of his growing addiction, along with the deteriorating health of his alcoholic father.  He looked around and knew that if Jake and Ethan and maybe even Dasia found out that he was gay, he'd lose his friends.   Mark felt hopeless.  He felt that he might as well continue doing drugs because he would kill himself before the end of high school anyway, nothing really mattered.

Mark struggled to pay attention in his classes for the rest of the afternoon.  Leftover high and intrusive thoughts kept his mind off of school.

When he got home, Mark's father was passed out on the couch with a few beer and liquor bottles next to him.  Mark ran to his room full of emotions and punched the mattress over and over until he collapsed and began to cry.

"There's no point in me being alive," he said to himself, then he began yelling at God or his mom or whoever was listening up there if a heaven exists.  He began sobbing and hours later, after distracting himself by playing with the camera and doing homework, Mark fell asleep to a nightmare.