Anguis ➳ FP Jones

VI - I'M SO EXCITED

word count; 1435

hi guys,
i entered this book to The 2017 Watty Awards. I would really appreciate it if you guys showed support with votes, comments and maybe even recommendations to friends, so that us FP lovers can get some recognition !
oh and this chapter is short so y'all can prepare yourselves for the next chapter - the party chapter ;- )

Sweet memories will last a long, long time
We'll have a good time baby don't you worry
And if we're still playin' around
Boy that's just fine

Monday

»You just... stared at him... for so long!« she got closer to me and whispered. Once again, I felt my cheeks heat up, as I turned around to look at him again. He was still looking at me. I quickly turned away again and let out a sigh. One week in and I already acted like I was socially incompetent.

»No I didn't.«

»You did,« Mary insisted, »and his name is FP Jones. Friends with... Fred.« Though I could admit I found myself having a sudden interest in the boy with the name of FP, I wasn't quick to categorize the interest as being romantic in any way. Perhaps I just had a genuine interest in who he was as a person. Or, probably even likelier, I was superficial and was purely interested in his looks.

Tuesday

A few minutes later and I caught myself in the act of slowly following him. I had to be very slow, otherwise he would notice me, but at the same time I couldn't be so slow I'd fall of it. I watched him walk towards what I would discover was a trailer park. It consisted of various trailers - some that seemed big enough for multiple people, others that would only have room for one individual. The trailer I watched him enter was big enough for a few people, though it didn't look fancy or anything. A big J was written on the site of the trailer which left me to wonder if the letter stood for Jones. I shook my head. No, he wouldn't live in a trailer. It was probably something the family had for fun. He entered the trailer and I rode away.

Wednesday

»I know nobody has invited you to a party since...« I looked down on the ground, »so I'm here to invite you to one. Ricky Mantle is throwing one.« As I was spitting the words out, he stopped and stood completely still in front of me, his eyes moving from one place of my face to another. We were standing uncomfortably still yet I didn't want to change it.

»You could've told me at school,« he said with a peak of subtle curiosity in his voice as his eyes went back to staring deeply into mine.

»Forgot,« I lied. I hadn't got the courage when we were at school. There was a short silence with him continuing to send me his already familiar smirk.

»Here's the thing though, princess. Mantle doesn't want me there. I'm not sure I wanna risk stirring up shit,« he explained. I looked down at his body. I figured he wouldn't want to come.

»Take the chance, prince.« He unleashed a grin and suddenly I felt as though I only got that privilege because of luck. He seemed to be a generally neutral and emotionless person.

Thursday

As I was walking down the hall of Riverdale High School, my headphones plugged into my walkman were embracing my ears and letting the sound of music flow into them. The lips were turning into different forms as new words would appear inside the headphones and makes it way into my ears. The background music was stirring me up and getting me ready for the day to come. Thankfully, that song would end up helping me save my day. I was wearing your ordinary white t-shirt with a grey-white skirt reaching my knees and warming myself up with a multi-coloured shoulder-padded jacket. Whilst walking towards my locker, my eyes went from person to person; studying each and every individual. I had learned so much in almost two weeks. The town was nowhere near what I had imagined it to be.

I imagined the town of Riverdale to be a pure and innocent town. The citizens would be smart and fairly educated people. The children would be polite - they wouldn't even make any noise while playing on the playground. The teenagers would care more about studying than drinking and praying for graduation to come sooner. The adults would be kind and responsible people; and the best parents. The elders would be wise and grateful for any kind gesture towards them. A police department or a sheriff would be far from needed, as the citizens were too in love with the law to commit anything that goes against it. Hell, a fire department would barely be needed considering how few citizens I imagined the town had. Riverdale was supposed to be this perfect town.

Sure - it wasn't terrible at all. What surprised me were that a deliberate fire had taken place, the biker gang that was involved with more criminality than one would expect, along students not caring as much as I thought they would. I just couldn't help but wonder if there were secrets this town was hiding behind it's obvious façade. While I desperately wanted to explore new inches of the town, ask acquaintances about it's history and perhaps find out some noteworthy information about Riverdale High, Thursday was destined to be a pretty ordinary day.

Friday

»Hey Mary,« I started out quietly and moved closer to her. The students in the classroom had to be quiet but a few soft whispers could be heard once in a while; my whisper now being one of them. She kept looking down at the paper in front of her and replied to my greeting, making it seem like we weren't communicating. »Are you going to Mantle's tomorrow?« I asked genuinely curiously. I did truly want Mary to be at the party so that I'd know even more people. She was kind and easy to talk to and to be honest, I thought she would be a great person to get me more into the school.

»I am. You are?« she replied with a hint of shock in her voice. I laid my eyes upon our teacher to see if she was watching us before continuing the conversation. When I quickly noticed she didn't, I let the words fly out of my mouth.

I thought about my answer a few quick seconds before answering. I could say I wasn't going and then surprise her at the party. But before I knew it, I told the truth. »I am.« As I said those two words, I was reminded of the first day of this week. I was sitting in this exact chair, next to this exact person, writing poems and wondering who the two boys behind us were. When I turned my head around, I could clearly see the difference between the two boys.

Fred Andrews held tightly unto his wooden pen as he transferred words from his mind unto his paper. His eyes were sort of squinty and the rolls on his forehead could be seen. He looked like someone who was desperate to try to write something down, which explains why it was obvious how hard he held the pen.

FP Jones, however, was leaning back in his chair whilst looking at the paper. His pen was lying right next to the seemingly empty of words paper. He didn't look as though he didn't care about the given assignment, nor did he look desperate like his friend. Instead he looked as someone who had given up. He was barely concentrating on the paper. Reminded me of how everyone looked during maths class. Except this particular boy looked like this everytime I looked at him - no matter what the subject was. I turned back towards the clock on the wall above the door that showed lunch break as being merely five minutes away. Surely I could handle five minutes.

»Embla?« I walked fast towards the blonde girl leaning up against a locker while talking to an average-height boy with a big face. »Embla,« I tried again as she continued talking to him. She moved her heard a few inches before meeting my eyes.

»Oh, hi Dahlia! Hey, this is Hal Cooper,« she said adoringly and went from looking at me to looking at him.

»Embla, I'm coming to your house before the party... and you're gonna, well, help me out with... stuff,« I stated and moved a few steps backwards to get ready to leave.

»Yes, sure. By the way - a certain cutie is looking at you and it ain't me.«