So Many Goodbyes

Chapter 1

I sighed. As much as I liked school because of the down time and friends, the rest was just so boring and dull. Every day I felt like I was bashing my head against a wall over and over in order to stay focused or awake. My arm feels numb as I write down another line of meaningless dribble that I wouldn’t ever use. I looked up at the clock for the hundredth time in the past minute, and was still surprised about how little time had passed. I shuffled in my seat, getting frustrated at being confined to one space for so long. The teacher gave me a stern look, and I put my head down and tried to focus on the task at hand. It was just a practise paper, meaningless, but that didn’t stop me from freaking out and panicking. I knew I was going to fail, but I still tried my best. I closed my booklet, and let my eyes scan the paper, not really reading any of it, but just passing the time in any way that I could. The bell rang and I could not have left any fastest. I was still packing my things away when I was halfway down the corridor. People were just starting to fill the corridor as I zipped up my bag and slung it over my shoulder. They were all smaller than me, but then again they were about 5 years younger than me. The year 7s were midget this year; and I mean really midget. I don’t remember being that small when I was in year 7 but then again, maybe I’m just fooling myself. They may have been really small, but they were respectful unlike the year below, who, if given the chance, would swear at you behind your back. The year 7s moved out of my way, and I mumbled my thanks. I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Because of my hasty exit, the food lines for the canteen were almost non-existent, but the food was so bad that there was no point wasting money on it. I instead brought a bottle of juice and sat down at our usual place, waiting for the rest of my friends to arrive. Before long, the canteen was a stifling hot and full of people chatting away about their meaningless lives. Don’t get me wrong, I considered my life meaningless as well in terms of school, but other than that, I was fairly happy with my life. Of course I wouldn’t have minded being chucked out and never have to sit another test ever again, but unfortunately, that isn’t going to happen any time soon. I was still in a day dream when up rocked one of my best friends. He was one of those cool guys, the kind that you get the feeling are only hanging out with you out of sympathy, but I didn’t really mind. I had a feeling none of my friends were genuine friends anyway, so what was the point. He kept his dirty blond hair cut short to show the pattern that he had shaved into the side of his head. It wasn’t anything stylish, and you never would have guessed it was there because of the tattered brown cap that he wore. As far as I was aware, he never took it off. His hoody was looking how it always was; a really cool design, but just too worn out like the hat. As he came closer to me, I noticed that he really needed to shave.

“What’s up, Percy?” he shot me a look and I smirked at him. He slumped down in the chair opposite mine and almost slammed his food down with him.

“The name is Scott and you know it.” He looked at me from under the rim of his cap and smiled at me. I shrugged.

“Whatever gets you through the day, Percy.” I took another swig of my juice, and Scott tucked into his meal of… slop is the only word to describe it. Even Scott, who once managed to eat 32 bars of chocolate in an hour without throwing up for a dare, looked suspicious about the food. He ran his fork through it a few times before scooping up some sort of meat as best as he could, taking extra-long to raise the fork to his mouth. As soon as he put the chunk of something in his mouth, he instantly regretted it. I couldn’t help laugh as the face he was pulling. Try and imagine something like Popeye and that’s what it looked like, only without the smile. He shivered violently as he swallowed, making me smile again.

“Remind me never to eat that shit again, Roni.”

“I try to warn you every day and every day, without fail, you always buy this crap. You got no one to blame but yourself.”

“Well then, I think I should head off and find someone else to sit with,” he jerked his head towards the school fatty, “Maybe he’ll eat this and so it’s not money wasted.” I couldn’t help but laugh. I knew he was joking; he would never leave. I think I should point out at this point, that Scott is actually my only friend. Except Kim, but she’s too busy hanging out with her new, cooler boyfriend to remember us. And the great thing was, Scott had no one to hang out with without looking like a total weirdo. Well, everyone except Sindy Collins.

Sindy Collins could be described as the year’s slut, and that’s in nice words. But despite her reputation and her track record, she still holds her position as being the most popular girl in school. And her roving eye has been locked on Scott for years. Lucky for me, he never fit into that crowd; he was a light weight, which was surprising for his height and build. Yet Sindy never stops trying to get Scott’s attention in the hope that he will suddenly drool all over her. And quite frankly, it’s sickening. And so who should come walking up, exaggerating the sway of her hips, wearing too much make-up, tight clothes to try and show off the curves she didn’t have, bleached blonde hair bobbing up and down with each step, high heels clicking on the ground below, but Sindy Collins. She perched her delicate behind on the chair next to Scott, pushing away his plate of food away with the smallest part of her finger possible before whipping out a hand wipe and scrubbing her finger clean again. When she had settled into her seat, she turned to Scott.

“Scott, my house tonight, 10 o’clock, party, you coming?” it wasn’t even a proper sentence, and I rolled my eyes in disgust. Scott stammered, trying to think of anything to say.

“Gee I would love too but… I made plans.” I frowned at him. He never had plans on a Friday.

“What sort of plans?” Sindy asked, her tone changing, clearly not used to taking no for an answer.

“Just… plans.”

“What sort of plans?” she said through clenched teeth.

“With me.” I said, leaning forward, “You know, the gaming world is very demanding.” She didn’t look at me, but I could see the anger rising in her. Even without her heals she may have been taller than me, but she was the skinniest person you would ever meet; no muscle on her bones at all. I only had to poke her in the right place and she would collapse on the floor from internal bleeding.

“You will come to my party, Scott.” She sounded serious, but I couldn’t help but smile. It was funny to see her try and do the tough girl routine.

“I would love to… but like Roni said, the gaming world is very demanding.” Sindy huffed loudly and stood up so fast I was sure she would get a head rush.

“Fine.” She said, and faster than I could react, she grabbed his plate of slop and threw at me. I didn’t duck fast enough (not that it would have helped). The plate hit me full on in the chest, covering my favourite tee-shirt with…with… stuff. I was just sitting there stunned as she walked away, huffing as she went. My attention turned to Scott, who was trying so hard to hide a smile.

“Laugh it up, Percy.” I said, trying to brush the larger chunks of stuff back onto the plate, but having little success. Scott’s shoulders were shaking from trying to contain his laughter, until suddenly he let it rip, holding his stomach from laughing too much. He tried to get himself under control, but couldn’t and I couldn’t take it anymore. I scooped up a hunk of stuff and lobbed it at him. It splattered all over his face, and the look of disgust was just amazing. This time, it was my turn to laugh. His face changed from disgusted to angry in seconds, and he made a grab for my almost empty juice. I didn’t see it coming, but suddenly there was juice all over the stuff, turning it to a sticky brown slush on my jacket. My favourite jacket. The one my father had given me. I looked at Scott, whose face hadn’t changed from anger. Before I could think to stop, I was up on the table and threw a fist towards him. The rest is a blur.