Begin Again

SEASONS

The weekend went by just like how flowers withered and grew between seasons. It was already Monday when Delano got to his senses. Dawn broke crisp and clear, the perfection created by nature sending unintended chills along his spine as he opened up his window. 

Walking through the school gates, Delano inhaled some of the refreshing morning air to cleanse his spirits, and by the time he entered the school hall he could sense that something was off. There were people whispering and making way as he passed by, and while he thought that people were already getting used to his presence in that school, it seemed like he was still on the hot seat of the daily gossip. 

'Who is it?' He heard someone ask their friend. 

'It's him.' Someone pointed at him when they saw his familiar shade of brown hair. 

But as he was pampering himself with a few narcissistic thoughts, it wasn't long before he realized that whatever crowd he had seen in the hall was just a wee bit compared to the throng of people in front of someone's locker. Wait. It was his locker. 

Delano squeezed through the overflowing students, mouthing 'excuse me' at least three times each second until his foot landed at the front line of the crowd. 

'He's here!' Someone cried out from behind the students and literally everyone present at that very moment turned their heads to look at him in horror. When he was finally given enough space to have a good look at what the entire student population was fussing about, he was speechless for a moment or two. 

On his locker was one big fat word with its letters scribbled in red paint -- jerk. And right beneath it was a string of alphabets that, could not be misread, made up the words 'baker boy'. He could only think of one person bored enough to pick on him, and it was definitely Austin. Those dagger-like eyes and his snickering were the first things that came into Delano's mind. 

'Coming through,' Delano broke his gaze from his locker as Fletcher pushed his way to the front, loosening his clenched fists.  

'Are you alright, Del?' Fletcher asked when their eyes met. All Delano managed to do was give him an uncomfortable fake smile to ease the uneasiness he was gaining from all the weird looks around him. 

He had gone through things like this back in his glorious days, there were gossips and rumours that he had to face in front of the media, and there were stories that were made up just for the press and popularity. But he would be lying if he said that he was not disappointed at how easily people were influenced by the more famous group of people that ran the social circle right there in their little community. Days ago, he was somehow worshiped by most of the students as 'the hot new student', and in the matter of a few minutes before the bell rang, his status had officially fallen to the most bottom part of the pyramid, as dark as the places where creepy crawlies lurk in every nook and cranny. And he could somehow imagine Austin looking down at him with a crown on his head and a fiery sword in his hand, throwing mean comments and spreading hurtful rumours, with his troop of minions obeying his every order. 

When the bell finally rang after what seemed like forever, Delano was the first to leave the crowd and his fictional thoughts behind, trailing after him was a frowning Fletcher, probably thinking about how to make Delano feel better. 

***

When it was time for the long-awaited drama practice of the week, Delano couldn't have anticipated anything more, partially due to the thought that everything could possibly go wrong and also a little bit of rare excitement after the whole disastrous morning. 

As soon as he entered the theatre, eyes were on him. He tried his best to ignore them, slid his military-patterned bag off his shoulder, and placed it on a chair in a dark corner. 

'Del,' Piper pat his back gently, being aware not to give him too much of a surprise. She lay her belongings beside his and asked, 'Are you okay?' 

'I-' He started off but was interrupted by a sweet chirpy voice. 

'Everyone, gather round,' Brooklyn smiled confidently. 'We have six months to prepare this play and I want it to be perfect. Places.' She clapped her hands as if she was really a director. 

'High School Musical, how classic,' Delano mumbled beneath his breath, just loud enough for Piper to hear him. She rolled his eyes and told him to keep that thought to himself until they were out of Brooklyn's sight. 

'Delano, come here,' Brooklyn waved to him enthusiastically and her eyes lit up when their gazes met. 

'Duty calls. See you after practice,' Delano said to Piper as she went to the back of the stage. Last week, Piper had told him that she didn't really like the spotlight and was joining the drama club just to fill up her Monday afternoon. Moreover, she preferred to be a backstage crew member and unleash her artistic skills in making props. And Delano respected her for that, she was definitely talented. 

'So... what am I supposed to do now?' Delano asked. 

'Alright, I guess this is your first time acting,' Brooklyn paused for a moment and Delano nodded his head. 'No worries, you just have to follow everything  I say and you'll be fine. First and foremost you should always understand the role you're playing...' And she trailed off in her speech of 'how to act like a pro', which took a whole lot longer than Delano expected. They were barely starting to run through their first few lines together when the practice was over. 

'How did it go?' Piper asked him as they picked up their bags.

'Believe me, you do not  want to be in my shoes right now,' Delano said, gurgling down some water to quench his thirst. 

'Was it that bad?' Piper giggled. 

'You should have heard the pep-talk Brooklyn gave me, it was so encouraging,' Delano rolled his eyes. He knew that he was being a little too sarcastic at that moment but he couldn't help it. 

'Oh come on, you'll get used to it soon,' Piper punched him softly at the side of his muscular biceps, and her hand jerked away a little too soon for Delano to figure out the sudden change. But before he could ask her about it, they were interrupted by a walking model of designer clothes.

'Delano,' Brooklyn said, holding her chin up high, literally ignoring the fact that Piper was standing there. The head cheerleader bumped her pink Prada leather tote bag not-so-softly into Piper, who had no choice but to move two steps backwards. 

'Wanna hang out now?' Brooklyn trailed her fingers on Delano's shoulders seductively, and threw a look at Piper. 'I would love to show you all the cool places in town.'

'I'm sorry, I have plans with my friends.' Delano sucked in a deep breath and replied. For a quarter of a millisecond, he could actually see anger in Brooklyn's eyes. This girl is really something. He thought. 

'Oh well, there'll always be another day. Toodles.' She pursed her lips, obviously mad, and wriggled her fingers in the form of her wave as she turned her back to walk towards the exit. 

'That was close.' Delano whispered into Piper's ear when Brooklyn went out of the threatre. But just as Piper was about to laugh him off, the smell of expensive perfume closed in again. 

'And just to you know, you should really be careful with the people you join. You should consider sitting with my squad for lunch, you don't belong with the losers, Delano.' With that, the clicking of heels were finally gone, and for the record, Delano felt like he had somehow noticed resemblance with the title of the movie 'The Devil Wears Prada'.