I woke up to spasms.
My legs had a mind of their own today, any little thing triggering them.
I was over it.
I had begged my dad to let me stay home. He either didn't believe me or he didn't care. Because he dropped me off at school right in the middle of the chaos. Thankfully Alec was still doing me a solid, showing up early, he met me at the front door and I let him push me to my locker without much fuss. I was already exhausted.
"Rough morning?" He asked.
That was an understatement. Worst part was, I was out of weed and my card hadn't arrived. Some bullshit of it taking 21 one days after the state receives the application and processes the payment. In my opinion the government was fucking lazy.
But the idea that there was a chance it could take longer than 21 days was not helping my mood.
"Hey I was going to go to Drew's after school, want to come with me?" He asked, waiting for me to spin my com in my locker.
I was pretty slow at it but Alec never seemed to mind.
I looked over at him, leaning against Katie's locker, his arms folded over his chest as he towered above me.
"Are you serious?" I asked.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
I scoffed. "How about the fact that Drew and I have barely talked since the party. Or ya know the fact that I can't walk up the steps to his house. How the fuck would I get in?"
"I'll carry you."
He said it so fast, so genuinely that I knew he would. But I couldn't let him do that. I didn't want him too.
"No you're not fucking carrying me anywhere." I told him.
"I don't mind." He shifted off the locker he was leaning against as I yanked the door open to my locker, rolling myself back in one smooth motion. I had to admit we were getting a system down and it was working for us.
"But I do man."
It wasn't that I didn't appreciate it. But I was desperately trying to hang on to my dignity anywhere I could. And if that meant I was never going over to my friend's houses again than so be it. Besides I wasn't even sure what Drew and I were these days. Maybe acquaintances. Maybe just someone I once knew.
————————
By fourth period, I was downright miserable. I'd go to stretch or twist my body and almost every single time my legs would start up. Which left me trying to sit as still as possible so I didn't have to suffer through the annoyance in front of the entire study body. And because I was barely moving, a stabbing pain had basically overtaken my body. I couldn't focus, I didn't hear my name when the teachers were calling me, I didn't notice the traffic around me, I was in my own world, just trying to survive.
Fingers snapped in front of my face, jerking me back to reality. I blinked a couple times, shifting my gaze to whoever had broken me out of my trance.
"Hey." I mumbled, my thoughts already trying to take me anywhere but here.
"Doing okay?" Max asked.
I didn't answer as my mind focused on his question. Was I okay? Was this okay? Was this much pain okay?
"Hello, Owen?" He snapped his fingers again.
"Sorry, what?" I asked.
Max wasn't very tall, definitely under six foot. But it was clear he worked out, his arms straining against the fabric of the short sleeved shirt he had on. I had to give the kid credit, he was always impeccably dressed, far better than the joggers and hoodies I wore on a regular basis these days.
"I asked if you were okay. But I'm going to take a wild guess and say no you're not."
I tried to smile, it turned out to be just a twitch of my lips. "Yeah, I'm hurtin' a little."
"My offer still stands." He said. I looked up at him confused. "The drama room."
Oh yeah. That. It actually didn't sound too bad. But I still couldn't figure out why Max cared. We'd barely spoken to each other before my injury. And he hadn't spoken much after. He also didn't really seem like he was trying to hit on me which made me question whether Jaelyn was even right.
"Alright, I'll just decide for you too. Come on."
I felt him unlock the wheels. I didn't protest as he wheeled me out of the empty room, the teacher already in her office.
We were both silent as Max made our way to the elevator, pressing the button to the main floor. As soon as the doors closed, an idea came to my mind. A fucking long shot. But stoners were stoners and the one reliable thing about a stoner is they usually had something on them to get stoned with. No matter where they were.
"You know Kenny?" I asked Max.
He glanced over at me. "Doesn't everyone know Kenny?"
I laughed. "Alright you got me, dumb question."
It was a dumb idea too. I was a lot of things but I wasn't gonna get Max in trouble for getting me weed during school.
"Why? You need him?" He asked.
I shrugged. "Nah it's alright, probably a long shot anyway."
I watched him pull his phone from his excessively tight jeans. His fingers tapping the screen at hyper speed before he pocketed it again.
I wanted to ask him who he was texting. What he was saying. But I bit my tongue, the elevator doors opening a moment later.
Max pushed me past the cafeteria, all my friends gathered at their usual table, laughing. Jae had stopped waiting for me to come to lunch with her. I guess I didn't blame her, half the time I came up with an excuse to skip lunch. But it was weird, watching them. They all looked larger than life, like they had it all, and they always would. Had I looked like that?
—————————
"Do you guys always smoke in here?" I asked, looking up as Kenny handed over a rolled joint to Max.
"Five bucks." Kenny said, ignoring my question.
"My wallets in the back." I told him.
"It's on me." Max said, already pulling a five from his wallet.
"You don't have to do that."
Max shook his head. "It's all good, don't worry about it."
It made me feel useless. But I thanked him anyway.
"You got a lighter?" Kenny asked.
"Yeah, we're all set. Thanks." Max slapped him on the shoulder and a moment later Kenny was gone.
I looked around at my surroundings, I had never been in the drama room. It felt more like a cluttered museum to me. Random furniture stacked haphazardly, racks of bizarre clothes wedged into every nook and cranny. Framed pictures and posters lined the bare space on the walls. It was a lot to look at it.
Max had asked me if I wanted to sit on the couch. And as badly as I wanted a break from my chair, I didn't want to ask him for help. He was already doing way more for me than I would have, had the situation been reversed.
He pulled a lighter from his jeans. "You want to light it?"
"Go ahead, fine motor skills aren't my strong suit these days." I said.
He smiled, sticking the joint in his mouth as he flicked the lighter on.
"Do you ever get caught?" My curiosity was killing me. Here I was one of the most popular kids in school and I had no idea that Kenny made house calls to the drama room.
"Mrs. Labraze is pretty chill." He said, taking a hit. The end of the joint burning orange. "I've never even had drama and she doesn't kick me out when I show up for second hour."
He passed it to me, I took it with my left hand, not wanting to show him just how uncoordinated I actually was.
I took a long drag on it, my body welcoming the taste, the relief that would be coming shortly. It'd been a long day and it wasn't close to being over with but it suddenly felt like maybe I could make it.
"That's some good shit." I mumbled as I held the smoke in my lungs, letting the weed soak into my body.
"Yeah, Kenny's an idiot but he does his job well." Max agreed.
We passed the joint back and forth and with every hit I felt the pain recede to the background. No longer demanding my attention, making me miserable.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" I blurted, handing the joint off.
Max looked at me, brown eyes studying me, judging me maybe. It made me think of Mina. He shrugged.
"Just am, I guess."
"Is it true you have a crush on me?" Why was I asking that? What was my problem? I was high not fucking stupid.
He chuckled, dropping his eyes to the floor as he held the joint between his fingers. I hadn't meant to embarrass him.
"It would not be incorrect. But no worries, I know you're straight." He added the last part more confidently than he said the first.
"Doesn't matter anyway, my dick doesn't work anymore." I mumbled.
What the serious fuck was wrong with me? Why did I tell him that? He didn't need to know that.
"Who cares? You still have Jaelyn don't you?" He raised his eyes, his embarrassment from earlier gone. "And besides you're still the hottest guy in this school, wheelchair or not."
I cracked a smile, probably the first one all day. "Shit I should keep you around just to boost my ego."
He laughed too, passing me the last of the joint. "It's all yours."
I finished it off with a long drag, my body finally relaxed. That was until the door clicked open and in walked an older lady, I only knew her as the drama teacher but I took a wild guess that her name was Mrs. Labraze.
"Max." She greeted.
I crumpled the lit joint in my palm even though it did nothing for the smell or the fact that I was holding in a cloud of smoke.
"Hey Mrs. L." He said casually.
She turned to look at me, her graying hair a wild mess on top of her head like it hadn't been combed for days. I wondered if artsy people naturally had hair like that or if it was just a stereotype.
"What a surprise, Owen Savas."
Shit she knew my name?
My lungs were screaming for me to release the smoke. I waved my hand instead.
"Never thought I'd see you in my drama room."
I gave her a half smile, bobbing my head a little, my eyes darting to Max behind her who was quietly laughing.
"Lunch is almost over boys." She announced, the long skirt she had on billowing around her as she walked to a cabinet. "Make sure my room smells like lavender before you leave."
She set a can of lavender scented Febreze on a table next to a lamp stand made of deer legs before waggling her fingers in the air as she disappeared farther into the room.
I burst into a coughing fit, gasping for air as a cloud of smoke blew out of me. Max just laughed, grabbing the can as he started to douse the room in the fresh scent of lavender.
I couldn't stop coughing, completely baffled by the whole encounter. How had I seriously never been in this room? How had I gone so long not knowing this was a possibility? I watched Max, our eyes catching. All he did was smirk, shrugging his shoulders as he said, "I told you she was chill."
————————
I officially feel like a human being again. Not too bad for 30, only took me an entire day to get over a hangover 😂. I've already decided I'm not drinking for at least a month hahaha.