I sat with my back against the brick wall, watching as a bird flew by overhead.
Birds were such interesting creatures. There were 1,000 different species worldwide, and they're believed to be evolved from theropod dinosaurs.
"Lee!" Warren's voice called, interrupting my thoughts.
My attention snapped over to him as he headed towards me.
"How far are you on your Geometry packet?"
I glanced down at the empty worksheet sitting on top of my open Geometry book.
"Uh..." I said, offering him a sheepish smile.
"You've been out here for two hours!" he pointed out, laughing.
"Did you see that bird?"
Warren glanced up towards the sky.
"Did you know that hummingbirds can fly backwards? In fact, hummingbirds at the smallest birds in the world, measuring at-"
"And now I see why your worksheet is blank," Warren interrupted, still laughing at me. "Come over to my dorm around 4 and we'll work on it together."
I nodded in agreement, already shoving my books into my backpack.
"Dustin will probably come too," he added.
"Okay," I said, with a shrug.
"I love how you're chill with the entire student population," Warren said, as I slung my backpack over my shoulder.
"Is it 2:00 yet?" I asked.
Warren stared at me for a couple of seconds.
"What?"
"It's 2:45."
Oh shit.
"You had a detention didn't you?"
I ignored him, taking off running towards Mrs. Hall's classroom.
She was still sitting at her desk when I whipped open the door, grading papers.
"You're 45 minutes late," she pointed out, without looking up from the paper she was currently grading.
"I'm sorry," I said, breathlessly. "I lost track of time."
She shook her head, looking up at me. "You need to start being more responsible Lee."
I nodded, hoping she'd let me serve my detention now.
The last thing I needed today was a meeting with Principal Wright and a phone call to Parker. Parker would honestly probably kill me.
"Take a seat."
I let out a sigh of relief, sliding into one of the empty desks in the classroom.
I began to drum my fingers on the desk, my knee bouncing up and down.
Detention is honestly the worst. I'd probably rather just get suspended.
"Would you like to help me?" Mrs. Hall asked.
My attention immediately snapped over to her, and I nodded.
"Here," she said, handing me a stack of papers and a gradebook. "Just enter the student's grade in this column next to their name."
Mrs. Hall was probably the only teacher on this entire campus that didn't hate me. Not that I hadn't given her plenty of reason to, she just seemed to be more tolerant of my outbursts and uncontainable energy than most.
"Are you going on next week's field trip?" Mrs. Hall asked me, as I did the task she assigned.
I shook my head.
I didn't attend school field trips. Putting me on a bus full of kids would just end in disaster.
"You love art and the history and heritage behind it," she pointed out. "And we're going to see the Florida History Museum here in Tallahassee."
"They have the World War 2 exhibit," I stated, looking up at her.
She nodded, a smile on her face.
"That exhibition opened as a temporary exhibit in 2001 on the 60th anniversary of the attack, but in 2004 it was re-designed and reopened for permanent display," I informed her, my right knee bouncing so it was continuously hitting my desk. "It documents the state's response to the war, including patriotic activities on the home front and the establishment of military bases."
"And you're telling me that you don't want to go see the exhibit?"
"It's not the exhibit itself," I explained. "It's the method of transportation to get there."
She put her pen down, raising an eyebrow at me.
"I don't understand how anyone could ever ride in a bus full of people. I mean, first how do you even move? And then how do you breathe with all of those people in there, you know? Plus-"
"Lee," Mrs. Hall said, interrupting me. "If it's just the bus that's stopping you from going, I drive myself. It's required for at least one teacher to drive themselves to each field trip in case of an emergency."
I stared at her, unsure of what she was saying.
"I'm sure I can get it arranged to where you can ride with me."
I wasn't sure what to say.
"And I agree with you," she said, picking her pen back up. "I wouldn't want to ride on a bus packed full of people either. How am I ever supposed to hear myself think?"
~*~
"I don't understand why I should have to write a proof," Dustin muttered. "It's already been proven, and I sure as hell believe it."
"Proving the distance formula is the easiest one," I pointed out, as I twisted my pencil around in my hand.
"Have you done it?" Dustin asked.
I nodded, standing up to try and burn off some excess energy.
"Has that TV always been here?" I asked Warren, pointing to the flat screen I'd never noticed on his wall.
Warren shook his head. "It's new, gift from my mom."
"It's sick," I said, bouncing on my heels.
"How did you do it?" Dustin asked me.
"Do what?"
"Prove the distance formula," he reminded me.
"Right," I said, flipping to that page in my Geometry worksheet packet. "Well first you draw out a triangle."
"Okay," he said, doing just that.
"I feel like something else is different about your dorm," I said to Warren.
Warren's eyes flickered around his room, his eyebrows scrunched in thought.
"I got a new computer," he offered. "A desktop."
Speaking of computers, mine laptop was currently at the shop down the street. I really needed to pick that up.
"Okay, now what?" Dustin asked.
"For what?" I asked.
"I drew the triangle to prove the distance formula," he reminded me.
"Oh, right. Okay, so now you label each point on the triangle. One should be X1, Y1. One should be X2, Y2, and then the third should be X2, Y1."
"Oh," he said, furrowing his eyebrows as he went to do that.
"So did you hear that we're getting a new kid tomorrow?" Warren asked me.
I shook my head. "What kind of new kid?"
"Well I'm sure they're human?"
I rolled my eyes. "Boy or girl idiot?"
Warren shrugged. "Hopefully a hot girl."
I scoffed. "Dream on."
"Okay, so now what?" Dustin asked.
"For what?"
"I labeled the three points on the triangle to prove the distance formula," he reminded me.
"Okay, so now you label each side of the triangle, a, b, and c with c being the hypotenuse."
He nodded. "Did that."
"Okay, so look at what you have now. A would be equal to X1-X2 or X2-X1."
"And b would be equal to Y2-Y1 or Y1-Y2," Dustin filled in.
I nodded. "So set that up in a formula equal to distance squared."
"Right," Dustin muttered, writing out what we were just talking about.
"Maybe it'll be a new guy that has ADHD," I said, looking over at Warren.
"Why would you want that?"
"Because then I wouldn't be the only one talking during class, so they'd either have to give both of us detention or deal with it."
Warren rolled his eyes, chuckling to himself.
"So now I just square root each side right?" Dustin asked me.
"For what?" I asked.
"I set up the formula for distance squared," he reminded me.
"Oh yeah, now you just square root both sides. And since you can't do anything under the radical, the square root stays on the formula side, but cancels out the squared on the distance side."
"And that's how you prove the distance formula," Dustin finished. "Holy shit."
"What do you think they're serving for dinner tonight in the cafeteria?"
~*~
Tick. Tick. Tick.
The sound of the clock was caused by an escapement mechanism that allows the clock to turn at a constant speed. The timing comes either by a swinging pendulum or from a balance wheel with a hair spring. As the timing mechanism swings or spins first one way and then the other it causes a pivot bar to first let one tooth on the escapement wheel slip past but catch the tooth on the opposite side. For each swing, the escapement wheel can turn only one tooth. The ticking is the sound of the pivot bar catching the tooth on the escapement wheel.
"Lee?" Mrs. Willow called out, snapping my attention away from the clock and to her. "Can you explain to the class why the author kills off Beowulf?"
Beowulf dies at the end? Are you fucking kidding me?
Mrs. Willow raised an eyebrow at me, waiting for my answer.
"Because all heroes die in the end," I stated, matter-of-factly.
Mrs. Willow stared at me for a couple of moments, surprised by my answer.
"Would you care to elaborate on that?"
I had only read a little bit of Beowulf, bored after the first fight with a monster named Grendel. So I wasn't even sure how he died, let alone why.
She waited a few moments, while I just stared at her, waiting for her to call on someone else.
And then the classroom door opened, Principal Wright coming in.
I immediately cringed, sure that he was coming to whisk me away to his office.
"Mrs. Willow," he said, with a nod. "Sorry to interrupt your class, but we have a new student."
In behind him came a girl, just like Warren had wanted.
She was petite and thin, just the right color of tan as though she'd come here straight from the beach. Her brunette hair fell around her shoulders, framing her face and her big brown eyes.
"This is McKenna Scott," he introduced. "She's a Junior."
Well no shit, this is a Junior English class.
Mrs. Willow's eyes swept the classroom, searching for an empty desk.
I knew that there was one next to me, but it was placed there strategically due to my claustrophobia.
Principal Wright seemed to realize the same thing both Mrs. Willow and I did, there were no more empty desks.
"Go on and take a seat," Principal Wright said to McKenna, gesturing to the empty desk next to me.
I tried to keep my emotions in check as she sat down next to me, placing her backpack on the ground.
But as soon as her backpack brushed my leg, I knew I was done for.
I drummed my fingers on my desk, my right knee bouncing as I tried to control my breathing. My eyes flickered over to the clock, 6 minutes. I had to make it 6 minutes.
"Have you read the story of Beowulf?" Mrs. Willow asked the new girl whose name I'd already forgotten.
She nodded.
"Maybe you can explain to your new classmates why Beowulf died in the end."
"The story was written during the Anglo-Saxon period," she explained, her voice light, like the air.
The air that seemed to be getting thinner.
"And death was an important quality trait for heroes during that time period," she continued. "Death symbolizes the transition of old beliefs to new. It symbolizes old pagan beliefs passing away with him and the introduction of new, Christian ways, so his death was essential for the transition of the new generation."
I tried closing my eyes, but that only seemed to make things worse. It felt as though the walls were closing in around me.
Six minutes my ass.
I left my backpack where it was, practically sprinting out of the classroom.
I pressed my palms against the outside of the building in the courtyard, letting my neck fall as I tried to regain some sense of reality.
I felt as though there was a pressure deep within my chest keeping me from breathing properly. And it was several more minutes before I managed to regain control of myself.
I slowly slid to the floor, letting out a long sigh.
I've had much worse. That was actually a pretty low-key panic attack for me. But I still felt nauseated and light-headed.
And then Mrs. Willow rounded the corner, followed by Nurse Adeline.
Fuck my life.
Mrs. Willow gave me a pointed look, as though I'd purposely disrupted her class for the hell of it.
"I'm fine," I informed the school nurse, before she could question me.
"You know the rules Lee," she said, in that stupid sing-song voice she used to talk to me.
"It's highly unnecessary."
"Protocol is protocol."
I let out another sigh, stumbling to my feet.
"Are you alright dear?" Nurse Adeline asked, immediately by my side.
I just had a fucking panic attack. I'm not exactly high on life right now.
"Fine."
I followed her to the front office, my arms folded across my chest.
Parker was going to love this.
I weaved my way through the front office, waving to Ms. Betty, the school receptionist.
"Hello dear," Ms. Betty greeted, tossing me a mini York peppermint patty.
She gave me one every time I got sent here, good or bad.
Though I'm not sure how a panic attack classifies.
I took a seat in one of the chairs, unwrapping my candy while Nurse Adeline pulled up Parker's contact information.
"I'm sure he's really busy," I said, as a last ditch effort. "We really don't need to bother him."
"He's never too busy for you Lee," Nurse Adeline sang.
Well way to turn that into a stupid lecture.
I bit the peppermint candy in half before leaning back in my chair, folding my arms across my chest.
"Mr. Adams?" Nurse Adeline asked.
I couldn't help but laugh. As if Parker was important enough to be called something like that.
"Yes, this is Nurse Adeline," she introduced, as though they haven't talked thousands of times. "I have Lee here with me."
Parker was going to flip his shit when he found out what happened in English. And I did not want to be on the receiving end of that phone call.
And judging by Nurse Adeline's face neither did she.
"Let me transfer you to Principal Wright," she said, her face pale.
"Can't say I didn't warn you," I muttered, finishing off my peppermint patty.
"He's just worried about you is all," Nurse Adeline said, adjusting her skirt.
I'm not sure whether she was trying to comfort me or herself.
After a few minutes, Nurse Adeline's phone line began to light up, signaling she had an awaiting phone call.
"Nurse Adeline," she introduced, answering the phone. "Oh yes, he's right here." And then she held the phone out to me.
Great.
"Hello?" I asked, leaning against the countertop by the nurse's desk as I held the receiver to my ear.
"I'm not angry," Parker stated.
"Well congratulations."
"How are you?"
"Just dandy."
"Lee."
"I don't really understand why we have to go through this," I said, with a sigh. "I'm fine, all is well."
"I'm sorry about what happened in class."
"I'm sure you let half of the school know how you felt about it."
"I said that I wasn't angry."
"Nurse Addie's face here tells me a different story."
"Okay, well I might have let out some steam on your nurse there. Just shut up and tell me how you are."
"I already have like twice now."
"A real answer Lee."
"A little light headed, this York peppermint patty I ate helped a bit with the nausea, but I think I'm going to live."
"So was this new girl cute?"
"Goodbye Parker." I handed the receiver back to Nurse Adeline. "Am I free to go?"
She pressed the receiver to her ear, having a few closing words with Parker before hanging up. "Yes dear."
I left the nurse's office, and almost ran over the new girl.
"Sorry," I apologized, taking a step back.
"Definitely my bad," she said, with a laugh. "I should've moved out of the way of a man on a mission."
"Always happy to escape the clutches of the school nurse."
The new girl chuckled. "Lee right? The guy I sat next to in English for about 60 seconds?"
"That sounds like me."
"I'm McKenna," she introduced.
That sounded familiar.
"Maybe you can help me find my next class?"
I took her freshly printed school schedule from her. "It's not for like 45 minutes."
"Yeah but I don't know what I'm supposed to do in-between these oddly scheduled classes."
I laughed, handing her schedule back to her. "Grab some lunch?"
"That would mean trying to locate the cafeteria."
"I would be happy to lead the way. I don't have another class for an hour and a half."
"So it's not just me then?"
"No," I declined, leading her out of the office. "They try to treat us like college students or something.'
"Strange, but I think I might like it."
"It just takes some getting used to."
"How many years have you been attending Jefferson Lake Academy?"
"This is my first."
"Really?" she asked, as I opened the cafeteria door for her. "You had me fooled."
"I attended Cornerstone last year," I informed her. "A boarding school down in Miami."
She nodded, but didn't press any further.
And I was grateful. Because that was a messy and complicated story that I was unwilling to share.
"So there's like a different menu each day," I explained to McKenna. "And you just choose whichever one doesn't look too bad."
She laughed. "Is it really that bad?"
I shook my head. "It's actually pretty good."
I stepped up to order my lunch, deciding on the burrito.
I lead McKenna to our table, where Warren was working on his laptop and Justin was intensely making out with Kara.
"Well," I stated, with a laugh.
Justin immediately pulled away, the two of them looking at us in surprise.
"This is McKenna," I introduced. "She's new."
"And no surprise she's with you," Warren said, with a laugh.
I rolled my eyes, taking a seat at our round table.
"What's that mean?" McKenna asked Warren, sitting on my right.
"What?" Warren asked.
"That it's no surprise I'm with him?"
"Lee is the most well-liked guy of the school," Justin explained.
"That's untrue," I said, with a shake of my head.
"It's totally true," Kara disagreed. "There isn't a person on campus Lee doesn't get along with."
I shrugged, taking a bite of my burrito.
I think that people were too nice to tell me that I was actually annoying the hell out of them.
"I made an A," Dustin informed us, dropping his Geometry packet on our table.
"On what?" I asked.
Warren and Dustin both stared at me.
"I'm going to take a wild guess here and say he's talking about the Geometry packet he just dropped on the table with the A on top," Kara said, with a laugh.
"Oh, good job man."
"Good job? I've never made an A on anything math-related in my life."
"Oh. Then great job?"
"Lee fucking Adams, you're a genius." Dustin paused, noticing McKenna for the first time. "Who're you?"
"McKenna Scott," she introduced.
"New girl," Dustin filled in. "I'm Dustin Rivers."
She nodded. "Nice to meet you."
"If you need a math tutor, you've got the right guy!" Dustin called, as he left our table to head to the food.
"Well apparently I'm hanging out with the right person today," McKenna said to me, laughing. "Everyone is just singing your praises."
"They're full of shit."
*************************************************************************************************************
Hello all! Welcome to my new story. This is a spin-off of My Brother's Best Friend. No, you don't need to read my MBBF to understand this story, however it will definitely help.
So what did you guys think about seeing things through Lee's eyes? His new school? Does the title make sense now? And then McKenna Scott, the new girl? Thoughts on her?
This chapter is dedicated to justalittlereckless for the original cover for the story, which is posted at the top.
What do you guys think about the cast list?
I hope everyone read the description before reading this book. Just so you know this book does deal with issues such as depression & self-harm.
Teaser: Lee attends group therapy and is surprised by the new guest.
Update: Monday, Nov. 24th