By the end of class, all I had was a bottle of vodka, a joint, and a bottle of pills on a table drawn out. Not very creative, but it's all I got. I walked up to Mr. Frey's desk, handing over my drawing. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the bell, as I quickly made my way out of class. I walked through the hallways filled with people, opening the door to Algebra. I sat next to Patrick, who was scribbling away in a notebook. Joe and somehow Morgan, were behind me.
There was a paper on everyone's desk, with around ten questions. I pulled my pencil out of my pocket and began working out the problems. While I worked out number seven, I heard a psst noise behind me. I ignored it, knowing it was some curly headed boy trying to get my attention. There was a sigh before a crumpled up note tossed onto my desk. I straightened it out, reading the scrawled out, messy handwriting.
What'd ya get for #2?
- Joe
Bet you'd like to know
I wrote down my response before throwing it behind me. Another note was thrown on my desk.
Aw come on Chase, I'll give ya a kiss if u do
Calm ur hormones Joseph, it's π × 183
I threw the note, glancing behind me to flip off Joe, and began working out the remaining problems on my paper.
___________________________
I didn't get to talk to anyone since it took me so long to finish the paper I probably failed. I get done with my last class before lunch, which is History. Not the best one with Morgan and Simon in the same room, but at least I have Grace to help me keep my sanity. History has been pretty boring as usual. All we ever do is study, take tests, and study some more, nothing else. Simon sat in the middle of Morgan and I, while Grace sat to my right. We all were seated at a table in the back. The teacher stood to the front of the classroom to my surprise, usually since all she does is turn on whatever film on the projector and have us take notes.
"Ok guys, I know that we have all been stressed and feeling over worked lately." Mrs. Vee spoke.
A few students groaned in response.
"Which is why I have gotten permission from the principal to have a field trip to a museum a few towns away." Simon raised his hand.
"So uh, what are we allowed to do? What are the boundaries?"
"You must stay with your assigned partner and everyone has to meet up at certain areas at specific times. That will all be discussed days before the field trip. First things first, please come up to my desk at the end of class. Everyone will get one packet each. The packet contains the rules and regulations of the field trip, along with your permission slips. But right now we need to study for our test on Roman and Greek mythology. So please stay silent during the film and take notes."
She used her remote to activate the projector, sitting down at her desk after turning off the lights. I jotted down small notes every now and then while glancing at the clock, waiting for lunch as I heard my stomach growl. Class was over before I knew it. I waited in the small line at Mrs. Vee's desk, quickly swiping away a packet, making my way to the cafeteria. I went through the process of getting my lunch tray, only having a small salad and a carton of milk. I sat at a round table where all my friends were seated. I sat between Pete and Joe, stabbing the pile of salad with a plastic fork. I quickly noticed how Pete didn't have a tray.
"You okay? You didn't eat lunch yesterday, or the day before. Aren't you hungry?" I asked, nudging his shoulder with my own.
"Hmm? Oh um, I always eat at home." He shrugged it off like no big deal.
"Petey!" A sharp, high pitched voice rang in my ears. Those bouncy black and neon pink curls, and green eyes with fake eyelashes belonged to a teenager by the name of Sophie. Being vibrant, and a some what annoying girl, she has been dating Pete for almost a month. No offense to Sophie, but her and Pete are complete opposites. She is a strange seventeen year old that I haven't quite figured out yet. Although she is a church girl, before she met Pete she was basically known as the school slut, and she's proud of it! She sat down next to Pete, kissing his cheek.
"Hey there. What are you doing here Sophie? Im kind of busy."
"Just wanted to say hi to my boo. Also, I wanted to tell you about my day! You are not going to believe what Heather did in Algebra!" She began to ramble on about some pointless conversation between her and a girl nobody knew. Joe leaned down to whisper something into my ear.
"Damn is she clingy. How does Pete put up with her?"
"I mean, he seems into her." I whispered back in a similar volume. Joe scoffed.
"Yeah right. If he was into her, he'd be humping her leg right now. If there's one thing I know about Pete, he is horny twenty four hours a day, seven days a week." We shared a small laugh, still annoyed by Sophie. I eventually finished my lunch and she still wasn't done. I stood up from the table, everyone turning their attention to me.
"Where are you going? I thought we were gonna talk about the graduation thing." Patrick said with eagerness lacing his voice.
"I just need to go outside. Get some air."
Though it sounds overdramatic, I can't take one more minute around Sophie.
"Yeah, I'll go with you." Joe said, standing up next to me. We made our way down the hallway, stepping outside and walking to the back of the school. Joe suddenly stopped.
"You smell that?" He asked. I inhaled deeply, catching a hint of an all too familiar scent.
"Is that.. Weed?" We turned the corner seeing none other than
Mr. Frey, smoking a blunt.
"Woah." Joe and I both said in unison. He whipped his head in our direction, panic clear on his face.
"Shit." He muttered, quickly taking the substance and hiding it behind his back. "Look, please don't tell anyone. I really need this job and the last thing I need is a student snitching on me."
"So, you smoke? Pass it over." Joe commanded. Mr. Frey confusingly handed over the joint to Joe. He took a quick puff, before handing it back to the teacher. They did this multiple times in silence.
"You have an accent. Mind if I ask where you're from?" I spoke up.
"Not at all lass. Ireland's the name. Grew up in a shitty town, kind of like this one." His accent was a lot clearer now, clearly loosened up by the marijuana.
"Hold up blondie, if your Irish, then why isn't your hair red?" I asked.
"Dyed it. Trust me, it'll go back to red soon."
"You seem a little young to be a teacher don't you think? You're definitely not as old as any of these assholes." Joe referenced to our other teachers.
"Im only twenty two. Graduated college a few months ago. Christ, it's only my first day and I'm already exhausted. You're classmates can be one pain in the arse. This one lass especially, Sophie I think. Her mouth just kept on going, would not be quiet, not even for a few minutes! I swear I'm gonna start handing out detention slips if this keeps up."
He deeply inhaled and sighed before saying, "I know this is unprofessional, but you two can call me Neil. You laddies seem alright." We both nodded.
___________________________
I was able to make it to my next class on time after lunch was over. I previously changed into my gym clothes, wearing yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt with our team logo, provided by the school. I lean against the gym wall with Pete and Joe, the P.E teacher, Linda, not acknowledging our presence.
"Are we meeting up at your place after school?" Pete asks me.
"Well, maybe not today. My dad's wanting me to volunteer at the store tonight. You guys can tag along if you want."
"Oh hell yeah, I would never pass up the opportunity to hang out with Daddy Derek!" Joe says enthusiastically.
"Yeah, we haven't seen Daddy Derek in ages dude. I bet he misses me annoying the fuck outta him everyday. Literally." Pete replies back. It seems just like yesterday, eighth grade year, when Joe and Pete came up with the nickname for my father. We watch as as people scurry around the gym, passing a basketball to one another.
"Are we meeting up at the tree house on Saturday?" Joe asks out of the blue.
"Can't. I'm hanging out with Frank on Saturday."
Pete stays quiet while Joe and I discuss our plans. P.E is soon over and I change in the girl's locker room. I hurry to, thankfully, my last class today, Music. I sit down in a seat next to Patrick, both of us waiting for the teacher to show up. Mr. Michaels soon arrives, and everyone keeps talking. He sits down at his desk and pulls out a book, clearly not paying attention to us. This man never actually makes us do any work. All he does is read while we play around with instruments and act psychotic for an hour straight.
It's about half way through, and all I've done is watch Patrick strum a few notes every now and then, writing them down in his handy notepad. He looks up from his paper at me.
"You wanna try, Chase?" Patrick asks, holding his guitar and pick out to me. I hesitantly set the instrument down in my lap and hold the pick firmly between my thumb and pointer finger. I force it to collide with the strings, creating a soothing noise. I repeat the action, pressing one of the strings to a fret. I get a different, almost pretty sound in result. Patrick adjusts his glasses when they start sliding off, while writing down the combination of notes I play on the beautiful wooden guitar. After both of us continuing this for a while, class is over, and it's time for the buses to leave. We all board the bus, sitting towards the back, avoiding the chaotic people in the front. I sit next to the window like usual with Pete beside me.
"Hey, can you drop us off at Target like last week?!" I yell to the bus driver up front.
"You sure? That's outta town so it'll take a while!" She yells back.
"Yea I'm sure!" She nods, a strand of her gray hair flopping into her eyes. The ride is long and time consuming, but the bus soon gets quiet when we're the only ones left. I dozed off within the silence, only to be shaken awake.
"Chase c'mon we're here." Pete said, removing his hand from my shoulder. I yawn, stretching my arms as we step off the bus and make our way to the entrance. The warm air welcomes us as we step through the electric doors, and so does the music from the speakers in the ceiling. The familiar tune causes me to chuckle.
"Fucking Cindi Lauper? Really?" Joe said.
"Excuse me, but 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' is an amazing song." Pete counters. Patrick begins to hum the lyrics to himself. We make my way to my dad who's at a cash register, looking even more tired than usual.
"Daddy Derek! We're here!" Pete waves over at my dad, catching the attention of a few customers. My dad just rolls his eyes and continues his work.
(Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been dealing with some problems lately. I promise I will update at least once a week from now on 😊)