Chapter One: The Beginning 3/3

We sat there in silence while we ate, and I already knew he didn’t want to talk to me much.

Right from the start, he didn’t seem very talkative to begin with, but I think he just didn’t want to jump on the ‘let’s be friends with Ren’ bandwagon.

“So, do you go to school with Gus?” I asked.

“Are you asking if I’m a felon?” he asked with a hint of amusement.

“No,” I stated, “I was just wondering.”

“Yes,” he said, looking right at me “And now you’re wondering what I’ve done.”

I shrugged, “Doesn’t matter to me.”

“What if it was because I raped a girl?” he asked.

To hide the fact that I was startled by his question, I did what I always do.

“Then you would be messed up in the head,” I stated, “It’s called sex, try it with a willing partner.”

He stared at me before he smirked.

So, me being an asshole is funny? Alright.

“I nearly beat a man to death.”

I looked at him, no hint of amusement.

“Why are you at that prissy proper lady school?” he asked.

“My mom,” I stated, “She wants me to marry into money.”

“And you’re against this?” he asked.

I shrugged, “I don’t care about being rich, I just want to love the guy I marry, isn’t that the point?”

“Not for a lot of people.”

He took his last bite, before rubbing his hands together to get the crumbs off.

“You’d marry a girl for money?” I asked.

“Or a great body,” he shrugged.

I shook my head, feeling irritated, “I’m being serious.”

“That’s why I’m joking,” he stated, “You’re young, you have time.”

I stared back at him, and I was feeling confused. He was the same age as me, if not a little bit older.

How did he know just what to say?

I wish I had brought a pen or something with me, I’d like to write down what he said to me.

Then I thought, I could just put it in the notes of my phone until I got back to school, where I could write it down.

I pulled my phone out to do just that when he spoke again.

It was funny, it was strange getting used to this phone. The smooth red case with the small white heart on the back. It was a gift from my mother before I left, so I could stay in touch with her.

“Are you a writer?” he asked before taking a drink of his soda.

I forgot where I was for a second, I had to look up before as I processed his words.

“I like to write,” I said, “If that makes me a writer, then yes.”

“Everybody has to have a hobby,” he shrugged before reaching into his pocket.

“King here,” he said.

I didn’t hear his phone go off. So, he is the guy Gus called King?

I couldn’t help but notice his phone case was black too, it looks like black leather. It was easy to tell that he didn’t wear much color.

“No,” he stated, “I’m busy.”

The voice on the other line was clearly female.

“Busy,” he said this time more irritated.

The girl was in mid-sentence, and he just hung up on her.

“King?” I asked him.

His expression changed for a minute, “What?”

I would have sworn it got darker around his eyes.

“Is that a nickname?” I asked.

“My last name,” he stated, “The nickname kind of stuck.”

“That was you last night,” I said, “You called Gus.”

He just looked at me, as if he was waiting for me to keep talking.

“Does everyone call you, King?” I asked.

He looked to the side, “No, only Gus and a few other people.”

When he turned, he showed me his neck, and how if one branch was a little bit longer, it just might reach his Adam's apple.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, “Michael.”

He only nodded, and I looked away to avoid eye contact with him, of course, I was a little embarrassed.

“What do you want?” he said into his phone.

I looked back at him, and he seemed somehow relieved.

I didn’t hear his phone that time either.

“Yeah, we’re in the food court,” he looked back at me. “Alright, I’ll see you in a minute.”

“Gus?” I asked.

He nodded as he looked behind me.

I looked down at the cover of the gold notebook.

“Do you ever let anyone read it?” he asked.

I looked up quickly, “No.”

He eyed me before looking passed me once again.

I took that as my chance to put the small notebook back into my pocket.

I heard feet seconds before I heard her voice.

“Looks cozy,” I heard Benny say.

Gus pulled out the seat next to Michael and sat down.

“You guys eat yet?” Michael asked.

“Yeah,” Gus said, “That burger place across the street.”

He only nodded in response.

“So, what are you guys talking about?” Benny asked.

Michael looked over at me. Part of me hoped that he didn’t mention the notebook. I knew the type of girl Benny is, she is curious, and once she set her hooks in something she was bound to find out.

“She was asking about my nickname,” he stated.

I looked at him, thank you.

“King?” Gus asked, “It kind of just happened a few years ago.”

“Now Gus, on the other hand,” Michael stated, “Guns.”

Gus leaned back, and he frowned.

“What?” I asked.

Benny just grinned.

“This guy used to work out every day to impress this girl,” he pointed to Benny, “He wanted to be strong, and he would always try to show off his muscles. We just started calling him Guns.”

“Guns, huh?” I asked, “I like it.”

Benny nodded, “I like it too.”

They both just looked at us.

“We should probably head back now,” Benny said, “Apparently, they want us back on campus so they can fit us for our uniforms.”

“I thought we wouldn’t be getting them for a while,” I said.

“I hoped we wouldn’t get them until next semester,” she frowned “I really don’t want to wear pink.”

Just hearing her say that reminded me of my dislike for the color pink but in excess.

I didn’t mind a little pink, but knowing this school, I was almost positive that every piece of fabric we would be forced to wear would be bright pink.

At least I got a new pink scarf.

++++++++++++

“We should do this again,” Gus said once we were all off the bus.

Benny nodded, “I had fun.”

I nodded, “Ditto.”

We all looked at Michael.

He shrugged, “If I’m not busy.”

“You’re always busy,” Gus hissed.

“You only say you’re busy when you don’t want to do something.” Benny stated, “You’ve been like that since I can remember.”

I looked at her “How long have you guys known each other?”

Benny shrugged, “Pre-School.”

Wow, they knew each other for a while, and they are still friends.

“So, you are at a school for proper ladies, and they are in a school for delinquents,” I said, “How does that even work?”

The guys shrugged.

She glared at them, “Because of my hanging out with them, my parents think I need to be a lady.”

I could understand that after all, they had criminal records.

I opened my mouth to say something else, but Michael answering his phone threw me off.

Gus looked at him as he walked away.

“Who was that?” Benny asked.

“His new girlfriend,” Gus shook his head.

Does he have a girlfriend?

I had to mentally check myself. Of course, he would, a guy like him would definitely have a girlfriend.

“How long?” Benny asked.

“A little more than a week, maybe,” Gus shrugged, “I hear she is pretty clingy, though.”

“How old is this one?” Benny asked him.

“Twenty-three.” he nodded, “Nice rack and a pretty big ass.”

“Well, good for him,” Benny glared.

“I take it, Michael has bad taste in girls?” I asked.

“He picks them on looks alone,” Benny stated, “As hot as they may be, they are crazy, or brutal.”

I didn’t understand what she meant by brutal. Crazy, though, crazy happens.

Michael hung up the phone and stood by the curb.

“Is she picking you up?” Gus asked.

He nodded.

I went to walk on campus, but Benny stopped me “We’re going to see this whore.”

Part of me was already feeling creepy for knowing as much as I did about this girl, but I was interested to know what he deemed attractive.

“Don’t forget there is a drug test on Monday,” Gus said, “So keep yourself clean.”

“I know,” Michael sighed, “I will.”

Drug test? Did either of them really need to be reminded not to do any?

“I’ll see you later” Gus placed a quick kiss on Benny’s lips “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she smiled.

“See you later, Ren,” Gus said before walking through the main entrance.

Michael looked over at us, I’m sure he could tell that Benny was waiting for this girl to show up.

He looked down the street, opposite us, and a semi-nice red car stopped right in front of him. When I looked closer, I realized it was a dark red convertible with the top down. It wasn’t semi-nice, it was nice, nice.

A girl with long bleach blonde hair got out of the car and hugged him, before pressing her lips to his. He was taller than her, not by much, but still.

She was dressed like a prostitute. Her silver dress was short enough to reveal way too much if she bent over. From this side, it looked like her butt cheeks were already showing just at the bottom of the dress.

“She is clearly a hooker,” Benny whispered to me.

I nodded before realizing that I involved myself.

Michael smacked the girl on her ass when she headed back to the driver side, Benny and I stood there and watched as she got in the car. It made me wonder if she was picking him up why did she get out of the car at all?

It was probably because we were standing here like idiots watching them. She wanted to make sure that he was spoken for.

“Good thing she didn’t bend over,” Benny said.

Michael looked over at us, “Later.”

I nodded while Benny went right for our front gate.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

“Fine,” she stated.

She didn’t seem fine. She was almost acting jealous.

We walked to our room, and I had to lie down.

I put the package my mother sent me on my desk, that way I didn’t forget about it.

I didn’t get to relax that long.

“You ready?” Benny asked.

I looked over at her.

“Uniforms,” she stated.

I wanted to whine, but instead, I got up and put my shoes back on.

We were going to get sized for our uniforms.

++++++++++++

Turns out that each of us gets three sets, in case something happens to our first one. They say the uniforms should be ready by Wednesday or Thursday this week. We were also told that the day we got them, we had to start wearing them. That alone made me depressed.

I sat on my bed as I wondered what my uniform would look like on me. Part of me was worried about it. The other part already knew it was going to look awful. The only upside was that at least they would fit.

“I seemed pretty jealous earlier, didn’t I?” Benny asked.

I looked over at her. She was sitting at her desk, writing something.

“Just a little,” I said.

“I’m not,” she said, “I just worry about him.”

“He seems pretty capable of taking care of himself,” I stated.

I knew why he was there, or at least why he told me he was.

“He just makes a lot of stupid decisions,” she stated, “Always.”

I wish I had someone worry about me the way she worried about him.

“He could be going through something,” I stated, “Who knows, he might grow out of it.”

“It isn’t a phase,” she stood up to look at me “His whole life has been one bad decision after another.”

I don’t know what to say to her, maybe he might change?

People change all the time, don’t they?

She looked at me, “You’re an only child, aren’t you?”

I looked up at her, “No,” I mumbled.

“So, you know how it feels to worry about someone who is like family?” she asked, “To feel helpless almost all the time.”

I didn’t really have a relationship with my sister, so I didn’t know exactly how she felt, but I’d like to think I had a pretty good idea, so I nodded.

“Maybe something will change,” I said, “Maybe something will help him change.”

She looked at me before smiling lightly “I hope so.”

I found myself yawning as we both sat there, I was tired. That could only mean one thing, I needed to sleep.

“I got the hint,” she smiled.

“I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay,” she shrugged. “Tomorrow will be pretty busy, might as well rest up.”

I nodded as I watched her get into bed, not too long after I did the same.

“Will you go to the showers with me in the morning?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said, pulling my blanket closer to me.

“Goodnight,” she whispered.

“Goodnight,” I said as I shut my eyes.