Calvin
Tuesday August 22 2017
12:03am
——————————
Well shit.
I knew going to another one of these high school parties was a bad idea, especially after the incident of 2016. It seems I haven’t learned crap since then as I have found myself in quite a predicament.
“Hey, you gonna make a decision or what?” James grunts at me, as the cantankerous ape he is. “Hurry up already dipshit.” Says the other brutish ape of a man, Allen. “God, just choose!” Zach, the tribe leader, practically yells through his teeth, giving me shivers. Sadly the choice they’re referring to is the little game they like to play with me, where I do one of two stupid, embarrassing, or painful dares.
It happens every once in a while after school, but it’s been an entire summer since the last time they tortured me, so I’m having a lot of fun! My options for today is to either skinny dip in front of the entire schools population, or kiss a girl who is clearly with someone.
“Okay okay, fine...” I mumble.
“Well?!” Zach yells impatiently.
I’ll...I’ll kiss some girl.” I don’t think it’d be the best idea to hardcore embarrass myself right before a new school year, so I’ll take a punch to the face, thank you.
Allen throws his arms up with his trademark shit-eating grin. “The nerd finally chooses!”
I turn around with a sigh, stumbling like an idiot as one of them shoves me. The audience of my demise giggles all the while, as the three apes make little comments such as, “hurry your ass”, “pick a hot one”, and “come on nerd”.
Kill me.
I take a second to glance around one of many large rooms in whoever’s house this is. I spot a couple, the girl is cute, the guy looks a little cocky, but fuck it. The guy goes to refill the girls cup and I take that moment to swoop.
“Hello?”
“Um, well uh, h-hi.” I stutter out. God you idiot, just get it over with!
“Do you need somethi-“
And then I kiss her.
It was pretty quick, I knew the guys only dared me to do this to see me get beat up by the boyfriend, so it didn’t really matter. I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to do now, but I’m a little scared to move. As I stumbled away from the girl who looked more then shocked, I turn around to see the boyfriend already winding up his fist.
I’m going to get punched no matter what, so there’s no point in trying to defend myself. I say to myself as I duck down and dodge the punch completely. Oh fuck.
“Who the fuck do you think you are!” The boyfriend says as I double over from a punch to the gut.
I've been punched in the gut plenty of times, but damn it, that really hurt!
I feel like I might just vomit out my insides, the alcohol I drank earlier only making things worse. For once I’m starting to think getting punched in the face would have been better.
I look up expecting the guy to be gone, just to have my vision filled with his fist.
I take back my previous statement.
“That’s what you get!” I hear him laugh as I once again, fall to the floor.
Once I finally get off the floor, I get pushed right back down by one of the apes. “Good job nerd! Can’t wait till school starts!” Zach booms before walking away, laughing like a maniac. I just want to go home for crying out loud. Where’s Noelle? That woman brought me here, and dares to leave me here with these barbarians. I swear, when I find her I’m going to-
“Ow! Oh- sorry!”
Ow, ow, face. I should really look where I’m walking.
“Holy shit, dude what happened to you? Get in a fight or something?”
I look up at the source of the concerned voice to see some random kid. No really. I’ve never seen him before.
“Ah, well it was pretty one sided as you can see.” Whoa, I spoke.
From the keen observation skills I have plenty of time to indulge in, I know practically everybody at my school. He could be some outside friend of someone at the party. Maybe he really is some random dude who saw a party going on and joined. Or maybe he’s a new kid, trying to make some friends before school actually starts. Hmm...
He starts chuckling, and give me this weird mix of amused and concerned. “Hey you should really put some ice on your cheek, it looks like it’s already swelling.”
Jeez, how hard did that guy hit me?
“Here maybe we can-“ He leans me over to one side for a second to look over at the kitchen behind me. He bites his lip and makes an awkward cough. “Okay, we can improvise.” He says with a cheeky grin.
Who is this kid? I honestly just want a drink, and a way to get home. I see an unopened bottle of something, grab it and take a shot. That’s bitter, oh god, really bitter. Not the best idea I’ve had tonight, but at least no one punched me for it.
He let out a quick laugh at my action before saying, “Oh yeah! There are some beers in an ice bucket outside, you can just keep one of them against your cheek and it’ll be fine.”
He starts to drag me out to the backyard when I really, really start to think, who the fuck?
“Who...who are you?” I mumble, slurring my words like a drunk.
“Oh! Right sorry! I’m Ashton, grade 11, guessing we all go to the same school.”
“Uhh, yeah. Calvin, and same grade?”
“Is that a question?” He laughs as he hands me the cold beer to hold against my throbbing face.
“No, I am going into grade 11, same as you it seems.”
“Well that’s great! A new friend!” He cheers as he continues to drag me across the huge yard.
“Ha. Yeah right.” I mutter to myself.
Who’d willingly be friends with me? Even Isabelle hates me most of the time. Not excited to see her on Thursday to hear an “I told you so”.
“Really though, how’d that happen?” He asks, gesturing to my face.
“Ahhh, well some advice for the new kid, keep your distance from the three apes.”
He chuckles with a perplexed look.
“Zach, Allen, and James.”
“Oh!” He laughs loudly as he finally takes a seat on one of those outdoor couch-swings that I’ve always wanted.
“Okay for one, I’m not the new kid, I came during the second semester last year. Second, I’m sorry about those three, I’m on the football team with them and I knew they liked to push around some kid. I didn’t know it was you! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you till today!”
Wait he’s not new? And he’s on the football team? And he’s being nice to me and wants to be friends? I’m not buying this shit.
“Whoa whoa whoa. Your on the football team? And you’ve already been at my school for half a year?”
“Yes?”
“I would have noticed a new ape join that shit-eating team.” I blurt out. Oops.
“Hey!”
I put a hand out shielding my face expecting him to hit me, but instead I hear him laugh again.
“Okay, well yeah, most of the guys on the team are horrible people, I’ll give you that. But I’m not bad! I helped with your cheek! See! I’m nice!” He yelled at me with this huge, toothy grin.
Now that he’s sitting under good light, I actually have a chance to take a good look at him.
He’s not as huge and bulky as most of the guys on the team, but you can definitely tell he’s got muscles. He’s definitely taller than me. He’s got this auburn, it’s-always-this-perfect hair, making me feel self conscious about my light brown, average-most-of-the-time hair. He’s also got these defining hazel eyes that probably attracts a lot of girls. Yeah he’s a sporty kid. But he doesn’t really give off the predator vibe most of them have. He doesn’t seem too bad. Maybe.
“Uh, I-I’m sorry. That was p-pretty rude.” I stutter out as I sit next to him. I’m pathetic.
“Don’t worry about it. They probably give you more shit then I can imagine.”
“No kidding. Can’t wait for the school year to start!”
I say waving a fist in the air to emphasize the sarcastic enthusiasm.
“Hey, I got your back,well, if I actually see you around school this year.” He chuckles.
“Okay, yeah you’ve been… not horrible, but I don’t know you. You don’t even know me.”
“So? You seem ready to leave but if you stay for a little longer maybe we came get along.”
I look over at the other boy with a puzzled look. If someone walked over here and saw the two of us, it would be painfully clear we are from two very separate crowds. What is he trying to do?
“That’s a bad idea on your part.”
“Hmmm. So what?”
“What do you mean so what?”
“I can befriend who I want.”
“Who said I’d be your friend?”
“Oh come on! Give me a chance!”
“No.”
“Please!”
“Why?”
“Come on buddy!”
“I’m not your buddy.”
I just now realized, even though I’m saying all this, I haven’t made a move to leave. I may be holding back a laugh at his stupid actions, but he doesn’t have to know!
“Two hours.”
“No!” What kind of proposition is that?
“One and a half.”
“Ten minutes.”
“Wha-! An hour!” Oh god, he’s pouting. He’s really pouting over this. Okay, maybe he isn’t really an ape. He’s pouting for god's sake!
“Half an hour.” I huff, and he immediately takes my hand, shaking it frantically.
“Deal! Okay! Your not leaving for the next half an hour.”
“Hmmmmm maybe…” I mumble.
“No no, a deal is a deal!”
“Fine.” I try to sound upset over it but I can’t help but smile.
This kids an idiot.
I take large gulp of the bitter alcohol. I’m probably never going to talk to this kid again. Fuck it.
I end up staying the full two hours.
Comments (0)
See all